South Florida Marinas

Hi John,

That's a beautiful Azimut!

I can't vouche for Turnberry. Never stayed there. However I've lived on board our boat at both Bahia Mar and Pier 66. Both are excellent choices, with Pier 66 being my favorite due to the pool area with about the largest hot tub you've ever seen! Pier 66 also has several restaurants on premises and the 360 rooftop lounge. Another neat feature of Pier 666 is the the 2nd floor bar located at the fuel dock, above the marine store. Excellent view (actually about the best view of any place in Ft. lauderdale) of the intracoastal, in one of the most populated areas of water in South Florida. You've also got great eats and drinks to be found on the other side of the intracoastal, along 17th street, such as Bimini Boat Yard, 15th Street Fisheries, Bobby Rubino's and the usual chains.

As for Bahia Mar... it leaves a little to be desired in the way of food & drink on premises. However, you can't beat the location. You're surrounded by great restaurants & bars on both sides of the marina, including Bahia Cabana, Coconuts, and one more on the north side of the Bahia Mar's slips, just can't remember the name right now. In addition, you're only one block away from Ft. Lauderdale's strip, with Beach place and many fine restaurants lining AIA.

Both are good choices, putting you near Las Olas Blvd., Downtown RiverFront and Ft. Lauderdale's nightlife, beaches, and shopping.

There are other places you may want to consider that are not as expensive as the above listed, nor would they offer the extensive amenities, but may be more to you liking. I'm not sure if space is available, but here's a few...

1. 17th Street Marriot. Good bars and restaurants, nice pool area and small protected marina.

2. Ft. Lauderdale City Marina. Right smack dab on the intracoastal at Las Olas. You can walk to everything along the strip. You're basically one block away from Las Olas & A1A, with lots of bars & restaurants.

3. Harbor Towne Marina in Dania. Definately off the beaten path, down the Dania Cut-Off canal, but a nice marina with lots of marine contractors on premises. The old Tug Boat Annies, a popular waterway restaurant & bar is on premises, but it recently closed. No other amenities on premises that I can think off, other than being right down the street from Hollywood Beach and the Boardwalk area. A really popular destination for the Hollywood crowd.

4. Sand's Harbor in Pompano. Nice marina just north of Ft. Lauderdale. Nice pool & bar directly on the intracoastal, with good restaurants within walking distance, such as Houstons.

Hope this helps. Let me know if there's anything you need.

Carl

Hey John,

Spring break no longer rocks like a big hair band from the 80's, as the beer soaked boppers have been replaced with more of an international contingent. Still, we get some 'breakers during season... just enough to make you reflect and say "remember the good ole days".

Here's a quick list of where to go and when to do it...

For nightlife...

Wednesday nights at Christophers on Oakland Park Blvd, near the intracoastal. 20's to 50's age crowd. For example... the men are in their 50's and the women are in the 20's. You can guess what that's all about!

Thursday Nights at Bungalow Nine. Corner of US-1 & Oakland Park Blvd. This is where you can find a few of Ft. Lauderdale's artificial, superficial, plastic-fantastics. Lot's of billboards for modern cosmetic surgury walking around!

Friday nights are excellent at Big City on Las Olas. You'll find a number of people around the marine industry drowning their sorrows that they'll never be able to afford the boats they sell. Say hello to the Manager, Jason Steele, and tell him you're a friend of mine. He'll take good care of you. He's been out on the boat with us.

Friday's are also HUGE down at RiverFront. It's like Spring Break all over again... with the average age conjuring up memories of the same. Quite a bit of talent to interview... if you're looking for a daughter!

Saturday nights are very busy along Las Olas. Lot's of good places to eat including, Big City, Mango's, Jackson's Steakhouse, Cheesecake Factory, Samba, Louie-Louie's, and many more.

Sunday afternoons are for Shooters along the intracoastal with your boat. Hands down the best place to be. The Hot-Bod contest brings out more talent than American Idol. If you see a guy flying a remote control helicopter off the bow of a Broward up there, come over and introduce yourself. You might also see me on a PowerPlay with teal graphics that reads, what else...

YachtForums.com!

If you need any specifics on a restaurant or bar, just e-mail me...

