March 18, 2005
I cannot believe it’s been 3 months since I last wrote! Getting ready for the boat shows this year has really kept me busy. Speaking of which—did you get to either the DC show at the Washington Convention Center or the Dulles Expo Show in Chantilly? The DC show was huge. This year the display space went from about 225,000 sq. ft. to 300,000 sq. ft. Prince William had their gargantuan display, as always, tastefully done but I was amazed at how many more large boats there were this year—Cruisers Yachts particularly. I was suprised not to see more Meridians frankly, but maybe next year.
Lots of interesting booths such as Dennis Point, Point Lookout, and Port of Kinsale. They are all sending me brochures so that we can keep the rack by Chuck’s desk full of interesting places to visit. The most intriguing one to me was Windmill Point—they are in the midst of a total renovation. I remember one trip to Windmill Point when I was 17. We were with our customers the Wilsons on their 31 Concorde Nutmeg. The owners of Windmill Point at that time, the Kohlers, had bought a 35 Concorde from dad and which they kept there. We went out with the Power Squadron, had navigation contests, rode around with the Kohler kids, went on an excursion in their little Donzi—what a blast! This new place is going to be a great spot and Windmill Point is right on the beaten path, about an hour south of Smith Point. I’m looking forward to that.
Go Timmy Go!
I’m also looking forward to crabs and refreshing drinks at Tim’s for many years to come. Rumor has it that Tim's current operation will continue for another couple of years. When the new marina has been completed, the developer will buy Tim out but the new marina will also have a restaurant facility and guess who will lease it? This is about the best outcome anyone could want. I know a few folks have gotten down on old Tim but let me tell you, I’ve known him and his father many years and Tim’s always been a standup guy in my humble opinion. I’m just glad we got a win-win situation.
As usual, many members of the Hoffmaster family visited our booth. Ira and Ellen Lazarus showed up and unfortunately I didn’t get time for much more than a freebie kiss from Ellen—it was so busy but it was still good to see her. The Ballingers, Lynchs, Alan Shark, and Murawinskis helped out on the weekend along with some of our newest family members—the Morans. It was a really cool scene. Lots of laughter, fun, people buying boats—just what you hope for. I even got to have a booth across from Ken Sigler, owner of Ken’s Marine. Funny, he and I used to see each other 5 or 6 days a week and now it’s like 5 or 6 times a decade but it was sure good to get to spend some time with him. Thanks so much to all the members of the family that helped out, we’ll be looking for you next year.
The Occoquan Channel is Dredged!
It looks like the dredging of the Occoquan channel is just about done. Many thanks to ORMA and especially to Jim Ball and then really especially to Chris Webster for carrying the water for the rest of us on this. We are so fortunate and blessed to live where we live, in this great boating area, with the freedom to enjoy ourselves. Kinda keeps me warm during these winter months.
Please note that the Calender is getting updated as more and more people figure out what their schedules are. Don’t miss the Occoquan Yacht Club functions at Hoffmasters! OYC is a member of the family. Many of its members have boats at the marina and if you’re new to cruising they can really help you out. The reason we promote OYC is that we’ve never been that interested in being Hoffamster’s Yacht Club per se, I mean my father got thrown out of the Lion’s Club for heck’s sake! OYC doesn’t base at one marina therefore you meet people from all over the place. And I think that’s a really healthy thing.
Free ODBC!
But while I’m on the subject of Yacht Clubs, don’t let me get on a soapbox here but isn’t there some way for Alexandria to leave ODBC alone? Can’t they build a garage near the parking lot site and let ODBC members park for free or something? It’s a crying shame that Alexandria has one marina almost back in repair, is trying to get rid of another marina that’s almost in repair, has no usable launch ramp (and it doesn’t have to be in Old Town), no gas, and one marina that’s been closed for 30 years because of a lawsuit! This is a PORT TOWN hello! OK I’ll calm down again.
Hey, it’s boating season! Let’s make the most of it out there people, Carpe Diem!
Contact Information
Joe Hoffmaster—Sales Manager, General Manager, Sales Specialist new boats. M-W and F
8am-4pm, Sat 10am-4pm.
Martha Hoffmaster—Chief Financial Officer; M, T, Th and F 8:30am-11am, 12:30pm-3pm.
Kathleen Walker—Accounts Receivables, billing questions, and boat sales; M-F 8:30am-4pm.
Terry Verity, Service Writer, Jeff Atwood, Parts Manager—Parts and service questions; M-F
8am-4pm.
Charles T. Hedrick—Sales Specialist; M, W, Th, and F 8:30am-4pm; Sat 10am-4pm; Sun Noon-4pm or by appointment.
Sam, Steve, John, and Dave are techs M-F 8am-4pm.
For Service and parts orders and follow-up, call Terry or Jeff. On the weekends leave Terry notes. Parts order forms and work order forms are located on the parts counter. Anybody in the store can assist you with this.
To put your boat up on brokerage or to get a value call Chuck.
If you have a question about your bill call Kathleen.
