THE FUNSHINE STATE
FLORIDA BECKONS AS
QUINCENTENARY APPROACHES
BY MICHAEL SCIULLA
E
148
UROPEANS HAVE BEEN FLOCKING TO FLORIDA EVER
since Juan Ponce de Leon made landfall on April 2, 1513.
to his fellow sailors hailing from ports north of latitude 48 who
enjoy less than half as much sunshine per year.
With the 500th anniversary of this historic visit fast
approaching, Florida’s yachting community is going out of its way
FLORIDA HOME TO 2000 MARINAS
today to make sure that the welcome mat is out for those coming
But abundant sunshine throughout much of the entire
to visit the Sunshine State by yacht as well as those in the market
year moderated by ocean breezes are only part of Florida’s appeal.
to buy or sell a boat.
In addition to economic incentives recently instituted to attract
Although the Spanish explorer did not succeed in finding
yacht owners, the state’s 2170 km of coastline is replete
the fabled Fountain of Youth, what he did discover was a land
with literally hundreds of safe and serene beaches and over
where the sun shines nearly 3000 hours per year – a gift, I am sure,
2000 marinas. Many of these sand swept oases are
YACHTING MATTERS & THE YACHT OWNER
ISSUE 23
THIS SPREAD:
PALM BEACH DURING
THE INTERNATIONAL
BOAT SHOW
uncrowded and are not overrun by throngs of tourists during the
of Florida and Vilano
late summer months when much of Europe is on vacation and
Beach, home to a huge nesting area for sea turtles.
grinds to a standstill.
Voyaging south to central east Florida are two legendary
Beginning with Florida’s three-season northeast Atlantic
auto racing locales – Ormond Beach (where the sport took off in
coast just south of the port of Jacksonville are the beaches of
1903) and Daytona Beach, home to the Daytona 500 and 23
posh Ponte Vedra and historic St. Augustine (where Ponce de Leon
miles of gorgeous sand. For those more inclined to the nautical,
is reported to have initially landed). Nearby beaches of note are
the towns of Stuart and Vero Beach are part of what is known as
Fernandina Beach with fifty blocks of renovated Victorian and
the ‘Treasure Coast,’ so named for the valuables that have washed
Italianate mansions and reportedly some of the best shrimp in all
ashore over the years from nearby shipwrecks.
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ABOVE:
MIAMI DURING THE
BOAT SHOW
ABOVE RIGHT:
FORT LAUDERDALE
For an out-of-this-world treasure just south of Daytona
back by some and ‘independent’ by others, experiencing the
there’s nothing to equal a visit to Cape Canaveral and the
culture of ‘The Keys’ is something that should be on every
Kennedy Space Center. Although the space shuttle may be history,
mariner’s bucket list.
the site is still buzzing as the world’s first privately built spacecraft
For its part, Key West remains the American home of
to dock with the International Space Station was launched from
Hemingway and is a great jumping off point for the islands of the
here earlier this year.
Caribbean that are as close as 145 km to Cuba or 570 km to the
For those with children, Orlando and its theme parks are
Heading north along the Gulf coast of Florida is Naples
Disney World, Sea World, The Epcot Center and Universal’s ‘The
Beach, which has parlayed its ‘Millionaires Row’ of mansions into
Wizarding World of Harry Potter.’
quite a nice place to spend the winter.
Stretching from the graceful mansions of Palm Beach to the
Other noteworthy places to stop and drop a hook before
chic hotspots of Miami, southeast Florida is a hubbub of exciting
you reach the port of Tampa Bay are the Sanibel/Captiva Islands,
places to go, people to watch and food to eat. While South Beach
Anna Maria Island, Siesta Key and Longboat Key. Beaches with
is always hot, don’t overlook a resurgent Ft. Lauderdale to the
names like Madeira, Clearwater and Belleair abound. For a change
north (whose waterways are being dredged to accommodate
of pace, Sarasota, with its charm and cosmopolitan attractions is
larger vessels) and the island community of Key Biscayne to the
well worth a visit.
south. For islands with a distinctly different flair, the islands of the
Bahamas are a mere 160 km due east of Ft. Lauderdale.
