Marina Review for Freeport Marina

Reviewed by: Shawn Murphy , Gradle, on Sep 7, 2022
Vessel Type: Sail
LOA: 48'
Draft: 4.0'

Rating: 5

There aren't many services at the marina itself but it's in good repair for the most part. Gas and diesel were available. We only used it to go ashore on a Friday night. There were no employees on the dock and we asked the bartender if we needed to pay and he said not to worry about it. There was a tent setup the next day and they charged a flat fee of $10 per boat but this was Labor Day weekend. The restaurant/bar was a nice outdoor location to hang out. Live music and dog friendly. The restaurant staff were friendly and efficient. Food was good. You can rent a golf cart for $85 for 3 hours and that's plenty of time to explore the small island unless you want beach time.

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Anchorage Review for Rock Harbor

Reviewed by: Shawn Murphy, Gradle, on Apr 14, 2022
Vessel Type: Sail
LOA: 48'
Draft: 4.0'

Anchored in 7 ft of sand just north of where this anchorage is listed on the map. We had trouble finding shore access to walk the dog and had to get creative. This is a marina/RV park near by that no one was manning. We entered this anchorage on the south side just north of Rodriguez Key. The center of the bay looks to be very shallow; there is a visible wreck aground. It was 9-10 ft depth until we got to the anchorage. Great dog friendly pizza place when you make it to shore and just a short walk: Italian Food Company.

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Anchorage Review for Boot Key Outside - Marathon

Reviewed by: Shawn Murphy, Gradle, on Mar 24, 2022
Vessel Type: Sail
LOA: 48'
Draft: 4.0'

Anchored in 8 ft of sand. Many boats anchored here. A little far from services.

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Anchorage Review for Lake Sylvia

Reviewed by: Shawn Murphy, Gradle, on Mar 15, 2022
Vessel Type: Sail
LOA: 48'
Draft: 4.0'

Tight anchorage but we were able to squeeze in. Three other boats from Colorado were anchored there too. We had to go under the bridge and over to Cox Landing boat ramp to walk the dog.

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Anchorage Review for Lake Worth R2

Reviewed by: Shawn Murphy, Gradle, on Mar 5, 2022
Vessel Type: Sail
LOA: 48'
Draft: 4.0'

There were some weired currents where we anchored. We anchored just southwest of where the anchorage is listed on the map. There is an upwelling just south of where the anchorage is listed on the map. This is not related to any tidal change. It is a constant flowing of water that pushes to the surface. Combined with the tidal change, we spun in circles. We were in 8 ft of water. At one point the anchor chain went under the boat, circled around forward and I could see the anchor just off my port side, 5 feet from my boat. I was facing away from the wide in 15 knots of wind. Other boats that were further south didn't seem to have any issues. The strange water anomaly must be the cause. It looks like a fresh water spring flowing up. Same amount of water flowing from it in high and low tide. Freaky.

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Bridge comment on Southern Boulevard (SR 700/80) Bridge

Comment by: Shawn Murphy, Gradle, on Mar 5, 2022
Vessel Type: Sail
LOA: 48'

This bridge is under construction and has a maximum height of 65 ft at low tide. It was a dead end for us with our 72 ft mast.

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Bridge comment on SR 401 Drawbridges

Comment by: Shawn Murphy, Gradle, on Mar 5, 2022
Vessel Type: Sail
LOA: 48'

There are overhead power lines at 85 ft.

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Anchorage Review for Canaveral Locks - West

Reviewed by: Shawn Murphy, Gradle, on Mar 2, 2022
Vessel Type: Sail
LOA: 48'
Draft: 4.0'

Shallow anchorage with no protection from the north. There is no tidal change because of the locks. We anchored in 8 feet of muddy sand. There are many boats here with permanent moorings. There is are sandy beaches areas where you can go ashore to walk the dog. There are no services but a friend picked us up on Mullet Rd where we went ashore.

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Lock comment on Cape Canaveral Lock

Comment by: Shawn Murphy, Gradle, on Mar 2, 2022
Vessel Type: Sail
LOA: 48'
Draft: 4.0'

Using this lock the first time can be tricky, especially for just two people. There were no dock personnel to assist in tying up. First, this is not like tying up to a dock at a marina. You are tying up to a wall of cross beams, imagine something like a fence on a corral, with one very large cleat on the top. There are more cleats but they are so spaced out as to become unusable so you have to wrap you other line(s) around one of the cross beams. More cleats would have been helpful. Second, we needed to position our fenders high on the freeboard because the side of our boat curves out from the water line. We had them at dock height to start and our boat was touching the wall. You have to manage your lines every minute and not tie them off. As the water drops, or raises, you need to let out line. Watch your fenders as the water level changes. Our fenders got stuck as the water level began to rise and we had to push away from the wall. As long as you pay attention, you will be ok. There is some current as the gates open to let you out. We had dolphins in the lock with us.

