02Spring-Summer

2007 iSSue

Contents

The Ocean Alexander NewsletterIssue No. 2 | Spring-Summer 2007

3

4

5

6 – 7

8 – 9

10 – 15

Contacts

2007 Calendar of Events

President’s Letter

Factory Expansion

New for 2007: 74 Motoryacht

& 46/54 Veloces

Florida Rendezvous 2007

Contacts

2007 Calendar of Events

President’s Letter

Factory Expansion

New for 2007: 74 Motoryacht

& 46/54 Veloces

Florida Rendezvous 2007

ContactsOFFICES

WORLD HEADQUARTERS Alexander Marine Co. Ltd.

No. 1 Jin Fu Road, Qian-Zhen District, Kaohsiung, TAIWAN R.O.C. 806 ph 886-7-8314126 | 1-800-815-4081 fx 886-7-8119723

www oceanalexander.com | taiwan@oceanalexander.com | info@oceanalexander.com

DEALERS

USASEATTLE. WA | Ocean Alexander Marine Yacht Sales 1001 Fairview Avenue North, Suite 1400 Seattle, WA 98109 USA

Tom Waugh | tom@oceanalexander.com ph 206-344-8566 fx 206-344-8567 www oceanalexander.net

FT. LAUDERDALE. FL | Ocean Alexander of Florida, LLC. 1515 S.E. 17th Street, Suite 125, Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33316 USA Cindy Ross | cross@oceanalexander.com ph 954-779-1901 fx 954-779-1908 www oceanalexander.net

ST. PETERSBURG, FL | Yacht Sales of Florida 111 2nd Avenue NE, Suite 105, St. Petersburg, FL 33701 USA David Erdman | davide@yachtsalesflorida.com ph 727-896-0012 fx 727-896-5175 www yachtsalesflorida.com

NEWPORT BEACH, CA | Orange Coast Marine Inc. 201 East Coast Highway, Newport Beach, CA 92660 USA Jim McLaren | sales@orangecoastyachts.com ph 949-675-3844 fx 949-675-3980 www orangecoastyachts.com

ALAMEDA, CA | Orange Coast Yachts Northern California - S.F. Bay 1070 Marina Village Parkway, Suite 100, Alameda, CA 94501 USAMicheal Wiest | info@orangecoastyachts.com ph 510-523-2628 fx 510-523-2528 www orangecoastyachts.com

STURGEON BAY. WI | Bay Marine 155 E. Redwood, Sturgeon Bay, WI 54235 USA Mark Felhofer | mj.felhofer@baymarine.net ph 800-682-9192 | 920-761-9560 fx 920-743-6572 www baymarine.net

KEMAH, TX | South Coast Yacht Sales 800 Mariners Drive Pier, #6 (in Waterford Harbor Marina), Kemah, Texas 77565 USAW. Les Thompson | les@southcoastyachts.com ph 281-535-2287 fx 281-535-9583 www southcoastyachts.com

MIDDLETOWN, RI | Legacy Yachts 305 Oliphant Ln., Middletown, RI 02842 USAsales@legacyyachts.com ph 401-848-2900 | 800-999-2909 fx 401-848-2904 www legacyyachts.com

CHINAOcean Alexander (Ping Hu) Marine Co. 314211 No. 3, Xin Zhong Dong Road, Xin Dai Industrial Park, Ping Hu City, Zhejiang Province, CHINA

china@oceanalexander.com ph (0573) 560-5120 fx (0573) 560-5123 www oceanalexander.com

TAIWANAlexander Marine Co. Ltd. 20 Tung Lee Road, Shaou Kang, Kaohsiung, TAIWAN 81203

taiwan@oceanalexander.com ph 886-7-8314126 fx 886-7-8119723 www oceanalexander.com

AUSTRALIAOcean Alexander Motor Yachts Australia Unit 6/17 Rivergate Place, Rivergate Marina, Murarrie, Brisbane QLD 4172 AUSTRALIA