150
Cayman Islands.
only an hour’s drive inland. The area’s list of attractions includes
Florida gets much less populated as you head northwest
from Tampa until you reach St. Vincent Island. From Panama City
Meanwhile, the Florida Keys – an island archipelago over
westward through Destin and Ft. Walton Beach are what some
100 miles long from Key Largo to Key West and connected in part
consider to be the finest beaches in all of Florida including
by a seven mile-long bridge – is a world unto its own. Called laid-
Pensacola, home to the ‘World’s Whitest Beach.’
YACHTING MATTERS & THE YACHT OWNER
ISSUE 23
FLORIDA
®
Service at Six Locations
Bradford Marine Bahamas
Dania Cut Superyacht
Grand Bahama Shipyard
Port Everglades
Photo by John Terrill
Bradford Marine Shipyard
Lauderdale Marine Center
Bradford Marine, Inc.
(954) 791- 3800
[email protected]
bradford-marine.com
Bradford Grand Bahama, Ltd.
(242) 352-7711
[email protected]
bradfordmarinebahamas.com
CRUISE US WATERS TAX FREE FOR ONE YEAR
While Florida’s natural and man-made attractions alone are
worth a voyage, steps taken by the federal and state government
have also proven to be quite attractive. With a cruising permit
many foreign vessels, for example, can cruise US waters tax-free
for up to a year if the pleasure vessel is flagged in one of 32
(mostly European) countries that have a reciprocity agreement
with the US.
Florida has taken also taken a major step to make it much
less expensive to sell a foreign-built boat in the US. Prior to July
1, 2010, all boats sold and or delivered in Florida were subject to
a six percent sales-and-use tax, unless specifically exempt. For
example, a 24 m/80 ft yacht costing $1 million would have to
pay a $60,000 use tax if brought into Florida’s waters. As a result,
more than six out of 10 buyers of boats sold by Florida brokers
were registering and operating their boats outside of Florida in
order to legally avoid paying Florida’s sales tax.
YACHT BROKERS LICENSED AND BONDED
The Florida Yacht Brokers Association (FYBA), an organisation of
1100 licensed and bonded brokers, argued that Florida was losing
sales tax revenue under these circumstances and that a
reasonable cap on the state sales tax would actually increase
revenues to the state. After much back and forth the state agreed
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FLORIDA
to cap its sales tax at $18,000, projecting that it would lose $1.5
the law and create a Central Listing Bond allowing any size boat
million during the first year the law went into effect.
to be offered for sale or charter in the US anywhere and anytime,
To the surprise of many, a FYBA-sponsored study released
until the vessel is sold.
earlier this year found that Florida collected $13.46 million in
While no changes are expected until a new Congress
direct sales tax revenue – nearly ten times as much sales tax
is elected, FYBA officials are heartened by the willingness of
revenue as was initially projected.
state and federal lawmakers to attract foreign yacht owners who
Drawing on this experience, the FYBA hopes to convince
the US Congress that relaxing current restrictions on superyacht
sales will be good for business as well as the US Treasury.
are now facing increased taxes and fees in countries like Italy
and Spain.
They are also encouraged by the fact that unlike Europe,
Under current US law, foreign built vessels over
where the yacht brokerage business is trending downwards, the US
24 m/80 ft that have not been imported to the US, or American
market, according to YachtWorld.com, is definitely on the upswing.
built boats that have been exported, can only be offered for sale
For more information on visiting Florida during its
or charter and shown to US citizens at a boat show for up to six
Quincentenary
months – generally the period between October and March
www.fla500.com. The FYBA also hosts a valuable web site at
and Viva
Florida
500
events
go
to
during which major boat shows are held in Ft. Lauderdale, Miami
www.fyba.org
>||
and Palm Beach.
To meet current market conditions in which it takes
considerably more time to sell a yacht, the FYBA wants to change
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Michael Sciulla is a columnist for Soundings Publications and is the
founding editor and former publisher of Boat US Magazine.