Marina Jack

About the Marina
In 1885 the Florida Mortgage & Investment Company (FMIC) bought the property that became Sarasota and built a boarding house and a wooden pier at the end of a rutted road they named “Main Street.” Ten years later the Mistletoe steamer started service to Tampa, connecting Sarasota to the world as there were no highways or streets to it. So the town grew around the pier.

In the 1960’s the marina basin was dredged and the fill used to make a rabbit-legged 11-acre peninsula (Bayfront Park) that protected the 143 boat-slip marina from the south and west. Marina Mar was established with a snack bar, now O’Leary’s Tiki Bar & Grill, and plans were laid for a restaurant and shops.

Marina Mar fell into disrepair looking a bit seedy until Jack Graham, an Illinois based car dealer and Holiday Inn owner, leased the property tax-free promising to pay 3% of any rents to the town. He re-named it after himself (Marina Jack) and made huge improvements.

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The marina quay now offers parking, three restaurants, a fueling station, and provides access to the marina’s concrete floating dock systems. The bathrooms were renovated in 2024, and are nicer than in my home.

Things to do in the Marina
Come to the marina to dine, sightsee and/or charter a pleasure or fishing experience. You can park anywhere on the pier (except for spots reserved for valet parking) or in the long lots fronting the marina, for up to four hours at a time. Consider just driving to the loop at the end of the pier and using the valet service to park. It’s free and a tip will suffice.

There is a gift shop and two boat brokerage offices on the pier. Admire the pictures of the yachts for sale in their windows. Notice the motorized lifts that raise boats out of the water for storage.

You can explore boat rentals for all kinds of vessels, and the
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Freedom Boat Club maintains a huge number of boats in the marina. Key Sailing, pictured at right, is a favorite charter boat. Relax about their 41’ Morgan sloop, or take the helm. They offer packages from two hours at $200/hour for parties of six or fewer; the most popular package is three hours. We watch them go out every day for sunset cruises.

Marina Jack has a self-skippered boat rental program
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of motor and pontoon boats The 26’ Aloha pontoon boat, pictured at left, holds up to 12 people and costs $700 for four hours ($58 each), $900 for six hours or $1025 for eight hours.

Boat rentals can get expensive, especially captained charters which makes Key Sailing a bargain. If you have enough people to share the cost, our good friend and dock neighbor, Vinnie, offers 4 hours cruises for up to a dozen people on his 45’ Viking the 4 Aces for about $3000.

Another friend, Bill, of CrusinTikis has two very cool motorized Tiki boats that can accommodate up to six guests for 1.5 hour cruises starting at $300. Bring your own booze, and they provide the ice chests. They can park right on a sand bar for swimming. Cruise the canals of Bird Island to look at the homes of the rich and famous from the private backyard (pool) side. Super popular with batchelorette parties, on a nice day tiki crusin really is a total blast.
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The marina has three different restaurants all with bars and differing menus. There is a nearby tiki bar. These, along with the Marina Jack Dinner Cruise, are reviewed in the next section.
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