After more than three years of renovations, including a replacing of the docks that concluded this April, the Wrightsville Beach Marina celebrated its grand reopening this weekend.
With the $4 million upgrade, members of the marina said the facility would be seen as one of the top long-term boat docking stop for both locals and transient boaters.
“It’s world class,” said Adam Meyer, director of marine insurance for Wells Insurance. “It will attract more mega yachts.”
So far, it already has. A 130-foot Westport yacht, registered in Virginia and called the “Beach Girl,” has been parked there for several days.
Commodore Ernie McAlister, which serves in a role similar to board director, said that the past three years of renovations served essentially as a rebuilding of the entire marina.
The key upgrade for the marina are the concrete perimeter docks, which along with new McAlister said, which McAlister said helped prevents boats on the interior of the marina from getting “waked.” The upgrades also include a new dock office, where boaters can stock up on supplies and some groceries. To meet modern demands, one of the most high-tech improvements is the addition of more power Wi-Fi coverage by adding more broadcast antennas.
The first step was renovations of the building at the office building located north of the marina on the other side of Bluewater Waterfront Grill. Last year saw the completion of clubhouse renovations, including a new pool deck.
Marina members not only gave credit to dockmaster Sam Clary for his work on the renovations, they also showed their thanks in another way. As part of the renovations on the marina’s building to the north of the clubhouse, crews built a new deck area that will be named “Sam’s Deck.” The marina presented Clary with the sign as part of the Saturday night party.
“We did all the renovations at once, it was a huge undertaking, and Sam did a great job of managing it all,” said Rita Merritt, a trustee at the marina.
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