Garrison Bight Flats anchoring area

Garrison Bight Flats Anchoring Limitation Area covers 135 acres, and the rule allows a maximum vessel draft of 2 ft. It runs north-east to the shoreline of Dredgers Key, and its southern boundary is drawn to stay clear of submerged property north of Roosevelt Boulevard. The position above is boundary point A of the rule.

It is one of the seven areas FWC designated in Monroe County, under Fla. Admin. Code 68D-14.002(1)(c), in force since 3 October 2023.

The power cable across the entrance to Garrison Bight has 50 ft of clearance, and 34 ft elsewhere. The Coast Pilot reports arcing to sailboat masts, which is reason enough to keep well under it rather than close to the figure. The causeway bridge to the south-west has 19 ft. Clearances change – the current chart decides.

Two feet of draft puts this area out of reach for most keelboats; it is water for shallow-draft and trailerable boats. The limit is on the boat, not a statement about the water: 68D-14.003 leaves the depth under your keel to the operator. And all of Monroe County is an anchoring limitation area, so a boat lying here has to move at least 0.5 nm, or into another designated area, after 90 days.