Watermark Cruises Expecting a New Arrival – Early Spring
Delivery Anticipated
Firm in the belief that it is important to listen to your
customers, Debbie Gosselin, president of Watermark Cruises, is
adding a new boat to the tour and charter fleet, a 150- passenger,
custom-built motor-catamaran designed with the varied Watermark
customer base in mind. Lady Sarah, named after
Ms. Gosselin’s older daughter Sarah, is being designed for
flexibility of use making it equally suitable for public tours and
private charters. Lady Sarah will be used for
all of the Day on the Bay cruises and 2 ½-hour Three Lighthouses
tours. She will also be available for private parties outside
of her regular tour schedule.
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“A market survey of our customers told us that they want more
time at the destination, and a quieter ride,” said Gosselin.
Also, some of the private charter clients favoring day excursions
were asking for destinations not currently offered either because of
the water depth or the distance. There were also
requests for meeting space and seated dinners for mid-sized groups.
Lady Sarah’s design answers all of these needs.
Since 1972 Watermark Cruises has offered the 7-1/2 hour Day on
the Bay cruise to St. Michaels, a historic and charming village on
Maryland ’s Eastern Shore . Aboard the older vessels, the
trip provided just under 3 hours ashore for lunch, sightseeing and
shopping. With a cruising speed of 18 knots, Lady Sarah
will take no more than two hours each way, giving passengers an
additional hour in St. Michaels. Special sound-reducing
measures are being taken to minimize the noise normally associated
with cruising at top speed. The roomy main deck provides a
climate-controlled environment in which a combination of built-in
U-shaped booths and tables and chairs provide upscale, comfortable
seating. The open, airy second deck is partially
canopied allowing for a choice of sun or shade. Built-in
cushioned benches line the perimeter of the second deck with outdoor
tables and chairs providing additional seating.
Lady Sarah will also be ideal for private charter
parties. The higher speed and shallow draft allow for four to
eight-hour roundtrip excursions to other ports for a crab feast,
cook-out, or sophisticated dining. Cantler’s, Rock Hall,
Herrington on the Bay and St. Michaels are popular destinations that
take from one to 2-1/2 hours each way. Lady Sarah,
which draws a foot less and cruises six knots faster than the other
vessels in the Watermark fleet, expands the choice of destinations
to include Kentmore, Kent Narrows, Oxford, and Solomons Island.
Using rich tones of dark blue leather and cherry accents to create
an understated nautical décor, interior designer Belinda McClure
has designed an interior space appropriate for formal as well as
casual private charters. The main deck will accommodate at
least 75 guests for a seated dinner and will be easily adaptable for
meeting space, complete with darkening shades for A/V presentations.
Builder Geo Shipyard is located in New Iberia, Lousiana, home to
some of the best aluminum welders in the country. “We spoke
to a number of yards around the country. David LeCompte and
his family build excellent aluminum boats and have designed exactly
what we wanted. They have been great to work with throughout
the process and are ahead of schedule. We are looking forward
to getting the boat home and in service by the end of March,
2005,” Gosselin said. The vessel is a USCG Subchapter
T, 65-feet long, 21.3-feet wide catamaran built to high-speed
standards, and will be certified to carry 150 passengers. It
will be the first catamaran passenger vessel in service in the
northern part of Chesapeake Bay.
Watermark is already booking Lady Sarah for
charters beginning in April, 2005.
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