Open House 2010

On Thursday, July 8th - we held our third annual open house on the porch at Constitution Marina. Over 35 people attended. The weather and the views of the harbor and Boston skyline were picture-perfect. Most importantly, our newest members had an opportunity to mingle with some of older members and find out what the club is like, off-the water.

Members and their guests were treated to a smorgasboard of food catered by our friends at Ruthy's Kitchen and the cool drinks were supplied by more of our friends at McCarthy Brothers.

The event was great and we are already planning our next Navigator Club outing. Stay tuned for more details and thank you to everyone who helped make this event happen.

Regards,

Capt. Ed Mancini
The Navigator Club, Inc.
"Boston's premier boating club"

Palm Beach and The New England Boat Show

Flying down to Florida tomorrow to run the 60' from Merritt Island to Palm Beach. Hopefully the weather on Tuesday/Wednesday will cooperate so we can make good time by running outside.

Temperature in Boston: 12 degrees
Temperature in Palm Beach: 75 degrees

Hmmmm...not a tough decision.


Also, The Navigator Club is gearing up for The New England Boat Show which is taking place next month, February 20-28th at the Boston Convention Center. Be sure to stop by booth #423 and say hello.

The Navigator Club final fishing report of 2009

As stated in my previous blog report, now that the Navigator Club - Boston's premier boat club - is closed for the season I decided to go out fishing with my friend Nick for one last trip of the season on Wednesday, October 21. We started out the day at 6:00 am at the ramp in Gloucester. Headed out to the same spot where we caught bait for the bachelor party....and almost 2 hours later we finally had 8-9 baits in the livewell. With the baits, we steamed 13 miles offshore to Northwest corner of Stellwagen and deployed them. It was lifeless out there....no whales, no birds, nada. I know we missed the early morning bait, due to the 2 hour delay caused by getting the uncooperative bait.

As we continue to fish and hope for the best, we hear reports from friends that they are landing fish on livebait down on the southwest corner (off Provincetown) so we decide to pack up and head there (maybe another 15 miles south...probably more?). On the way down, we make a stop or two and deploy the baits and Nick starts jigging a hammered finish diamond like jig on light tackle while the baits are swimming around. Nick gets hit and the line pops in about 45 seconds.

We decide to move around a bit, but the dogfish are relentless, so we meet up with a friend about 2-3 miles off the beach in P-town where the water drops off to about 200 feet. Nick and I are jigging again, but now with 50lb class gear, and he gets a hit and immediately we know it is a tuna.

I clear the lines and he settles in for the fight. About 20 minutes later, the fish comes to the surface and I harpoon her on the second attempt....clean shot right through the gill plate and into the head. I tail rope her and bleed her out, and haul her on board. She is just over 55 inches long and approximately 140-150 lbs.

It is now 3:15pm and we decide that we went to get some cod before calling it a day even though the spot is over an hour away - 23 miles east of Gloucester in no mans land. So, I steer his small boat toward the waypoint while Nick guts and cleans the tuna. We arrive there around 4:45 pm and start jigging. About 15 minutes in we have one cusk and one cod on board. Then, Nick lands a 20 lb cod and I get another keeper or two. It is now 5:15ish, the sun is low on the horizon and the winds are picking up. So we decide to call it a day and I turn the 20 footer west and start making the 23 mile run back to Gloucester Harbor while Nick cleans the fish. The ride was pretty uneventful arrive and after picking our way through some lobster pots, we arrive back at the ramp at 6:35 in complete darkness.

After 12 hours on the water, we were both exhausted but happy to end the fishing season on a great note. I have posted some pictures of the fish for your enjoyment.

Regards,

Capt. Ed Mancini
The Navigator Club, Inc.

40 Warren Street

Charlestown, MA 02129

http://www.thenavigatorclub.com/

617-880-2525

"Boston's premier boating club"

Prospective member appointment

I just received a call from another prosective member who is interested in our boat club membership. I set an appointment with him to view the boats and tour the marina this afternoon. I believe he is a referral from some of our existing members and is anxious to see our boats before we haul them for the winter.

I must say that referrals are our best source for new boat club members. I think in the past six months alone, we've had seven new boating club members via referrals.

Regards,

Capt. Ed Mancini
The Navigator Club, Inc.
40 Warren Street
Charlestown, MA 02129
www.thenavigatorclub.com
617-880-2525

Enjoying the sunny, fall days.