Darren Berry | darren@oceanalexander.com.au ph +61-7-3890-5000 fx +61-7-3890-5500 www oceanalexander.com.au

JAPANStarboard Co., Ltd. 501 Imperial Roppongi Forum, 5-16-5 Roppongi, Minato-Ku, Tokyo 106-0032 JAPAN Teijiro Kimura | oalx@starboard.co.jp ph 81-03-5570-2700 fx 81-03-5570-2710C www starboard.co.jp

CANADABluewater Yacht Sales Bronte Marina, 2340 Ontario St., Oakville, Ontario CANADA L6L 6P7

Colin Pepper | colin@greatlakesaltus.com | ph 905-827-5854 | 1-866-902-5887 www bwysi.com

GERMANYMarina Duesseldorf Am Handelshafen 30, 40221 Dusseldorf GERMANY

Paul Joseph Gast | ph 49-211-39-43-69 fx 49-211-30-52-02 www marina-duesseldorf.de

NORWAYWee Trading International As Frakkagjerd, Forresfjorden, 5563 NORWAY

Age Wee | aage@wee.no ph 47-9821-8155 fx 47-5277-4058 www wee.no

Calendar of Events

August 2 - 7, 2007 Sydney International Boat Show | Darling Harbor, Sydney, NSW, AUSTRALIA It’s not often that you can visit one location to see a huge array of pleasure craft, like you can at the Sydney International Boat Show. You’ll find 6 jam-packed halls full of the best the marine industry has to offer as well as a specially built marina in Cockle Bay with more than 270 large boats. The diversity of marine products from sailing, fishing, power cruising and light commercial vessels will allow you to admire craft from $400 to $8 million. This is complimented with all the marine accessories and information you require. Entertainment will run all day, every day. SHOW LINK: sydneyboatshow.com.au | DEALER LINK: oceanalexander.com.au

August 3 - 5, 2007 Door County In-Water Boat Show | CenterPointe Marina, Sturgeon Bay, WI Join us along with several other quality Door County marine dealers in a display of the latest offerings from some of the industry’s best manufacturers. DEALER LINK: baymarine.net

August 9 - 12, 2007 Racine Boat Show | Reefpoint Marina, Racine, WI For the past 20 years, Racine has played host to one of the area’s largest in-water boat shows. Spectacular Reefpoint Marina, conveniently located between Chicago and Milwaukee on downtown Racine’s historic lakefront hosts the show. Area boat dealers will be ready to pro-vide some of the year’s best pricing on new boats plus be the first to see new offerings from some of America’s top boat manufacturers. The show will also feature an impressive selection of pre-owned boats both on land and in the water. SHOW LINK: racineboatshow.com | DEALER LINK: baymarine.net

August 23 - 26, 2007 Michigan City In-Water Boat Show | Michigan City, IN If the Michigan City show has a reputation, it’s that visitors see brands and models they won’t see in any other Midwest boat show. Whether in the market for a new boat or not, it’s always exciting to see the latest power and sailboats for the first time. And this year’s show boasts many. SHOW LINK: michigancityboatshow.com | DEALER LINK: baymarine.net

September 6 - 9, 2007 2007 Lido Yacht Expo | Lido Marina Village, Newport Beach, CA The 29th annual Lido Yacht Expo -- the West’s premier in-the-water “Big Boat” Boat Show -- anchors in Newport Beach at Lido Marina Village September 6 to 9. New 2007 models from the United States and abroad will be on display. Lido is renowned for showcasing luxurious yachts that range in length from 26 to 100 feet, with many falling into the 40-foot class. The show is a gourmet feast for boat-ers who long for luxury, as many of the larger-class yachts come with multi-million dollar price tags. SHOW LINK: lidoyachtexpo.com | DEALER LINK: orangecoastyachts.com

September 12 - 16, 2007 Lake Union Boats Afloat Show | Lake Union, Seattle, WA The September 2007 Lake Union Boats Afloat Show will have over 300 vessels of all types and sizes on display including performance ski boats, sail boats, cruisers, fishing boats, trawlers, and mega yachts. Find everything you need to get out on the water in your new boat with help from our professionals in the marine industry. SHOW LINK: boatsafloatshow.com | DEALER LINK: oceanalexander.net

