“It’s so hot, and so humid, even the dock lines are sweating!” said Caitlin Jewett, the marina operations manager for Sunset Isle Yacht Club. She was right. It was late August, and the Gulf Coast was already sweltering hot, with it not even 7 a.m. yet.

And that’s when it hit her… when the weather finally cools down, even a little bit, not only will she enjoy it, but she will also celebrate it. Maybe even throw a party!

All day, as she walked the docks and talked with customers and other marina staff members, everyone complained about the heat. She just nodded in agreement. But now her thoughts were preoccupied with planning a celebration instead of another day that felt stickier than a bait bucket left in the sun!

When we get to October, it will feel at least a little cooler then, and it won’t be quite as humid, she tried to assure herself.

She started brainstorming. I’ll get a tent. I’ll get some TVs to put underneath it so we can watch college football. I’ll invite all of our marina customers to stop by. We can grill up some food. We can have some cold beer and soft drinks.

All summer, she had communicated with so many boaters, via e-mail, text, and phone calls, about them wanting to see the sparkling new marina gem on the Gulf Coast. Not just locals, but also captains who were planning on bringing their yachts to the marina for this fall, winter, and spring from places like South Florida. I’ll invite them too, she thought.

I’ll invite our local boat dealer friends. They will be ready to celebrate after a long summer. Heck, I’ll even tell them they can bring some boats here to the marina for people to look at during our celebration. I know by October, they will have some inventory they would love to sell before winter. She was on a roll, like the sweat dripping off a deckhand’s brow into the bilge.

I’m doing it, I’m throwing a dock party the first weekend in October, like a little festival here at our Yacht Club, she proclaimed out loud to no one in particular. And I’m going to call it…”Yactober… no wait, I’m going to call it Doctoberfest!!!! We are going to have a party on our docks!”

And that is how Doctoberfest came to be! October 3-5 at Sunset Isle Yacht Club, the new 142-slip marina on Okaloosa Island is hosting Doctoberfest, featuring a Boat Show and sticking with the borrowed Bavarian theme, Beers, and Brats!

Local boat dealers will be showcasing their most popular models from their best brands onsite at the marina, all with special, end-of-the-season prices, financing, and incentives, which will not be available again until boat show season in the Spring of 2026.

In total, more than fifty boats will be on display from featured dealers, Legendary Marine, Two Georges Marina, MarineMax, Emerald Coast Marine, and Gulf Coast Marine Centers. Marine Group, Great Southern Yachts, Nautical Ventures, and Sunrise Marine will also have boats at the Doctoberfest Boat Show.

Doctoberfest features free admission and parking, live music, big-screen TVs, food, and much more.

Show hours are Friday and Saturday, October 3 and 4, 2025, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Sunday, October 5, 2025, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

For more info, visit Sunsetisle.com or Sunset Isle Yacht Club on Facebook.