The All New 191 CE See Page 3
Anchorline t h e g ra dy - w h i t e o w n e r s ’ n e ws l e t t e r
IN THIS ISSUE: Dealer News & Events | Owners’ Club News | The 191 CE Coastal Explorer | Letters & Photos | Grady Buddies
Express 330 Owner Greets 2015 with Double Giant Bluefin Catch Jason Davis and crew, including his eleven-year-old son, Hunter, bested all odds by bringing in a 785-pound bluefin tuna aboard his Express 330, The Grady Bunch, on January 1, 2015, followed with a 683-pound bluefin on January 2. Both were caught out of Beaufort Inlet, North Carolina. What a way to greet the new year! Grady-White’s Express 330 has always been known as a premiere fishing platform, offering a spacious cockpit, easily accessed rod and tackle storage and a large livewell capacity. Here’s proof! JASON DAVIS AND SON, HUNTER, with their New
Year’s Day bluefin tuna that weighed in at 785 pounds.
“We fish year ’round out of North Carolina’s Beaufort Inlet for other species, but my husband decided he wanted to try bluefin tuna fishing this year,” writes Wendy Davis, from Fuquay-Varina, NC. “After several days on the water with a few shorts (sub-legal size fish), on January 1, 2015, his crew hooked up and landed a 785-pound, 117-inch bluefin. It was amazing, but it didn’t stop there. The next morning, 12 minutes after lines were out, they hooked up and landed a 683-pound, 109-inch bluefin!” Pete O‘Donnell was the man on the line for the first day’s fish, hooking up three miles out from the west of Cape Lookout Shoals in 50 feet of water with naked ballyhoo. After an hour battle on a #80 reel that was nearly spooled, Jason Davis harpooned the giant at the stern while Ray Watkins captained the boat and Hunter took pictures. The second day, as reported in the North Carolina Sportsman magazine,
lines pulling skirted ballyhoo were in for five minutes when a reel screamed. “The fish took out 2,000 feet in a minute and a half,” said Davis. “It was like we were hooked to a sports car that had floored the gas.” This tuna took four hours to conquer. O’Donnell got it to the boat, where the fish took a look at the crew and bee-lined under the boat, wrapping line around a propeller. Watkins cut the engine, tilted the motor, and O’Donnell gave Davis some slack line while he leaned down and unwrapped the line in four-foot seas. Davis fished with a commercial license that requires the fish be sold, and commercially caught fish are not eligible for the state record book. The current North Carolina bluefin tuna record is 805 pounds, caught off Oregon Inlet in 2011. Later in January 2015, another commercial fisherman off Morehead City, NC, brought in a 1,005 bluefin. Big times! “I am so happy that my husband and son were able to do such a monumental thing together, and in their first season of trying,” reports a happy Wendy Davis.
JASON DAVIS, PETE O’DONNELL AND RAY WATKINS
battled the second day’s bluefin aboard Express 330, The Grady Bunch.
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Dealer News & Events
Grady-White dealers sponsor hundreds of events every year—seminars, tournaments, trips, cookouts, sightseeing voyages and much more. See www.gradywhite.com for events in your area.
SOUTH SHORE MARINE’S MARCH FISHING SEMINAR was well attended and an absolute success.
MEMBERS OF THE GRADY-WHITE FACTORY TEAM celebrate with Cannons Marina staff.
South Shore Marine, Huron, Ohio,
hosted 300 people including members of the Lake Erie Grady-White Club in March for a fishing seminar. Great speakers, vendors and food were featured, plus there was a gorgeous new Gulfstream 232 front and center to ogle. State fisheries biologist Travis Harman gave a State of the Lake outlook. Lake Erie Fishing Adventure’s Captain Larry Weiss covered jigging and drift casting for walleye plus tips for effective perch fishing, and South
Shore’s Steve Carlson presented equipment and techniques for walleye trolling. “Advanced Trolling” proven tournament tips were shared by the Reel Naughty Fishing Team. In lieu of a registration fee, donations were requested for Huron Helping Hands Lighthouse Church Food Pantry. It was partytime March 14 in Longboat Key, Florida, for the celebration of the 60th anniversary of Cannons Marina ownership by the Miller family. Current
CANNONS MARINA’S DAVID AND LUCILE MILLER celebrate 60 years of family ownership.
owner David Miller was only five when he started working there, counting bait for local fishermen and tourists. Like his dad, Paul, he loved the life and spent his formative years learning every aspect of the business. After returning home from college in the 1970s David purchased Cannons from his father. David, his wife, Lucile, and an equally devoted team of professionals have grown Cannons from its modest roots as a boat rental and bait shop, into one of the most respected boat dealers in the
country. As the dealership’s website states, “While the wild hogs and rattlesnakes no longer outnumber the island’s residents, the waters that surround it have lost none of their power to delight.” In addition to many local customers and well-wishers, a large contingent from the Grady-White factory was in attendance and were decked out for the Fancy Booth photos!
