Moving boat from Stuart to Jacksonville

[Donna]

You mean the Marina at Hammock Beach Resort!

Much more expensive if all you want is an overnight tie.

Just took three boats to PCM before the shut down. They have plenty of room.

Really? They just told someone on my block ( land home) that they don’t have any space. I have been by there and they looked pretty full. Maybe not? Who knows.

 

[Comodave]

True. And a roll of TP, if I can find one. [emoji51]

We have quite a bit, stop by and I will give you a roll...

 

[High Wire]

If you can time so you have incoming tide - northbound (I don't have my log here to be 100%) at Daytona Beach that you can ride almost all the way to St Augustine. Otherwise you will be fighting 1-2 knots the whole day.


Anchorages we have used on this stretch, all on Active Captain:
Jensen Beach
Melbourne Causeway South
Titusville Mooring field
Daytona Beach (Memorial Bridge South)
St Augustine MF

 

[Woodland Hills]

The local knowledge for the Ortega River is to line up your boat with the red and white striped radio tower on the Ortega side and the southernmost of the three radio towers on the west side of the St John’s. This will keep you in the deepest water. The bottom is very thick soft mud and is very forgiving: I draw just over 5’ and I always leave a brown wake just before I turn left towards the bridge. at low tide. At high tide we slip right through, once you turn towards the bridge it’s gets deeper and stays that way from there to past the railroad bridge and Huckins. Call the bridge master as you come around the corner and you probably won’t have to even slow down: he is very accommodating.

The entrance to the St Johns from the ICW has been dredged in the last year or so and is deep and well marked. When we came through a couple of months ago I never saw less than 12’, just follow the markers.

 

[O C Diver]

Should I time going through Pablo Creek on an outgoing tide?

If you look at a chart, you will see that the two inlets that effect that stretch are St. Augustine and Jacksonville. In a perfect world you want to catch the incoming tide going North of St. Augustine. Somewhere on Roscoe Blvd (you will see 1 or 2 signs for it ) the current switches to Pablo Creek. So timing it right, you get pulled to the St. Johns. Reaching the intersection at low tide you then fight the current till it switches going up the St. Johns. Piece of cake!

Ted

 

[cardude01]

If you look at a chart, you will see that the two inlets that effect that stretch are St. Augustine and Jacksonville. In a perfect world you want to catch the incoming tide going North of St. Augustine. Somewhere on Roscoe Blvd (you will see 1 or 2 signs for it ) the current switches to Pablo Creek. So timing it right, you get pulled to the St. Johns. Reaching the intersection at low tide you then fight the current till it switches going up the St. Johns. Piece of cake!



Ted

Oh yeah! Seems super simple! [emoji30]

 

[menzies]

Really? They just told someone on my block ( land home) that they don’t have any space. I have been by there and they looked pretty full. Maybe not? Who knows.

They keep the whole front dock for transients and have just put in new fast fuel pumps that run the length of the dock. Ten minute walk to the restaurants at European Village. Could be the slips are all rented out.

 

[menzies]

If the weather suits don't be concerned about exiting St Augustine and back in at Mayport. Contrary to some reports St Augustine Inlet is safe to transit. I think many people get concerned about the big breakers to the north and south of the inlet but keep between the markers and it is an easy in/out. We use it regularly.

BTW if you transit through Mayport and don't want to continue on to Ortega there is a quality free dock at Sister's Creek, lust a quarter mile up the ICW from the river. If it is full just motor over to the east side of the channel opposite the slipways and anchor there. It is a slow speed zone and many boats overnight at either the dock or anchorage.

 

[AZ2Loop]

We are in the middle of that run right now, Cardude. From Stuart we anchored at mm982 at the Melbourne Causeway Bridge. Due to wind direction, we chose the south side of the bridge, east side of the waterway. Lots of room in there, but as I recall some cable areas to avoid -- still lots of room. There are some grassy spots, though, so might have to set the anchor more than once to avoid it.



Notes from other anchorages we made as we worked north:
Eau Gallie Bridge, about 4 miles farther north at mm914 looked like it would be good, and the land on the east side around the bridge looked to offer more protection than the one above. I would choose it, I think, over where we stopped.



A little farther north, the southeast and southwest sides of the Pineda Causeway bride looked very good.



At mm885, south side of the NASA Causeway Bridge, the southwest side looked very good for anchoring for a night. Lots of room.



Mosquito Lagoon was a windy, choppy, mess when we came through it. I do not think that is normal. We just caught it on a bad day. Very windy, right on the bow, though, so we had a comfortable ride. It would have been a horrible place to anchor due to the conditions, though. Some friends anchored there a while back and loved it, but I'm not sure where they dropped the hook. For our trip, I was just glad to be through it. Nasty winds that day.



At New Smyrna Beach, we just dropped anchor on the east side of the ICW in Callilisa Creek, just south of the bridge. Several boats in there and good holding, and had a very calm night. There is a free dock just north of the bridge if you can time it right. We just anchored.


North of New Smyrna Beach, Cook Creek Anchorage looked good if you are not going into town.



