Boaters Serving Boaters

Patrick Kelley has spent his entire life in and around boats and in the boating industry. As a young boy, Patrick grew up boating with his family on the Great Lakes, the Illinois River and the Gulf of Mexico. After high school and with his love of the Ocean, Patrick decided to join the Navy to serve his Country, which took him to Beautiful Whidbey Island. He had saved some money and bought a San Juan 24’ sailboat. Upon getting out of the Navy, Patrick decided he was now ready for college. While most people join a Fraternity or go into student housing, Patrick immediately went out and found a 32’ Powerboat that he could moor right near the college and live aboard while going to school. Majoring in Mechanical Engineering, Patrick also found himself very involved in student politics, eventually becoming Student Body President and earning multiple awards for outstanding academic achievement and student leadership. Upon finishing his stint at the University of Washington, Patrick went to work for his “soon to be Father-in-Law”, David Livingston, designing boats. David is well known in the industry as an innovative boat and yacht designer who has the distinction of saying he has designed more boats that have been sold into the US market then any other designer in the world. Patrick knew he had a lot of knowledge of and a love for the Marine industry and that was where he wanted to be. He decided he wanted to enter the retail side of the industry to introduce others into the boating lifestyle he loved so much. With his experience in boat design, he was quickly hired by one of the high volume boat dealerships in the Pacific Northwest to sell runabouts and small cruisers. After two years and a successful stint in sales with that company, Patrick was offered a position with a small “family owned and operated” dealership on Whidbey Island. With-in a short period of time working with the “Mom and Pop” dealership, Patrick had increased sales 50% and was promoted to Sales Manager. He continued to work closely with the family to build the operation (which was full sales and service) into a “major player” in the Pacific Northwest small (under 30’) boat market. Eventually, Patrick played a major role in assisting the family in selling the franchise line they carried, which resulted in a nice bonus, but putting himself out of work in the process. Patrick quickly received a job offer to run one of the largest dealerships in the world, which was something he couldn’t pass up (even if it meant moving to Michigan). Upon arriving in Michigan and renting a Lake house, Patrick settled into the new job with the dealership, who was the largest Maxum dealership in the world, largest Baha dealership in the world, 2nd largest Cruisers Yachts dealership in the world, largest Powerquest dealership in the world and a major dealership for Bayliner, Fairline yachts and Skater high performance boats. “All in all, it was an incredible learning experience at a young age” said Patrick. While the job experience and learning curve were great, Patrick and his wife, Cindy, were longing to get back to the Pacific Northwest and San Juan Island boating. Beyond this, Patrick felt he was ready for a new challenge. After working for three very successful dealerships and learning what he felt they were doing right and wrong in the business, Patrick felt the Marine industry at the retail level was “missing the mark” when it came to Customer Service in particular. “I’ve always believed that the sale of a boat should be the beginning of the relationship with the client, not the end as most Dealerships treat it” says Patrick. On a mission to “Do it right”, Patrick met up with Rick Irwin, President of the Dick Irwin Group in Canada. Rick had started Blackfish Marine in Vancouver, BC in 1988 and had a very good reputation as a “Great Guy” in the Yacht business. Rick and Pat decided they were going to open a Blackfish Marine office in Seattle and DO IT RIGHT! After two successful years of selling Silverton’s and Brokerage boats from the North end of Lake Union in Seattle, Blackfish was growing fast and needed to expand. First moving operations to the prestigious South end of Lake Union and then picking up the very high end Cruisers Yacht line, Blackfish Marine in Seattle was becoming a major player in the market. With the success Blackfish was experiencing with the Silverton and Cruisers Yacht line, it didn’t take long for many other manufacturers’s to take notice and start to pursue Blackfish to become their representing dealer. With the “pick of the litter”, Blackfish decided to partner with Carver and Marquis yachts to add to their offerings. Today, Blackfish is widely considered to be one of the largest and most reputable Yacht dealers in the Pacific Northwest, representing all of the privately owned “major” luxury yacht lines from Oregon to Alaska. Offering full yacht repair and Service, New Silverton Yachts, New Cruisers Yachts, New Carver yachts, the prestigious Marquis Yachts and Full Service Brokerage, Blackfish Marine is considered to have one of the best reputations around for customer service and customer loyalty. In addition to serving as acting General Manager and President of Blackfish Marine USA, Patrick has also spent many hours volunteering for the Northwest Yacht Brokers Association, where he currently serves as President. Patrick has also dedicated the hours to becoming one of the first Certified Professional Yacht Brokers (CPYB) in the country. Patrick and Cindy spend much of their spare time at their home on Whidbey Island or out boating and enjoying the Beautiful Pacific Northwest waters that they still love so much. They lead multiple “customer Cruises” on behalf of the company showing their many new boaters how and where to enjoy their new purchases. While Patrick has been busy building his company and servicing his customers, the rest of the family has also been busy in the marine industry. Pat’s Brother-in-law, John Livingston, purchased a boat manufacturing company in 1998 and builds Ranger Tug boats and Solara sport boats. John’s father and other family members actively work with him in that business. Patrick’s other Brother-in-law, Scott Springer, works with both boat builders and boat retailers in the Mid-west, using his many years as a Business Consultant to help streamline their businesses. “We don’t just believe in the business, we believe in the total lifestyle” says Patrick. “In today’s fast paced world, maximizing your “play time” is important. Investing in a high quality yacht from a dealer who truly cares about your long term satisfaction with that yacht and with the yachting lifestyle in general is, in the scheme of things, an investment in yourself. I think too many of us forget to invest in ourselves and our happiness this way. If I have one mission in this industry, it’s to make that investment easier and to help boaters get the absolute most out of that investment. pat@blackfishusa.com 

