Reviews: Lorelei-Morada Bay

Anchorage for Lorelei's, World Wide Sportsman, Morada Bay and Islamorada Fish Company. There is also a West Marine very close by. This is a large anchorage with plenty of room for lots of boats. The depth is 7 - 9ft throughout. The area is called Big Basin and free pump out is available through the county (https://www.monroecounty-fl.gov/442/Vessel-Pump-Out-Services). FreeBee is also available in the area. Unless you draw less than 4ft you can't get into Little Basin in front of World Wide Sportsman. If you are larger and have dinghy there are a couple of channels that you can use to access Little Basin. Watch out for high speed flat boats as they transit through here at 30mph+. Fabulous sunset views from both basins. World Wide Sportsman has fuel and a large selection of fishing gear. Islamorada Fish Company is next door and has very good food right out over the water. They have a small lagoon and you can feed the Tarpon, see Manatees and Nurse Sharks. Lorelei's is a Keys standby and has good food, sunset views and live entertainment. Access to shore can be achieved a few different ways. There is a small boat ramp at the end of Blackwood Drive (called Blackwood Road Boat Ramp in some places). It is gravel and there is no dock but many locals use it. We were warned to lock up our valuables. We were also warned to lock up our boat when we were ashore. There is also a small sandy beach at Library Park. Lorelei's has a dinghy dock but according to the signs you can only use it if you're eating there. We were told by the waitress that nobody watches the dock but we didn't want to abuse the privilege. Islamorada has a larger dock and it seemed more likely that we could have left the dinghy there for a few hours without anyone getting upset. We used the boat ramp when we wanted to go shopping but we did eat at Lorelei's and Islamorada Fish Company and used their dinghy docks. We also discovered that it's only about a 30mn dinghy ride to get to the famous Islamorada Sand Bar on the Atlantic side. It's worth checking out on a nice day.

DISCLAIMER: The laws and regulations governing anchoring in Florida waters are complex and everchanging. If you plan to anchor, whether overnight or for an extended period, you should confirm whether you are in compliance with local and state requirements before committing to a location. Two sources of information that may be helpful are the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the Florida State Statutes.