places make for firstclass vacation spots for the family—offering up beautiful beaches, luxurious accommodations and many other recreational opportunities. It’s not uncommon for these sportfish boats to station themselves in a resortmarina for months at a time and make the destination their home away from home. “When we went to the Dominican Republic, we rented a house and set up for three months,” says Harris Huddle, owner of the 64’ Jarrett Bay, Builder’s Choice. Going back to the Dominican wasn’t in the cards for them this past winter, instead they kept the boat in Florida and fished there and the Bahamas, in order to stay close to his wife Meredith’s equestrian events. The trip to Bermuda is a little more mission-critical—it’s about a month-long window in July when the big blue marlin are most active, and a series of weekend tournaments makeup the prestigious Bermuda Triple Crown. In general, if you put your finger on a blue marlin tournament in the western hemisphere, you’ll probably find a Bluewater customer in the field. How: Over the years we’vewatched in awe as customers load their boats and cockpits with supplies, sundries, additional fuel bladders, even spare freezer chests full of food, to take to these foreign destinations and get settled in comfortably at their temporary home port. If you’re wondering about the trip itself, oftentimes the Captain and crew make the “big pond” jumps without the owner and family, but on occasion they do come along. Capt. Neil advises, “When people ask about making a crossing I always say, ‘sure, but you may not enjoy it.’ It’s long days and nights and at times bad weather.” Harris has made several full trips on his boat and says it is usually a matter of scheduling and having the time which are the deciding factors if he’ll ride along on the boat, or join up with it later. A bare-bones crew for a long-range trip would be a Captain and mate, but for any leg that is long enough to require running at night, it’s always best to have four people aboard to take alternating nightwatch shifts. A night run, such as the one required to get to Bermuda, is also a time to throttle back and “chug” at lower speeds to conserve fuel, spot any floating debris or obstacles and allow for more time to react to an issue. While these elite sportfish boats enjoy terrific speed and range and make most of their travels on their own bottom, some destinations which are growing in popularity require additional modes of transport and scheduling. Bluewatercommissioned boats, Jaruco and Reel Development (the two largest customJarrett Bays coming in at 90’ and 84’ respectively) have both made trips to Costa Rica and Baja Sur Mexico in recent years. At times, Merceneria in the thick of the action Jaruco dwarfs the pangas in Los Sueños 15 2022 SEASON
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