Reviews: Garrison Bight Mooring Field

Review for Garrison Bight Mooring Field

Reviewed by: Teresa Scott, Vayu, on Apr 8, 2024
Vessel Type: Sail
LOA: 40'
Draft: 5.5'

Stayed here for a week. Dinghy dock was nice but quite a hike to Duval and anything else. We did go to the dinghy dock in Key West bight and paid $10 for the day there. Well worth it not to have the mile and a half walk. Wind protection isn't very good. We had several days where it was too rough to get in the dinghy to go anywhere.
Picking up a ball was challenging since they have no lines and they don't tell you where to find an open one. You just have to pick your way through the field until you find one open and that's not marked as belonging to someone.
One the bright side everyone was friendly and we do enjoy Key West so will go again.

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Review for Garrison Bight Mooring Field

Reviewed by: jeff on Dec 22, 2023
Vessel Type: Sail
LOA: 38'
Draft: 5.0'

Mooring field has no protection from the wind. The mooring balls are very hard to snag with just a ring. - not an easy task when in windy conditions. The bathrooms / showers are a disgrace - faulty toilet flush and not clean. Sunk boats at the dinghy dock need to be removed.

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Review for Garrison Bight Mooring Field

Reviewed by: janell jones on Jun 26, 2023
Vessel Type: Power
LOA: 48'
Draft: 5.0'

Just called for mooring ball reservations and they are first come first serve...if you find an open one, hook up and then go to the marina to pay.

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Review for Garrison Bight Mooring Field

Reviewed by: Jeffrey Womack, SV Mischievous Mermaid, on Jan 1, 2023
Vessel Type: Sail
LOA: 44'
Draft: 5.0'

This anchorage is actually misnamed. It is the Garrison Bight Mooring Field and anchorage. We got here last night & there wasn't a ball available, so we dropped the hook. About 8-10' visibility to the grassy/sandy bottom. Anchor set easily. No current at all. Water has been as smooth as a mill pond since we arrived yesterday. Considerable recreational motor boat traffic. Convenient to retail & touristy areas by a 1 mile dinghy ride. Parking the dinghy is an issue. You can't use the dinghy dock at Garrison Bight if you're not renting a ball. There's a secret hiding spot in the mangroves for the retail area and if you go to the old seaport area, dinghy parking is $8/day at Key West Bight marina.

• WG Editor Comment:
  

  Name corrected.

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Review for Garrison Bight Mooring Field

Reviewed by: Hubert Hopkins, Aurora, on Jan 1, 2022
Vessel Type: Power
LOA: 42'
Draft: 4.0'

Be aware that if the mooring field is full, there may be mooring bouys that are "owned" by monthly or annual customers and not available to transients. We arrived on New Years Eve and called into the marina to ask about balls that were open. We were told to take one if it was empty. We tied off to one that had a small orange ball attached. When we went in to register, we were told that belonged to a permanent renter and we had to move to an anchorage. It was a huge inconvenience. Also, the CITY Marina at Garrison bight would not give us a dingy dock gate pass for the night for use after we anchored. Looking later, there is a "second" dingy dock at the Garrison Bight Marina (not to be confused with the city marina). We didn't see that so can't comment. The downtown public dingy dock at the Key West Bight Marina (also run by the city) was available but of course no way to pay for a dingy permit after closing. The signage around that downtown dingy dock is very confusing but we figured it out and tied off. Bottom line is be careful using the mooring field and ask a lot of questions. Anchoring outside the field was fine, just know there is a long dingy ride into the downtown marina. Don't expect the City Marina at Garrison Bight to do you any favors.

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Review for Garrison Bight Mooring Field

Reviewed by: Anonymous on Dec 31, 2021
Vessel Type: Sail
LOA: 40'
Draft: 3.8'

Definitely a scary experience. 4-6 foot swells in the mooring field during a north wind. We saw two vessels break mooring from the sea floor and another vessel drift into the mooring field during the night. You will get wet going to shore unless it is a calm day. Then the bugs eat you alive. No wifi at all. Showers are not bad, stainless like a jail though. Off shore powerboats and sportfishing boats cutting through with rooster tails behind them. You get what you pay for. The view is nice though.

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Review for Garrison Bight Mooring Field

Reviewed by: Len Barton on Jun 10, 2021
Vessel Type: Sail
LOA: 41'
Draft: 5.0'

The only thing I might add to other reviews is that it's a long dinghy ride to shore.
Some squalls and heavy wind came in from the west. But passed through quickly.

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Review for Garrison Bight Mooring Field

Reviewed by: Paul Smyers, SV Nova, on Apr 20, 2020
Vessel Type: Sail
LOA: 43'
Draft: 4.0'

We were here for February and March. On north wind days the waves get pretty bad and the boats get bounced around pretty hard.

The jet skis and fishing boats tend to keep their distance but occasionally someone cuts through the middle of the mooring field.

The dinghy docks are moderate distance, and it's rare you won't get sea spray on your dinghy trips.

The facilities at the Key West City Marina dinghy dock were not clean the few times I used them.

The tourist section of Key West is easily walk-able from the dinghy docks. There is also parking as part of the KWCM.

There are grocery stores and a West Marine within walking distance of the dinghy dock, though the grocery stores are probably closer to bicycle range. There are very nice sidewalks.

Cellular coverage was good for ATT, TMOB, and VZW. There is no free wifi out there.

Even though they check the moorings regularly, on a particularly calm night our neighbor's mooring failed at the anchor end and they drifted into us at about 0.25kt. There was a bit of commotion and they were able to drop their anchor.

The pumpout boat was irregular. They only make trips on calm days, which is understandable, but they seem to just meander through the mooring field. We were told it's not necessary to contact them for pumpout, but the only time they came to our boat was when I spotted them and waved them down.

Overall it wasn't a bad experience, but I have to think there are vastly superior places to keep a boat in Key West, that are also inexpensive.

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Review for Garrison Bight Mooring Field

Reviewed by: Elizabeth Kelch on Mar 1, 2017
Vessel Type: Power
LOA: 42'
Draft: 4.0'

We?ve been all over the gulf side of Key West for a week and wish we'd found this spot a week ago. The east side of Fleming Key is definitely the place to be. It has significantly less traffic causing wakes and, although we?ve experienced wind all week, it?s been much less bumpy between Fleming Key and Sigsbee Island at this free mooring field. There?s a short dinghy ride under the Fleming Key Bridge and into the tourist area of Key West Bight if we want to go downtown. If you happen to have access to military facilities the dinghy dock at the Sigsbee Island Marina is a very short walk from showers at the campground and groceries at the commissary.
A piece of information that needs much more broadly advertised is that there is a free pump out boat service for the entire keys http://www.po-keys.com/index.html
Read more about our experiences all up and down the ICW at http://elizabethkelch.com/travelogue

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