My wife and I waited 4 months on the 'waiting list' to be able to rent a slip for our CT-56 ketch rigged sailboat. When one became available last Friday, 5/1/2020, Evelyn and I drove to the marina to accomplish the contractual paperwork for the slip which we were happy to have available to us. Sunday was when we could move our vessel from Seafood Shack Marina in Cortez, to your facility. The staff was about to process our lease, but we had not known that our documentation was necessary, (our fault - stupid error), so the staff advised us to bring her into the slip and process the paperwork on Sunday. So, we arrived and docked into slip SA110, Sunday afternoon and after having secured the vessel, went to the Marina Office with all of our documentation, expecting to conclude this process. We were told that our vessel had to be at the 'fuel dock' to be 'inspected'. Our vessel is a 65 foot ketch rigged, Ta Chiao CT-56, i.e., a heavy displacement, (70,000 pound), sailboat. She is not as easily maneuvered as a runabout / motorboat; so to take her out of the slip we had secured her into, to bring to the fuel dock, to be inspected, only to then return her to her slip, is an inefficient, even dangerous concept. I'm confident anyone with marine experience, would agree that it is in marinas that there is the highest probability of collisions and damages between vessels. I would much rather avoid that, as I am confident everyone would agree. Therefore, we were very reluctant to comply with this 'new rule'. I say 'new' because we had not been informed of this in our meeting with the staff on Friday. Had we been informed, we would have arrived at the fuel dock on Sunday rather than going straight to the slip, as we HAD been informed to do. Nevertheless, since Letitia, the manager, was not on the property, my request that the inspection take place at the slip, where the vessel is, could not be decided. So, we returned to our vessel, waiting for Letitia to arrive on Monday morning, to make the logical, professional decision to inspect her where she is. I spoke with Letitia Monday morning and she said she would have to speak with her manager about this. The overarching reality, besides the anxiety and illogical requirement to move the Triumph at this point, is that both my wife and I are providing our computer consulting services to our respective clients, therefore we are working normal business hours and can't spend a morning or afternoon playing this ludicrous: 'move the boat over here, then return her to her slip' game. So, it is our fervent hope that the marina management can see the logic and safety to have the inspection occur where the boat is, rather than at the fuel dock. I am posting this so that potential future slip renters might be made aware of this 'rule', since - as we have experienced - this rule is not always shared with this marinas' customers until it is ludicrous to try to apply.
The docks were relatively recently rebuilt and the people & staff are all very friendly. Plus, there is an excellent restaurant right at the marina! This marina is one of the very few in the greater Tampa area which can handle larger vessels and most likely will have a slip available for you!
The Dockmaster: Louis, is outstanding. He is a very fair minded honest individual. The location of the tie ups along the New River are great for access to the heart of Fort Lauderdale: Las Olas Blvd. Considering this location is 'inland' and mostly surrounded by high rise condominiums, this acts as a Hurricane Hole, wonderfully. There are no 'facilities' like bathrooms, etc., so, you should depend on your yacht's own amenities. The only negative of this facility is the parking for cars - that is 'catch as catch can'. It is also handy to have a bowthruster, since you have to pull up or away from the sea wall - not into any 'slips'.