October 25 - 29, 2007 Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show | Ft. Lauderdale, FL One World... One Boat Show... The 48th Annual Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show® displays more than a billion dollars’ worth of boats, yachts and accessories from every major marine manufacturer worldwide. It is the world’s premier venue for superyachts. SHOW LINK: showmanagement.com | DEALER LINK: oceanalexander.net

2007

President’s Letter

As the days get longer and the weather becomes warmer, more and more families are finding the time to take a few days out from their hectic lives and spend some time on their boats. The total relax-ation when you’re out on the water, with a cool breeze floating over you, watching the horizon with a cold drink in hand – there’s no feeling like it. And it’s something that a boater truly understands. The Ocean Alexander family is as diverse as any group of people in the world, but they all share the love of boating and being at sea.

With the inaugural East Coast Rendezvous taking place this last May in Key West, FL, we had the luxury to meet some of these OA owners that makes us proud to be building boats for. To hear their stories of adventures while boating on their Ocean Alexander, to understand the pleasure gained from quality time shared with loved ones on the water; it makes me extremely proud to be a factor in that hap-piness. You’ll see further on in this issue the recap of the festivities and some great pictures capturing the moments. With the West Coast Rendezvous coming up shortly at the end of June, we look forward to the chance to meet even more owners and share in their stories of boating.

I’m also very happy to announce the successful launch of the new models that were mentioned in the last issue. The 74/80 motoryacht has been very well received and we’re now busy building additional tooling to accommodate the orders we’ve received. Of course, that’s not stopping us from listening to the needs of our clients and constantly striving for better, so be sure to keep an eye out for new models launching late 2007/early 2008.

The expansions for the factories in both Taiwan and China have progressed tremendously. The additional space allows for increased attention to quality and the completion of a boat in a much more competitive time frame. You can read more about the expansion and all the new tools we’ve acquired to better our products in this issue.

So, here’s to another issue filled with all that’s happening with the Ocean Alexander family.

Yours truly,John ChuehPresident / Ocean Alexander

Dear Friends and Family of Ocean Alexander:

Although separated by the Taiwan Strait, the factories in Taiwan and China synchronize to manufacture first-class yachts with efficient production. In recent years, a new goal has emerged, a dream where each Ocean Alexander accommodates her client’s aspiration and they’re taking the necessary steps towards achieving this goal.

The Taiwan factory is located in Kaohsiung, a city on the southwest coast of the island known for being home to numerous ship builders. In Kaohsiung, shipbuilding competition is strong and land is limited. Besides the shipyard, the global headquarters of Ocean Alexander is also located here. At night, one can identify the Taiwan factory by the lit 10’ Ocean Alexander logo on top of the office from the skies as the plane descends at the Kaohsiung airport.

In light of the role that factory space plays in building first-class yachts with efficiency, the Taiwan factory has increased the overall acreage from 3.26 acres to 8.16 acres. The covered area has dou-bled from just shy of 2 acres to almost 4 acres with new buildings approximately 100 yards from existing structures. The doubling of production space allows the Taiwan factory to manufacture ap-

proximately 30-60 boats per year (figures based on 60’ yachts). In addition, the factory is now capable of efficiently manu-facturing boats over 100’. In addition, after three indicative commitments for boats in the 128’ range, Ocean Alexander is planning to begin further expansion later this year to accom-modate these new builds.

“One of the main reasons for the expansion in Taiwan is that the yachting industry is moving towards larger and more luxu-rious pleasure yachts. To accommodate our clients’ needs, we needed to have a factory that can manufacture these boats for our clients,” explained John Chueh, president of Ocean Alexander. “Also, between the 40’-50’ range, we were running into a significant backlog in our production. So we expanded in China to better supply the popular demand for our sedans and Classiccos.”

