What I did learn is that there are some areas to be aware of that are either dangerous or require caution that I did not expect.  When entering Alligator Creek from the harbor you proceed ahead until you see the day-marker 23 which is Green over Red (photo is below).  You make a left heading into Buckleys Pass at this day marker.  Coming from Charlotte Harbor and making this turn is not terribly difficult but you have boats on full plane at any speed passing to your starboard without consideration to you slowing to idle speed to make the turn.  Of course, you can and will likely receive quite a wave off starboard with potential to hit a piling on the turn if boats are running past you.

The biggest concern I discovered on the way out is that your idle out of Punta Gorda Isles from Buckley’s Pass brings you to the same day-marker 23.  At this point you are idling cautiously because you may have a stream of boats passing in front of you as you make the right turn at Marker 23 to enter the Alligator Creek with the harbor straight ahead.  Joyce and I were relaxed and enjoying the ride out of Punta Gorda Isles but just as we made the turn at 23 two boats running at maybe 35 miles per hour blew right pass us and on top of us!  The waves were sudden and unexpected and we nearly got thrown out of our 24’ center console!  I grabbed a picture of the boats as I hung on and you can see the wave as it was settling down (picture below).  Unreal!  This situation is dangerous and quite ridiculous….please read on.

The boats that passed me are accountable for their wake and the results thereof and were disrespectful for sure.  But they were entitled to be on plane at that intersection because only 500 yards further up the creek is the off plane marker!  Why has the county not moved the off-plane marker 100 yards before the entrance to Buckley’s Pass?  Such an easy fix.  Please be careful folks!

Ok, so there is one other location that requires a good bit of caution.  Once you have gone through the pass or “cut” which is pretty easy even with two boats passing at the same time you will quickly come to a very tight neckdown point where there is a boat lift sticking way out into the channel from the right and the other side is a mangrove shoreline.  Two big boats could stand a chance of collision so one boat would have to give-way to the other.  Two smaller vessels will probably be ok but again exercise extreme caution.  This area of caution will be easy to recognize.

I will share depth soundings and boat ride times along with pictures as a permanent section on my website for Buckley’s Pass expected to be complete about May 20.  The pass was being used very heavily on the Friday I did my research.  Of course, it was perfect weather, sunny with low humidity and bright sun but it was easy to navigate even with heavy usage.

The post Buckley’s Pass Is Dangerous!  Proceed with caution! appeared first on Sailboat Home Listings.

Starting from north to south, the top of the map shows a number of canal systems that exit into the Peace River.  The arrow that is marked on the far right is indicating Bass Inlet which passes by Fisherman’s Village.  On some maps its hard to tell there is really a canal exit there but it is an important one for sure serving lots of homes.  To the left at the top are many canals exiting into the Peace River.  These primarily exit from the “old sailboat section” or “original sailboat section” that many sailors prefer because of the super short ride to open water and deep water mooring for their vessels.

The primary exit into the harbor is via Ponce Inlet or Ponce de Leon Inlet as marked with an arrow.  For boat ride times from many locations within PGI you can click on a box at the top of my website to see exact times from different streets that will help you understand this important aspect of buying a home.

Now, to the immediate south of Ponce Inlet there is a clearly visual channel which takes you from the “rim canal” to the open waters of the harbor south of Ponce Inlet.  This channel IS NOT AN EXIT!  It has confused many people over the years.  This canal is known as the “barge canal” that moved dredge material in and out during the construction of the canal systems.  When the canal systems were complete they blocked both ends of the canals to navigation.  It makes no sense that they abandoned a navigable water way but that is what happened.

More recently, as of April 2020 Buckley’s Pass was created at the southern end of Punta Gorda Isles which created a passage way from the “bird section” and other areas of Punta Gorda Isles.  A smart move by the city to shorten boat ride times.  This pass enters into Alligator Creek.  The intention is to keep this exit and the tributary of Alligator Creek at 6 feet mean low water so that sailing vessels and other deep water craft can navigate safely without bumping bottom.

The last point I want to make is that many people fear getting lost in the canal systems.  When I moved here we did not have chart plotters that make it easy to follow your trail back home.  Without that luxury you still should have no worries.  If you get turned around ask a neighbor out on the dock where you are at.  Of course, a cell phone will show you a map and your location as well.  Either way, after a few tries from your dock you will smile about your fear of finding your way out…..I did! 🙂

The post Sailboat – Powerboat Access To and From Punta Gorda Isles: Where Are The Exits? appeared first on Sailboat Home Listings.

