Fleming Island Marina (St. Johns River, near Doctors Inlet)
This facility used to be Whitneys Marine, and I have not had the chance to visit here since the name and owners were changed. That makes me doubly glad to have Captain Austine’s detailed report below here on the Net.
16 May 2010.
For the St John’s River south of Jacksonville, this may be the best appointed marina in the laid back river environment until Sanford, the end of the navigable portion of the river 150 miles south, with floating docks, a swimming pool and friendly staff. The ice, mentioned in the previous post, is free and plentiful, allowing us to top up our icebox. With the savings, we paid for a night’s electricity. They do not have a laundry facility, however, despite what one of their brochures claims.
There’s nothing unusual about the men’s and women’s washrooms without locks as they contain a shower and toilet in private cubicles that can be used by more than one person at a time although the small size makes them appear to be designed for single use. There is a third unisex shower-toilet washroom, designated as `family’, that does have a lock and is typical of wheelchair-friendly facilities.
The floating breakwall dampens but doesn’t exclude the wind and river traffic-generated chop. The river is a mile and a half wide at this location but river traffic outside of weekends is considerably less than in the ICW.
We arrived at half tide with no problems, taking the first of two channels into the marina, marked by separate sets of two green day marks each ‘“ both one and three ‘“ leading to the outside floating dock. The other channel, closest to the bridge, takes you to the inside fixed dock.
According to NOAA, the tidal range along the entire St John’s River south of Jacksonville is a foot or less although brisk winds from the north and south can add or subtract an equal amount of water or more respectively from this figure.
Fair winds and following seas,
Austin Whitten
S/Y Discovery II, Vancouver 27, 4’6’ draft
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