Throughout the week, we met with several clients to walk boats and talk plans. In addition to the dozens of trawlers on the display docks, Jeff met with a client to tour two Kadey-Krogen 39s in the nearby area (not in the show), and Jeff also met with another client to visit a Nordhavn 50 listed for sale at Cap Sante Marina.

The docks offered plenty of action and opportunity to engage, explore, and take in the latest from various brokers and builders. We were also able to meet with several vendors we work with regularly.

One of Jeff’s favorite seminars is “Trawler Buying Tips”, where he moderates a panel of seasoned industry professionals. The team walks through the entire trawler buying process – from selecting a broker to finding a boat and writing up an offer, surveying, and navigating legal steps like taxes, titling, and tariffs.

Jeff has moderated this seminar for years and continues to enjoy sharing what he’s learned from decades in the business. The panel featured: Kieran Conaty of Sterling Associates (marine lending), John Posey of Total Dollar (marine insurance), Matt Maynard of Irwin Yacht

Sales (yacht broker), Jim Merrick of Merrick Marine (marine surveyor), Greg Singer of Lochner Law Firm (marine attorney) and Jeff Merrill of JMYS (yacht broker)

The “Trawler Transactions” article series in PassageMaker magazine penned by Jeff is available on the JMYS website offers a great companion resource to this session. Check out the one page hand out Jeff gave to attendees.

The weather cooperated beautifully – just a touch of dampness early on, followed by gorgeous, sunny skies. The energy around the tents and docks was upbeat and inviting. This was a great crowd, and the location made it easy for everyone to connect.

As part of our event coverage, Jeff filmed a new installment of our “Dock Walk and Talk” video series – capturing the sights and sounds of TrawlerFest Anacortes 2025. Shot right on location, the video takes you through the tent displays and along the docks, offering a firsthand look at the atmosphere of the show.

From casual conversations with fellow cruisers to highlights of the boats on display, this walk-through captures the essence of what makes TrawlerFest such a special gathering. Whether you attended and want to relive it, or missed the event and want to catch a glimpse, the Dock Walk and Talk gives you a great feel for the setting, layout, and enthusiasm on site.

A standout moment from the week was seeing the world premiere of the Helmsman 46. Jeff toured the new model with Scott Helker, President and Founder of Helmsman Trawlers. This boat represents a strong new addition to the Helmsman line, and we’re confident it’s going to be a very popular design for the brand.

Friday afternoon featured another TrawlerFest favorite: the “Ask the Experts” panel. Jeff served as moderator, guiding the conversation and fielding questions from a highly engaged audience. Panelists included: Eric Bescoby (JMYS), Bud LeMieux (Northern Marine), Patrick Noor (DMS Holland), Brian Calvert (Selene Philippines), Matt Maynard (Irwin Yacht Sales), Wayne Goldman (Selene Americas) and Jeff Merrill (JMYS).

This session is always different – no two panels are ever the same – and there’s always something new to learn as regulations, technologies, and best practices evolve.

JMYS broker Eric Bescoby returned to present his popular seminar, “The Big U.” Having nearly completed the Big U twice, Eric’s firsthand perspective and well-organized presentation resonated with attendees. As promised, you can download a PDF of his PowerPoint presentation.

Brian Calvert, from Selene Philippines, gave a presentation about cruising in Asia based on his wonderful cruising experiences. Unfortunately, the seminar did not make the program publishing deadline. Brian is a good friend of Jeff’s and the two were able to have fun reminiscing about long ago boat shows and mutual clients.

As always, we’re grateful to connect with so many enthusiastic trawler fans in such a beautiful setting. Special thanks to Firecrown Media – the new owners of PassageMaker Magazine and TrawlerFest – for putting on another well-organized, energetic, and educational event.

The final TrawlerFest of 2025 will be held this September in Baltimore – we hope to see you there as we wrap up the year and start planning for 2026!

Trawlerfest had three locations at the Bahia Mar venue. The seminars were held on the second floor above the lobby of the Bahia Mar resort with Julie, Donna and Priscilla greeting and guiding people to the seminar classrooms and also directing attendees to the tent area and docks (both of which opened on Thursday).

