The Marina Scene

[Tom Ehmke]

Small, private, quiet, easy access, price right

That's Harbor Park Marina on Catawba Island, Ohio where our boat is docked. By choice I rent a dock with no water or power available. There is seldom a lot of traffic either on the roadway to the slip or in the water. The cost is $450 for the season.  The marina owner is a sailor who is almost always there when I launch. It helps a lot to know that the guy running the launch can properly step and unstep a mast without breaking something. I normally do all the docking alone unless my mate is with me. I'm fortunate that I can handle my O272 under most docking conditions. When the wind is foul and out of the wrong direction, I have always had a selection of open slips to use to tie up temporarily. It's a great place!!Tom

 

[Bob Brooks]

PRYC's the place to be!

The Pasquotank River Yacht Club sets on the Intracoastal Waterway just across a narrow causway from the Pasquotank River. This river, which is thirteen miles long, emties into the Albemarle Sound. This is home for our 33 foot Hunter, "Satisfaction". What a home it is! Several area Clubs combine yearly to support a host of great races and social gatherings. At our dock, members are helpful, friendly, and like to spend a lot of time on their boats. Anyone who has ever traveled the waterway along side the Great Dismal Swamp the last part of May, with tons of Honeysuckle in full bloom, will testify that this surely has to be at least a piece of Heaven. It's certainly what Laura and I call home. And we love it!

 

[Cathy Alcorn]

Can't complain

Seward harbour is geared more toward small commercial fisheries, tour/cruise services and larger fishing boats but there is a niche preserved for those of us that are purely pleasure boaters, comprised mostly of the sailing fleet. Given that, there are certain amenities missing for the pure pleasure boater but we have found the folks on dock and in the harbour maters office to be courteous, freindly and willing to lend a hand if needed especially the full timers boaters whose boats reside in the harbor year round. The transient dock is another thing altogether. We will avoid the area in the future. The price is certainly right and the harbor authority is working continuously on capital improvements. It is the best of the area alternatives for sailboats and most of the regional sailing fleet is located in Seward. We have the best of both worlds. In the summer the harbor is bustling with activity from 6am to 8/9pm. Afterward it's a little like a dock party especially during the 4th of July week. Lots of boaters, tourists, folks out to get lucky with a fishing pole. In the winter and in the "shoulder seasons" the harbour is virtually abandoned except a few locals and the critters. Very nice too. Overall we are very happy with our situation.

 

[Ed]

Lucked Out

Bought my boat in the slip and transferred the slip to my name. Clean and professional. Priced to the market. Bathroom/showers serviced every couple of hours. Groundkeepers, laundry, small chandlery, fuel dock and office 7 days a week. Run by a company that operates marinas in CA HI and Baja. Incredibly professional. Just dredged the place this past year and a new breakwater. High standards for liveaboards. Very consistent service. Everybody knows to keep their act together. Peer pressure to keep it right. Pride of ownership from both management and tenants.

 

[Capt Teach]

no marina

We dont have a marina here,we do have permission to drop bouys to keep the boats on during the season though. SO my boats float around hooked to a 650lb chunk of concrete stuck in the gooey mud bottom of the lake. Capt Teach

 

[Michal]

Marina life

My marina is a wonderful place to be on cold winter days and major holidays. That is when one can really hear the wind, listen to the sounds of nature, gaze at the mountains in the distance and dream one's dreams. Most people at the marina with cruising sailboats are fantastically friendly and helpful. (The powerboaters and racers are a different story, unfortunately! )

 

[Ed]

MARINA LIFE

The marina I am in is a wonderful place. 99% of the boats are owned by local residents, so all the help you would want or need is around during the day and at night we have the place to our self.The people are all friendly and helpful, the marina has around 100 slips

 

[Tom La Roche]

Cooper River Marina

Fellow Sailors:I have docked at most of the marina's in the Charleston, SC area, and am proud to call the Cooper River Marina home. The facilities are first rate, with stable concrete docks, and the Marina staff is even better. They check out the status of all the boats by walking the docks often, and are always available to help you with any problems. They get my vote as the best damn marina in the Charleston, SC area.

 

[Jeanne]

back yard boat

After years of being in a marina, we now own a house on a canal and a dock at the edge of our yard. It's great to fall out the back door and into the boat. This is a sailboat canal and the neighbors are wonderful and always willing to either sail with you or help with a problem. Beats a marina hands down.

 

[Janet & Ken Bailey]

Parrot Bay

We have a great marina. We have so much fun that we call our pier, Parrot Bay. There are five Hunters and a few other sailboats. (The entire marina has about 350 sailboats with lots of Hunters. We have patio piers, so everyone has a table, chairs, grill, and cooler. We are all about the same age (50) with grown children.We love spending time on dock, and then all sailing together/

 

[bill paterson]

Canadian lake sailing

Private members only club, family oriented to some degree but not too many little children, beach front, each slip has some lawn space behind slip. Room for picnic tables, ditty boxes & chairs. Small harbour, docked "Med" style, 65 slips. Hydro at each slip and water hot and cold nearby. Club house, bbq pavillion. Known as the prettiest harbour on Lake Simcoe, Ontario.

