Daytona Beach or St Augustine? Searching for New home port...

[randygva]

Looking for advice to identify our new home port ... Daytona Beach or St Augustine, Fl. Will retire next spring and will move our Bristol 41.1 (4.5’ draft) south from the Chesapeake. Expecting to cruise north in summer and south in winter for a few months at a time. Daytona is “protected” but nearly 9 miles south in the ICW to the Ponce inlet (weather dependent too). It’s also approx 35 min from new residence. St Augustine is 45 min drive, perhaps 5 mile to inlet. Any recommendations pro or con? Any marinas you’d recommend as good ( or stay away) ? Thx much.

[Helia 44]

Three years there.....

Daytona, Daytona, Daytona.... No opening bridges. You can get stuck in St. Augustine in the inter coastal as in any Hurricane or National Emergency the bridges are locked down if you are up in the river area... Daytona has a high fixed bridge until you get past Halifax Harbor Marina about 10 miles down the Intercoastal. I think the infrastructure is far better in Daytona as well.

Also I went back to both in March and Daytona and Daytona Beach Shores specifically was still quiet, where St. Augustine was a madhouse of Tourists and traffic everywhere...

My 2 cents worth.

[redsky49]

Still one opening bridge left in Daytona, and I believe it is the Main Street Bridge. Work is underway on a new high-rise bridge, so a year from now, the last opening bridge may be gone.

[jeffandlori]

St Augustine is a way better town to spend time in, even with the traffic. Daytona is not much better traffic wise, but is just kind of......meh. Ponce is pretty sketchy compared to St Augustine inlet, although it's true that the Lions bridge is a PITA. If you can, spend some time in both places and see what you like before making a long term commitment.

[deblen]

Port Canaveral,Titusville

[Jimbo2010]

In Port Canaveral for last three months, it is not for sailing.
Going to Tampa in fact tomorrow.

You have go thru the locks which is closed on Sat 11-2?????

Then another bridge, over an hour to get to ocean.


So you can go out and go in circles for a few hours and back thru.

Titusville has a wait list of several years.

Halifax is a great marina run by the city, limited places to go.

I gave up on east coast.

[Hudson Force]

I would choose Daytona over St. Augustine, but neither has the best of inlets.

Fernandina, Jacksonville, Port Canaveral, Stuart, Fort Pierce and on south, all have better inlets. Some of the best opportunities have a day trip to an excellent all-weather inlet. It might be wise to consider how often you'll be heading offshore.

If you want excellent options for space for inshore day sailing without heading offshore and still having a good inlet, I think the St. Johns River and Biscayne Bay are the only choices.

[CSY Man]

I live smack in the middle between Daytona and St. Augustine, small town called Palm Coast.
Don’t have a sailboat anymore, bridges not a factor, neither is ocean access, but not a bad place to live, like a suburb without the big city,
Plenty residential canals here where one can buy a house with a dock for the sailboat, or just rent a dock. Also 2 marinas with available dockage.

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by CSY Man

I live smack in the middle between Daytona and St. Augustine, small town called Palm Coast...

When did you leave Ft. Lauderdale?

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by Jimbo2010

. . .

I gave up on east coast.

You should go further North. Like way further! Life begins after Boston.

[Kettlewell]

Originally Posted by Jimbo2010 View Post
. . .

I gave up on east coast.

You should go further North. Like way further! Life begins after Boston.

I think he meant the east coast of Florida for sailing. IMHO you won't find much sailing that is enjoyable on the east coast of Florida, either in Daytona Beach or St. Augustine though occasionally you can have a good sailing run up or down the ICW in areas where you don't have opening bridges. Mostly the sailing is done from Florida to other places offshore, like heading north or maybe across to the Bahamas. That said, I would prefer St. Augustine just because it is a more interesting town to hang out in, plus they have mooring fields as an option to a dockspace. The inlet is doable with local knowledge and good weather. But, if you're based in Ormond Beach I'd choose whatever marina is nice and reasonably close to home, since neither place wins out for sailing purposes.

[gonesail]

daytona will be warmer in the winter and i have heard good things about it. st. augustine is a busy but pretty city .. with things to do and nice marina at camachee cove. the inlet at st. augustine can be questionable. come on down and check it out.