The Coast Guard doing more of what they do so well. Thank you Coast Guard!
News Release
Feb. 7, 2017
VIDEO AVAILABLE: Coast Guard rescues 3 fishermen after vessel catches fire near St. Catherines Island, Ga.
CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO AND REPORT
Explorer Chartbooks, A SALTY SOUTHEAST CRUISERS’ NET PARTNER, has long been the standard navigational supplement for enjoyable, informative, and safe cruising through the beautiful Bahamian waters and island visits.
Bahamas Chatter: Indian Cay Channel, West End GB report
Indian Cay Channel, West End GB report
Posted: 07 Feb 2017 05:27 AM PST
A Chatter subscriber reports:
Just came thru Indian key channel 2 days ago. It’s fine–deeper than charted I thought. There is a good anchorage just around Settlement Point West End. An abandoned development in the canals is done with. Breakwater and lighted markers. 15? depth we saw. Made st lucie inlet florida from there in 12 hours in a 6 knot boat.
Are you saying it’s permitted to anchor overnight in the canal on the right after entering through the jetties?
For those of you who are or who are considering entering the current yacht market, this article from Sounding’s Trade Only Today by John Burnham of Yacht World will be of interest.
Brokerage sales increase in January
Posted on February 7th, 2017
Written by John Burnham, YachtWorld.com
U.S. brokers posted a moderate increase in sales volume in January and a major gain in the total price paid for the boats that were sold.
Brokerage volume rose 5 percent from the same month last year and the total value increased by 62 percent as 1,585 boats sold for $323.3 million.
According to YachtWorld member brokerages reporting in SoldBoats, their proprietary database, the dollar value was an extraordinary result — $80 million more than in any other January in the last five years.
On the other hand, although sales were above the previous two years, they were slightly less than the average number of boats sold in January during the previous five years.
Superyacht sales drove most of the increase in value. Seventeen boats 80 feet and larger changed hands during the month for a combined total of $131.6 million, compared with 11 boats in that size range last January that sold for $20.4 million.
Most of the volume gains were in the 26- to 35-foot grouping, where unit sales increased from 527 boats to 593, a 13 percent lift. Sales volumes also increased incrementally among boats under 26 feet, up 3 percent, and 46 to 55 feet, up 6 percent.
The value of the boats sold increased by double-digit percentages in all size ranges below 56 feet, especially among boats 26 to 35 feet, which gained 41 percent, from $29.5 million to $41.6 million. The lone category with lower values, 56 to 79 feet, experienced a 17 percent drop in sales volume and a 27 percent decline in total value.
Powerboat sales for the month were up strongly — 11 percent — as 1,302 boats were sold; sailboat sales declined 17 percent as 283 boats changed owners. All of the value gains in the month were in powerboat sales, although the value drop in sailboat sales was only 14 percent; there was a 4 percent increase for the month in the average sailboat price paid.
John Burnham is the managing editor of Dominion Marine Media.
A more detailed report summarizing recent U.S. brokerage sales will appear in the March issue of Soundings Trade Only.
The Cape Coral Cruise Club is a group of dedicated cruisers who always provide unique reports from the marinas they visit. Legacy Harbour Marina, A SALTY SOUTHEAST CRUISERS’ NET SPONSOR, is located on the Caloosahatchee River/Okeechobee Waterway, in the heart of downtown Fort Myers, Florida. Multiple dining and shopping opportunities are found within easy walking distance of this absolutely first-rate marina!
Cruise Club returns to Legacy Harbour
by Michael Stewart
It was bluebird weather for the Cape Coral Cruise Club members taking part in the 2017 Legacy Harbour Cruise. All 
nine boats made it in, one boat being late while waiting for refurbished props to be reinstalled. First time Club cruisers, Bobby and Joyce Miller arrived is style with their prospective member pennant proudly displayed. Welcome to the Club!
First night post docktail food was provided by the cruisers – just too much and too sumptuous to list. If anyone goes hungry on one of our cruises, they only have themselves to blame.
