Do you want to operate your own trawler and travel the high seas? I’m convinced that if you are reading this you already have an edge and further, I believe you can combine your desire and wherewithal to make it happen.
If you have a wandering spirit, you know you can travel outside of your comfort zone. When you tell others about your plans to sail away on a trawler, they may raise their eyebrows and say, “impossible”. Don’t listen to them.
Life is filled with opportunities. Some accomplishments take a lifetime to achieve. Others unfold due to circumstances and opportunities. Good things happen to those who know what they want.
The nautical definition of the word “fetch” is ‘the distance traveled by wind or waves across open water’.
Are your trawler cruising ambitions really so far-fetched?
If you aren’t already out cruising, how far along are your adventure plans?
Are your boating goals a fantasy lotto-winning long shot or a methodically outlined step-by-step plan for success?
Preparation is an essential part of boating. Even the most organized cruisers understand that if you wait for everything to be perfect you may never depart.
The idea of buying and owning a trawler may at times seem to be a bit out of reach, but time afloat traveling to new destinations is a firm objective we can all grasp.
Imagine arriving in a remote, secluded cove aboard your own trawler enjoying special times with family and friends. If you really want it, you will realize that your aspirations aren’t so far-fetched after all.
It may seem implausible, but why wait for a better time if you can do it now?
JMYS is immersed in the trawler realm and the current market is active with buyers and sellers. We welcome your connection to discuss your plans.
We have a great selection of available trawlers available for viewing all over the country!
During the hustle and bustle of the Stuart TrawlerFest, Jeff sat down with Passagemaker editor in chief, Jeff Moser, in the pilothouse of our Selene 55 listing to share his thoughts about TrawlerFest events. This casual conversation can be found at the 4:52 minute mark of the “All Things TrawlerFest” episode on the Trawlertalk podcast! Other guests include Bob Arrington, Larry Graf, Justin Joiner and Steve Zimmerman.
TrawlerFest Anacortes was action packed with over 200 boats on display! We enjoyed meeting new faces and connecting with past clients, friends and acquaintances on the docks and in the seminars. Check out our recap article of the event! If you were present in any of Jeff or Eric Bescoby’s seminars, you can download the handouts and presentations at the bottom of the article until July 30th.
Where to start…
November 2022, Mike casually mentions we should buy a boat…I roll my eyes and redirect the conversation. How nonsensical, we know nothing about boats, never owned one, let alone an ocean-going vessel built to circumnavigate the globe????
Unbeknownst to me Mike had been researching for months and JMYS, Jeff Merrill, was the go-to person with extensive experience and a stellar reputation in the industry. Jeff recommended we connect with one of his brokers and within a month we had a zoom call set up with Rob Piwowarczyk and his wife Deanna to give us some sense of the trawler life.
Following that call, I “drank the kool-aid” and committed to co-invest with Mike in this grand adventure.
Rob was endlessly patient in answering questions, providing an experienced sounding board, market comparables etc. with absolutely zero pressure to close. We were convinced we were looking for a Nordhavn given our range requirements, yet the availability and pricing made this a challenging find.
In the Spring of 2023 Rob had an off-market trawler that suited our criteria. We closed on the purchase of our 66’ 1991 Cheoy Lee at the end of June 2023. Rob’s attention to detail, recommendations on survey professionals was critical in understanding the scope of work to be undertaken to retrofit the boat for our intended purposes.
By the end of 2023 we were ready to embark on our grand adventure, with more than 50 hours completed with our training Captain and upgrades to navigation, mechanical and electrical systems. In 5 months we have taken the boat more than 5,000 miles from Marina del Rey down the Pacific Coast, through the Panama Canal (with 13 people on board) and up to Jacksonville FL where we are having some further work completed in anticipation of a Northern crossing to Europe in July 2025.
We are living the dream and our desire to bring our extensive global network of friends and family together to join us by “hopping-on, hopping-off” is now a reality.
All of this made possible by Rob, whom we now consider a friend.
We hold Rob in the highest regard for his professionalism and his continued support of what many people considered a “hair-brained/half-baked” venture.
Dream big and make your dreams a reality, grand adventures await.
