MTOA is joining other boating organizations in requesting donations toward lobbying for boaters’ rights in Florida. See http://cruisersnet.net/162138 for more information on anti-anchoring regulations.
This report comes from the BoatUS Government Affairs site and was sent to us by regular contributor and experienced cruiser, Greg Allard. Numerous comments on the controversial program have been posted on SSECN and these can be found by typing anchoring or mooring in our Homepage search window.
This report from USTODAY is for all you “fish” out there – enjoy!
Underwater artwork delights Florida scuba divers
CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL REPORT
FWC celebrates 75 years of wildlife management area conservation success Read More
“Florida has one of the largest systems of public lands in the country at nearly 6 million acres, and these lands are the best of the best of what wild Florida has to offer,” said FWC Chairman Brian Yablonski. “These natural communities span a variety of habitats from longleaf pine uplands and pine flatwoods to the hardwood hammocks and sawgrass savannas of the Everglades. Not only are these areas beautiful, they are managed to provide habitat for many species of wildlife and access for people to enjoy hunting, fishing, wildlife viewing and more.”
Florida’s first WMA, Fred C. Babcock/Cecil M. Webb Wildlife Management Area, was established in late 1941 in Charlotte and Lee counties. By the 1960s, there were 28 WMAs. Today, the FWC is the lead manager or landowner of over 1.4 million acres, and works in partnership with other governmental or private landowners on another 4.5 million acres. These healthy habitats are essential to Florida wildlife – both common and imperiled species. The FWC uses its scientific expertise and a comprehensive ecological approach to manage a variety of wildlife while balancing public access to these wild lands.
WMAs provide many recreational opportunities including paddling, fishing, hiking, biking, horseback riding, photography, wildlife viewing, and target shooting at areas with a public shooting range. They also offer a wide range of hunting opportunities including special hunts for families and people with disabilities. Throughout 2017, the FWC will host a variety of events to celebrate Florida’s WMAs. Events include a statewide geocaching challenge, volunteer work days, a photo contest, guided hikes, fun opportunities to explore WMAs, and citizen science bioblitzes where members of the public help document wildlife species at WMAs.
To learn more about upcoming events or to find a WMA near you, visit MyFWC.com/WMA75. Share your visits to Florida WMAs on social media by using #WMAzing.
This 2017 Florida Boat Show Schedule comes from SSECN partner Marina Life Magazine.
CLICK HERE FOR THE LIST
And this list of shows from news-press.com
Upcoming boat shows
Charlotte County Boat Show
WHEN: Jan 12-15
10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
WHERE: Charlotte County Fairgrounds
COST: Free
INFO: Goboatingflorida.com
Progressive Insurance Miami International Boat Show
WHEN: Feb. 16-20 10 am – 6 pm every day
WHERE: Miami Marine Stadium Park & Basin, 3501 Rickenbacker Causeway
Miami
GETTING THERE:
Water Taxi: Water taxi pick-up and drop-off locations include American Airlines Arena, the Hyatt in downtown Miami, the W Hotel (formerly Viceroy) in downtown Miami on Brickell, and Bayfront Park (Strictly Sail location)
Shuttle Buses: There are four departure locations throughout downtown including Marlins Park, American Airlines Arena, the Hyatt in downtown Miami, and Bayfront Park (Strictly Sail location). An expanded shuttle service will also run between the Miami Boat Show and the Yachts Miami Beach show on Collins Avenue.
Parking: Abundant parking options with an estimated 10,000 parking spaces will again be available for show attendees in downtown Miami with easy access to water taxis and shuttle buses. Downtown lots include Marlins Park and American Airlines Arena. Reserve parking ahead of time at MiamiBoatShow.com.
COST:
Premier Day $40
Adult (age 16+) $25
Two-day pass (Friday–Monday, February 17–20) $45
Five-day pass $100
15 & younger FREE
INFO: www.miamiboatshow.com/
Yachts Miami Beach
Formerly known as the Yacht and Brokerage Show
WHEN:
FEB 16 – 20, 2O17
Thur-Sun 10am – 6pm
Mon. 10am – 5pm
WHERE: On the Indian Creek Waterway at Collins Avenue (S.R. A1A)
From 41st to 54th Streets
COST General Admission: $20
INFO: 954-764-7642 www.showmanagement.com/miami_boat_show_2017/event/
Bonita Bay Boat Show
WHEN:Feb 24,-26
Fri-Sat 10 a.m.-6 a.m., Sun 10 a.m. – 5 p.m., boat show party Saturday from 4-6 p.m.
