Early Season Whale Watching!

2009 is off to a great start.  A special thanks to our training captain and member Brad Miller for snapping these incredible pictures out at Stellwagen Bank this past weekend.  Yet another benefit to joining Freedom Boat Club - whale watching from the comfort of a Freedom Boat Club vessel!

Around the Harbor

Sorry for the delay in postings. It's been a busy couple of weeks at the club. I did want to share a couple of photos that I took recently.

Great sunset shot over Marina Bay with "The Pru" in the distance.



Last week a couple of Navy ships rolled into town. It seems as though this one has a barge alongside getting the vessel set up for an extended trip.



Not all good news on the harbor over the past couple of weeks. Below, the Boston Fire Vessel sits on scene at James Hook Lobster Company. Until the fire, Hook shipped over 50,000 lbs. of lobster a day around the world.

A shot of the damage from Freedom Boat Club's 21' Center Console G-Boat "Rock Lobster." We changed the name to "Cajun Lobster" during this photo shoot. What? Too soon?

On a lighter note, Mike and I, along with Marina Bay's Assistant GM Brian Ferrara, stopped by to see Wally and both Red Sox World Series Trophies. The "Trophy Tour" stopped by a local store just down the street from Marina Bay.

More frequent updates to come!

Capt. Tom

Freedom Striper Club

Well I've held off this long - barely a word about stripers until this post. But I can't stop myself. Especially after yesterday. As part of our service to members, we try and arrange a fishing trip once a week for those folks that enjoy heading out early in search of the Mighty Striper. This week Capt. Mike Feenan went out with veteran member Matt Padulo and one of our newest members Tim Higgins. Capt. Mike has been fishing Boston Harbor since his childhood and is a human Fish-Finder - as you can see from the pictures below. They are officially here - let the season begin.


Capt. Mike with Matt and Tim holding their catch. Mike pulled in a 37 incher on his first cast of the day while Matt and Tim hold up a couple 29" keepers.


Always an awesome fishing boat, the custom-made G-Boat "Rock Lobster" helped find the fish right off Boston's famous Castle Island - a 5 minute ride from the dock!

Up close and personal with Mike's big catch of the day. If you look closely you'll see the tape-measure showing 37 1/2" !

Nothing like a summer BBQ with some fresh striper meat. Just another perk (and one of my favorites) of being a Freedom Boat Club Member - free food!

As always, there is a lot going on in the harbor this weekend. Plenty more to come as the season rolls along.

Capt. Tom

Member Event @ Boston Public

This past weekend we held our 2008 Season Kick-Off event for FBC members at Boston Public Restaurant on Newbury Street in Boston. Dozens of hot and cold appetizers, combined with an open bar, made for a great time!

These get-togethers are a great way for members to meet other boating partners that enjoy similar activities; whether it's fishing, cruising, beaching, swimming, snorkeling, or SCUBA diving that occupies your time on the water - there are a bunch of FBC members who enjoy the same thing! Check out the pictures below, and if you couldn't make this event, please come to our next one!

Mike Walsh and I enjoying a drink with some of the newest members of FBC Quincy: (from left to right) Anil Kumar, Scott & Shanna O'Reilly.


Here's Mike hanging out with some of our veteran members, Jackie Mulgrew and Mary Sandro.

The newest member of the Freedom Boat Club team Charlotte Holler with the oldest member of the FBC team - both in tenure and age! - owner Mike Saunders. Charlotte will be handling all reservations for our three clubs as well as making sure everything runs smoothly in our Quincy office. Give Charlotte a call and welcome her to the club if you get a chance!

John Gray with his friend and Mike having a great time at the event.

We will be having many more of these events in the future and hope that everyone can make it to the next one. Stay tuned to the blog and your email for upcoming information!

Wishing everyone a safe and fun season,

Capt. Tom

Naples and Marco Island

Last week I took a "business" trip down to the Naples, FL area. Because I am so steadfast in my commitment to FBC Boston, I make it my personal goal, regardless of the sacrifice necessary, to check out other clubs whenever possible and report back. My girlfriend Ally and I swung by the Naples club to check out their facility and, of course, do a little on-the-water research.

This is definitely one of the best perks of membership - being able to boat out of any other club in the country. The dockmaster at the Naples club was great - he went over the local chart and showed me exactly where the good fishing grounds were, where to hang out and see some great scenery, where to eat, and of course, where to see some dolphins! We pulled up to this tiki hut, grabbed a slip, and had lunch overlooking the Gulf of Mexico.

On the way back, we were lucky enough to have 4 dolphins come and swim with the boat as I was moving along at clutched-in-speed. Check out the video - Ally was pretty excited as she had never seen dolphins before.



Later, Ally and I got engaged on the island pictured below - you can pull the boat right up to a lot of the islands, drop anchor in 4 feet of water and walk up onto the beach. Pretty amazing. As you can see the scenery was incredible, and the boating was even better. Just another great benefit of being in the Freedom Boat Club!



More fun in the sun from Boston to come soon - stay tuned!

Capt. Tom

2008 Season Kick Off!

Today marked the opening of the 4th season for FBC Boston! We splashed two more boats today, bringing the Quincy fleet to a total of nine vessels here at Marina Bay - the self-proclaimed epicenter of the boating universe.

We took a quick ride around the harbor to see if any fish and/or birds were working in the area. So far, not much to report. There are some rumors that things are starting to boil a few miles south at the mouth of the Cape Cod Canal. Just a few more days and a few more degrees and the Stripers will be in!

Today provided a chilly start to the season, with winds out of the east. But as always, Boston Harbor was busy with cruise ships, tugs working various projects, and flights to and from Logan airport over top.

We are excited for our best season yet and look forward to fair winds and calm seas!

More to come,

Capt. Tom