Robert & Kay...

"Since leaving Chattanooga, Tennessee, we traveled back down the Tennessee River, stopping for several days again at Joe Wheeler State Park. The fall colors were at their peak as we traveled back down the river. Each day we thought that the colors could be no more brilliant, but each day they were. We have anchored several evenings with fellow boaters, and stayed overnight at several marinas. At one anchorage we observer 6 turkeys walking along the riverbank as the fog lifted. Pictures of turkeys and eagles are very difficult to capture. The camera and operator are just not fast enough. Each day is new and exciting, and an adventure. From one of the marinas we rented a vehicle and traveled to Tupelo, Mississippi. The significant findings in Tupelo were the birthplace of Elvis Presley, and an antique car museum. A special exhibit at the car museum was a display of 30 or so well built roadsters. "

"We traveled down the Tennessee River with a unique boat named Annie. It was a 52 foot boat built by a retired doctor. As a special touch he added a hand made, air powered calliope. He enjoyed playing it, and we enjoyed listening. It was like riding down the river listening to a carousel. "

"We are continuing to see white pelicans. We saw a large number around Decatur, Alabama, and more here in Columbus, Mississippi. "

"The leaves are now turning brown and beginning to fall. Gone are the brilliant reds, oranges, and yellows! We are traveling down the TennTom Waterway, a waterway completed by the Corps of Engineers in 1985 connecting the Tennessee River and the Tombigbee Rivers providing a commercial route from Tennessee to Mobile Bay, Alabama. "

"Yesterday we saw 5 bald eagles on the TennTom Waterway."

"We have also been surprised by the number of tows (tugs and barges) on the TennTom Waterway. Today we passed four tows in just 23 miles of travel as we continue toward the Gulf of Mexico."

Robert & Kay...

"Kay and I spent last week attending a rendezvous with approximately 180 other boaters in some phase of doing the Loop, at Joe Wheeler State Park in Alabama. Mostly we talked about the next part of our adventure, but one of the fun activities was a dingy race, in which I was blindfolded and had to go backwards, with one other person on the boat as navigator. My friend Larry and I came in second in the race. We also made a side trip by car to Memphis, Tennessee. We visited Graceland, home of Elvis Presley, walked Beale Street and listened to blues players and singers, went down to the bank of the Mississippi River, and drove over the Mississippi to Arkansas. We also made a side trip to Huntsville Alabama and visited the Space Museum, and Botanical Garden, finishing the day off with a great local Bar-B-Que meal."

"After traveling on the Loop since May 14, we finally caught up with Lorenzo Johnson and his wife Lois. Lorenzo and I worked together at the Brunswick Nuclear Plant for over 30 years and discussed and dreamed of doing this adventure one day. Lorenzo and Lois live in Shallotte, North Carolina, and they started the Loop in April. "

"We made a side trip by boat up the Tennessee River to Chattanooga, where we currently are. Wow! It is really beginning to get cold on the Tennessee River now. Two days ago we recorded 32 degrees and there was lots of ice on the deck. There were also approximately a dozen wild turkeys walking along the shoreline as the fog lifted. The leaves are really beginning to change now, the reds, yellows, and orange colors are glowing. "

"On our trip up the Tennessee River we passed by Brown's Ferry Nuclear Plant, a sister plant to the Brunswick Nuclear Plant. We also passed by an Andrew Jackson Memorial carved on a cliffside by the Daughters of American Revolution (DAR) organization close to a cave where he hid Civil War supplies. The memorial was carved in the year 1911. "

"A childhood friend, high school classmate and college roommate, Stewart Creech and his wife Frances, who now live in Knoxville, Tennessee, came by to visit, and stayed with us overnight on C-Life. The four of us took in the incline (72 degree) railroad, the Chickamauga & Chattanooga Civil War National Military Park (one of the bloodiest battles of the Civil War, 34,000 casualties), and a ride on the Coolidge Park Carousel which was built in 1895. Stewart & Frances also brought us some wonderful eastern Tennessee Bar-B-Que pork for our enjoyment! Today we mostly watched preliminary activity for a rowing regatta to be held here this weekend. Reportedly, the largest rowing event in the world. We also celebrated Halloween with our fellow boating friends on the dock this afternoon. "

Robert & Kay...

