33 years on the charter boat Southbound in Key West

I am about halfway through my 33rd year in business with the Southbound, my charter fishing boat in Key West. Early June will mark the end of year 33 and, if God’s willing and the creek doesn’t rise, the beginning of year 34. I’ve been working on Charter Boat Row for just about 40 years, but for the first 8 years, I was mate and Captain of the M/V Can’t Miss. One of the 3 Party boats that were on the “Row” back then. I bought the Southbound from my boss on the Can’t Miss, John Blackwell. Back then it was called the “Carol” as it was named after his wife. Not being married to anyone, I changed the name to “Southbound”. It was the direction we would head to go fishing most days when we left Key West, and it was one of my favorite Allman Brothers songs. It seemed like a good fit at the time and it still does. Back then, I was the only boat called the Southbound I knew of. Now there are a few working boats by the same name. There is one on Long Island, One up on Cape Cod, and a light tackle boat in the Ft. Meyers area. I have also seen a couple of private boats by the same name, one express power boat, and one Sailboat. Oh yeah, there is one other. Two of my oldest and favorite customers live in Virginia, Joe and Sue. They used to fish with me every year, but, like most of us, Life gets in the way, so they haven’t been down much the last few years. They asked me if I would mind if they named their boat “Southbound”. I was flattered and of course, I said yes. I have no idea if my boat had anything to do with the others naming theirs the same. I doubt it, but while I’m sure it’s not the most popular name for a boat, but apparently, it was good enough for a few of us.

A lot of boats and Captains on Charter Boat Row have come and gone since I have been on the dock. My old boss and good friend, John Blackwell, retired and moved to the mountains of North Carolina approximately 15 years back, (hard to keep track exactly), unfortunately, Capt. John passed away a little over a year ago. We kept in touch over the years and would talk every few months. He loved being up on the Mountain and I’m glad he got time to enjoy it.

Andy Fortin was my first Captain on the dock. He was running the Can’t Miss for Johnny. I’ve always told him that he got me into the fishing business and that someday I would get even 😉 After leaving the Can’t Miss Andy had his own charter boat, the Leprechaun, at the same dock in Key West for many years. Like a lot of folks who have been in Key West for many years, Andy and his Sweetie, Luann moved up to the mainland and last I heard they are living in the Tampa area. We haven’t spoken in a while, but I hope they are doing well.

I bought my boat from Capt. Johnny back in 1992 and I can’t find any pictures of me from back then. I guess it will have to suffice to say I was much skinnier and my hair and beard had not been bleached out by so many years in the sun, (that’s my story and I’m sticking to it!)

I’ve done well over the years and a very large part of the reason why is because I hired excellent mates to work the deck. Some, such as Capt. Brice Barr, Edward Gotenmeyer, and Ben Garfield have gone on to own their own boats in Key West. Ben Garfield always had his boat in Maine and would only fish with me Oct-May, but he was too good not to have back every year. Some such as Paul Murdoch, got their Capt. License and run boats for other people. Mates such as Eric Ryan, Chris Savoy, John Glass, and Paul Diggs are no longer fishing. I still keep in touch with most of them. I’m sure others have slipped my mind. My current 1st mate is Barbie. I call her the “Everyready Bunny”, She starts running before I get to the dock and doesn’t stop moving until the boat gets in. I have no idea where she gets her energy, but her work ethic pays off in quality fish

I’m not sure, but I think I am the longest-tenured owner on Charter Boat Row. By that I mean, I have owned a boat longer than anyone else there at this point. There are other Captains who have been on the “Row” longer and have been fishing in Key West longer. Not as many as there used to be, but a few. I think I’m the 5 oldest working Captain out of Key West now. Some of the others are going strong so I don’t know if I’ll ever make it to #1, but that’s ok.

A lot of other things have changed over the last 33 years. The cost of a fishing charter has gone up just a bit,(What hasn’t?” When I started in business, a full-day charter was up to $350! some of the oldtimers back then thought that was a lot and back then it was. Fuel was also $.60/gal.($3.00 + now) dockage was $300/ month,($1,200/month now) Insurance was $800/year, ($6K/year now). We are not the most expensive boats around, but we have a lot of costs to cover these days. Most of my customers understand. All it takes is a trip to the Grocery store to realize how much the price of everything has gone up.

A lot of other things in Key West have changed too. The fishing is not what it once was. We still catch some quality fish, we caught a 36 lb Wahoo last week and we have been catching and releasing some Sailfish lately, but honestly, not as many as we did back in the beginning. There is a lot more competition a lot more boats these days, so maybe there is not enough fish to go around. The reef fishing is still pretty good, we have always had that as an advantage to fall back on for shorter charter trips and slow days.

One of the biggest changes, in my opinion, is the amount of Gov’t regulation. It has gotten ridiculous. You need a permit for everything. I don’t mind some of the bag limits, to be honest, nobody needs to take 2 coolers full of fish home. A lot of it will just go to waste. I don’t mind rules that help the environment or help the fisheries, the problem is that most of the time, politics gets involved and the rules don’t work. The National Marine Sanctuary is a good example. “Sanctuary” is a very benevolent word. Sanctuaries are good, so to have a Marine Sanctuary sounds like a good thing. It could be, but like most gov’t entities, the main purpose of the FKNMS has become to increase its scope of power and its budget. The water is not cleaner, the coral is not healthier, the fish stocks are not improving and they cannot maintain the areas the do have control of. It’s been 30 yrs. It was a nice idea, but it is just not working.

I’m still here so I guess I’m still having fun.

I think I’ll stick around for a little bit longer!