GROWING UP BOATING!

Bob Schwab – Bob is the Sales Manager for Blackfish Marine USA. With almost 15 years experience selling boats in the Pacific Northwest, Bob understands Northwest boating and helping clients find the “boat of their dreams”. Bob was born in Auburn, WA. and grew up boating out of Des Moines Marina. He has been boating in and cruising our Pacific Northwest waters for over 40 years. Even in his early high school years, Bob worked as a dock hand at the Des Moines marina, spending every minute he could around the water. As a young man out of high school, Bob joined his father in Construction and gained a lot of experience in mechanics and construction. He was very successful in this business and traveled a lot of the country supervising major projects. With this experience, Bob had the fortune of moving to Hawaii as a Project administrator for a large corporation, where he continued to boat and enjoy “island living” to it’s fullest. After almost 4 years in Hawaii, Bob moved back to the Pacific Northwest and the South Sound boating he loved so much. Upon moving back to the Northwest, Bob wanted to apply his love of boating to his career. He was hired by a large retail chain in the Northwest as a sales consultant for small boats and Cruisers. Bob was consistently one of the top sales consultants in that company and enjoyed an excellent reputation with his customers as a very honest and open individual. After 7 successful years with that company, Bob’s clients were moving up and Bob was getting more and more experienced with the larger boats. Knowing that Blackfish Marine was the “up and coming” Yacht dealer in the Pacific Northwest at that time, Bob accepted a position as a Yacht Sales Consultant on the shores of Lake Union in Seattle. After three very successful years selling Silverton and Cruisers Yachts with Blackfish Marine, Bob was promoted to Sales Manager and oversees the day to day sales operations of Blackfish Marine (as well as continuing to serve his clients with the same honest and open reputation he has always been known for). Having worked with Pat for a total of 7 years, Bob shares the passion and desire to deliver the “full boating experience and lifestyle” to Blackfish Marine customers (whom are called “Family Members” by the Blackfish Marine staff). “We strive to offer a boating experience that is far beyond any of our competitors by offering premium products and service from the day you join the family” said Bob. bob@blackfishusa.com 

 

Gene Harkins has traveled the country extensively. His love for the beauty of the Pacific Northwest and his appreciation for Washington boating as well as his numerous boating and scuba diving vacations to the San Juans and Gulf Islands inspired his desire to make Seattle his home. So after years of living in the desert and a long career in radio advertising and station management, he made the decision to move to the Northwest.
Boating soon became a passion for Gene and his “first mate” Gilda. They have owned quite a few boats over the past eleven years and have been cruising from Olympia to Desolation Sound and all points between. As an avid boater, it was only natural that he gravitated to boat sales and eventually to Blackfish Marine. As soon as you talk to Gene, his enthusiasm for boats and boaters becomes evident.
Gene has been with Blackfish Marine for two years and sought his position with Blackfish specifically because of the company’s reputation for customer service and the relationship after the sale. Gene calls it, “selling with a boater’s perspective”. His customers agree that that he sees his job as not only selling boats, but in promoting a lifestyle and responsible boating that lasts a lifetime. He has helped many new boaters get started successfully and delights in seeing his customers grow to love his favorite pastime as much as he does. He has also helped existing boaters move up to a level of boating they had not previously experienced. Blackfish Marine’s team attitude, desire to help the customer and to be more than just another boat dealer has been just the kind of atmosphere that he envisioned when he started in boat sales. You can contact Gene at gene@blackfishusa.com  or on his cell at 425-891-8642.