"We crossed Lake Michigan from St. Joseph to Chicago several days ago, just before the weather turned worse. We can truly say that Lake Michigan was kind to us! We only had one day in the past two weeks coming down the lake that got a little uncomfortable. This is one large freshwater lake! Along the eastern shore of Lake Michigan, the state has developed "Safe Harbor" anchorages and marinas approximately every 20 or 25 miles. We picked our days carefully, would travel only when the weather was good, and stop at another of the "Safe Harbors" for a day or two, until it appeared safe to travel another day. Some of the towns that we visited along the way were Petoskey, Charlevoix, Frankfort, Ludington, Grand Haven, Saugatuck, and St. Joseph/Benton Harbor. Each town had its own personality, and various activities to enjoy. In Charleviox was an school building from the 1920's which had been restored to be a public library, the nicest public building that I believe I have ever seen. Salmon fishing was very popular this time of the year in several of the towns. A fisherman in Frankfort gave us some Salmon that he caught, and our friends on the boat "Bella Luna", a couple from Morehead City, NC, who started this adventure the same day Kay and I did, May 14, 2008, grilled it for us and several other boater friends to try. We saw the largest musical fountain in the world in Grand Haven, and we had to stop in the channel while going into Saugatuck to wait for a ferry, which was powered by a person turning a hand crank to pull the ferry across the river. Along the eastern shore of Michigan the coastline was made up of sand dunes reaching as high as 480 feet, and the lake was a deep as 700 feet in some places, WOW! This sand accumulated from the constant wind and waves from the west across Lake Michigan. "

"While in Chicago we had a wonderful visit by a former workmate and his family from North Carolina, Ken Nicely, his wife, and two young boys. Kay and I really enjoyed having their two young boys on board for a while, it reminded us of our grandchildren. Oh, we enjoyed Ken and his wife's visit also. We rode a Segway (a two wheeled gyroscope controlled transportation device) and went on a tour of downtown Chicago. We also went on an architecture tour of the city by boat. "

"Our plans from here are to enter the Illinois River tomorrow and begin our adventure down the rivers, arriving at the Gulf of Mexico in late November. Friends of ours from Southport, Bert and Becky Felton, are to join us this afternoon in Chicago for the next ten days or so of the adventure, what excitement!"

Robert & Kay...

"On August 11 Kay and I left Little Current, Ontario, a small village at the eastern end of the North Channel and traveled west to an anchorage in the Benjamin Islands. For the next few days we anchored in various islands in the North Channel with other boaters from New York, Florida, Washington State, and North Carolina, who are also doing the Loop as we are. All of the islands of the North Channel are formed of granite of various colors ranging from white, gray, pink, to an orange color, with trees and brush. As large as the wilderness of Canada is, we have seen very little wildlife, not even any bears or moose. We have however seen chipmunks, snakes, frogs, turtles, seagulls, and herons. Other islands that we anchored at were John Island, and the Grant Islands. "

"On August 13, while traveling between John Island and East Grant Island we traveled the furthermost north that we will be on our entire trip, 46 degrees 09.721 minutes north at 10:15 am, and the next morning was the coldest temperature that we have experienced so far, 53 degrees. That evening was also one of the prettiest sunsets of the trip. For four days we traveled just north of the Island of Manitoulin, the largest freshwater island in the world. I thought that we would never get past it. Finally, on August 14 we could see Drummond Island, Michigan, USA, the location where we would clear U.S. Customs back into the United States. As great as our time spent in Canada was, it was really good to be back in the USA. "

"We entered U.S. waters at 10:42 am on the 14th and one of the other Loopers, a boat from Beaufort, NC, played The Stars and Stripes on the boat radio as we all entered the United States. After clearing customs and an overnight stay at Drummond Island, it was on to Cedarville, Michigan, where we anchored in Government Bay. Interestingly enough, we anchored just around the corner from where Neal and Karen Sage, friends of ours from Southport, have a summer cottage. The Sage's were not at their cottage however, they were in Southport. From Cedarville it was on to Mackinac Island, Michigan for a couple of days. Mackinac Island is a resort island at the western end of Lake Huron, with notable tourist attractions such as Fort Mackinac, a British fort built in 1780, and taken over by the U.S. in 1796, the Grand Hotel, a hotel built in the 1850's with the longest covered front porch in the world, and fudge shops. Our next travels will take us down the eastern shore of Lake Michigan to Chicago."

