There’s nothing new about seeing yachts docked along the South Florida waterways. But there’s something special about one yacht in particular, the South Beach Lady. Besides having four decks each with a full-service bar; an interior with custom cabinetry and brass plated features throughout; and an open-air sky lounge on the top deck, this massive 125-feet length luxury yacht is Black-owned by a husband and wife duo. In fact, it’s the only Black-owned cruise in Florida. With the South Beach Lady, the owners have an opportunity to claim a stake in the local multicultural tourism industry. However, it hasn’t been smooth sailing for the business.

“South Beach Lady is a wonderful asset to the Miami’s portfolio of event and sailing venues,” said Connie W. Kinnard, vice president, Multicultural Tourism & Development for the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau. “While it may be multicultural in nature because of ownership, it is a great option for anyone wanting to utilize the boat for an outing or private function.”

Co-owners Horace Inniss, who is from Trinidad and his Guyanese wife Denese, do not fit the typical profile of a yacht owner, but it was their love for cruising that led them to seize an opportunity too sweet to pass up, they say. It all started when a disappointing cruise to the Caribbean in 2010 sparked the idea that they could create a better experience if only they had their own boat. Their research led them to a beautiful yacht that was up for auction, but the price was too high especially at a time when the economy was still recovering and banks weren’t lending. After waiting it out an entire year for the price to drop so that they could make their offer, they were able to beat out other prospective buyers with more industry experience. They credit the opportunity to their bank taking a chance on them as the bank’s first commercial boat loan. Dinner, dancing and entertainment on the Biscayne Bay sounded like a great plan, but they would soon be faced with one challenge after another.

It took a while to put the South Beach Lady in service because the yacht had lost its Certificate of Inspection (COI) by the Coast Guard, but it was finally able to obtain the certificate. It has been operating for five years in South Florida. Since then, the boat has been struggling to find a permanent dock to call home. Without a dock, the ability to host tours and private charters are limited because regulations require that a yacht of that size operate only from a public dock.

“There’s only so much that we can do without a permanent dock,” says Horace Inniss, co-owner of the South Beach Lady. "We have so many opportunities to grow this business and operate as a dinner cruise, a floating restaurant, and host private charters for special events. We also want to provide training and teach recent high school graduates how to operate the vessel, but these challenges have made it extremely difficult to do business here.”

The owners, who are from Virginia, passed the first hurdle of securing a boat loan without having prior experience, but now they must face the hurdle of being the little guy in a space dominated by major operators. There are three docks at Bayfront Park all monopolized by the big yachts -- Biscayne Lady and the SeaFair at the Intercontinental Hotel. South Beach Lady is currently docked at the Fifth Street Marina on the Miami River, which is a private dock and requires that the yacht be moved to a public location for each and every charter. This incurs additional costs and dockage fees for the owners and cuts through their bottom line.

Up until now, the South Beach Lady has been using the third dock at Bayfront Park without any issue until a recent Request For Proposal (RFP) labeled as a “food service opportunity” requires that they leave the Bayfront dock in February. Finding out at the last minute, the couple submitted the RFP, which was passed over, according to Andy Ingraham, president/CEO and founder of the National Association of black hotel Owners, Operators & Developers, who is helping the Innisses navigate the political channels in Miami.

“We will be appealing the decision because there should be a measure of fair play,” Ingraham said. “It appears to be business as usual as we are still left out of the lucrative tourism business and people want to relegate us to the other side of the tracks. That is not what H.T. Smith and his team fought for over 26 years ago. We want access.”

Ingraham references a 33-month economic boycott that began June 1990 after the snubbing of just-released-from-prison Nelson Mandela, who was an anti-apartheid activist.

As part of negotiations to end the boycott a 20-point initiative was developed by Smith and the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau. It included access to the hospitality industry for Blacks in the form of mentoring and scholarship, as well as that a Black person should own a convention-quality hotel on Miami Beach.

Jose Gill, administrative officer at Bayfront Park Management Trust, said the dock that the South Beach Lady uses was a transient dock and the bid process is an effort to find a permanent user of the dock space. The RFP winner would get a five-year lease with an option to renew. The bid process is under a cone of silence as it awaits a recommendation from the city manager then later a review by the city commission.

What the owners of the South Beach Lady need now is action by the Miami City Commission to help them secure a permanent location.

“We need a permanent dock in order to be successful, and that means that someone will have to give us a chance and make a special concession for them just like their bank did,” the Innisses said.

South Beach Lady is available for conferences, weddings, bar mitzvahs, meetings, holiday events, and other special events. For more information about chartering the yacht and booking your group, call 305-609-5185.

A message left at the Bayfront Park Management Trust, which is responsible for Bayfront park dock space, was not immediately returned.

Executive Editor Carolyn Guniss contributed to this report.

Visit our business directory to view other black owned businesses in Miami.

Source: 

http://miamitimesonline.com/news/2016/feb/03/black-owned-party-yacht-squeezed-out-dock-space/