I’d like to preface this blog with an apology for how long it has been since I’ve posted anything. In my defense, I have been kind of down for the count as I’ve been contaminated with mononucleosis, affectionately known as mono. Seriously, I’ve been a borderline narcoleptic. I know some of you (D.A.- you know who you are) feel like that’s not a good excuse, but it is what it is. Finally starting to feel like myself again! I can go the whole day without needing any naps!
Without further ado…
Wednesday
Nothing like getting up at 0′dark thirty for an eight hour car ride. At 6:30 am Larry was outside my house in the Kadey-Krogen truck filled to the brim with easels, flags, banners, brochures and other miscellaneous boat show materials. I wasn’t sure I was even going to fit in the car. The only part of the drive that was a little unfavorable (aside from not listening to any music) was the torrential downpour through New York City. Even with the congestion around the Big Apple, we made it to Warwick around 3 pm.
Our demo Krogen 58′ and brand new Krogen 48′ North Sea were stern to stern at the front of the show. I briefly met and chatted with the elated new owners, Roberto and Maria Rosa. Before Larry and I were able to unload the car, the storm we had driven through had caught up with us. We took this time to make a run to West Marine and check into our hotel.
We went back to the marina at the tail-end of the storm to straighten things out with the detailers. Once we made our way over to the boats, I got the grand tour of Gratitude from Maria. She was the first three-stateroom Krogen I’ve been on. Maria was absolutely beaming. Though, considering they took delivery of her just three weeks ago, the excitement was understandable.
Because the Rosas love to entertain friends and family, their boat has been customized for their lifestyle. They opted for a U-shaped settee in the saloon as opposed to the standard L-shaped settee. This settee can also be used as a larger-than-king-sized bed. They also have a fold out table in the pilothouse so that the settee can convert to a double bed. Other customizations include the large flat screen television that pops up on the portside of the saloon, drawers instead of cabinets in the galley and a double-bin pull-out trash receptacle so that they can recycle.
Then it was off to pick Laura Kanzer, our newest addition to the sales staff and my new partner in crime, up from the airport. The five of us went to a little Italian place in downtown Warwick for dinner. Listening to Roberto and Maria’s account of seeing Gratitude approach the dock for the first time was nothing short of moving. Roberto had a smile from ear-to-ear and Maria’s eyes welled up with tears. They were the epitome of unadulterated happiness. They are the first owners I’ve had this particular conversation with, and I loved listening to it as much as I love hearing about the adventures. It was very touching.
After dinner we had to run back to the boats to grab Larry’s backpack. On the way home I was in the middle of telling my story of how I talked my way out of a ticket with my mono excuse (who knew mono could be so versatile?) when Laura interjected, “We just passed this church! And this fire station! We were just here! Twice!” She was right. Larry had been so intently listening to my hilarious anecdote following the directions on the GPS he didn’t realize it had us going in circles. Literally! Larry got frustrated with the GPS- I decided it had a good sense of humor.
We finally made it back to the hotel and I found that I was absolutely exhausted. I had to have fallen asleep before my head even reached the pillow.
Thursday
The first day of Trawler Fest brought another early morning. We still had to finish unloading the car and set up the dock and both the boats. We finished just as the show was opening. Though it started off a little slow, once people started coming aboard the foot traffic didn’t stop. All the sales people were always engaged with a prospective customer throughout the day. Even I am able to maintain and perpetuate knowledgeable conversations at this point. When it gets to the finer details that I haven’t mastered yet, I defer to a sales person. I am the Goose to their Top Guns.
What I especially like about Trawler Fests is that most of the people that come are already educated on trawlers and are very interested in the product and lifestyle. It’s not just people coming to a show for something to do. Other shows are great too, of course, but something about this is a little different. A little more targeted.
Before we knew it, the show was wrapping up for the day and we were on our way to the PassageMaker cocktail hour before the dinner. Because I have mono, I am not allowed to drink alcohol and have dubbed this season to be my “Summer of Sobriety”. This, all in all, hasn’t been bad. I drank a few waters and chatted with some people that had been aboard earlier in the day. One gentleman was telling me his aspirations of doing the Great Loop and about his cattle ranch and sanitation businesses. The careers our owners and prospective owners have/had are very intriguing to me. I don’t know why, but I find it fascinating.
