Reviews from Richard Johnson (1)

Marina Review for Bald Head Island Marina

Reviewed by: Richard Johnson , Bam Bam, on Apr 28, 2019
Vessel Type: Power
LOA: 38'
Draft: 3.0'

Rating: 2

Visited BH with my wife and 6 friends from Virginia. They were very excited to visit because they heard so much about the island. I called ahead to make sure they had dockage for us to come and eat lunch. I was using my 21' Grady dual console for the voyage. The inlet channel was a lot rougher than the river but we made it in with minimal salt spays hitting my guests. We arrived to find there was only one slip available as far away from the restaurants as possible. Meanwhile there we 10 empty slips right in front of the restaurants. The dock hand could not have been nicer and followed us in his skiff and gave us a ride to the fuel dock by all the restaurants. We chose Mojo's (great service and food). Halfway through lunch a women approached us from the gap in the railing (we were eating outside on the deck. She informed me where the dockmaster office was and that I should visit before I left. I asked her why and she told me I owed $20 for dockage. I did not like her rude attitude. It was like she was accusing me of trying to get away with something. Before I cam that morning I called to ask about dockage to make sure there were slips available for the public and no one mentioned a fee. I mentioned this and she asked me if I should be able to come to BHI for free. I responded with I was coming to support local businesses (Mojo's and the gift shops) and to show people who might want to rent or buy property. All of my guests were amazed by the nickel and dime attitude. I live in Wilmington and have brought several people to BHI over the last 10 years to show the island and eat. Maybe I have gotten away with murder but no one ever asked me to pay for dockage. I will never bring my guests from out of town there again.

• WG Editor Comment:
  

  Marina Management Response:
  
  We are very sorry you had a bad experience at Bald Head Island Marina (BHIM). We understand that many restaurants in the Cape Fear and surrounding areas allow docking and dining without a fee. This presents disappointment for many of our guests when they first find out that the same is not true at BHIM. The restaurants at BHI do not own any slips, nor do they have slips available for visiting boaters for free. BHIM has always charged a fee for docking. That fee is currently $20.00 for less than 5 hours for vessels 30 feet and under. Vessels over 30’are charged an overnight rate which is based on vessel length.
  
  We also understand the many empty slips in front of the restaurant might give you the perception that you could have used one of them for your visit. Unfortunately, not all slips at BHI Marina are available for rent. All BHI Marina sips are individually owned units in a nonresidential condominium, and only some of those slips are available for rent through the BHI Marina Dockmaster. We try to place transients in a slip that most closely matches the boat’s length, and desired location. On the day of your visit, it was not possible to get you closer to the restaurants, and thus our assistant went out to meet you and bring you back to the office. Any slips close to the restaurant were either already occupied, or simply not in our rental pool.
  
  We will try to make sure our staff does a better job of alerting the visitor of the fees in the future, and certainly we should have done this on the phone before your arrival, and when you arrived in person.
  
  

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