Linda Williams & Gene Campbell...

"Our boating experience has been wonderful. It's so peaceful on the river in the mornings. We intend to go out in the evening soon. Thanks so much for making the purchase of our boat so smooth and informative. Your explanations of how everything on the boat operates was very thorough. We appreciate the many hours of training ( driving the boat) you provided us on the river. The tip you gave us about noticing the flags on the boats to estimate wind speed has been helpful. It's comforting to know we are operating with a new engine as you made sure the boat was thoroughly inspected before we took ownership. The new topper on the boat looks great! Chad, the mechanic, did a great job! We will definitely contact you in the future should we decide to purchase another boat."

Melinda & Keith Hopkins...

"Attached are pictures of my husband and I on our 36 Marlago. We got married in May and had the boat with us for the weekend at the wedding location on the Wye River in the Chesapeake Bay. The photographer did a series of shots of us on the boat during the reception."

Thank you!

Tim McDonough...

"Pictures of our 2000 Jefferson Marlago, the Blue Martini in the Chesapeake Bay. We still love it and it still turns heads!"

Suzanne & William Pomenti...

We met when you when you were in Islamorada for the Marlago Photo shoot with Michael and David Cavallaro.

We purchased our 35 Marlago when we moved to Islamorada from NJ. Our dream was to someday take the Marlago throughout the Bahama Islands from Islamorada. This summer we fulfilled our dream. We started in Islamorada to Chub Cay, Harbor Island in Eleuthera, through the Exumas, onto Long Island, then San Salvador. We fished and went diving along the way.

Attached photo from Chat and Chill Restaurant in Great Exuma andanother from a beach in Great Exuma. Please submit for photo contest.

Still loving this boat

Chuck & Heide Moeling...

"Hope you all had a GREAT 4th. I got a week of family time at the beach last week and managed to get out fishing quite a bit. Not sure how many Swordfish have been caught aboard a Marlago, but you can add 1 to the count. The fish measured ~7 feet long and hit about 3:45am on Thursday morning.

The OceanLED lights worked great and the boat performed flawlessly on the 200 mile/24 hour journey. Thanks for helping make this the memory of a lifetime!

We also caught two huge Jack Crevally and got to let CJ and my Mom reel one in.

Thanks for an AWESOME fishing machine!

Robert & Kay...

"Hello to all from Catskill, New York, just one day, approximately 40 miles, south of Albany, and the start of the Erie Canal. Except for a few individual e-mails, and a summary of our stay at the Great Kill Yacht Club on Staton Island, New York, this will be the first update since Chesapeake City, Maryland, on the Chesapeake & Delaware (C&D) Canal. You probably have no problem figuring out that the photographs are of ground zero in New York, The Boardwalk and the amusement park in Atlantic City, and C-Life in front of the Statue of Liberty."

"We left Chesapeake City and observed our first Bald Eagle of this trip sitting on a pole beside the canal. We then boated down the Delaware River/Bay and came by the Salem Nuclear Power Plant. We stayed one night at Cape May, NJ, and then on to Atlantic City. We had a great time, went to the Trump Casino (Kay broke even, but I lost about $25, all on the quarter slot machines), the City Aquarium, and biked on the boardwalk. From Atlantic City, on to New York and the Great Kill Yacht Club for three days. We left Staton Island, NY, and up the Hudson River. WOW, all the shipping traffic, and off in the distance was the Statue of Liberty, the City skyline, right by Ellis Island, and on up the Hudson. I saw what my Daddy saw when he came back from Europe after World War II, the New York Harbor and the Statue of Liberty."

