Hundreds turn out Friday for Boater Skip Day

Traffic will be heavier on the waterways than on the roads on Friday

2020 Boater skip day was nearly as crowed as last year despite cloudy skies. (mark Collins, wjxt)

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Thousand of locals have RSVP’d YES!!! to Boater Skip Day, an event planned on Facebook. Instead of suiting up and heading into work, boaters plan to launch their boats and head to the Bayard Point sandbar to anchor and spend the day.

The event description says “This year will be BIGGER and BETTER than ever before!! NE Florida’s largest boating event is back for another year!! Get those excuses ready for work and time off requests turned in!! Invite your friends to this “Official” Event Page and pack it out!”

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The Weather Authority’s Mark Collins was on the water and said several hundred boaters were anchored along the west bank of the St. Johns river despite the occasional showers and overcast clouds.

There was a heavy law enforcement presence on the water and a few boat ramps had to be blocked off to incoming trailers due to all the parking spaces being used.

The Green Cove Springs Police Department posted a shot of their marine team in a Facebook post about the event:

Someone say something about a "Boater Skip Day" tomorrow?!

Posted by Green Cove Springs Police Department on Thursday, 4 June 2020

The Palms Fish Camp restaurant posted the proclamation signed by Jacksonville Lenny Curry designating Boater Skip Day as an official event:

BOATERS SKIP DAY is this Friday June 5th. That’s right folks “skip day” has been legitimized as a Jax thing. Mayor...

Posted by Palms Fish Camp Restaurant on Tuesday, 2 June 2020

And we’ll leave you with video from 2019′s Boater Skip Day from News4JAX’s Sky4 Chopper:

BOATERS SKIP DAY!🚤😎 SKY4 LIVE: You're looking LIVE as hundreds of people cruise out to Bayard Point near Green Cove Springs to participate in one big party. https://bit.ly/2KyUbsd

Posted by WJXT4 The Local Station / News4JAX on Friday, 7 June 2019

About the Authors:

After covering the weather from every corner of Florida and doing marine research in the Gulf, Mark Collins settled in Jacksonville to forecast weather for The First Coast.