WHERE: Bonita Bay Marina
COST: Free
INFO: 495-3222
Bonita Springs Boat Show
WHEN: Dates: March 2nd – 5th, 2017
10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
WHERE: Bonita Springs Dog Track, 10601 Bonita Beach Rd SE, Bonita Springs
COST: $8
INFO: Goboatingflorida.com
Palm Beach International Boat Show
WHEN: March 23 – 26, 2017
Thurs. Mar 23, 12 Noon – 7pm
Fri. Mar 24, 10am – 7pm
Sat. Mar 25, 10am – 7pm
Sun. Mar 26, 10am – 6pm
WHERE: Evernia St./Flagler Dr. (waterfront) and North Clematis St./Flagler Dr. (waterfront)
COST: Adults: $22
Children, ages 6-15: $12
Children under 6 Free
INFO: www.showmanagement.com/palm-beach-international-boat-show-2017/event/
Suncoast Boat Show of Downtown Sarasota
WHEN: Fri. Apr 15, 10am – 7pm
Sat. Apr 16, 10am – 7pm
Sun. Apr 17, 10am – 5pm.
WHERE: at Marina Jack’s Marina Plaza, Sarasota
COST: Show Admission: Adults: $13 at Box Office
Kids under 15 are free
INFO: http://www.showmanagement.com/suncoast_boat_show/event/ /
Fort Myers Boat Show
WHEN: Nov. 15-19 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
WHERE: Downtown Centennial Park and the Yacht Basin
COST: $10
INFO: Goboatingflorida.com
Aren’t boat shows fun! Like kids in a candy shop! Drool, drool!
Click Here for Flyer
This lake-like body of water makes for a great anchor down spot, in a region where there are few anchorages available. Lies on the Waterway’s westerly flank, north of the charted position of Bel Marra and Boca Raton. Our thanks to Austin Harrell for this report.
Anchored 12-23-2016 Wind E / ENE /ESE 10-15 mph Upon backing down on 35 lb CQR with 5/1 scope 3/8 chain anchor held until up to approximately 2,000 rpm. Then it would slowly drag. I added 10 lb cadenary weight same drag rate once rode was taut. We came to the conclusion that since the wind shouldn’t shift we would stay. Conclusion: anchorage is fine with a chain rode or weighted rode under light to moderate conditions. I wouldn’t stay here in anything over 15 mph winds or stay with forecast shifting winds. Otherwise it’s a fine fair weather anchorage.
Austin Harrell, Baba 30 Twilight
Click Here To Open A Chart View Window, Zoomed To the Location of Bel Marra Anchorage
As stated below, this Slow/No Wake Zone is east of the Main Street Bridge in downtown Jacksonville. No date for completion is given.
FLORIDA – ST JOHNS RIVER – TERMINAL CHANNEL: Slow/No Wake Zone, Precaution Area.
Superior Construction will be conducting demolition and construction operations on the wharf structures located approximately 1,500 feet east of the Main Street Bridge on the north side of the St. Johns River, near downtown Jacksonville’s old shipyards. Read MoreThe Captain of the Port Jacksonville requests all mariners transiting the river east of the Main Street Bridge and adjacent to the north bank docks of the old shipyards, to proceed with caution and transit at a minimum safe speed to reduce wake.
The work is scheduled to commence on or around January 6, 2017 and will continue over the course of several months. The demolition and construction work will normally take place on weekdays during daylight hours. The operations will involve several commercial vessels, including the use of crane and material barges to remove concrete debris and drive piles. There will be a continuous transit of loaded barges from the work site to the north bank shipyard docks near the mouth of Hogan Creek. Additionally, work vessels will be moored along the project site at night. If
additional information is required, the Project Superintendent can be reached via landline at 904-292-4240. Jobsite operators will be monitoring marine VHF Channel 16. Chart 11491 LNM 51/16
Click Here To Open A Chart View Window, Zoomed To the Location of Main Street Bridge
The Matanzas Inlet/Waterway intersection has been the cause of several recent groundings. See a Nav Alert from November. Our thanks to Charles Solomon for sharing his unfortunate experience.
