Hundreds of boats and thousands of boaters attended 2023's Skip Day at Clay County's Bayard Point. | News4Jax
Published on June 4, 2025 at 2:27 pm
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What is being called the biggest boating party in Northeast Florida will fill the waters off Clay County’s Bayard Point on Friday, as the unofficial “Boater Skip Day” returns to the shoreline south of Green Cove Springs.
An early summer tradition for years at a shallow section in the St. Johns River, boaters can expect “… good vibes, music, floating food trucks and a full-on sandbar takeover,” according to a Facebook post from Jacksonville culture and events media company 904 Happy Hour.
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Boaters can also expected there to be a very crowded sandbar as the event starts Friday morning, said Clay County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Benjamin Ryan.
“We are estimating 6,000 to 7,000 people to be out on the water,” Ryan said. “The Clay County Sheriff’s Office has requested mutual aid from our local and state partners to provide the safest environment possible, and we will have a significant presence on the water, land and in the air.”
Boater Skip Day has humble origins, begininng years ago as the Poker Run Raft Up, then evolving into a party on the water where boaters of all types “skip” work on the first Friday of every June. The assembly point is Marker 24 at Bayard Point, just south of the Shands Bridge.
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As usual, the Shands Boat Ramp on the north side of State Road 16 will be closed to all civilian traffic all day on Friday so enforcement agencies can use it as a command center. It should reopen late Friday. For most of the day, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission will join local law enforcement to patrol the point, Ryan said.
The expected crowd is estimated to be more than last year’s 6,000 people, on boats or wading in the shallow water atop that sand bar, Ryan said. And law enforcement has been a bit busy in recent years.
In 2023, officers handed out 103 written warnings for various boating violations, as well as 38 boating citations, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said. Officers also made 18 arrests for boating under the influence, although there were no injuries in 2023, the agency said.
Last year, there were 21 arrests made in total between several agencies, including Boating Under the Influence and disorderly conduct arrests, Ryan said.
For those planning skip their day jobs Friday to party at Bayard Point, here are some suggestions from the Sheriff’s Office:
- If you go to a boat ramp and aren’t towing a boat, don’t park in the spaces used for people with trailers.
- Do not block another legally parked vehicle in a designated parking space.
- Do not park in the median or shoulder of Highway 17.
- Do not operate a vessel under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
- Stay hydrated; have a first-aid kit and life jacket.
Ryan said their goal is to “make sure everyone has a fun, safe and responsible time.” And remember – the Knight’s Boat Ramp, Lakeshore Boat Ramp, Doctor’s Lake Boat Ramp and Williams Park often fill up with boat trailers by 9:30 a.m. each year, the Sheriff’s Office reports.
