Red Square Denotes Location of Esplanade Marina

Smokehouse Bay is a very popular southwestern Florida anchorage that sits in the heart of northern Marco Island. Access is gained by way of a marked channel which breaks off from the main Marco Island to Naples unofficial waterway channel, just east of Capri Pass, and runs southwest and then southeast across Collier Bay.
Smokehouse Bay also hosts Esplanade Marina on its southeastern shores. Transient dockage is available at Esplanade Marina.
Back on 4/20/12, we reported, by way of a message received from Captain Noel, that Esplanade Marina would no longer allow dinghy dockage at their piers, unless those who came ashore were strictly there to patronize the shops and restaurants of the Esplande (see /?p=86219). As part of this same posting, we appended a lengthy message from Esplanade Marina dockmaster, Captain Kris Greenough, explaining his facility’s policy, and stating that this prohibition was not a new thing.
Then, early in 2013, we received a message from SAMI (Sailing Association of Marco Island) member, and a good friend of this writer and the SSECN, Captain Lee Oldershaw, to the effect that the restrictions on dinghy dockage at Esplanade Marina had been lifted. Then, a short time later, a second note arrived informing us that this situation was not yet resolved.
On 9/20/13, we received an e-mail from Dockmaster Greenough, stating that Captain Oldershaw’s postings on our site were now dated and inaccurate. This led us to investigate the situation, and we agree that the two earlier postings concerning dinghy dockage at Esplanade Marina are now dated, and, for this reason only, we have removed them from the SSECN.
There is far more to this story, however. According to multiple sources on Marco Island, this controversy began when another SAMI member, Captain Herman Diebler, discovered that in the original permit granted for the building of the Esplanade complex, a provision was included that required the marina associated with this property to provide dinghy dockage for anyone wishing to come ashore to Marco Island.
SAMI brought this matter to the city government of Marco Island’s attention, and communication was made with the parent company that owns the Esplanade complex. We are told that they originally agreed to lift the “Esplanade only” restriction for dinghy dockage, and that was the source of the first message we received and posted from Captain Oldershaw.
Then, we are again told, the Esplanade condo owners association and marina association stepped into the picture, and objected to a dinghy dockage policy that would accommodate all cruisers who wished to come ashore. And so, “the signs stayed up” and dinghy dockage remained available only for those patrons of the Esplanade.
Far more recently, a meeting took place between the Marco Island city government, and the attorney representing the Esplanade condo and marina associations. We are told that the results of this meeting were far from conclusive, and that the situation regarding open dinghy dockage at Esplanade Marina remains “fluid,” and the “waters have been muddied.”
The Salty Southeast Cruisers’ Net will continue to follow this situation and bring you news of developments as they occur. For the moment, though, cruisers anchoring on Smokehouse Bay should not expect to find dinghy dockage at Esplanade Marina, unless their shoreside activities are confined to the Esplanade Complex!