Hi!

Bert wrote:
I'm guessing that we'd have to stick to
the gulf coast or the Florida keys to find places where it's real beach
weather in the dead of winter

Forget the gulf coast. The water is in the 50s or 60s in January.
You might be lucky to have 70s in February, or not.

But you will have 70s water all the time in Ft. Lauderdale, Miami, and
the keys.

HTH

Gunter in Orlando
(who used to live in Naples on the gulf coast)