Tough luck in Fort Myers

Legal dispute causing Marina evictions https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=cW7z8GcriQc

This hit the local news last week and has been discussed locally (we live in Ft Myers, and lost our liveaboard Hatteras last year to Ian). The evictions are pretty selective, since the boats getting the order are older, but the new/big boats in that marina are apparently immune. My theory, and without saying it this way I've gotten consensus with others familiar with the ownership vs the management of this marina is that the owner is trying to 'gentrify' the marina, kicking out boats that they don't like. The marina was rebuilt over the summer from Ian's complete destruction, including every boat that was docked there being a total loss. The owner wanted to not only charge for electric and dockage, but also installed water meters at each slip but 'decided not to charge for water at this time'. The problem is that there are basically 2 operational marinas in Ft Myers itself right now, this one and Marinatown, which was spared due to location. Marinatown is also moving forward with evicting boats that don't run, or the owners can't show proof of insurance. Meanwhile the Municipal Yacht Basin is untouched, since the city had entered into an agreement with a 3rd party operator but Ian wiped out most of the marina infrastructure. Legacy Harbor Marina was in the middle of being sold, but the investment group purchasing the marina was shut down by the SEC for 'reasons'. So Ft Myers is kind of struggling on the marina front, and the current mayor and city council are more concerned with taking away the free parking areas and hosting weekend festivals for tourism than the needs of locals and boaters.

One our Club Members had a year lease there and had been leisurely bringing down a 2012 Meridian 441. He got the same letter as everyone else. He had already crossed over to Clearwater when he got the news. As of today, he thinking he will go on down to Sarasota. He lost a very nice Searay sedan bridge in Ian that he has never even took out after purchase.

Expect the insurance limits to become the new normal. We had to go to 1M liability (FYI this doesn't cost too much, PIA is finding a company that writes on older boats. We went through Statefarm.). This is the new limits required where we own a slip in Riviera Dunes Bradenton FL. Expect to see it more traveling to transient slips.

Latest educated guess/rumor is that since the actual owner wants maximum return for minimum effort- he demanded a 50' minimum regardless of boat size- he's trying to bring in boats that will use minimal resources, ie no liveaboards, no transients more than 48 hours. The only boat that didn't get 'the letter' is a 60' Azimut that was the first boat to arrive when they reopened. All he's doing is hurting himself.