Winter marina SE US

[laurentct]

Looking for a nice marina to eventually enjoy sailing my Hunter 45DS next winter ( Oct to May ). Any recommendations south of Charleston and not further south than Jacksonville ? I am in contact with Brunswick landing marina but very open to suggestions.

[MicHughV]

Only two marina's I know off along the ICW in J'ville, are Beach Marine and Palm Cove Marina across the way. Check 'em out.
Fernandina City Marina to the north is another one.
There are two small marina's at the mouth of the St. Johns River in J'ville, but not sure of the names.
Next marina to the south is Comanche Cove in St. Augustine.
I think those are your choices.

[Kettlewell]

Looking for a nice marina to eventually enjoy sailing my Hunter 45DS next winter ( Oct to May ).

There's not a lot of good "sailing" between Charleston and Florida, unless you head offshore. The water is generally too narrow and shallow. Maybe Calibogue Sound near Hilton Head offers the best pure sailing experience, but it is a small area. I lived in Beaufort, SC, for several years and we didn't do much sailing while there, though you can do some challenging and interesting runs up or down the ICW depending on the wind direction. Also, the weather can be quite cool, or downright cold, north of about the middle of Florida.

[MicHughV]

I disagree......plenty of good ocean sailing all along the coast offshore.....if you were at any of the marina's I suggested, a daysail will get you to Fernandina or St. Augustine, spend the night, sail back the next day or you can just bop around the ocean for the day...or come back the next day via the ICW.
An overnighter can get you to further, depending on if you headed north or south.

Sailing the ICW is for the birds....you'd be hard pressed to get any sail up...ICW is for motoring...
I've sailed that area offshore for years....summers can be hot and balmy, but usually a seabreeze in the afternoon. Winter sailing, iffy at best, due to all the fronts that come sweeping thru'.
Fernandina and J'ville have wide ship channels, St. Augustine has a marked dredged channel.
Several local sailboat races go from J'ville to Fernandina or St. Aug if that's your thing.

[Kettlewell]

I disagree......plenty of good ocean sailing all along the coast offshore

We don't disagree! ICW is tough sailing, but can be fun if you like challenges, you have a handy boat, and you're not afraid of touching the bottom. The thing I was thinking is you don't have the type of sailing where you can leave your marina, sail to a nice spot for an afternoon or overnight anchorage, then return home. In other words, it's not like sailing the Chesapeake or New England where you have numerous choices of where to sail to from your home marina, almost no matter what direction the wind is coming from. Someone once counted around 100 anchorages within a day sail of Annapolis, and that might be low!

[MicHughV]

True,
I've sailed the eastern seaboard of the US from Florida to Maine, including the Chesapeake. The Chesapeake was wonderful. Countless places to go and see, loved it there and those Chesapeake crabs were outstanding.
Maine was also exceptional, if you can put up with the lobster traps.
Florida has the advantage of being a hop, skip and jump away from the Bahamas and with a bit more effort, the rest of the Caribbean.
I did the ICW once from Florida to the Chesapeake, and swore on a stack of bibles, I'd never do it again. I've also done the ICW south to Miami, etc, another trip I swore I'll never do again. If you think I don't like the ICW, you'd be right.

[Kettlewell]

Back to the question of best marina to keep a boat between Charleston and Jacksonville, I would highly recommend the Hilton Head/Beaufort area of South Carolina. Lots of marinas to choose from, some fun sailing opportunities, very nice places to visit ashore, friendly people, great food, reasonable costs, fun. But, like I noted previously, it can be cold in the winter. For example, right now it is 46 degrees in Beaufort, and some nights will be down in the 30s this week. Some friends visited us one February and were camping near the beach until it started to snow and they moved in with us. Of course you also get some days up in the 70s, but they do have a real winter in that area.

One thing not mentioned is to check out the current property tax situation in the Carolinas. When we lived in Beaufort the annual property tax on our boat was quite hefty.

[Hudson Force]

There's plenty of open, minimal current inland sailing, as well as marinas, between Jacksonville and Green Cove Springs on the St. Johns River and another good distance south to Palatka for those that can clear a 45' fixed bridge. 'Green Cove Marina, Holland Marine, "Fruit Cove Marina" (I think the name is Holiday Harbor) and a few more in the Ortega River closer to Jacksonville.

[MicHughV]

Many, many years ago, I did a " what the heck" trip up the St. Johns River. One could easily spend a week or more piddling around there. There are several marina's in downtown J'ville on the river to boot and you can anchor most anywhere for the evening.
You can sail year round on the St. Johns as you are not likely to see any weather that might stop you from a a few hours of sailing.
Good thought.

[flightlead404]

Originally Posted by Kettlewell

There's not a lot of good "sailing" between Charleston and Florida, unless you head offshore. The water is generally too narrow and shallow. Maybe Calibogue Sound near Hilton Head offers the best pure sailing experience, but it is a small area. I lived in Beaufort, SC, for several years and we didn't do much sailing while there, though you can do some challenging and interesting runs up or down the ICW depending on the wind direction. Also, the weather can be quite cool, or downright cold, north of about the middle of Florida.

Calibogue and port royal sound and the areas around make for nice day sailing and there's plenty of little islands and creeks to anchor in (at least with my 5' draft) for nights at anchor. Some places you feel like you're a million miles away. Skull Creek is ok price wise, easy in and out, but high current at the peak. Not much to do ashore there. Shelter cove is the opposite, bunch of restaurants, pricer, pita to get in and out to any sailing area.

[MIRELOS]

I spent one winter at Brunswick Landing Marina, I highly recommend it; great crew, prices and walking distance to restaurants and stores.

[ranger58sb]

Originally Posted by laurentct

Looking for a nice marina to eventually enjoy sailing my Hunter 45DS next winter ( Oct to May ). Any recommendations south of Charleston and not further south than Jacksonville ? I am in contact with Brunswick landing marina but very open to suggestions.

Best ideas:
Morningstar's Golden Isle Marina on St. Simon's Island.
Fernandina Beach city marina.
Port 32 (nee Ortega Landing) in Jacksonville.
Camachee Cove in St. Augustine (not really all that far south of JAX).

I'd maybe include Charleston City Marina, Ashley Marina, or John's Island Marina -- all in Charleston -- if you haven't actually tried any of those and if Charleston isn't really too far north for your.

Other possibilities:
Thunderbolt Marina or Bahia Bleu in Thunderbolt.
Beaufort SC or Port Royal.
One of the several marinas in Hilton Head (this is the one where we haven't actually stayed).

-Chris

[bgallinger]

The very best marina you will find is Brunswick Landing Marina.

[MicHughV]

There is another marina in Fernandina...I don't know the name, but it's right next to the A1A bridge going into Fernandina..on the north side. Looks to be quite protected. Maybe a mile past the Fernandina City Marina...

[MicHughV]

I should also mention that there is a boatyard with travel lift and some dockage available on Egan's Creek as you come into Fernandina. You won't see it from the entrance as you need to go upstream a tad and I don't know the name.
Years ago, Topper Hermanson was building steel boats on that Creek.