South docks at Rosario Marina very shallow at low tide

Information e-mailed by A. Grube:

We came into Rosario Resort Marina yesterday in a brisk breeze, headed for slip South-9. It was low tide, but as usual, when I called in, I asked about any issues to be dealt with inside the breakwater.

When I made the turn at the end of the breakwater, around the sea plane dock, I was presented with a slip near the end of the waterway, obstructed by a steel pole less than a boat length directly opposite the slip. This, and the wind, took my total attention.

A few seconds later: Bonk. We hit a rock. No serious damage but skippers should be aware the south docks are VERY shallow at low tide. And if you are assigned a slip with a number higher than nine, you will need to dodge the steel pole, which marks another rock.

The rock marked by the pole is shown on the Waggoner Cruising Guide diagram of the marina, but there is no mention in the text of the pole and the shallow conditions. When visiting a new location, I carefully read the text and so recommend a mention be made of these issues.

On a positive note, Rosario is well worth the visit.

Thank you for a helpful and well written cruising guide.

Follow-up e-mail:

No doubt the minus tide affected the situation. The point is, that would be nice information to know before entering the marina. We would have been happy to anchor or hang on a mooring buoy while waiting for a higher tide, but nobody advised us about the situation. The marina staff seemed quite nonchalant about the whole episode. And just to be clear, we hit rocks just off the sea plane dock after making the turn around the breakwater. We did not hit the rock marked by the steel post. We draw 3.5 feet. It was around 1245 pm on August 1st.

There is a small sign on the sea plane dock that warns of shallow depths at minus tides, but by the time you see it, you have already hit the rocks. That is, if you see it. Being confronted with the steel post blocking the waterway seems to take most of the skipper's attention when steering to the south slips closest to the dingy dock. ;-)

The happy news is we had a diver check out our running gear, and there is no serious damage.

The “guide” is an awesome resource.

—A. Grube