26′ Searay Sundancer thrown aground at marker 81C on Friday night 12-16-16 just before sunset. Operating at 6-8 knots. We were manuvering to West side of ICW after sighting green floating / temp marker 81C northbound and caught by a stiff current. This area is a dogleg channel deep to the west shoreline (per SeaTow). Boat rolled over almost 45 degrees on the starboard side . Backed off the engine and she righted but we were hard aground sideways to the current. Had to wait about 2 hours for the tide and powered off. Brand new engine overheated and we took a tow to St. Augustine.
Charles Solomon
Click Here To Open A Chart View Window, Zoomed To This AICW Problem Stretch
Hillsboro Beach is a barrier island on the east side of the Waterway between Deerfield Beach and Pompano Beach.
BROWARD NEWS
Burning boat drifts into another boat, sets it afire
by Anne Geggis
No one was hurt, but a lot of boat went up in smoke Saturday afternoon when a burning, unmanned craft drifted into a docked boat suspended above the Intracoastal Waterway in Hillsboro Beach.
CLICK HERE FOR FULL STORY AND VIDEO
Click Here To Open A Chart View Window, Zoomed To the Location of Hillsboro Beach
Record number of manatees in Florida killed in 2016 by boats
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Florida wildlife data show that a record number of manatees died in 2016 after being hit by boats, even as the overall number of the beloved marine mammals increased.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL REPORT from WFTS Tampa Bay
A SALTY SOUTHEAST CRUISERS’ NET SPONSOR, Harbortown Marina lies off the southern shores of the Canaveral Barge Canal between Sykes Creek and the Banana River.
The Wait is Over
The management at Harbortown Marina is pleased to announce that the marina restaurant will soon be re-opening as Island Dockside Grill at Harbortown Marina! The new restaurant will open after a period of renovation – Stay tuned for email updates on the exact opening date. Read More!
Click Here To View the Eastern Florida Cruisers’ Net Marina Directory Listing For Harbortown Marina
Click Here To Open A Chart View Window, Zoomed To the Location of Harbortown Marina
Green Cove Springs City Dock is on the St. Johns River between Jacksonville and Palatka. This facility should NOT be confused with Green Cove Springs Marina, which sits a bit farther upstream, in the heart of the old Navy Base. Our thanks to David Burnham for this report.
Damage to the floating docks on the Green Cove Springs City Dock has closed this access to the city until further notice, at least until repairs have returned the floating docks to a useable condition. There is no date specified when work will commence or be completed. However, NO TRESPASSING signs ARE posted. There is a locked gate across the middle of the pier preventing access to the shore from the floating docks.
David Burnham
12/7 And a follow-up to a question about the damage:
Matthew was very hard on the wood docks all along the northern portion (south of Jacksonville) of the riverfront. Most old docks were torn away by the wind and waves and smashed into the nearby docks which in turn broke apart and caused even more damage to other docks further south. The debris was piled up along the roadways for weeks as waterfront owners who lost their docks collected someone else’s dock that washed up on their shores.
David
Click Here To Read More Information about Green Cove Springs City Docks
Click Here To Open A Chart View Window, Zoomed To the Location of Green Cove Springs City Dock
St Augustine inlet, always subject to channel shifting, suffered much change during hurricane Matthew, see http://cruisersnet.net/160414. Our thanks to Malcolm Hunter for this update!
November 21, 2016… all navigation aids are back in place in the Inlet. In good conditions this remains a safe Inlet. As the local TowBoat US operator said, if you follow all the buoys, no problem. People get in trouble by short cutting buoys in poor conditions. It can be hard in poor light to see where the next one is, but if you favor the red side in, no problems in reasonable conditions.
Malcolm Hunter
Click Here To Open A Chart View Window, Zoomed To the Location of St. Augustine Inlet
Our thanks to Wally Moran and community leaders for assisting in having a dinghy dock restored at Fernandina Harbor Marina, A SALTY SOUTHEAST CRUISERS’ NET SPONSOR. Fernandina Harbor Marina, heavily damaged by Matthew and offering only limited service, is right in the heart of the many wonderful things to do and see in this special port, see http://cruisersnet.net/160351 and call for latest information, 904-310-3300.
Officials in Fernandina Beach decided on Friday to put a dinghy dock in place [at Fernandina Harbor Marina], as I was advised Friday by the president of the local Chamber of Commerce, who sent me the following note she received from the marina – Read More
Click Here To View the Eastern Florida Cruisers’ Net Marina Directory Listing For Fernandina Harbor Marina HURRICANE DAMAGE AND CLOSED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE
Click Here To Open A Chart View Window, Zoomed To the Location of Fernandina Harbor Marina
The Matanzas Inlet/Waterway intersection has been the cause of several recent groundings, as well as an off-station marker, see http://cruisersnet.net/160628. Our thanks to Bob Poovey for this report and for his sage advice: Go Slow!
