What a wonderful report from our fearless roving reporter, Captain Jane Tigar. So many cruisers spend time in the Coconut Grove – Dinner Key region of South Miami every year, whether tied to the dock at Dinner Key Marina or on a mooring at Coconut Grove Sailing Club (A SALTY SOUTHEAST CRUISERS’ NET SPONSOR) or the new Dinnery Key mooring field. Captain Jane informs one and all about two historic sites within walking distance of the docks that “should not be missed.” Give her story a read, and then let us know

Sometimes, it’s so tempting to stay in our cocoon like boats — after all, once you are on board, why would you want to get off a boat except for laundry, land heads and supermarkets — and West Marine?
The parade of winter storms of ’09-’10 taught us how important it is to remember to get off our boats and explore the communities we visit and as much as I cherish the lonely anchorages where it’s just us, the wind, the water, the birds and the under water life, I admit that civilization has its charms. Dinner Key is one of those places that has some serious charm. Here are two places where we found charm and connection to the essential spirit of Coconut Grove, both within walking distance of the Dinner Key City Marina.

Close-up of part of the restored ceiling art and murals in the historic Dinner Key City Hall. Photo by Jane B Tigar

City Hall is well worth a visit and it’s literally next door.
If you’re here on a week day, worth a visit is City Hall, adjacent to the marina (to the right facing the land). It’s so close you can probably see it from your slip or your mooring ball. Since 1954, City Hall has been right here in the former Pan American seaplane terminal. Pan American World Airways’ flying boats were based here in the 1930s and ‘˜40s and Dinner Key became a main hub for air traffic between North and South America until seaplanes went out of style. At that point, Pan Am moved its hub to Miami.
The terminal has been carefully restored and you can now see wonderful art deco murals commemorating aviation history along with Zodiac symbols on the ceiling that had been painted over in the ’50s. There is also a small display of fascinating photographs from the seaplane era, including one of Charles Lindbergh. For more information about this historic site, check out the City of Miami website: http://www.ci.miami.fl.us

Barnacle House - Steve Dimse, Florida Park Services Specialist, giving us an engaging two-person "I can't believe you came out in this cold weather" tour

Step through a Time Portal at Barnacle Historic State Park.
The Barnacle Historic State Park is reason alone to visit Dinner Key and do so on a weekend or Monday. A 20-minute walk (just under a mile) from the marina, up Main Avenue on the left hand side, you will see a little off-set treed area with a historic marker and a path. Follow that path — in a moment you will forget the bustling commerce and you will enter a real `hammock’ of indigenous Florida vegetation and towering ancient live oaks.
You are now in the late 1890s when Miami was undeveloped and natural. Here you can explore the five acre park that was once the homestead of a real character of a guy from Staten Island who `discovered’ Biscayne Bay. Ralph Middleton Munroe, a relative of the poet Longfellow, and a follower of the transcendentalist movement, settled in Biscayne Bay, first in a tent camp, and then in a house that, thanks to the generous donation by his heirs, is now the centerpiece of this Florida state park. Ralph Middleton Munroe built the Barnacle House in 1891 and it is furnished with some of his original furnishings plus antiques and other items donated by his family. He was a yacht designer, naturalist, seaman, and civic activist whom the US Parks Service describes as `one of Coconut Grove’s most charming and influential pioneers.’
Note, the park is closed Tuesday through Thursday. It is open Friday through Monday from 9-5. Tours are at 10 and 11:30 AM, and again at 1 and 2:30.
Check with the Park about special events. Wednesday nights at 6 PM there is a yoga class. If you are visiting the weekend of January 15, the park is hosting Shakespeare in the Park with a production of Taming of the Shrew. Sunday, January 24, 2010, there is an Old Time Dance with live music and someone teaching traditional American folk dance steps. There seems to be one or two events a month. For more information: http://www.TheBarnacle.org
If you do visit Barnacle House, and we hope you do, please post a comment here and let us know if you, too, felt the multi-faceted genius Ralph Middleton Munroe come alive. That visit alone gave us a feeling of deep connection to Coconut Grove. As you walk around town, you may see historical markers referencing his contributions to other parts of life in Coconut Grove. In fact, I’m transmitting this story to the Salty Southeast while using the free wifi in the public library, a charming historic site itself, surrounded by palm trees and garden and only a short walk across the street from the Dinner Key Marina. It’s on land donated by Ralph Middleton Munroe who started the first library in the area, acquiring and delivering books by boat. It is also the site where Munroe’s first wife is buried. Just next door to the library, is another historic site, the women’s club built in the 1890s, also on land donated by Mr. Munroe.
Jane Tigar
S/V Lady Jane

