Captain's Log, Supplemental: A Kick In the Pants

This blog chronicles our travels, and it contains the good, the bad, and the ugly. There is very little ugly that happens, really, but it’s my intention to be able to re-read these entries ten or twenty years from now and remember what I was feeling, places we’d been, and generally be able to relive these moments. With that in mind, I want to chronicle something that has been brewing over the course of the last month since we left Downtown Sanford Marina, and has really colored my last three days in a not-very-nice way.

For months before we cast off lines to leave Sanford, Florida, we knew “to the day” when it would be happening. I was going to finish playing my St. Patrick’s Day gigs, drive our car north where it would "greet us" when Stinkpot arrived in Havre de Grace, Maryland, fly back to Florida, rest up sufficiently, and then we’d go. It was carefully choreographed. St. Patrick’s Day is always March 17, so everything would fall in line with that. March 18 would be my big driving day. March 19 would be the flight home. March 20 would be final arrangements, goodbyes, and rest. March 21 would be the big day when Stinkpot motored out of the marina for points north. No sooner did I have the plans set, we notified the office at Downtown Sanford Marina of our departure out of courtesy and, truly, obligation. We did allow that things might shift by a day or so in deference to weather conditions or travel snafus, but the plan was set, and January 27th I purchased my plane ticket from BWI (Baltimore, MD) to MCO (Orlando, FL) for March 19th.

Despite our giving notice to the marina of our impending departure, the office still charged our credit card for the entire month of March, as though we were to be there for the full month, and not the ⅔ of a month that was closer to reality. We thought nothing of this since we were sure the marina would be giving us a credit for the days we would not be there when we checked out. When that day came—March 21st—we visited Deb in the office to tell her we were going and ask for the refund. She told us we’d have to deal with Evans, the marina's general manager, about that, but Evans was away on vacation that week. Without worry, and expecting the marina to do for us what virtually every other marina we’ve ever enjoyed an extended stay has done, I sent Evans a very optimistic email and received a cordial response as well as a request for a letter of recommendation for him, which I wrote. Here is the entire exchange, as well as the letter I gave him for his files (I also sent a more detailed version to his current employer as a demonstration of my ultimate respect for his work and accumen):

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Hi Evans,
Sorry you weren't around when we were casting off for a proper goodbye. We appreciate everything you have done for us over the last year. 

We did ask Deb if she could deal with prorating the monthly rate for the month of March to credit us for the 10 days we never planned to be there, but she deferred us to you to deal with it. Our card should still be on file. :) If there is any issue, please let me know. We did turn our keys in with Kevin when he was scooting by the boat before we cast off. I trust they were properly accounted for. 

We have had a lovely run down river—sitting at anchor in Jacksonville, about 3 miles from the ICW. 

Be well, my friend. We look forward to seeing you again!
-Dave
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Morning Dave,
Glad you’re traveling safely and thank you I was wondering if you wouldn’t mind writing me a letter of recommendation, I always a good thing to have in a personnel file.  And I am working with corporate on the prorating the month of March.
Take care and stay in touch
Evans
​___________________________________________________
See attached, and thank you. 
-Dave

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After some time of hearing nothing about this, on April 6, I sent another email asking for an update: 

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Hey Evans, 
Any word from corporate yet on a refund for the last 10 days of March? 
Thanks for checking into this!
-Dave

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Finally, while we were in New Bern last weekend, I got a phone call from Evans telling me that corporate would not agree to a prorated refund for our March slip rent. He said he wanted to call me and not handle this bad news over email, which I appreciated, but that doesn't negate the fact that this policy is, to me, tantamount to theft. We gave plenty of notice of our departure and even left on the day we had planned exactly. His willingness to try to deal with this on our behalf, to me, also means that he saw the fairness in a partial refund as well. If he didn't, I expect he'd have said so from the outset. 

I told him during the call that I considered corporate's decision to be wrong, and that I didn't appreciate having my pocket picked in this way. I promised to fight it—nothing personal—but the phone conversation would surely not be the last he heard of it.

Downtown Sanford Marina is owned by the City of Sanford and run, under contract, by F3 Marina (AKA, corporate). The first thing I did was email members of Sanford's city management and one or two political figures, including the mayor. The response I got (names redacted) was not at all satisfactory, but contained "additional information" that Evans provided to these individuals to support the decision—and much of it was based on distortions and (surprisingly) flat-out lies:  

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Dear Sanford Folks, 

For the last year, plus the winter of 2021-22, we resided on our boat at Downtown Sanford Marina. We have been living aboard, transiting both the east coast and the Great Loop for most of the last 6 years. In that time, I have had many extended stays at marinas, but my stay at Downtown Sanford Marina has easily been the longest and best of all in so many ways. We became part of the community over our time there, with me even taking work in the area during our stay. The management and staff at the marina has always been most helpful and accommodating, and our time there has been nothing short of pleasant and wonderful. That's why it pains me to write this note. 

We gave notice to Downtown Sanford Marina in January that we would be casting off lines and leaving the marina on the morning of March 21—which is exactly what we did. Despite that very adequate notice, they charged our card for a full month on March 1st, in the amount of $600.27. When asked, Evans Mulligan told me he'd try to get F3 to credit us for the 11 days we were not there, but now tells me it is not F3's policy to prorate for partial months like that, so it will not be done. Because we absolutely gave adequate notice of our departure, I consider this to be nothing short of theft, and ask you, as the municipal owner of the marina, to enjoin F3 to remedy this situation rapidly and appropriately in our favor. Since we were there for 2/3 of the month, a credit of around $200 would seem a reasonable remedy.

