Jacksonville Marinas for a Cat?

[ExchangeGeek]

The 70'+ mast on our Leopard 44 seems to really limit where we can stay. The maps show plenty of nice Marinas just past the Acosta and Warren Miller bridges but as far as I can tell, they are fixed bridges and too low.

Anyone have experience with Marinas in Jacksonville that can dock a Leopard 44? If not, I may just keep heading down to St Augustine.

Many thanks!

-Steve

[tmccaffery]

You can't get into Lamb's with that mast height, the Roosevelt Blvd Bridge has 30-something feet clearance. Try the Marina at Ortega Landing, that is where we keep our Leopard 40, or Ortega River Marina.


Camachee Cove at St. Augustine is a nice marina but they have a waiting list for cats, and with 70' mast height you won't be able to get under the bridge to get in there no matter what the tide is. So, you will have to look at the marinas on the San Sebastian River and plan on going through the Bridge of Lions whenever you come or go.

[ExchangeGeek]

Right! I looked it up and the book says my mast height is 69' and the Warren Miller bridge is documented to be 75'. Low tides reportedly increase that clearance by about 6 inches. I'll have 6' to spare if you trust all the measurements. It would be terrible to motor that far down the river just to find out my boat sits higher or the bridge sits lower than what the books say. I have no experience with this however so I defer to people smarter than I!

[a64pilot]

St Augustine is too unprotected for me for Summer, Ortega Landing checks a lot of boxes for us.

[ExchangeGeek]

I was wondering about St Augustine as well. I haven't called Conch House or River's Edge yet but the satellite photos suggest an aggressive tide and you're super close to the Atlantic!

[wathey]

Hi, Just a quick comment about St Augustine. I have had more than one bad experience at the Conch House. It is one of my favorite places to visit and will definitely dinghy or Uber over there but have had some issues with the marina services. We endured a bent prop shaft on a 32' fishing boat that they assured us was in a deep water slip, was reading almost 8' when we left the boat so the time is extreme in parts of the marina. Another boat was slightly damaged by an overserved patron on exit. This can happen anywhere but their response was a bit telling of how much they cared about the event or the boats at their docks.

[ExchangeGeek]

Thank you for the message! We looked a little closer at Ortega in JAX and we found we should be 5'-6' below the bridge and so we think we can get there. The Leopard 44 should be around 68'11" tall and the Acosta and Warren Fuller are reading 75'. I thought it was closer than that but a 6' difference should be manageable we think.

[a64pilot]

If you want Ortega, better get a reservation ahead of time, depending on time of year it fills up.
Not sure about Cat slips, I assume they may be even more limited, but don’t know.
It’s not an inexpensive Marina, but during Summer it’s a great place to be, in Winter though when all the people show up for their Winter home, it gets crowded, and they are not “Cruisers”
However the location makes it great, it’s in a good neighborhood with many things close by.

[ExchangeGeek]

Thanks a64Pilot! I booked a spot for a month as we need to do some repairs plus I need to make some electrical additions since its an EU wired boat in a 110V world at present! They had one spot left for a Cat so I think we're in good shape for now!

[Packman]

I see you are all set for now but an alternative for others to consider is the newly reopened Fernandina Harbor Marina which does not have slips but instead has 45 foot side tie dockage and easy access to the Atlantic. And it is right in the center of the beautiful historic island town.

[Row Bear]

I have used the St Augustine Marine Center. It is primarily a boat yard butthey are adding new facilities. You may wanf to check them out. You stillhave to exit via the Bridge of Lions. St Augustine has a great atmosphere.