Friendliest marinas in Florida?

[Rakuflames]

Originally Posted by IrishWake30

Thank you! As an afterthought, I should add that I am a single female. I'm glad you mentioned that. I'm currently in a marina that is 90% fishing vessels, and the fishermen here have no qualms about their dislike for sailboats and/or females on their dock. I'm hoping to find a place where people are respectful of others, more mature in behavior, and have enough manners to treat a woman as a woman, or at least have enough respect to realize that not everyone who owns a boat speaks using the f-bomb at least three times in every sentence.

I know of a marina here (not live-aboard) where the shrimpers (fortunately not many of them) don't like any sailboats no matter whose they are, so I'm not really too surprised to hear this.

I'm sure they vary, just like any other group of people does.

[Rakuflames]

Originally Posted by mellowseas

I like hidden harbor, st augustine, fl. Very live aboard friendly, reasonable, nice group of people including 2 or 3 single live aboard women. I also like St. Augustine.

St. Augustine if a beautiful little city and I like it much better than Jacksonville, where I lived for 8 years. Only thing I would say about St. Augustine is that it's far enough north that you will have some fairly cold mornings and even days. Cold fronts that don't make it down the entire state will till nail Jacksonville and St. Augustine. I've only been in two ice storms, but one of them was Jacksonville. Don't know if the ice extended down to St. Augustine but it had to be pretty cold there if it was 27 in Jacksonville during the day. so have a plan for keeping safely warm.

[IrishWake30]

Originally Posted by The Way

I can second Palm Coast Marina. Liveaboards are very social and helpful. Most have been there a long time, but accepting of newcomers.

Fair winds,
The Way

Thank you!

[IrishWake30]

Originally Posted by Rakuflames

St. Augustine if a beautiful little city and I like it much better than Jacksonville, where I lived for 8 years. Only thing I would say about St. Augustine is that it's far enough north that you will have some fairly cold mornings and even days. Cold fronts that don't make it down the entire state will till nail Jacksonville and St. Augustine. I've only been in two ice storms, but one of them was Jacksonville. Don't know if the ice extended down to St. Augustine but it had to be pretty cold there if it was 27 in Jacksonville during the day. so have a plan for keeping safely warm.

This is good to know. It gets below freezing here every winter and occasionally snows. Not much, but enough to make things icy on the dock. I'm ready for warmth. For me, that would be anything above 45 in the winter.

[Rakuflames]

Originally Posted by zeehag

i found friending with the sports fishermen actually let a little testosterone out of the bag as it were and they react a lil better when they have someone who is not a snotty yotty ragbagger blowboat typical..yada yada yada--bring them beer and they friend right up and you may even get a fishie out of it...

just sayin.


dang i miss the splat of a fishie in the morning......



and if my draft isnt to deep for regatta pointe i would yes go back there.... especially if my sailmonster friends recommended it again.

Once again I'm going to urge caution about Regatta Pointe. The OP can email me if she wants, because there are things I won't say in public.

[OnTour]

Originally Posted by The Way

I can second Palm Coast Marina. Liveaboards are very social and helpful. Most have been there a long time, but accepting of newcomers.

Fair winds,
The Way

Where do you sail from Palm Coast....it's so far from any inlet. Can you sail in the narrow ICW there ?

[tamicatana]

Sunset Bay Marina and Anchorage in Stuart was about the friendliest, nicest place I stayed when I traversed the ICW from Virginia to the Gulf

[FSMike]

Originally Posted by OnTour

Where do you sail from Palm Coast....it's so far from any inlet. Can you sail in the narrow ICW there ?

Not really. You would have to have a wind direction suitable for a reach and even then the trees would ruin most of it. You would have to go to St. Augustine or Daytona to get outside.

[FSMike]

Originally Posted by Rakuflames

---
Cold fronts that don't make it down the entire state will till nail Jacksonville and St. Augustine. I've only been in two ice storms, but one of them was Jacksonville. Don't know if the ice extended down to St. Augustine but it had to be pretty cold there if it was 27 in Jacksonville during the day. ---

LOL. That was probably the same year that there was so much ice on the Bridge of Lions that the city in its wisdom dumped sand on it. The sand got stuck in the gears rendering the bridge inoperable. Truly a fubar experience.
If you want to know what the winter weather will be in that area keep an eye on the Tallahassee weather. Whatever they are having will usually be in St. A or Jax in 1-3 days.

[FSMike]

Originally Posted by zeehag

dang i miss the splat of a fishie in the morning......

Zee, you have the soul of a poet.

[gonesail]

for nice winter weather try telemar bay marina at indian harbour beach on the banana river. very quiet area with nice facilities and shopping is nearby. nearest inlet is port canaveral 20 miles to the north. get there in january and buy fresh oranges.

[neptunesjester]

I've been living aboard in Pensacola for 13 yrs. The downtown marinas are right in the heart of everything. My now ex wife and current girlfriend both felt/feel safe on the streets/docks by themselves.

There are DIY yards in the area that let you live aboard while on the hard.

And to top it off, the National Sea Shore is your backyard/playground with countless anchorages, no anchoring ordinances, and the FWC leaves you alone.

Later,
NJ

[OnTour]

Originally Posted by FSMike

Not really. You would have to have a wind direction suitable for a reach and even then the trees would ruin most of it. You would have to go to St. Augustine or Daytona to get outside.

That's what I thought...this might be a good place if you never planned on leaving the marina. New Smyrna Beach is a good location if you can find a slip.

[Rakuflames]

Originally Posted by FSMike

LOL. That was probably the same year that there was so much ice on the Bridge of Lions that the city in its wisdom dumped sand on it. The sand got stuck in the gears rendering the bridge inoperable. Truly a fubar experience.
If you want to know what the winter weather will be in that area keep an eye on the Tallahassee weather. Whatever they are having will usually be in St. A or Jax in 1-3 days.

This would have been sometime in the early sixties. I'm pretty sure I was still in high school (because in college I could have gone to stay at the dorm and probably have had heat), so the latest it could have been was winter of 62-64.

There was only one main bridge over the St. Johns River at the time, and its center was metal grate to let the water run off, so of course it was the first to ice up, and it was rush hour, and hardly anyone knew how to drive on ice because Jacksonville wasn't full of transplanted Yankees, at least not then.

My dad was trapped at work and we had no heat for 3 days. We all cuddled up in the small den under as many blankets as we could find.

That was the worst I saw of winter weather in Jacksonville, but I'm sure the cold went as far as St. Augustine, just so the OP knows ... we had real winter clothes for winter in Jacksonville.

By comparison, when we lived in Ft. Lauderdale, if it went to 40 or below during the night they just called off school, because the kids didn't have warm clothing and the schools had no heat.

It only happened once in the four winters we lived there.

We have very few real cold snaps here in the St. Pete area but I do have a small heater I turn occasionally, and there have been days (gasp!) that were too cold for shorts!

[The Way]

Originally Posted by OnTour

Where do you sail from Palm Coast....it's so far from any inlet. Can you sail in the narrow ICW there ?

I wasn't sailing from there, it was just a repair stop while going down the ICW (water-pump self-destructed). But I enjoyed my time there and felt at home, despite the engine problem. I agree it's probably too narrow to sail there.

Fair winds,
The Way