Fernandina Beach Harbor in Florida

[Captain Smollett]

Wanted to give a brief review of the marina at Fernandina Beach, Florida on Amelia Island as well as the general "feel" of this community.

The marina and mooring field are located on the Amelia River (ICW) just south of St Marys Inlet.  The town and marina may be easily overlooked, but both are well worth a stop.  The local people in this town are very friendly.

Prices and such are "current" as of this writing.

Moorings are $20 per night, and include dinghy dock access and access to shore facilities at the marina.

Slip fees depend on dock.  Our fee ended up being roughly $1 / ft per night for a week, and there apparently was no minimum.  We were on Dock 4, which is $1.25 per ft per night or $6.50 per ft per week.

There is a Cafe / Gift Shop on the property, as well as a bait shop.  Both get a lot of traffic, and there are quite a few dock walkers (at least on weekends).  The marina is a block from the 'happening' downtown shopping and tourist district, so it is also a popular spot.  Also nearby is a dog park, or at least a green space that is used a lot by dog owners.

One of the big draws for us on our recent trip was the fact that there's a public boat ramp at the marina.  The ramp itself is also the parking lot for the bait shop (which is continuously busy when open, and 'free parking' for downtown folks when not), so one does have to contend with the issue of getting into and out of the ramp with boat/trailer.

The "locals" seem to understand...and make way for boats backing in.  The tourists?  Not so much.  I had a guy pushing a baby carriage (with baby on board) walk directly behind my trailer while I was backing down to retrieve my boat; he seemed oblivious that he was 2 ft behind a backing boat trailer.  The rest of his party and another then proceeded to walk in front of my tow vehicle, so I could neither go forward or backward else hit pedestrians.

All in all, it was a minor inconvenience, but the stark "rude quotient" difference between the local people and the tourists was glaring.

One of the docks at the ramp float, but it's gangway is fixed.  The other is fixed.  This matters with the 8+ ft tide. 

One note on the boat ramp, though.  To get from ramp to parking lot, there are low wires.  The ramp has posted "20 Minute" limit, so one has to plan rigging.  For launching, I got all preps done in the parking lot, raised the mast at the ramp, and finished rigging (boom, etc) actually in the slip.  For retrieval, I completely de-rigged in the slip, including mast down.  Small boats are cool in that they allow this option.

The ramp is usable (I saw it used, anyway) at low tide.  Inside the marina, the Dock 4 and 5 Connector was aground at low Spring tide (-2 ft from charted depth!).  If you get a slip here, be sure to inform them of your draft so you can get a slip that keeps water.

There is plenty of parking around the marina if you tow here.  One of the big draws to us was the availability of trailer parking, leaving the trailer unattended.  The Police patrol the parking lot and cite trailers left alone (no tow vehicle), but if you have a slip in the marina, you get a permit to park the trailer.  The main parking lot for tow vehicles and trailers are day use only, but with our permit, we left the trailer there a week with no hassle and no citation.

One block from the Marina up Ash Street, is The Boat House.  This is an old style boat shop, and the guys that run it are way cool.  If you have time, go chat with the owner; he used to live aboard an Alberg designed boat and is a big time Alberg fan.  His shop had several parts I needed in rebuilding my fuel line, and he helped me track down parts he did not have available.

Visits to his shop were such that my wife started not letting me go in there...some of the 'boat talk' went on a little long.  :)

He also gave me good "local knowledge" on where to eat to avoid the 'tourist trap' places; the traps he said avoid were mostly in the downtown district.  He gave several recommendations, and we settled on Barbara Jean's for our one meal out.  The dinner lived up to the recommendation, and the prices were reasonable, under $50 for the four of us.

The island has plenty of bike paths, so if you get around on shore via bicycle, Amelia Island is amenable.  Fort Clinch State Park would be a short bike ride from the marina.

Ash Street, which ends at the marina / ramp, has an interesting bit of history.  One of the first things we noticed when turning onto Ash Street is the large tree in the middle of the road.  It turns out that the town wanted to cut that tree down to make the road, but a lady protected it  by shotgun.  She was a bit of a mover in the town at that time, so she had some clout, and her effort paid off.  The tree stands today, the better part of a century later.

I would like to reiterate the positive experience with the local folks.  One dude at Ace Hardware overheard my question to the clerk, followed us into the parking lot and told us some ideas where to find what we were looking for.  From to the girl at the fudge shop, the guys at The Boat House, the guy at NAPA that refused to let me pay for a foot of fuel line while he talked outboards and the marina staff itself, this shy, largely introverted, agoraphobic loner can say it was a very pleasant experience and well worth the (slight) effort of cutting through the top layer of "tourist veneer" a lot of these towns paint on their surface.

In summary, this is the type of community I personally enjoy visiting - a strong local boating culture and extremely friendly folks around.  I can overlook the 'tourist' veneer where necessary and I am getting better at cutting through it to the 'real' community underneath.

I posted this in hopes that Fernandina Beach remains on the "stop for a visit and stay a little while" radar of SailFar cruisers...the type of place we should, in my opinion, be supporting with our 'travel dollars.'

Marina Web Site:

http://www.fhmarina.com/

[Wade]

I echo Captain Smollett's critique of Fernandina Beach, a wonderful stop on the ICW.  Wade

[s/v Faith]

I have stopped in there several times in the last few years.  Was lucky enough to make the "Shrimp Festival" last year....   If you can, well worth a stop!

[CharlieJ]

I have stopped in there several times in the last few years.  Was lucky enough to make the "Shrimp Festival" last year....   If you can, well worth a stop!

Used to drive up from Jax to the Shrimp Festival every year, and once  took my tri up and anchored off Tiger island.

Years ago they used to match race shrimp boats, like drag races. Quite a sight. That stopped when fuel went sky high.

[Captain Smollett]

Years ago they used to match race shrimp boats, like drag races. Quite a sight.

Now I'll just bet that was a hoot!  I can only imagine a pair of trawlers bow-n-bow digging deep for the finish line.

To repeat what I said above: good 'water heritage' there.

[Jim_ME]

Years ago they used to match race shrimp boats, like drag races. Quite a sight. That stopped when fuel went sky high.

We have similar events here...the Lobster boat Races...
http://www.pressherald.com/2013/08/18/lobster-boats-rock-in-harbor-races_2013-08-19/

[Bonzai]

Thanks for the good info Cap. Heading that way prolly by Aug 5th from St Simons.

[w00dy]

Looks like we just missed you. We're here right now! Great place so far.