Big Pass Information - Sarasota Yacht Club

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 March 7, 2010. The recent storms have caused major shoaling in the "channel" with depths as low as 2' at MLLW just seaward of BP3 & 4.  Controlling depth along the course marked by the buoys is only 2' and the course that was good for almost a year is now defunct. DO NOT FOLLOW THIS MARKED CHANNEL. WE HAVE ASKED THE COUNTY TO REMOVE THE FLOATING MARKS IN THE OLD CHANNEL.

The Straight Out course appears to be VERY GOOD.  It starts at Can BP 7 27°16.670'N 082°34.336'W and runs in a straight line on a course of 216 M .5 nm to an unmarked point in deeper water at 27°16.247'N 082°34.634'W. WE HAVE ASKED THE COUNTY TO MARK THIS COURSE AT LEAST AT THE OUTER END ASAP. It appears to have a controlling depth of about 7'+ at MLLW. Traverse this route slowly on a rising tide, mid-tide or above depending on your draft.

A picture of the spaghetti tracks that were run on March 7th , 2010 is attached so that you can make your own decision whether to attempt Big Pass or not. As with any course, changes including shoaling have occured and will continue.

The coordinates were taken with GPS/WAAS, 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 easterly 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 2/19/10 indicating the location of the Big Pass navigational aids. DO NOT FOLLOW THEM AS THEY NEED TO BE REMOVED!

Marker	Position
Marker "BP-1" TO BE MOVED	27°16.022'N 082°34.074'W
Marker "BP-2" TO BE REMOVED	27°16.033'N 082°34.043'W
Marker "BP-3" TO BE REMOVED	27°16.226'N 082°34.176'W
Marker "BP-4" TO BE REMOVED	27°16.235'N 082°34.142'W
Marker "BP-5" Missing	27°16.354'N 082°34.238'W
Marker "BP-6" TO BE REMOVED	27°16.391'N 082°34.203'W
Marker "BP-5A" TO BE REMOVED	27°16.427'N 082°34.346'W
Marker "BP-6A" TO BE REMOVED	27°16.452'N 082°34.312'W
Marker "BP-7"	27°16.670'N 082°34.336'W
Marker "BP-8"	27°16.676'N 082°34.301'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

NEW Flat Earth Society Big Pass Course as of March 7th from the Gulf of Mexico to near SYC sign :

Waypoint	Position
BSP 1-2	27°16.247'N 082°34.634'W
BSP 7-8	27°16.676'N 082°34.312'W
BSP Point	27°16.770'N 082°34.272'W
BSP 9	27°17.057'N 082°33.930'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

Source: Sarasota County

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

3/10/2010 2:19:54 AM EST

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