2-19-2014
Ahoy Captain Bob,
Just wanted to drop you a note to tell you what a great and life changing time Diane had last week aboard the Miami Mermaid. We have taken your advice and will charter a trawler this summer in Chesapeake Bay for two weeks. I wanted to thank you for the way that you inspired Diane to lose her trepidation and jump in and steer and dock the trawler. She loved it.
Thanks again and hope to see you in the future.
Kindest regards
Byron R.
2-19-2014 ——- 2-23-2014
Hello again Captain Bob
We came up from Idaho with the thought of learning about trawlers. Keep in mind, we had never been on a boat before. We were nervous about being on the water. From the beginning Captain Bob made us feel comfortable with step by step instruction and encouragement. Everything was made simple, even we could understand it! We brought books on the Diesel engine and marine electrical, boy were we confused! Captain Bob explained everything with simplicity. The food was excellent and the scenery was just beautiful. The anchorages were great. We saw dolphins, manatees, and raccoons. The Miami Skyline at night was breathtaking! The trawler purchasing class was invaluable. We are now confident to begin using our new found skills and enjoying the high seas.
Thanks for everything!
John & Leah M
Kuna ID
Trawler School Charters Review Jan 23 2014
Captain Bob what a wonderful trip! After eating a great meal, the next thing we know, we are at the helm going on night maneuver’s, how cool was that. It was pitch black out and we were on look out for any lights from other boats on the water, that’s when it all happened, all of a sudden, out of nowhere lights and sirens pounded us from 20 feet off our port swim platform we jumped a mile, talk about a slight heart attack, that was the moment. It turned out to be the Coast Guard doing there own night maneuver’s and they did there job real good. They asked us a few questions, shut off their lights and went off into the night looking for some drug runners & trust me that 28′ USCG boat and it’s crew owns the night “good job”. That incident made our trip one not to be forgotten, we are still talking about it.
We have read many Trawler books, navigation from A to Z, it all seemed so complicated, well after just one day we learned to keeping it simple and use common boating sense. In no time at all, we acquired the skills to navigate on our own for the next two days, that’s right all by ourselves at the helm. “Big man” (Captain) your insight and wisdom made our trip a fantastic, fun and knowledgeable experience. Captain you gave us the confidence so we can now start to pursue our Trawler dreams.
One subject Trawler school charters offered that no other school had to offer was Captain Bob’s past brokerage experience. He taught us the in’s & out’s how to find, buy the different models to chose from Sundeck, Trunk, sedan or pilot house, what size will work for us, contracts & negotiations and everything you need to know about buying or chartering a trawler. We now are very knowledgeable buyers and able to buy the right trawler and save thousand’s of dollars just on this subject alone.
Captain, we will never forget all the stories about ghosts and songs from Franky, Dino & Bing. Let’s not forget about Mr. B. Ha Ha
We highly recommend Captain Bob and Trawler School Charters if you are thinking about buying a trawler now or in the future.
Thanks for everything…….
Rob & Juliet
NY, NY.
Great advice on trawler buying, the do’s and don’ts . We had a blast!!!
We were looking for a new adventure and found it!
Never been on a live aboard before, but we plan on more trips, perhaps a purchase. We experienced…no stress, hands on learning while seeing all the sights, checking out the new environment and eating good food.
Lots of laugh’s too. We feel prepared to Captain our own trip soon and think we are miles ahead in boat knowledge when we attend Trawler fest tomorrow.
Never a dull moment! Jokes, stories, one-liners. They just kept coming. His instructions were very informative when addressing necessary points. The hands-on training, including blindfolded lessons, was very confidence inspiring.
Bob is a great host, very laid back and easy going. Boca Chita was an amazing stop over. Fantastic Salmon dinner!
We would definitely recommend this course. Remember the 3 famous words Sacrifice, Sacrifice, Sacrifice…
We feel much more comfortable reading charts and using Captain know it all GPS Chart plotter. Captain Bob’s style of teaching is very informative and entertaining. While we were unlucky with the weather, Captain Bob adjusted his normal schedule to make the best of our trip by going into protected areas. Wow, the trip to Boca Chica was just beautiful, we felt like we were in the Caribbean! The skyline of Miami was incredible. While this was a trip to learn, it turned out to be a vacation with an education. Captain Bob’s course was wonderful, but his friendship was even better.
What an adventure!
We came to trawler school to learn about living on, operating and managing a trawler – and the experience exceeded our expectations. Mac has a lifetime experience with boats of all sorts and Deb is a newbie! Both of us benefited from Captain’s Bob’s unique teaching style and the experiential hands on training on the water and underway, even in post boat show traffic!
Under Capt’n Bob’s supervision, in a remarkable short period of time we (Mac & Deb) were actually piloting (navigating) the 40′ vessel, Miami Mermaid though the middle of Miami and the top of the Florida Keys. Even without the schooling, we were “awe-sified” by the amazing and beautiful area around Miami: what a contrast between the urban skyline and the serenity of Boca Chita Island.
The view from amongst the mangroves in Virginia Key (complete with five sunbathing Manatees), cruising by Fisher Island and the high raiser’s of South Beach was truly memorable. Captain Bob shared his extensive knowledge of trawlers and the trawler market making it possible to formulate our plan.
If you are considering the trawler lifestyle, you need to enroll in trawler school.
We came to trawler school with no boating experience. The only boats we have owned in the last 30 years are two 9′ plastic kayaks. We wanted to try trawler school to see if we liked this type of life style and if so, to gain enough expertise to be able to bareboat a trawler charter on our next adventure by ourselves. The answer is “YES”, we can and we had a great time cruising these beautiful waters of the Florida Keys with Captain Bob.
Yes we learned enough about handling the trawler and getting from here-to-there, and also dealing with all the boat traffic. We will definitely consider a self-charter vacation in the future.
Many thanks to Captain Bob…
He is knowledgeable, funny, organized and a fine shipboard chef. The guest quarters are spacious and very comfortable aboard the Miami Mermaid. There was plenty of time at the lovely anchorage to enjoy and a laid back boating experience.
The weather was near a perfect 66 degrees at night and 75 degrees during the day, with only one shower while underway.
I have never skippered a boat before but now feel I have the basic skills to maneuver and dock my own 40-footer. Docking day was the most fun! I think the biggest thing I walked away with was handling a single screw, in fact will be looking for one. Captain Bob will give you valueable tips and insight on buying a trawler, based on his prior experience in the trawler brokerage business. His tips alone will more than pay for our school over and over.
We were there for the training, but the daily chance to get off and walk around while island hopping was indeed fun, especially since I had my best friend and future first mate with me.
Now to find a trawler back home! (Annapolis area). Captain we appreciate you allowing us to come early and stay late to accommodate our flight schedule.
Jeff and Babs