South Florida Marinas

[cb48lrc]

Today we entered FL for our first trip here by water and will be in Jacksonville tonight.
We plan to leave the boat for several days over Thanksgiving and rent a car to go to Ft. Myers.
Would love some suggestions about some potential places to leave the boat that will also be the least amount of miles over to Ft. Myers.
All we really need is a secure place and power.
Appreciate any suggestions.

 

[Boatsb]

Jacksonville has some nice places. South Florida has miami and crime. Why not run the okchokeme waterway?

 

[saltshaker]

I guess it all depends on where you want to go or end up. The Fl guys can answer this better but I don't think there's any decent direct way to drive from the east coast to Ft Myers. I know from Ft Lauderdale you take I75 west then north. I think its about 150 miles. I'm with Scott here. You could take the Okeechobee to Ft Myers. It's only about 40-50NM further than going down to Ft Lauderdale and you wouldn't need to drive 150 miles each way to Ft Myers.

 

[Boatsb]

And miss miami altogether. Mostly foreigners anyway.

 

[bobk]

I'm assuming you want to leave the boat in north Florida? If so, look at Hidden Harbor Marina in St Augustine. Almost a straight line and 5 hours to Ft Meyers. Call the marina soon if you want to use them. They have only a few transient slips, but are very reasonable. I spent three days there in the spring. Walking distance to most attractions and dining.

If the objective is minimum distance from east to west, West Palm Beach provides that.

Bobk

 

[saltshaker]

I'm assuming you want to leave the boat in north Florida? If so, look at Hidden Harbor Marina in St Augustine. Almost a straight line and 5 hours to Ft Meyers. Call the marina soon if you want to use them. They have only a few transient slips, but are very reasonable. I spent three days there in the spring. Walking distance to most attractions and dining.

If the objective is minimum distance from east to west, West Palm Beach provides that.

Bobk

I think he's looking for an east coast, south Fl marina that would be the shortest driving distance to Ft Myers, hence the thread name.

 

[Pascal]

Th comment about crime in Miami is funny.... Ignorant but funny... I don't lock my car, I don't lock my boat, I have never worried about walking out of the marina at night. You just need to pick the right neighborhoods, like everywhere else.

I wonder if the Daytona to Titusville area may not be your best bet for an easy ride to ft Myers. You can get on I4 and run diagonally to Tampa then south to ft Myers. Titusville marina is good spot popular with many snowbirds.

 

[Artzco]

Stay in the Ft Pierce area and the drive to Ft Myers is only 130 miles and can be driven in less than 3 hours. Get on Hwy 70 to Hwy 78 and then Hwy 80 and it is a nice drive near the lake. It is the most direct route from that area

 

[magnawake]

We are located on Jensen beach, between Ft Pierce and Stuart. Nettles Island Marina to be exact. Prolly the less expensive marina anywhere close. It has lots of nice people and we wouldnt hesitate to leave the boat there unattended. There's lots of livaboard people there to watch it. Also I was impressed with the marine land marina south of St. Augustine.

 

[hatteras 1985]

And miss miami altogether. Mostly foreigners anyway.

The nice parts of Miami, the places you will find white, English-speaking people, are the coastal areas. Coconut Grove, Key Biscayne, Miami Beach, Aventura, Bal Harbor, etc. have not turned into a Third World country like the other 90% of Miami, which is to be avoided. I have always dreamed about having a slip at Bayside or Dinner Key just like Sonny Crockett...

 

[wsdemmer]

I will throw a vote in for Stuart Florida. Sunset Bay Marina is great but you might need to get on a list depending on how long you will stay. Walk to downtown and groceries etc. reasonable rates and fixed cost on electricity. Direct access to the Okeechobee waterway to the west side.

 

[Angela]

Curt, can you clarify what you’re looking for? Your thread is titled “South Florida Marinas” which is a very specific area, but it appears a lot of people are thinking you just want to leave your boat somewhere in Florida and travel to Fort Myers for the holiday. South Florida is Palm Beach County (West Palm Beach), Broward County (Fort Lauderdale), Dade (Miami) and Monroe County (the Keys). Stuart and Fort Pierce are not in South Florida. And of course, Miami is the capital of South America. Ha ha!

I got the impression you wanted to bring your boat to South Florida for all that this area is and offers, and then take a short road trip over to Fort Myers. If you indeed want South Florida, then we can hone in on that area with recommendations. If you want to leave the boat just anywhere along the Atlantic coast, I can tell you that Stuart and Fort Pierce are going to be a lot less expensive that South Florida. The price gets higher as you motor South, and there’s a reason for that - from a boating perspective, everything is much nicer the further south you travel. Our water and environment here in Miami are awesome, and the Keys, even nicer.

By the way, there is an empty transient slip right next to me in Dinner Key Marina (Miami).

 

[thoward]

These are your 2 most direct routes. It depends on your trip and final destination.

