Water Can Be Costly At Melbourne Harbor Marine (Statute Mile 919)
Now, here is an INTERESTING post from Captain Bill which recently appeared on the Cruisers’ Forum (http://www.cruisersforum.com), about the cost of filling one’s fresh water tank, IF you are anchored off, and come in to fuel and take on water at Melbourne Harbor Marina. This facility’s entrance channel cuts west, abeam of AICW marker #6, south of the Melbourne twin, high-rise bridges.
Bill’s criticism of the cost of fresh water at Melbourne Harbor Marine fostered quite a discussion on the Cruisers’ Forum (see http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/f2/anchor-outs-not-welcome-117433.html). Some thought the marina’s charges were justifed, others took a different point of view. The Salty Southeast Cruisers’ Net takes no editorial position on this question of cost, but we do think this is information that needs to be known in the cruising community!
I had an interesting first today. I went into the Melbourne Harbor Marina in Melbourne Florida for a pumpout, some water, and to dump some trash. I visit Melbourne every year for the month of December visiting relatives before continuing on to the Bahamas. In the past I have used the MHM because I have found it to be a friendly and easy place to and get a pumpout and water. In the past what I have done get two pumpout and two water fills during December while anchored out. Melbourne does not have a lot of marina options for Catamarans. Melbourne Harbor Marina cannot accommodate a Catamaran at all. When I’m ready to leave I have always filled my fuel tanks at MHM before heading south and that visit was well over $$300. In the past the pumpout was $10 and water and trash was free. The first time I was in this year the pumpout was still $10 and water and trash was $5. This was perfectly reasonable in my opinion. Water and trash service are not free to the marina and a reasonable charge is not a problem. Today when I went in there The pumpout was still $10 but he asked how much water I needed and I said 80 gallons. Which he said would be $20. I asked him why it was up from $5 only 10 days ago. He said it is what it is. When I pointed out I paid less than this for RO water in the bahamas he went off on a rant about “anchor outs” wanting all these services for free. I asked for absolutely nothing for free. In the Bahamas it costs quite a bit to make RO water from sea water so $.25 a gallon is reasonable. This guy pays .00433 cents a gallon for city water so 80 gallons cost him 32 cents. Five dollars for 32 cents worth of water is a pretty good profit in my opinion even if one includes the capital cost of running a pipe to the end of the dock. He pays a flat rate for a trash dumpster. A bag of trash does not change what he pays so anything he charges is money in his pocket. The city requires that he have the dumpster even if it’s not used.
Before I retired there was an old business rule about never being rude or nasty to a small customer because you never knew when they might become a big customer or how many big customers he had as friends. Today I was a small customer. The guy I dealt with identified himself as the owner. Needless to say I’ll find some where else to fill my tanks. Maybe $300-$400 worth of diesel is not worth his time, so be it. I don’t know why business owners act like this, do they think cruisers don’t talk to other cruisers? This was the first time I had ever been treated so rudely by a Marina. I might not have been so offended if he did not go off on me for not buying a service he didn’t offer (dockage for my Cat).
Captain Bill
Suggest y’all stop at Telemar Bay Marina just North of the Eau Galle bridge and Dragon Point. Very friendly! Plenty of room for cats even 42v footers.
Russ Davignon
Telemar Marina guards the Banana River’s easterly banks, just north of the Eau Gallie fixed bridge and Dragon Point.
Click Here To View the Cruisers’ Net’s Eastern Florida Marina Directory Listing For Telemar Marina
Click Here To Open A Chart View Window, Zoomed To the Location of Telemar Marina
Click Here To Open A Chart View Window, Zoomed To the Location of Melbourne Harbor Marine
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