Big Pass Information - Sarasota Yacht Club

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Big Pass Information

Ringling Bridge Area

Swash Channel off Boca Grand

Jewfish Key Area

DISCLAIMER

Sarasota Yacht Club and/or its officers and/or members offers this information on this site solely for the entertainment and review by its readers, and does not offer any claims concerning its reliability for navigational, educational and/or safety purposes.

The information provided is not intended for navigational use and should not be relied upon for such purpose. Always navigate by reference to a current navigational chart or map. In no event shall Sarasota Yacht Club have any liability arising out of any navigational use of any of the information provided.

Big Pass Information as of May 13, 2008 4:30 pm NOTE BP2 snapped a brand new chain and so ended up on the beach.

Big changes in Big Pass at the south end as the shoal is encroaching on the old channel. Mike Solum repositioned the marks on May 7. We were unable to make a survey run on May 12 as planned due to the weather. Another run is scheduled for May 26th or 27th. In the meantime the current route seems ok or simply hug the reds. The Flat Earth Course starts near BP2 and heads towards the SYC sign.

Entrance from Big Pass is possible with local knowledge as Sarasota County has placed markers in Big Pass. However these markers may be off station or missing due to the heavy wave action.

The listed course as of April 18th, 2008 headed east from the Gulf to the SYC sign appears to give about 5.5� feet at MLLW. The coordinates were taken with GPS differential active, but your readings could be different. Please note that the actual MLLW may be less than the predicted MLLW on any given day. To see how the tide is running you can check St. Petersburg or Port Manatee for an approximation.

For the latest weather conditions you can check http://www.srh.noaa.gov/tbw/html/tbw/ and click on the area of the map in which you are interested.In addition, be aware that when the wind has been blowing strongly with any northern or eastern component within the past day or two, that the water tends to get blown out of the pass thereby lowering the water level.

Finally, if there is a swell running remember that the trough will be that much lower. Changes, including shoaling, can and will occur.

The following LAT/LON list has been provided by Sarasota County on 5/7/08 indicating the location of the Big Pass navigational aids:

Marker	Position
Marker "BP-1"	27�16.008'N 082�34.145'W
Marker "BP-2" Went missing 5/13/08 -will replace	27�16.035'N 082�34.107'W
Marker "BP-3"	27�16.182'N 082�34.225'W
Marker "BP-4"	27�16.203'N 082�34.203'W
Marker "BP-5"	27�16.308'N 082�34.325'W
Marker "BP-6"	27�16.455'N 082�34.312' W
Marker "BP-7"	27�16.554'N 082�34.412'W
Marker "BP-8"	27�16.675'N 082�34.299'W
Marker "BP-9" Missing - probably will not replace	27�17.096'N 082�33.974'W
Marker "BP-16"	27�18.313'N 082�33.650'W
Not for navigational purposes

Flat Earth Society Big Pass Course as of 4/18/08 (will have minor adjustment on 5/27/08) from the Gulf of Mexico to near SYC sign :

Waypoint	Position
BSP 1-2	27�16.020'N 082�34.100'W
BSP 3-4	27�16.200'N 082�34.184'W
BSP 5-6	27�16.462'N 082�34.300'W
BSP 7-8	27�16.666'N 082�34.319'W
BSP Point	27�16.679'N 082�34.326'W
BSP 9	27�17.000'N 082�34.025'W
BSP 11	27�17.250'N 082�33.830'W
BSP 13	27�17.550'N 082�33.700'W
Near SYC Sign	27�18.277'N 082�33.633'W

Not for navigational purposes

Mike Solum & County Coastal Resources staff repositioning marks in Big Pass

CHARTS

Not for navigational purposes

Photo chart courtesy of Maptech

5/13/2008 8:37:15 PM EST

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