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1. pamela -  February 15, 2013 - 2:08 pm

   We stayed here for 3 days and thoroughly enjoyed the anchorage. The view from our stern looking out to all the beautiful buildings was spectacular at night. There was always something going on during the day such as scow training, seaplanes taking off and crewing. We ate at the Rusty Pelican a week later when we were staying somewhere else and the food and service was great. I wish they had their own dingy dock though as the marina did not allow us to bring our dingy in.

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2. Captains Mark & Diana Doyle -  August 7, 2012 - 2:07 pm

   People always ask us if there is a spacious, scenic, and safe anchorage in the heart of Miami.
   And our response, “Absolutely! Try Marine Stadium anchorage.”
   Marine Stadium is a huge manmade basin along Virginia Key, constructed in 1963 as the first stadium in the U.S. specifically for powerboat racing. Spectators viewed high-speed races, or sometimes floating concerts, from the 6,566-seat grandstand stadium, enjoying the backdrop of the Miami skyline.
   But you don’t have to worry about hydroplane races now. The last major race was held there in 1987 and the basin has become the perfect training venue for Olympic sailing and rowing teams. We enjoyed watching the men’s Canadian 49’er team showing off their stuff during our last visit.
   The grandstand was declared unsafe after Hurricane Andrew, and it has since become a bit of a three-dimensional canvas for colorful graffiti artists. But don’t let the urban art create the impression the anchorage is unsafe. We have noticed regular patrols by the Miami marine police and the anchorage is consistently populated by local and transient vessels.
   The anchorage is surprisingly “scenic” — in a South Florida sort of way. The basin opens to the northwest, framing a perfect view of the day- or nighttime Miami skyline. The grandstand, along the southwest shore, is still an interesting historic structure. And the northeast shore is an undeveloped greenspace, with a small dock and sandy beach with casuarina trees where you can take Fido ashore.
   At the mouth of the basin you can dinghy to the Rusty Pelican restaurant near Rickenbacker Marina (which has an easy to hit fuel dock and a few moorings of its own). Personally we prefer the shelter (and price!) of Marine Stadium anchorage to the exposure of these out-of-the-basin moorings.
   Marine Stadium’s next metamorphosis may be to a full-fledged mooring field. The city has plans to populate the basin with guest moorings, but the project is currently on hold due to budget constraints.
   But no need to wait until the moorings are in to enjoy the history, scenery, and convenience of Marine Stadium anchorage.
   Best and see you On the Water,
   Captains Mark & Diana Doyle

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1. Has Royer s/v/Skye -  May 30, 2013 - 10:26 pm

   Had mooring in Dinner Key field on 3/19/13. Visited Coconut Grove shops and had lunch at the Cheesecake Factory (Very Good). Rest room/showers in trailers leaves something to be desired. Used the water taxi. Harbormaster and taxi operator Mr. Joher was really a great guy. Mooring field is open and quite rolly. Moorings are close together. Dingy dock is small for the number of moorings. After talking? to staff at the marina we decided it won the least friendly marina award. Overall we will not return to Dinner Key. s/v Skye

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2. Kat -  January 10, 2012 - 10:45 am

   We spent a good 4 days in the Dinner key mooring field in early January when a cold front passed with strong N NW winds and really enjoyed our stay . True the dinghy dock was abit crowded but we always found room and the ferry was available till 5 pm also . The ferry had fenders all around it so I cannot imagine how it could cause any damage to anyone. The shower and restroom facilities were spotless at the time we used them and I liked the fact that they were all in one unit for complete privacy . We were lucky to have a mooring which was not too far from the dock so managed to stay drywhen going ashore in our tender . The Fresh Market had everything we needed and we enjoyed going to the movies and dining out in the Coconut grove restaurants . All in all a good stay . The staff were also very friendly and helpful giving information about the locality . If the winds had been from the E SE then it might have been a different story and we would have chosen somewhere else for better protection.
   Kat

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3. Capt. Mike -  January 9, 2012 - 10:45 am

