Tarpon Springs is a winter resort and commercial fishing center on the
south. bank of Anclote River 3 miles above the mouth. Tarpon Springs,
headquarters for a sponge fishing fleet, has a municipal hospital, and
rail and highway connections to all parts of the State. The municipal
landing is a marginal wharf 330 feet long at the Sponge Exchange, just
below the Alternate US Route 19 highway bridge.
Anclote River: Two ranges, one ahead and one astern, help you through the
big offshore shoal around the entrance to the Anclote River. But if you
cant see the inshore light, line up with a tall strobe lighted power plant
chimney that can be seen from 30 miles at sea on a clear day.
Anclote Key is just outside the entrance to the Anclote River and Tarpon
Springs. It is a favorite picnic spot and fishing area for local boatmen. Anchor well off with plenty of scope. Holding ground is extremely poor, but the scallops you can catch here make the effort worthwhile. The ground farther off the keys in "Anclote Anchorage" offers fine holding and a quiet, undisturbed night's sleep.
Gulf Harbors, just north of Anclote Key, has an excellent seafood
restaurant with dockage for patrons. Use the North Channel holding as
near center as possible, then follow the dredged channel to its head.
From St. Martins Light (about 12 miles north of Anclote Key) set a
northwesterly course for the flashing 16-foot light southwest of the
entrance to Hommosassa Bay, about 17 miles away. From here, the Homosassa
River channel is about 2½ miles to the northeast, over five foot shoals.
Keep a sharp eye out for navigational aids on this run; orange fish haven
beacons, which can easily be mistaken for red markers, may lure you off
course.
With few exceptions, the channel is well marked. The route twists and
turns its way to the village of Homosassa, about five miles up river.
In some reaches, in fact, you might encounter low land between two
consecutive numbers. Currents in the river are strong, so keep a firm
hand on the wheel and stay in mid-channel. Depths are adequate for most
powerboats; three feet can be carried all the way to the village.
The entrance to Crystal River does not follow a straight course, which
would lead over rocks and shoals. Rather, it takes a zigzag route that
heads 12 miles west-northwest of the Homosassa entrance light to a
red-lighted buoy offshore then turns northeasterly for a 15 mile run.
Your landmarks are two, charted, strobe-lit 500 foot power plant stacks
up the coast, two miles north of Crystal River. They are visible for
about 15 miles except in hazy weather, when the range is about nine miles. From the offshore buoy, run ten miles northeast to a green day beacon, then five miles east to the flashing light at the entrance.
Roughly midway between Anclote Keys and Carrabelle, Cedar Key makes a
convenient stopping place for skippers who want to break the long
open-water Gulf crossing. The charm of the village here more than makes
up for the lack of services. The approach to Cedar Key begins with the
flashing light at the start of the charted Main Ship Channel south of
Seahorse Key (14 nautical miles northwest of the Withlacoochee entrance
light).
Depths in the Main Channel are about seven feet, but you must follow the
markers carefully. The stretch where the route curves east and south of
Seahorse Key requires special caution. Keep close to the red markers to
avoid the steadily encroaching shoals. Be careful so you don't join the
legion of unwary visitors seeking a shortcut who have been grounded by the
S-curve in the winding channel.
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