Greg Allard Reports: Harborage Yacht Club Marina, Stuart, FL
Cruisers Net is always grateful for Greg Allard’s observations and willingness to share his vast experience with our readers. Be sure to read and view his several Letters and photo journals from the Bahamas. Harborage Yacht Club Marina is in Martin County, A CRUISERS NET SPONSOR, and a major hub of boating activities.
Harborage Yacht Club and Marina
Stuart, Florida
772-692-4000
https://harborageyachtclub.com
In February of 2020 we spent two weeks at the Harborage, which is just northeast of the three bridges in the center of Stuart.
In past years we had docked there a couple of times, and had found it to be just ok, but not great. During that period it was a Loggerhead marina and between deferred maintenance and a hurricane, it had suffered. All of that has changed, and I’m pleased to report that the marina has been virtually redone and is now a solid choice for boaters and cruisers.
The northerly set of fixed docks are like new, with composite decking and new electrical and water supplies. From what we observed, most transient boats are assigned to the fixed docks, where you are permitted to stay aboard for any length of time. The southern section of the marina consists of floating docks which can also be rented for transient or longer term; staying aboard there is limited to four consecutive days, and nine total days, per month. The southern section is a much further walk to reach the pool and clubhouse area. The marina has a total of 300 slips, 150 are fixed and the rest are floating.
One of the issues with this marina, in the past, has been the depth of water in the basins and slips. When we were there almost two months ago, dredging was underway full time. The dockmaster now reports that the dredging has been completed (except for a couple of slips which had boats in them), resulting in 7.5’ depth at MLW in both the slips and the fairways. While some marinas in the area have issues with current, we observed none of any significance here.
The shore side facilities are excellent – pool and spa, outdoor fire-pit lounging area, free OnSpot wi-fi, a laundry,
Captain’s lounge with TV, new bathrooms and showers, fitness center, boatside (golf-cart) pumpout, poolside bar and grill, and good security. They offer golf-cart rides from your boat to landside. There is an easy-approach fuel dock, with competitive prices and pump out.
On site is the TideHouse restaurant, not operated by the marina. We had a very good bar-menu meal on the outside deck, with live music. There is a full dinner menu for inside.
Across the street from the marina, in a shopping center, is a casual Italian restaurant, Uncle Giuseppe’s, which is easy to recommend – a comfortable place, reasonably priced, with good Italian dishes and pizza.
While the marina facility is now first-rate, this is also now a well-managed marina. The Dock Master, Scott Fletcher, is a true professional, and has his hand on the pulse of the place. The dock staff he has assembled are exceptional and understand customer service. They could just not do enough for you. We had the most contact with excellent dockhands Nick and Jim. The general manger of the facility, Allison Ackell, gave us a warm welcome as we checked in and provided a detailed tour of the facility.
The long term dock rates are 17-$18 a foot, per month, with metered electricity. Daily rate is $2.95 a foot, plus flat fee electric. The long term rates makes sense for a stay of more than about two weeks. A full list of rates is on their website, listed above.
There is a Sam’s Club, a West Marine and a Publix market a couple of miles north on Federal Highway, along with any other stores you might ever need. Enterprise delivered a rental car to the marina for us. On Saturday mornings, in the neat historic section of Stuart, there is a small but quality farmer’s market.
From the GIWW, to enter the marina you leave the main channel at marker 23, (which is northeast of the high, fixed New Roosevelt bridge) and steer for the green buoy which is just outside the entrance to the marina, between the breakwaters; that heading is approximately 310M. From 23 to the green buoy the depth was around seven feet at MLW. If you are uncertain of your track, the dock staff will “talk you in” to the marina on VHF.
Is everything perfect? They need to add more dock carts – there always seemed to be a shortage. Additionally, since parking spaces are really tough to find, it would be a welcome service if the marina provided a van type shuttle to Sam’s, West Marine and Publix a few days a week.
A couple of people have commented about the noise from the nearby railroad. Yes, there is some noise, but every marina in the area, including the nearby Sunset Bay, is subject to the same thing.
The Stuart area is a hub for boaters on the east coast of Florida, and dock space is invariably hard to find. The rebirth of this marina makes for a great new facility in the area.
The Harborage Marina is open and running during these difficult times, with a number of boats having arrived from the Keys and from the Bahamas.
Greg Allard
M/V Meander
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