Wednesday morning started with a breakfast of toasted breakfast bread and butter, fresh fruit, quiche mini-muffins, orange juice and tomato juice. Attendees brought their own coffee. Following a short break after
Legacy Harbour’s Chickee Hut
eating, everyone reassembled at the Legacy Harbour chickee hut to begin a scavenger hunt. There were three outstanding prizes to be awarded, consequently, competition among the CCCC members can get quite intense…! Fierce competition ensued as the boaters returned to their respective vessels in search of the listed items. Would you allow two mismatched oven mitts as “work gloves”? How about a jar of “teak oil” that looked suspiciously like vegetable oil? And did the same miniature sewing kit get passed around with the teensy baby pin in it? Anyway, a lot of fun was had and Moonlighter, Hardee II, and Happy Ours triumphed as the successful winners. The prizes were wrapped so that no-one could tell what was inside (contestants were not allowed to touch the packages). First place got to pick, then second, then third. Then everyone hauled their collections back to their boat and split to various downtown Ft. Myers restaurants for lunch.
A non-cruise related Club function occupied many of the cruisers for Wednesday dinner, however, the remaining cruisers held their own docktails and happy hour before heading on the town for dinner.
Thursday morning breakfast, included a breakfast quiche (imagine a casserole of eggs, diced potatoes, spinach, diced ham and spices), fresh fruit, breakfast bread and juices. It was a game day for many attendees, lunch on your own, followed by dinner at Pinchers Crab Shack. The boaters were joined by some 15 club members who arrived at Legacy by land yacht that night to join in with us.
Prior to departure on Friday for their home ports, many boaters used the pump out facilities in preparation for the next month cruise to Pink Shell Resort. It is a LOT of fun cruising and being with fun people!
The Cape Coral Cruise Club is open to new members who own a boat with overnight accommodations and reside in the Cape Coral / Ft. Myers area. For membership information please contact Phil Kryger at 239-541-0236. Read additional Club information on its website, www.c-c-c-c.org Like us on Facebook.
Click Here To Open A Chart View Window, Zoomed To the Location of Legacy Harbour Marina
One of Claiborne’s favorite side trips along the southern Georgia portion of the AICW was to leave the Waterway at marker #34 and cruise up the Cumberland Island channel to anchor off the west side of Cumberland Island and east of Drum Point Island. Our thanks to Chris and Alyse Caldwell for this report.
Cumberland Island GA anchorage allows you access to the most pristine beach you can imagine. Wander in by dinghy from the southwestern side of the island, stroll under the canopy of trees over to the incredible dunes of the Atlantic Ocean and I will bet you encounter peacocks, goats and wild horses. This national park offers overnight camping but limits the number of daily visitors. It is a must see for us every time we traverse the east coast.
See you on the water…
Chris and Alyse Caldwell
Every now and then, something rises above all in the course of our daily storms and stands out as a sanctuary. As a witness to this particular “sanctuary” and taking advantage of the “bully-pulpit” at my disposal, I take keyboard in hand to offer the following for your consideration in our “FOCUS ON A Sponsor” feature.
My bride and I started cruising in the early 1990’s out of Annapolis, Maryland. What grand times and what forgiving waters. Looking back, we never had to worry about “how many bars”, “signal strength”, “wifi” connections, etc.,etc.!
Not sure if I am bragging or complaining !!
Those days passed ever so quickly; now use of cell phones, iPads or Android pads, lap-tops, are the new “normal”. “Are we connected?” is the first thing we concern ourselves with. The capability of our devices has grown at exponential rates.
We’ve arrived quickly to where new standards are in place for what marinas offer. Remember when having wifi was rare and, if offered, you had to be in slip number “X” to use it successfully or up near the marina office to get a signal? Being “dropped” or losing your signal was the norm. WiFi coverage that truly was available to everyone in a marina was more the exception than the rule.
Most of us witnessed to some extent the lack of industry know-how or the failure of equipment being used to provide satisfactory service. In came folks with all sorts of “fixes” and although there were incremental improvements, there still was not a complete or total fix. Break downs, failures of systems, lack of timely customer service, all became ingredients that tainted this business and impacted the customers of marinas.
As some of the more successful technical gurus moved into boating and cruising, they quickly began to experience lack of good service and were able to define the problems and begin to develop solutions.
Enter Bob Taylor and friends – fellow boaters who also cruised extensively and experienced the problems. Their private
Bob Taylor and Will Craig
company, Taylor Communications Inc, served Fortune 500 corporations and they were knowledgeable in the technologies that keep us connected. They offered their services to their own marina and wouldn’t you know it, about to retire, they found themselves working again. They named their new enterprise “onSpot wifi” ! They offered local solutions one marina at a time all along the east coast and even the Bahamas.
