Melanie Neale for St. Augustine Port

Thank you for your support of my campaign! Funds will be used to campaign in hopes of being elected to the Saint Augustine Port, Waterway & Beach District, Group 5, in November.

Local sailor and business owner Melanie Sunshine Neale earned her US Coast Guard 100 Ton Master captains’ license before she got her drivers’ license. She grew up living aboard her family’s 47’ sailboat, cruising up and down the East Coast and through the Bahamas for nearly twenty years while being homeschooled. Melanie captained and crewed on various boats while working her way through college, then bought and lived aboard her first sailboat while attending grad school in Miami.

She’s an author (her books include memoirs Boat Girl and Boat Kid), regular contributor to various magazines, a freelance editor, and has worked over the years as everything from boat detailer to bait shop clerk to college professor to educational administrator.

After 10 years in the corporate world, following a layoff and divorce, Melanie began a career as a yacht broker. In 2020, she opened Sunshine Cruising Yachts, located in the working waterfront district of Riberia Street. The company brokers vessels locally and across the globe.

Melanie is a single parent, former homeowner in St. Augustine South, and lives on her 43’ sailboat with her daughter, a student at Sebastian Middle School, and various animals. Her focus locally is on economic growth within the marine industry (specifically training and job creation), preservation of the working waterfront and the city’s maritime heritage, accountability, and intelligently planned and managed access to our natural resources.