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Hello, 191 CE! Hot Fishing, Family Friendly 19-Foot Coastal Explorer Joins the Grady-White Lineup All-new for 2015, the 19'4" 191 CE Coastal Explorer is Grady-White’s second entry in the shallow draft market, and continues the momentum of last year’s introduction of the 251 CE. This handsome, low profile 19-footer is designed primarily for inshore fishability, with plenty of family-friendly versatility. This is a smart boat, rich with features, offering a sweet list of standard and optional assets. Note: This is not a “bay boat.” Grady’s Coastal Explorer models deliver incomparable SeaV2® hull performance–ranked Number One in the industry, and a far cry from the choppy ride associated with the bay boat label. The 191 CE ride is more aptly described as that of a shallow water “sports car,” offering stellar confidence and capability even for light offshore use as well as super smoothness in rough inshore water conditions.
The distinctive low gunwales of the 191 CE Coastal Explorer allow very easy access to the water, and the stance of the boat is a great asset for catching fish and/or catch-and-release fishing for species including tarpon, redfish, sea trout, cobia, stripers, mackerel, bluefish, and all kinds of inshore bottom species. This low profile doubles in ease of utility for swimming, diving, tow sports (an optional ski package is available), exploring, picnicking or just cruising the water listening to the optional stereo system and sunning on the “casting platform.” That area, with optional cushions, becomes a comfy sun pad when the fishing rods are stowed away. Under the platform, a hatch lifts to reveal a divided storage area with an anchor compartment and a 149-quart insulated fish box. Seating forward and aft goes from bench style to lounge style with the
addition of optional removable seat backs. This is a perfect boat for playing, relaxing and socializing. Forward of the console there is a molded seat with cushion, backrest and a 70-quart insulated cooler or an optional 17.5-gallon livewell below. Add rods and tackle in the adjacent vertical rod holders and you have a fishing boat that is truly without peer. The helm itself is fitted with an ample flat area for your electronics, and an ergonomically located large stainless wheel. The standard helm lean bar with footrest and removable backrest is painted aluminum. An optional removable 72-quart cooler fits under the lean bar. The windshield is scratch resistant acrylic and is equipped with a handrail. Characteristic of every Grady-White, handholds are located where you naturally reach
and stainless drink holders are all around the cockpit. Aft, there’s bench seating port and starboard that doubles as a casting area and can be equipped with removable backrests. A 48-quart insulated box is located under the aft casting platform area. This box can be optionally outfitted as a 12-gallon livewell. A handy four-step swim ladder is standard and located aft on the port side of the boat. The 191 CE is every inch a solid, proven center console backed by over 50 years of heritage and design success that only Grady-White can offer. Her loaded features will further add to satisfaction levels earned from a reputation for quality, reliability, safety and craftsmanship. Ask your dealer to introduce you to this latest Grady today!
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The Grady Life: Owners’ Clubs
Here are highlights from recent Grady Owners’ Clubs events and outings. If you have Grady club information to share or are interested in information about Grady clubs in your area, email anchorline@gradywhite.com. Go to www.gradywhite.com for links to club websites.
THE CHESAPEAKE BAY GRADY-WHITE CLUB has established a new website at chesapeakegradywhiteclub.com, featuring photo galleries of group activities, upcoming events and much more.
The Chesapeake Bay Grady-White Club started off the year with a holiday celebration at the Cedarhurst Community Center, Shady Side, MD, January 10. Oyster and shrimp appetizers followed by rib roast and lobster salad and sides were on the menu. Festive! The group has established a new website at
chesapeakebaygradywhiteclub.com, dovetailing from their Yahoo group page. The Solomons Harbor Marina is the site of the club’s annual Memorial Day weekend cruise to Solomons Island. A Rappahannock Rendezvous Cruise is on for June 27-28 at Dozier’s Port Urbanna Marina, and the 2015
Gradypalooza at Knapps Narrows will be August 15-17. Make reservations now! Tri-State Marine, Deale, MD, sponsors this club. The Tidewater Grady-White Club, sponsored by Norfolk Marine in Virginia, welcomed new officers in January and
set an events calendar for 2015. There was a membership display at the MidAtlantic Boat Show in February at the Virginia Beach Convention Center, and a spring party at Harbor Walk Clubhouse. A raft-up at Cape Charles is in the works for May.
