A change is coming to Sunrise Harbor Marina, but you might not notice while standing on the docks. Starting on the last few days in July, they began their dredging project throughout the entire marina, including the face dock on the Intracoastal.
The controlling depth before the project was 8.5 to 9 feet, and after it’s completed, it will be 11.5 feet, says Brad St. Coeur, Sunrise Harbor Marina manager.
Seeing as it’s the slower time of the year for the marina, he says it’s an opportune time to start this project. Because of this, there won’t be any impact on marina traffic. One dock will be dredged at a time, and as the other docks are dredged, boats will be switched over to the dredged side until all five areas have been completed.
“By doing this dredge project, we will be able to attract larger and deeper draft boats to the destination marina,” St. Coeur says.
The project will take up to eight weeks to complete.
They’re not the only marina to be making upgrades this summer. Monumental changes will be happening at Pier Sixty-Six in the upcoming years, but one is beginning shortly with the dredging project at the marina due to start at the end of August. It is expected to be completed by this year’s Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show. The current depth is 9 feet at the shallowest at low tide, and it will be all dredged to 16 feet.
It will not affect any vessels in the marina and everything will remain open during the project’s duration, says Megan Lagasse, Pier Sixty-Six marine director. The project will greatly improve traffic at the base of the Mercedes River, along with vessels entering Pier Sixty-Six and those going down the river.
“Safe navigation is the most important thing for all boaters, and this project delivers on that, making it even easier for our guests as they arrive and depart Pier Sixty-Six,” she says. “This project is an important enhancement that we felt was needed and shows Tavistock’s investment to enhance the property for all boaters.”
The Pier Sixty-Six hotel is currently closed and will reopen as Fort Lauderdale’s social harbor in about two years. However, while the hotel is going through a major transformation, the marina and Pelican Landing will remain open throughout.
Below: Pier Sixty-Six’s surveyor The Chappell Group doing surveys of the area.