The expansion of the Taiwan factory into multiple sites creates room for major upgrades for each facility. The new structure allows the yard to have a “clean room,” committed to finishing work and the final assembling of the boats. They also now have on site, the newest dedicated air-sealed yacht spraying facility. The structure is 150’ X 40’ in size. As of May 2007, this yacht spraying facility is the only one of its kind in China, and one of only a handful throughout Asia. The facility enables the factory to apply paint and varnish efficiently and accurately to the exterior of the boats.

The old structure now handles all of the fiberglass work and carpentry tooling. The factory has incorporated the latest Computer Numeric Controlled Machine (CNC Machine) in its carpentry shop. The CNC Machine is located in a temperature and humidity controlled environment to ensure perfect fit-ting and varnishing. In addition, the CNC Machine’s automa-tion of the carpentry work and finish fiberglass tooling offers low operational variability and provides the perfection Ocean Alexander strives for in the results. Due to the land-based

Ocean Alexander: Growing in Every DirectionOcean Alexander: Growing in Every Direction

Amidst the sounds of heavy machinery and construction, Ocean Alexander factories in two different countries are simultaneously expanding.

operation of the Taiwan factory, the facility added a 150’ X 40’ dedicated water tank for in-water testing of systems. This tank is the largest of its kind in Asia and enables extensive tank testing for Ocean Alexanders.

Across the Taiwan Strait, and an hour drive from Shanghai, is Ping Hu City. Sprouting up from the rural surroundings is Ocean Alexander’s China factory. Not to be outshined by their Taiwan counterpart, the China factory continues to expand, and eventually will exceed the Taiwan factory in scale. The China factory has an overall acreage of 16.4 acres. Develop-ment the past four years has increased the covered acreage from 1.5 acres to 5.5 acres. The final stage of the expansion is in planning and ultimately, the covered area of the factory will increase to a total of 11 acres.

Although integrated with CNC Machines and yacht spraying fa-cilities, the China factory’s expansion is not an exact replica of the Taiwan factory. For instance, being on the water allows the China factory the luxury of extensive in-water testing on all boats without the time and expense of water tanks. The factory also has incorporated its own dedicated marina on site that is singularly committed to preparing and loading boats for export.

Another unique expansion of the China factory is associated with its employees. While accommodating customer needs is a priority, Ocean Alexander does not overlook its employees’ needs either. Due to the unique skills required for boat manu-facturing and the rural locale of the facility, the China factory must transfer and support its employees. Ocean Alexander considered every option in its attempt to alleviate the stress of

relocation. The construction of on site dormitories (equipped to house 200 people), assist in facilitating the relocation process. These dormitories are equipped with many of the comforts of home. The factory also includes a cafeteria that serves break-

fast and lunch free of charge. When production deadlines press for over-time efforts, the factory also serves dinner free of charge. Even special amenities such as basketball and tennis courts are available for recreational activities. There is even an onsite outpatient facility for workers and their families that is staffed six days a week by a licensed medical doctor. In taking care of its employees, Ocean Alexander creates a work force that is not only skilled – but also proud and dedicated to the factory.

The factory expansions and technical upgrades enable Ocean Alexander to better customize the boats to the aspirations of each individual client while increasing efficient production. The factories now have the tools to perfect the existing product, and the room to dream and build the next great yacht. Amidst the sounds of the heavy machinery, fiberglass tooling, carpentry, and finish work another Ocean Alexander is ready to cruise.

Ocean Alexander Workforce1998 . . . . . . . . 981999 . . . . . . . . 1132000 . . . . . . . . 1112001 . . . . . . . . 1082002 . . . . . . . . 1062003 . . . . . . . . 1372004 . . . . . . . . 1662005 . . . . . . . . 2502006 . . . . . . . . 2802007 . . . . . . . . 300+

Taiwan

China2003 . . . . . . . . 1022004 . . . . . . . . 1822005 . . . . . . . . 2602006 . . . . . . . . 2902007 . . . . . . . . 310+

Average age of employees: 1998 – Just over 50 | 2005 – 35

74 & 80 MotoryachtsThis past year has been one of great innovations within Ocean Alexander. With new models being added to our line up at least once every year, the wide range of products we now offer is sure to satisfy just about every boater’s need.