Rockhouse Creek also looked like a good anchor option as mentioned above.



At mm781 there is a spot called "South of R18" and it looked to be a good option for anchoring for a night.



We are now in St. Augustine at the municipal marina and love the location.


Jacksonville will be next for us. If we see promising things between here and there that are not mentioned by others, I'll chime back in.



Enjoy your journey, Cardude.

 

[menzies]

AZ2Loop how long are you staying in the Small Drinking Town With a Fishing Problem?

 

[cardude01]

We are in the middle of that run right now, Cardude. From Stuart we anchored at mm982 at the Melbourne Causeway Bridge. Due to wind direction, we chose the south side of the bridge, east side of the waterway. Lots of room in there, but as I recall some cable areas to avoid -- still lots of room. There are some grassy spots, though, so might have to set the anchor more than once to avoid it.



Notes from other anchorages we made as we worked north:
Eau Gallie Bridge, about 4 miles farther north at mm914 looked like it would be good, and the land on the east side around the bridge looked to offer more protection than the one above. I would choose it, I think, over where we stopped.



A little farther north, the southeast and southwest sides of the Pineda Causeway bride looked very good.



At mm885, south side of the NASA Causeway Bridge, the southwest side looked very good for anchoring for a night. Lots of room.



Mosquito Lagoon was a windy, choppy, mess when we came through it. I do not think that is normal. We just caught it on a bad day. Very windy, right on the bow, though, so we had a comfortable ride. It would have been a horrible place to anchor due to the conditions, though. Some friends anchored there a while back and loved it, but I'm not sure where they dropped the hook. For our trip, I was just glad to be through it. Nasty winds that day.



At New Smyrna Beach, we just dropped anchor on the east side of the ICW in Callilisa Creek, just south of the bridge. Several boats in there and good holding, and had a very calm night. There is a free dock just north of the bridge if you can time it right. We just anchored.


North of New Smyrna Beach, Cook Creek Anchorage looked good if you are not going into town.



Rockhouse Creek also looked like a good anchor option as mentioned above.



At mm781 there is a spot called "South of R18" and it looked to be a good option for anchoring for a night.



We are now in St. Augustine at the municipal marina and love the location.


Jacksonville will be next for us. If we see promising things between here and there that are not mentioned by others, I'll chime back in.



Enjoy your journey, Cardude.

Thanks so much for the info! Safe travels.

 

[menzies]

Just for everyone else reading this thread - the NE Florida region is a wonderful place to cruise and visit and really not that difficult to navigate.

Come see us!

 

[AZ2Loop]

AZ2Loop how long are you staying in the Small Drinking Town With a Fishing Problem?

Not sure. We are literally trying to figure out what is next on the agenda as I type this. We have thoroughly enjoyed our time here in St. Augustine so far. I could be talked into staying here a while pretty easily. At the same time, Jacksonville and maybe more of the St. John is calling and we look forward to that as well.

If I had to guess, we will be in Jacksonville in 2 or 3 days from now. Honestly, though, we do not know yet where we will stay in Jacksonville, marina vs anchoring, or some combination. We are unsure how long to stay in Jacksonville. Nor to do we know if we will venture down the St. John from Jacksonville or head north and save the St. John for another trip when we (hopefully) come back this way. We have a lot to figure out yet! In fact I need to review the recent threads on you trip(s) into GA recently.

I think I'll start another thread on Jacksonville/St Johns/Cruising up through GA in just a few minutes; and I most certainly welcome your input since you know the area so well. I thought there already was such a thread, in fact I may have even started it sometime back, but I cannot find it.

 

[Larry M]

Rockhouse Creek also looked like a good anchor option as mentioned above.

We are now in St. Augustine at the municipal marina and love the location.


Jacksonville will be next for us. If we see promising things between here and there that are not mentioned by others, I'll chime back in.

Enjoy your journey, Cardude.

We’re in Rockhouse Creek right now. It’s right off the ICW. You don’t have to go in very far. If the winds blowing hard out of the NE you can get a little side ways in the current on an outgoing tide but still one of our favorites and the holdings very good.

Tomorrow we head to St Augustine for 3 days on a mooring. A great town but even for the night, a mooring is hard to beat. You don’t need to go to shore and they take reservations over the phone.

There is a north and south mooring field with the Bridge of Lions in between. The bridge opens on the hour and half hour but does not open at 8am, 12 noon and 5 pm during the week. Something to think about when planning your arrival or departure.

After that, it’s a straight shot to Ortega Landing Marina for Hobo.

See you there Bill!

 

[psneeld]

In St Augustine...I have heard several reports of dont use the anchorage north of the Bridge of Lions in a NE blow...very rocky.

Even not in a NE blow, last time I was in that anchorage, I was in the row closest to the seawall and it was rocky from reflected wakes. So bad getting in and out of the dingy was difficult for some.

 

[PM]

You need to be a bit more flexible. Your Day1, Day 2, Day 3 plan looks great until you run into bad weather, etc. Allow a couple extra days.

