Bio: Dennis Starkey and Mary Macdonald both hail from
the Toronto area, where Dennis was an educator and
Mary had a financial information service business. Now
retired, they divide their time between cruising, and raising
grass-finished, natural beef cattle in Ontario.
The Boat: TORTOLA is a 1998 cold-molded Roberts 46
trawler that Dennis and Mary bought five years ago.
Their “Tortola” cruising dream began during a week-long
charter 20 years ago, when they were married on the
Virgin Island of the same name.
Tortola on sea trial in Mobjack Bay.
ZMI technician Pete van Emmerik
tracks down an electrical problem.
Cruising: “We started with summer cruising in The Great
Lakes: The North Channel, Lake Michigan, and then
Lake Superior. Last year we started the Great Loop. We
love the magic of being able to discover new places from
our own boat.”
Favorite Cruising Destinations: The Gaspé Peninsula of
Quebec, which they’re currently cruising, “is among the
most beautiful places we’ve seen – there were 40-50
Beluga whales alongside us in the Saguenay River.”
Reason for Boatyard Stop: “We came to have Tortola
painted with Awlgrip®. Once we were at the yard, we felt
confident in their people, so we decided to have the
electrical system inspected and then upgraded as well.”
Why Zimmerman Marine? Dennis: “We called each of the
well-known yards on the Chesapeake. Zimmerman asked
questions that no-one else had; it was clear that they
were not just going for the sale, but wanted to be sure the
job could be done properly. That impressed me.”
Mary: “The crew really cared about us and our boat. We
plan to be back at the end of September.”
Now in Two Locations:
• East River, Mobjack Bay, Mathews, VA
• Norview Marina, Deltaville, VA*
*New 80-ton Travelift
800-397-3442
www.zimmermanmarine.com