74 MY & Skylounge

LOA 76’9” [ 23.40 M ]Waterline length 66’ 1-1/2” [ 20.15 M ]Beam 20’ [ 6.019 M ]Draft 5’ 0” [ .52 M ]Displacement (approx.) 144,000 lbs. [ 65,330 KG ]Fuel capacity 2000 gal. [ 7,570 L ]Water capacity 350 gal. [ 1,136 L ]Holding tank capacity 200 gal. [ 757 L ]Standard power Twin Caterpillar™ 1000 HPStandard generator Northern Lights® 25KW, 25KW

80 Cockpit MY

LOA 80’ 6” [ 24.54 M ]Waterline length 70’ 2” [ 39 M ]Beam 20’ [ 6.019 M ]Draft 5’ 2” [ 1.57 M ]Displacement (approx.) 145,000 lbs. [ 65,771 KG ]Fuel capacity 2000 gal. [ 7,570 L ]Water capacity 350 gal. [ 1,136 L ]Holding tank capacity 200 gal. [ 757 L ]Standard power Twin Caterpillar™ 1000 HPStandard generator Northern Lights® 25KW, 25KW

At the 2006 Ft. Lauderdale Boat Show, we introduced the Ocean Alexander 74

Motoryacht. The new sales of the Ocean Alexander 74 have gone above and beyond

even our own high expectations. The versatility of this boat, whether it is the

open flybridge model, enclosed skylounge, or the ever popular extended cockpit

motoryacht for those sport fishers in southern California, has proven to be a very

successful design in this size range.

Combining Ed Monk’s incredible

design and the high quality

craftsmanship of a yard with

nearly 30 years of experience, one

can expect no less from the new

Ocean Alexander 74.

new for2007

74 & 80 MotoryachtsEvery once in a while a truly

unique product comes along in the boating industry and the

Veloce designed by Ed Monk is one of those products.

46 & 54 Veloce

46 Veloce

LOA 46’ 6” [ 14.17 M ]Waterline length 39’ 9” [ 12.12 M ]Beam 14’ 4”’ [ 4.37 M ]Draft 4’ 0” [ 1.22 M ]Displacement (approx.) 33,100 lbs. [ 15,045 KG ]Fuel capacity 500 gal. [ 1,890 L ]Water capacity 150 gal. [ 567 L ]Holding tank capacity 40 gal. [ 151 L ]Standard power Twin Yanmar 6LY3A - ETP480Standard generator Northern Lights® M843NK 12

54 Veloce

LOA 57’ 9” [ 17.60 M ]Waterline length 47’ 4” [ 14.43 M ]Beam 15’ 6” [ 4.72 M ]Draft 4’ 0” [ 1.22 M ]Displacement (approx.) 36,000 lbs. [ 16,330 KG ]Fuel capacity 600 gal. [ 2,271 L ]Water capacity 180 gal. [ 680 L ]Holding tank capacity 40 gal. [ 151 L ]Standard power Twin Yanmar 6LY3A - ETP480Standard generator Northern Lights® M843NK 12

The initial design concept was to combine the legendary sea worthiness of an Ed

Monk hull with contemporary styling. One look at the new Veloce demonstrates the

success of this design effort.

The sensual swept back lines represent a fresh approach to

yacht design. At Ocean Alexander the seaworthiness and sea

kindliness of a boat are always the first consideration. It is

now possible to have that in combination with a European flair.

Ocean Alexander is proud to introduce two size ranges for this

new line, the Veloce 46 with two staterooms and the Veloce 54

with 3 staterooms.

