Should I boat at Sarasota, FL today?
Live GO / CAUTION / NO-GO boating conditions for Sarasota, FL on Florida Gulf Coast, from NOAA wind, waves, gusts, an hour-by-hour risk timeline, marine warnings and live webcams.
Conditions right now
CAUTION as of Oct 23, 11:22 AM ET: wind NE 13 kt, gusts 17 kt; waves about 3 ft every 2 s. Boatable with care: expect chop or building wind. Small boats should think twice.
From the NWS gridded forecast for this launch. The live page adds buoy observations, marine warnings and an hour-by-hour timeline.
About Sarasota, FL
- Water: Florida Gulf Coast
- Location: 27.330, -82.550
- NWS marine forecast zone: GMZ853
- Live observations: NDBC VENF1, NDBC MTBF1
How the wind direction plays here
- Onshore (waves pile up at the launch, often rougher than the open-water number): SSW, SW, WSW, W, WNW
- Offshore (deceptively calm at the ramp, rougher farther out, and it pushes you away from shore): NNE, NE, ENE, E, ESE
- Cross-shore (moderate; watch which way it trends): N, SE, SSE, S, NW, NNW
Why direction matters: wind direction and fetch.
Nearby launches on Florida Gulf Coast
- Tampa Bay / St. Petersburg, FL (31 mi): GO, wind NE 12 kt, gusts 15 kt; waves about 1 ft every 3 s
- Clearwater, FL (48 mi): CAUTION, wind NE 14 kt, gusts 16 kt; waves about 3 ft every 3 s
- Fort Myers Beach, FL (71 mi): CAUTION, wind NE 14 kt, gusts 16 kt; waves about 3 ft every 2 s
- Naples, FL (94 mi): CAUTION, wind NE 15 kt, gusts 17 kt; waves about 2 ft every 3 s
- Marco Island, FL (109 mi): CAUTION, wind NNE 15 kt, gusts 18 kt; waves about 2 ft every 4 s
- Panama City Beach, FL (277 mi): GO, wind ENE 10 kt, gusts 12 kt; waves about 2 ft every 2 s
All launches · Boating the coast guide · How to read a marine forecast · What GO / CAUTION / NO-GO means