Reservations are hoppin' up here at the office. Yankee Capts winter and summer reservations are going smoothly, and rail spots are flying off the shelves, so to speak. Online reservations have become an even bigger hit this winter, as it would seem many of you got shiny new computers for Christmas. Those of you still calling in the office may have become familiar with an tiny cooing voice in the background these days. As you are well aware, the Yankee Capts office is in my home, and as I am sure you have read, I had a new baby over the summer (scroll down for more pictures!). Little Abby is now FIVE MONTHS OLD! Amazing how time flies. She is happy and bubbly and very vocal! Why am I mentioning all this? Well over the last few days it has come to our attention, quite loudly I might add, that Abby is about to cut her first tooth! Huge milestone in baby land, yes, but also a huge distraction at times. In the past two days I know I have missed a couple calls. Those of you that left messages received calls back immediately. If there was a caller ID on your number, I attempted to get back in contact with you as well. As I explained to you over the phone, and here now, I apologize for missing ANY calls at ANY time and while I do attempt to make it to the phone each and every time, as I know your reservations are important to you, the past couple days have gotten extremely loud around here. Abby, much like her mommy, is outspoken and, come to find out, high pitched. The sheer volume of her screaming this morning simply prevented me from even bothering to get the phone, as you wouldn't have heard me over her screeching! As any of you with children know, this is definitely a tough time for that little creature and for me too, and therefore I know you understand when I say I would MUCH rather be on the phone with you, than listening to her cry and screech in misery. My sincere apologies if I missed your call. I hope that if I do miss your first call, you are either able to make it to the computer to book online, or that I was able to reach you back instantly as soon as she calmed herself! With any luck the teeth will come in quickly and quietly from here on out! Thank goodness for Baby Orajel, Infant Tylenol and Abby's daddy, who somehow makes her crack a smile amidst the tears when I just can't console her.

And now for some real office news. We are finally settled down for the winter in sunny Key West Florida and we are picking up momentum in a big way. This season we are back to back, wall to wall with a full schedule of excellent Dry Tortugas fishing adventures leaving from Stock Island from now until May. If you take a peek at the Fish Reports Page, you will see that fishing this season has been great and we are looking forward to more of the same as the trips fly by. With February suddenly around the corner, we now begin a slew of 2 and 3 day trips and private charters, filling the coolers with some tasty mutton snapper and groupers. If you haven't booked your Dry Tortugas fishing trip yet, NOW is the time to do it! As of today there are still no trips that are completely full, and there are still stern spots available on almost all of our fishing excursions.

While we fish our winter away, our 2010 New England trips are beginning to fill, and we can practically taste the delicious haddock already. Our June, July and August trips are booking at a good clip, yet ALL our trips have many popular rail spaces still available. If you check out the 2010 New England Schedule you will see that we have LOADED it with even more of your favorites, keeping you fishing for those tasty cod and haddocks you love all summer long.

Wedged and woven throughout our whole 2010 schedule are open slots that we have made available for our specially designed Ultra Limited Load Private charters. These charters are uniquely crafted charters are for anglers who prefer the more personal experience. Gather 6-12 of your nearest and dearest and pick a date that works for all of you. Starting at just $600 per person for a private 2 day trip. Click on Ultra Limited Load Private charters for information and dates available!

So now that you know what's been happening up in the office, I look forward to hearing from you, if I can actually hear you over Miss Abby's painful tantrums. If you can;t get through, ALWAYS leave a message so I can get back to you. If you have just a quick question, remember that it might be answered here on our pages but clicking on INFORMATION! Please know that I will always call you back as soon as I can, as our clients calls are all important to us. The Yankee Capts thanks you, as always, for your continued patronage and we look forward to sailing with you!

That winter chill is back again up here in Massachusetts; the leaves are falling and the warm smell of people sparking up their fireplaces has begun to fill the air. The crisp November weather can only mean one thing: time to head south! Our Dry Tortugas fishing season will begin next weekend, leaving Thursday on a 3-day Limited Load Mutton Marathon. Only a couple of spaces left for our season-opener, so if you haven't booked yet, now is the time! Can't make it next weekend? Fear not, there are still rail spots available for the following weekend 2-day, as well as our annual THANKSGIVING SPECIAL, departing the Friday after Turkey Day. And so far ALL our 2010 Key West offshore trips still have space. Haven't seen the schedule yet? Click BUY! on any page on our site and see a full list of the type of trips we offer, and select the dates that interest you. You can book your trip RIGHT FROM THE SITE and receive and instant email to confirm your booking. Prefer the good old fashion phone reservations? NO PROBLEM! Office hours are Monday thru Friday 9-5, for all your questions and reservation needs. This past week we sent out our 2010 schedule by mail, so that everyone on our Key West mailing list would have a handy hardcopy to read through, pass around, compare to your calendars, hand in to your boss with your vacation requests, tape to your day-planners, attach to your Christmas list... you get the point here. So you basically have no excuses left not to book your 2010 Key West Fishing adventures NOW!