"On up the Hudson we then stopped for the night at Haverstraw, NY, marina, a 1000 wet slip marina, WOW. On up the Hudson we passed by the Indian Point Nuclear Power Plant. Last night we had dinner with Don and Linda White, a couple that we met at Nashville, Tennessee, while on vacation at Opryland Hotel and Resort. Don and Linda told us then that they had a family marina on the Hudson River, and we kept their information and told them that we would see them again, and we did. Then on up the Hudson, by and through, the Catskill Mountain Range, by West Point, and are here tonight at the village of Catskill, NY. We continue to meet other boaters doing the LOOP, some that we have met along the way since leaving Southport, and some that we have not met before. Weather and equipment permitting, it is on to Albany, NY, and the start of the Erie Canal."

Dan & Colleen Moran...

"As we searched for our next level of boat, graduating from 16 to 18 to 21 to 25', we found our boat of choice was the Carver 350 Mariner. Approaching our 40's with no children, we found it had the design, space, and length we were content with for entertaining family and friends. We spent months looking at site after site on the web. Finally, we found exactly what we were looking for at KYS. Not only was the boat perfect, but the personal and professional manner with which the deal was constructed was beyond great customer service. Scott Pullem is exceptional! He treated our purchase as if we were buying one of the many gorgeous, new, high-cost, much larger yachts from KYS. It was extraordinary to find that kind of attention to detail in today's marketplace. Always accessible, he handled all details, including facilitating a few minor repairs, boat-handling lessons, and demonstrating systems operations, with a patient, friendly, and caring disposition. We had several phone calls returned and pictures emailed after hours because of his diligent customer service. Scott is clearly an above-and-beyond member of the KYS family. We would certainly return to KYS for future purchases, and also recommend them based on our wonderful experience."

Jeff R. Ellis...

"You have the highest mark in customer service of all companies that I have dealt with. I retired from a catering company in Washington, DC. I have served from 1970, every president in the White House, State Department and every Washington embassy. I know customer service and yours is the BEST!"

Tom and Muffet Harmon...

"Attached to this E-Mail are 3 pictures of our 56 Rivanna as we passed Chicago last week. We have now traveled 3500 miles with a great boat, performing superbly in all conditions. Tell everyone at Jefferson 'HELLO.'"

Iain Morris...

"I wanted to drop you a note to let you know how much I appreciate Alans’ work with me this summer as we go through the commissioning of my new Pilothouse 57. I was concerned about the service aspects of owning this vessel and am happy to report that Alan has more than risen to the occasion! I don’t know if you get emails like this but I do think you should know that I am very happy with the contribution Alan is making to my enjoyment of the boat."

Susan and George Donovan...

"My wife and I own a 1999 4300 International Jefferson Yacht. From the first day of ownership, we have experienced nothing less than superb customer support...they stand behind their product and regardless of the time of day, provide thorough, friendly, and professional service with no second guessing. Unlike most boat builders, they do not abandon their customers. Perhaps that is so because it is a family run business with a lot of pride in their work and we were made to feel part of the family. We are very fortunate to experience the ownership of a top quality boat from a top quality company. It has been a wonderful experience and we can highly recommend the firm to any boat buyer whether they be experienced or first time buyers."

Bill Deane...

"It has been many months since my first introduction to the Jefferson Marlago at the Louisville Boat Show and subsequent test ride at the Miami Boat Show. I wanted you to know that everything from the minute we decided to make the purchase through our first few weeks of cruising has exceeded my expectations. I feel like I know almost everyone at Kentuckiana Yacht Sales and Jefferson Yachts on a first name basis. Everyone involved made the buying experience through construction and commissioning truly enjoyable. The quality and design put into this boat really shows and is proven when you are out on the ocean. Safety and integrity are apparent in this solid boat. Sometimes I get questioned about purchasing such a significant "fishing" boat when I don't even fish! As you know, our interests are primarily cruising, diving and overnighters, with fishing fourth and we outfitted the boat accordingly. The fishing will surely come, maybe even sooner than I thought. There is nothing quite as exhilarating as standing at that helm and flying across that water with such a great ride. Keep up the good work."

Mike Springer...

“Some weekends I take Outlaw 94 miles offshore marlin fishing, the next weekend I’m towing the girls on a nearby lake,” described Springer.

“The boat does everything I want. It’s seaworthy, very maneuverable, totally stable, gas is no issue, it’s dry and I can easily manage it by myself at the launch ramp.”

