Marinas in Georgia?

[lancs]

Hi - I am not familiar with the east coast of the U.S.A. from a boating point of view.
Can anyone recommend a marina in Georgia (or points north) where I could store a boat during hurricane season? On the hard would be preferable under these circumstances, wouldn't it?
Or could you direct me to where I should ask these questions?
Googling is not doing me much good.

thanks so much
liz

[Vasco]

liz,

Good dry storage is getting harder and harder to find in GA. If it's wet Brunswick Landing in Brunswick is a good marina. Also there's a good marina in St. Marys (name escapes me right now). If it's dry storage try NC if it's not too far for you to go. Jarret Bay north of Beaufort on the ICW is a good spot. I went through this exercise a month ago. Very frustrating. Good luck.

[lancs]

Thanks Rick.
You've given me some good starting points.
This is all new to me, and I don't know the east coast at all, in a boating context.

liz
~living just north of you, in Caledon

[Vasco]

It all depends on where the boat is now and how far you want to go or how much time you've got to move it. I used to bring mine home every year but the trip home got to be a drag. Going south was ok but coming north in the spring it just got colder and colder. For the last few years I've kept "Breathless" in FL. Once in Jacksonville and once in Palm Coast, both times in the water. This year I thought I'd feel better on the hard and was on my way to Jarret Bay. I got to Fernandina Beach (border of FL/GA) and decided not to go any further. After a lot of phoning around I managed to find a yard in St. Augustine so I turned around and hauled there. Most of the yards now have all sorts of restrictions, so when you find one make sure you ask a lot of questions.

[lancs]

At the moment the boat is in Key Largo, but we need to move it out of state. So far, the nearest place we *may* be able to find is in Savannah.
How long do you think it would take to motor her up there?

thanks,
liz

[exposure]

There is a small yard in Saint Marys, GA. I have hauled my Prout there to do some work. My 16' beam just squeeked into the lift. It is a very small mom and pop operation with nothing fancy and few services nearby. It was perfect for me as they are friendly and have few if any restrictions on doing your own work. They did seem to have several boats there that were long term. It's not pretty, but may work for you. They have a small website at...

www.stmarysboatservices.com

They also have a rail system for pulling out the big boats, but don't have a way to move them from the lift for storage. It seems to mostly be used for shrimp boat maintenance.

Woody

[lancs]

Thanks Woody,
I googled for St. Marys earlier, but came up blank.
They would certainly be closer - we'll give them a call

liz

[Vasco]

Woody I tried that yard a month ago, they didn't have room for dry storage. liz, you might try them again 912-674-5802. Also you might try Tiger Point in Fernandina Beach 904-277-2720 again they didn't have room for me but if one of their regulars didn't turn up they might have space now.

liz, how long it takes to get to Savannah depends on a few factors, inside or out, height of mast and your speed. It's about 500 miles from Key Largo (all these distances are from memory because all my stuff is on the boat) to the FL/GA border. If your mast is over 55 ft and under 63' or so (officially 65 but some bridges are lower) you have to go outside at least to Ft. Lauderdale (mile about 1040). If you want to take it a bit easy I'd go outside to Ft. Pierce (mile about 960) stop for a bit and then go outside again to Fernandina Beach (mile about 710). You can catch the stream and make pretty good time. If you want to break this leg up there's a few spots you can duck in. From Fernandina it's about a 12 hour sail to Savannah. I would definitely go outside from Fern Beach to Savannah and skip Georgia. If you want to do it all in the ICW this time of the year you can count on motoring for at least 12 hours a day, it'll be very hot.

I ended up at St. Augustine marine, a very nice yard (mile about 777). I know they have room for dry storage. The mileage is in statute miles. Norfolk is 0 and Miami about 1070. Just read the out of state bit, looks like Savannah. There may be some facilities in Charleston which is only 24 hours from Fernandina but from what I've seen there it's fairly pricey. There are a few yards in SC around Hilton Head, you might try there.

[lancs]

Thanks Rick and Woody,

I'm a newish sailor, so I'm not sure about going outside, though it would certainly be a lot faster.
How far off the coast of FL. does the Gulf Stream lie?

St. Marys has given us a couple of leads, it looks as though with all the help from you both something might work out :-)

thanks again
liz

[capt lar]

Hey Rick - Any insurance issues with storing down in the "zone" this year ? My current Boat US policy excludes hurricane damage from the Carolinas all the way around to Louisiana.

Larry

[Vasco]

Hi Larry,

The present policy I have for Breathless has no restrictions. The one I had for La Belle Aurore, changed in 2002 so that I could not go south of Cape Henry ( Norfolk) before Nov 1 and I had to be back north of C. Henry by June 1. Prior to this there was no restriction. Many of my friends have run into problems this year. Many that store in FL are no longer covered for "named storms". Many policies now will not cover you south of C.Henry during hurricane season. Since last year insurance has become a real problem. If my policy changes I guess I'll have to make the trek up to the Chesapeake. Also the deductible for "named storms" is pretty big.

[Sunspot Baby]

The old Palmer Johnson Marina at Thunderbolt can haul big stuff and might be able to leave you in the yard for the season. There is a list of Georgia Marinas at http://www.marinamate.com/m-se-ga.html.

If you are looking as far north as North Carolina (someone mentioned Jarrett Bay) there is another yard just a few miles further up the ICW, Bock Marine. It is not as upscale as Jarrett Bay, but cheaper and easy to deal with. The haul my 18' 5" beam cat for me each year.

Sunspot Baby

[lancs]

Hi Sunspot,

We tried Thunderbolt. They were very nice, but say they are not
equipped to store cats on the hard.
They said they have had lots of requests, so are thinking of trying
to accomodate multihulls in the future.

liz

[Sunspot Baby]

Thanks Liz. Now I know.

George