Marina Jack Wins Marina of the Year

Our winter haven, Marina Jack, has been named Marina of the Year for 2015 in the large marina category by Marina Dock Age magazine.

Marina Jack looking east into downtown Sarasota

This did not come as a surprise to us. I have been telling people for years that Marina Jack is one of the best run facilities that we've visited during our cruising years.

We stopped at 135 marinas on our 2010 to 2012 Great Loop Adventure, one of which was Marina Jack. Cruising Lake Michigan from 1999 to 2010 we managed to visit all but two ports and easily have stayed at over 50 different marinas in Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin and Michigan. Include our east coast cruising and we tally visits to well over 200 marinas. 

What makes a marina exceptional from our viewpoint turns out to be only a fraction of the criteria that Marina Dock Age uses to judge excellence. Well get to that in a moment.

Looking northwest toward the Ringling Bridge and Longboat Key

Location, location, location. Marina Jack is conveniently located at the foot of Main Street in Sarasota. That provides easy access to a wealth of restaurants, shops, culture (e.g., movie, opera, theater, symphony, botanical gardens, weekly events) and a Whole Foods within half a mile of the marina. This is great for transient boaters and even better for people like us. The car stays parked most of the time as we walk to events. None of that counts in Marina Dock Age's criteria.

Prestige 75 and Two Hargraves, a 125' next to a 101'

Marina Dock Age looked at Marina Jack’s partnership between public and private sectors, It's strong ties in community events, highly experienced staff, industry involvement with boat shows and local brokerage affiliations, development of the City’s first mooring field, and it’s certification as a Clean Marina for the past 12 consecutive years. They also considered their continued infrastructure investment, hospitality, capacity to accommodate large yachts (up to 228 feet) and providing first class amenities and services to a wide variety of customers. 

We respect all of the above but what we look at is far more basic. Here's seven criteria that, in our opinion, evidence a well run marina:

• Pump-out: Easy to access (e.g., at the fuel dock) with sufficient hose length and suction to drain a tank in a reasonable amount of time
• Trash management: No trash on the docks or around dumpsters
• Security: Always working and not easy to penetrate
• Lighting: Dock walkways adequately lighted 
• Dock safety: No hoses or power cables running across the dock creating a trip hazard.
• Clean bathrooms.
• MBWA (Management by walking around): Staff are constantly aware of everything going on and take action to correct problems.

Sounds simple. But we've stayed at excellent physical facilities with lots of amenities that fall short on those simple criteria and some that manage to come up short on almost every one. Marina Jack excels at each.

Notice the large clean garbage containers

Pump-out: The pump-out system consists of outlets mounted at every other finger with a cart containing 75 feet of hose. You can do it yourself or have marina staff do it. Equipment is in top condition. 100 gallons is offloaded in less than 10 minutes.

Trash Management: Large attractive white trash containers are located at every third finger of each of the docks. These are emptied several times a day. Large boxes left besides the container are removed quickly. I have no idea where the dumpsters are located and this is our second year.

Security: Marina Jack changes codes monthly. Malfunctions, which are rare, are rectified quickly. Security guards are stationed at the dock gate during events with a list of who is entitled to enter the dock.

Lighting: Docks are well lighted and bulbs that fail are replaced quickly.

Dock Safety: When it's necessary to run a power cable across the dock, staff provide heavy rubber cable protectors. 

Bathrooms: Marina Jack provides 10 individual bathrooms each equipped with its own shower. They are cleaned several times each day.  It is rare to walk in to a messy bathroom.

MBWA: From our viewpoint, the marina manager, Sam Chavers, has fostered a culture of proactive correction of problems. Dock hands see problems and make them go away. Mention a problem to marina management and the problem is immediately corrected.

Examples: I casually mentioned to Dan, a mere (just joking) dock hand, that the hook on the piling between my and my neighbors slip was broken. Next day it was fixed. I asked for an extra cleat to secure my forward spring line. Done! I suggested mounting a squeegee in the bathroom to push shower water that "migrates" outside the shower back in. Result: They increased the cleaning interval and now the bathrooms are almost always spotless. 

Marina Jack staff at the Marina of the Year award presentation
L to R: Unknown, Joe Catell, Sam Chavers, Kat Wilson, Unknown, Annie Wilson
Note: The unknowns are Marina Dock Age executives

Marina Jack has a total of 318 slips with capacity for mega yachts up to 228 feet.  Most are floating, 20 are dry storage hydraulic lifts and about 50 are fixed docks that ring Bayfront Park. Marina Jack also operates the Sarasota Bayfront Mooring Field with moorings for 100 boats.

