Fort Myers Offshore Maxes Out Millers Dockside With Ease

Braving a chilly morning by Southwest Florida standards, 62 members of Fort Myers Offshore and their guests ran their boats to Millers Landing on Boca Grande for lunch yesterday. The problem, or at least what could have been a problem, is that the host marine had enough space to comfortably handle 40 boats. Dock shortage has been recurring theme for the nonprofit scholarship fundraising club’s events for the past few seasons, and one not likely to change anytime soon.

It was a tight fit but the Fort Myers Offshore group managed to get all 62 boats secured yesterday at Millers Dockside.

Because Fort Myers Offshore is hot.

The upside? Practice makes perfect, and Fort Myers Offshore members have become experts at fitting big fleets into small spaces. And that was exactly what they did yesterday, as they have so far during their 2024/2025 event season.

“Once everyone got tied up, the dockmaster told me we were the most prepared group he had seen,” said Tim Hill, the president of the club.

Of course, the raft-up expertise of Fort Myers Offshore members didn’t keep Hill from losing sleep ahead of the event, when in the space of three days registration jumped from 31 to 62 entries. Hill called captains signed up ahead of the run advised them not just to consider carpooling, so to speak, but to be ready with lines and fenders as soon as they reached the marina.

The cool morning gave way to a pleasant afternoon.

“I told them, ‘Only you can prevent a shit-show,’” Hill recalled, then laughed, “Fort Myers Offshore has never capped attendance for an event. Yesterday, our captains showed why we don’t need to.”

To that end, Hill and his wife, Cyndee, left their 32-foot Skater catamaran at the dock at their Cape Coral home and joined their friend Ryan McClaran in his Sunsation 32 CCX center console for the day.

The large turnout also maxed out the private room reserved for the club lunch at the Eagle Grille. But the Millers Dockside dining room accommodated the overflow “without much delay in service,” said Hill.

Among the boats in the fleet was the first Statement Marine 44 GTrs center console. Randy Sweers, who spearheaded development of the 44-footer, tested the boat Friday with Shaun Torrente and hung around for the Saturday event. It was his first outing with the Fort Myers Group.

The lunch run to Millers Dockside was the fourth event of the 2024/2025 Fort Myers Offshore season.

“Yesterday was a great time,” said Sweers. “It’s amazing how many boats they have here for these fun runs, and how they can accommodate all of them.

“And the 44 ran remarkably well,” he added.

From Millers Dockside, the group moved to an after-party sponsored by EZ Boat Fender at the Cape Coral home of club member Mikey Boyle, who owns an MTI 390X catamaran.

“We didn’t quite fill the ‘Bimini Basin’ behind the Boyle’s place with boats, but the fleet did make for an impressive sight from the nearby Cape Coral Parkway,” said Hill.