The Tendalls enjoy taking people to lunch at one of any number of waterfront restaurants along Sarasota Bay and recently hosted a sit-down dinner for eight aboard Archangel, serving grilled chicken that John had prepared dockside. Twilight cruises are another excellent opportunity to gather friends together and share stories.

 But one of the most memorable parties was the christening of their vessel on Useppa Island. “Dave Taylor, our good friend and rear commodore at Bird Key Yacht Club, presided over the ceremony, with 22 friends in attendance,” says Tendall. “We christened her at my wife’s favorite spot at Useppa, drank a toast to King Neptune seeking fair winds and good fortune to all who board our boat, and sealed the pact with sparkling libations. The champagne flowed, tall tales were told and as the sun dipped into the Gulf, we recorded a very special memory.”

Some are drawn by the destination, while others find their joy in the journey. Bill Steinberg falls into that latter group, and so it was fitting that he chose a vessel designed for durability rather than speed. Steinberg captains a 40-foot Mariner trawler, made in Shanghai with a semi-displacement hull and a strikingly beautiful interior. The yacht features a large salon, galley and dining room with stairs leading down to two staterooms, the master bedroom fore and the guest quarters aft. Sink, stove and refrigerator are starboard, with a dining area on the port side. Dual controls at the main helm and flying bridge allow Steinberg to captain his ship from either position at a top speed of 15 knots and a typical traveling speed of eight or nine knots for maximum fuel efficiency.

            “I love the challenge of wind and varying weather conditions, the porpoises, all of it,” explains Steinberg. “For me, the best part of boating is the time spent traveling, so a trawler was an obvious choice. And I fell in love with all of that gorgeous teak used for her interior.”

 Steinberg ordered his trawler through a broker and took possession in April. He and wife Marie Claire have already made trips to Nassau, Bimini, Useppa, Sanibel and Captiva and are contemplating making The Grand Loop, which winds up the eastern seaboard through the Erie Canal to the Great Lakes and back south via the mighty Mississippi, in early fall.

“I need to buy a new dinghy and a few smaller accessories, but basically, she’s already outfitted for extended trips,” says Steinberg. “There’s an electric stove and a generator that permits us to run the air conditioner while anchored. We even have a covered storage area that my wife calls the back porch.”

            Originally a sailing enthusiast, Steinberg took up boating in 1980 on a 30-foot sailboat he kept for five years. The next investment was a 35-foot motor sailor called Nauticat that he sailed down from Chesapeake Bay. While he loved the boat, she drew over six feet and was simply not amenable to short day sails or the shallow Gulf waters of the West Coast.

 So Steinberg sold his sailboat and started researching yachts. He became intrigued by the history of trawlers used for net fishing and then fell in love with the model designed by Mariner. “I named her the Marie Claire because she is beautiful and so is my wife,” explains Steinberg. “And my wife likes her because she’s more comfortable than the sailboats, more spacious, and we have no problems finding wind.”

            Steinberg captains his vessel himself and dismisses the stereotypical yachting experience where one sits around in white pants and sips a crisp gin and tonic while a crew does all of the work. “The only part of that picture that works for me is the gin,” he jokes. “We do carry a bit of that on board.”

 The Steinbergs also love to host parties aboard the Marie Claire, like the Fourth of July celebration they staged last summer. “My wife is French, so our parties feature pounds of imported cheeses like fancy Roqueforts and brie, cases of French wine, wonderful breads from the bakery and platters of pastries,” he explains. “I have a slide-out bar stocked with premium liquors where I can play bartender. We invited 25 guests aboard and we all, ate, drank, joked, laughed and then enjoyed a bird’s-eye view of the fireworks.” Docked just a few slips in from open water, Steinberg’s trawler has a unique vantage point from her dockside berth and moves into the open bay with ease. The Marie Claire’s galley is large enough for a standing refrigerator, which is filled with wine. “On many occasions, the boat is a floating cocktail party,” laughs Steinberg. “People love to party on the water.”