Dan Martinak started with a big boat
May 31, 2007
Dan and Dottie Martinak built on Marco Island in 1998. Soon after that, they went to the Miami Beach Boat Show.
By Capt. Carl Kelly
His intentions were to look, but not to buy. But plans and actions don't always match.
"I saw a boat that was reasonable enough," he said. "I thought I could afford it. The guy was a good salesman.
"He said, 'I'll teach you how to drive it.'
"I said, 'I don't even know how to start the thing.'
"He spent a couple of hours with me and actually brought the boat around with me and my wife. I learned a lot by doing that."
So Dan bought his first boat. It was a 40 -foot Sea Ray.
"I jumped right in with a nice big boat," he said. "I fooled around with that. I hit a couple sandbars. The best one is I got stuck on a sandbar out at Coon Key. It cost me $10,000 to get off. It took 44 hours. Since then, I haven't hit any more sandbars."
Thinking back on the purchase, he said, "I can't believe they'd sell you a boat that size, give you the keys, take the check, and it's all yours. Since then, I've taken the courses. I've learned a lot."
Bigger boat
He recently got his captain's license and bought a bigger boat, a 54-foot Sea Ray that has a 16- foot beam and draws 49 inches.
It is called Marco Fox, noting that the Martinaks come from the Fox Valley in Illinois.
"We use it a lot. We really enjoy boating," he said, but also noting, "this thing holds 600 gallons and it's no fun to fill it up."
They joined the Marco Bay Yacht Club two years ago and Dan became Fleet Captain in February this year. He organizes their excursions, planning about half of them and assigning the rest to other members.
"We've been doing about three things a month since February. We do keep busy. We gather every Friday at Marco Lodge in Goodland," which has become the yacht club's home base, he said.
Some excursions are local - rafting up in Smokehouse Bay, a picnic on Panther Key under a Gilligan's Island theme, a Wild Goose Chase with numbered plastic geese and a sheet of clues to where they have been hidden.
Longer excursions include a trip to the Dry Tortugas and a possible trip to the British Virgin Islands next year.
On longer excursions they travel together, enjoy the destination in smaller groups according to their interests and gather on one of the larger boats for some meals and fellowship.
Although Dan is the Fleet Captain for the club, he sometimes acts more like a membership recruiter.
Family
"It's like a big family," he said. "It's really a great club. It costs $200 to join and $100 a year dues. You can't go wrong for $100.
"You have to live on Marco Island or Isles of Capri or Goodland and have a boat. Some members recently sold their boats and joined one of the boat clubs. So, they have a boat, sort of, and we accept them as members.
"You get a dinner for two at the new members' meeting. You get a lot of gifts. You get like 150 dollars out of the 200 back."
Capt. Carl has held his USCG captain's license since 1994. If you have questions or would like to make suggestions for this column, contact Capt. Carl at
marcocaptain@comcast.net.
"I saw a boat that was reasonable enough," he said. "I thought I could afford it. The guy was a good salesman.
"He said, 'I'll teach you how to drive it.'
"I said, 'I don't even know how to start the thing.'
"He spent a couple of hours with me and actually brought the boat around with me and my wife. I learned a lot by doing that."
So Dan bought his first boat. It was a 40 -foot Sea Ray.
"I jumped right in with a nice big boat," he said. "I fooled around with that. I hit a couple sandbars. The best one is I got stuck on a sandbar out at Coon Key. It cost me $10,000 to get off. It took 44 hours. Since then, I haven't hit any more sandbars."
Thinking back on the purchase, he said, "I can't believe they'd sell you a boat that size, give you the keys, take the check, and it's all yours. Since then, I've taken the courses. I've learned a lot."
Bigger boat
He recently got his captain's license and bought a bigger boat, a 54-foot Sea Ray that has a 16- foot beam and draws 49 inches.
It is called Marco Fox, noting that the Martinaks come from the Fox Valley in Illinois.
"We use it a lot. We really enjoy boating," he said, but also noting, "this thing holds 600 gallons and it's no fun to fill it up."
They joined the Marco Bay Yacht Club two years ago and Dan became Fleet Captain in February this year. He organizes their excursions, planning about half of them and assigning the rest to other members.
"We've been doing about three things a month since February. We do keep busy. We gather every Friday at Marco Lodge in Goodland," which has become the yacht club's home base, he said.
Some excursions are local - rafting up in Smokehouse Bay, a picnic on Panther Key under a Gilligan's Island theme, a Wild Goose Chase with numbered plastic geese and a sheet of clues to where they have been hidden.
Longer excursions include a trip to the Dry Tortugas and a possible trip to the British Virgin Islands next year.
On longer excursions they travel together, enjoy the destination in smaller groups according to their interests and gather on one of the larger boats for some meals and fellowship.
Although Dan is the Fleet Captain for the club, he sometimes acts more like a membership recruiter.
Family
"It's like a big family," he said. "It's really a great club. It costs $200 to join and $100 a year dues. You can't go wrong for $100.
"You have to live on Marco Island or Isles of Capri or Goodland and have a boat. Some members recently sold their boats and joined one of the boat clubs. So, they have a boat, sort of, and we accept them as members.
"You get a dinner for two at the new members' meeting. You get a lot of gifts. You get like 150 dollars out of the 200 back."
Capt. Carl has held his USCG captain's license since 1994. If you have questions or would like to make suggestions for this column, contact Capt. Carl at
marcocaptain@comcast.net.
