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When referring to far North Florida, you're really talking about one city: Jacksonville. Jax is separated from Georgia by a tiny fishing village, Fernandina, and overshadows all the little beach towns from the border to Ponte Vedra. From a satellite's perspective of the eastern seaboard, this area looks pretty tucked away; however, this stretch actually picks up swells from all directions and -- barring the East Coast's frequent flat spells -- can get world-class surf, especially during hurricane season.
Certainly no surfing mecca, Jax nonetheless has breaks to rival any southeastern state, from long, perfect, point-like rights, to thick, grinding barrels, as well as assorted beachbreaks. Localism and bad vibes still prevail, but they usually stay restricted to certain spots, such as Jax Pier and North Jetty. Otherwise, this is one of the friendliest environments in the world. While Jacksonville itself is huge and borders several smaller communities, the 20-plus miles of surfable coastline keep crowds to a minimum. The way the road system is laid out, there is a spot at the end of every block in Atlantic Beach, Neptune Beach and Jax Beach, which means plenty of parking and plenty of breaks. Jacksonville is a great place to be a surfer. But remember, it's still Florida, and if you can't handle the flat spells, Costa Rica is only a few hours away.
The little fishing village of Fernandina borders Georgia to the north of Jacksonville, essentially starting North Florida. These first miles of coast are separated from the bulk of Jax's beaches by the St. John's River, resulting in some differences between the communities on either side. The area around Fernandina -- commonly called the North Side -- is a transitional swirl of old South and new tourism. Today, there are plenty of romantic bed and breakfasts, good restaurants and friendly people, but there was a time when these beaches were rooted well in the past, and North Siders were reputed to be the epitome of the Southern surfer's rough, redneck stereotype. The image is crumbling -- thanks in part to a new breed of gentleman surfers such as former East Coast champions Kyle McCarthy and Eric Hatton -- but be careful. The South may never rise again, but there are still parts of Florida where it's far from sleeping.
To get to Fernandina, you either must take A1A/108 east from I-95, way north of Jacksonville, or go north on A1A from the Jacksonville beaches and take the Mayport Ferry over the St. John's River. Keep going north on A1A and you'll run into Fernandina's primary spot, Main Beach. This beachbreak at the end of Main Street is known to spit sand-bottom barrels just yards from shore. Main Beach picks up any swell, but needs light or offshore winds and mid incoming tide. Surprisingly, the North Sider influence is scarce compared to breaks further south; in fact, this tight-knit band of locals and regular crew of visiting South Georgians is reputedly friendly.
-- Kaufmann Strange
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high, it's a shorebreak
N windswell; solid S groundswell
head-high
NE followed by light W, but strong offshores will kill it fast
3 to 4
sand
intermediate, beginners get beat up pretty bad
shortboard
fall
pull up, park and paddle
not bad, but lots of Georgia visitors
very mellow
1. Just duck dive, and you're out there.
2. Looks brown from sediment, but is surprisingly clean.
sharks, a rare ray and the occasional jellyfish
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North of the St. John's River, the 1878 Steak House (904-261-4049) is in historic Fernandina Beach, and a Circle K sits across from the ferry for a quick snack. On the south side, a Waffle House and other choices wait right next to The Poles, and quaint little Mayport Village has five or six restaurants within walking distance of each other. Still, Jax Beach proper has the best variety. The best sandwich in town, Sun Deli (904-270-1040), is only three blocks from the pier. Try Ichiban (904-247-8228) for sushi, Billy's Bar (904-246-8099) for burgers and wings, or there is a whole list of options from Fernandina to Ponte Vedra on the web.
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All the choices for Fernandina await you on the web. In Mayport, try the Comfort Inn (904-249-0313), and there are several similar chains in Jax, such as the Days Inn ( 904-249-7231) and the Holiday Inn (904-249-9071). For a change of pace, The Sea Turtle Inn (904-249-7402) is a nice oceanfront hotel in Atlantic Beach, but it'll run you some dough.
Or try
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Skaters should go straight to the Kona Skate Park (904-725-8770), but the web has a wider set of suggestions for the beaches and metropolitan area, including: The Jacksonville Zoological Gardens (904-757-4462), which features a wild animal safari; The Jacksonville Museum of Contemporary Art (904-398-8336); and the Jacksonville Maritime Museum (904-398-9011). Or just skip all that and charge the free brewery tour at Anheuser Busch (904-751-8117). If that's closed, you're next best bet is a Jaguars game. Go to Jaguars.com for schedule and ticket info, or to digitally grope one of the cheerleaders.
Despite the South Georgia/good ol' boy/Southern Baptist reputation, Jacksonville's nightlife can also be a hotbed of activity for the young at heart. With 20 high schools and half as many college campuses, the girls outnumber the guys by -- well, it's staggering. You can always see what national act is playing the Milk Bar in the city, but the better nightlife is back on the coast. The Corner in Atlantic Beach is a smattering of bars and a good place to start.
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The Jacksonville area is filled with more surf-related entities than we could list. Fernandina's Driftwood Surf Shop (904-321-2188), Pipeline Surf Shop (904-277-3717) and Ft. George Island Surf Shop (904-251-3483) serve the North Side population, and Dick Rosborough (904-251-3501) is responsible for all the Rozo shapes you'll see up there. Closer to town, there's Aqua East (904-246-2550) in Neptune Beach, Sunrise (904-241-0822) and Hart's Surf Shop in Jax Beach (904-246-4451), and Ponte Vedra Surf Shop (904-285-1676) is further south. Also, the Wave Masters Society Surf Club lives here and holds an annual benefit contest, and long-running local surf TV show "The Radical Side" is on channel 7 Monday nights at 6:30.
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