USCG-Licensed Captain Service
We Can Take You There
As US Coast Guard licensed Masters (Captains) with Sailing, and OUPV “6-Pack” certifications, we can operate or deliver your boat wherever you need it, safe, and on-time. From Lake Washington through the locks, to Desolation Sound, Ketchikan, or San Diego, we can take your boat and you there.
Imagine how stress-free your cruising would be if your boat was ready and waiting for you in Anacortes, Friday Harbor, Lund, or Sidney without you having to cross the straits or worry about burning your limited vacation time just getting there.
Ask us about our pre-cruising or pre-race locks packages, where we’ll bring your boat to or from your freshwater moorage through the locks to Shilshole or Elliott Bay, so you don’t have to worry about the locks or bridge opening times. We can even fill (or empty) the tanks for you on the way.
Don’t Take Our Word For it:
“My wife and I needed a captain/coach to assist in bringing us in our newly acquired boat down from Seattle Washington to Astoria Oregon.
Several reasons contributed to our decision to hire a captain for this trip, including: 1) We are novice sailors with limited off-shore experience. 2) Our new boat, a 48′, 73,000 lb tug/yacht, is quite a bit larger and more complex than anything we had previously operated. 3) Its propulsion includes a main engine with a get-home engine, so essentially a single-screw vessel with a bit of assist from the 70-hp wing engine and a bow thruster. And finally, 4) Since the boat was just purchased, it was untested by us.
Enter Captain Jim Merrick of Merrick Marine, recommended to us by our surveyor.
Hiring Jim was one of the smartest decisions we have made. Firstly, he is a likeable guy and both my wife and I liked him from the get-go. Secondly, he was both knowledgeable of marine systems and he took the time to familiarize himself of all of our boat’s major systems. Thirdly, he understood all of the hazards that this little voyage would entail as we would be navigating the Strait of Juan de Fuca, notorious for fog, high winds and seas, the Washington Pacific coastline—same conditions—and crossing the Columbia River bar nick-named the “Graveyard of the Pacific” for good reason. And finally, the timing of our voyage would take us out into the Pacific Ocean in November!!, not generally a good time of year to be heading down the coast in the Pacific Northwest. But, thanks to Jim being a very weather-wise captain, he spotted a weather window and we decided to go for it.
As it happened, we were blessed with unseasonably great weather for the whole voyage, an answer to our prayers. At all times we felt confident of our captain, safe, and we had a wonderful experience/adventure to boot.
Captain Jim Merrick gets our highest possible rating and we do not hesitate to recommend him to one and all.”
-Dan and Danna Graham