Boca Grande

Being referred to as a big mouth is usually not a good thing, but the early Spanish navigators exploring Florida’s Gulf Coast meant no derision when they named a wide, deep inlet “Boca Grande.” Labeled on our nautical charts today exactly as it was on the Spaniards’ 500 years ago, Boca Grande Pass, which separates the southern end of Gasparilla Island from the northern end of Cayo Costa, is one of Florida’s deepest natural inlets.

Entering from the Gulf of Mexico, the inlet opens into Charlotte Harbor, with Gasparilla Sound to the