Nor’easter boating weather for Georgia-Florida

Tides, winds and rules for not getting a BUI arrest

For boaters heading to the Georgia-Florida game by boat plan on a bumpy ride to Metro Marina.

A local nor’easter has set in and won’t lay off until Sunday night. Winds will be blowing 15-20 kts. as a strong high pressure ridge over New England wedges between a coastal trough offshore Jacksonville. The pressure gradient will squeeze a north-northeasterly flow over the waters resulting in a Small Craft Advisory.

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The river will be choppy south of the Fuller Warren Bridge in the broader parts of the St. Johns.

Clouds will be thick but showers will be limited to only occasional light periods of rain throughout the day. The 30% rain chance will be brief with showers moving on the heavy breeze.

Forecast models indicate the wetter areas could be confined around the intercoastal waters or across counties south of Duval.

There will be a 1.5 knot tide switch from ebb to flood during the game.

Ebb tide up until about 2:30 pm.
Flood current by 4:30 pm
Southbank tides Saturday

Ever since Hurricane Ian water levels have been higher than normal for most of the month causing potential flooding. The southbank has been running nearly a foot higher than average and the 1:05 PM high tide could bring water to the top of docks that are non-floating.

Red line is the actual water level measured by the tide gauge compared to the blue predicted water level.

Drink responsibly marine patrol and Coasties will be watching

Remember to designate a sober captain as marine patrol will be stepping up efforts to crack down on boaters under the influence.

If you plan on drinking at the game, wait for at least a minimum of an hour per drink before operating your boat.

The graph below shows the approximate number of drinks for alcohol impairment based on a person’s weight.

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A boat operator with a blood alcohol concentration above .10 percent is estimated to be more than 10 times as likely to die in a boating accident than an operator with zero blood alcohol concentration.

In addition to local marine patrol, the Coast Guard has the authority to determine if an operator is impaired and arrest the captain or end the trip by mooring the vessel.


About the Author:

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.