Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
 
Old 10-11-2017, 05:15 PM   #1
Veteran Member
 
Fishing Fool's Avatar
 
City: Clearwater, FL
Vessel Name: Living Waters
Vessel Model: 36' Grand Banks Classic
Join Date: Mar 2015
Posts: 93
St. John's River in Florida

Can the St. John's River in Florida be accessed from somewhere other than Jacksonville?

I looked on a map and looks like its possible down by Sebastian Inlet through some canals, but not sure if its deep enough for a vessel needing at least 4'-5' of depth.

Would love to take our GB for our trip up and down the river but not sure about getting there except from Jacksonville.

Thanks!
Fishing Fool is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-11-2017, 05:23 PM   #2
TF Site Team
 
Larry M's Avatar
 
City: Jacksonville
Join Date: Nov 2008
Posts: 11,682
Sorry, no can do.
Larry M is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-11-2017, 05:24 PM   #3
Guru
 
menzies's Avatar
 
City: Jacksonville
Vessel Name: SONAS
Vessel Model: Grand Alaskan 53
Join Date: May 2014
Posts: 7,235
I have never heard of such access - only Mayport/Jacksonville/ICW at the upper end.
menzies is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-11-2017, 05:38 PM   #4
Guru
 
caltexflanc's Avatar
 
City: North Carolina for now
Join Date: Aug 2011
Posts: 6,348
There is no connector from the area around Sebastian Inlet. Not even by dinghy. Those canals you see all have gates, they are drainage and flood control.
__________________
George

"There's the Right Way, the Wrong Way, and what some guy says he's gotten away with"
caltexflanc is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-11-2017, 06:37 PM   #5
Guru
 
rwidman's Avatar
 
City: North Charleston, SC
Join Date: Sep 2010
Posts: 4,870
The short answer is "No."

Many years ago, there was a plan for a "cross Florida" canal. Land was purchased and part of it was built. Then the environmentalists got ahold of it and that was the end of the plan. Part of the canal is useable and the rest of the land was turned into a park.
rwidman is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-11-2017, 06:48 PM   #6
Guru
 
caltexflanc's Avatar
 
City: North Carolina for now
Join Date: Aug 2011
Posts: 6,348
The canal such as it is on the west coast of Florida.
__________________
George

"There's the Right Way, the Wrong Way, and what some guy says he's gotten away with"
caltexflanc is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-11-2017, 06:59 PM   #7
Guru
 
diver dave's Avatar
 
City: Palm Coast, FL
Vessel Name: Coquina
Vessel Model: Lagoon 380
Join Date: Jan 2017
Posts: 2,570
Quote:
Originally Posted by WesK View Post
The short answer is "No."

Many years ago, there was a plan for a "cross Florida" canal. Land was purchased and part of it was built. Then the environmentalists got ahold of it and that was the end of the plan. Part of the canal is useable and the rest of the land was turned into a park.
That would have been another disaster to further trash FL. I was part of a campain to stop it in the early '70's, and glad I did (Boy Scout troop). For an entire century before this "barge canal" nonsense, there was ongoing work to drain the entire everglades.
diver dave is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-11-2017, 07:12 PM   #8
Guru
 
City: Satsuma FL
Vessel Name: No Mo Trawla
Vessel Model: Hurricane SS188
Join Date: Jul 2014
Posts: 2,300
Quote:
Originally Posted by Fishing Fool View Post
Can the St. John's River in Florida be accessed from somewhere other than Jacksonville?

I looked on a map and looks like its possible down by Sebastian Inlet through some canals, but not sure if its deep enough for a vessel needing at least 4'-5' of depth.
There are other rivers that run into the St Johns but none of them from salt water.

Nowadays, the St Johns is only navigable down to Lake Monroe and Sanford. When I was a kid, you could travel from Sanford down to west Melbourne in an outboard cabin cruiser under 23 feet long. You can probably still do that today in a flats boat but the channel is not marked or not marked well and there are no high or opening bridges. The channels are irregularly shaped and also extremely narrow in places.
__________________
Buffalo Bluff Light 28
Donsan is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-12-2017, 11:24 AM   #9
TF Site Team
 
Shrew's Avatar
 
City: Westerly, RI
Vessel Name: N/A
Vessel Model: 1999 Mainship 350 Trawler
Join Date: Jan 2014
Posts: 4,162
Quote:
Originally Posted by diver dave View Post
That would have been another disaster to further trash FL. I was part of a campain to stop it in the early '70's, and glad I did (Boy Scout troop). For an entire century before this "barge canal" nonsense, there was ongoing work to drain the entire everglades.
Curious about how that would have 'trashed' Florida.

Also curious how the possible draining of the everglades is related to the cross Florida barge canal. The canal was fairly far north of the Everglades.

I'm not disputing or criticizing. Just generally curious.
Shrew is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-12-2017, 11:40 AM   #10
Guru
 
diver dave's Avatar
 
City: Palm Coast, FL
Vessel Name: Coquina
Vessel Model: Lagoon 380
Join Date: Jan 2017
Posts: 2,570
Quote:
Originally Posted by Shrew View Post
Curious about how that would have 'trashed' Florida.

Also curious how the possible draining of the everglades is related to the cross Florida barge canal. The canal was fairly far north of the Everglades.

I'm not disputing or criticizing. Just generally curious.
As I understood the issue, the Ocklawaha River would have been significantly altered, perhaps even stopped the natural flow.
There have been other unintended impacts in FL due to river "rework". A notable example is the Kissimmee River, that feeds the big O. Since fixed at a huge cost to the taxpayer. That river is on the far side of the big lake from the Everglades, yet had a major effect on its water quality.
A good read about how FL got to where it is now is The Swamp.
diver dave is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-12-2017, 05:07 PM   #11
Guru
 
rwidman's Avatar
 
City: North Charleston, SC
Join Date: Sep 2010
Posts: 4,870
I think one big concern was the probability of mixing salt water into the St. Johns fresh water.

This project was killed about the time people first realized that they could stop any project by tying it up in the courts until people gave up on it. If it had been started thirty years earlier it would have been completed.

If this interests you, it's all over the Internet. You can learn all about it from both sides.
rwidman is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-12-2017, 07:13 PM   #12
Guru
 
City: Satsuma FL
Vessel Name: No Mo Trawla
Vessel Model: Hurricane SS188
Join Date: Jul 2014
Posts: 2,300
Quote:
Originally Posted by WesK View Post
I think one big concern was the probability of mixing salt water into the St. Johns fresh water.
There is already salt in the St Johns all the way down to the south end of Lake George. Not a lot but enough that the river is full of blue crabs, shrimp and mullet. The salt comes from the springs like Salt Spring. I was kind of surprised by it when we first moved up to Satsuma.
__________________
Buffalo Bluff Light 28
Donsan is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


» Trawler Port Captains
Port Captains are TF volunteers who can serve as local guides or assist with local arrangements and information. Search below to locate Port Captains near your destination. To learn more about this program read here: TF Port Captain Program





All times are GMT -5. The time now is 04:32 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
Search Engine Optimization by vBSEO 3.6.0
Copyright 2006 - 2012