Tag: Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission

Florida Marina Updates

The St. Augustine Shipyard marina opens this month to provide mariners easy access to historic Old St. Augustine and the Atlantic. It accommodates boats up to 120 feet with more than 300 new slips. Dry storage handles boats up to 42-feet LOA weighing up to 35,000 pounds. Amenities include boat valet service, ship’s store and fuel, boat maintenance and repair service, free pump-outs, and a fish cleaning station. A pedestrian promenade with shops, restaurants and hotels is in the works. staugustineshipyard.com

The Yacht Club in Delray Beach will soon be a commercial marina. The 1960s yacht club gives way to a more contemporary nautical facility with 44 slips offering dockage up to 130 feet. Amenities include an Olympic swimming pool with tiki bar, free parking, a clubhouse, and full yacht services and maintenance. Accompanying residences offer waterfront living. theyachtclubatdelraybeach.com

Key Biscayne’s Crandon Park Marina. Photo: Miami-Dade County Parks, Recreation and Open Spaces Department

Key Biscayne’s Crandon Park Marina is newly improved. New charter boat docks, a seawall, and state-of-the-art access and security are welcome changes. An extended boardwalk, fender mooring piles, new power and water pedestals, and 10 new transient slips await visitors. New landscaping accentuates the enhancements. miamidade.gov/parks/crandon-marina.asp

Biscayne National Park’s Elliott Key features a newly built marina, campground and boardwalk accessible only by boat. The beautiful 36-slip marina is limited to very shoal-draft boats since it has no entry channel and 2½ feet mean low tide. Daytime visits are free. Overnight stays with a campsite cost $20. Weekdays are quieter.
nps.gov/bisc/planyourvisit/elliottkey.html

Carolina Updates
A Coast Guard-established temporary safety zone on the ICW at Morehead City, North Carolina, at mile 203.7 remains until April 2015. Maintenance to U.S. 70 Fixed Bridge requires a construction barge needing clearance. Two-hour notification to a work supervisor is only needed for horizontal clearance of more than 40 feet.

South Carolina needs reports and photos during “king tides” to assess storm damage during its highest seasonal tides. This year’s remaining “king tides” occur September 6-12, October 6-11 and November 5-8. mycoast.org.

The Marina at Grande Dunes in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, now offers easier hiking and biking to the Atlantic Ocean and the ICW via a 21-mile trail and park network. The trails will connect ponds and waterfronts, new parks including dog parks and a YMCA. This scenic, safer pathway replaces three miles of congested sidewalks and side streets.

Look Out for Manatee
Laws mandate that cruisers slow down in manatee protection zones through November 15th. Watching for manatees in springs, rivers and Atlantic waters during warmer months should become a habit according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Mariners help prevent collisions if they wear polarized sunglasses, look for circles in the water’s surface, watch for manatee snouts, and adjust throttle near spotted manatees. myfwc.com/wildlifehabitats/managed/manatee/protection-zones. 

By Nancy Spraker, Southern Boating September 2014

South Carolina Receives Multiple Boating Grants

Four South Carolina marine businesses received hefty Boating Infrastructure Grants (BIG) this year. The Charleston City Marina replaces electrical receptacles on its MegaDock with about $20,000; The Myrtle Beach Yacht Club replaces its fuel system with nearly $45,000; Beaufort’s Downtown Marina upgrades its transient dock with almost $1 million, and St. Johns Yacht Harbor constructs 50 transient slips and installs a state-of-the-art fueling system with over $953,000. Boating excise duties finance the BIG trust fund.

The aggressive lionfish significantly threatens Florida’s native wildlife and habitat. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) held a Lionfish Summit in 2013 to catalyze the necessary changes for reduction and easy removal of lionfish, and to develop markets for them. The commission launched the free app “Report Florida Lionfish” with educational information, safe handling guidelines and a data-reporting form for public lionfish spotters and harvesters. App users can also share their photos of lionfish in Florida waters. Those without smart devices may submit reports at myfwc.com/fishing/saltwater/recreational/lionfish.

Miami Megayacht Marina will provide much-needed slips for 200-foot megayachts on the Miami River next summer. This 14-slip facility replaces an existing well-worn marina. Each covered slip comes with sheltered parking for three vehicles, indoor storage and quarters for captain and crew (unique in the U.S.). Covered tender storage, an owner’s vault and additional flexible space are also included. Marina amenities include a clubhouse with a coffee shop, internet, dining area, spa, exercise room, media room, and swimming pool. Marine-related businesses are onsite. Dredging and a new seawall are planned. The Miami Megayacht Marina is expected to revitalize the area and its economy.

New Smyrna Beach, Florida, was the final destination for 67-year-old kayaker Alexander “Olek” Doba. He paddled solo more than 6,000 miles from Portugal over the course of 195 days. After leaving Lisbon last October he encountered storms, mechanical problems, a challenging Gulf Stream, and winds that blew him off course. In April, Doba and his 21-foot kayak was escorted into a New Smyrna Beach harbor by 15 local kayakers. When he kissed Florida’s sandy soil his admirers on shore called him a “tough guy.”

ICW drawbridges in Daytona Beach’s Volusia County and other ICW locales will vanish in future years due to expensive bridge maintenance with custom-made parts and tender costs as much as $400,000 per year. A high-rise bridge replacing a Volusia County drawbridge next year will cost $43 million with mostly federal funds. Although expensive to build, high-rise bridges’ annual costs are less. ICW cruisers will still have to wait for bridge openings since fundraising for new bridges takes time.

S.E. Seaboard boat drivers of certain ages will now be required to take classes on safe boat handling. States’ age requirements are North Carolina, under 26; South Carolina, under 16 if operating a boat with 15 horsepower or more; Georgia, born on or after January 1, 1998; Florida, born on or after January 1, 1988, if the boat has 10 horsepower or more.

By Nancy E. Spraker, Southern Boating August 2014

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