St. Augustine Mooring Field Problems (Statute Mile 778)
St. Augustine has been much in the cruising news of late, due to its proposed ten day anchorage limit outside of the city’s three mooring fields (which the FWC changed, thankfully, to a 30-day limit). However, Captains John and Carol’s message below pertains to problems they encountered in the city mooring field south of Bridge of Lions, and hard by St. Augustine City Marina.
The messages below are reprinted from the American Great Loop Cruisers’ Association forum.
Spent two days at the mooring balls in St. Augustine and will never go there again. They allow crab pots in the middle of the field and DO NOT police the area. The inconsiderate crab potters come into the field on plane, 25 yards from moored boats, stop to check pot, and immediately accelerate away. When mentioned at the office, I was informed that there is nothing they could do and could not stop the crabbers from being in the mooring field. If I had thier number from the boat, they would report the
crabber to authorities however I was too busy picking up lamps and other things in boat to get numbers. I was also told that they know it is a problem. There is not even a no wake disignation for the field. Nice people do operate the city mooring and marina but evidently are powerless. If St. Augustine, which does have a lot to offer in thier downtown area want boaters to stop, they need to get a handle on activities inside the mooring fields so boats and boaters will be safe while moored and unable to maneuver to defend themsleves from inappropriate wakes.
John & Carol Sagel
Captain Ted Stehle, editor for “Waterway Guide” chimed in, and asked the following question:
Which of the three mooring fields were you in?
Ted Stehle
And Captains John and Carol replied:
We were right outside the marina, to the south of the office.
John & Carol Sagel
It only took two stops for us to determine the New Mooring Fields in St. Augustine were designed for us Second Class Citizens. As Capt. John and Carol said there’s no wake restrictions on boats passing the mooring field. Unbelievable! No excuse other than the City doesn’t give a crap otherwise they would have petitioned for a No Wake Zone and Fishing Exclusion Zone when they created the Mooring Fields. My advice is Vote with your pocketbook and bypass doing business with them. That’s what we are doing. Sooner or later they will get the message.
Capt. Jesse Price
And here’s GREAT, late breaking news from St. Augustine:
We stayed at the Anchorage Inn Marina across the river from St Augustine municipal marina for a few weeks and agree with the complete lack of enforcement of the current No Wake zone, which ends prior to the mooring field anyway’¦Good news, the Harbormaster informed me when I called to complain that they had received approval to have the current No Wake bouy moved 500 feet further south of the Bridge of Lions in early January 2012. This will not cover the entire South Mooring Field, but should help some, especially those closer to the marina. I hate to say it, but the worst offenders were the local fishermen and big 4-engined CBP boats from the new CBP National Training Center at SAMC.
Scott & Tina Ligon
We have spent several days in the mooring field both spring and fall and have experienced the most courteous marina operators anywhere. In regards to the no wake issue there has been a defiant improvement over this spring. We found no issues with commercial fishermen however we also have no problem sharing these waters with the real men & women of the sea.
Our Lord’s Blessings
Ed & Bonnie
S/V Almost Heaven
Fishermen were here before tourist and work for a living. If Cruisers had it their way the ICW would be set up just for them. Don’t Cruisers have any good things to say’¦all they do is complain, everything I read is how Florida should change laws to suit them’¦Compromise’¦.oh what is that you say. I’m for No wake zones but powerboats have a right to run in certain areas’¦although they are few because of the cry babies.
Maybe bypass Florida..perfect.
Darrel Warren
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