This marina has capacity for 550 slips on 60 acres. Unfortunately, due to what’s happening with this downturn in the economy, only half of the slips are full. According to Marc Phillips, Marina Manager, what makes this marina unique from others in the area are their floating docks. They have free pump-out at their fuel dock or on Wednesdays and Thursdays a boat will come to your slip.

Boaters here range from transients staying for the night to liveaboards.  As for what there is available to entertain youngin’: a skate park 1/4 mile down the street and Jackie Robinson Ball Park down the street in the opposite direction.

Pictured below is: Marc Phillips, marina manager, and Pam Means, assistant manager. For more information about Halifax Harbor Marina go to: http://www.halifaxharbormarina.com/

A few of us got together for Happy Hour, a book signing, and a birthday celebration. The food in the photograph below is compliments of Chef Josh at La Piazza Cafe (aka my son who works in the European Village). For more info regarding Palm Coast Marina go to: http://www.palmcoastmarina.net/

Congratulations to Pauline Berk, winner of our raffle drawing. Pauline won a complete set of 11 interviews recorded live on downloadable mp3 ($157 value).

This was also my first out-of-state book signing.  Congratulations to Michelle Prosje who won our raffle drawing of a complete set of 11 interviews on downloadable mp3 ($157 value).

Chris Webber, owner of The Black Tie Company, also celebrated 25 years of running the food court. “Everything is homemade”, says Chris, “we started with just popcorn and two workers a day. Now we have 20 people a day and do this show for the relationships.”

According to Phin Sprague, owner, all the exhibitors were upbeat, customers more positive and getting into the buying mood. “It was a solid show, quality people,” says Phin, “and we’ll be back in 2013!”

Sarah Raff, 30-something, cooks by color, mix and textures. Realizing she wasn’t going to make it as a painter using her art degree, Sarah spent ten years running a B&B and catering business in Quebec. Sarah got into cooking on boats after taking care of a friend who died of Lou Gehrig’s disease at 52. Having been privy to her friend’s regrets spurred Sarah into making her own list of what she wanted to do before she died. Because she’s always been fascinated with tall ships, she applied for an onboard chef position; her catering experience was all she needed. She was a quick learner and started on tall ships. Her first boat had a diesel stove that had to be started at 4:30 am for coffee by 7:00 am. Her second boat had a diesel stove also, and they kept running all the time to heat the boat. Sarah took advantage of the primitive arrangements by keeping a huge bucket of water ready to boil for soup or anything else. Now she works on 139-foot motor yachts with walk-in freezers, windows, air conditioning, and heat. What was great about those older ships was what she learned about preserving foods. When she worked for SEA (Sea Education Association) out of Woods Hole, they would go out for months at a time, so she dipped eggs in oil, wax or Crisco to keep them fresh without refrigeration and wrapped lettuce in newspaper. “Eggs are porous,” she says, “so you have to seal the shells so they don’t absorb what’s around them.” Sarah loves to cook with fresh local vegetables.

Kerry McCormick, 30, is an anthropology major turned private yacht chef. She fell in love with boating while working at the Maritime Museum in Bermuda. She grew up loving to cook so she’s integrated the two and found herself cooking on boats. Then Kerry took time off to work in some top name restaurants in Boston, which enabled her to take cooking classes in her spare time. She associates food and cooking with “happy memories.” Her favorite type of cooking is French-Asian fusion with lots of sauces, Asian spices and fish. Depending on where she is, she cooks with whatever’s local. 

Leah Jeffrey’s career began somewhat more humbly cooking for the crew of a shipbuilding company in Australia. That was thirteen years ago. Now in her 30’s, she enjoys cooking on private yachts in countries all around the world. Basically self-taught, she specializes in Thai-food and says she prefers Asian cuisine because that’s what she likes to eat. Like the other chefs she, too, prefers to hand-select her fruits and vegetables at the best local places.

A typical day for these four starts at 5:30 am preparing a breakfast of fruit, baked scones, croissants, muffins, and yogurt or cereal; then making breakfasts to order, and keeping hot coffee and tea on the table. Once breakfast is over, the chefs start getting lunch  (a two or three-course meal) ready to serve around 12:30 or 1:00 pm. Once lunch is over they’re prepping for dinner, which is served anytime after 6:00 pm, starting with appetizers and cocktails. Dinner is a three-to-five-course meal, including dessert, which can be particularly challenging since three of these four chefs don’t like to bake.

In addition to chef’s duties, Leah is also responsible for cleaning the guests’ cabins while they’re eating breakfast. If the boat sets sail anytime after breakfast, she helps put away the lines, and fenders. Once they’ve stopped she helps with the lines, or loads the tenders or kayaks, then sets up for lunch. If no guests are on board, then it is her responsibility to strip the cabins of linens and do the washing and ironing.

Matthew doesn’t always know when he gets up in the morning if he’s setting sail for lunch, dinner or both. Either way, his responsibility is for cooking and cleaning the galley only. For relaxation, he looks forward to washing the dishes.

Kerry uses her crew as guinea pigs and tries out new recipes on them. Sarah has picky eaters in her crew –some don’t like vegetables and some don’t eat meat or eat only chicken. She feels the crew is more difficult to cook for than the owners- she must prepare six different meals for the crew, compared to only one for the owners.

If you are still interested in applying for this position after reading these job descriptions, please keep in mind this one final qualification as it was so well put by the youngest professional interviewed here:

“You’ve got to keep your ego and temper out of the boat or else you won’t last, no matter how good you are at cooking.”