After the dinner, there was an intense trivia game and raffle. Unfortunately for our egos, we won neither, but had an absolute blast. Because of the longs days, early mornings and the mono, by the end of the evening I could hear my hotel room calling my name.
Friday
The next day was just as fruitful as the first. Many interested, educated people came aboard. From the look in their eyes I could tell some were imagining that these boats were theirs, what their life could be like. The overall excitement of people when they come on our boats never gets old. Whether it’s their first time or their hundredth, people’s eyes light up when they walk into the saloon.
Early afternoon Steve D’Antonio, maritime consultant and PMM’s technical editor, held a seminar in the engine room of our Krogen 48’ North Sea, Gratitude. So many people showed up that he had to do it twice, back-to-back. They used the day-access hatch to the engine room, but because it was so hot we lifted out one of the floor hatches in the saloon to let the air circulate a little. Nothing like 10 sweaty men emerging from an engine room grinning like little kids walking out of a candy shop.
That night PMM’s event was the Mardis Gras theme. I was disappointed with the decorations we had on our table because I am now a veteran to these events. I was determined to win the dress-up competition after two close calls in San Diego and Anacortes. I am not going to go into detail of my tactics, but I was able to finagle some more adornments.
And boy was Roberto a good sport! It took a little guilt tripping by reason of my mono coaxing, but he let me dress him up. He actually won the King of Mardis Gras title and prize! He came back to the table laughing and said to Bill (their salesperson), “You told me about the Trawler Fests. I’ve been to all the boat shows. But you never once told me that I’d be dressing up and dancing in front of a crowd of people!” Congrats again!!
This evening I even had a brief conversation with Dave Acton, owner of a Krogen 42’. He was the back-up for the Regata del Sol trip should my dad and I had not been able to go. He told me that after he read my blog on the trip he dropped to his knees and thanked God that he hadn’t been aboard. Talk about salt in an open wound!
As the event died down, so did my energy. Usually I’d be out “supporting the local economy” as Larry likes to say, but these days were wearing me out! Two successful days down, one to go.
Saturday
Before the rush on Saturday Jim was entertaining me with his sailing stories that took him around the world. He was actually a co-founder of the single-handed around the world race. He spent six weeks in Rio de Janeiro, six weeks in Cape Town and six weeks in Sydney. He had me in stitches with some of the scenarios he found himself in during that time.
This was another day that seemed to fly by! I would lose track of sales people because they’d be off talking to prospective customers for up to an hour sometimes. We left the show with a plethora of information sheets filled out. It was refreshing that so many people are interested in receiving Waypoints newsletters and Navaid e-newsletters. And again, I was amused and encouraged by how many people were familiar with the blog and my presence in Waypoints.
After we broke everything down and packed up the decorations in the 58’ for her passage back to Annapolis, we went to the PMM cocktail reception. There were some light hors d’ourves and endless cocktails (for the non-mono contaminated). Then came the best, most gratifying moment of the entire show. Gratitude won the People’s Choice Award for the entire Warwick Trawler Fest!! They won an engraved Tiffany’s crystal bowl and an engraved wooden cruising log, not to mention the validation of the personalization they added and general beauty of their brand new boat. Then came the ear-to-ear grin on Roberto’s face and Maria’s eyes welled up with tears again. They were truly grateful. Look for our picture in PMM!
Overall it was another great show! Lots of interested people…. So interested we received a letter of intent on 5205, among other strong leads. Coming up we’ve got the Seattle Lake Union Boats Afloat Show, the Newport Boat Show, and the Baltimore Trawler Fest. I’m sure you’ll hear more from me before then. I’ve learned mono is no excuse to not blog…



























































