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Please Note That Postings Below From Fellow Cruisers Are Listed in Chronological Order, Based on Publication Date
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 1. Space Launch Operations, which may be hazardous to surface vessels, will |
A CRUISERS NET SPONSOR, Harbortown Marina lies off the southern shores of the Canaveral Barge Canal between Sykes Creek and the Banana River.
Our thanks to Marine Industries Association of the Treasure Coast for this holiday information. Click the image below for details.
A CRUISERS NET SPONSOR, Harbortown Marina lies off the southern shores of the Canaveral Barge Canal between Sykes Creek and the Banana River. This fine facility has recently expanded their ship’s store!
A CRUISERS’ NET SPONSOR, Harbortown Marina lies off the southern shores of the Canaveral Barge Canal between Sykes Creek and the Banana River. This fine facility has recently expanded their ship’s store!
A CRUISERS’ NET SPONSOR, Harbortown Marina lies off the southern shores of the Canaveral Barge Canal between Sykes Creek and the Banana River. This fine facility has now expanded their ship’s store!
Harbortown Marina – Canaveral (Merritt Island) COVID-19 UPDATE
Westland Marina, A CRUISERS NET SPONSOR, is located on the southeastern shore of Titusville’s semi-enclosed harbor.
We are still open, however we are keeping our gates closed & asking customers to stay away if possible. We are still taking transients, space is limited.
Thank you,
Chase Falonk
Westland Boatyard & Marina
419 N Washington Ave.
Titusville, FL 32796
321-267-1667
Click Here To View the Eastern Florida Cruisers Net Marina Directory Listing For Westland Marina
Click Here To Open A Chart View Window, Zoomed To the Location of Westland Marina
Earlier reports today of a malfunction were correct, thank you Russ Rackliffe, but as 10:30 AM, the bridge is now fully functional.
Photo courtesy of Captain Chris Caldwell, 5/10/2017
Click Here To Open A Chart View Window, Zoomed To the Location of Haulover Canal
These words of praise by Tom Waid for Westland Marina are not the first we have received, see High Praise. Westland Marina, A CRUISERS NET SPONSOR, is located on the southeastern shore of Titusville’s semi-enclosed harbor.
We recently hauled out at Westland for major work on our Beneteau Oceanis 321. New engine and new rudder. The staff at Westland are friendly, professional, and very accommodating. The boatyard is very tidy compared with other yards I’ve done business with. Jeff and Kyle at Boaters Edge always took time to answer my questions and kept me informed of any delays. (There were “parts in the mail issues.” Not any foot dragging on their part). Kyle did the work of installing the new engine and he did an excellent job. While my wife and I did the work of procuring a new rudder, Kyle did the work of installing it. Again, excellent work.
I highly recommend Westland Marina and Boaters Edge.
Tom Waid
Click Here To View the Eastern Florida Cruisers Net Marina Directory Listing For Westland Marina
Click Here To Open A Chart View Window, Zoomed To the Location of Westland Marina
Ben Matthews is an experienced yachtsman and we are grateful for his sharing of his experience with the numerous engine problems possible with a new previously owned boat. Thankfully, it is a story with a happy ending. Westland Marina, A CRUISERS NET SPONSOR, is located on the southeastern shore of Titusville’s semi-enclosed harbor.
We had mechanical issues in Titusville that needed to be repaired. We recently purchased a (too) lightly used express cruiser we are moving from Florida to North Carolina. In Titusville, the starter on one of the engines failed and was fixed by Boater’s Edge which resides in the same building as Westland Marina. Truly a collaborative arrangement. Westland Marina is under new ownership and they are as nice and accommodating as they can be. I pulled the boat in on a Saturday and made arrangements after hours on their emergency call line, and then contacted Boater’s Edge that Monday. When I picked the boat up the next Friday all the work was done and I pulled out. Fuel issue. Came back. Jeff from Boaters Edge fixed it on the spot. Pulled out again. Circulating pump issue. Pulled in again. They had the part ordered and made arrangements to fix on the spot on Saturday – of Memorial Day Weekend no less – and got me up and on my way by 10am. Superb support and friendliness by Kyle and Jeff to get me back on the water again and headed north. I made 480 miles the next 3 days due to their overtime work and fast response! Also they helped with advice after the repair for my maintenance of it days later. Thanks Guys!
