It’s a 13 mile cruise up the St. Johns River from the AICW to the Jacksonville waterfront, where mariners will discover Jacksonville Landing, on the north side of the St. Johns, midway between the Main Street Bridge and the Acosta Bridge. This complex is a downtown shopping mall/food court with a stage area for special events and concerts, featuring its own dock for visiting pleasurecraft, as described below.

We are enchanted with our short 3-day stay at the Landing. We would have liked a place to take a shower, and we felt a little bit like celebrities on display as many passersby asked us questions about the cruising life, but they were kind and harmless. The docks are over 1000 feet long, floating, and have the capacity for more than 50 boats. The sign says boats must be willing to be rafted 5 deep along the docks!! Oh my!! The current is strong here (tidal) but the docks are in sections and the balustrades stick out far enough that the docked boats are somewhat in the lee’¦.still need stout bow, stern, and spring lines and large fenders as boats are side-tied. Exposure to the wind from the ESE and SW; the fetch to the ESE is about a mile downstream in the river, so a ESE wind will start a chop at the docks sometimes. In the springtime there is an afternoon easterly sea breeze. The library is 5 blocks away, the Winn Dixie supermarket is 7 blocks away. The MegaBUS stop is within easy walking distance for out of town guests arriving or departing. The Jax Airport is a long cab/van/bus ride away north of town. The MegaBUS stop is also the central terminal for the city buses, which are reliable and generally run on time, although the frequency of buses on many routes is not very often.

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Ortega Landing, the first facility you will encounter upon entering the Ortega River from the St. Johns, is indeed a fine facility, as is nearby Lambs Marine Center.

I could not resist throwing in a strong recommendation for Ortega Landing Marina just inside the Ortega River south of JAX. Great rates, free laundry, pool and jacuzzi. One block from Publix and all sorts of stores.
Rusty Carlisle

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Crystal Cove Resort Marina lies along the western shores of the St. Johns River, north of Palatka. The marked entry channel cuts west from the main river passage between markers #42A and #43.

Crystal Cove Resort on St. John’s River has New Owners. The place is great. Check out Blog Site @ http://crystalcoveresort.blogspot.com
Stephen Jeffrey Cull

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Green Cove Springs Marina lies on the St. Johns River’s southwestern shores, in the heart of the old Navy Base, upstream of the Green Cove Springs City Dock, between Jacksonville and Palatka. This place has always had a “down on its luck” atmosphere every time we have visited here over the years. However, as evidenced by Captain Good’s comments below, do-it-yourselfers love this place, and it sounds like some improvement may be coming in the future. On the other hand, we’ve heard that story before, and then nothing has seemed to happen.

We looked high and low for a boat yard which would allow do-it-yourself work and also had reasonably priced long term storage. We finally chose Green Cove Springs Marina. It is a good old fashioned boatyard with friendly helpful staff. So far we have been delighted. Rumor has it they will be adding soon to the bathroom and shower facilities which is a modest weak point at present. Also I hear more vehicle parking is coming. And, at a time when other marinas are raising prices to uncomfortable amounts, GSM is not only reasonably priced, but they have room for lots of bo462Yats!
Reggie Good

We found our boat in the long term storage lot at Green Cove Springs Marina. We moved it in to the work lot which was reasonbly priced and found the staff to be very accomodating and helpful. The store in the office had everything we needed at better prices than anywhere else we looked. The other folks working on their boats in the work yard were equally as helpful and friendly and most were hard at work.
While the bathrooms and showers are certainly on the dingy side and my husband was pretty grossed out by the men’s shower, we found the facility to be just fine for our needs. We weren’t there to live in luxury, we were there to work.
We’ve since moved in to the moorings. The staff was incredibly wonderful when we launched. They were fun, patient with us (we’re new to big boats) and so helpful.
I wouldn’t swim in the river anywhere near the boatyard and I would never eat anything that came out of there as it was an old Navy yard and the amount of lead and copper and other heavy metals in that water must be very high.
We’ll be moving out soon but while we are using Green Cove Springs Marina’s mooring balls and facilities, we are very happy with them. We’ll look forward to seeing the staff and using their work lot any time we have repairs to make on the dry or require long term storage.
DeVaich

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Lambs Yacht Center, a SALTY SOUTHEAST CRUISERS’ NET SPONSOR, lies just off the St. Johns River, upstream from downtown Jacksonville, on the Ortega River. Few would argue that this is the premiere repair facility on the entire 100+ nautical miles of the St. Johns!

We used Lambs marina for our seasonal break. They have a concrete roof so very secure (reportedly was going to be a floor for a condo complex)
Jim and Vaughn on TWINS

We have “Joysea” our 39′ Mainship stored at Lamb’s Yacht Center, Jacksonville, FL. It appears to be a great hurricane hole, including covered concrete wet slips. We plan to leave Joysea there during the summer (or until she is sold). Our insurance premiums did not go up because of the protection provided by the marina. A shopping center is within walking distance (grocery store, restaurants, etc.). No courtesy car, but Mr. Nightengale, owner, drove us to the car rental store. If you plan to stay there ask for the go-to guy, William. He is knowledgeable and extremely helpful.

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