 

[Brian Blevins S/V Sindarin]

home away from home

I have a slip at the most prestigious marina in central Florida.Carribean Jacks,$6 million restoration on this marina,new docks,power,water and cable at each slip,fire hydrents(insurance is much lower with these)pump out at your slip,hottub, swimming pool,resturant/bar,fuel dock. Nice view as well,dock hands are very boat concious and watch out for accidents before they happen, they are friendly too. Downside is parking,ships store is sparse,rent is a little higher than other marinas in the area but i think its well worth it.Neighbors here are a plus also,help with lines is always there,as is a cold beer,wine,ect.unfriendly people have been nicely run off.the more I get done on this boat the more complements she gets.come visit

 

[Jack Page]

hey dana I aggree

Sounds like harbour towne or great lakes to me. I'm staying on a can this year down by MYC  Jack Page

 

[Jerry Anderson]

In the Harbor

Our Marina is in Ocean Springs Ms., We meet most nights after work,, 5:30 ish.. Have a few toddies and discuss the day!! It is and excellent wind down time.. On weekends there is always someone to chat with, or go sailing with.. We sail 12 months of the year here,,. Its a way of life.. JDA

 

[Bob]

Catawba Moorings

This will be my 3rd year at this marina with my Catalina 310. We have a fixed dock where we park the car right in front of the boat. Good view only one direction but great for loading the weekend's gear. We have a nice airconditioned bath house, large swimming pool and sun deck, great Friday-Sunday club house bar and restaurant, gas dock and convenience store, and full boatyard services on site plus a great and responsive owneer/manager. Roughly 300 slips with a max of 15 percent sail boats. We have a fun 1 mile parade route to open water and a straight shot to the Islands. My only problem with this marina is that because of the drive up dock we are basically in a socially dead zone. People come and go from boat to car or boat to a walk to the club or whatever. I wish we we were on a finger pier that would foster some social interaction and dock fun. I miss this from our previous dock home.

 

[Noah Young]

Don't know yet

Purchased my 23' the first of the year and it was located at South Shore Harbor Marina which was transfered into my name. I work on a ship so I don't get home as much as I would like. But when I am home I am there for 2 weeks or more at a time. I have been visiting the marina doing small jobs on the boat and have not seen very many people at the marina. It seems like it is a good place but has several draw backs. No yard to do any kind of out of water repairs or maintenance, no tables/grills or much of anything except a yacht club house and casino. But like I said, I haven't been there long so it may liven up when the weather gets better.

 

[Dana Smith]

Hello Jack of Muskegon

Right, Great Lakes Marina. Been there since they opened in 90. Lots of growth, expanding.I like it ok but sometimes a little more privacy would be good as well.What is your boat name? I'll look for you this season.I am 'On Business' a 31 ft. Hunter.Regards----Dana

 

[BILL ROBB]

Some likes - some dislikes

My marina could be classified as a "big-city" marina. We have over 500 boats where I'm at and about 400 where the haul-out & storage facilities are. In spite of all that, it's not a "party" dock - so we have fairly quiet conditions except on holidays. We are friendly with our dock neighbors and "talk boats" frequently, but allow for each others' privacy too. It has the very big advantage of being only 10 minutes away from my home and workplace but the disadvantage of not having the amenities I've come to expect when I'm cruising. Oh, well - I guess you can't have everything. Bill on STARGAZER

 

[Mike Wiseman]

Fun

My marina is a fun place to go, how can it not be that is where my boat is.

 

[Capt. Kimo]

Marina only for it Ramp

What's the scene at your marina?A: Generally quite except for weekends when performance speedboats with open air mufflers sound off at 5-6 AM at the ramp next to the courtesy dock. Are there plenty of willing hands to help you with dock lines or to launch your boat and put up the mast or are you on your own?A: Most are tourist who our down for the day with family and don't know what you are asking.Do you have friends at the dock to consult with you on projects and share a beer, or do you have time for solitude with your boat?A: We meet for Fun Races on a Bi-monthly basis when we discuss everything about our boats and the modifications recently done. Beers are reserved when we tie up or anchor for the day.If your marina's quiet, do you wish it were more active? If your marina is busy, do you wish it were quieter? Or is your does your marina do double duty as your driveway?A: I trailer my boat some 30 miles to the lake. If after a day of sailing, I either leave the boat at the courtesy dock ($10/day after 11PM) for sailing the following days or recover the boat and secure it in the parking lot for derigging at a later date. I have left my boat in the parking lot for over a week at times without any problems.