Boston Boating Blog

I just looked at the counter and noticed that there is less than a month until it is time to put the Donna Julie II back in the water for another season!  (Actually I cannot tell a lie, I have received a number of emails from friends saying ‘the boating season is right around the corner’.)

So what has happened this winter?  Well, quite a lot.  Dan from East Coast Flightcraft and my buddy Brian and I all shared some season tickets to the Bruins.  Yeah, they had a crap season but it is still a nice get away for an evening.  Speaking of hockey, the US played some great hockey in the Winter Olympics this year in Vancouver but just couldn’t pull it out in the end.  Too bad, I love the Olympics, wish we could have repeated 1980.

Also, I got a new job.  I now work with the CEO from my old company at a company called Storwize.  I have never worked so hard in my career but I have to say, I have also never felt like I have been able to add so much value.  The company is great.  We do something very unique – Real-time, random access compression of data storage.  (Maybe not the most interesting topic for boaters, but a very cool technology.)  I started a new professional blog, The Storage Alchemist, The job has also brought me on my first trip to Israel (2 times) with a trip to the Gloan Heights for some wine, and I have been to London a couple of times as well, and not to mention all the travel around the US.  The boat will be a great place to unwind from the job when I get a break.

Donna’s Showroom at Venegas and Company is also EXPANDING!  That’s right, her new company is doing super well and she is growing.  You can also visit her Linked In and Facebook pages.  I am very proud of her.

Right after the 2009 season ended we took at trip to NH to visit Tony and Kathy for a send off for their daughter who joined the Navy.  Hope she is enjoying it now that she is passed bootcamp.  Also, CONGRATS to Tony and Kathy, they upgraded their boat this season.  I can’t wait to see it!

We got the blog listed on the home page for The Constitution Marina - I have to that Bruce from Save the Harbor, Save the Bay.  This year we are not only going to blog about what goes on during our fun times this summer, but we are also going to try to do a little more good and be a bit more informative about what is going on around the harbor.  I mean, we wouldn’t be having all this fun if we didn’t have the harbor to begin with right?  (I promise I won’t get ‘preachy’ – but I can’t vouch for Bruce who I have also made a contributor to the blog – Bruce, WELCOME!)  If your not big on traveling around a bunch of web sites you can always find Save the Harbor Save the Bay on Facebook and see what they are up to.

Just as a quick shameless plug, they are hosting a fund raiser on March 31, 2010 at the Intercontinental Hotel in Boston.  Take a quick look at the short video “Water Power” – It is two minutes and worth a watch.

As in true form I’ll give you an update on the Boston Boat Show of 2010.  It was great to see my old friends from East Coast Flightcraft (ECFC), but the overall show was not good this year.  I heard a rumor at the show that in 2009 4800 boats were repossessed in the US and now there are only 800 of these boats left.  The bad news, new boat sales are down and that makes me sad for guys like Dan at ECFC because they do such a great job with selling, service and support.  The good news, used boat prices are actually going up as the inventory goes back down, so if your looking to upgrade, get ready.

Lots of weather this winter and spring did a number to “D” dock.  My I am sure the dudes at the marina will have it all sorted by the time we bring the boats in for the summer.

Photo’s courtesy of Ryan who I am sure will be posting some great stories this summer as well.

And finally, you all have to check out the new Boston Fishing site.  Paul’s site is fresh and new and he is getting ready to have a great and prosperous fishing season.   Tell all your friends, book some corporate fishing, he has even stepped into the 20th century and even takes Paypal!  Way to go Paul, best of luck this summer and catch a ton of fish, especially tuna!

Okay gang, that is all for now.  Be prepared, I may update the face of Boston Boating Blog and I plan on doing a lot of updating, I have a new camera and video camera so there promises to be some multimedia this summer.

Can’t wait to see you on the water!

Captain’s Blog – Stardate April 9, 2009

So the 2009 boating season is about to kick off.  I know, I know, its a bit early, as my father would tell me but I am anxious as usual.  I am also excited.  I have become quite the social networker over the past 12 months and have moved the blog to this new format and am excited to keep delivering content and perhaps capture some more followers.  Please tell all your friends about the new site and you can look forward to more stories, more photos and even video this year.  I also set up the blog in my Facebook account and you can find it in LinkedIn as well.  I also setup a twitter account called Captain SteveK – so when I am on the water or at the marina, I can give you play by play updates on what is going on.

What’s happened so far this year in the world of the Donna Julie II.  We went to the Boston boat show in February.  It was a great show and they had hull #5 of the new Cobalt 37.  I have to say, Donna and I spent about 4 hours sitting on that boat.  It is definitely the one we will upgrade to one day.  No other real surprise at the show.  Attendance was down and so were the number of boats at the show but it was to be expected.  I ran into a company at the show, Portland Mattress.  These guys are great.  We got a mattress pad for boat this year to make sleeping on it a bit more comfortable.

We solidified our slip at the show for this year.  Same slip so we are excited to be around our friends again.  We are looking froward to the Sea grass planting party on April 24th, the pool party next weekend, the Fisherman’s Feast in the North End, the 4th of July party we always have and  just a fun summer.

I made an attempt last week to put the boat in the water even earlier than normal but the weather didn’t cooperate so looks like we are shooting for next weekend.

Look for the stories to start flowing.  Oh, and I finally received my captain’s details in the mail.   Not sure if you remember but last year I went for my captain’s license and successfully passed.  All I needed was the paperwork to prove it and it finally showed up.

Well see you on the high seas.

Posted by, Captain SteveK

It is time and I am very excited. Dad is coming down from Maine on the early train and we are driving to Salem and launching the Donna Julie II. We will be brining the boat from Danvers to Boston into Constitution Marina.

Some times they say, an uneventful trip is a good trip and in this case it certainly was. We left the Danvers river at approximately 12:20 and made it to the slip at Constitution Marina by 2:30 – then it took me another 20 minutes to park – ha ha – I still need to get my parking act together. It was a good day on the water.

We did see one dive boat but other than that. Just a simple good day.

Looking forward to blogging all summer long about our adventures.

Ah, you know know what that means? It means that in a VERY few short months, the boat will go back in the water and we will be having some fun in the summer sun!

Donna and I (and my Dad one day) went to the Boston boat show. It was great again! It was fun to “shop” knowing that no matter what, you were going to have your boat in the water in a few months. Donna was pretty funny. She decided to “board” the Environmental Police boat. She told them, they boarded us this summer so she felt it was only fair. Check this out…

Next we checked out this new boat we saw on the show floor. It was painted battle ship gray and was like no other boat I had ever seen. It was from a German company and they had already sold a half dozen of them. This was a pretty interesting boat.

We also spent some time on the new Cobalt 46 Yacht. Danny from East Coast Flightcraft had one of the new Yachts and it is beautiful. It was defiantly the princess of the party, the prettiest boat at the show.

Well, this winter I am going for my captain’s license. It is called a 6-PAK and I am pretty excited. I will be blogging about that until we hit the water again. Stay tuned.