The city of Venice, and the Venice inlet, pictured above, are located on the West Coast of Florida about 12 miles south of Sarasota and 27 miles northwest of Port Charlotte. The image above is a view from the west looking east over the Venice Inlet with the jettied entrance in the foreground amd Bird Island and the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway toward the background.

The Venice inlet is well-jettied and carries mid-line depths of at least seven feet all the way to the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway (GIWW) at Bird Island and flashing red “16.” To approach the inlet, set a course from the Gulf of Mexico to the are near waypoint 27 06.678N 82 28.370W. Once you have picked up the waypoint, set an approximate course of 75 degrees magnetic to intercept flashing green “1” and flashing red “2” at the north and south inlet jetties, respectively (visible in the image above).

Inside the inlet jetties past flashing green “1” and flashing red “2,” you will next pick up green daybeacon “3” and red daybeacon “4,” at which point you will continue farther east to intercept green daybeacons “5” and “7” before you meet up with the GIWW.

The Crows Nest Marina is located just inside the inlet to the right (south), while more facilities can be found back in Roberts Bay and farther north toward Casey Key.

Local Notices to Mariners are now exclusively available online from the U.S. Coast Guard.