Key West Sailing trips aboard Double Decker

"Decker finds his niche with Lobster and shrimp charter dinner trips"

by Ralph Morrow, Key West Citizen

Morrow: On the dinner sail, what do you offer?

Decker: A lobster and shrimp dinner with nice hors d'oeuvres and, of course, key lime pie. I sail for two hours, drop anchor for the dinner. They can eat and watch the sunset. Then, I bring them back. Ifs about three hours. "

Morrow: Where do you get your food?

Decker: At Waterfront Market. And, of course, I'm docked right behind Waterfront Market at slip 16, Pier E. It costs $700 a month to dock here, but it's a great location.

Morrow: What do you charge for the dinner sail?

Decker: $85 a person. We also have a six-hour lunch sail that includes lunch, snacks, sodas, ice and water for $90; a two-hour sunset sail for $45 and a four-hour sail for $70.

Morrow: Including liquor?

Decker: No, the passengers can bring their own though. The only time we provide alcoholic beverages is for our wedding cruise. We've done five weddings. People love to be married at sea and they want informal. There's usually four people. Capt. Fran does the ceremony. We'll furnish the champagne. The fee is $300.

Morrow: On your regular sails, what if there's no sunset; if it's cloudy?

Decker: They'll still enjoy it. I've turned down a lot of opportunities. If it looks bad, I won't go out. I want this to be the highlight of a visitor's trip to Key West. I put a lot of time in it. I've found that people really enjoy stories about Key West and the boat.

Morrow: Tell me about your boat

Decker: The Double Decker -- since there are two Deckers including my wife, Capt. Fran-- is a 36-foot Cheoy Lee, made in Hong Kong. I bought it in 1980.

Morrow: How much did it cost then?

Decker: $58,000. It's worth about the same, maybe a few thousand more now. I've overhauled and renovated the entire boat within the past three years.

Morrow: How did you end up in Key West?

Decker: I grew up in Boston and became a marketing manager for a big computer company. I bought my boat. I was single and decided I wanted to go on a long trip. I advertised in Sail and Cruising magazines for a crew. Out of 232 applicants, I hired four other people. One of them turned out to be my future wife, Fran. I took a leave of absence and the five of us took off in July 1981. We came back a year later.

Morrow: And then?

Decker: Fran and I were married on the boat and did our second trip. I took a three-year sabbatical from 1985 to 1988. We sold everything. We sailed from Boston to Bermuda to St. Thomas to Venezuela.

Then, we went over to the ABC islands -- Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao -- then to Central America. We had a delightful time in Panama. We stayed there three months with the Indians, enjoying their culture. We kept going on to Guadeloupe, Belize and Mexico. We discovered Key West in 1988. We had started with $29,000 and a boat that was in good condition. When we reached Key West, we had zero money and a boat that needed loving care. It was time to stop. We dropped anchor at Christmas Tree Island for two days and said, this is the place we want to be. Everything the Caribbean wants to be, Key West is and it's in the United States.

Morrow: Did you have any trouble sailing?

Decker: The first trip, we're 300 miles southwest of Bermuda. We ran into a late-season storm. It was bom right above us. It became a hurricane -- Hurricane Katrina, I think. It was a frightening experience. The waves were twice the height of my mast which is 52 feet high. We did well for four days, then a super wave caught us, turned the boat upside down. It threw us so fast you couldn't have blinked an eye, but it was the longest moment of my life. We were tied to the boat, but we were under water, gagging, when it flipped right side up, which boats should do. The sail was ripped in two. We replaced it and limped into St. Thomas. It took us four days. We had water and food, but it was something.

Morrow: What about with your charters? Stories there?

Decker: A man and his wife brought his father's ashes on board. It was a very sentimental night. He smoked the cigars his father had smoked, drank the whiskey his father drank. Fran said some words. It was very powerful.

Morrow: Any other stories?

Decker: I've taken three different couples out when the man wanted to propose at sunset. Two of them went very smoothly. The woman said yes. The third one, the man just couldn't get up the nerve. We were past sunset. I told him, "You'll have to get on with it. We're going in." He finally asked her to marry him. Yes, she said, "Yes."