Meet Jim Kalvin
New contributing writer
The marine Industry in Southwest Florida lost a great Friend in April with the passing of Molly Strassel. She was loved by the waterfront community in Southwest Florida, specifically in Naples, where Molly’s Marine was a house-hold name. Her marina provided service and repairs to all manner of vessels up to 75 tons, and many in the cruising community knew her well. They would plan their service needs around their travel schedule as it related to their proximity to Naples Bay.
Molly came to Naples and recognized a need – a need for a marine repair yard where skilled marine trade-folk could offer their services to the local community at a central location. With a background in the marina service industry in Ft. Lauderdale, she saw an opportunity.
She took the keys to what was previously the Allied Marine property in 2011 – complete with the Marine Travel-lift, laydown yard, parts department, and shop. Molly’s was covered up with work from the get-go. How the property came to be available is not clear to me, but she was in the right place at the right time. And she made the most of it!
We all know – with due respect – the current trend of most water-front service centers. They are owned by specific dealership parent corporations, and they largely service only what they sell, and to whom they sell it. All work is done in-house, and outside contractors are not allowed in unless there is a specific need by the dealership that they don’t – or won’t - offer.
Molly took the keys to the service center at the Naples Boat Club and immediately reached out to the local tradesmen and women, most of whom she already knew. With legitimate locally owned businesses - properly insured and vetted - the range of services they would offer covered everything from the antennas on the tuna towers to the propellers and running gear, and through-hull fittings below the waterline on all types of vessels.
Hundreds of small businesses supported Molly’s Marine in being able to provide a facility to service our client base and the needs of our industry – needs that were not necessarily related to a major dealership warranty issue. It was a great place to be. Friendly faces around each corner, and the camaraderie was contagious.
No boat owner likes to speak or hear the words “haul-out,” “bottom job,” “prop service,” or “hull repair.” But if you had to have it, Molly’s is where they wanted it done. Service with a smile and she genuinely appreciated all of her clients as well as the legion of small business owners that helped the property sizzle.
But as good as it was, there was a cloud over the property for a few years toward the end. The one and only negative issue associated with Molly’s Marine that all the locals will remember is “the lawsuit”.
Names will be withheld, but a certain resident of a condominium that shared the property with the Marine Center decided – long after they had purchased their unit – that they didn’t like living next door to a boatyard. Mind you, this property has been a boatyard since the Turner Family carved it out of the mangroves back in the 50’s (40’s?). I was actually the Service Manager for Turner Marine from 1989 to 1994. And – it’s still a boatyard to this day.
This individual filed the lawsuit against Molly to close the marina operation down as it was allegedly an “annoyance” and a “hazard” to the surrounding occupants. The Marine Industry Association of Collier County responded – helping her with legal expenses, expert testimony, historical perspective, and moral support. As I said at the top of the page, she was much loved by her people.
The lawsuit was ultimately unsuccessful, but it dragged on for years, and the strain of the process took its’ toll on Molly. She had been threatened, bullied, and dragged through a strange system where “anyone can sue anybody for anything”. A sorry state of affairs to be sure.
Molly’s Marine survived that attack, but I don’t think she ever recovered from the stress of the process. It wasn’t too long after the end of that saga that we found out she was battling cancer.
After a courageous fight that went on for a couple of years, Molly passed away surrounded by her family. And what she left behind was a Legacy of courage, a fierce Love for her “partners” in the boatyard, and she exhibited a true fight for Right and Freedom in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds.
She will be missed. But she will always be fondly remembered as one who led by example and had an unconditional and inexhaustible Love for her fellow Mariners.
Molly’s Family has asked that, in lieu of flowers, any memorial contributions might be made to the Marine Industry of Collier County Foundation for use in their service to area waterfront Youth outreach programs. Tax deductible Online donations can be made at: MIACC.org/foundation Or checks can be sent to P.O. Box 9887 Naples, Florida 34101. Go to Keewaydinpreserve.com to see the progress on our budding youth island outreach project
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Capt. Jim Kalvin
Captain Jim Kalvin is a Florida Native, a career Mariner, a Licensed Marine Contractor, Advanced Open Water Diver, and a Licensed Fishing Guide. He can be reached at james.kalvin61@gmail.com
