Mayport, An Overlooked History

A friend recently invited me lunch at a little restaurant called Safe Harbor in Mayport Florida. Mayport is a little fishing village near Jacksonville and since I had heard a little about the place, I welcomed the chance to go. As always, click each photo for a better view.

I was surprised to learn that scholars believe Jean Ribault landed in Mayport in 1562, which predates both St. Augustine and Jamestown. And, as you can tell from the condition of the sign above, St. Augustine has capitalized on its history and Mayport has not.

The Safe Harbor restaurant sits on the river and offers fresh seafood and a view of the fishing boats. It is simple dining but great atmosphere.

And it is a fantastic view. But it also shows that the adage about location being very important does you no good if there is a lack of vision once you get there.

I say that because there does not seem to have been much of an effort to capitalize on the historic nature of the area and now cruise ships have begun to take over the harbor.

Cruise ships and birds now pretty much own the place.

The food was quite good and as we sat outside and watched the fishing boats come and go it made for very pleasant dining.

I could only wonder what the place would look like if there was a significant effort to highlight the natural beauty of the place.

I watched this fishing boat pull away from the harbor with nets ready for the next catch.

And then had to smile as it reached the middle of the river. If you look closely to the right of the picture you will see a cloud of birds following it out of the harbor. They too were ready for the next catch. At least someone in the area knows how to capitalize on potential opportunities.