It’s simple. We love being on the water.
If we're awake, we'd rather be afloat. Our favorite way to spend a day is what became Dockside Guide — a captain-vetted collection of places to Eat, Boat, and Stay, for people who'd rather get there by water.
It starts with a napkin at a restaurant. On it, Thomas scratched out his favorite places to go by water — every worthwhile stop between Mobile Bay and Perdido Key, written down to share with his friends. Ten years on, the napkin is a map of about 100 stops, and the standard hasn't moved: nothing gets listed until we've run to it by boat, checked the approach, tied up, and tasted the menu. Boaters pay $0. Everything for the boater stays free, on purpose.
Dockside Guide Merchant Map
Dockside Digital
Dockside Markers
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The Dockside Guide is a curated merchant collection for the boater. From where you eat and stay, to what you enjoy or need, the Dockside Guide helps boaters maximize their time on the water.
Our partnership with Dockside Merchants provides an opportunity to share their brand with the local boating community.
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Dockside Merchants enjoy boater centric marketing through:
Dockside Guide Merchant Map: Annual printed resource
Dockside Markers for Waterfront Branding: An exclusive opportunity!
Dockside Digital: Social media and web directory
Dockside Crew: The year-round ambassadors on the water
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Fill out the contact form below, and a Dockside Crew member will be in touch with pricing information.
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More Dockside Destinations coming soon!
Meet the Crew
Founder and Publisher
I was born at the old Naval Air Station hospital in Pensacola and spent my summers at Belle Fontaine, sleeping in a hammock on a screened porch on the western shore of Mobile Bay. Carriann and I settled in Fairhope more than thirty years ago and never left. I spent decades building homes across this coast, and our three daughters grew up on the Bay. When I retired from building, I did what anyone with a boat does with free time and a full tank: I went to see some people. By water, always by water.
Every place in this guide, I've tied up at myself. I've checked the approach, watched the afternoon wind, and eaten off the menu. Merchants partner with us, but nothing gets in without earning it from the water. That's the whole point.
See you on the water,
Thomas Toombs — Founder & Publisher
