BLUE GOOSE CHARTERS
Baltimore Harbor, Maryland
Chesapeake Bay
FAQ

Nearly everyone asks that question. It goes back to when I was a young boy and used to visit Ocean City, New Jersey each summer in the late 40's and early 50's. Chris's Restaurant had converted a surplus World War II PT boat into a huge, open speed boat, carrying about 50 people. I had (incorrectly) recalled her name as being the "Wild Goose", which was, as it turns out upon further research, a fishing boat in the same fleet.  Nevertheless, the  memory of riding in the custom PT boat remains one my fondest. Alexis and I named our very first personal boat the "Blue Goose", mostly because of the PT boat, the personal notion that "goose" is a cool name for certain types of rigs, including trawlers, my and my wife's fondness for waterfowl, especially the Canada geese on the Chesapeake Bay, the fact that the name is ornithologically correct, sort of, and because blue is our favorite color. The name was simply carried over to the yacht charter service.

I am often called "Mother Goose".  I suspect that I am sometimes called other names as well, especially during or after a training session. One of these other names might also include the word, "Mother". Captain Bill White, the former owner of "Katie Mae," which used to be in the fleet and has since been sold, first applied the name, "Mother Goose".  His view is that I fuss over things a little too much. I like to think of it as paying attention to detail. Neither myself nor Alexis has a problem with the name. Our thinking is that "Mother Goose" is not only ironic and amusing, but  it also reflects the special care and attention that BLUE GOOSE tries to give to each and every one of our charterers.

BLUE GOOSE is small and will stay that way. Our current focus of operations is, by choice, restricted to the Northern Chesapeake Bay. Currently, there are five trawlers in the fleet, all located in Baltimore Harbor, and all owned by BLUE GOOSE. This allows us to remain extremely familiar with the various systems aboard the boats, the operational characteristics peculiar to each fleet unit, and the various charter preparation requirements associated with each trawler. We believe that prospective clients should view our operation much the same as they would a Bed and Breakfast, with regard to size, scope and intimacy. Boat maintenance, scheduled charters, and current operations come first, followed by personal service at the point of departure, followed by training, as required. Paperwork comes last, always gets done and done correctly, but never at the expense of current operations or an impending charter. We're small. We care. We know about trawlers. We love boats. We hate paper-work.

As you may know, we have been selected as a "Best of the Bay" charter operation by the readers of Chesapeake Bay Magazine. No charter operators on the Chesapeake Bay know their boats better than we do.  No fleet is better maintained. Our hands-on training might be the best, especially with regard to single-screw dockmanship. We may also have the very best first echelon charter maintenance program on the Chesapeake, thanks mostly to our Maintenance Chief, Marty Sadowski. He has been supporting us since the launching of our business in 1986. No clients are better prepared prior to departing from home port, owing to our 3.5 hour preparation session conducted prior to each charter. No operation has fewer complaints, practically all of which come from less experienced boaters, focusing upon minor items that, in most cases, they can solve themselves. "You know, we ran out of dish soap!...That 200 gallons of water just didn't last, are you sure you topped the tanks before we left?...We've been out for four days and the heads aren't working. No, we haven't pumped the holding tank!...The light bulb on the 110 volt reading lamp burned out." We are not perfect, but we firmly believe that BLUE GOOSE is the very best "trawler only" charter operation on the Chesapeake. Period. Absolutely no one in the charter business tries harder than we do. We know what we are doing when it comes to trawlers, especially their operation on the Chesapeake Bay.

The year 2011 marks our 26th season on the Chesapeake Bay, operating from the same location -  the Anchorage Marina in Baltimore Harbor.

Our training is among the best, is mostly hands-on, and requires the requisite degree of concentration, proper attitude, and preparation on the part of the client.  Training is available on a continuum, ranging from "zero knowledge" to a standard pre-charter checkout. Our training methods have failed only once or twice in twenty seasons. Some problems are likely to arise, however, when, as one client put it, "I just didn't know as much as I thought I did." Typically, a client like this will bet on paying for a few hours of extended checkout rather than paying for a full blown, start from scratch, training session. Obviously, a normal checkout is conducted with the idea that there already is a knowledge base that simply needs some minor adjustments or modifications. It's when the client's understanding of things turns out to be insufficient during a normal checkout, and we are already out on the water, that things sometimes get unraveled. Transition difficulties ensue when safety issues (improper line handling, helmsmanship) or mechanics (improper shifting technique, throttle control, and/or rudder usage) overcome other considerations. Nevertheless, please refer to our  SEA STORIES  for additional insight with regard to the success of our training efforts. Our overall concept is that operating a trawler is a serious business. All of our training is conducted accordingly. Our excellent safety record over the years supports our approach. However, we cannot always account for PPJ (P... Poor Judgement) on the part of the helmsman, no matter how well he or she might be trained. The more you know, the more relaxed you will be, and the better time you will have on your charter. Proper attitude and focus are definitely the keys to a worthwhile underway training session. It should be noted that the standard complimentary checkout is offered with the understanding that the client has the prerequisite amount of experience, and will not require any training, only familiarization. If this proves not to be the case, the checkout then becomes part of a training package and the client will be charged accordingly. The standard checkout should never be viewed by inexperienced clients as an offer of free training on our part. It should be noted, however, that we often offer some free training, dpending on the situation. Please also refer to our training section.