Although Westland Marine and Boater’s Edge are separate businesses, they work collaboratively to help boaters. Sean the nice marina manager has a really friendly Labrador who will play fetch while you wait and the lounge, shower, laundry, and restrooms are spotless and comfortable. Westland is generally a DIY yard and very lively with activity. Many useful stores (grocery, pharmacy, fast food) within a 20-minute walk, and a great ACE Hardware (with marine parts) is a 2 mile Uber/Lyft ride in the Florida heat.
Thanks Westland and B-E for a great experience in a challenging situation!
Ben Mathews
Click Here To View the Eastern Florida Cruisers Net Marina Directory Listing For Westland Marina
Click Here To Open A Chart View Window, Zoomed To the Location of Westland Marina
Put this posting on your steering station for future reference.
If you lock through Canaveral or the Okeechobee Waterway, please put the numbers for the Corps locks into your phone. Remember to listen to any direction offered by the lock operator to ensure everyone’s safety as you lock through, and wear your life jacket!
W.P. Franklin Lock 239-694-5451
Ortona Lock 863-675-0616
Moore Haven Lock 863-946-0414
Port Mayaca Lock 561-924-2858
St. Lucie Lock 772-287-2665
Canaveral Lock 321-783-5421
Useful links (please monitor these frequently for the most up-to-date information):
Notices to Navigation are here: https://www.saj.usace.army.mil
Lake Okeechobee Water Levels and Route 1 and 2 Navigation depths: http://w3.saj.usace.army.mil/h
News Releases for Lake Okeechobee Water Management are on the Jacksonville District homepage (lower left): https://www.saj.usace.army.mil
Among our readers there must be several who are experienced in cruising the AICW in a vessel this size. If so, please let us hear from you. Maybe Chief Officer Perks will take you along as Pilot!
Good morning,
I am currently trying to find any information I can about cruising in Northern Florida. We are a 151ft vessel with a 8ft draft. We would like to cruise the Jacksonville, St Augustine and Cape Canaveral areas. Is there anyone you recommend for me to talk with about the ICW routes and Marinas that could accommodate us?
Thanks in advance,
Andrew Perks
Chief Officer – Motor Yacht Time for Us
Hope you have good anchors. Just plan on staying near the inlets, any venture up or down the ICW from Jax or St Aug would be most difficult with your draft. Plenty of dockage for you in downtown Jax on the St Johns, but watch the currents since it rips thru downtown on the outgoing tide. Call ahead in St Aug for assistance with the inlet as it shoals as fast as they move the buoys. Port Canaveral is your best shot, no current, extremely safe inlet and once into the Indian River you will have deep ICW north and south for at least 20 miles, but no marinas outside Port Canaveral that will accommodate your size (both length and mass) pushing on their docks.
With an 8 foot draft , parts of the ICW can only be safely run at high tide. After leaving Haulover as you arrive at Daytona, do not take any of the side channels. Just before Matanzas, make sure you hug the GREEN side of the channel. Recommend taking bridge of lions at the start of an incoming tide. You will be pushed to the west side of the bridge during transit.
I’ve pushed 200’ barges on the route with a 7 foot draft so it’s doable with care
The two Cocoa anchorages flank both sides of the Waterway channel immediately south of the Cocoa twin bridges. A spokesperson at Cocoa Village Marina confirmed today that the anchorages are usable, but the boat ramp (southwest corner below the bridge) dinghy dock is no longer there. Also, Cocoa Village Marina does not have a dinghy dock, so do not expect easy access to shore facilities. Skipper Yoshima was responding to an outdated report and would appreciate any report of recent experience using these anchorages.
We stayed there in 2016 and 17 but we saw the devastation caused by Irma, and it seems we cannot anchor or use the dinghy dock there any longer… is that so?
Yoshima
Click Here To View the Eastern Florida Cruisers’ Net Marina Directory Listing For Cocoa Anchorages
Click Here To Open A Chart View Window, Zoomed To the Location of Cocoa Anchorages
Anchored mid Feb. 2019 near the power lines South of the causeway at the anchorage indicated on the chart view. There are several permanently anchored or moored boats there forcing you to anchor further South of the causeway. There is a protected boat ramp at the park on the South side of the causeway, however there is only one cleat on a concrete bulkhead to tie a dinghy. It was used by a permanently anchored boater who locked his dink while he was at work. There also is a 10-15 ft wide clear area West of the anchorage and just South of a wooden walkway where locals beach their kayaks/dinks. Be careful here as a sizable alligator patrols the area. Lock your dink if you use this spot.
