The new St. Augustine mooring fields are located just off the path of the AICW, north and south of the Bridge of Lions in the heart of St. Augustine.These twin fields have been warmly welcomed by those who cruise those waters.

Dear Taylor Engineering and St. Augustine Marina,
First of all, thank you for the new mooring fields!…and for including BIG boats in your plan. Unfortunately, there is a significant design mistake: the painters are too short for larger powerboats…and they end in an eye slice, which, even if the painter were long enough, cannot be dropped over a cleat. In my case, a 58 ft motoryacht, we could not even reach the eye slice from the bow, which is 9 ft off the water. Remember, Auggie almost always has current and wind, so the mooring ball is seldom immediately under the bow (at least this captain is not that good).
Other well conceived mooring fields (i.e. Newport, Nantucket, even Little Harbour in the Abacos) have long painters which can be snagged with a boat hook and simply pulled aboard and dropped on a cleat. The extra length allows you to snag the painter even if you are not directly over the mooring ball…or, more likely, allows you drift room as you attempt to pull the loop aboard. I suggested to the St. Augustine marina office that a loop extension was needed for the larger boat moorings, but I fear it fell on deaf ears.
Meanwhile, if you have a tall bow, you must moor from the stern and transfer to the bow after you splash the dinghy, as I did. However, due to the significant Auggie current, the slack created in the transfer needed the power of the windlass to pull aboard.
A ten-foot loop through the eye slice would solve the issue, which, if brought aboard and dropped on a cleat, would not effect the swing radius of the design. We love moorings…please consider making these more usable. Thanks,
Captain Robert Calhoun Smith Jr, aboard M/V MARY KATHRYN

Click Here To View the Cruisers’ Net’s Eastern Florida Anchorage Directory Listing For St. Augustine Northern Anchorage

Click Here To View the Cruisers’ Net’s Eastern Florida Anchorage Directory Listing For St. Augustine Southern Anchorage

Click Here To Open A Chart View Window, Zoomed To the Location of St. Augustine Mooring Fields