Hi Jane
Thanks for a great post. I’ve just returned from a 10 day stay aboard our boat `Cloud Nine’ at Dinner Key Marina. You’re right. We can see the Miami City Hall from our slip and I never set foot inside the building. I will be sure to visit on my next trip for sure. My husband, Tom is currently in Dinner key and I will pass this site on to him. We loved the Coconut Grove Arts Festival over President’s day weekend.Much to see and do in this charming town
Keep up the good work.
Pam Frech
Cloud Nine

Great post ,good to see the old Monroe house has been preserved. I had a friend that I worked with at Bertram Yacht yard in the mid 60’s that was the care taker of the house when the Monroe where out of town. My wife would Join them on weekends at the house which was a great treat. The gardens and front lawn down to the water were magnificent in the evening.
S/V Seamist
Dave Skiff

It’s seriously nice to hear good things about our newest SALTY SOUTHEAST CRUISERS’ NET SPONSOR!!!
Coconut Grove Sailing Club lies along the Dinner Key – Coconut Grove waterfront, south of Dinner Key Marina. Slip space is not a possibility (except for dinghies), BUT visitors are encouraged to pick up a mooring. Excellent facilities are available in the clubhouse, and Coconut Grove’s many attractions are within easy walking distance.

We are currently moored at CGSC and recommend it. The rate you have on the site is out of date ‘“ currently $35. That includes full access to the club and 24-hour launch service. Fresh Market a few blocks away plus tons of great eateries. The movie theater at Coco Walk is currently closed, but is scheduled to reopen in April.
One gripe ‘“ birds are a real problem here between November and March. The rain today will wash our boat a bit, but the gulls and `black’ birds are a real issue. The club says we can tie up at the dock before we leave and wash down. There is room for about four boats at the dock with 4.5 feet at the inner spaces. I have seen members tie up overnight, but no guests are allowed to stay there for long.
Doug

When I checked out yesterday, the Sailing Club only charged me $20, as you stated originally. They made an error in quoting me the higher price.
Doug

Click Here For The Cruisers’ Net’s Florida Keys Marina Directory Listing For Coconut Grove Sailing Club

There was an announcement here on the Cruisers’ Net several months ago, informing one and all that the new mooring field at Dinner Key (southern Miami) was now open for business. Looks like Captain had an excellent experience there.

The Dinner Key Mooring Facility was the most professionally operated and best value I have ever experienced. I will definately visit there again!
Capt. EJ Maguire

Our fearless roving reporter, Captain Jane Tigar, turns her discerning eye to Dinner Key!

View from the marina office entrance. Note the wide fairway and how long a walk it can be from your boat to the gate!

A convenient stop on your way to the Keys is Dinner Key — not just for dinner, of which there is plenty offered — but maybe even for a day or two checking out the historic sites, not the boring it’s good for you kind of sites, the really fun kind of interesting sites as you’ll see in part 2 of this report.
This was our first visit and as some of the best things in life are, it was one we had not planned. Out mast too tall for the 56-foot Julia Tuttle Bridge, we seized a brief weather window to make the outside run from Lauderdale to Miami but needed a safe place to sit out the next storm. So, having at least advanced our position if not to The Keys to at least a place with Key in its name, we found ourselves waiting out the weather at Dinner Key Marina owned by the city of Miami. At $2.50 a foot plus tax for a slip with hook-ups, it’s hardly a bargain by more northern standards, but it’s a real deal compared with close to $4 a foot in nearby Miami and, for our touring tastes at least, there’s much more to do and see within walking distance of our boat.
There are almost 600 slips at the modern cement fixed docks; during the second week of January, transient slips appeared plentiful. During this stormy weekend, we found ourselves comfortable and well protected from the winds and waves on adjacent Biscayne Bay.
Moorings are plentiful here — over 200! — for boats 40 feet LOA and under at $18 plus tax per night. Call ahead though as there are moorings in depths of as little as 4 feet; marina staff told us there was plenty of room for a 5-foot draft and that despite the written maximum of 40 ft, they could take a boat up to 42 feet LOA. Depths may improve by spring as a $1.4 million 7-month dredging project in the marina has been underway since December 2009. There is shuttle service that runs on demand during the week and on the half hour during weekends between the mooring field and the main dock; schedules are at the office.
In contrast with Vero Beach Municipal Marina, this is the kind of marina a cynic would imagine a city marina would be. We were welcomed on VHF Channel 68 with somewhat unclear directions to our slip. This was followed by what my first rate first mate calls “the unobtrusive” style of docking assistance. Not only did no one in a bright colored parka wave to us and with a smile point out our slip, no one even at the last minute offered to take a line. There was, to put it simply, no one to help us. On the other hand, fairways are twice as wide as most marinas so it is easy to maneuver and spin around. Oh, and what the heck, it’s good to know that the marina staff has confidence in our docking skills. Be sure, however, to ask which side of the numbered pier your slip is on. The slips are not numbered with all the odd numbers on one side of the pier and all even numbers on the other.
Clean showers and heads are adjacent to the marina office, all of which is in what I call prison architectural style. If you are at a slip, bear in mind that it can be a very long walk to these facilities. The good news is pump outs are easy — a mobile pump out service is available. Laundry machines look good, but this is such a huge marina for the number of machines, I would not count on this as a laundry stop unless you don’t mind practicing the fine art of getting on line for a set of machines. I’ve seen more machines at marinas a fourth of its size.
There is no fuel available at Dinner Key Marina, but there is fuel at two adjacent locations, though at Grove Harbour Marina where there is a Shell sign, we were unable to find anyone to help us and we refueled much later down the water way.
While we did not sense the lively community “it’s camp!” spirit of Vero Beach City Marina and Marathon City Marina, perhaps this was due to everyone huddling in their boats during the cold snap that caused our four-day stay here.