We know that, with the notice we gave, they had our vacant slip filled with a new reservation before we even cast off lines. Nothing was lost with our departure. Prorating a final month or week of a marina stay is an industry-wide practice that we've never seen any other marina try to flout. This policy of not doing so, which I can only assume to be an F3 invention, does not represent the City of Sanford well, and we will fight it until a reasonable outcome is offered. 

We have no desire for our departure to be acrimonious, and we hope and expect a reasonable compromise to be in the offing. We appreciate any help to make that happen. 

Sincerely,
David Rowe
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Mr. Rowe:
 
I will look into this further. Thank you for bringing this to our attention.
___________________________________________________
Mr. Rowe:
 
I have discussed your request with Evans Mulligan, General Manager of our Downtown Sanford Marina.
 
He advised me you requested to get back into our Marina right after the hurricanes as a liveaboard, but we didn’t have anything available at the time. Eventually a slip opened you wanted, and since you were a repeat customer you were not charged the $800 deposit. Furthermore, we charged you $9.50/foot per month instead of the $14.00/foot per month.
 
Based on this additional information,  I feel Evans handled this fair and appropriately; therefore your request for a credit is denied.  
 
Thank you
___________________________________________________
Dear _____, 

I appreciate the message and the time you've invested in this admittedly small situation. The marina rates are published on the website, and it really feels like Evans is cherry-picking the prices and policies to suit F3's story. Look for yourself: <https://downtownsanfordmarina.com/wet-slips/> $14/foot is the month-to-month rate for the covered slips on C dock. We weren't on C dock. We were on B dock on a month-to-month agreement (not annual, the $800 deposit only applies to annual agreements according to the website fee schedule). If I was paying $9.50 per foot, I suppose I was getting a discount of 50¢ per foot, but none of the rest of what you've relayed here about fees applies to my situation, unless I'm seriously misreading the fee schedule. 

I honestly wouldn't know the actual breakdown because the marina never once sent me an invoice after charging my card (in retrospect, they should probably do that). I know I was charged $600.27 per month (except for our first month, which was $640.27—so I guess the additional $40 would be two $20 deposits for keys? If so, I never got that back), and it included slip rent, a liveaboard fee, electric, and any applicable taxes, but I don't really know how it all broke down. I really can't even speculate. It seemed fair. That's all I know. 

As for us being let back in after the hurricanes: I appreciate that DSM made room for us—and so soon, but they did cancel our summer of '22, pre-Ian reservation without bothering to tell us. I found out when we were really almost there, and I called to confirm our arrival. I understand that they were literally under water, but we had no idea it was so bad there. We were cruising and not catching much of the news. We were on our way. Heck, we weathered Nicole at anchor in Jacksonville. We were understanding, given the circumstances, and lucky that we had another destination port on the St. Johns River pop up to fill the gap, but let's not make more out of that than it was. DSM did us a solid letting us back in so soon, but they also left us hanging…painfully. Let's call that a wash, OK? 

I didn't email you for an argument. I simply want a reasonable credit or a plausible explanation for why there is none. So far, I have been offered neither.

When we were leaving Sanford, Evans told me he'd see what he could do about getting us refunded for the 11 days in March we weren't there. As I indicated before, we gave two months of notice of our departure. He didn't say, "don't you think we've done enough for you, Dave?" He really let me believe that there was something that could be done about this. It took him nearly a month to admit to me that there was nothing he could do. He didn't say why or give me a song and dance about our price per foot or making room after the hurricanes. He only said there was nothing he could do. I complained bitterly to him, and then I complained to you. And after all of this, I really still like the guy. He is one of the most accommodating people I have ever met, and perhaps that's part of the problem. I'm starting to think he doesn't like giving people bad news. 

You checked with him about this, and what he told you to support his point doesn't agree with the marina's own published fee schedule or the timeline. I mean no disrespect, and as I said before, I don't want our departure to become acrimonious. We adore Sanford and we'd love to come back perhaps in a year or two. If we are not owed a refund for verifiable reasons, I can accept that. I just want the reasons. If I'm not owed money, I'm at least owed an explanation that makes sense. I thank you for your time in elucidating this for me. 

-Dave

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So far, since the last salvo, I have heard nothing from the marina or the city, and I don't expect to at this point, but I have to admit that the entire thing makes me sick to my stomach. I can't believe that after over a year of being good citizens and customers that this is how the marina management and city would like for me to feel. I can't believe that this person I really thought was a friend, Evans, was willing to support corporate's decision to the city by cherrypicking the marina own published price list and misrepresenting the agreement we had with the marina to the city officials. It's all beyond the pale to me. 

I have to admit to being very sad about all of this. It has been weighing on me for days, and all I can do is talk about it, which is why I have decided to make it part of the blog. I just need to purge these bad feelings, and I feel that making it part of this blog might be balm for the soul. 

As I write this, we are tied up in Elizabeth City, NC on the free bulkhead by Jennett Brothers Foodservice Distributors. I will fully blog about the latest leg of our journey and what brought us here and now in the next post. For now, I'm going to try to relax and not think about any of this anymore. 

Signed, 
Saddened in Liz City