Unfortunately the wind blew 20-25 out of the S while there and we did not feel comfortable leaving the dink exposed and did not get to explore Cocoa Village. A dinghy dock would be a boon to cruisers and the town.
Cruisers’ Net I was referring to the H. H. Humphrey Park boat ramp near the Cocoa NE anchorage on the EAST side of the Causeway.
Experienced cruisers, Jim and Peg Healy, continue to generously share their observations and advice as they make their way south for the winter. Here’s another good distance day and a good depths day. Also another report of a Problem Stretch that isn’t a problem this year! Thank you Jim and Peg! .
Came through Fernandina Beach at low tide. The nasty curve south of the paper mill into the South Amelia River is clearly marked with floating laterals. It’s the same path that was good last spring, and it carries 8′ this fall. Just follow the markers.
Came through the Matanzas Inlet [intersection with ICW], next day, also at low tide. There are lateral markers there, and they are correct. A couple have been moved somewhat towards the shoreline from the spring. I followed the visual center between the markers and the shoreline. The route is exciting because visually, you are very close to the shoreline. Follow the curve of the shoreline; do not cut from marker to marker. Saw no less then 7.5′ on that route. South of the inlet, where the Matanzas River straightens out, the markers are farther apart and the water is just a bit more shallow. Saw 7′ at MLLW in that short area.
Jim
Peg and Jim Healy aboard Sanctuary, currently at Charlotte Harbor, Punta Gorda, FL
Monk 36 Hull #132
MMSI #367042570
AGLCA #3767
MTOA #3436
Click Here To Open A Chart View Window, Zoomed To This AICW Problem Stretch
Banana River Marina, off the Waterway via Canaveral Barge Canal, flanks the Banana River’s western banks near unlighted daybeacon #24 . Our thanks to Cap’n Parky for this news.
You might like to advise boaters:
Banana River Marina (just south of Cape Canaveral) has been acquired by one of these Developer / Building Contractor outfits. The new owner intends building houses and possibly also sell such buyers a boat slip. Thus we lose one of the lowest priced marinas on the ICW – $7.50 per ft per month. All boats (above 100) have been told to leave by the end of July.
Mind you the Banana River has problems for many boats.
The three bridges on the river have only 43 ft clearance – much too low for many sailing boats.
The river is full of unmarked shallows – less than 4ft. Any boat with a higher draft – or have their propellers below the keel – should go very slow with maximum caution . The channel markers also are very poor and depth of the channel is at best around 5 to 6ft. Bluewater ocean sailors with 6ft or more keels should not even try it.
I’m one of those leaving soon – bound for Savannah. Evading – I hope – hurricanes 😊
Best wishes,
Arnold Parkinson
Click Here To Open A Chart View Window, Zoomed To the Location of Banana River Marina
It will be interesting to see how many boats the new owners of the marina will end up with (as in abandoned) and have to pay to have removed at great expense. I’d guess that more than 75% of the boats in that marina haven’t moved in the 16 years I’ve been familiar with the marina (and former boat yard).
A CRUISERS’ NET SPONSOR, Harbortown Marina lies off the southern shores of the Canaveral Barge Canal between Sykes Creek and the Banana River. This fine facility has now expanded their ship’s store!
Harbortown Marina – Canaveral – 12/7/17 Marina Update
Diesel Fuel Pump Outage
Our diesel fuel pump has been out of service for several weeks. Our fuel
tank and fuel pump service provider has been working to identify and correct the problem(s) but repairs have taken far longer than we ever anticipated.
The technician that will be completing the final re-wiring of the system
will be here again on Friday, December 8th. They believe they will have the
pump up and running within the next 24 hours, however, this time frame may change.
We truly apologize for any inconveniences this may have caused for our loyal diesel customers. Once the pump is back in service, we will send out a follow up communication.
If we can be of any assistance, please call us at (321) 453-0160 or stop by the office.
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.
9-12-17:Greetings from Harbortown Marina Canaveral. The majority of our team is on site today and we are working diligently to get the marina put back together and customer ready. As it stands now, we plan to officially open the office and the boat yard on Wednesday at noon.
Today we are focused on replacing damaged and missing dock boards to ensure our customers and team members are safe. We will then move onto collecting debris and addressing any downed trees around the property.
In the slips we only saw one boat with substantial damage and we are reaching out to the owner personally. In the rack storage we saw some boat covers that were damaged and we will also be contacting those owners as well. All in all though, there was limited damage to the vessels.