At Compass Cay on a ladder with Tucker holding up Will
Good news travels fast. As their cruises took them along the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway from Key West to Norfolk and with some summer cruising along the northeast coast of our New England states, they offered their services where problems existed and now they have onSpot wifi installed with marinas from Nantucket to Key West as well as Compass Key and Staniel Cay in the Bahamas.
When our paths first crossed, some of us had already experienced the differences and as
Our Office
we traveled around, we starting hearing their name and how different they were and how outstanding their services were. Not only from marinas, but from fellow boaters who told us they actually would ask the marina when making reservations, what wifi service do you have ?
Our new truck with fancy lift
Here is what others have to say about onSpot wifi services……..
Robert Sherer, avid cruiser and publisher of the best written reference for trouble spots along the Atlantic ICW had this to say: “….. this marina has onSpot wifi, a new service we have been seeing up and down the coast. When you see that offered, you can depend upon wifi good enough for streaming Netflix. I clocked it at 25 Mbits this afternoon.”
The management team at Atlantic Yacht Basin, Chesapeake, VA, was very complementary and I quote: “Atlantic Yacht Basin is a big fan of onSpot wifi for our business because their equipment is the best in our environment and offers our customers fast and reliable service. We can count on onSpot wifi!
Many marina managers are stating that they can not believe the difference that using onSpot wifi has made in their wifi service to their marina customers.
Sue Morgan, Senior Marketing and Public Relations Director of Old Port Cove Holdings, operates three marinas, and what Sue says, I think, speaks volumes for onSpot wifi and its team…..
“Boaters of today aren’t just watching videos and checking the occasional email in the evenings, many of them are working as they travel and at all hours of the day and night. As such, it is imperative that marinas provide good quality, consistent wifi service. Old Port Cove Marina’s management staff was introduced to Bob Taylor, owner of onSpot wifi, while he was staying aboard his vessel “Istaboa” in our marina. We had heard his company was successful in setting up a marina in the Bahamas; a grand feat in and of itself. This encouraged us to take a harder look. Dockmaster Jake Marinucci took the proverbial bull by the horns and had several meetings with Mr. Taylor. At Jake’s recommendation, Mark Lavery, V.P. of Marina Operations for Old Port Cove Holdings, Inc. made the decision to install service at Old Port Cove Marina. onSpot hit the airwaves running and from day one has been a godsend and a huge hit with our boating clients. If a boater experiences an issue, and yes, there are issues from time to time, (please remember wifi on boats is a different animal than wifi in a stationary building) Bob’s staff will go out of their way to resolve it. They walk the boater through each step until a resolution is found. Will, onSpot’s top go-to service and installation tech along with Bob himself have even met a client aboard to assist them with an older model computer and got it up and on the service – I’d say that is some pretty special customer service!
As one of the oldest and largest marina operators in Palm Beach County with three locations and over 350 wet slips in our inventory, Old Port Cove Holdings, Inc. is ….. proud to say onSpot wifi has met our standards and provides consistent Wifi service at all three of our marinas which include North Palm Beach Marina, New Port Cove Marine Center, Old Port Cove Marina and the onsite waterfront restaurant, Sandpiper’s Cove.
Boaters, diners, management and staff are very pleased with onSpot wifi and so are we. We only have one request; “Keep up the great work onSpot!”
Eric Ravenschlag, Legacy Harbour Marina, Ft. Myer, FL thinks the world of onSpot wifi and the people in the onSpot wifi organization. “It’s the best wifi service and the people are outstanding to work with”
Riviera Dunes Marina, Doc Craig, Manager, says onSpot wifi did what no other service company seemed capable of doing and now our wifi signal is excellent throughout our marina. Tenant complaints about wifi are gone.”
With such outstanding reviews and with many skippers and crew confirming that they would like to know if onSpot wifi is available, the Salty Southeast Cruisers’ Net’s marina directory now incorporates two different icons for wifi:
Generic WiFi service provided
onSpot wifi service provided
As you experience the wifi services at various marinas where you stay, let us here from you about your experiences…. become a “Cruiser Helping Cruisers” !!
