DESTINATIONS Magazine: Summer 2021
Introducing our Summer 2021 edition of DESTINATIONS Magazine, your resource by Strong's Marine for boating, new models and features from our premium manufacturers, upcoming events, summer memories, client testimonials, team member stories, and more!
In this issue, hear from President Jeff Strong about the expansion of Strong's Marine to Fire Island and Southampton, learn about tips for new boaters, see the new arrival of Cruisers Yachts at Strong's Yacht Center, how we help care for our regions waterways, how women are being empowered through boating, crowd favorite recipes from the chef at Windamere restaurant and more!
Key takeaways from the 2021 Summer edition of DESTINATIONS Magazine:
JUST ARRIVED 85- TON TRAVELIFT AT STRONGS YACHT CENTER
We have ramped up our ability to deliver elevated service to our yacht clients with the
addition of a new 85-metric-ton Marine Travelift at our Yacht Center on Mattituck Inlet.
“We’re consistently growing in our yacht business,” says Strong's vice president Ryan Strong.
The new lift, which accommodates yachts as large as 95 ft., is the largest on Long Island’s North Shore and supplements the 70-ton lift. Both will allow us to support the increasing number of
larger yacht clients purchasing from us. “Strong's is definitely now one of the big boys on the block in that market, no question about it. Strong’s is huge into customer experience and service — now they can control all that as they sell these bigger boats to people who are upgrading.” —Marine Travelift president & CEO Erich Pfeifer. Read More...
CARING FOR OUR REGION’S WATERWAYS
Strong’s has been a longtime supporter of Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE) Marine Program’s shellfish and habitat restoration in our waterways as a partner in the Long Island Shellfish Restoration Project (LISRP), helping to enhance our region’s natural stocks of clams and oysters, establish self sustaining shellfish populations and improve water quality.
Strong’s Yacht Center is an ideal location for nurturing baby shellfish. For several years, our docks have been home to a fleet of FLUPSYs -- Floating Upwelling Systems – which hold shellfish seed in barrels supported below the floating structure. Baby clams are housed in the FLUPSYs in the spring, and grow in this nursery setting until being seeded in a sanctuary site in the fall. We’re happy to report that millions of clams have grown out of our FLUPSYs over the years! This year, we have become a Back to the Bays Stewardship Site Sponsor to play a more significant part in marine habitat and shellfish restoration work. We’ve made a long-term commitment to support shellfish seeding and eelgrass restoration in the vicinity of Mattituck Inlet, enabling the establishment of a spat-on-shell oyster reef, free planting of clams and oysters, and eelgrass restoration plantings.
Curious about FLUPSYs or CCE Marine’s Back to the Bays Initiative? Back to the Bays membership information and merchandise is available at Strong’s Water Club and select other Strong’s locations, and be on the lookout for collaborative Strong’s-Back to the Bays events and volunteer opportunities. Learn more and get involved at backtothebays.org/strongs.
WOMEN ON THE WATER
Tina Novogratz grew up on boats in Virginia Beach, but like many, only saw men at the helm. “Growing up, my parents always had a boat, and my father has always been the captain,” recalls Tina. “My grandparents had a boat, and my grandfather was always the captain. Women just didn’t drive the boat.” Tina and her ex had a boat that he'd captain, but when they separated, she still longed to spend time on the water with her five kids.
“There was a moment last summer when I said, ‘I just miss being out on the boat," she says. “I had this conversation in my own head: ‘You could get a boat. Why shouldn’t you be the captain?’” Tina is part of a growing number of women buying boats in a recreation that has largely been dominated by men, according to Info-Link, a Florida firm that tracks boat registrations. Though the needle is moving slowly — about 12 percent of 2020 boat buyers were women — it is moving. That’s especially true because 2020 saw a record number of first-time boat buyers, and women make up 23 percent of that group. Family boats like runabouts (13 percent, 18 percent of first-time buyers) have seen the needle tick up a bit more quickly.
“I think it’s a safe bet that a lot more women are involved in the purchase process than what is reflected in these figures," says Info-Link founder Jack Ellis. “And although these are small percentages, the general trend is encouraging.” Strong’s Marine has definitely seen more women buyers in the pandemic, says sales coordinator Nancy Todrick, who helps coordinate all new boat deliveries.
Deb Avis, who recently bought a 2021 Pursuit S268, had boated as a child, and with her late husband, but recently married a non-boater.
“I married a golfer, so that’s why I bought the boat,” laughs Deb. “I can barely get him on it for a cocktail cruise. That’s why it’s my boat. I’m very proud of it and I love it.” Though her now 90-year-old father taught her, her sister, and her brother, how to drive the boat — starting them around age 3 — it was a learning curve for Deb because she knew south Florida waters. She has been learning to navigate her Pursuit in and around Long Island. “I have two boys, and we use the boat for wakeboarding and skiing — even though it was a center console fishing boat,” says Deb. “I saw the Pursuit at Strong’s. It had a ski pole and I thought, ‘Oh my gosh, that’s the perfect boat!’”
Tina took delivery of her 2021 Cobalt SC25 in April and chose Mother’s Day for her maiden voyage with her kids, whose ages span 9 to 20. “My kids are varying ages; the boat is one of few places that once we get out on the water, the blood pressure just lowers,” she says. Not only has the boat unlocked private beaches and areas of Long Island that they had never been able to access, it’s also inspired her 13- year-old daughter to get her captain’s license.
“I have four girls, so I want them to feel empowered,” says Tina. “It’s definitely intimidating. I really have to put myself out there in a way that’s uncomfortable in order to do this, but I want boating to be part of my life. The first time I slid into a slip and tied up, even though there was quite a bit of tide, I felt amazing. Like, ‘I did it.’”