Members of West Coast Florida Grady-White Clubs Are Vying for Top Angler Rights in Spring Kingfish Tournaments. In their joint 2015 Spring Kingfish Tournament, the Cannons’ Crew, Tampa Bay and Tarpon Coast Grady-White Clubs are after not only bragging rights but also cash prizes totaling nearly $2,000! At press time, Tampa Bay’s Dave Staver was in the lead with a 41.5-inch king mackerel. Juli Eisenberg posted first fish with a 28.5-incher on the board for the Tarpon Coast. Club sponsors are, respectively, Cannons Marina of Longboat Key, Quality Boats of Clearwater, and Ingman Marine, Port Charlotte. The Fish-Tale Grady Club, Fort Myers, FL, has a venerable history with its Kingfish Tournament, and the 2015 season has opened with Stu Pagel reporting the release of a 48-inch fish. All early indications are for an active April for kingfish up and down the West Coast! The club is sponsored by Fish-Tale Sales & Service, Fort Myers Beach.
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2015 Express 330 Boasts New Helm, Cabin and Optional Exclusive Airview2® Hardtop Enclosure
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Jersey Shore Grady-White Club
Eyepatches Off to the Winners of the Themed Event, Largest Attendance Grady-White Club Contests Talk about some folks who know how to have great Grady times! These people have their “G” for Grady Game on every boating day, and then some. Whether the club event was a costumed extravaganza, or a special gathering of over 80 percent of the membership, all Grady-White Owners’ Clubs were challenged with a Call for Entries for the judged best Themed Party, and for category Highest Attendance for a Single Event. Grady swagger and $500 go to the Jersey Shore Grady-White Club for their Pirate & Wench steak cookout at Harbor Cove Pavilion, Somers Point, NJ, and to the Gulfstream Grady Group for excellent attendance at its year-end holiday party. Mariner Marine, Riviera Beach, FL, sponsors the Gulfstream Club. Island Marine Center, Ocean View, NJ, sponsors the Jersey Shore group. Gulfstream Grady-White Club
For 2015 Grady-White has really emphasized the enhancement of the “people aspects” of the time-tested Express 330, previously named one of the 25 Greatest Sportfishing Boats of the Decade by Sport Fishing editors, and the luxury starts on the command deck. Reconfigured seating allows easier movement around the helm and highlights the “surround seating”concept. Improved footrests, a contoured helm seating option plus even more comfort options for the port and starboard bench seats have been added. There is an extensive range of hardtops offered, from the sturdy standard hardtop with radio box, storage net, spreader lights, rod holders, low profile acrylic hatch and curtains, to the optional integrated painted aluminum frame helm enclosure with safety glass windshield, or Grady’s exclusive top-of-the-line Airview2®(AV2®) hardtop enclosure system. The AV2® hardtop enclosure includes either an electronically sliding sunroof or a sliding hatch, plus storage net, colored LED spreader lights, eight LED recessed lights, outrigger plates and Clear2Sea™ side curtains. A SureShade® retractable cockpit cover with Sunbrella® canvas is available with all hardtops. The cabin design is taken to an even higher level with spectacular new lighting that truly brightens up everything, and with new cabinetry and counters in the galley. Appliances are top notch. Luxurious interior fabrics give the cabin a most elegant look and feel. Inviting for overnight getaways! An outstanding cockpit grill and a cockpit refrigerator are also now available. It’s time to check out this beauty! Visit gradywhite.com and your dealer for complete specifications.
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Letters & Photos
What’s happening? Have an interesting story or photo? Email us at anchorline@gradywhite.com or write to Anchorline, P.O. Box 1527, Greenville, NC 27835.
BOB AND JENNY BARBANERA , Freedom 285
Loving The Grady Life! Dear Anchorline: We have been Grady-White boat owners since 1985. Our first was a 204C Overnighter walkaround purchased new at the Miami Boat Show. We had that boat for 20 years, fishing Miami and the Keys. Our daughter grew up with it, and we took a lot of Brownie Scouts out. We moved to Fort Myers in 1992 and fished this area until we sold the 204C in 2005. Our daughter went away to college, and we missed boating, so in 2011–college expenses and all–we found a used 2000 Tournament 225 that we had for three-and-a-half years. We joined the Fish Tale Grady Club. This is our third year and we have enjoyed it immensely. (Jenny is currently club secretary.) Wanting to move up a bit, we started looking for a two- to fiveyear-old Freedom 275. We didn’t find
one. Then we went to Ray Jahn and Tim Newcomb. Fish-Tale Sales & Service had a 2014 Freedom 285 with 85 hours on it, and with their help we were able to buy. Never in our lives did we think we would own a boat like this. It’s a dream come true! We enjoy being a part of the Grady family. Our luncheon cruises, club meetings and Grady Fest are great for meeting like-minded people and getting out on the water. It’s truly the Grady Life and we are lucky to be a part of it.