DIY Docking at Dinner Key Marina

Dinner Key — still worthy of its name.
At first glance, Coconut Grove looks like an over-developed city — much like Lauderdale, just smaller. But if you walk just a few blocks from the Marina, it quickly morphs into a charming village of shops and restaurants. If you want to eat out, it appears the Dinner Key appellation still holds and you have a lot of non-chain choices — Italian, Thai, Japanese, Argentinian, French, Spanish … From the marina office, walk to your left and then follow the edge of the marina, past the small commercial fishing vessels and to the main street. Cross the street and head slightly up hill and you’ll start to see the “charming” part of Coconut Grove, hang a left onto Main Avenue and you’ll find lots to choose from.
For us, this stay, partly due to the excellent provisioning opportunity here (see below) was Dinner on the Boat Key, so we have no restaurant reviews to share. However, it was the weekend of Taste of the Grove, a food and music charity fundraiser held in Peacock Park adjacent to the marina. We can tell you that the items we sampled there at lunch, promising non-chain restaurants include: Atchana’s East/West Kitchen inside the Mutiny Hotel, just across from the Marina; Mayfair Grill at the Mayfair Hotel (excellent pork and jicama salad; and great skirt steak). First mate Michael vouches for Al Fresco’s penne a la vodka. The food at the Ideas restaurant which features “authentic food from Spain” also looked good, but we got full too soon. The Chart House also had attractive looking offerings. We also passed by a restaurant called Focaccio Rustica that looked excellent.

Easy Provisioning Stop
For those who prefer to dine on board, this is an excellent provisioning stop. If you don’t follow your iPhone GPS directions, the Fresh Market, a high end super market, is a 10-minute walk to the right (facing the land) basically tracking the shore line and walking through parking lots, going past City Hall in its historic building and Grove Harbour Marina.
If you are here on a Wednesday, which we were not, check out the Green Market in town; it’s open from 11 to 4 PM. It’s supposed to have locally grown organic produce, local honey and local prepared foods. It’s in the Mayfair Atrium, in the main “cute” shopping area described above.
While we would have preferred no storms and no record cold snaps, we thank the inclement weather for getting us stuck at Dinner Key.
Jane Tigar
S/V Lady Jane

Stayed at Dinner Key as well, agree with the total lack of signage, very little (none) help from the staff, moored out in the middle of Biscayne bay, nasty chop. Old men have more water pressure than the showers, pump out was doityourself with no assistance and the pump didn’t work. Too many white shirts with VHF radios, nobody gets their hands dirty.They can learn a lot from Vero Beach. Not a good experience
Peter Marrek

Our experience exactly ….including non responsive dock hands, ….difficulty in finding slip numbers….etc. etc.
But we love the downtown area and have taken public transportation to downtown Miami….recomend on sunday only. we checked in here upon returning from the Bahamas and had to go to the cruise ship area to check in.
Pierre McCormick

Click Here To View the Eastern Florida Cruisers’ Net Marina Directory Listing For Dinner Key Marina

Click Here To Open A Chart View Window, Zoomed To the Location of Dinner Key Marina

Grove Harbour Marina is located in the complex of marinas and marine service firms at Dinner Key/Coconut Grove.

Despite having personally walked over to Grove Harbour Marina adjacent to Dinner Key Marina and inquired about fueling up the day before and having received directions and opening hours, late this morning, no one answered our hails on 16 and we circled for 15 minutes while trying to reach the fuel dock by phone. After several calls, someone claiming to be in the know said someone was coming but it was like waiting for Godot. We gave up and left. I hope this is an aberration. Based on our experience, I wouldn’t count on this for a fuel stop.
Captain Jane Tigar