It depends on whom you ask. Mother Goose's position on this issue is clear, however. The genesis of this class of vessel clearly evolved from the full displacement hull configuration of the commercial fishing trawler, hence the name. The underlying thought of the original designers of the recreational trawler yacht was most assuredly based on the notion of fuel economy. From a fuel consumption perspective, a full displacement hull is clearly the most efficient method for a motorized vessel, with her contents, to move through the water. For example, the average recreational trawler will travel approximately 3.0 nautical miles on a gallon of diesel fuel. The trade-offs, of course, are time (you should have lots available) and speed (multiply the square root of the length of the trawler at the waterline by 1.34). The preceding combination, it seems to me, forms the very essence of a trawler. (Having said this, however, please keep in mind that many of the recreational trawlers, maybe even most, have semi-displacement hulls rather than full-displacement versions. Time to check your Chapman Piloting! Regardless, they still achieve full displacement efficiency, more or less, by operating at full displacement speeds due to their smaller power plants. Once you start throwing additional power at the problem through larger engines, you enable the semi-displacement trawler to start riding up on her own bow wave. The trawler thus picks up some speed but throws the fuel curve completely out of whack. When this process starts to occur, you begin to chip away at the true concept of trawlering.)  In my opinion, a trawler should also be diesel powered, and technically speaking, only have one engine. She should have some teak, and she has to have a certain look. The latter is difficult to describe. I suppose, it would be like trying to explain a classic painting without looking at it, or a good bottle of wine without tasting it. You have to look at a relatively large number of trawlers before you can consistently identify one on your own. Two bench mark trawlers by which to establish a clear frame of reference might be the Grand Banks 42 and the Marine Trader 36. Throw in the Krogen 42 for good measure. The baseline of trawlering, however, remains speed, that is, the lack thereof. If it looks like a duck, sounds like a duck, and swims like a duck, it's probably a duck. If it looks like a trawler, sounds like a trawler, but doesn't swim like a trawler, it probably isn't a trawler. On the other hand, all ducks don't quack. So where does that leave us? Like I said, it depends on whom you ask.

Over the years, our clients have most often gone to the following ports-of-call: Baltimore (of course), Rock Hall (Rock Hall Landing), Kent Island (Bay Bridge Marina or Mears Point Marina), Annapolis (Yacht Basin Company), Galesville (Pirate's Cove Marina), St. Michaels (St. Michaels Marina or Higgins Yacht Yard), Oxford (Mears Yacht Haven or Oxford Boat Yard), Chestertown (Chestertown Marina), and Georgetown (Georgetown Yacht Basin). As far as anchoring out, they seem to prefer: Swan Creek, near Rock Hall; the Corsica River and Langford Creek off the Chester River; Broad Creek off the Magothy River; one of several mooring buoys in Annapolis Harbor (OK, technically not anchoring); and the Wye River (Drum Point Cove). Very rarely do they go south of the Solomons on the Western Shore, or south of the Choptank River on the Eastern Shore. The Sassafras River is normally as far north as clients venture on the Eastern Shore. The scope of the general cruising area is mostly dictated by the length of the charter, typically between four and seven days, and the normal speed of advance of our trawlers, i.e. 6-7 knots. In general, we do not like our trawlers south of the Choptank River or east of Cambridge on the Eastern Shore, south or west of the Solomons on the Western Shore, or near the C&D Canal.

In our opinion, there is no excuse for either. The Bay is especially well marked and charted. One should be able to successfully cruise with only a chart, cruise guide, compass, binoculars and a depth finder. All of the foregoing items are aboard each of our trawlers. In addition, hand-held GPS units are available upon request, and at no charge, to assist our clients with their navigational requirements.