Boat Culture in St. Augustine: Life on the Water in America’s Oldest City
St. Augustine is famous for its history, its ghost tours, its food scene, and its beaches. What does not get enough attention is the water itself – the Matanzas River, the Salt Run, the Intracoastal Waterway, the Atlantic just beyond the inlet – and the entire lifestyle built around it.
This is a serious boat town. Has been for centuries.
The Waterways
St. Augustine sits at the intersection of several distinct bodies of water, each with its own character. The Intracoastal Waterway runs through its heart and offers an endless playground for both the seasoned sailor and the novice kayaker. The Matanzas River wraps around Anastasia Island, separating it from the mainland and providing some of the best inshore fishing and sandbar anchoring in Northeast Florida. The Salt Run – the narrow waterway between Anastasia State Park and the northern end of the island – is a local favorite for calm water paddleboarding and kayaking.
Then there is the Atlantic. The St. Augustine Inlet, about three miles north of downtown, is the gateway to open water. On any given weekend morning you will see a parade of boats heading out – center consoles loaded with fishing gear, pontoons packed with families, sailboats making for the horizon.
The Fishing
The Intracoastal Waterway is teeming with redfish, trout, flounder, and snook. Charter a boat with a local guide for an insider’s chance at the Northeast Florida Slam – catching redfish, flounder, and trout in one trip.
The St. Johns County Ocean Pier at St. Augustine Beach is a community institution, as much a social gathering place as a fishing spot. Surf fishing at Vilano Beach and Crescent Beach draws locals year-round, with pompano, whiting, and bluefish running through the seasons. For those who want to go further, deep-sea charters run out of several marinas targeting snapper, mahi-mahi, kingfish, and tarpon.
The Old School Kingfish Shootout and the St. Augustine Kingfish Mayhem, held each June at Camachee Cove Yacht Harbor, are among the biggest fishing tournaments on the First Coast – events that draw serious anglers from across the Southeast.
The Marinas
St. Augustine has no shortage of places to dock. Camachee Cove Yacht Harbor, just north of downtown across the Vilano Bridge, is one of the largest and most full-service marinas on the northeast Florida coast, with fuel, repairs, slip rentals, and a community of live-aboards who have made it home base for months or years at a time. The city marina downtown puts you within walking distance of St. George Street, the Castillo, and every restaurant in the historic district. The St. Augustine Shipyard on the San Sebastian River serves the working and recreational boating community on the west side of the city.
For visitors who want to get on the water without owning a boat, Freedom Boat Club gives members access to the beautiful, active waters of the Intracoastal Waterway, Matanzas River and Atlantic Ocean, with the ability to drop an anchor at a private sandbar along the Matanzas or cruise through downtown St. Augustine. Boat rental outfits operate from multiple locations, and guided tours run everything from eco-cruises to sunset sails to ghost tours on the water after dark.
The Sandbars
Ask any local what they are doing on a Saturday afternoon in summer and there is a reasonable chance the answer involves a sandbar. The Matanzas River and its tributaries are dotted with shifting sandbars that appear and disappear with the tides – natural gathering spots where boats anchor up, people wade in the shallows, dogs swim, and coolers get opened. It is the St. Augustine version of a backyard party.
The Rattlesnake Island area, the sandbars near Fort Matanzas, and the flats south of the St. Augustine Inlet are perennial favorites. Nobody publishes an official map because the sandbars move. That is part of the charm.
Getting On The Water
If you are visiting and want the experience, here are your options:
Guided tours run daily from multiple operators on the bayfront and from Camachee Cove. The sunset cruise looking back at the downtown skyline is one of the signature St. Augustine experiences, right up there with a ghost tour and a meal at one of the waterfront restaurants. Dolphin sightings are common. Manatee appearances are not unusual.
Kayak and paddleboard rentals are available at several outfitters, with access to the Salt Run, the Matanzas, and the Guana Tolomato Matanzas National Estuarine Research Reserve to the north – 73,000 acres of protected coastal habitat where the water is wild and quiet and the birds are spectacular.
Fishing charters range from half-day inshore trips targeting redfish and trout to full-day offshore adventures. Most operate out of Camachee Cove or the city marina. Book in advance during peak season.
If you happen to be passing through on a boat of your own, St. Augustine is one of the great stops on the Intracoastal Waterway. The city marina is walkable to everything. The anchorage off the bayfront is well-protected. And the restaurants that face the water – Cap’s on the Intracoastal, Aunt Kate’s on the Tolomato, Beaches at Vilano by the pier – all have docks or easy dinghy access.
St. Augustine has been a port since 1565. The water is not incidental to this city. It is the whole reason any of this exists.