2007

Florida Rendezvous2007

Thursday, May 3rdThe day was lazy in getting up on its feet as we entered the A&B Marina on a blistering day in early May. Pilots of small craft dodged pelicans and vied for space in the narrow passages between berths with vintage sailboats. The proprietors of fishing charters were gearing up for another wild weekend – re-stocking tackle chests and hosing out coolers while an assortment of power ballads from their impressive onboard sound systems boomed out over the weather-beaten piers. And Ocean Alexander event coordinators Sally and Rebecca were greeting the guests that were leisurely trickling in for the first annual East Coast Rendezvous. They handed out booty-laden gift bags and occasionally took a break from setting up the guest center to shield the sun from their eyes and survey the glittering sea beyond the breakwater for new arrivals.

The Rendezvous event which was so popular with Ocean Alexander owners on the west coast was hoping to at-tract a whole new crowd of converts

in the balmy Caribbean climate, and the timing couldn’t have been more perfect. The weather was summery but not oppres-sive and the registrants were in the spirit from the get-go. So what better way to start off than a beach front happy hour with a steel drum player providing musical entertainment?

Shortly before sunset drummer got the crowd dancing with his sure-handed renditions of classic tunes. And what a sunset it was, too – the whole cabana got mel-low and quiet when the sun started to sink into the ocean, and all eyes turned to the horizon to see the golden glow as it painted the returning catamarans and sailboats as they returned from a beautiful afternoon on the water.

A L O O K A T t h e 1 s t A N N U A L

2007Friday, May 4thThe Dockside Café served up breakfast early Friday morn-ing as Thursday’s guests chatted and connected there with the late arrivals. At around nine, Seawide’s electronics wizards came by to make appointments those who needed their expert electronics consultation. The boys from Sea-wide were seen boarding boats for the rest of the morning, diagnosing issues with all sorts of exotic electronic setups. Later on, some of the owners stopped by Roy and Carol

Rouse’s boat Moonshadow to trade stories about cruis-ing the Bahamas, shoot the breeze with new OA owner Gary Carmichael and pay homage to Little Bit, a friendly black and tan dog who is “Chief of Security” on the C-Breeze, a vintage 1985 43’ Sundeck he likes to keep tied up on the St. John’s River in Northern Florida.

Throughout the afternoon OA guests used their compli-mentary passes to the Pirate Soul Museum, which got rave reviews from all who entered through its craven portal. Others did an early crawl down Duval Avenue, stopping in at Sloppy Joe’s to do a few rounds of “award-winning” Sloppy Ritas and Frozen Bacardi Sledgehammers. All these potent specialty drinks were dispensed from a single im-pressive array of synchronized slurpee-style machines that whirred endlessly round and round with different varieties

of day-glo colored liquid dynamite on display through the round Plexiglas windows. The entire bar line looked as if it were a converted Laundromat on one of Jimmy Buffett’s more insane schooners.

All in all it was a pretty light schedule for a Friday after-noon, a good strategy for a day best spent floating in a reef with fins and a snorkel about a foot below the waterline like a contented manta ray. After several hours in the South Florida humidity most of the owners cooled off at the OA guest center with a seminar from Mark Hafkell of A Sailor’s Place, a re-tailer from Stuart, FL specializing in rafts and inflatable maritime accesso-ries. Mark showed off an impressive line of emergency supplies that no yacht owner should be without, including a large emergency life raft equipped with everything but another boat to tow you to the nearest marina should your boat break up on a reef somewhere. Many in the group were curious about an item in the survival kit – the emergency food rations. What do they taste like, people wondered? Mark offered no illu-sions as to the taste value of the contents of the mysteri-ous looking silver vacuum-packed brick in the emergency pouch – he said it wasn’t all that great, but you can survive on them if you had to.

This didn’t satisfy anyone’s curiosity, seeing as how no-body in attendance has ever needed to crack one open due to the seaworthiness of the average Ocean Alexander boat. So these rations had to be broken out, examined, sniffed and – gulp – tasted. For those readers who have never been lost at sea, we can tell you that emergency life raft ra-tions are the color and consistency of dried toothpaste, and taste like petrified cookie dough that is neither sweet nor appealing on any level. So now you know.