We have power in the main building but due to the water levels, power to the slips is still off. Unfortunately, we have no running water at the marina. We are hearing this is a part of an outage affecting more than 82,000 Brevard residents.
The port is still closed as of now but we have heard it may open up this evening. The barge canal is actually port property, so it is officially closed right now as well. We are certainly hoping that the port traffic will lead to the water levels receding quicker.
Once again, please continue to follow our social media pages for continual updates. We promise to provide you with updated information as it comes.
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
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. This fine facility has now expanded their ship’s store and now has a new on-site restaurant!
Merritt Island, FL (March 23, 2017) — Harbortown Marina, located in Merritt Island, Florida, near Port Canaveral, is excited to welcome the “Island Dockside Grill at Harbortown” as its newest on-site amenity. The restaurant space on the property has recently undergone extensive renovations, and the new restaurant plans to open in mid-April. Island Dockside Grill at Harbortown will be open to the public, and is the sister location to Merritt Island’s “The Island Waterfront Bar and Grill”. All are invited to meet and greet with restaurant staff at the upcoming CFFW Marina Flea Market, to be held March 25-26, 2017, at the marina. The Island Dockside Grill at Harbortown will be cooking out and offering a limited menu.
The original The Island Waterfront Bar and Grill is located near Banana River Park on East Merritt Island Causeway. A favorite among Merritt Island residents, the local restaurant is known for its menu offering of waterway favorites. Whether it’s seafood, burgers, salads or quesadillas, the Island Bar and Grill offers a traditional oceanside menu that is proven to be a success. Tie in a quality menu with the restaurant’s variety of live music, theme nights, and special events, and you have the makings of an instant local favorite.
The Island Dockside Grill at Harbortown has been undergoing renovations by local construction company, Rush Construction, Inc., and is scheduled to open in mid-April.
“We are delighted to have the owners of The Island choosing to open their second location here at Harbortown Marina. One of our most beloved amenities has always been having an on-site restaurant,” said Jan Chnupa the owner of the Harbortown Marina Canaveral. “With renovations, we’ve provided more space for bar seating and live music. We are hopeful that our customers and the public will be pleased.”
Those wishing to catch a sneak peek at the upcoming restaurant food fare can do so at the annual CFFW Marine Flea Market, which will take place on Saturday, March 25th, and Sunday, March 26th, from 8:00 AM – 4:00 PM at Harbortown Marina. Admission and parking for the event are free.
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
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. This fine facility has now expanded their ship’s store!
Harbortown Marina – Canaveral has recently undergone several on-site expansion and construction projects, including the renovation completion of the on-site restaurant for new tenant, “The Island Dockside Grill at Harbortown”, which opened in April 2017. Other on-site projects include a complete office remodel, the addition of a larger marina store, offering a variety of everyday and boating specific items for sale, new landscaping, plus dock and resident-amenity improvements, including bathroom renovations. In addition to these updates, Harbortown Marina – Canaveral has also brought on board a new general manager for the property, Central Florida’s own, Bill Friedrich.
Bill Friedrich has a history in customer service, spending the majority of his professional career in the Orlando tourism industry. A board member for both the Central Florida Lodging and Hospitality Association, as well as the International Drive Resort Area Chamber of Commerce, Friedrich is no stranger to Florida hospitality. In total, Bill will be bringing over 17 years of hospitality and tourism industry experience to the marina, which is expected to bring more welcome changes to the Harbortown Marina – Canaveral site soon.
“I am truly excited to be part of the Harbortown Team and appreciate the warm welcome to the community.” Bill says. “During my first month at the marina, I saw that we do a lot of things really well. However, continuous improvement in all aspects of our daily operation will be the key to our future success.
I have been delighted with the facility upgrades, which were one of the first steps to enhancing both the customer and the team member experience at Harbortown Marina – Canaveral. I can definitely say there will be more enhancements to come as we strive to be the Space Coast marina of choice.”
About Harbortown Marina – Canaveral:
Harbortown Marina – Canaveral is located in Merritt Island, FL and is a full-service marina offering covered rack storage, long term dry storage,wet slips, and outdoor cradle storage. Public amenities include on-site restaurant & bar, marina store, and ethanol-free fuel on-site. The property is a naturally protected harbor with minimal tidal changes, and provides access to both the Indian and Banana rivers, with deep water access to the ocean via the Canaveral Lock.
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
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