November Is Here . . .

Halloween has come and gone, Seafood Festival is upon us and Thanksgiving won't be far behind.  The air is a lot cooler, many say nicer, the cold fronts are starting to make it further south which means more chilly nights but which also means some good fishing.  We here at Wefing's are looking forward to the Seafood Festival. as is most of Franklin County and many from the surrounding areas who will make the trip to sample the seafood, admire the festival Queens and Princesses, pay homage to King Retsyo (that's Oyster spelled backwards for the non dyslexic), ride a few rides and enjoy some prime entertainment.  So, c'mon down and join in the fun!

We would like to start off this issue of the newsletter with a hearty thank you and pat on the back for all the folks who attended and helped make our Fourth Annual C-Brat Gathering on the Apalachicola River a success.  As in previous years, John B. and Sherry hosted the gathering at their beautiful home on the river and made everyone feel welcome while playing the very gracious host and hostess.  We thank them most sincerely.  Everyone who attended seemed to be having a great time.  There was good food, good company, great boats, some beautiful weather and of course the beautiful setting.  Check out these photos taken from the dock behind John and Sherry's house on the Saturday evening of the gathering.  We'll be posting more photo's and an album to the Wefing's site sometime this week, as soon as our webmaster, Mike of Captain's Designs, gets his hands on as many pictures as folks are willing to share to put into the album...hint, hint.  You can email us any pictures you took and are willing to share if you attended the gathering, or just point us to where you have them posted online and we'll share that.

Seafood Festival Time in Apalachicola !

Wefing's Marine will once again be setting up a display of boats at the Seafood Festival.  This year's festival is a two day affair, November 6th and 7th.  The festival is held in Battery Park, a lovely shaded place that surrounds one of our city marinas and our City Hall.  The festival features delicious seafood, arts and crafts exhibits, seafood related events,and musical entertainment. Some of the notable events include oyster eating and oyster shucking contest, blue crab races, cooking contest, 5k Redfish Run and the Blessing of the Fleet.  Of course, Saturday morning is one of our favorite events The Seafood Festival Parade.  As usual Marc will be participating by pulling a boat or a float that is yet to be determined.  He's hoping for the float with all the Festival Queens, of course, but he's said he will be happy to take the Grand Marshall if thats whats assigned to him as long as they let him be part of the parade.


Last year Marc pulled one of our rental fleet with Former Seafood Festival Queens on board.

Wefing's Marine will be set up in front of the boat ramps in Battery Park, which puts us pretty much right in the middle of the Festival.  We'll have the carnival midway on one side, the food midway on the other and the Festival Stage where the musical entertainment will be going on all weekend will be directly across from us.  We'll have a good selection of our boat lines to show off.  A C-Dory and Ranger Tug or two will of course be prominently featured as they will at all the boat shows we will be doing in the coming year.



You can get all the details on this year's Florida Seafood Festival from their official website ...and make sure you stop by to say hello.  We'll be the guys with all the boats right next to the Blue Crab Races.


 

Oyster Industry Threatened by Overzealous FDA

Speaking of local seafood...  We would be remiss if we didn't mention the current crisis facing our oyster fishermen, indeed the whole Gulf oyster industry.  The FDA is apparently planning to introduce new regulation in 2011 that will stop the sale of raw oysters in any of the warm months.  This is a response to what they perceive as a problem with the Vibrio virus, a virus that is present in warm waters and the oyster can carry.  This is a virus that represents no risk to the vast majority of people, but those with liver disease or compromised immune systems should take steps to avoid it.  Steps that can very easily include simply ordering their oysters cooked, not raw.  Closing an entire industry for months, particularly in the current economic climate but really, at any time at all, should not be something that a government agency whose job it is to protect the public interests should be looking at. As one of our local seafood industry spokespersons said recently "it will turn out the lights in Franklin County".

There are many arguments being made, many more complete and thorough than we have time for here, but as always Wefing's Marine supports our local watermen and is opposed to any unecessary or over-reaching regulation that would put them at risk or put them out of business. The effects of this would be far reaching, with the harvesters, the oyster houses, shucking plants, truckers, seafood dealers and brokers, restaurants and their workers, as well as the marine industry all being affected. Folks have been oystering year round around these parts for hundreds of years. The energy of government agencies and their resources should be applied to real problems that kill hundreds of thousands yearly like tobacco use, obesity, or simply getting folks to wear their seatbelts.

You can read more about this situation here and here and hopefully you will get on board with trying to help the industry to convince the FDA to take another look at what they are doing and come up with a better plan to protect ALL of our citizens, including the hard working oystermen they are in danger of putting out of work.


 

New C-Dorys and Ranger Tugs officially on order.

As a measure of our confidence in the economic situation getting better, we would like to announce that we have placed orders with both Ranger Tug and C-Dory for new boats in all their lines for 2010.  We hope that some of the new models will be delivered in time for the 2010 Boat Show season, but right now we don't have any firm commitment as to delivery dates.  We will keep details posted on our web site and will surely announce when the new models arrive.



What this means for the short haul is that we have great inventory we are more motivated than ever to find loving homes for .  We have beautiful models of both C-Dorys and Ranger Tugs in stock and are ready, eager even, to make you a deal and provide the kind of service you simply cannot refuse.  If you have ever dreamed of owning one of these great trailerable trawlers, now may well be the best opportunity you will ever have.  Give Marc a call or send him an email and find out just how easy it can be for you to own one of these boats.

Where To Stay In Franklin County?

We know that many of our friends from out of town travel with their C-Dory or Ranger on-the-water homes with them.  However, a lot of folks don't yet have a fully equipped cruiser home and even when you do, sometimes it is nice to hole up in a special spot for a night or two.  We'll bring you a selection of some of our favorite local places to do just that from time to time.  Also, if you live outside our area and are considering a new boat purchase, please keep our free lodging offer in mind.


The Witherspoon Inn

Once Captain Witherspoon's 19th Century residence, this historic restoration is now a tastefully furnished inn in the historic district of downtown Apalachicola Florida.



Guests have called the Witherspoon "A truly magical place" and "a time capsule in the middle of a commercialized world"...descriptions we believe apply to our whole area as well as the beautiful Witherspoon Inn.

The Witherspoon is located a half block off Avenue E, just two blocks from the Historic Downtown of Apalachicola.  You can call them at 850 - 653 -9186 or check their website for more information about this beautiful Inn and their very reasonable rates.

Thanks for reading, that's all until next issue. Please come and visit us soon and, if nothing else...

We'll See You On The Water!

Thanks for your interest,
Marc Grove
Wefing's Marine