Ft. Pierce- Pelican Yacht Club(our marina)

Palm Beach- Sailfish Marina


Loggerhead is a chain of marinas which may be worth a look depending on your plans.

 

[capttonyf]

Another reasonable option if you decide to bring the boat to south Florida is Docking it Somewhere up th "New River" in Ft. Lauderdale. Secluded, protected, and Cheap if you stick it behind one of the many homes or condos looking to rent out their dock space. Plus, as was mentioned earlier it's a 2 hour drive +/- straight across Alligator Alley "I75" to Fort Meyers. Not to Mention Bimini is only 50 miles away, Set your auto pliot at 124 and enjoy the Winter Gulf Stream. Then again there is always the Keys.

 

[Boatnut]

Th comment about crime in Miami is funny.... Ignorant but funny... I don't lock my car, I don't lock my boat, I have never worried about walking out of the marina at night. You just need to pick the right neighborhoods, like everywhere else.

I wonder if the Daytona to Titusville area may not be your best bet for an easy ride to ft Myers. You can get on I4 and run diagonally to Tampa then south to ft Myers. Titusville marina is good spot popular with many snowbirds.

Miami is only safe if you know where to go, get lost and wind up in the wrong place you could have a problem. Miami is the only city I have ever stayed in where the Holiday Inn has barbed wire around it, and they tell you do not leave the building after dark. I have spent hundreeds of nights down there working, and my opinion is it's one of the worst big cities in the country, it's easily just as bad of worse then Detroit, New York City, Chicago, and the like. Now that I am self employed I avoid the place like the plague, and if I do go it costs big big bucks.

 

[saltshaker]

Miami is only safe if you know where to go, get lost and wind up in the wrong place you could have a problem. Miami is the only city I have ever stayed in where the Holiday Inn has barbed wire around it, and they tell you do not leave the building after dark. I have spent hundreeds of nights down there working, and my opinion is it's one of the worst big cities in the country, it's easily just as bad of worse then Detroit, New York City, Chicago, and the like. Now that I am self employed I avoid the place like the plague, and if I do go it costs big big bucks.

But it looks awesome on CSI Miami! Don't throw NYC in with that list of cities. NY is one of the safest big cities in the country. Crime is much lower than it used to be and many of the bad neighborhoods are cleaned up. I have a client in Spanish Harlem and have never had issue there. I'll even park my car on the street up there. 10-15 years ago I wouldn't even drive through Harlem let alone get out of the car. I feel safer roaming the streets of NY than I have in many areas in FL. Hopefully the new mayor won't undo all that but that's a discussion for another thread and forum.

 

[Boatsb]

Jack are you referring the dinkins years? I think NYC is intentionally heading back to those good old days when it was safe for criminals to roam the streets.

As for miami. Good or bad area there is crime present. The bad guys will go to the good areas. My inlaws had a rottweiler stolen from the yard in a nice part of town .

 

[saltshaker]

Jack are you referring the dinkins years? I think NYC is intentionally heading back to those good old days when it was safe for criminals to roam the streets.

As for miami. Good or bad area there is crime present. The bad guys will go to the good areas. My inlaws had a rottweiler stolen from the yard in a nice part of town .

During the Dinkins years I rarely felt safe in Manhattan after dark and wouldn't ride the subway even during the day. Now I have no problem leaving work at 1 or 2 am and walking a few blocks to the subway or to my car. The subways are now dominated by business people instead or criminals and homeless people. During the Dinkins years you wouldn't even think of leaving your car parked on the street. Now the only problem is finding a place to park. I regularly see Bentleys, Porsches, Maseratis, etc. parked on the street late at night.

 

[cb48lrc]

Thanks for all the suggestions.
Angela, you are correct. We have reservations in Key West 12/15 and want to get as far south as possible before Thanskgiving. We will be visiting family in Ft. Myers just over the holiday.
Since we are on St. Augustine and plan on waiting here until Friday to let the high winds subside, we think it is possible and realistic to get to Miami/Ft.Lauderdale prior to Thanksgiving.
I found Lauderdale Marine center for $.80/ft. Seems to have 24 hour security.
Anyone familiar with them?
How do you find an individual that rents their docks?

 

[TopHattandTails]

Lauderdale Marine Center is a pretty active yard. Pipe welders (and his related businesses) are located there. Lots of reconditioning, bottom jobs, haul outs, work going on on the eastern side of yard. Never been to the actual marina side to the West. It's a pretty good ride down the New River to get to the ICW or Bahia Mar, the marina is exactly on I95. You'll definitely need a car to go to the beach or downtown. I'd say if you need a maintenance stop - that's a good one. For a few days, ok - but any longer I'd look into private residences or Bahia Mar. It's not really Lauderdale up there - too far removed. It's secure, but I wouldn't leave the yard after dark unless via car. There's really nothing around there but industrial businesses. However, Sam's Marine is pretty close!