On Wednesday, our fabulous tent team Jon and Pam set up our booth in preparation for the event while Jeff kicked off his week of seminars with Dialing In Your Trawler to a packed room of enthusiastic Trawler owners (current and future) looking for ideas that they can use aboard.  If you attended the session, please feel free to download the PDF PowerPoint down below as well as the handouts and put some of these concepts to use!

Wow and hurray, 33 boats were on display!  The new and used trawler market is opening up, more sellers and buyers were on the docks and the selection is varied with optimism and enthusiasm for the trawler lifestyle continuing to build.

On Thursday, docks B and C opened for visitors to start boarding boats. Jeff had a brief chance to hit the docks but was called back to the classroom by mid afternoon to serve as the host and moderator for a three hour session called, “Trawler Buying Tips”.  This is one of the most popular seminars at every Trawlerfest and the room was packed with attendees scrambling to take down every note from many industry experts!

Trawler Buying Tips kicked off with Steve Zimmerman and his clever boat selection matrix helping buyers figure out what type of trawler might best serve them depending upon their cruising plans. Jeff then talked about selecting a yacht broker and extolled the virtues of finding a broker you trust, preferably a member of one of the yacht broker associations to insure trust, ethics and good business practices.  He also covered the advantages of working with a CPYB (Certified Professional Yacht Broker) the highest credential a yacht broker can achieve.  Cindy Lewis from Sterling Associates discussed in detail how to get marine financing.  Next up with John Posey from Total Dollar to review marine insurance.  Once you have a broker, know which trawler you want, have the funds to proceed and have a plan for insurance you can write up an offer and get a survey, which merged right in the Kerry Nikula from Elite Marine Surveyors who outlined how you find a surveyor, what to look for during a survey and other important aspects of onboard due diligence.  The session culminated with Matt Miller, maritime attorney from Miller Watson Marine Attorneys, who discussed; titles, taxes and tariff amongst other important legal technicalities every boat buyer should be aware of.  We ran slightly over our time slot but were graciously excused by Wayne Goldman from Selene Yachts America’s who was up next.

A special thank you and acknowledgment to Kim Russo from the AGCLA (America’s Great Loop Cruising Association) for a fun, but brief hello before she conducted a program about doing the Loop, which timing wise, was tough, because it overlapped with Trawler Buying Tips.  We heard later that several couples used a “divide and conquer” strategy with one sitting in on Tips and the other Looping. Good thinking!

With the docks open and the trawlers ready for boarding, Jeff and Pam grabbed the video gear and started filming. Several years ago Jeff started a series of video time capsules to celebrate each Trawlerfest called a “Dock Walk and Talk”.  These videos can be found on our YouTube channel and capture some of the people we met and trawlers on display. They continue to increase in popularity and views with each passing year.

For 33 boats, two docks were in play to secure all of the trawlers.  In addition to walking down the docks to record a summary of the trawlers on display, Jeff was invited aboard nearly a dozen trawlers to get a more in-depth tour. With all the additional footage, we will be doing something different this year. Our standard Dock Walk and Talk will be business as usual, but we will also share the individual trawler tours as short standalone videos called “TrawlAboard.” None of these boats are listed for sale by JMYS (each video will have information on the boat and representative). We just love giving our viewers a more in-depth onboard experience of different brands and to meet many of our favorite fellow trawler brokers who were kind enough to show us around. These videos will be posted on our YouTube video – so make sure you are subscribed to find out when they are live!

Check out the full list of boats that were on display below:

Back in the tents we had a fun visit from John Hoffman (current JMYS broker) and Ray Danet (former JMYS broker).

Friday was a gorgeous Florida day, the gateway to the weekend. Jeff and Pam arrived early to do some video filming before the show.  “TrawlAboard” videos were recorded with:

Andrew Cilla – Luke Brown – Outback 50

Dave Price – Burr Yacht Sales – Fleming 55

Paul Cifka – Selene Americas – Selene 54

Michael Mandel – YachtsSalesInternational.com – Greenline 39

Scott Helker – Helmsman Trawlers – Helmsman 38E

Then it was back to the tents! Jeff had a good visit and enjoyed some office time up in the marina control tower thanks to John Jarvie from Oversea Insurance.

