Atlantic or Gulf Sailing: Gainesville FL - Sailing advantage

[mtc]

Hi everyone! After quite the sabbatical from working the new job, I'm getting settled into our new home in Gainesville, FL. We moved from Pensacola, FL and now our sailing opportunities have changes somewhat. On the good side, we can sail in the Atlantic or the Gulf depending on which way we drive and either's about 2 hours away.

Is there anyone that has sailed from either Cedar Key, on the Gulf or St. Augustine on the Atlantic?

Looking forward to getting our sea legs back!!

Michael

[c130king]

Michael,

St. Augustine is not bad. I took my ASA sailing courses there and have travelled there twice in my Mac from Jacksonville. Once down the ICW and once out on the Atlantic...best 5 hours of non-stop sailing I have ever done.

Lots of boats in St. Augustine so probably lots of ramps and marinas available however I have limited knowledge on that. Have you tried ActiveCaptain.com...they have lots of info on ramps and marinas.

In a day or so...once he gets off one of his long shifts at the hospital...JCasale will chime in. He has a lot more experience in St. Augustine.

I got your email as well...hopefully you can join us on the Jacksonville Macgregor Get-Together in September.

Cheers,
Jim
Sailing on König

[Chinook]

We enjoyed a nice stay in St. Augustine at a backwater marina called, I believe, Oyster Creek, in December 2003. Rates were reasonable, facilities nice, and conveniently located to town. Harbormaster at the time was a cool guy named Captain Robbie. He had lots of great sea stories, and he put on a party every Friday evening, complete with mandolin sing along. I wonder if he's still there. He really liked our 26X, and predicted (rightly) that with its shallow draft, it would be a great boat in the Bahamas. He gave us excellent advise and tips for our cruise to the Abacos. Their launch ramp wasn't officially serviceable at the time, although Captain Robbie did let us haul our boat out on the ramp. I bought and installed my VHF radio while tied up there. I bought the radio from the West Marine Store which was within walking distance of the Marina. That radio quit on us last September, and I'm now in the midst of installing a replacement. Pleasant thoughts of those winter St. Augustine days while I'm now out in the driveway trying to figure out how I managed to flush mount that radio in the bulkhead next to the fuse panel. It really is a "ship in the bottle" installation.

[mtc]

Thanks, gents! Appreciate the quick response. I'm going crazy being so far from the shore.

Jim, the JAX regatta does sound great and if all goes well, I'll have my ducks in a row and can do it with you guys. I've never sailed on the Atlantic, but having grown-up in Jersey, have spent a lot of time on those waters as a Sea Scout during my youth. The Alantic's very different from the Gulf, where I've done all my sailing, so this should be great.

The challange is to find a place to birth Bellaroo near by our home in Gainesville so it's reachable. She's been in my backyard for years and quite frankly, I'm spoiled. Hearing the halyard taping the mast (she sits with her mast up), seeing the blue hull shining in the sunset from our deck, spending time in her cockpit pretending I'm in the water (sad).

Anyway, I'm thinking a new AL trailer is in store and I have the Tacoma now to tow her, so JAX or St. Augustine probably won't be too crazy to attempt. Would be a great place on a great boat for an extended weekend. I've been so lucky having everything so close before - time to wake-up and make this long distance sailing work. I'm sure most of the sailors here do that trailering on a routine basis and I'm just freaking-out over nothing.

Chinook - I've done some cuttin' on my M (many mods) and would be more than happy to help you cut-out that opening for your flush-mount radio. where are you?

Michael

[Chinook]

Thanks for the offer. Since I'm just replacing the old radio, I already have a nice hole cut out. The problem is that my new Standard Horizon Eclipse (same model as the old one) just happens to be deeper in dimension. It barely fits in the cavity, and I know it will be a challenge to get the nuts and bolts set and tightened. I hope I don't drop too many parts down between the hull and cabin liner.

[bubba]

Good thing your south of the gulf's oil slicks. I here it is getting bad near New Orlenes a buddy reports.

[Lloyd Franks]

Cedar Key is great. Kinda like Key West w/o the commercialism. Coastal waters are shallow, and lots of nearby islands to explore. Hope the oil doesn't screw it up. There are also some nice lakes near you...But don't feed the alligators

[paj637]

Don't rule out the St Johns River in Jax, Palatka, and Green Cove Springs. Just did the MUG race and it was 11 hours of non-stop freshwater river single handing my . I like the St Johns almost as much as Cumberland Sound and offshore St Marys/Fernandina Beach. This part of the SE has so many options for the Macs.

[c130king]

Phil,

Very jealous. I really want to do that someday. Give me some details on how you got there and what you did.

Cheers,
Jim
Sailing on König