Spring discounts in the Keys…a record fleet

in Charleston…show time in Jacksonville.

Mid-Keys resort marina offers

spring discount on slips

Located in Marathon on the Hawk Channel side in a protected channel that is six feet at its entrance, Coral Lagoon Resort and Marina (see Southern Boating, October 2010) has a full-service yacht basin with a fuel dock that offers both diesel and 91 octane gas. There are 65 wet slips with modern concrete docks, shore power, cable TV, WiFi internet, showers and state-of-the-art fish-cleaning stations. The marina’s depth is eight feet at mean low tide.

Coral Lagoon Resort and Marina in Marathon, Florida

Coral Lagoon owner Edward Palvig recently announced a spring promotion on the marina’s slip rates. The rental rate for slips up to 50 feet in length is reduced by 30 percent to $500 per month if booked by May 21, 2011. These slips can accommodate boats up to 55 feet in length with a beam of up to 22 feet.  For boat owners who would rather leave their vessels in the Keys and drive or fly to meet them, Coral Lagoon Marina also offers dockominium slips for purchase. These modern concrete slips are being offered at $137,750 up to the same May 21st deadline. A maintenance fee of $135 per month covers electricity, water and even insurance, a very competitive rate for the Keys.
It’s a short run from the marina to the fishing grounds offshore, where anglers can hunt marlin, sailfish, tuna, amberjack, dolphin, wahoo, yellowtail, grouper, trout, snook, and kingfish. Backcountry angling and fly fishing for bonefish, tarpon and permit on Florida Bay is easily accessible via nearby Vaca Cut, for shallow-draft vessels, or by heading a few miles south to the deep-water channel beneath Seven Mile Bridge. There is also world-class diving and snorkeling on the living coral reef and wrecks in Hawk’s Channel; permanent mooring balls make it easy to tie up and drop in. Key West is 45 miles to the southwest; if you have a fast boat, you can run down there for lunch at Sloppy Joe’s and a bit of shopping. corallagoonresort.com

Charleston Race Week is setting records

At press time, the organizers of the 2011 Sperry Top-Sider Charleston Race Week, which is coming up on April 14-17, were in high gear, as the popular race looks set to break participation records. Six weeks prior to the regatta start, 240 entrants were already registered.
The Melges 24 fleet has 51 registrations including two boats from Italy, and one each from Bermuda and Germany.  In fact, the inshore fleets that will compete on two courses in the harbor had such an unprecedented number of entrants that registration was limited to the scratch sheet entries as of February 24. Other inshore fleets include the Viper 640s, Ultimate 20s, J-24s, J-22s, J-80s, and Melges 20s.
The regatta also includes offshore racing on two courses. The PHRF course had 40 entrants ranging from Alerions and Bénéteaus to Soverels.  One-design offshore classes include J105s, Tripp 26s and Tartan 10s. Handicap racing also continues to grow in what is now the United State’s largest keelboat regatta. Organizers say that separating the big boat rating competition from the light displacement “sportboats” for the second year in a row has helped fuel that growth.
Sperry Top-Sider Charleston Race Week benefits the South Carolina Maritime Heritage Foundation and the Spirit of South Carolina, the state’s tall ship, which is used for youth education programs. charlestonraceweek.com

Jacksonville hosts major regional boat show

The 15th Annual Southeast U.S. Boat Show will take place on April 15-17 at the Metropolitan Park and Marina on the St. Johns River, across from the Jaguar Stadium, in Jacksonville, Florida.  According to show organizer Jimmy Hill, the focus of this year’s show has switched from local to regional, a change that is growing the number of exhibitors, particularly in water. “All the major brands will be there, with exhibitors like MarineMax, all the Jacksonville dealers, and even dealers from as far away as Charleston, South Carolina,” Hill said, adding, “Bigger and bigger boats are participating.”  He expects the largest in-water boats to be 70 to 80 feet in length.
The show also will include Sailing Showcase East, a spring sailing exhibition mounted “for sailors by sailors,” according to Hill’s company, Current Productions. Although the Southeast U.S. Boat Show always has included sailboats, the sailing section will now take up all of B-Dock and the land adjacent to it, highlighting all the major production manufacturers, along with few custom sailboat builders and sailing gear.
Fishing seminars will run continuously during the boat show, as will entertainment acts on the main stage barge, creating a festival-like atmosphere. This year’s schedule was not complete at press time, but last year’s acts included a Polynesian dance revue and a paddleboat race through downtown Jacksonville. In addition, the city’s Blessing of the Fleet will take place April 17th along the riverfront. “I am excited about having this in conjunction with the show, Hill said. “A lot of attendees come by boat.”  Admission tickets to the Southeast U.S. Boat Show are $10 for adults, and children 16 years old and younger are admitted free. currentproductions.us