I have said in the past that it will be questionable as to whether this will increase property values and demand.   Prior local speculation is that vacant land prices would have sky rocketed by now as soon as the pass construction was approved and that there would be very little buildable lots left to choose from.  However, I don’t see this happening.  In the past 6 months there has been 9 waterfront lots sold with most well under $200,000.  That’s not a lot of money for a sea-walled lot in a top neighborhood.  There are about 34 lots on the market as of this writing.  Sailors and power boaters, this may be a great opportunity at this time since prices are still muted if you have an interest in building a new home!  I certainly can’t predict the future but based on land sales the real estate buying public has not reacted to the completion date of Buckley’s Pass.

The city of Punta Gorda would likely be thinking that this was a good project because it will increase property values and thus increase their tax revenue.  We will see how this pans out.  Property owners have been forecasted to pay about $1000 per lot towards the cost of the project which seems quite fair to me regardless of whether they get a boost in property value or not.

The big piece is that everyone in the Bird Section (all streets named after birds) will have a shorter boat ride time out to open water and shorter is always better.  If you examine a little closer you will see that about 50% of the homeowners do not have boats parked behind their house so this aspect may not be of any benefit to the non-boaters for which there are plenty.

Lastly, I have not heard talk of the need for channel maintenance and dredging after completion of Buckley’s Pass to keep the water depth to a consistent 6 feet mean low water.  For sure, this will need to be monitored closely because a huge amount of water will be flowing through this “cut” especially on the outgoing tide when the myriad of canals drain with the outgoing tide.

The post Buckley’s Pass Update February 1, 2020.  What Is Happening To PGI Property Values and Demand on Vacant Waterfront Land? appeared first on Sailboat Home Listings.

With that said, I never had a strong opinion as to how the creation of Buckley’s Pass, making a shorter boat ride into the harbor would affect property values.  With that said, it is implied I was not convinced it would, so I decided to look at current market trends as presented below.

Home Comparison

The metric I chose for comparison to the Bird Section’s currently long boat ride to open water was in contrast to the old (or original) sailboat section.  The old sailboat section in PGI has the closest access to the harbor, with deep water.  Most travel times to the harbor are 10 minutes or less for the old sailboat section.  Most travel times from the bird section to the harbor are 40 minutes or less with some much longer at over an hour at the north end of the bird section.

Looking at the 2018 home sales statistics from the MLS database, I chose to consider sales that involved only 3+ bedroom homes with a pool, which constitute the largest number of homes in either location.  Here are the stats:

Bird Section:  48 sales (as of December 1, 2018) at a median sales price of $520,000

Old Sailboat Section:  40 sales (as of December 1, 2018) at a median sales price of $465,500

So, the median sales price was significantly higher in the bird section and the total number of sales was higher.  The people that live in the bird section bought their home knowing that they might have a long boat ride out.  Obviously, they would not have bought if they didn’t like the house and location and most of these homes were not new construction.

You can read into this what you want but does this make you think property values will go up once Buckley’s Pass has been created?  There is a lot more vacant land in the bird section than the old sailboat section.  If shortening the boat ride times in the bird section occurs will this affect the lot values in the old sailboat section since they won’t be the only location in town with really short boat ride times?

The post Sales Comparison Bird Section to Old Sailboat Section in PGI: Will Buckley’s Pass Increase Property Values? appeared first on Sailboat Home Listings.

The estimated cost is 2.5 million which will be paid for through a special assessment to be appropriated through 2,622 home owners that apparently will benefit from this new channel.  The purpose of this channel is to connect the Bird Section of Punta Gorda Isles to Alligator Creek and shorten the boat ride time to open water significantly.  See the map below for where the channel will be cut.

Previously, in my research there was mention of environmental factions that had the project under review and required approval but I have not heard any mention of issues with this.  The city has printed time lines for every step so it appears there are no expected hurdles.  The engineering firm Hans Wilson started on this back in 2015 and was recently contracted for the final engineering phase.

With all of this said, it looks to be almost a certainty that this project will go through!  Boaters will definitely be happier with shorter boat ride times out to the harbor!

