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 June 13, 2009. The route was rechecked June 13 by the Flat Earth Society and is unchanged from April 11, 2009. Mike Solum replaced/repositioned a set of marks on June 11. THANK YOU MIKE! Controlling depth along this course appears to be about 4.9'. However there are spots just off this course showing as low as 3.5' at MLLW. Traverse this route slowly on a rising tide, mid-tide or above depending on your draft. The Flat Earth Society 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 June 13, 2009 remains unchanged from April 11, 2009. It appears to give 4.9' and attempts to thread the needle between shallow spots.  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 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 6/11/09 indicating the location of the Big Pass navigational aids.

Marker	Position
Marker "BP-1"	27°16.022'N 082°34.074'W
Marker "BP-2"	27°16.033'N 082°34.043'W
Marker "BP-3"	27°16.226'N 082°34.176'W
Marker "BP-4"	27°16.235'N 082°34.142'W
Marker "BP-5"	27°16.354'N 082°34.238'W
Marker "BP-6"	27°16.348'N 082°34.183'W
Marker "BP-5A"	27°16.427'N 082°34.346'W
Marker "BP-6A"	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

Flat Earth Society Big Pass Course as of June 13, 2009 from the Gulf of Mexico to near SYC sign :

Waypoint	Position
BSP 1-2	27°16.028'N 082°34.059'W
BSP 3-4	27°16.231'N 082°34.157'W
BSP 5-6	27°16.384'N 082°34.223'W
BSP 5A-6A	27°16.441'N 082°34.330'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

7/3/2009 10:45:20 PM EST

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