October 23 2009

Brrrrr. It seems to have become a bit chillier now that the Capts has left town. Could be the unseasonably cold temperatures that have been haunting my neighborhood, could be that I get a bit lonely when my crew leaves me behind for a warmer climate, season after season. Wow, I sound as bitter as a Massachusetts winter! Ha! Either way, it leaves me thinking about the summer again and wanting it to come back that much sooner. So in that spirit, I finished the 2010 New England schedule so that my loyal readers can start thinking summer too! Below is a list of the dates and the rates for our 2010 New England Fishing season. These trips are now open and available for all online and phone reservations as soon as you are ready to book!

2010 Gloucester Schedule

All trips leave the night before at 10pm unless otherwise noted

1 Day Weekend Special $217, Saturday Night Departure!

6/13, 7/25, 8/22,

1 Day Cashes Ledge Special $217

5/31, 6/7, 6/14, 7/4, 7/12, 7/19, 8/16, 8/30

1 Day Georges Bank Special $217

6/28

Bait and Haddock Express $147

6/4, 6/9, 6/16, 6/23, 7/14, 7/28, 8/4, 8/18, 8/25, 9/6

Marathon - $75 Leaves 5:00 A.M. day of trip, returns 5:00 P.M. same day.

6/3, 6/24, 7/1, 7/22, 8/11, 9/10

2 Day Skippers Choice $340

5/29-30(Weekend), 6/17-18, 8/5-6, 9/11-12(Weekend)

2 Day Hake Fishing $360

7/15-16, 8/19-20, 9/2-3

2 Day Georges/GOM Wrecks $350

8/26-27

2 Day Georges Bank $340

6/10-11, 7/8-9, 8/12-13

2 Day Cashes Special $340

6/5-6(Weekend!), 7/29-30

Limited Load ALL DAY FISHING 7am-5pm $65

6/2 (Weekday!), 6/30 (Weekday!), 7/2 (Weekday!), 7/3, 7/7, 7/10, 7/11, 7/21 (Weekday!), 7/31, 8/1, 8/8, 8/21, 8/28, 8/29, 9/1, 9/4, 9/5

2010 Tuna Schedule

New Bedford, Massachusetts

All trips leave 10:00 P.M. the night before.

2 Day Tuna Limited Load Special. Strict 26 passenger limit. (We reserve to over book by two for any last minute cancellations or no shows) $385

9/23-24, 9/25-26, 9/30-10/1, 10/2-3, 10/7-8, 10/14-15

3 Day Bargain Basement Tuna Event! $460

9/15-17

3 Day Tuna Special - $510

Columbus Day Weekend! 10/9-11

Looks good, doesn't it? That's what I thought. Our website guy is working on getting all the links set up as we speak, so whenever you're ready, select your trip and click it for tickets today!

In other news, Key West is upon us. Nicole is on the move, heading down to her winter home and getting geared up for another great season. Capts Greg and and Matt are already back in Florida, spending a little quality time with their families before the big opening day. First trip out leaves on November 12th, a much anticipated 3 day Mutton Marathon, with 20 anglers booked so far. There is still plenty of space on this and all of our other great Key West trips for the 2009-2010 season. Click on Florida Fishing for more information on each and every one of the trips that we have to offer.

While you are searching for details on your next fishing trip with the Yankee Capts, why not think about a private charter? Have 6-12 buddies who would much rather just fish with each other than with a boat full of strangers? Then have I got a trip for you! Ultra Limited Load Private Charters onboard the Yankee Capts are perfect for you and your group to have the ultimate fishing experience without any distractions from people you don't know. Click here for dates and details!

On behalf of the Yankee Capts Captains and Crew, I would like to thank the masses of New England anglers who came out with us again and again for yet another great season. Overall, it was a terrific few months fishing from Gloucester; as always, consistent with our standard of excellence. The weather in September and October doesn't always behave itself in the canyons, but our 2009 tuna trips from New Bedford that were able to leave the dock also offered some pretty stellar catch results. On the whole I would say that the 2009 Massachusetts fishing season was a complete success, and we couldn't have done it without you, our loyal clients. Many thanks to each of you.

To all of you who ask, each and every phone call, Abby is doing so well. Growing and changing every day. Happy and bubbly and an absolutely "bundle of joy." She will be two months this week, and I can't believe how fast it's going by. Thank you all for your kindness and generosity, and for understanding when I sometimes have some less-than-pleasant-sounding background noise during a call. The newest member of the Yankee Capts Crew is just amazing.

Even with Abby around, my winter office hours will remain the same this year as in past years. Right now the phone has been very slow, and I hope that it is mostly that you are all so well-informed and website savvy that you no longer need me to book your trip. But in case you do, remember that I am here 9-5, Monday thru Friday. Thursdays can get a little hectic around here for me, as I help out a friend by watching her baby as well, but I stay open a little later Thursday evening to return any calls that I miss. On any day, I can be reached easily by email (info@yankeecapts.com), and most of you will find that after hours, I return emails late into the evening (its just much quieter then, and easier to find some free time in baby world).

Stay warm and Happy Fishing!

Alana Horne, Office Manager
Yankee Capts Offshore, Inc.
For reservations call 305-923-3926
www.yankeecapts.com

Click here to book your trip!