If you are a property owner in Punta Gorda Isles and particularly in the Bird Section, I have done a statistical analysis of sales there compared to the fastest section out to open waters.  You can email me and I will share with you my findings on current sales information.  You will likely be surprised.  The City of Punta Gorda I expect in time will see fit to increase taxes in the Bird Section because the property should be worth more once the project is complete.  Time will tell how much more, if any property values will increase.  At the moment watefront lot sales in the Bird Section are experiencing no signifiant increase in sales price and sales have remained flat for over 2 years.

The post BUCKLEY’S PASS aka Bird Section Cut-Thru DECEMBER 2018 UPDATE and MAP appeared first on Sailboat Home Listings.

This Blog is a reprint from a few months back but was a bit hard to find in my Blog section.  As such I have reprinted here and this and all future Blogs regarding this topic will be found under Buckley’s Pass.

The project that has been underway for 3 years to add a waterway exit from the Punta Gorda Isles (PGI) “Bird Section” to Alligator Creek has taken on many names over the start of the project.  Call it “PGI Bird Cut-Through”, “Alligator Creek Bypass”, “Additional Harbor Access Project” or “Bird Key Cut” has now had a name change!

It is now called: “The Buckley’s Pass Project” or “Buckley’s Pass” and it looks like this navigational short cut will actually happen!  First, the new name is to honor the late Capt. John Buckley who was instrumental in making this come to fruition.

Based on my research, the City of Punta Gorda cut a deal with land owner Robert “Buckey” McQueen and the land purchase was approved on August 22, 2018.  This parcel is a land mass that separates a navigable portion of the bird section canal system to the waters of Alligator Creek.  This 4.24 acre parcel is being purchased for $440,000 and the city will create a channel through it that is 1,446 feet long and 60 feet wide.  This connection to Alligator Creek will shorten the boat ride from all homes in the locally named “Bird Section” of Punta Gorda Isles and my guess is it will cut the boat ride time in nearly ½ from the ride it takes to go out (for many homes) to the existing Ponce de Leon channel to the north and west.  This location also places the mariner several miles to the south on the harbor and of course, closer to the Gulf of Mexico.  With that said there are a lot of advantages to use this short cut.  One of key factors that has been missing in the mention of this bird cut through is WATER DEPTH!  They talk width and length but not depth!  Of course, to a serious boater like myself this would be one of the first points to be highlighted but I anticipate a minimum of 6 feet mean low water (MLW).  Anything less would prohibit many large sailing craft and deeper draft power boats from using it.  Add to that I believe it was no coincidence that Charlotte County decided to DREDGE Alligator Creek earlier this year to a new DEEPER water depth that was prescribed to be dredged to 6 feet MLW.  With these depths, they match the city’s prescribed maintenance depth of 6 feet MLW at Ponce de Leon channel.

For those not familiar with the “Bird Section” of PGI, this area got its name because all of the streets are named after birds.  Whether it is a shore bird or upland game bird you will find an interesting mix of names.  This section of Punta Gorda Isles is the newest section within this Punta Gorda neighborhood with most homes being built in the late 80’s to current and with that it has a newer appearance with the absence of homes built in the 60’s and 70’s that can be found in other parts of PGI.

Other important issues that have been met with this project are:

Army Corp of Engineers approved the cut through on August 7, 2018 (Permit NO. SAJ-2016-02715 (SP-KRD).  This was a big hurdle to overcome.

One approval that was previously reported was necessary was the NATIONAL MARINE FISHERIES.  I have not heard mention of this and wonder if this is still an outlying issue.

One other point on this project that I have contemplated is that the channel they are cutting is only 60 feet wide.  Granted this should be fine for most vessels that pass in the channel, but more would be better.

The big deal is that it looks like the Bird Section cut through is actually going to happen!  Exactly when no one has reported as the City of Punta Gorda is now figuring out how to assess the property owners in a fair manor to cover the cost of the project estimated at approximately $2 million to complete.  Also, the date of the actual land purchase has not been determined either.  Of course, once completed I would expect the city hopes to assess bird section taxes at a higher millage rate since they will have a shorter boat ride time out.

For sailors and power craft this area of Punta Gorda Isles will become more attractive if a shorter boat ride is important to you.  It remains to be seen if Buckley’s Pass increases property values.

The post PGI Bird Section Cut Through, Harbor Access Project, Buckley’s Pass UPDATE! appeared first on Sailboat Home Listings.