Friday walking around the tents Jeff recognized Nathan Cicio and Lindsey Lock from 71 percent – a blossoming YouTube channel sharing their adventures on the new to them Nordhavn 41. You’ll have to go to their page to learn the cool significance of 71 percent and the equally cool artwork on their transom.  Jeff had a short conversation to congratulate them on their Nordhavn purchase and successful YouTube channel and…just as fast and in a blink, they were off to the docks with their video gear to take a look with plans to quickly get back to their boat and take off on their next trip.  Hopefully there will be a time in the future where Jeff can sit down with Nathan and Lindsey them to hear more about how things are going.  Here is a link to their channel – please check it out and subscribe, they are very fun and energetic.

https://www.youtube.com/@The71Percent

Jeff went back to the docks to film a wonderful tour with Mike Schlichtig of Outer Reef Yachts aboard their Outer Reef 720.  Joel Davidson was also aboard. These two have been with Outer Reef since inception and their product knowledge is exceptional. The boat on display was really a spectacular boat.

Finally on Friday afternoon, it was time for the Town Hall -Ask the Experts Panel where Jeff served as moderator. This event started years ago with veteran cruiser, and circumnavigator, Bruce Kessler opening up his brain to all comers.  It continues to pack the room and for Fort Lauderdale our experts included Chris Parker, Cindy Lewis, John Posey, Wayne Goldman, Bob Arrington and Steve Zimmerman. It was one of our best discussions and we had an active, curious and engaging audience which made it that much better.

Saturday welcomed another sunny, summer day (not bad for March) and with our classroom commitments completed it was fun to meet people at our booth in the tent and also go down to the docks to get on a few more boats and catch up with our fellow yacht brokers and the people walking the docks.

Jeff and Pam snuck down to the docks early to film:

 Leopard 46 with Doug Ullam from Leopard Catamarans

North Pacific 45 with Frank – the owner

Nordic Tug 42 with Cory Gracey from United Yacht Sales

Saturday – Butch and Jennifer Ringelspaugh from Aqua Cultured came by the tents to say hello and keep in touch.  See the video cruising conversation filmed at a previous trawler fest here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x87swcXibCc and subscribe to Butch’s You Tube Channel – https://www.youtube.com/c/AquaCultured

Kit and Dace Kramer stopped by for an old home week visit. We met at Stuart TF in 2016, and Jeff helped them purchase an Ocean Alexander 50 Classicco which they enjoyed for several years of cruising. When it was time to sell, they trusted Jeff and John Hoffman from JMYS to help them sell Sea Traveler in 2024.

Saturday also included a fun Nordhavn 46 owners visit from Susie and Craig who are the proud owners of Salty Haven. They met Jeff at a previous Baltimore Trawlerfest which led them to eventually find and purchase a Nordhavn 46 which they call Salty Haven.  Please follow them on Instagram, here is the link. As a thank you, they stopped by to present Jeff with one of their custom boat t-shirts and the three posed for a photo.

Back on the docks in the afternoon it was time for one more TrawlAboard, this time on the North Pacific 49 with our tour guide Evan Adams of North Pacific Yachts – showing off some of the many great features.

Jeff went back to visit the Helmsman 38 and had a great discussion with Scott Helker and Greg Singer from Lochner Law Firm (maritime attorneys) about duty and tariffs and foreign flagging which is becoming more mainstream as a viable alternative for many trawler buyers.

To wrap up the day and the event, Jeff returned to the Selene 54 Full Circle to meet up with the Selene Americas crew and talk about the great excitement the Selene team is generating.

As this wonderful event comes to a close and we reminisce on all the conversations had and new faces met, we can’t help but notice that each TrawlerFest seems to attract more and more people to the trawler lifestyle. Each show is a welcoming place for cruisers of all experience levels to come and learn something new with likeminded people. The first TrawlerFest of the year sets the tone for how the rest of the year’s shows will perform, and with the energy and excitement we saw in Fort Lauderdale, we expect the Anacortes and Baltimore shows to be right up there with it!

