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E-YARDARM
Announcing . . .
Preparing to mark its 25th anniversary in 2009, Southwest Florida Yachts has created a new company slogan – Experience the Boating Life! – for use on new brochures, advertising, letterhead and websites. The new slogan, underscored with blue “waves” and positioned just below the Southwest Florida Yachts logo, was chosen because it encourages individuals to adopt the boating lifestyle, said proprietor Barb Hansen. She said Experience the Boating Life! also was favored because it summarizes the opportunities offered by SWFY’s three integrated operations -- yacht charters, liveaboard yacht school and yacht ownership. Southwest Florida Yachts serves as the name of the company’s yacht chartering arm. Florida Sailing and Cruising School offers liveaboard yacht courses. SFY Yacht Sales and Brokerage Service helps boaters find vessels that best suit their cruising desires. Leaving established careers, Barb and Vic Hansen established Southwest Florida Yachts in 1984. “Vic and I are as excited today about what we do at Southwest Florida Yachts as we were when we started,” said Barb Hansen. “We continue to be thrilled helping people get into boating and seeing them adopt boating as a life-long adventure.” Southwest Florida Yachts, the chartering operation, maintains its offices and power yacht fleet at Marinatown Marina in N. Fort Myers. The company’s sailing fleet is located at Burnt Store Marina in Punta Gorda. Charterers enjoy cruises through a barrier island paradise featuring tropical vegetation with exotic birds and sea-life such as manatees and dolphins. Magazine articles have ranked Southwest Florida among the top ten yacht cruising areas in the world. Florida Sailing and Cruising School offers a variety of liveaboard courses. Up to four students, couples or singles, learn and practice yacht operation under the direction of a U.S. Coast Guard licensed captain. They study in the salon, cook in the galley, and sleep in one of the two onboard cabins. “This is real world, real time learning,” said Hansen.
Vic Hansen oversees
SFY Yacht Sales and Brokerage, which specializes in finding trawlers,
motor-yachts and sailing vessels 30-feet and over that are located in the
U.S.
Marc Winkel, the son and grandson of mariners, marks his twentieth year October 10 with yacht charterer Southwest Florida Yachts. Currently fleet maintenance manager, Winkel joined SWFY in 1987 as charter fleet dock supervisor. Today he oversees the maintenance of 20 yachts, sail and power, from 24 to 43 feet in length. In addition, he conducts orientation sessions for charter customers and for students attending Florida Sailing & Cruising School, a liveaboard yacht school. Southwest Florida Yachts offices and its power fleet are located at Marinatown Marina in North Fort Myers. “People ask me the secret to our success and I say ‘Marc Winkel,’” said proprietor Barb Hansen. “We are pleased when our customers tell me how well the boats performed and how much they appreciate Marc’s solid information and his cheerful support,” Hansen said. Hansen said Winkel’s responsibilities include making sure the boat is ready for each charter trip so that customers don’t experience mechanical or operational difficulties. “Getting the boat ready and getting our customers ready for their cruise gives me enormous satisfaction,” said Winkel. “I’m happy for them when they depart with enthusiasm and I really enjoy hearing them tell me everything about their cruise when they return.” Winkel grew up in Michigan where he acquired his love of boating. Winkel’s dad worked on boats, and his grandfather captained a Great Lakes ship. Before joining Southwest Florida Yachts, Winkel worked on a Great Lakes freighter for two years, worked at a marina in Michigan, and serviced boats for a Texas boat dealer for ten years. Hansen said she met Winkel when he came to the SWFY offices and said he would like to work on boats and around boats. “He and his family, with three small children ages 6, 4, and 2, had just relocated from Texas to Florida. This year his youngest child, Matthew, will graduate from college.” Winkel and his family live in Cape Coral. A licensed captain, Winkel sometimes joins co-owner Vic Hansen on sea trials and boat deliveries. “When the going gets tough at sea, I’d always prefer to have Marc on board more than any other shipmate,” Vic Hansen said.
25
Years of Yachting Excellence Our Gift to You:
Winter (12/15-4/30):
You are invited to join fellow boaters for the cruising experience of a lifetime in beautiful Alaska
There are only 2-3 double cabins available on each trip - one couple or two singles per cabin . This will truly be a memorable cruising experience that you won't want to miss! Availability is limited, so reserve your cabin soon!
You’ll marvel at the natural beauty of Southeast Alaska at the height of the whale and bear season. You’ll dine on gourmet food from “Ursa’s” galley, including homemade bread, soups and desserts each day!
Cost: $3500 per person per week for the yacht and crew including all meals. “Ursa Major” has a full-time Captain, Crew and Cook on board. You can sit back and enjoy the scenery or navigate alongside the Captain in the pilothouse. Dress for the weather - no ties or dinner dresses required! Average temperatures are 61° and 48° F, with about 15-18 hours of daylight June through August!