But these dubious appetizers just served to make every-one more enthusiastic about the evening activities, which included a cocktail hour with a duo playing live music, fol-lowed by a dinner highlighted by roast suckling pig. The required attire for this dinner was “pirate chic”, in accord

with the “Pirates of the Caribbean” theme of the weekend event. Everyone showed up in costume, and most were impressive; OA Marketing Director Richard Allender stole the show with a buccaneer’s outfit that looked like it was borrowed from Captain Morgan’s chief of staff. Bob De-Jean got the nod as the campiest entry in a purple vest, silver medallion and flaming red lipstick. David and Mar-ian Gardner were amazing, David in an oversize hat and stuffed parrot and Marian dolled up nicely in pirate dam-sel finery. Even OA President Johnny Chueh got into the act, looking dashing as a yeoman swashbuckler (with a dash of 70s Vegas for good measure).

After a lovely dinner topped off with – what else – a ter-rific key lime pie, it was time to hand out the prizes. Sally and Rebecca gave out loads of pirate booty like GPS sys-tems and gift certificates. When the stash was all gone there was more drinking and dancing until the weary staff started packing it in sometime around 11 p.m.

M a r i o n & D a v i d G a r d n e r

Bahila Marathon, TX

To m & J a n e e n Wa t t s

Lucky Me Naples , FL

B o b & Pa t G e r a c i

Patricia Sarasota , FL

D u r l e n e & G i l J o h n s o n

Dog’s Life Belmont Bay, VA

O C E A N A L E X A N D E R O W N E R S G A L L E R Y

C h e r y l & D a v i d S c h o t t

Pipe Dream Houston, TX

Saturday, May 5thAn evening of revelry in Key West is often the stuff of many a glassy-eyed tale of horror. And those in the OA family who decided to do Duval Ave. after the Friday evening Pirate Dinner got a gale-force blast of the nightlife of the Florida Keys, so deceptively calm at first glance but so stormy for anyone but the most experi-enced old salts.

Somewhat paradoxically, the biggest casualties were the earliest arrivals for the scheduled Conch Train tour of Key West which leaves from the epicenter of Old Town area, Duval & Front. This gave the biggest partyers in our bunch a chance to squint at the sun and drink Powerade while waiting for the “train” to pull out and show the group all the hot spots and historical landmarks in this old outpost which is, for those of us who didn’t already know it, the “southernmost point in the continental United States”.

The Conch Train took us past places like Hemingway’s famous house and the Truman “Little White House”, where the 33rd president liked to kick it when in Florida. There was a morning breeze in the air and it felt quite nice touring the island under train’s awning – even for those the worse for wear from the night before.

After the tour there was a long break to give people a chance to get their boats cleaned up for the late-afternoon open house. For those who had that already taken care of, however, captain Rick Tasis held a mid-afternoon seminar about the do’s and don’ts of cruis-ing the waters of the Bahamas and Florida Keys.

The open house has some wonderful boats on display like David and Cheryl Schott’s Pipe Dream, all decked out in pirate treasure and skeletons (and a jolly roger on the flybridge with the motto “Time flies when you’re having rum”). There was also a spectacular OA 74 on an outlying berth which was visited by many an owner.

The open house blended seamlessly into the evening schedule, a long mix and mingle and the A&B Lobster House where a very slick Florida-based comedian-ma-

gician known as the “Amazing Adam” was holding court, do-ing what might be described as 1-on-1 magic consultation with the OA owners as the hors d’ouerves were being passed round.

Chablis and oysters Rockefeller were set aside for group photos on the deck overlooking the harbor. Then in for

a delicious dinner around sundown, where intimate conversation between the guests was paused for a small address by Johnny Chueh, who thanked ev-eryone for coming. Then, after dinner, the Amaz-ing Adam performed his “A” show for everyone and brought down the house. A sleight-of-hand special-ist, Adam baffled members of the audience sitting just inches away from the trick being performed.

All in all a great time and successful first Florida Rendezvous. Let’s do it again next year!

OCEAN ALEXANDER®

www.oceanalexander.com

1.800.815.4081