Wishing you all safe and enjoyable cruising throughout all of 2017.
Winston Fowler, Team Member
Our thanks to the FWC for these reminders!
CLICK HERE TO READ FULL ARTICLE
Explorer Chartbooks, A SALTY SOUTHEAST CRUISERS’ NET PARTNER, has long been the standard navigational supplement for enjoyable, informative, and safe cruising through the beautiful Bahamian waters and island visits.
Bahamas Chatter: Railroad bridge, New River, Lauderdale…
Railroad bridge, New River, Lauderdale…[and see /161648]
Posted: 05 Feb 2017 05:17 AM PST
Not exactly Bahamas chatter, however, I have learned that the railroad bridge that goes across the New River in Ft. Lauderdale, will be down, meaning really down, and not up from the 11th of Feb to the 23 of Feb. The Marine industry up the river and boaters are really upset about this…
DenO
Now that’s really STUPID ! I guess the Billions of Dollars spent by the marine Industry in Ft. Lauderdale has no Value. What ever happened to Govt. “By the people, Of the people and For the people”
Explorer Chartbooks, A SALTY SOUTHEAST CRUISERS’ NET PARTNER, has long been the standard navigational supplement for enjoyable, informative, and safe cruising through the beautiful Bahamian waters and island visits.
Bahamas Chatter: Still looking for info on depth south of andros and south of the tongue
Still looking for info on depth south of andros and south of the tongue
Posted: 03 Feb 2017 05:06 PM PST
I asked a while back but haven’t really received any reply.
I’d like to be able to get to the southern exumas and Gtown by running the bank on the west and south of andros, then stay south of the tongue and its shallows just south of the tongue before heading up toward pudding cut.
All the research I ve done on line thru forums, blogs etc confirm the charts showing the run to the tongue around andros is deep enough with the usual occasional coral heads.
The only unknown section is about 10nm SW of Hawksbill Rock (west of great exuma, just off the edge of chart EX 3) where there seem to be some 2 meters sounding.
Does anyone have info on this area?
It would be a nice route when the NW is its usual rough stretch.
For 2017 rates, go to http://www.ci.marathon.fl.us/government/departments/marina-and-ports/pricing/ and to http://www.ci.marathon.fl.us/government/departments/marina-and-ports/anchorage-mooring-dockage/ for mooring field information.
January 28th 2012
Boot Key Harbor City Marina Increases Fees
Marathon, FL
by Charmaine Smith Ladd
Tuesday of this week, the City of Marathon approved an increase in the fees for mooring and dinghy dockage at their public City Marina. An increase has been expected, as the City is challenged to keep their books in the black. However expected the increase in fees, unexpected is the enormous rise in costs for those who choose to merely anchor and access the amenities of the City Marina.
Mooring rates include dinghy dockage, one weekly sewage pump out (additional pump outs are available at $5 each), parking for one motor vehicle, and access to the marina commons (including laundry and shower facilities).
Dingy dockage rates include all of the above except one is at anchor and not assigned the use of a mooring.
Daily mooring increased from $21 to $22.
Daily dinghy dockage increased from $13 to $22.
Weekly mooring increased from $105 to $110.
Weekly dinghy dockage increased from $45 to $85.
Monthly mooring increased from $275 to $300.
Monthy dinghy dockage increased from $135 to $225.
Most transient boaters have no need for a parking space. Laundry is carded and one pays separately for use. Many cruisers shower aboard and do not use the marina for that purpose. Perhaps the City of Marathon should consider lowering fees for those who wish to simply access the City Marina for dinghy dockage. Having amenities listed and paid for on as “as needed” basis would be much more agreeable to those who have no use for many of the services included with dinghy dockage. It is the opinion of this writer that $225 per month to dock a dinghy at a City Marina facility is far too much.
Charmaine Smith Ladd, SEECN Special Correspondent & Representative
Executive Director, Mariner’s Barr (Boaters’ Anchoring Rights & Responsibilities)
csmithladd@marinersbarr.org
Sorry Charmaine, I would love to visit you there, but I don’t willingly submit to extortion. Those prices are ludicrous for the dinghy dock. I guess that’s a good way to chase away those at anchor, if that is their intention.
John Kettlewell
And water is 5 cents per gallon.
Does anyone know if the mooring field is staying full this winter?