Thank you to Firecrown Media, Inc., the new owners of AIM which includes Passagemaker magazine and Trawlerfest. The legacy staff was aboard (Julie, Donna, Ryan and all) continuing a smooth transition to maintain the prominence of this wonderful experience.

See you in Anacortes, WA this May for the next Trawlerfest – details are at this link:

https://www.passagemaker.com/trawlerfest/anacortes-boat-yacht-show-featuring-trawlerfest-2025

The JMYS team was actively spread out between our two listings, our sponsor tent, and the seminar rooms. Broker Eric Bescoby flew out from San Diego to help staff the Ocean Alexander 50 Gratitude, and also present his lecture on cruising the Big U. The Selene 55 Finish Grade was staffed by JMYS broker Rob Piwowarczyk and his wife Deanna. Rob and Deanna have been Selene 55 owners, so they were great representatives of the brand and could testify to the quality craftmanship of Selene trawlers. We were also very fortunate to have the owners of both trawlers on hand and onboard to help give tours and share their knowledge of these two wonderful trawlers.

Our on the dock tent was staffed by Pam Merrill and her father, Jon Ingebrigsten.

We also had our good friend, Captain Kevin McCarthy from Captn4Hire.com join us to help on the boats and in the tent.

The attendees of the show were all very interested in getting aboard, learning more about each boat, and figuring out a way to take off on their own adventures.  There are many different ways to enjoy trawler living – you can live aboard full time, part time, or just start out weekend cruising when time allows. We believe it’s important for people to get aboard trawlers of all sizes to really find out what works for them and their cruising goals. We also believe there is no better chance to do this than by attending Trawlerfest!

Up the street from the docks at the Marriott hotel, Jeff was involved in several presentations. Jeff also sat in on some great talks by Scott Richard Berg (surveyor), Bob Sweet (author and instructor) and Wayne Goldman (Selene Americas).  The panel sessions for Trawler Buying Tips and the Experts Roundtable were lively and entertaining.

If you were in one of Jeff or Eric’s classes and would like to download a PDF of the PowerPoint and have access to the editable documents, those are linked at the bottom of this article and will be available until the end of 2024.

The Selene Americas team was on the docks showing off the Selene 59 Blue Phoenix. Jeff enjoyed spending time with many of the Selene owners as well as the managing team including Howard Chen, Michael Chen, Wayne Goldman, and Paul Cifka.  We had many interactions with the wonderful Selene owners around (many stayed after the Selene East Coast Rendezvous) and Howard Chen was everywhere!

Jeff filmed another Dock, Walk and Talk video in Baltimore.  The final cut is still in our system getting finalized, but we hope to have it published on YouTube in November.

As we approach the end of the year and look back on the three Trawlerfest events held in 2024, we are extremely optimistic that the interest in buying and selling trawlers continues to grow and that there are opportunities for all interested in pursuing this activity.

Special thanks to the Passagemaker team for another wonderful event. JMYS is happy to support the Trawlerfest events as a national sponsor and we intend to continue promoting the series in 2025.

We hope you can join us in Florida for the first Trawlerfest of 2025… Exact date and location have not yet been announced, but we will let you know and look forward to seeing you there!

The four founders of Selene Yachts Americas;, Michael Chen, Howard Chen, Wayne Goldman, and Paul Cifka opened the event off with a welcoming presentation. Their update on the resurgence of the brand brought excitement to the attendees and the energy was contagious for the rest of the weekend. The event kick off also included the official announcement that Jeff Merrill is joining the Selene Americas team to help with new build sales after being an advisor to the brand for the past year. JMYS will continue to operate separately as a trawler brokerage, but the opportunity to help assist with new orders is something Jeff is really looking forward to.

The official announcement can be found in the YouTube video linked below.

The rendezvous program of talks, visits, and meals was outstanding and on the last day, Saturday, Jeff started things off with a presentation called Pride of Ownership, which merged very well with the theme of Selene pride that was being promoted throughout the event.

On Sunday morning, the fleet of Selenes present gathered together for a formation to officially end the weekend. Those watching from shore got some wonderful photos and videos of the scene and those aboard listening to the VHF conversation had some entertainment of their own.

Too many names to thank and mention, but I’d like to publicly thank Glenda Groome (Selene 53) and Robin Newland (Selene 43) the rendezvous chairs who did an extraordinary job of hosting and organizing.

