Marina in Jacksonville, FL Area

[scuba0_1]

http://www.coj.net/departments/parks...formation.aspx

I kept my boat they're longer at times but he was empty and got permission.. I also stayed 4 to 5 days at the landing

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[BandB]

Originally Posted by tomeclipse

Any ideas on a marina in the Jacksonville, FL area? I am sailing north and want to go into the ICW at Jacksonville. My boat draft is 7 ft and I am looking for a marina where I can spend 3-7 days waiting for crew to fly in.
The boat will be unattended for about 8 hours while I go to the airport.

In 1999 I went to Ortega River Boatyard but had a problem with the shallow water so I don't want to try that again. I have looked at Active Captain but the reviews for Arlington Marina and Seafarers Marina are not good. Most of the marinas can't handle my 7 ft draft.

Any ideas would be appreciated.

Tom
s/v Eclipse

The issue is how deep in Jacksonville must you be. What kind of transportation will you have. At one time Jacksonville was one of the largest cities in the country in square miles. There are some deep draft boats that go up the St. Johns into town but they have local knowledge and experience. Easiest from a boating standpoint is stay near the entrance, such as Morningstar Mayport or Ft. George Island Marina. Short of Ortega but not without some potential issues you find Metropolitan Park by the Gator Bowl which is great up to 72 hours. Even if you go all the way to Ortega you're likely to need a car. So, I'd make it easy on myself, stay near the entrance to St. Johns and get a car.

And a trivia question. What small town with a marina deep in the St. John's is "home" to more boaters than any other around? Green Cove Springs, the home of St. Brendan's.

[rwidman]

Originally Posted by scuba0_1

COJ.net - Marina Information

I kept my boat they're longer at times but he was empty and got permission.. I also stayed 4 to 5 days at the landing

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Here's an exerpt from my trip log regarding Jacksonville Landing:

Captain’s Log, day 24 (May 24, 2012)
First, an update on last evening. When we
came back from lunch yesterday, we noticed a
man, probably in his early twenties who
appeared to be practicing yoga on the concrete
gazebo that juts out behind where we had the
boat tied. This didn’t seem out of the ordinary
as other people were power walking and
jogging along the river front. He was sitting and
standing in various positions and seemed to be
chanting. He was still doing this when we left
the boat for dinner three hours later.
We returned from dinner and he was still there,
but had now progressed to pacing back and
forth around the gazebo loudly preaching to no
one in particular about black power, black on
black crime, and the dangers of marijuana and
other drugs. He didn’t leave until after 10:00
PM and it had begun to rain.
After dinner, we climbed to the fly bridge of
HIGH COTTON with our drinks to sit and enjoy
the evening. A pair of females, probably twenty
years old, wearing the most impossibly short
skirts and high platform heels walked down the
ramp to the dock and beside our boat. They
asked if we were taking the boat out on the
river. The one in the matching iridescent pink
skirt and heels said it was her birthday and she
had never been on a boat before.
We told her we were docked for the night and
wouldn’t be cruising the river and suggested
that she ride the water taxi. They left, walked
to the gazebo, and joined two young males who
had apparently been with them. Jacksonville
Landing is an interesting place at night!

I wouldn't want to leave a boat unattended for very long and certainly not after dark.

[dohenyboy]

yes Fort George is by the mouth of the St. John's river and there is no draft issue. Nearby is the Sandollar Marina. But they are way out of the way.. also there is a marina across the river, but I do not know its name.
You say you want to go north on the ICW. I suppose that means you will go under the Sisters Creek Lift Bridge and there is no need to go upstream that far from Fort George. The St. Johns has a lot of funny currents in it and you will save time staying at Fort George or Sandollar. Yes you will have to rent a car and drive to get victuals but you probably want to rent one anyway to go to the airport.

[fjwiley1]

Morningstar Marina is on the South side of the St. Johns River at Mayport. SandDollar is across the river on the North side but 2 weeks ago no boats were in the docks area as I don't think they have been repaired.

My post # 8 is current information as to Metro Park. In addition, I read the comments on Arlington Marina's web site. The "negative response" refers to a employee no longer employed there. I would call for rates and fuel prices as they have been lowered considerable.

JAX airport is 16 miles away. If you decide to stay there you can private message me and I would gladly give you a ride to the airport. I live next door to Arlington Marina.




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[Sea7King]

I would second Fernandina Muni Marina. Inlet is as easy as Mayport and less traffic. The depths are fine and it's a shorter distance to motor from inlet than downtown Jax with less current, half the time.
Good security, nice people, closer to JAX airport and great restaurants and bars 3 blocks away.

[Miniyot]

Originally Posted by AlwaysFORSAIL

Jacksonville Beach Marina was quite good. Nice people and easy to deal with. Good bar and restaurant.

Good to hear you had a good experience with beach marine.
I had a boat there at one time and they were not the nicest people to deal with.
The boat I boughr was allreadythere, and I decided to keep it there as it was close to home. I paid my slip fee on time every month, but the moment I had a theft from my boat and wanted to use their phone to call the police to file a report on this issue the marina (owners wife ) was very rude to me.
I had heard other stories about them and thought that maybe it was a personality issue between the marina and the people I knew, but when it happened to me? Well, to make a long story short, I will never rent a slip from them again. I have dealt with both the husband and wife several years later where I used to work. They both still had bad attitudes.

Maybe they have changed...I don't know, and I don't want to find out.

[rwidman]

Originally Posted by Sea7King

I would second Fernandina Muni Marina. Inlet is as easy as Mayport and less traffic. The depths are fine and it's a shorter distance to motor from inlet than downtown Jax with less current, half the time.
Good security, nice people, closer to JAX airport and great restaurants and bars 3 blocks away.

Fernandina Beach Marina is a good suggestion if you don't want/have to actually be in Jacksonville and are heading up the ICW. Renting a car to go to the airport wont be much different either.

On the other hand, the time we spent in Jacksonville was pretty interesting.