Ted
That is INCREDIBLE!!! We were waiting for a weather window and intending to visit Marathon on our way from Key West to Bimini, but your article just changed our plans. Charging the same for a dinghy tie-up as for a mooring is simply insane, what were they thinking? We’d have taken a mooring if we could get one, but we are not about to pay the same if there are no mooring balls available. How very unwelcoming.
Heather and Derek
Maybe dockside could reopen a dinghy dock for $50 a month for those at anchor. Bring in business they lost over the years.
Philip (formerly “Winds of Change”)
There is no question that the city of Marathon is trying to NOT service the sailing community on a fair and non discriminatory basis. The fee now charged to anchor and use the dingy dock and showers is $225 per month for being on the anchor. The only people that can afford those rates are in general are the snow birds and a few sailors with deep pockets. For a live aboard that works every day he or she cannot afford those rates thus eliminating the less fortunate the opportunity to anchor in Boot Key Harbor within there means. Marathon City Marina is a public marina therefor any rate increases should have been equally charged to the moorings as well as the dingy dock and wet slips.
However it appears that discrimination against the working class or less fortunate citizen continues in all forms of our government. The lucrative mooring balls were increased by 10% so why were the people who anchor there boats charged a 70% increase with no additional services?
Ed & Bonnie Spomer S/V Almost Heaven
Mooring Ball increase 8% / Dingy Dock increase 40% / Slip Rental under 36′ 100% over 36′ $1.00 per foot increase
The boating community needs help to stop economic discrimination against those who choose to have small boats (Don Street for one) or want to anchor there vessels.
Ed & Bonnie Spomer S/V Almost Heaven
Ed & Bonnie: I agree with what you wrote, but the increase in the daily dinghy dock fee from $13 to $22 is actually about 69%! Obviously they are trying to force everyone onto the moorings, but there are times of the year when all the moorings are full, and there are also many of us that just prefer to anchor. If someone just wants to go ashore for dinner or to buy some groceries, add $22 to your bill. Imagine the uproar if a parking fee of $22 per day was put in place ashore.
John Kettlewell
The boating community in Boot Key Harbor is outraged to say the least. There is an effort to protest the unfair increases beginning with a first meeting on Friday February 10th @ 11:15 est. The meeting will be at the Marathon City Marina TiKi Hut.
Ed & Bonnie Spomer S/V Almost Heaven
Cruising News:
Mooring Ball increase 8% / Dingy Dock increase 40% / Slip Rental under 36′ 100% over 36′ $1.00 per foot increase The boating community needs help to stop economic discrimination against those who choose to have small boats (Don Street for one) or want to anchor there vessels.
Edwin Spomer
We have not been to Marathon in a while. However it does hold a special place for us.
Anyway I was just having a look at the increase in prices. Nothing really seems out of place. However my personal take on the drastic increase in Dinghy Dockage, is that the city wants people to take a mooring rather than just anchor and use the facilities. This may be over the top just a little as if the anchorage is reduced in size and people are foreced to anchor out side (during our past visits we had no choice but to anchor outside due to limited swing room) while waiting for a mooring. A suggestion would be to have a reduced Dinghy Dockage Rate while on the waiting list for the mooring field…. Otherwise yes if people want to use the shore side facilites then the demand on Water usage, Laundry, etc is exactly the same whether or not someone is on a mooring ball. You could also reduce the dinghy dockage rates a little if there was a way to control what part of the facility the person/cruiser was using…. IE – no laundry & no showers, then all they are doing is tieing up thus a less of a load on the system.
Just a thought…
Capt. Cameron Murray
Posting is years out of date but link to current rates is correct. Moorings are $348/mo INCLUDING TAX ($324 base). The wait list Dec thru Feb nears 50 boats. Prices will likely increase until the demand goes down. Please do not come here so I can continue to afford and enjoy Marathon.
I know this is an old thread, but the total of $525 a month for full use of the Marina along with a auto parking spot if needed seems to me to be pretty cheap lodging for such a beautiful waterfront view along the Florida coastline. I’m much more bothered by the daily dinghy charge rising from $13 to $22. This is a service the city should provide at little to no-cost. Many — if not most boaters — are tying up their tender so they can spend money at area businesses, eating out, shopping and otherwise resupplying.
looks like it is $324 and month includes Dinghy Dockage
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