We have included some photos from the rendezvous in the gallery below.

There are also many great Selene videos on the Selene Americas YouTube channel. We recommend you subscribe, here is the link: https://www.youtube.com/@SeleneAmericas

The Kessler’s participated (as visitors) in many of the boat shows and TrawlerFests I attended as a broker.  Always approachable, always inciteful, and fun to be with, Bruce became my trawler world father figure and I even called him ‘Pop’.

I can’t name anyone else I have known who has lived such a rich life.  His successes were not hyped.  His innate determination and inquisitive drive led him to celebrity in several fields.  Wikipedia does a good job of summarizing Bruce’s accomplishments, but he was so much more than an amazing achiever.  Bruce was a very caring person who would do anything for anyone from long-time friends to total strangers.  He loved to talk about his interests; cars, fishing, voyaging, but never from the position of the master that he was, but always conversationally with the listener as an equal.  The generational attitude of being humble was one of his strengths, he was just happy to be with people who shared his interests and his enthusiasm.

Bruce and Joan Kessler are pioneers in offshore cruising. They went on a fishing trip aboard their modified Delta marine trawler and set the wheels in motion for a new breed of power cruiser. Never seeking attention for their incredible boating accomplishments, they found acclaim and admiration from all who they interacted with – something I grew to appreciate even better at TrawlerFest events across the country. I was honored to join Bruce in several Cruisers Round Tables where his magnetism always attracted an enthusiastic response. We often met for dinner and the Kessler’s always welcomed my clients to join in.

Pam and I  also now look back at some amazing summer weeks in Maine with them aboard their Northern Marine trawler, Spirit of Zopilote.   There is a magical bond when you become  shipmates. Living aboard even for a short visit includes planning, time underway to talk, meals for more conversations and simply enjoying the ride.

At the recent Anacortes Trawler Fest we honored Bruce to start out our Friday afternoon Cruisers Round Table. This seminar was created by Bruce as a way to help out people who were new to the trawler realm. His concept; enlist a panel of experienced cruisers and encourage the audience to ask any questions they have about cruising and trawlers.  This has become a popular and lively event at TrawlerFests across the country and it will continue on in Bruce’s spirit.

After Bruce’s passing there have been many well-deserved tributes published online throughout  the numerous arenas he touched through his life.  It was my privilege to be able to speak at Bruce’s Celebration of Life at the Del Rey Yacht Club where so many amazing stories were told.   I’d like to share a short excerpt of my homage to Bruce (and Joan) here:

A life well lived.

What else could any of us ask for? 

How about this?

Grow up in Beverly Hills and become an international race car champion, then a movie and television director, fall in love and marry a movie star, become one of the most creative offshore sports fisherman of all time and later upend the recreational boating industry by converting a commercial fishing hull into a long range motor yacht to catch marlin all over the world and, in the process, end up being one of the first power boaters to circumnavigate the globe.

That is a broad overview and short summary, that merely points to an incomplete sketch of Bruce’s life story.  If you knew Bruce, you heard (or became part of) some of his stories.

Bruce’s departure is a reminder to me that there are special people in every life who make a difference.  We never truly know what we have until it is gone.  Remembering Bruce brings home the important message to me that the journey is often more fulfilling than reaching the destination.

Thank you, Bruce for your innovations, kindness and genuine friendship. The times we shared on the docks or at the dinner table are now everlasting memories.  No one will miss you more than Joan, but all who met you, will never forget you.

One of my favorite phrases that Bruce would often say was “Not to worry”.  That will now live on with me as fatherly advice and words to live by.

This welcome sight signifies you are in the trawler capital of boating on the west coast – Anacortes, WA. With direct access to serene, picturesque pacific northwest boating, this quaint seaside town attracts trawlers (and trawler people!) from all over the world.

For the past few years the Anacortes Boat and Yacht show has teamed up with TrawlerFest to deliver a fantastic show for all who attend – and 2024 was exceptional!

Our team for this year’s show was made up of brokers Jeff Merrill and Eric Bescoby, along with Pam Merrill and Pam’s father, Jon Ingebrigsten. Pam and Jon are welcoming faces to have at the JMYS booth while Jeff is in seminars or meeting with clients.

