Wow, what a great report on a key facility, just south of Tampa Bay, By the way, while the official name of this city leased marina is “Marina Operations,” virtually everyone refers to it as Marina Jacks. That is actually the on-site’s restaurant moniker, however.

Hi Claiborne,
Marina Jacks was one of the nicest marinas that we have visited.
They have approximately 30 transient docks primarily located on the outside of D dock. This is a long floating dock with 40ft finger slips. It is well protected from the westerly winds, but with 10 to 15 knots of blow, there can be some current running the length of D dock, making docking a little interesting! Paulette did docking practice and did very well!
The docks are in impeccable condition with all of the normal electrical, water and cable hookups. The dockhands were exceptional helpful. There is a security gate with an access code to the transient area. We discovered the laundry area with a direct veiw over the water…a delightful way to handle one of boaters’ chores. Each morning, the Sarasota newspaper mysteriously appeared on our aft deck…a nice touch.
Access to downtown Sarasota could not have been better. It’s a five minute walk, of which three minutes are waiting for the traffic lights to turn in your favor. Once downtown, foodies like us can walk five minutes further to a very large and well-stocked Whole Foods plus a number of very interesting restaurants.
For those of us with dogs, the marina is situated right next to the nicest park we have ever visited. What can be nicer than walking your dog through pathways along the waterfront!
Marina Jacks now has a courtesy van. This service was just added during our five day stay, so “the rules” of where and when it goes are still being developed. However, I was able to go to both WestMarine and Publix all in one trip.
Dockage was $2.25 a foot plus electric which seems on par for a top quality marina on Florida’s West Coast.
I hope that this is helpful
John

Click Here To View the Western Florida Cruisers’ Net Marina Directory Listing For Marina Operations/Marina Jacks