Although our town sometimes forgets it is, indeed, a charming waterfront town, Boca Ciega Bay remains our biggest asset. It also remains our least appreciated one. Pay not attention to the crime rate and poverty behind the curtain! We are a waterfront town, and as much as I would like to see fishing boats lining the beach and a boardwalk connecting the marina to a ferris wheel and merry-go-round on a pine-and-palm lined beach check out old photos of Gulfport beach if you want to know what that would look like, or go visit Rockaway in the s , I know that our best chance, right now, of capitalizing on our waterfront is an upgraded marina, including, first and foremost, a mooring field for cruising sailors.
I have covered two topics in this town so long β Clam Bayou and our mooring field β I joke that I will retire on the money I make covering the issues swirling around them. We β Gulfport β needs this mooring field, despite what non-sailors will tell you. We will have a handful of slips β the state permit will allow 25 β geared towards attracting cruisers.
Cruisers, for you non-sailing-savvy folk, are the types of boaters we want, unlike the ones currently anchored and potentially ruining the sea grasses as they drag anchor over the bottom and allow blackwater raw sewage to flow onto our beaches. The cruisers themselves will also help police this, another reason why we want them.
Need another? OK, keep reading. Cruisers are, specifically, people traveling for more than a few nights. Usually they have a home but, for whatever reason, can afford to leave it for months at a time in a sailboat that costs no small amount to buy, outfit, and maintain. They travel with the purpose of seeing hamlets like ours. They are typically older, at least upper middle class, and have grown children if any.
They may be retired. This is our waterfront. Support The Gabber Newspaper. Your donations are tax-deductible to the full extent of the law. Skip to primary navigation Skip to main content Skip to primary sidebar Skip to footer. Support The Gabber Newspaper Your donations are tax-deductible to the full extent of the law. Please support local news and The Gabber Newspaper!
