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Old 04-10-2016, 06:52   #1
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Need Hurricane Hole Near Fernandina Beach/Jacksonville/St Johns River

We need a good place to hide out later this week. Any Suggestions?

Thanks in advance.
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Old 04-10-2016, 07:07   #2
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Re: Need Hurricane Hole Near Fernandina Beach/Jacksonville/St Johns River

Storm surge will be worse the close to tidal you are, and wind effect will be worse the closer to the ocean. Of course, this all depends on the storm track, so there is an element of gambling in all of this. For both these factors, up the St. John's river will be better. Have you checked out Doctor's Inlet or Green Cove Springs? You can easily make either of these locations from the mouth of the St. John's within a day.
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Old 04-10-2016, 09:57   #3
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Re: Need Hurricane Hole Near Fernandina Beach/Jacksonville/St Johns River

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Storm surge will be worse the close to tidal you are, and wind effect will be worse the closer to the ocean. ----- For both these factors, up the St. John's river will be better. Have you checked out Doctor's Inlet or Green Cove Springs? -----
Both Doctor's Lake and the Green Cove Springs area can have poor holding (very soft mud). Allow yourself plenty of time to find a good anchoring spot. I would want to go farther up river and preferably find good holding in a narrower section of the river. There are also some marinas farther up river.

There is a bridge at GCS with fixed clearance of about 45', I assume that is not a problem for your trawler.
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Old 04-10-2016, 14:52   #4
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Re: Need Hurricane Hole Near Fernandina Beach/Jacksonville/St Johns River

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We need a good place to hide out later this week. Any Suggestions?

Thanks in advance.
Reynolds Park Yacht Center still has some openings on pier 2. This is an old post-ww2 naval base with massive concrete piers. It is near Green Cove Springs, so well up the St. John's river. Doubt you'll find anything more secure up this end of Florida.
You can call them at 904-284-4667 but do it quick beforw they fill up. We've had several large vessels arrive in the last 3 days who are running from the storm.
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Old 10-10-2016, 06:37   #5
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Re: Need Hurricane Hole Near Fernandina Beach/Jacksonville/St Johns River

Hey Wayne, how did you fare with Matthew? Hope no damages and your back enjoying the water.
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Old 10-10-2016, 17:23   #6
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Re: Need Hurricane Hole Near Fernandina Beach/Jacksonville/St Johns River

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Hey Wayne, how did you fare with Matthew? Hope no damages and your back enjoying the water.
===

No damages, everything OK.

We headed south on the St John's River intending to go to Murphy's Creek but in the process of doing that noticed something called Black Creek a little north of Green Cove Springs. After checking it out on Active Captain, and double checking the clearance on the Rt 17 bridge, we decided to go in and take a look. We went up about 1/2 mile past the bridge, just below the first island. It looked like a great spot so we dropped our 90# Rocna and let out 150 ft of chain. The anchor set right away and held when we backed down on both engines. We then set a 65# Bruce at about a 60 degree angle to the north on 150 ft of 7/8ths nylon 3-strand.

The next day we got on the phone to see if we could get a car from Enterprise and got the last one available. We took the dinghy south to Knight's Marina by the bridge and Enterprise picked us up up within minutes. After signing the rental agreement, we went back to the boat, packed up some clothes, did everything we could to secure all the gear, topped off the generator with oil, left it running, and docked the dinghy at Knight's as securely as we could.

We then bailed out to the west coast for two days and went back Sunday morning not knowing what to expect. The inflatable was totally filled with water but the outboard and fuel tanks were OK. We bailed it out with a borrowed bucket and it started right up. Everything was good on our GB49; anchors held just fine; generator stayed running; fridges and freezer OK; batteries fully charged; no canvas damage. There were some downed trees on both sides of the creek but nothing that impacted us.

Thanks everyone for all of the timely advice. This is a great group filled with knowledgeable and helpful people.

Today we resumed our trip south and are currently anchored just off the ICW about 9 miles north of St Augustine.

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Old 10-10-2016, 18:09   #7
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Re: Need Hurricane Hole Near Fernandina Beach/Jacksonville/St Johns River

Be extremely cautious traveling further south. St. Augustine inlet likely is not per charts or markers.

Lots of debris in Matanzas River immediately south of you. New shoaling near Matanzas Inlet (north of Marineland), and areas south.

ATNs should be regarded with extreme suspicion as to accuracy of placement.

Hurricane damage increases further south in Jones and Flagler counties. Services are still not fully on line.

Substantial road damage along coast/ICW. Confirm any marinas you might require. Fuel shortages may still exist in some areas.

Verify operation of any lift bridge you might require to open. Some sustained damage and I am not current on repairs.

Be careful, and avoid leaving a wake in affected areas. Note that some flooding is still occurring. Water levels above normal.

Coast Guard recommending staying off the waterways. Use your best judgement.

Good luck!
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