Southeast Alaska is serviced by Alaska Airlines from Seattle. Travel arrangements to and from Alaska are up to you, but give us a call for some helpful hints! ALASKA CRUISE SUMMARY: WHO: Cruise with the Captain & Crew of “Ursa Major” and fellow boaters. WHEN: You will board at noon on the first day and return at noon on the last day. You may need to arrive in town the afternoon before boarding due to flight schedules. We can refer you to local hotels for overnight accommodations in town. WHERE: Southeast Alaska! Petersburg to Sitka or Sitka to Petersburg. WHAT: A nature cruise through Southeast Alaska aboard a 65-foot trawler yacht. COST: For bookings made by September 30, 2007, the 2007 rates will be honored: $3500 per person for the 7-day cruise and $4500 for 10 days. For bookings taken after 9/30/07, the cost is $3750 for 7-days and $4750 for 10 days. (Includes all meals while on board. Gratuities for Captain and crew not included.) A 50% deposit is due at the time of your reservation. The balance is due 60 days prior to your cruise. Call 1-800-262-7939 to reserve your cabin!
We hope you will plan to see Alaska in 2008 aboard the “Ursa Major!” Call
1-800-262-7939 or 239-656-1339 to reserve your dates or email us at
info@swfyachts.com.
Did you hear the one about the Midwest tourist couple talking about Florida’s weather? The husband says, “Wow, the seasons never seem to change in Florida!” His wife answers, “Of course they change; Florida has a ‘high’ season and a ‘low’ season!” While that line might bring on a chuckle, it’s not quite accurate. As a native Florida cracker who spent about 20 years in the Midwest, I can tell you that I feel the change of seasons in the Sunshine State just as much as I did back in Indiana. Florida does have four seasons and that’s in addition to the seasons of mating love bugs and early bird dinner specials. The temperature differential may not be as dramatic in Fort Myers as it is in Fort Wayne, but signs of seasonal change are just as unmistakable if you are tuned in to the sights and sounds of the tropics.
Summer is relaxing on the flybridge, in the shade of a Bimini, with a cool drink in hand, watching a pod of dolphins circle in on their fresh fish entrée.
By late March, the cold fronts seem to lose their punch and the flora and fauna of spring emerge. April and May are a special time of the year when tired, tiny tanagers and warblers hitch rides and a rest on your boat railing before flitting off in search of a berry tree on Sanibel Island. Our eyes and noses delight in the flowering trees -- fragrant yellow frangipani, fire-red poinciana, lavender-blue jacaranda. I love it here in Southwest Florida, as you can tell. Still, I’ve come to the point of view that no one place is perfect unless we make it so. I like to read and when I’m wrapped up in a great novel I don't care where I am so long as the chair’s comfortable. In fact, if it were snowing outside and I was close to a crackling fire, that would be just dandy. But dyed in the wool boaters logically migrate toward Florida (and they will leave their woolens behind). Snow skiers probably want to be close to the Rockies. Surfers prefer the Pacific. We have traveled to all of those places and beyond, but as Dorothy said, “There’s no place like home.” So maybe no one place is perfect but, like those snowbirds on the yacht pulpit, we can fly to some other place and suit our changing weather whims. Whatever the season, Florida suits me just fine.
Available for private ownership or purchase for charter fleet placement.
FEATURED CHARTER YACHT OF THE MONTH
LIMITED TIME SPECIAL OFFER! Charter “Schatzi” this fall and save an extra $200 on a long weekend or a week-long cruise! Call us today to reserve your dates!
CHARTER OR CLASS CERTIFICATES MAKE PERFECT GIFTS!
Looking for a special gift for that special someone? Let us suggest a
gift certificate from Southwest Florida Yachts or The Florida Sailing
and Cruising School! Purchase a daysail, a week-long charter, or a
live-aboard sail or power
Make your holiday shopping simple! Give us a call today and we will get a gift certificate out to you right away! Call us at 1-800-262-7939 today!
For complete charter, school, and yacht sales information, try our websites: www.swfyachts.com www.flsailandcruiseschool.com www.swfyachtsales.com
For more information on charters, classes, charter yacht ownership,
or brokerage yachts for sale, please call us at 1-800-262-7939 or
239-656-1339.
E-Yardarm Archives
October 2004
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You’re
invited to a “Berth-Day” Party!
You will cruise aboard the 65 foot Malahide
trawler, “Ursa Major.” The boat (r) will cruise from Petersburg
to Sitka or
from Sitka to Petersburg in Southeast Alaska , depending on the
week you choose. 
The Cruise
date options as of now are as follows:
Vic and Barb have cruised aboard the “Ursa” and have seen, first
hand, the awesome beauty of Alaska – up close and personal. As the
owner of “Ursa Major” says, “friends don’t let friends see Alaska from a
Cruise Ship!” Join family or friends aboard the "Ursa Major" for an
amazing cruising experience in Alaska!
If
you are interested in the option of bringing a larger group, other yachts
are available for cruising in tandem with the “Ursa Major.” Please don’t
hesitate to call with any questions you may have. We can even give you
tips on sightseeing in other parts of Alaska if you would like
The
full moon in late September this year was as big and as beautiful as it
can be and it was accompanied by the most delicious breeze from the
north, a harbinger of a well-deserved, cooler weather for those of us
who live in this tropical paradise. Now, for at least nine months more,
the climate will be exceptionally good here in 
course
and your gift will be remembered for years to come. Any member of the
family would love to “Experience the Boating Life!” You can get them
started with a charter or school gift certificate.
