2022 November December Marina World

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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 48 www.marinaworld.com – November/December 2022
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2022 November December Marina World

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