2022 November December Marina World

GUEST COMMENT
Marinas and takeovers –
enough room for ‘boating’?
The freedom of the open water. Getting away from it all. Finding peace
and solitude. These are all ways to describe boating. And the past two
years have shown there are many out there who are looking for that
escape.
With escape in mind, the push
for the modern marina to be like
a resort, catering to the whims of
boaters and their friends, can be
a bit mystifying and maybe a bit of
a misfire. Isn’t the point of boating
to get out on the water and not sit
dockside at a tiki bar? There must
be room left for the boaters that
just want to boat, and as marinas
are being bought and sold at a
rapid-fire pace, the industry needs
to pause and consider its customer
base, from the solitary fisherman to
the sailboat racer to the captain of a
megayacht. Just as no two boaters
are identical, neither should their
homeports be.
An indicator of where the marina
industry is today comes from
the roaring success that marina
management/ownership companies
across the globe are having.
These companies can offer a true
benefit to the industry. Expanding
corporations will bring more capital
into aging marina infrastructure,
will give a larger voice to the
marina industry as all that money
talks, and, if plans go well, it will
introduce the concept of a welltrained
and certified management
team to lead each facility. But while
those plans sound like a positive
all around, there are some real
risks of adopting a “more is better”
mentality.
A marina should be more
than just a place to park a boat
except to those boaters who
don’t want anything more. Do we
make them pay the price for the
pool, playground, and adjoining
campsites that they never intend to
use? There are marinas that need
to be modernised to meet safety
and environmental guidelines and
the plain cleanliness standards
where bathrooms are at least a few
steps above outhouses. If greater
income can make this happen
across the board, then more
capital is welcome, but somehow
that doesn’t seem to be the intent.
Visit a site like marinas.com and
quickly see that more marinas are
expanding to bring in restaurants,
retail, lodging, dog parks and
fitness centres. Boaters can come
down for the weekend and never
have to untie the mooring lines.
If we continue down the path to
creating chains of marinas with
a plethora of amenities that have
nothing to do with boating, we risk
alienating the old salts or the young
families who just want to introduce
their kids to the joy of the open
water. Modernising and adding do
not come without cost. If the aim
is too high on building a 5-star
marina, there’s a real risk of pricing
the average boater right out and
proving the assumption of “boating
is a hobby for the rich” to be true.
For years the industry has argued
that boating is not the elitist sport
that so many would have you
believe. Most marine industry
associations worldwide defend this
point vehemently and often support
it with their annual statistics on the
average income of boaters and the
cost of boats. No one wants to see
another luxury tax. But if a newly
created larger industry voice has
the backdrop of boaters lounging at
sites that look like exclusive resorts,
isn’t that point of boating not being
just for the middle class blown out
of the water? At many marinas,
the vast assortment of extras is
available exclusively for berth
holders. Members-only creates a
stigma, and the call that boaters are
decidedly the working class starts
to fall on deaf ears. And perhaps to
start lacking in truth.
There are benefits to ownership
of several marinas being under
one company, but at some point,
these conglomerates may become
too big—not too big to fail but big
enough to fail the very boaters
they are hoping to attract. Boaters
are not of one mindset, and they
need options too. Before marinas
sell out to the highest bidders, they
should consider what they hope the
future of boating to be. Sometimes
it’s best when the owner of the
company lives right on the property
and not halfway across the country.
There are still do-it-yourselfers
who don’t mind washing or stocking
their boats. Who relish getting their
hands dirty doing an oil change
or varnishing teak. Who enjoy a
marine hardware store eyeballing
cleats and fresh-cut lines. These
sailors may be old salts whose
ways are quite different from
millennial and Gen-Z boaters who
prefer a bit more catering, but they
are who the marina industry has
built itself upon until quite recently
and their tradition of boating should
not be tossed out with the tide.
In the world of marinas, there is
room for facilities that cater to every
type of boater. Let’s not forget the
ones who simply want to start the
engine and head out to smell the
sea air, feel the sun on their backs,
and let the wind whip through their
hair, no frills needed.
The above guest comment,
whose author remains anonymous,
was written for Marina World and
delivered by a trusted source. The
editor welcomes your feedback –
e: carolfulford@marinaworld.co.uk
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www.marinaworld.com – November/December 2022