Dan Armitage

A low-key, low-cost chartering option for a family who wanted to check out how they would fare spending time on the water together proves positive and leaves them planning an upgrade.   People stopped what they were doing and stared. I'm certain some thought we were aground - or about to be - while others looked on with open envy as the catamaran skated across the sandy shallows like a water strider, scant yards from the beach. When we located a deserted stretch of sand that suited us, I gave my wife a nod and Maria grinned from the foredeck as she pushed the bright yellow "down" button on the corded box that controlled the power windlass. The plow anchor splashed into two feet of water as clear as that in the Aquafina bottle she clutched in her free hand. Once the bane of boating for my better half, Maria positively reveled in the process when she discovered that... (more)

Toys: Fantastic Inflatables

“Faster, faster!” screamed Maria from a curtain of spray 100 feet behind the speeding jetboat. As I nudged the throttle forward, my aft-facing lookout exclaimed, “There she goes!” just in time for me to jack my head around and catch sight of my wife getting air while clinging to the bright orange flying inflatable – yelling like a teenager at the top of her lungs. The high-tech Stearns “tube” my bride was using to launch herself off the yacht tender’s wake was a far cry from the donut-shaped inflatable devices we dragged behind boat... (more)