New Yacht Delivery Service: Delivery Passagemakers

 

Capt. Martel first served as mate and crewman on a couple of deliveries for Capt. Madison, where “We discovered that we made a pretty good team, with complementary skills and a similar outlook,” Martel says. “Bill is by far the more experienced skipper with impressive credentials and license and has served for nearly five decades as a commercial Captain. I’m an ex-Coastie, boat rebuilder and sailboat owner for the past 30 years. We’re both committed to a no-nonsense, professional approach to bringing a client’s vessel safely and securely to its destination. Also, Bill specializes in power boats, whereas I am focused on sailing craft. Together, we have the bases covered. We believe that we can do a better, safer, and more affordable job serving our clientele than other outfits. Between us, we have more than 50 years’ collective experience.”

 

Captain Bill Madison brings decades of experience as Mate/navigator, unlicensed engineer and Master in small ships and big boats, ocean and coastal research vessels, oil field service craft and tugs including tens of thousands of miles of independent trans-ocean deliveries to the table. Bill holds a USCG 1600 gross ton master of motor and steam vessels upon oceans license, and is AAS Marine technology credentialed with an emphasis on ocean engineering. He is vocational education certified, and a USCG approved marine safety and licensing instructor. His voyage experience includes six Independent ocean crossings as far east as India, as far west as southern California, Mate and Relief Master aboard R/V Lulu, tender to the Alvin Deep submersible, plus winter operations in the Bahamas and western Caribbean and considerable service in the western North Atlantic out to the Azores. Training and deliveries on recreational power boats and motor-yachts by Capt. Madison have been conducted on the waters between Maine and the west coast of Florida including Boston Harbor, the Cape and Islands, New York Harbor and the lower Hudson, Chesapeake and Delaware Bays, the Atlantic ICW, N.J. ICW, Okeechobee waterway, the Florida Keys and near Bahamas.

 

As a training specialist, Bill provides classroom and onboard training in basic and advanced navigation and marine safety, and also teaches a 100 ton USCG license training program. He also teaches close quarters maneuvering and has developed a customized course of study for boat owners and their crew.

 

Captain Martel loves to sail. He holds a current 100GRT Near-coastal USCG Master’s license with auxiliary sail and commercial towing endorsements. He grew up in family boats on Rhode Island waters and joined the U.S. Coast Guard out of High School and served in Cape May, NJ and in the Gulf of Mexico aboard the USCGC Acushnet (WMEC-167). “I’ve been involved in boats all my life, rebuilding, sailing, selling, buying, and restoring again,” he says. “I can sail traditional or modern rigs for deliveries, charters, instruction, monohull or multihull. He made several trips as Professional Crew on the 1926 classic Herreshoff staysail schooner Mary Rose, from Newport to Bermuda to Tortola, Virgin Gorda, and Antigua and back a few times. He is also a TWIC Card Holder and PADI Certified Open Water Diver. He is a member of the Chesapeake Area Professional Captain’s Association (CAPCA); Seven Seas Cruising Association (SSCA); and the Bristol Yacht Club; and is a Full Founding Member of the Salty Dawg Rally and past Rear Commodore of the Joshua Slocum Society. He sails his re-built 1930 Alden gaff-rigged yawl “Privateer” with his family in New England waters.