BIRD’S EYE VIEW OF AMY LOU, William Heckethorn’s Freedom 375, in Cabbage Key, Florida. Paradise!
Bob and Jenny Barbanera Fort Myers, FL
ROBERTO MULFARI is an Italian citizen working in Saudi Arabia, and he and his family enjoy fishing, diving and cruising the Red Sea aboard a 2004 Bimini 306, Rafiki. “The Red Sea is relatively calm but when it gets wavy they are fast and frequent. The Grady manages them all. Superb quality build, outstanding engineering. Good job, guys!”
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JOHN COUGILL SHARES THIS PHOTO OF HIS SON, CAMERON, with a citation rockfish-striped bass caught 12-31-14 near Buoy 42 in the Chesapeake Bay, aboard the family’s 2013
Gulfstream 232, Lucky Dog. They checked the fish at Norview Marina, Deltaville, Virginia, where it weighed 57 pounds and measured 45.5 inches.
TWELVE-YEAR-OLD GRADY PRAIRIE from Idaho Falls,
JASON CHRUPCALA is happy about his 35-pound California halibut caught on
KATHLEEN O‘NEAL caught and released this black drum under the Mid Bay Bridge, Destin, Florida,
the backside of Catalina aboard his Sailfish 282, Fintoxication.
on her family’s Chase 273.
Idaho, was fishing out of Shearwater Marine Center in British Columbia in August 2014 when he got this 35-pound king salmon aboard grandfather Gordon Prairie’s Seafarer 226 purchased new last year from Jacobsen’s Marine, Seattle, Washington. Grady is named after his grandad's first Grady-White, an Adventure 208.
Who’s Your Grady Buddy? To share a photo of your furry Grady friends, email us at anchorline@gradywhite.com or write to Anchorline, P.O. Box 1527, Greenville, NC 27835.
JACOB SZCZYGIEL, HIS DAD ED SZCZYGIEL AND BUDDY MARK BUTLER, battled this 85-inch, 384.5-pound bluefin tuna
COCONUT , a golden retriever seen here at nine weeks
for two-and-a-half hours on January 17 out of Morehead City, North Carolina. “My dad bought this Express 265 new in 2000. I bought it from him in 2009 and repowered last year. Fifteen years of fishing and fun aboard Chimera. Economical, trailerable, and the best tuna battling outboard boat I have come to know!”
old, is liking it aboard Rich Binder’s 2014 Freedom 205, Kimberlea, out of Newport Beach, CA, although maybe he‘s out of line yet when it comes to fishing.
GRADY’S first ride aboard a Fisherman 209!
Abby Siau posted this Instagram of her pup and favorite boat’s namesake.
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Anchorline t h e g ra dy - w h i t e o w n e r s ’ n e w s l e t t e r
252-752-2111 www.gradywhite.com Grady-White Boats, P.O. Box 1527, Greenville, NC 27835
Captain Keith Robbins, Fisherman 230, and the Seattle skyline
Dear Grady-White Owners and Enthusiasts: After the snowiest winter many of us can remember (even our Floridian Grady enthusiasts can empathize), here comes spring and the start of primetime boating. The best we can say about the season just past is that we enjoyed meeting lots of you at boat shows, we hosted many fine folks at our factory for tours (you too are invited!), and we introduced our newest model–the 191 CE Coastal Explorer. Read about this 19-foot skinny water gem in this issue of Anchorline, and check online or with your dealer for complete specifications. We also introduced a new phrase to describe our boats and our work philosophy: EDDIE SMITH AND KRIS CARROLL Exceptional attention to detail. Yes, this references the superb engineering behind our products, and the physical elements of quality materials and advanced tooling. The words certainly describe the sharp focus of our impassioned group of craftsmen and manufacturing professionals. Ultimately, this phrase extends to the power of listening to you, our customers, and to the personal relationships our dealerships and we at the plant cultivate with our customers, in order to provide a boating experience that makes you exceedingly happy. Isn’t that what boating is all about? Happiness!
Kris Carroll, president
Eddie Smith, Jr., chairman, ceo
FRANK AND MONICA BOROWICZ RECENTLY TOURED THE GRADY-WHITE FACTORY WITH THEIR SONS ROBB, LEFT, AND FRANK JR., RIGHT. The family owns an Advance 247 and boats out of Chincoteague, Virginia. Come visit to see the exceptional attention to detail
that goes into making each and every Grady!