Captain Satch and Sons........Your caring and
experienced crew welcome's you aboard !
Captain Satch McMahon "below left" shown with
his mom Carolyn and his 1st cousin John Lewis of Connecticut. Satch has loved
taking guests fishing since he and his dad purchased their first
lobster
boat "The'll with it!" when
he
was thirteen years old........Satchie received his BA degree from
Pace
University in New York City, and has a fish box full of
graduate
credits in education to boot. After college, Satch spent 10 years as a
construction engineer in New Orleans La.
spending all his free time fishing the bayou's for crawfish, shrimp,
blue crabs, red fish, and speckled trout. After moving back to New
England, he returned to fishing spending the summer of "88" as the 2nd
mate on the deep sea fishing vessel "Bunny Clark".
Satch enjoyed the guests and
the party fishing business so much he decided to make a career of it,
spending the next 10 years working with and learning from Captain Tim Tower "the
best charter captain and recreational fisherman on the Maine coast."
Satch and his sons,Whitney and
Dennis purchased the charter boat "Gath
III" from
Mrs. Agatha Coombs in 1996. Once "Gath" was rebuilt friends and guests began
requesting family fishing trips. Satch's dream to take people fishing
has become a
reality. The ole' Gath magic has given Satch and his sons the
opportunity
to work together with their friend Keith McAvoy to build the business
to
what it is today.
Captain Satch has his 50 ton
coast guard masters license, and his master Maine tidewater guides
license.
Captain Whit McMahon shown at the helm of our
newest vessel the "India Marie".
After graduation from Lander University in South Carolina,
Captain Whit decided to fish full time
with his good old dad. Whit and I spent his first full year after
college working to aquire our 2nd vessel. The
" India Marie" was needed to meet the growing needs of our
fishing family and our fishing guests. Whit's
BA degree is in Spanish language, he spent a year as an
exchange student in Mexico. He speaks spanish fluently and also learned
to play a little soccer. Whit was born in New Orleans, and fished
the bayou's with me as a young boy. Both Whit and
his younger brother Dennis took turns
helping me clean the "Bunny Clark" every
evening when they were 7 and 8
years old respectively. Captain Whit also mated with Captain Tim on the
Bunny
Clark, where he learned to gaff fish and a few other little traits. He
enjoys
lobstering and spent three summers learning the right way to lobster
with
Captain Mike Remkowitz on the "Uptown Girl". For a young captain ,Whit's
skills are very well rounded both in the ground fishery and while
inshore sports fishing for large stripers and blues. He's shared the
helm crossing the Gulf
of Maine from Digby, Nova Scotia to Bar Harbor, Me and he is
one
of the most responsible young captains on the coast today.
Captain Whit has his U.S. Coast Guard OUPV
license, his Maine tidewater guides license and his 1st class Maine
lobster
license.
Captain Whit and Grampy D, "Paul Dvoretsky " with a
beautiful haddock .
Captain Dennis McMahon shows off "Natalie Gilmettes" largest striper of the
2003
season.
Captain
Den is a senior at Fitchberg
StateCollege in Massachusetts where he is majoring in
construction management. Dennis is a prankster, a lot of fun and a
great boat handler and fisherman. Den received almost all of the
mechanical ability in the family and whenever we need an engine
installed ,a pump replaced or a rod and reel designed
we call on Den. He loves the challenge of engineering new systems for
the
boats. In addition, Captain Den has the
innate
ability to cast or land you on the fish. I get the feeling he's
always
striving hard being the youngest in the family. During the 2002 season
he
ran many of our successful offshore cod trips. Captain Dennis was also
born
in New Orleans where he learned to fish on the Bayou's and along the
Mississippi with Dad and Whit. He also had the good experience of
mating for Captain Tim
on the Bunny Clark in his formative years. You'll really enjoy a
day on
the water with Dennis, but keep alert for a trick or two..
Captain Den has
his"25 Ton" Master of inland waters USCG license, his Maine tidewater
guides license and his 1st class Maine lobster license.
Capt. Den with Paulie Mier on a
cool October day..
Master
Craftsman Keith McAvoy also wears a second hat as 1st mate on the "India Marie."
Keith
looks over a new hatch he designed and built to keep Satchie and his
captain's chair from tipping over backwards,
F/V India Maire.
