Dear Bertram Insider,
Obviously I love to fish and dive and my wife knows it, but I think she is growing tired of these “chance of a lifetime” opportunities that come up as part of my “job”. Well, I cashed in another one of those chips for a “chance of a lifetime” to go to fish the Hemingway tournament in Havana, Cuba last week. The owner of a 63 Bertram (of course) was gracious enough to invite me along. With the easing of sanctions, there were a record 96 boats this year in Havana to fish the tournament with over 70 of them from the US. Lots of Bertrams representing us proudly, great people, and such unique place molded by particular circumstances. Take a look over at our Facebook/BertramYacht page for some pictures of the experience. My favorites are the shots of a beautifully restored 31 Bertram called “Sea Hottie” and the most recent Bertram built, a gorgeous custom 64 Bertram called “Rebel”.
So who is watching the shop? Well, based on the attached picture there are plenty eyes on the 35. This picture was taken at the Sneak Peek last month. Besides whetting folks’ appetites, that weekend also gave us the opportunity to hear your feedback and suggestions. With all eyes on us and our first new model under new ownership, we’re certainly willing to listen. That’s why I love this picture so much and it will end up on my wall. It shows the boat taking shape of course. It shows our new CEO, an industry veteran, Peter Truslow overlooking the project and sharing thoughts. It shows our head of production Earl Blackwell, some of the best eyes in the business for boat building, in his element sharing details about the construction, and best of all it shows a great representative of you, our Bertram Enthusiast/Consultants/Critics…. studying the mockup of the new chock that will adorn the bow. We got such great feedback from our Bertram attendees, even some tough love but after all they are family, so we expect nothing else to make us better.
Oh and by the way, that Bertram I mentioned above that fished the Hemingway tournament …it won the whole thing! Congratulations to the crew of “Un Believable” for an amazing win. That’s one for the belt buckle for sure. And yes, even though all I really did was cook lunch, I’m including myself in the “WE won the Hemingway”.
Sincerely,
Capt. Tommy Thompson
Product Development Manager
Bertram Yacht