   After reading the reviews I was skeptical of this marina. However the mooring field is a different division of the marina and you can tell it in the pride and we care attitude of James and his helper (sorry I did not get his name). After talking with James on a Sunday afternoon on our way down he gave us preliminary instructions and assigned us a mooring ball. Upon entry one call on the radio and James gave us final instructions and then made a stop to check if everything was okay. The next morning without a call his helper stopped by with the pumpout boat to see if we needed a pumpout and we did. After that we checked in. James gave us info about the marina, showers, places to eat and where to get supplies. These two guys made for a great experience. I’m sure they would always go out of their way to accomodate the customer.
   S/V indecision
   Capt. Mike

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4. Captain Wil -  January 8, 2012 - 10:46 am

   I would like to give you my thoughts on Dinner Key Mooring Field. First, this is not Marathon and will never be. This field will develop its own cruiser community and style over the years to come. The moorings are secure and well maintained. The field itself is open to the ESE to the S and in a strong wind can be a bit choppy. The mooring field is big and if you’re at the outer edge it will be a long ride to the marina. I believe this to be a secure and safe mooring field. They have a shuttle boat service that runs on the hour till five pm and 7pm on weekends. This is a nice for that long ride, the down side to the service is that if it is windy and choppy they may suspend the service, leaving you to use your own dinghy. The dinghy dock in the marina, at this time is inadequate and would never accommodate a large transit group of boaters. The second dinghy dock, which is inadequate in size as well and is shared with the local anchorage, is not secure and open to the public at this time. Hopefully they will address these two issues to better improve there facilities.
   For those of you who like shopping this is a great place to shop locally or take the Miami Transit system to downtown Miami or Miami Beach. There is also good bus/train service to the airport and even to Ft Lauderdale as well. There are food stores within walking distance and serviced by buses as well. They have showers and laundry on site, but the new trailer with showers and laundry at this time is not open. I have found the working staff to be very friendly and helpful. I think that anyone who stays here will find it to be a good place to be. The rates are similar to Marathon and there is wifi in the field, but is not provided by the marina. There are wifi cafés in Coconut Grove, a 5 minute walk from the marina, and as boaters we all could use a little walk. I hope that anyone who does stop here will find it to be a pleasurable experience.
   Captain Wil

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5. Kathy -  January 6, 2012 - 10:46 am

   Hey folks
   Just want to say that the folks at Dinner Key seem to really try to make your experience a good one. We had a wonderful experience with them. When we couldn’t return as planned due to a medical emergency, the guys checked our lines and even went aboard found my husband’s passport and sent it to him so he could travel for some work out of the country.
   Yep, the moorings are exposed and the shuttle may ding your boat on occasion, but I think they’re really trying and doing a great job. Thanks James and Daniel and all the crew!
   Kathy
   on S/V SEEKER

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6. Jules Robinson -  January 4, 2012 - 10:46 am

   Perhaps if Captain Sherman would have spent a few days on a Rickenbacker Marina Mooring he would have appreciated the Dinner Key moorings a bit more.
   I had my boat at Rickenbacker marina for about two years where the dingy dock was a mud bank under mangroves trees. So either you got your dingy full of mud and dirt when you got in it or the tree leaves would fall into the dingy and foul it all up in no time.
   And not only are the moorings there exposed to all but east winds, they right next to a power boat and jet ski freeway. weekdays were bearable if the winds were calm but weekends were like being in a washing machine. And the bathrooms were in terribly shoddy condition. I would take dinner key bathrooms any day after that.
   I only wish that the dinner key mooring field existed at that time, I would have taken on in a heartbeat.
   It seems to me that Captain Sherman has some axe to grind as any sailor with experience can tell from which direction he is going to be exposed prior to taking up an anchorage, and as if the city had any control of how mother nature created the bay and how much wind and from where it was going to blow when he pulled into town.
   As the other post said, we have to take cruising with a grain of salt. and sometimes a geat big one…… but that is what makes it an adventure and what makes it worth doing at all.
   P.S. I forgot the mention, I have very fond memories of my days at Rickenbacker Marina.
   Jules Robinson

