By Becky Bowers, Times Staff Writer
Thursday, September 9, 2010
The Florida Fisherman is back on the job. Hubbard's Marina in John's Pass Village filed for bankruptcy protection in August to reclaim its double-decker deep-sea fishing boat after it was seized over debts to Bank of America.
Owner Mark Hubbard said that one of his companies, Florida Fisherman Inc., which does business as the marina, filed for Chapter 11 reorganization after the bank turned down his offers to restructure the debt.
"They wanted me to sign away my rights to the Florida Fisherman — basically give them the boat," he said. The vessel, which was seized in July and returned four weeks later, has been in the Hubbard family since it was custom-built for $800,000 more than 20 years ago. Hubbard refinanced for $600,000 in 2005 after he bought the marina business from his family, then struggled with payments as the economy soured.
He said he would work with the court to show his Madeira Beach company was stable and would "proceed forward serving the fishing community." The company claims debts of up to $1 million, including two loans with Bank of America worth $620,305, and $36,000 to a fuel company.