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Williams Marina vs Haulover Public Marina

Discussion in 'Marinas & Waypoints' started by motoryachtlover, Jan 1, 2019.

  1. motoryachtlover, Jan 1, 2019
    #1
    motoryachtlover

    motoryachtlover Senior Member

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    My wife and I are taking our winter cruise. My daughter is flying in to meet us in Miami. I am not much on the concrete jungle thing and would love to be able to take our dog for walks and maybe to a sandbar that I can turn him loose on. So that got me thinking about the area around Haulover. It has got the sandbar and the Oleta River state park is a dinghy ride away for walks, etc. I realize personal preferences are personal but can any of you all shed any light on Williams Marina and Bill Baird Marina (???) at Haulover or any other marinas I might not have thought about in the North Miami area. The boat is 54’ and draws 5’. Thank you for your time.
  2. Pascal, Jan 1, 2019
    #2
    Pascal

    Pascal Senior Member

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    I haven’t been at haulover marina in years... I think your problem is not going to be comparing amenities but finding room. There is a massive shortage off slips in so fl especially Miami mostly because of hurricane damage and the pathetic attitude of both the city of Miami as well as Miami Dade county.

    Coconut grove alone has lost about 400 slips...

    There are other marinas to consider in the north Miami and south broward area incl waterways, and a few places in Hollywood.
  3. motoryachtlover, Jan 1, 2019
    #3
    motoryachtlover

    motoryachtlover Senior Member

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    Pascal thank you for your response. I have active captain so of course can look on my own but what marinas do you like in and around this area.
  4. Pascal, Jan 1, 2019
    #4
    Pascal

    Pascal Senior Member

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    Personally I find the best area to be Biscayne Bay. It s the gateway to the keys and the Bahamas. Anywhere north along the ICW and the ICW is all you have with traffic, bridges and brown water. But as I said dockage is impossible to find down here except maybe Miami Beach marina or sunset just north of MBM
  5. Capt Ralph, Jan 1, 2019
    #5
    Capt Ralph

    Capt Ralph Senior Member

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    We have always been able to walk our kats at Ft Peirce city marina. They luv the palm trees at the original fuel dock. Great for dawgies and our kats.
    We reserve that fuel dock for the night, top off that night or early in the morning and Bee-Line to Great Sail the next morning.
    This makes the last scratch spot for our critters till we return back to Jax.
    They seem to know it, rip the hell out of those palm trees before returning back to our Bert and staying 2-3 weeks on board in the Bahamas without any land relief.
    The dock piles back in Jax don't have a prayer when we return.
    Last edited: Jan 1, 2019
  6. olderboater, Jan 1, 2019
    #6
    olderboater

    olderboater Senior Member

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    Miami Beach, Miamarina, Sea Isle and One Island Park are most likely to have slips available. Great locations but all are expensive.
  7. captainwjm, Jan 2, 2019
    #7
    captainwjm

    captainwjm Senior member

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    Agree that availability will be the issue; when are you arriving and how long will you stay? My guess is that you will have difficulty finding a short-term slip more than a day in advance. That said, of the two, Haulover would be my choice for your concerns. Other choices would be Hollywood and Crandon.
  8. Pascal, Jan 2, 2019
    #8
    Pascal

    Pascal Senior Member

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    One island park is a terrible location on the causeway with awfull wakes. It s really geared for boats over 150...

    There is also Watson Island marina but not a much better location. Fewer wakes and may be ok for a smaller boat but expensive
  9. Lenny, Jan 2, 2019
    #9
    Lenny

    Lenny Member

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    Haulover terrible marina. Boat will never stop rolling. Captains hate the place.
  10. olderboater, Jan 2, 2019
    #10
    olderboater

    olderboater Senior Member

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    Yes it is and the outside locations have awful wakes but occasionally you'll see a smaller boat on the inside protected by the larger boats. Those I think are accommodations for IGY members. We docked there one day but just to check the property out. Still they're going to charge on per foot rates they'd use for 400' vessels so not a very reasonable option.
  11. motoryachtlover, Jan 2, 2019
    #11
    motoryachtlover

    motoryachtlover Senior Member

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    Thank you all for your feedback. I can’t get Haulover on the phone but Lenny’s post has me thinking. I have reservations for 3 nights at Miami Beach Marina but I was hoping to stay at another location for 3 days or so then my daughter will fly back to the real world. Would love to see Coconut Grove but I don’t think that is an option post Irma.
  12. bayoubud, Jan 2, 2019
    #12
    bayoubud

    bayoubud Senior Member

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    A few years back we stayed at Williams and Haulover. Like Haulover best, it was less formal. Had some good anchorage west on the other side of the ICW. Dockage was tight at Haulover, and probably less dockage available now.
  13. Ralph Holiman, Jan 3, 2019
    #13
    Ralph Holiman

    Ralph Holiman New Member

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    Winston Yacht Club in Sunny Isles Beach is another small marina to check. They are on active Captain. We used to stay there and enjoyed it.
  14. motoryachtlover, Jan 30, 2019
    #14
    motoryachtlover

    motoryachtlover Senior Member

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    To follow up we just got back from our trip to S Fl. We did not stay at Williams but did stay at Bill Bird Marina. Bird Marina was a little run down with unenthusiastic employees. The grass was not cut and a significant amount of the boats docked there were in various states of neglect. Not a problem but kind of depressing. The wakes were not that bad but I had just come from Cannonspot T head on Singer Island and the traffic and wakes were constant during the day but settled down at night. Not a slam on Cannonsport as I like it a lot and prefer it to Sailfish Marina. In other words the wakes didn’t bother me at either place. Bill Bird is convening to the state park which was nice to go to and walk on the trails and such. In summary, I would go back to Bill Bird but only because of its proximity to the Oleta Park.
  15. Capt J, Jan 30, 2019
    #15
    Capt J

    Capt J Senior Member

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    A lot of wake at Bill Baird marina. The sandbar is right there, beach right across the street, lots of nudes and gays there. Also Bill Baird has no soul. Williams Island is protected and nice to walk the dog, closer to more restaurants etc......depends what you like.