I recently interviewed Jim Tatosky at Northeast Yacht Brokerage and together we came up with these

7 Top Tips to Selling Your Boat:

1. 1. Use a broker
   The best way to sell your boat is through a broker – they can qualify the buyer, do all the running around for you, ie: place the ads, qualify the buyer, show your boat, etc. A broker truly earns their commission. If you decide to sell your boat privately, you’ll have to scour magazines looking for names and contact information to place ads then contact magazines and possibly run around putting up signs. A broker has access to other brokers and better websites to place ads.

• 2. Declutter your boat
  A clean boat sells. Stay interested in your boat as well. Once you start losing interest in your boat because you’re selling it, the buyer picks up on this. It starts to show because things start going on the boat and nobody fixes them. Don’t expect buyers to fix things either. If something breaks or looks ratty, you need to repair or replace it. This shows the potential buyer your boat is loved and cared for. That energy rubs off onto the new buyer. Your engine room must be clean – no oil, grease or paint chipped parts. This is the biggest killer in any deal to sell your boat. It’s like walking into a new home and someone left a messy, moldy, grungy mess in the bathroom. Same idea. It’s disgusting. Also, clean the bilge, hatch and rain catch as well as clear outboard drains.

• 3. Determine your price
  A broker has access to various sites, books such as ABUS, BOK, and Powerboat Guides, Search the internet for similar boats with similar features. Find the same model year as your boat and add 10% difference in price. The biggest depreciation in a boat is the first three years.

• 4. Take lots of photos
  Exterior photos should be of the port, transom, starboard, stern and bow. Interior photos should be of the electronics, forward cabin, engine rooms, heads, galley, living room, etc. If the boat is out of the water, take photos of the propellers. You’ll also need photos of the helm, flybridge, companion and mate helm seats. Put yourself in the buyer’s seat and don’t take photos of anything that does not go with the sale. Also, don’t take “crime scene” photos (close-ups), take overall photos (wide-angle).

• 5. Things to put into an ad
  A full description of the boat, # hours on engine and generator, and major rebuilds. Reveal weaknesses, fresh water or raw cool, why you’re selling and how long you’ve owned the boat. Don’t mention anything you’re not willing to sell or include in the purchase.

• 6. Best time for selling a boat
  March through September with a lull in August and September. April through June, people are looking, especially for the 4th of July. November is quiet again. If at all possible, have the boat in it’s natural environment (the water) for the best show.

• 7. Additional tips to preparing your boat for sale
  Don’t use your boat once you’ve signed a P&S and/or have a deposit. Make sure you maintain insurance till you close the deal. Again, get rid of all the crud around the portholes, batteries are acide free, no mold or mildew showing anywhere. Then, take off the plastic while demonstrating your boat. Let the new potential owners feel the wind in their face.

Hillel Reshef, Port Manager

According to Hillel, the difference between Ashkelon Marina and Tel Aviv is, this marina is a very large marina that holds about 600 boats, caters to the local needs and foreign flag boats that sail in the Middle Eastern Mediterranean all crossing the canal. So, their price list and services are designed to accomodate these two different types of groups of boat owners.

Located 198nm south of Cyprus, 120 nm east Port Said; this southern gate to the Mediterranean bridges both the sea and desert together. It’s also the central spot for international rallies and regattas. Every year about 80 boats participate in a peace rally known as the East Mediterranean Yacht Rally (EMYR) which cruises from the port in Istanbul, down along Turkey’s coast to Northern Cyprus, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, then Egypt. The rally starts in late April and arrives in Ashkelon the middle of June. The whole trip takes 67 days (1825 miles) and includes 27 ports (6 countries). Other rallies start in Israel and go to the Red Sea and back.

As for the marina itself, it’s a jewel for families with young children. You’ll find many liveaboards here that home (internet) school their children and it’s pet friendly. Other amenities include: showers, laundry, wi-fi, haul out, maintenance, a 100 ton travel lift and many social activities.

A new modern design in breakwaters allows water to penetrate through the breakwater to keep the water in the marina clean.

One of the things that impressed me, was the fact that all 6th graders in Ashkelon are required to spend two hours per week at the marina throughout the whole year. It’s actually mandatory in their school curiculumn and they can have voluntary courses in the afternoon as well. According to their school prinicipal, this activity has the most added value than any other class. The kids are facing values that usually are hard to find in regular normal education processes like team work, making decisions under pressure, self discipline and a whole set of values that are very important to them. This is one of the few places that they can meet these challenges. These young adults start off learning to sail an Optimist Sailboat, then go on to a larger boat that holds up to 15 people. They also learn to row, kayak, windsurf, and canoe for their “wet” activities. In bad weather, an indoor class may teach a bit of maintenance. Since this side of the Mediterranean is relatively clean, and it has some wonderful archeological sites under the water as well, the marina has a diving club and school starting as young as ages six or seven. (This is definitely something I’m putting on my list to do on my next visit to Israel.)

“We are considered amongst the cruisers as very friendly and professional marina,” says Hillel, “and we love to have foreign flag boats come over.”

The beach here is rejuvenating, great for walking, collecting rocks, shells, windsurfing or just soaking up the sun with a good book. If you are do plan on visiting Ashkelon Marina, check out their website for specific requirements before entering their port.

So, what was new at the show this year? Two big things: the Affordability Pavilion and a “Green” Boating Zone. Here you found twenty-four boats to buy for $250 a month or less with a normal down payment and terms. West Marine had a display of the latest eco-friendly products.

Three hundred plus exhibitors filled the aisles with a variety of displays. My favorite, like so many others, is climbing aboard the different boats and getting a feel for which size would be right for you, your family and friends.

The climate at the show was much warmer than last year; sales and leads were definitely up.

To see more exhibitors and demonstrations check out our videos at: latest videos

check out their site at: http://www.babysearock.com