Blackfish Marine gets customers boating!
(This article will be published in Norwesting Magazine!)

For Blackfish Marine, the Spring of 2005 means the kick off of another year of cruising with their customers. The first cruise of 2005 was an extended weekend cruise to Pleasant Harbor on Washington ’s beautiful Hood Canal . Eighteen boats gathered outside the Hiram M. Chittenden Locks on the afternoon of May 6th before the flotilla headed for Hood Canal . Cruising North at over 20Kts, the group enjoyed seeing the seals and porpoises playing in the surf. Turning South at the entrance to Hood Canal, the group enjoyed the “complimentary escort” provided by the US Navy after they went under the Hood Canal Bridge and cruised by the Banger Submarine Base.
Pulling into beautiful Pleasant Harbor , the Blackfish guests were pleasantly surprised to find Natalie Sears and Deckhand Detailing standing by with a hose to wash off their boats. “First class all the way” said Bob Hoelzen, owner of a Silverton 34 Convertible. After all the boats were situated on the docks, there was plenty of time for social “boat talk” on the docks before dinner. “I try to keep the events pretty casual” said Patrick Kelley, General Manager of Blackfish Marine. “Boating is about relaxing and taking a little mental break from the real world. We try to plan a group dinner in the evenings, but besides that we encourage people to relax, get to know each other and just have fun”.
Dinner that evening was certainly a fun and casual event. As the group made the short walk up to the Pleasant Harbor pool area, Classic Catering already had the Alder wood bon fire going with whole salmon filets leaning over the open flames in classic Native American style. “The salmon (along with all the other fixings that go with a dinner like this) was absolutely delicious” said Ron and Cindy Zaech. After dinner, it was time to head back down to the docks for the famous Blackfish Marine Chocolate Martini’s (a noted favorite treat on every Blackfish cruise).
Saturday morning found delightful weather with only a little fog left in the minds of those that stayed up a little late the night before. The kids had a blast as they broke out the dingy’s, searched the beach for that “special” rock or shell, played in the pool and fished all day off the docks. Some of the group headed out to try their luck with Pleasant Harbor ’s known excellent and short shrimping season. Steve and Susan Peterson were nice enough to share some of their success shrimping at that evening’s pot luck dinner.
  The day was relaxing and enjoyable, and before we knew it, it was 6:00pm and time for the big potluck dinner. Blackfish Marine pushed three picnic tables together right at the back of the boats and the feast was on! Sixty people eating and enough food to feed an army of 200! Fresh Salmon, fresh shrimp, BBQ ribs, dips, appetizers, desserts and more. With their belly’s full, small groups gathered on the back of the boats to play cards, share dock talk and enjoy the sunset of Pleasant Harbor .
  Sunday morning found smooth water for a comfortable run home. Two of the boats headed out for the first leg of their journey to Alaska while the rest of the group headed back to their home ports. Another great cruise to kick off the 2005 cruising season!
  Blackfish Marine sponsors multiple cruises every year for their customers. Their next destination, DESOLATION SOUND! “We’re always delighted to go boating with our customers” said Bob Schwab, senior salesperson for Blackfish Marine. “a lot of company’s offer a one day course or a rendezvous for their customers, but going boating with them truly teaches them the potential of their new boat and a real hands on to cruising the Northwest. We’ve found that our customers use their boats a lot more on their own after cruising with the group. It’s very rewarding to see them develop as true Northwest boaters after a few cruises with us”.

 

CLICK ON ALL IMAGES FOR A CLOSER VIEW!