Dear Salt Water Angler,
My name is Fred Lane and I am a member of Forbes Rifle and Pistol Club. I have been offshore big game fishing on charter boats for over 35 years. I have also owned numerous power and sail boats to 38 feet. I have single handed in the Chesapeake Bay and spent much time off the Virginia Capes to the Norfolk Canyon after blue and white marlin and tuna. As a youngster I fished the waters off Puerto Rico and met the world champion marlin fisherman, Captain Mike Bonitez long before he became the legend. I am also a past president of the Chesapeake Maritime Assoc. I would like to invite you to a meeting to talk over starting a very unique fishing club for this part of the country. I am calling it… Canyon Runners.
“Canyon Runners” is a proposed salt water fishing club concept to bring a few individuals together that share the bond and challenge of offshore big game fishing. Although many of us enjoy the sport, few have the money to invest in a boat large and powerful enough to get us off shore and back like the 6 packs that charter out of our favorite fishing grounds. Like many of you, I have spent thousands of dollars over a 35 year span chartering deep sea rigs from Puerto Rico to Montauk and still return to the coast every year for a trip offshore. My next planned outing is in 2008 when it is back to Puerto Rico on a nostalgia trip for a really huge shark in the Puerto Rican Trench.
It occurred to me after seeing a 300,000 dollar investment package put together by 30 lawyers in a real estate deal that if 12 to 16 men with saltwater interests formed a very select salt water fishing club…a 26 to 30 foot offshore boat would be within reach of many of us by spreading the cost among us. Dues would pay dock fees and maintenance and by scheduling the boats availability by weekly team assignments using 4 men to a team…it would be available more frequently than most of us would care to fish.
When I have enough interested people I will set up a get together where we can talk over the possibilities of bringing my idea to fruition. I have asked my new found friend Cap’n Bob Kingman at Dicks Sporting Goods to mention this invitation to some of his customers and friends that he thinks may be good candidates for membership. West Marine is also interested and may sponsor the club. The first meeting will be to talk over details and discuss the makes of boats that would best serve the clubs purpose and other matters such as a convenient location for docking, dues and the legal aspects of such a venture. Bear in mind that this idea is no more than any other club concept. Instead of owning a club house, rifle range, hunting lodge, retreat or golf course…the few of us simply owns a share in a sport fishing boat. Using current pricing of numerous makes of proven offshore boats, I have estimated that the shares will go for 3,000 dollars each. Whereas a decent used 25-30 foot sport fishing boat will cost between 25,000 to 45,000 dollars, to achieve this figure I simply multiplied 3,000X16 to arrive at 48,000. If fewer than 16 join, we can reduce the size and cost of the boat to make the math work. I think the absolute minimum boat size should be 29 feet. Money will have to be held out for maintenance therefore the entire sum cannot go toward the actual purchase. Annual dues will be paid in full at an agreed upon date and used for dock space, insurance and a continued maintenance safety net.
Hoping to hear from you,
Fred Lane
E-mail me your thoughts!