Carl

Good day Sir , my name is Brian Koch , I live in the FT Lauderdale area and would be happy to provide you with more accurate info if you would like. I am a yacht captain and deal with various different types of owners and guests onboard, with this in mind if you send me a email with what you like to do I could recomend the best facility to fit your needs. Many changes have takenplace over the last few months . If I may be of assistance feel free to contact me at captbkoch@aol.com

Obsolutely

John,

I have been a Ft. Lauderdale captain for over 17 years. And while Ft. Lauderdale offers up a couple of "resort style" marinas, they are old and dated facilities ashore; though Bahia Mar does have new floating docks. If you would like more flavor, then I would most certainly send you to Miami Beach Marina. It has the closest access to the ocean, has miles and miles of inland waterways where you will have no problems with bridges, Monte's Raw Bar, for the best conch salad in town plus, if the weather is a little sporty, then you are right at the top of the inside passage to the keys. And lets not forget the fact that you are just minutes away from SOUTH BEACH!!!!!

You may contact me at 954-646-7656 for cruise planning and information .

Best regards, John

To the top...

thanks to carl for the bump....i never saw this thread! john...i have been a CAPTAIN for 154 years with the last 83 of them in my specialty area...THE WHOLE WORLD!.....so now that you know who really is the greatest , here is my take............

bahia mar....agree with carl. very fun marina with a LOT going on. nice slips...lots of stuff to do and see. always many people to meet/talk to and a lot of cool boats to check out!!

pier 66.....wwwwwwwaaaaayyyyyyy over-rated....just my opinion!! great view but docks that are tight as a 2 .......nevermind....anyways...better keep a wet towel around to wash your boat or else you are going to wash your neighbors!! i don't understand the hype!

turnberry....HOME!! great, laid back marina. not much going on, so if you are looking for the party go else where. also, not as much traffic, so if you are a dock talker, you may be bored! great scenery(nice place), and a great hurricane hole. if you are looking for a quiet place and a good $$$ go here, if not i would go to bahia mar.

one more thing...you said "larger boats"....i guess you are selling your 70 footer...what are you getting?? 112'???120'???150'???

Hall of fame

Did I overlook it or did no-one mention Hall of Fame marina right next to Bahia Mar? This is my personal favorite.... and they have high speed Wi-Fi internet!!

You're right, JHA!

Duh! I don't know how we all forgot the Hall of Fame. I spent two years swimming for Jack Nelson there. Back in those days, there were no docks at the Hall of Fame and the largest yacht at Bahia Mar was... a boat, by today's standards!

But I think in John B's original question... he was looking for a full service marina. Is the Hall of Fame full service? John if you wanna venture a call, the telephone number at the Fame is 954-764-3975

Oh yeah, John... there's a restaurant named "Sloop John B's" on Ft. Lauderdale's strip. It is/was partially owned by Ted (I think Sabarese?) who owns Everglades Marina and raced offshore powerboats (usually Apache's) under the name "INXS". Lot's of offshore racing pictures covering the walls at this place. You might see a 28' Skater with the 7-UP logo on the side... that's me.

Sloop Johnm B's...

has gone the way of R Donuts, Candy Store, Pink Pussy Cat and a multitude of other old Lauderdale landmarks.

I guess it depends on what "full-service" facilities you want. Hall of Fame has just about everything I needed. Olympic size pool, restaurants, the Trove across the street, easy (free) parking, they are maintenance friendly, and just a walk across the street from the beach. Not much more I could personally ask for.

Here's a picture of the Hall Of Fame Marina. In addition to being located next to Bahia Mar and the many locational benefits that JHA indicated, I can safely say... it has the largest swimming pool of any marina or hotel in the world!

Hall 'o ShAME mARINA

[the largest swimming pool of any marina or hotel in the world!

BORING marina. Make sure you clean out the mud from your strainers after backing in there. If your boat is less than 90 feet, you will be put on the south side of the marina. No convenient parking. Long walk with your supplies.

No, it's BOOTY CALL at Miami Beach Marina!!!

Very old discussion, but no one mentioned Sunrise Harbour? Its a little cheaper great surroundings.

Why every marina does not have Wi Fi by now I can't imagine. We stayed at Hurricane Hole Marina for months last year and one of the reasons was that we could cut our comms costs by using email for as much as possible, not to mention that it was good for crew morale being able to keep in touch.