Passed through here Wednesday (11/16/16) afternoon near high tide. With the “super moon” the water level was higher than I have ever seen it. However, slightly north off marker “80” saw 12.5 feet. Compensating for the moon, a normal low tide would calculate an approximate depth of 4 to 4 1/2 feet.
I have transited this area for the past ten years in a row. And, it’s never been the same. The path through here changes on every passage. My advice; stay in the middle of the channel and “GO SLOW!”
Bob Poovey
m/v – Threadbare
Click Here To Open A Chart View Window, Zoomed To the Location of Matanzas Inlet
Doctors Inlet is on the west side of the St. Johns just south of Orange Park. If you have knowledge of these uncharted markers, let us hear from you.
Good morning – We live on the west shore of the St. Johns River (FL) just north of Doctor’s Inlet, and have just recently noticed what appear to be new flashing markers (3 red, one green) near the east side of the river, north of Mandarin Point and just north and east of the flashing green “11” on chart 11492.
They are not charted, and I can’t find them on any recent notices to mariners. Anybody know anything about them? Thanks.
Bill Healy
Click Here To Open A Chart View Window, Zoomed To the Location of St Johns Marker #11
St. Lucie Inlet intersects the Waterway and the eastern genesis of the Okeechobee Waterway near Stuart, FL at AICW Statute Mile 987.
FLORIDA – PALM SHORES TO WEST PALM BEACH – ST LUCIE INLET: Shoaling
Shoaling has been reported inside the mouth of St Lucie Inlet. Depths as low as 7 feet have been reported in the center of the channel. Mariners are strongly encouraged to use extreme caution while transiting the area.
Chart 11472 LNM 46/16
Click Here To Open A Chart View Window, Zoomed To the Location of St. Lucie Inlet
St. Lucie Lock, the easternmost Okeechobee lock, lies west of Stuart, FL near Okeechobee Waterway Statute Mile 15.
St. Lucie Lock
U.S. Army Corps will suspend water flows to the St. Lucie Estuary beginning Friday
WPTV Webteam
11:50 AM, Nov 3, 2016
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced Thursday it will suspend water flowing from Lake Okeechobee to the St. Lucie Estuary and reduce flows to Caloosahatchee Estuary. Read More
The Corps cited falling water levels in the lake as the reason.
It said no water from the lake will be released through the St. Lucie Lock near Stuart. This is the first time since late January that discharges have been suspended from the St. Lucie Lock after a wetter than usual dry season last winter.
However, the Corps says runoff from rain that accumulates in the St. Lucie basin will be allowed to pass through the spillway.
“Drier weather has taken hold and the lake continues to recede,” Candida Bronson, Acting Operations Division Chief for the Jacksonville District, said in a news release. “Barring an unexpected heavy-rain event, we expect the recession to continue. We can safely suspend releases to the St. Lucie and will continue reducing flows to the Caloosahatchee from 2,800 cfs to 650 cfs over the coming week.”
The water level at the lake stands at 15.40 feet which the Corps says is down .21 feet over the past week.
The changes announced by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will begin Friday.
Click Here To View the Okeechobee Waterway Cruisers’ Net Bridge Directory Listing For St. Lucie Lock
Click Here To Open A Chart View Window, Zoomed To the Location of the St. Lucie Lock
Staniel Cay Yacht Club, a favorite destination for cruisers in the Exumas, has always been most accommodating for its guests and word of such exceptional service for cruisers spreads like a wind driven wild fire. A loyal SALTY SOUTHEAST CRUISERS’ NET SPONSOR, Staniel Cay Yacht Club can be sampled at their booth at the Fort Lauderdale Boat Show!
Like No Other Place On Earth.
Come get a taste of SCYC at the Ft. Lauderdale Boat Show!
November 3rd – November 7th
Bahia Mar/A1A Entrance Tent, Booth 174
Come visit us at the Ft. Lauderdale Boat Show and see why your next trip should be to SCYC!
If you’ve never been before, we’d love to introduce you to the unique and incredible vacation that can only be found at Staniel Cay Yacht Club. If you HAVE been before, we’d love to welcome you back!
