Our Harbor Marina is the Working Waterfront of Fernandina Beach

On August 6, 2019, the city commission unanimously voted to move forward with plans for a waterfront park. This would remove or relocate much of the parking in lots A & B at the foot of Centre Street. Our Harbor Marina is the Working Waterfront of Fernandina Beach.

The view from our waterfront is spectacular and it would make a great location for a park; there is just one problem. The City of Fernandina Beach will have just spent over 10 million dollars building a state-of-the-art marina that will accommodate up to 100 vessels. It will open in the spring of 2020.

Fernandina Harbor Marina has been operating for the last 20 or more years. Only about 50% of its slips were available for rent because of silting issues. Now, for the first time in decades, we will have a fully functioning marina with 100% availability. We are hoping that by next spring we will be able to fill most of the slips at least during the transient season.  I call this the “human migration” season for the boaters that travel up and down the Intracoastal Waterway.

There are 14 thousand vessels that pass by the shores of Amelia Island each season in their migration. The marina also will see the return of at least thirty businesses that will again call Fernandina Harbor Marina home. There are many additional businesses that will service the vessels at the marina. All these businesses are tourism related and tourism on Amelia Island has become our number one industry.

We will soon see the American Cruise Line ships tying up at the marina once again and beginning next year we will see another cruise ship company calling on the Port of Fernandina. The Victory Cruise Line operates two ships; each is 286 ft and will carry up to 200 passengers. A third vessel is under construction. All these vessels will spend the day in Fernandina, and they will often resupply during their stay. All these businesses will attract hundreds of passengers each day.

A View to Brett’s between Parking Lot A and B

The Amelia River Cruises Ticket booth facing parking lot A

There are also three very popular restaurants that border parking lots A & B. To say the least, the Working Waterfront of Fernandina Beach will soon be busier than we have ever seen! The access point for most of the marina is from the north and south of Brett’s Waterway Café and parking lots A & B are on the north and south of Brett’s Waterway Café. If a park is built to replace a large portion of both parking lots A & B, this will severely impact the accessibility of the Working Waterfront that is Fernandina Harbor Marina.

The marina operates as an enterprise fund and is expected to be self-supportive. With limited parking available for the boat owners and operators, it will be difficult to rent the slips and therefore become a continuing burden on the taxpayers. Parking lots D & C, that are located just south of Atlantic Seafood, are much larger than lots A & B. This weekend, the Petanque Tournament was held in lots D & C and was again a great success.

Most of the boaters that I have spoken with agree that creating a full-service park in lots C & D would be a much better choice. This park could include restrooms and a Waterfront Stage that could feature open air concerts and many other events including Fishing Tournaments, and these events will not negatively affect the traffic flow or the parking issues downtown. We need to increase the parking on the Working Waterfront and create a Waterfront Park on the southside of the marina!

Sincerely,

Kevin P. McCarthy

Categorised in: Amelia Island