Anchorage

St Augustine

Shelter: N, NE, E, S, SE
Seabed: mud
Anchoring: Allowed

Anchorage and mooring area on the Matanzas River at St Augustine, Florida, around the Bridge of Lions in the historic city centre.

Guide

Approach and anchoring

Enter from the AIWW on the Matanzas River near mile 778. The municipal marina runs mooring fields north and south of the Bridge of Lions; the south Menendez field is more sheltered than the San Marco field to the north. Slack water falls 20 to 35 minutes after high and low water, so time the approach for the turn of the tide.

Practical

The municipal marina manages the moorings and gives moored boats access to its facilities, fuel and dinghy dock. Fish Island Marina lies 0.7 mile south; St Augustine Municipal Marina is 0.7 mile north-west. The river is choppy on busy weekends and the northern field is uncomfortable in a north wind.

Ashore

Land at the marina dinghy dock to walk the colonial old town, with the Castillo de San Marcos and the shops of St George Street. The city centre, restaurants and provisions are all reached on foot from the waterfront.

History

St Augustine was founded by the Spanish in 1565 and is the oldest continuously occupied European settlement in the continental United States. The Castillo de San Marcos, a coquina-stone fort, was begun in 1672.