Loran Sawyer is a home grown and raised in the Pacific Northwest guy. Early in his working career he was hired by Fred Meyer, an all in one retailer based out of Portland Or. Starting in the stock room, Loran was quickly promoted into management with in two years and then again into Corporate Management as a product supervisor after another three years, eventually becoming a District Manager for Washington and Alaska. It was at Fred Meyer that Loran learned the true value of serving the customer well. It was also here where he met the love of his life, Nancy. When Fred Meyer decided to change their focus and close their Home Improvement Department, Loran decided to get into the business of home building. So for three years he worked for a small local builder and loved it, but a 35 year old back should not go into construction. For the last four years of his Fred Meyer career and the construction business he owned a 24’ Sunrunner “pocket cruiser”. It was being on his boat, with his bride, that he truly found his happiness. With the happiness that boating was bringing to his life, Loran decided that finding a long term career in the boat business should be his goal. He was hired by one of the largest boat retailers in the country and for thirteen years he lead in sales, owned twelve different cruisers, and found a love for the business and the lifestyle. After thirteen years and such great success on the sales side of the business, Loran began realizing that a large mass dealer could not or would not give the attention to the customer after the sale that he wanted his customers to get. Based on this, he began his search for a more professional and caring dealership, which brought him to Blackfish Marine. It was here at Blackfish that he found a corporate policy and mission that he felt was the perfect blend of customer dedication, quality products and fun. Loran has now been with Blackfish Marine selling high quality yachts for 4 years and couldn’t be happier. He continues to prove his salesmanship abilities by listening to his customers and helping them find and outfit the boat of their dreams. You can contact Loran at loran@blackfishusa.com  or call his cell phone at 253-686-6914.

      

Ethan Cedergreen (Service Manager) has been raised around boats and is one of the most knowledgeable “Yacht Mechanics” in the Pacific Northwest! The sales staff at Blackfish offers a few sayings to describe Ethan. Some of those include, “If Ethan can’t fix it, it isn’t broke!” and “If it’s gotta be done, Ethan WILL get it done!” ethan@blackfishusa.com 

 

Kevin Piper, CPYB - For over a decade, Kevin has been assisting boaters in the Pacific Northwest. After several years of working in Portland, Oregon and boating on the Columbia River, he moved to Seattle to further his career and cruise the Puget Sound. 
For the last few years, Kevin worked with a prominent brokerage and rapidly became sales manager for that organization. During that time he not only benefited from his own experience, but from that of his entire staff. Needless to say, it was a rather accelerated growth process. However great that experience, one key thing was missing- Personal contact with clients.
With the realization that he wanted to help boaters personally and not direct employees, Kevin joined the Blackfish team in December of 2006. Given his strong background in high quality new yacht sales and his extensive experience in brokerage, he is proving to be an excellent addition to the Blackfish Family. 
The three key reasons Kevin joined our team? The caliber of our employees, our unparalleled level of service and the sheer strength of the company all equally affected his decision. Kevin’s experience will no doughty help make your purchase and overall boating experience more knowledgeable and pleasurable. You can contact Kevin at kevin@blackfishusa.com or on his mobile at (206) 427-0014.

BJ Mattaini, BJ has been around the boat business almost his whole life. He’s a second generation marine retailer. His father worked in the retail marine business for about 30 years until he retired in 2000.
Luckily this meant growing up his family spent many of his Dads days off on boats. BJ experienced the benefits boating has to a healthy family life. Not only was the family together, but they were together having fun. Boating is a lifestyle that he is fortunate enough to pass on to his 2 children also.
BJ worked at a Northwest boat company for about 15 years. He started in the service department changing oils and worked all the way up to store management. After managing a store for 9 years it was time for a new challenge. Opening a new store for Blackfish Marine was the opportunity he had been looking for. From the high quality yachts we sell to the “do whatever it takes” attitude to customer satisfaction, Blackfish Marine is a perfect fit for BJ. 
The next time you are heading to Anacortes stop by the Twin Bridges Marina and say hi. If BJ isn’t at work you can hopefully find him, his wife and 2 kids yachting in the San Juans. You can contact BJ at bj@blackfishusa.com (360)466-3140 office (360)319-2948 mobile