Marina Jack caters to cruising boaters with 20 dedicated transient slips on the west side of D-dock. Our slip, D-11, which is rented on an annual basis, is on the east side of this dock. We get to meet lots of interesting people.

D Dock looking toward the restaurants
The empty slips on the lower left are for transient boaters 

Side Story: Last year I informed Sam Chavers, Director of Marina Operations, that we would be returning in 2015 and beyond and asked if we could have slip D-11. Why D-11 you ask? 1. It's got a great view of Bayfront Park. 2. It's has room to launch our tender from the port side. 3. It's on the best dock; wide walkway and least number of boats. 4. It's just far enough away from the restaurant music to where it can either be enjoyed or ignored. And 5, most important, Bayfront Park provides shelter from seas and wind. This is the calmest spot in the marina.

Looking west to the sunset over Bayfront Park

Sam informed me that I was in a permanent slip available for annual rental and that he was surprised that it was available. He further said that we needed to make reservations now or risk not even being able to stay here next winter. We had to make a $5,000 decision. Rent D-11 on an annual basis at $13,000 or spend $8,000 for 6 months and take our chances. Not a difficult decision.

View from Marina Jack's award winning fine dining restaurant

The facility includes three restaurants with fine dining upstairs and two outside informal restaurants downstairs and a banquet facility.The Marina Jack II dinner cruiser takes diners for a floating dinner of Sarasota Bay.

Want something maintained, repaired or upgraded? No problem as long as it can be done at the dock. Marina Jack Services has a wide array of highly responsive top quality vendors that address almost every boating need. Joe Catell, Yacht Services Manager, and Kat Wilson, who's title is Associate Manager of Public Services and Yacht Services Administrator (phew - long title) manage the operation and provide treats for Kodi. (Kodi loves this Kat.)

Guided Discovery in Slip D-11

Speaking of services. Marina Jack allows divers to clean bottoms at the dock, which for us is a very convenient. Our Massachusetts Marina does not allow this forcing us to leave the dock and anchor outside harbor. So what you say. Well, unfortunately the weather does not always cooperate resulting in rescheduling.

Back to criteria. The factors listed above are but a small part of the requirements that Marina Jack had to meet to earn Marina of the Year recognition. In fact, the application, according to Kat Wilson, was 180 pages long.

Sam Chavers, Director of Marina Operations, provided me with the rather extensive criteria they had to meet.  I've listed at the end of the article. Here's Sam's official press release statement:

“This award is truly a testament to, not only our ownership, but our staff and customers,  We’re honored and proud to represent the marina industry, the City of Sarasota, and our community with this nationally recognized distinction. Our business plan has always been to create points of difference for the customer in order to build one of the best marinas in the United States, and this award exemplifies our efforts towards that goal.”

Well, Sam and Company, congratulations. You and you team have truly achieved your goal. 

Written by Les

Criteria (FYI)

Business Operations

Describe your staff and their responsibilities. How do you manage your business

and monitor performance throughout the year? Please provide any financials

that highlight your business successes, including profit centers, overall profits

or revenues and expenses, or historical information showing the growth and

development of your business. We will not publish any financial information

without your permission.

Facilities Improvements

Describe any expansions, updates or added amenities. What did you do? How did

you do it? How did you finance your projects? What plans do you have for the

future?

Advertising and Marketing

Describe the market you target and serve. Who are your boaters? Where are

they from? And how do you know this? How do you attract customers through

advertising and marketing? Describe your website, newsletters, special events

and any other creative marketing efforts.

Customer Satisfaction

How do you build relationships with your customers? Describe events you

plan and manage. What special services do you provide? How do you measure

customer satisfaction, and what are the results?

Environmental Responsibility

How do you ensure a clean and safe environment for your customers? What

measures do you take to limit your impact on the environment? Are you a

certified Clean Marina? What environmental awareness programs have you

created in the marina and community? How have you confronted and remedied

environmental issues? What are you doing to be ”green?”

Industry Involvement

What is your relationship with nearby businesses or marina colleagues? List

memberships and position held in organizations and associations in the industry.

How do you celebrate National Marina Day?

Benefit to the Community

Include achievements for local tourism, jobs created and your membership

and activities in civic and/or charitable organizations. List memberships and

positions held in professional organizations and associations in the local

business community.

Special Challenges

What challenges are unique to your facility (location, regulations, natural

environment, etc.)? This can include challenges you faced in the past. How do

you overcome them and how do you take on current challenges?

Attributes and Accomplishments

What sets your marina apart from the rest?