This particular Boat Show and TrawlerFest has a wide variety of businesses showcasing their products and services in the tent area. Items from stabilizers to custom mattresses and services from insurance and marine loans to boat name decals draw interested customers in.

Anacortes is home to a few boat builders as well, so brands such as Nordic Tug, Aspen Catamarans and Northern Marine were represented by a city promotional booth in the tent area.

Down on the docks, over 200 boats were on display for attendees to hop aboard and explore. There was an impressive lineup of boats this year with major brands like Selene, Kadey Krogen, Fleming, Offshore, North Pacific, Nordhavn, Nordic Tugs and American Tugs all representing their gorgeous trawlers on display. Jeff filmed a Dock, Walk and Talk video showing many of the boats, you can find the link to that at the end of this article! The full list of boats on display can be found here:

https://anacortesboatandyachtshow.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/rpt_ABAY-Boats-on-Display-5.14PM.24.pdf

On Tuesday of the show, Jeff presented Heading Offshore to a class full of eager participants. Whether it’s your first or 20^th time heading away from land, this class is a great reminder on what to expect and what boxes to check before uncleating the lines and taking off.  A last minute addition to fill in for Bob Sweet who could not make it, Jeff and Eric Bescoby actually kicked off the day offer a course discussing cruising with technology called, Modern Electronics Navigation Overview.

Note: PDF editions of the Power Points and Word/Excel versions of the course hand outs are available for downloading at the end of this article though August 2024.

On Wednesday morning, Jeff presented another of his signature classes, Dialing In Your Trawler. Attendees of this class get access to Jeff’s collection of simple tips that he has picked up over the last few decades of being aboard trawlers.

Thursday brought an informative discussion in the class, Trawler Buying Tips, which Jeff moderated.  His fellow panelists included Cindy Lewis – Sterling Associates, John Posey – Total Dollar Insurance, Matt Maynard CPYB – Irwin Yacht Sales (and past president of the Northwest Yacht Brokers Association), Fred Robinson- Marine attorney and marine surveyor, Jim Merrick, from Merrick Marine.

On Friday, Jeff moderated Ask The Experts with a packed panel of experts who are passionate about yachting and have the experience to back them up. The session started with a tribute to circumnavigator, Bruce Kessler.  Bruce and his wife, Joan Kessler, were huge pioneers in offshore long-distance cruising – incredible role models and regular TrawlerFest attendees.  Bruce originally conceived the “Cruisers Roundtable” panel and will be sorely missed.  Getting some real-world cruising tips from Tom and Dorinda McMillan, who own a Nordhavn 62 and were invited to sit in this discussion to share some of their experiences, the panel also included several experienced cruisers from the marine industry: Wayne Goldman representing Selene Americas, Bud LeMieux the founder of Northern Marine. Phyllis Woolwine of Shearwater University and Eric Bescoby – JMYS broker, engineer and Big U finisher.

On Saturday of TrawlerFest, JMYS broker Eric Bescoby presented The Big U for the first time. Eric completed this enormous route on his Nordhavn 40 Sprezzatura and shared his story of why he decided to tackle this, the route, his crew, challenges and the aftermath.

TrawlerFest is a great opportunity to connect to fellow boaters who have the same passion for the trawler lifestyle. The speakers chosen to present are highly experienced in their subjects and attendees walk away from TrawlerFest seminars with an almost overwhelming amount of information and tips. Walking the docks provide first hand experience getting aboard a variety of vessels. Current owners can check out other boat layouts, or look for ways to improve something onboard – such as creative storage options for dishes in the galley or different technology options in the pilothouse. Prospective buyers can “shop” around and see what works best for them- does a 55 foot boat make sense for two people just wanting to take short hops offshore? Spending time aboard an actual 55 can help them make that decision.

It doesn’t matter where you are in your trawler journey – there truly is something for everyone at TrawlerFest. Even if you’re just there for the delicious homemade cookies from Mary LaFleur’s insurance booth.

Want to hear more about the boat show portion of Trawlerfest? Watch our Dock Walk and Talk video from the event!