Doing 40 to 50 miles a day sounds real doable on paper but gets pretty tiring while actually doing it. You might find that you need a day off to just rest and relax.

Also, take a few masks. Probably the N95 would be best but any mask, even home made will probably do. My guess is that you will have interaction with people somewhere along the route, like it or not. It might not be something big like a dinged prop or other mechanical breakdown but even something tiny like "Dang, I forgot my phone charger" that could send you to a Walmart.

pete

 

[cardude01]

You need to be a bit more flexible. Your Day1, Day 2, Day 3 plan looks great until you run into bad weather, etc. Allow a couple extra days.

Doing 40 to 50 miles a day sounds real doable on paper but gets pretty tiring while actually doing it. You might find that you need a day off to just rest and relax.

Also, take a few masks. Probably the N95 would be best but any mask, even home made will probably do. My guess is that you will have interaction with people somewhere along the route, like it or not. It might not be something big like a dinged prop or other mechanical breakdown but even something tiny like "Dang, I forgot my phone charger" that could send you to a Walmart.

pete

Yeah I agree. We have two N95 masks I had for mowing the lawn during allergy season. Plus some masks my wife has been making. We also have a few small bottles of hand sanitizer.

We are not on a schedule at all, and I totally agree that the 50-60 miles per day might need to be adjusted.

Yeah any kind of grounding or mechanical breakdown that requires outside help will really blow a hole in my “social distancing on the water plan”, so I need to be extra careful.

I’ve decided to ditch the rental car idea from TX to Fl and back and will just take my car. I don’t want to worry for 18 hours each way if the rental car I’m driving is infected. We will still have to rent a car from Jax to get back to Stuart, but that’s only 3.5 hours vs 36 hours in a rental car. Maybe I’ll get a convertible and let the wind circulate.

I told you I was paranoid!
I think my recent stay in the hospital scarred me a little bit. ?

 

[Blissboat]

Can add little to all the great advice above. You're in for a nice trip, Dude. Safe travels. I have friends at Ortega Landing, so will hope to see Bijou and crew while they are in JAX.

 

[cardude01]

Can add little to all the great advice above. You're in for a nice trip, Dude. Safe travels. I have friends at Ortega Landing, so will hope to see Bijou and crew while they are in JAX.

Sounds good! Hope to meet up with you!

 

[Larry M]

... I have friends at Ortega Landing, so will hope to see Bijou and crew while they are in JAX.

Alan: We’ll be in OLM this Friday for a couple weeks before we head north for the summer (via land). I owe you a tour of Hobo, please stop by so we can at least say hi (with proper social distancing of course).

Hobo and Bijou will be on the same dock.

 

[BandB]

You mean the Marina at Hammock Beach Resort!

Much more expensive if all you want is an overnight tie.

Just took three boats to PCM before the shut down. They have plenty of room.

Wifey B: But far better and some of the people who have boats there are sooooooooooooooooooooo wonderful.

 

[menzies]

Wifey B: But far better and some of the people who have boats there are sooooooooooooooooooooo wonderful.

Oh pleassssssse!

 

[BandB]

Oh pluessssssse!

Wifey B: Just saying, beautiful lady with beautiful daughters.....and so nice.

 

[Stickman]

FWIW, we went in and out of there in late March. if you wait until close to Gr3 before heading toward the tip of Ortega island and the river, then had plenty of water ( we draw 5 ft). Once I got off the tip of the island , I picked the course with the least crab traps.

 

[Blissboat]

Alan: We’ll be in OLM this Friday for a couple weeks before we head north for the summer (via land). I owe you a tour of Hobo, please stop by so we can at least say hi (with proper social distancing of course).

Hobo and Bijou will be on the same dock.

That will be great, Larry - will PM to arrange.

 

[Larry M]

That will be great, Larry - will PM to arrange.

 

[PMF1984]

Agree with Menzies about staging at Sisters Creek. Best to have a favorable current up the St. John’s.

 

[AZ2Loop]

Went through the ICW-St John's intersection three times this week. You will be fine if you honor the marks. They do slalom to the west near the sea wall then back out. Just go between the reds and greens.

Just came through there today. That is a perfect description. Cardude, it would be pretty easy to end up too far off the seawall and it does get shallow if you do that. The ICW reds and greens are nicely positioned and marked, so let them take you over to the seawall as described by Menzies. Enjoy your trip.

 

[cardude01]

Underway this AM around 8. Fiddled around for an hour trying to get my autopilot compass set right. Had to “swing the compass” for about 30 minutes and finally got it.

Motorsailing! Wind blowing 14-16. I’m too lazy to let out the main. Lol. Seems like the jib added about .25-.50 knot.

 

[menzies]

Underway this AM around 8. Fiddled around for an hour trying to get my autopilot compass set right. Had to “swing the compass” for about 30 minutes and finally got it.

Motorsailing! Wind blowing 14-16. I’m too lazy to let out the main. Lol. Seems like the jib added about .25-.50 knot.
View attachment 102542

Do you have AIS?