Marina Dock Age

Dock Street Marina in Tacoma, Wash., and Las Vegas Boat Harbor Inc. in Henderson, Nev., were named the winners of Marina Dock Age (MDA) magazine’s 2009 Marina of the Year contest.

Each year, MDA honors two marinas for their outstanding management results, marketing activities, community and industry involvement, customer satisfaction, and environmental efforts. It divides entrants into two categories based on slip size: those with fewer than 250 slips and those with more than 250 slips.

This year’s winner for marinas with 250 and fewer slips is Dock Street Marina, an 80-slip marina that has 25 transient slips. It is proud to report that usage of its transient docks has increased every year since it opened in 2005.

The marina is noted as much for its significant economic impact on downtown Tacoma as for its outstanding customer service, environmental friendliness, and making Tacoma’s waterfront a tourist destination. In fact, the Tacoma Regional Convention and Visitors Bureau named Craig Perry, the marina’s general manager, “Tourism Professional of the Year.”

For marinas with more than 250 slips, the winner was Las Vegas Boat Harbor Inc. , a family-owned and operated marina on Lake Mead. Las Vegas Boat Harbor currently has nearly 1,500 slips and describes itself as one of the largest inland marinas in the United States.

In addition to its wet and dry slips, Las Vegas Boat Harbor Inc. is a full-service marina that houses a floating service center, two restaurants and lounges, two pumpout stations, a fuel dock open 24 hours a day, two restrooms/showers for permanent and transient boaters, and a rental fleet of powerboats, waverunners, and pontoon deck boats.

The Gripentog family, which owns and operates the marina, said that one of its biggest responsibilities is keeping Lake Mead looking clean and beautiful. To do this, the marina employs a variety of activities ranging from handing out free trash bags to the public to putting power meters on slips to save energy.

As a concessionaire with the National Park Service, Las Vegas Boat Harbor works hard to provide customers with a “family oriented” marina, one that is designed to fulfill every boater’s needs and wants.