Edgartown Marine and Vineyard Island Marina, formerly Maciel Marine, have been sold, owners George Rogers and Sheryl Roth Rogers confirmed this week.
The buyer is Prime Marina Group, a Florida company that also operates a large marina in Miami.
The complete sale price has not been disclosed. But deeds recorded this week as part of the sale show that real estate attached to the two marinas changed hands for a total of $8.2 million.
Prime Marina paid $4.6 million for the Vineyard Haven marina, not including what was paid for the business. The buyers will assume outright ownership of both the property and business operation in Vineyard Haven.
In Edgartown, Prime Marina will take ownership of the Edgartown Marine business and some off-site real estate. Beyond that, the company will take over a long-term lease with the town, which owns the land and waterfront facilities that house the marina. The Edgartown selectmen have approved the lease transfer. Land records show Prime paid $3.6 million this week for real estate at Mill Hill used by Edgartown Marine for storage and other marina-related activity. Consideration paid for the Edgartown Marine business has not been disclosed.
The Rogerses, who live in West Tisbury, bought Edgartown Marine in 2011, followed by Maciel Marine in 2013. At the time they had extensive corporate experience but no prior experience operating a boat yard.
They said the two marinas were not for sale, but that they were approached about a year ago by the owners of the Prime Marina Group.
“That kind of evolved,” Mr. Rogers said. “It took the better part of six to seven months, before we came to the realization that selling wasn’t such a bad thing.”
In a news release, Prime Marina Group owners announced that Brian Ferrara will oversee operations at the two marinas. Mr. Ferrara was on the Island this week meeting employees and customers.
He was formerly the manager of Marina Bay, on Boston Harbor, billed as the largest marina facility in New England. The Prime Marina Group said it intends to work closely with the local communities to continue marine service.
Mr. Rogers said he and his wife have enjoyed ownership but now look forward to another chapter in their lives.
“It’s been a positive experience. It was rewarding, it was fun,” Mr. Rogers said, speaking to the Gazette by telephone Tuesday afternoon.
“It’s been stressful at times,” added Mrs. Rogers. “Especially this time of year when everyone wants to get their boat in the water.”
The couple said owning two boat yards was not always smooth sailing. Just a few months after they took over at Edgartown Marine, Hurricane Irene swept up the East Coast, a trying experience for any marina.
And Mr. Rogers said there were some difficult times in the first year they owned Edgartown Marine.
“In Edgartown we experienced that,” Mr. Rogers said. “In Vineyard Haven we didn’t. It was rocky, it was difficult across the board. We come from a very corporate world. The boat yard business is a very tough business. We had to adapt to that. Did we lose some customers, yes we did. Did we lose a few employees, yes we did. It was risky, but we survived it.”
Mrs. Rogers said she is confident that the new owners will succeed in the venture.
“They have the same mission,” she said. “They clearly understand the industry. They know this business. We knew absolutely nothing when we stepped into it. These people are genuinely interested in growing the business.”
The couple plans to stay on as consultants for up to six months, and said they intend to look for other interests to pursue.
“We’re not fully prepared to retire,” Mr. Rogers said.
The two yards have a long and colorful history on the Island.
Mr. Rogers and his wife purchased Edgartown Marine at the foot of Morse street from Maurice Dore and Anthony (Tony) Chianase. The two businessmen bought Edgartown Marine from Leonard Greene who operated the boat yard for 25 years Mr. Green closed the business for a time in 1994, leaving the busy harbor without a fuel facility or equipment to haul larger boats. Town officials and residents were concerned the property would be developed into waterfront homes.
In 1997, town meeting voters approved the purchase of the land and waterfront facilities by the town of Edgartown for $1.4 million. The town rented dock space and sold fuel to cover part of the cost of purchasing the property. Town officials arranged an 89-year lease with Edgartown Marine, insuring that the harbor would continue to have marine services.
There will be no changes in the lease, town administrator Pamela Dolby said.
Vineyard Island Marina, on the back side of Lagoon Pond, was established by boat builder Erford W. Burt just after World War II. Among Mr. Burt’s long time employees was Robert Maciel. He and his wife Barbara purchased the business in 1985, when it became known as Maciel Marine. Health issues forced Mr. Maciel to take a lesser role in the business, and in 1998 he leased the boat yard to his son Steven Maciel and Geoff Banfield.
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