In a little bit, I will be heading down to The Navigator Club as we have some boat club members heading out at 2:00 pm. At this time of year, it is important to take advantage of good weather like we are having today.

Last Thursday, I ran a 2007 36' Chris Craft Corsair from Boston to Padanaram. It was a choppy and cold, but still quite enjoyable, especially in that boat. The owner is a client of ours who relies on us to move the boat to various ports of call throughout the season. Yet, another growing facet of our business.

This Saturday, the boys and I will be heading on an offshore tuna charter aboard the Karen Lynn out of Gloucester. The Karen Lynn in a 43' Lowell Brothers downeast that has the latest equipment and technology. I will make sure to take pictures of any tuna, cod and haddock we catch.

Enjoy the day,

Capt. Ed Mancini
The Navigator Club
40 Warren Street
Charlestown, MA 02129
http://www.thenavigatorclub.com/

Another new member....

We've had another successful week here at The Navigator Club. We signed up another new member....a young entrepreneur from Cambridge. Welcome aboard Michael. It's really amazing that even in this turbulent economy, we've been able to double our membership in the last 6 months and our retention rate of existing members is north of 75%. It goes to show that our members really do value our superior location, high quality boats and our attention to customer service.


We'll I am heading out the door to get ready for our third training session with Michael. Today we will focus on docking and navigating around Boston Harbor.


Regards,

Capt. Ed Mancini
The Navigator Club
40 Warren Street
Charlestown, MA 02129
617-880-2525
www.thenavigatorclub.com

Hazy, hot and HUMID! Maui Jim spotted?

This is the weather that I wait for all year long. I love being out in the hot sun...especially if I am on a boat. Can you think of a better way to cool off than aboard a Navigator Club boat?

Speaking of being cool, the Maui Jim sunglasses have been ordered and are expected to be in soon. By this time next week, a bunch of Navigator Club members will be sporting, the latest Maui Jim shades.

Regards,

Capt. Ed Mancini
The Navigator Club
40 Warren Street
Charlestown, MA 02129
617-880-2525
www.thenavigatorclub.com

Fundraiser, good times, Deadliest Catch

Took a ride up to the Gloucester House the other night to attend this years Little League Fundraiser. Besides the $15 door charge, numerous items were auctioned off including prints, clothing and memorabilia. There was also a $500 50/50 raffle. All proceeds were donated to the Gloucester Little League.

At this years, event...we had the opportunity to meet Capt. Andy Hillstrand, Capt. Johnathan Hillstrand and deckhand, Josh Harris. I must admit that these guys are really down to earth...which is a blessing in this day and age. They were swamped with groupies...but since a friend is running the pr for the event, we had an opportunity to meet the gang and get a photo op.

Yesterday, I spent the day driving around looking at boats. We are getting ready to add a third boat and I wanted to take a look and see what is available so that when the time comes, we can move quickly.

Regards,

Capt. Ed Mancini

The Navigator Club

40 Warren Street

Charlestown, MA 02129

http://www.thenavigatorclub.com/

Tall Ships, 4th of July, Open House

Well, we just finished the busiest two week stretch since the club started in 2008. The Tall Ships event, combined with the 4th of July festivities the week before, made for some very fun and exciting days.

Each one of our members was able to get out on the water and view the Tall Ships procession at least once, some were able to even get out twice. I have numerous photos of the entire event that I will gladly post once I get camera back.

In addition, we have several new members that signed up over the last two weeks. We would like to thank them for their business and extend a warm welcome. In fact, I am heading out around 2:00 pm this afternoon to do a close quarters boat handling lesson with one of them.

Lastly, I wanted to remind everyone that The Navigator Club open house is being held next Wednesday, July 22nd from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm at Constitution Marina in Charlestown. Mark your calendars and please RSVP to 617.880.2525 or by email to memberships@thenavigatorclub.com


Regards,

Capt. Ed Mancini
The Navigator Club, Inc.
40 Warren Street
Charlestown, MA 02129
617.880.2525
http://www.thenavigatorclub.com

Fireworks

Wow, did I have a great time last night. A couple of us jumped on the boat, and ran over to Swampscott around 8:00 pm, anchored up, shared some great food and sat tight waiting for the fireworks. Around 9:15 pm the sky lit up and we were treated to a front row view of a great fireworks show.

Attached are some pictures courtesy of Swapscott Fireworks23.

Regards,

Capt. Ed Mancini

The Navigator Club

www.thenavigatorclub.com