During the year, Springer tows his Marlago to five or six ASSC tournaments. He usually places near the top at these events held in locations such as Destin and Mexico Beach in Florida or Venice, Louisiana.

Recently, Springer powered the only Marlago in the tournament fleet of 16 vessels over to the Port Lucaya, Bahamas. On alternate days, the group fished and relaxed. Springer reported with pride that on one of the play days, Outlaw ferried 15 people over to a little island for snorkeling and picnicking.

“For my purposes the open bow with forward seating is perfect,” added Springer. “I love to go after fish, but this style also gives me lots of flexibility with my daughters. At this age, they adore sitting up front!”

Gregg Filtch...

"I had heard how they like to run, and everything that is said is true."

The gulf is nasty, trips up to 50 miles in 4-6 foot sea are the norm (we have a very bad chop in the morning out to 30 miles). Usually it is 70+- mile runs to the grounds. I like the fact that I am able to cruise 25-30+ in just about anything without beating the boat and myself. It quarters the waves very nicely and is bone dry. We have won and placed in lots of tournaments over the last 2 seasons I have had the boat.

And had a 600+lb Blue Marlin die on us on July 30th. We were unforatully not able to get away from work and be in the tournament we had planned on fishing that weekend, or we would have had a nice payday cause only few bills were caught.

Lee and Susan Pinkard...

The Marlago Cuddy is far more than versatile or that it just happens to do a lot of things, " explained Lee Pinkard. "The Marlago is multi-dimensional in that it is designed to do lots of things well."

What sold them on the boat? Doug Wilson of Discover Marine in Ft. Myers took the Pinkards out for a demo ride on shallow Charleston Harbor amidst a thunderstorm with up to 35-knot winds and a nasty, short-troughed chop. "I was amazed when Doug cranked up the engines and we were flying at 50 mph through 3-foot, choppy waves," recalled Pinkard. "The boat was stable and when Doug encouraged me to turn in tight circles, the boat responded perfectly!"

The Susan Rae II serves as a keystone to the couples' active retirement. When not fishing 40 to 60 miles offshore for grouper and reef shark, the Pinkards can be seen cruising to are beaches with their children and grandchild. Sometimes they stop at Ophelia's Restaurant for dinner and the five-star, dining crowd openly admires their sleek, multi-dimensional Marlago.

Ray and Arline Cutro...

You all know me as the guy who came to the boat shows for the last five years saying I wanted to buy a Jefferson some day. I even visited your facilities in Jeffersonville Indiana. Over those years the Jefferson Sales and Management team helped me understand more and more about the quality and reputation of Jefferson Yachts and most importantly the integrity of the people behind the product. I am now the proud owner of a 46’ 2001 Jefferson Rivanna Cockpit Motor Yacht that I am embarrassed to say I did not buy directly from Jefferson Yacht Sales only because of the limited availability of this model and options. As I went through the purchase process the Jefferson staff helped me evaluate this boat and provided advice, design drawings and background information full well knowing the purchase situation.

The level of interest and commitment that Jefferson has to satisfying the need of its customers was above my expectations and I want to thank you all for helping me during the purchase and afterwards with resolving some of the minor problems that I might add were not even your responsibility. Now for my testament of the ability of this vessel to comfortably handle what ever the Atlantic could throw at us on a twelve day trip from Scituate Ma to Clearwater Fl; the boat just took it all in stride; the spin off effects of hurricane Helena, and a fierce thunderstorm. I never felt intimated by the bad weather conditions and in good conditions it was like being on a cruise ship. This is all from the captains prospective, but if you ask the first mate what she thinks about the accommodations the answer would be “this is nicer then home”. We plan to retire in a couple of years and are looking forward to extensive travel.

Michael Scher...

I spent a lot of time researching various vessels before picking the Monticello as my new living space. I am totally convinced now that I made the right choice. The only major improvement I have made to the modified design you built for me was to add an MSD. I needed that because my marina does not operate its waste dumping pump during the winter months.

Thanks again for this great boat and please extend that thanks to the people in the shop that built it for me. If you ever need someone to talk to prospective customers about living aboard a Monticello, I will be available.