Beaufort SC to Install Mooring Field and Upgrade Downtown Marina Docks, AICW Statute Mile 536.5
The Downtown Marina of Beaufort – A SALTY SOUTHEAST CRUISERS’ NET SPONSOR! – lies north of unlighted daybeacon #239, a short distance west of the Lady’s Island swing bridge, in the heart of beautiful downtown Beaufort, SC. The article below is reprinted from the May 17th Beaufort Tribune.
An improved mooring area in the Beaufort River and upgraded electrical connections will make Beaufort more appealing to visiting boaters through a $100,000 federal grant received by the City of Beaufort and the Downtown Beaufort Marina.
`For boaters who travel up and down the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway, Beaufort will be a much more appealing place to stop for a night or two or three,’ Beaufort City Manager Scott Dadson said of the marina upgrades and new mooring field. `For too many years we’ve overlooked this important part of marketing our city to the boating community.’
Work is expected to run from July 1 through December. The U.S. Department of Interior, Fish and Wildlife Services are the federal funding agency for this Boating Infrastructure Grant. Key elements in the project include:
· Installing two step-up transformers to increase the electrical voltage from 208 to 240 volts on the marina’s outermost dock which serves visiting vessels. The improvement will provide better customer service and make the marina more attractive to larger vessels traveling the Intracoastal Waterway
· Installing 16 professionally-managed moorings for transient boats in an approved area of the Beaufort River, in the area already used as the city’s `harbor.’ Such mooring space isn’t available between Charleston and St. Augustine, FL. The new moorings will replace the approximately 12 randomly placed anchoring and also will involve removal of dilapidated boats which will improve water quality
· Replacing two existing but rusting electrical disconnect systems at the marina and installing new disconnects in stainless steel housings.
The mooring buoys will either be fabricated by a marine contractor or purchased through a vendor. The most cost effective approach will be the one selected. The buoys will be installed by a licensed marine contractor under the supervision of an engineer, said Libby Anderson, Beaufort’s planning director.
The project is part of the capitalization of the Downtown Marina, which is City-owned but managed by Griffin Enterprises. Capital costs are part of the lease agreement with Griffin Enterprises.
The mooring field and electrical upgrade project received endorsements from the Beaufort Regional Chamber of Commerce, Beaufort Sail & Power Squadron and local boaters.
Because of its location within the historic downtown area and proximity to historic and tourism amenities, the Downtown Marina attracts a significant number of transient boaters. During the spring and fall, the major seasons for transient boaters in South Carolina, the marina typically hosts 10 to 20 boats per night, according to the marina management company.
The Downtown Marina has approximately 1,140 feet of pier devoted to transient boats and can accommodate 38-40 boats of 26′ in length. Currently, there are no mooring facilities in the Beaufort area.
Transient boats desiring a mooring must either dock at the Marina’s transient piers, if room is available, or continue to 65 miles north to Charleston, or 240 miles south to St. Augustine, Florida. A mooring field with associated professional management will increase the opportunities for boaters moving through the area.
While some boaters prefer moorings, many desire the conveniences offered by dockage at the transient pier. The Downtown Marina falls short is satisfying the electrical needs of large, modern, well-equipped vessels ‘“ largely because the electrical service at the marina was installed in the 1970s.
`This grant will help make our marina, and downtown Beaufort, a better choice for boaters as they travel the Intracoastal Waterway. They are a tight-knit community and word spreads fast about marinas with good, or bad, service,’ Beaufort Mayor Billy Keyserling said.
`When these boaters enjoy our restaurants and shops, when they enjoy our Waterfront Park, we want them to share their experience and to come back frequently. Some of them may even decide to relocate here. This is another investment in our future,’ he said.
Submitted by John C. Williams, APR, City of Beaufort.
Please note that there is also a mooring field in Fernandina Beach, which is closer than St. Augustine.
Paula Spence
M/Y Sea Eagle
I prefer anchoring. I have excellent, well maintained gear and I am very professional in how I use it.
I may as well sell it all, the way things are going’¦anchoring will be about as useful as knowing how to use a sextant on the ICW ‘“ useful only in the most unforeseen emergency.
It seems every municipality has their hands out to take what they can from the transient boaters. Am I the only one getting sick of this?
Wally Moran
Wally from WallyWorld!
Keven R. Quinn
I agree with you Wally,
A key difference is that I’m a fulltime resident here in Beaufort. I pay tax here, State, county and city. I have to pay to park downtown, what next will the city have a walking tax for foot traffic in the city limits? I have been sailing for quite some time. I had rather anchor out over a paid slip. The ICW should not be fare game for any city or county to levy tax in the name of whatever they want to in the betterment of the community. Bill the viewer of the great esthetic view our sailboats give, Hell you don’t tax the painter you charge the art center participant, right? Do you really think all sailors are rich? Most of us gave up the rat race in life to get away from this kind on force. Most of us spent all of our money on the vessel and good ground tackle so we could anchor out and hold well to the bottom as we go to town and spend our money in your towns. Early estimates I read in the Beaufort Gazette were as much as $200 a week. The average `hook sailors’ annual budget is only $15 to $18,000 a year. You put another $2500.00? Add 10% to your budget all at once. Can you still have the car payment? The trip to the mountains? The river is not yours Beaufort, its ours.
Good day, Cpt. Curt
Click Here To Open A Chart View Window, Zoomed To the Location of Downtown Marina of Beaufort
Comments from Cruisers (1)
I see some pretty absurd comments here. Any cruising or anchoring guide will show dozens, perhaps hundreds of anchorages along the AICW. And of course there are many more not listed in books Even in Beaufort, there are decent anchorages both north and south of the mooring field. We often anchor south of the marina and mooring field just past the sandbar.
Perhaps one of the reasons for establishing a mooring field is to get rid of derelict boats or boats whose owners “store” them for free on the public waterways.
If your budget cannot accommodate mooring fees, that’s understandable but it’s not the town or city’s responsibility to provide free storage for your boat.