Found a Slip

January 19, 2022

After searching high and low for a monthly slip within 40 miles of Ft Lauderdale we came up empty handed. There was literally one slip available for a 54’ sailboat - for a king’s ransom! Covid has been good to the boating industry.

The City of Ft Lauderdale recently sold its municipal marina to Suntex, a corporate conglomerate rapidly purchasing marinas across the country. A few years ago, the IRS changed its tax ruling on boat slip rentals creating a new market for investors. Large REITs have been buying up municipal and family-owned marinas. They expand the marina, build a hotel with nice amenities and presto it’s rebranded as a “Resort Marina”. It’s no surprise slip rates are increasing rapidly.

Suntex had approval to begin demolition of Las Olas City Marina on April 1. As long as we were out before April 1, Bistari had a slip. The marina office was a construction trailer, bathrooms were port-a- potties and construction fencing surrounded the grounds, but we had a slip - for $5,000 per month. Welcome to Ft Lauderdale, boating capital of the world and home to mega yachts galore.

Needless to say, we had incentive to quickly move in, learn our boat, learn the mechanical systems, practice docking and more within 30 days. We were psyched!

Our first night on Bistari

Las Olas Marina, Ft Lauderdale, FL