Jacksonville Marinas

If we can't find a marina that will float it for a month, the nearest ramp would be good to know. Also, any permits we need to buy being from out-of-state.

Thank you, Michael

A co-worker (another surveyor) and I went in there, sat down, and were immediately served hot bread, butter, and a plateload of snacks, which we started eating. We were impressed with the decor and the fancy waiters, but once we got the menu we got *really* impressed. The prices were all in the $30 range! (Remember, this was 40+ years ago.) We called the waiter over and apologized for the fact that neither of us could afford his fine restaurant. We did offer to pay something for the snacks, but luckily they didn't want anything. I don't think I've ever been more embarrassed in my life.

On the other hand, there was a place called the 'Chicken Shack' south of town where, for about $4.95, one could eat all the fried chicken, sides, and biscuits and honey one could hold. I'd almost fly back to Jax to eat there again. -- John H

***** Have a Spectacular Day! *****

I've spent some time in Jacksonville and enjoyed it. I drove a few miles south one evening and ate a delicious fish sandwich at what I think was The Crab Shack. Their motto is "Free beer tomorrow. You should have been here tomorrow." Gotta love it.

And a friend has a boat on the St. John River. He took me on a ride way back into a shallow swampy area and then uptown Jacksonville where we parked and ate pizza at some big indoor shopping mall.

The wife and I are thinking about retiring down to Jacksonville, so we rented a condo for the month of July. I figure if we can stand the heat in July, it ain't gonna get no worse than that. Michael

All those really big boats and ships would be scary. But the scariest thing I have ever seen was in Mobile Bay. We had been traveling the intracoastal and bays and had seen a lot of dolphins and liked seeing them. We were headed close along the shore from the intracoastal out to the Gulf when I pointed out two dolphin fins to the wife. It was interesting that they traveled along the suface and didn't just come up and go down. Then a big boil in the water the size of Cadillac and I realized they were big bull sharks. We didn't stick around to watch them.

Michael

There are sharks off Jax Beach. I've caught them there. The old fishing pier there (now gone, but replaced) had a photo of a 900-pound mako or bull, I forgot which, caught right off the pier.

The very best restaurant in Jax is the Marker 32 http://www.marker32.com/

Not far from Jax Beach.

Take a car drive one day down A1A to St. Augustine and do the tourist thing. Wonderful place to visit, and there is a quality boat ramp called the Vilano Ramp.

Best restaurant in St. Augustine is the Conch House, which has a tie up dock. Best Mex restaurant is the Columbia:

http://www.columbiarestaurant.com/st_augustine.asp

Jax is a great place to visit. The beaches are terrific and mostly uncrowded.

The best bet for you are the ramps at Mayport, which is only a few miles north of Jax Beach. The ramps are concrete, wide and deep, and can accommodate many boaters. There's good parking, too, and a great seafood restaurant right there called Singleton's Seafood Shack.

The problem, however, is that you will have a bear of a time getting from those ramps down to Jax Beach. You have to travel out the St. Johns River into the Atlantic, and that passage can be scary for those unfamiliar with a real ocean inlet with heavy traffic, including tankers, freighters, destroyers and the usual heat-dazed sailboaters.

Most jetskiers go a little north of the St. Johns on the other side to Ft. George Island. Easy launch, lots of jetskiers, food, restrooms, some nice surf, et cetera. But it is a haul to Jax Beach in the open ocean, and I would not recommend it.

There are some inland marinas on Beach Boulevard inland of Jax Beach. Very nice, but quite a distance from the ocean along the ICW and the St. Johns River.