Keith claims he graduated
from the school of hard knocks, but if the truth be known Rensselaer
PolyTech is the more likely prospect. Captain Whit purchased the
Gath III on Kieth's wedding day 7 years ago, and he's been married tho
her ever since, just ask his wife Mary Ann. Keith's
a superb craftsman who was most instrumental in refitting and
rebuilding the Gath III. Keith spent over six years working with my
sons and I to install the new oak ribs, cedar deck, cedar windows,
Volvo diesel engine, housetop, rails, new head, ect so
that you can enjoy the thrill of fishing on "Maines
classic Gath III". Keith is currently doing all the retrofit
projects on our newest vessel "India Marie".
In 2002, I was honored to have him join me on the"
India Marie" as her 1st mate.
Many of you finally got to meet the man behind the scenes. He really
adds to the professionalism of our organization and he is a stable
influence and guide that my sons respect and look up to.
Keith spent all his summer days fishing as a
boy on "Drakes Island, Me." where
he learned the ins and outs of inshore sports fishing. You can be
assured of the best care and guidance a mate can give, if your lucky
enough to have Keith on your
charter.
"1st
mate
Keith McAvoy" celebrating Fred
Burket's
89th birthday catch aboard the India
Marie,
with Captain Den at the helm.
Joe Godin, the Gath's 1st mate
helps Isabel Girards hold up her 32
pound Maine state trophy striper !
A diamond in the rough!. We
always kidded Joe that he was found in a
cardboard box in Brooklyn. Were still trying to ascertain his origins,
but you will not find a more caring, honest, responsible young
mate if you fish the entire east coast. Our 1st
mate on the Gath III, Joe Godin is a junior at the
University of New Hampshire majoring in physical education with his
concentration on teaching. He loves the people (our guests) as much as
I do, and that makes for an enjoyable day on the water. You'll be
pleasantly surprised at his honesty. Joe didn't have allot of
experience fishing when he started with us, but he's a very intelligent
and was very willing to listen carefully and do all that Captain Whit
asked of him. A darn good mate! Joe was Captain Whit and Dennis's
right hand man during the 2002 season and were very
lucky to have him back for his second season. He's the biggest
,strongest guy in our crew, but claims he's a pacifist. Thank goodness!
1st Mate, Joe Godin enjoys
helping the Foley family catch a few
stripers....
A little history
!
Mrs. Gath Coombs with the boys on launch day in "July
96". Gath bought the champagne to rechristian her namesake that
morning. Dennis and Whit were still in high school at the time. She was
a great inspiration to them, as most of you know both boys have earned
their USCG Captains licenses and are successful four year college
students.
That
summer the boys, DJ, Keith and I installed 42 new oak ribs, completely
refastened her cedar planking and finished the new cedar deck. Once she
was launched the Gath III then spent the next 8 weeks resoaking in the
harbor. We still didn't have the engine rebuilt and never left Wells
Harbor or made it to the fireworks in the summer of 96, but we all
realized we were well on our way......... Mrs. Coombs joined us on Gath
for their triumphant return to Ogunqiut and the July 4th celebration
the following summer of 97.
Pictured
below is Captain Whits and Captain Dens great,great,great grandfather
Ephrom Chase and his daughter, their great, great
grandmother Iva, grammy Opal's mom. Our 87 year old great gramma Opal
lives with us and is the nice lady who answers your calls on a
daily basis. Ephron was the first Maine guide
in the family. The Picture was taken at Oxbow
Plantation in 1949. Grampy Eph's camp was up the Oxbow river near
the flats at the Patawomqueg Branch. All camp equipment was hauled by
oxen who apparently walked along the river bank pulling barges.
Anyway
the boys don't take after a stone. Grampy
Eph was
a well known Maine fishing and hunting guide who enjoyed taking many
famous folks fishing. Among them President Teddy
Roosevelt, boxing champion Jack Dempsey,
business tycoon Walter Heinz of " ketchup
and soup fame". When "Gath" Mrs. Coombs
first met Opal both were excited to learn that
Captain Coombs and their son had also traveled to Oxbow to fish
with her grandpa Eph when Bob Jr. was a little fella. Maine's a funny
place in order to be eligible for a state guide's license you have to
be able to follow your blood line back at least 17 generations and
have at least one mountain named after your family. Well
anyway the boys qualify and invite you up for a visit.
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