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7. Charlie Stewart -  January 3, 2012 - 10:47 am

   I had a wonderful experience at the new Dinner Key Mooring Field. When I dinked in to get some water I brought my own 2ft hose (because I like to be prepared) and had no problem.
   As far as the dinghy dock goes, yes it’s a first come first serve deal but that’s the wat it is everywhere. Maybe Mr. Sherman didn’t realize that Miami, like all major metropolitan cities, have certain amounts of danger. I felt safe in the managed moring field. I wouldn’t have felt safe if I just dropped the hook.
   I thought the staff and management were professional and the facility up to par. I will stay at the Dinner Key Mooring Field again!
   Charlie Stewart

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8. Larry Sherman -  December 15, 2010 - 10:47 am

   Opinions appear to vary widely on the Dinner Key Marina. We stayed three nights on a mooring in the new mooring field. We will NEVER do that again and suggest others pass this mooring field by!!! In moderate winds from the east or south (10 knots) it was a wet and close to dangerous dinghy ride to the totally inadequate dinghy dock!! There is a shuttle boat that they want you to use but two friends who are in the mooring field warned us that their boats had been hit and damaged by the shuttle boat so there was no way we were going to expose Enchantress to that!!!
   We were assigned a mooring ball by the shuttle boat and then they wanted to change it when we went in to check in. They sent us to a slip on a fixed dock in our dinghy to fill some Jerry jugs with water but didn’t tell us to bring a hose, so no water! The dinghy dock which doesn’t have anyway near enough space anyway had a sign saying half of it was closed as apparently the are going to tow it out of the semi-secure marina and put it at the public boat ramp in the adjacent park where there is no security at all!!
   The shower/restroom facilities are tolerable (barely), although the big roach did have me checking my shower bag carefully before taking it back to the boat! They close the restrooms for an hour during peak morning and afternoon times for cleaning although what is done during that time was not readily apparent.
   This is a marina that may understand the needs of boaters who stay in slips but they have no concept of what cruising boats or boats that use moorings or who anchor need. We need easy access to water to fill Jerry jugs in the dinghy and adequate dinghy access.
   Although we anchor almost exclusively when on the move, we like mooring fields (we spend our winters on a mooring in Boot Key Harbor) but not this one. It is poorly managed and not worth paying for. Protection is horrible, may as well anchor in the middle of Biscayne Bay or out in the Atlantic! Provisioning is not convenient, Publix Supermarket requires a bus and trai ride. The only grocery store is a gormet Fresh Foods with poor selection and high prices.
   We have anchored or moored in more than 100 harbors and would return to most but NOT this one!! Did I mention the murder that occured in the anchorage adjacent yo the moorings just before we arrived?
   Larry Sherman

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9. Peter Shemp -  December 11, 2010 - 10:47 am

   Clearly many folks have many opinions, but I was shocked by Mr. Sherman’s review of the Dinner Key Mooring Field. I just spent a night there and I agree it is an exposed area. But almost 10 years ago I lived in the anchorage where the moorings are now, and let me tell you it felt good to be on a ball.
   I can’t help to feel a bit sorry for Mr. Sherman who obviously had a bad stay. Perhaps his experience should serve as a wakeup call to himself and others; that life at sea is subject to many things (we don’t always get what we want). Perhaps those who find they have experiences like this where they don’t get what they want when they want it should look into life in an R/V or retirement village, because if you are getting everything you want when you want it on a boat your probably some middle eastern sheik with deep pockets or worse on a cruise ship.
   So I am clear, the weather was rough the dingy ride was wet, the dingy dock was small, the supermarket was to much money not enough selection, the supermarket was too far yadadayada.. , Were you really expecting the Ritz? Because if you were, just across the street from Dinner Key is the Ritz, but I wonder if you would just find it failing your expectations. Maybe the city of Miami should have planned the city around the mooring field?
   I had an excellent time at Dinner Key, and hope one day to return soon.
   Sincerely,
   Peter Shemp

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