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Anchorage Review for Piddler Island

Reviewed by: Shawn Murphy, Gradle, on Feb 28, 2022
Vessel Type: Sail
LOA: 48'
Draft: 4.0'

We anchored in 10 ft of water. Sandy bottom, typical tidal current. The marina was pretty laid back. So much so that I could not find anyone working. It was 4:30 pm on a Sunday. I docked the dinghy next to the restaurant. It looked like a popular place. There was a 2 hour wait so we skipped it. Other than the boatyard, there were no other services. No stores or other places of business. It was all residential around the marina. There are two other restaurants within dinghy distance. There is a great park to the south of the marina to walk the dog. The inlet was well marked. Once you get past the inlet, it's a little tricky getting upriver to the anchorage. We had a minor soft grounding. You want to stay south of red buoy 8B as there is shouting to the north. But it is also shallow to the south. Up to date satellite maps give a good representation of where the channel lies. I recommend following a local boat in like we eventually did.

• WG Editor Comment:
  

  This yard is closed on the weekends.

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Nav Alert comment on FL Inlet Caution: St. Augustine Inlet

Comment by: Shawn Murphy, Gradle, on Feb 27, 2022
Vessel Type: Sail
LOA: 48'
Draft: 4.0'

This Inlet was well marked and deep. Never got less than 20 ft of water under the hull. It doesn't show on any charts but there's red and green buoys the whole way in.

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Anchorage Review for Amelia River Entrance

Reviewed by: Shawn Murphy, Gradle, on Feb 26, 2022
Vessel Type: Sail
LOA: 48'
Draft: 4.0'

We anchored here for two night outside the mooring field. This is really the only place to anchor. The more southern anchorage is right next to the paper mill and the smell was terrible. The marina charges $4/day to use the dinghy dock. You can also pay for use of the marina services. The anchorage was mud and we held fine. A little bit of boat traffic but not bad. Typical tidal movement for a near shore anchorage. We came in from the north and avoided the main channel and tanker traffic. I'd advise this if your coming in during the day as the main channel is narrow.


The downtown area is very cool. The have a nice old town area. Many bars and restaurants but they are mostly off Center. ;) The Palace Saloon boasts as the oldest bar in Florida. We thought The Green Turtle was a cooler place. They had a live band when we were there and a nice outdoor seating area. Dog friendly.

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Anchorage Review for North Newport River - Walburg Creek

Reviewed by: Shawn Murphy, Gradle, on Feb 24, 2022
Vessel Type: Sail
LOA: 48'
Draft: 4.0'

We anchored more to the north of where this anchorage is marked on the map. No services but very beautiful. The beach was just to the north where we walked the dog. There was a mild current from the tides. The inlet was deep, so we anchored in 20 ft of mud within 50 yds of shore. One bar a T-Mobile service. Over the air TV channels available. St. Catherine's Channel was deep and wide coming in.

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Marina Review for Palmetto Bay Marina

Reviewed by: Shawn Murphy , Gradle, on Feb 21, 2022
Vessel Type: Sail
LOA: 48'
Draft: 4.0'

Rating: 5

New marina is very nice and the dockmaster, Patrick, was very helpful. He met us at the dock at 6:30 at night when we had engine trouble. There are currently no showers or laundry. There is only a small store to buy sodas and candy. No booze or grocery but there was ice. The are 3 restaurants/bars at the marina. There was live music that weekend. The marina had free bikes to ride. There is a nice trail system through the woods that goes to a commercial area (Publix/Walgreens/Hardware) we walked the dog there in about 20 minutes. Diesel mechanic, Chris Collins, came out the same day I called him and got us running. +1 (843) 683-1570

Everyone was very nice and helpful.

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Anchorage Review for South Channel Range

Reviewed by: Shawn Murphy, Gradle, on Feb 6, 2022
Vessel Type: Sail
LOA: 48'
Draft: 4.0'

This anchorage is right off a yacht club marina. There are 4 or 5 mooring balls in this area, I assume for the marina. While we were there, the moorings were empty. We anchored in 14 ft of water at high tide. There is very little protection from the wind and the you swing back and forth with the tide but it was not uncomfortable in our catamaran. We drug anchor a little with some high wind until we put out some extra chain. Muddy bottom. There is a free public dock on the other side of the yacht club at that is part of Melton Peter Demetre Park. We tied off the dinghy there and walked the dog. You could definitely get an Uber/Lift to pick you up there and maybe have food delivered. There are some small trash cans there but no dumpsters where you could drop off your trash. There are also two "beach" areas where the locals were collecting shells. The landward side of the dinghy dock was too shallow at low tide to get into. You could take a dinghy ride across the bay to Charleston if the seas were calm.

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Free Dock Review for Wilmington City Docks - Market Street Landing

Reviewed by: Shawn Murphy, Gradle, on Jan 25, 2022
Vessel Type: Sail
LOA: 48'
Draft: 4.0'

Rating: 3

This is now a free dock and first come first served. We were there in July of 2021 when they were transitioning from a paid dock space to a free space. We stayed there for 3 days for free. You are not supposed to stay overnight but there are boats staying permanently on the dock. These docks are no longer managed so they may start to get rundown and some are so bad they are not currently in use and they are no longer collecting money. There was 30 A electricity and water when we were there. The city water is not safe to drink directly, it's contaminated with PFAS/PFOA. There are multiple docks along the waterfront. We stayed at the end of Market St. next to the ferry landing. There is a nice local bar within 100 ft of the dock, Bar Local. There is no security. I have heard stories of homeless people going on boats too. I did feel safe. There is a nice river walk and many restaurants. (Try the fish and chips at Front Street Brewery. Also, check out the Fork & Cork and The Copper Penny. All within walking distance.) We had a sailboat on a paid dock in Wilmington for 2 years, lived aboard there for 6 months.

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