All I have to say is, what a weekend! Longshore Boats held its 21st annual customer Rendezvous in beautiful Beaufort, South Carolina the last weekend of July and it was magic. This was my first year being able to attend and it surpassed my expectations in so many ways.


We left the Daniel Island Marina around 9am to meet up with everyone at the Bristol Marina in downtown Charleston, then we were off! We sat back, turned on the 80’s rock, looked for dolphins, and relaxed as we cruised through the South Carolina Intercoastal Waterways. My group was on the EdgeWater 318CC and it cut the water like butter while fitting all 9 of us comfortably. The weather was perfect and the boats were gliding on this 7 hour excursion. We stopped halfway to eat lunch and take a quick swim break, while enjoying the company of our employees and customers. Shortly after, we were back on our way and ended up docking around 4pm that afternoon. We were greeted by the friendly staff of the Best Western Sea Island Inn with snacks, water and our room keys. Everyone split off into groups to freshen up and relax before dinnertime. My group dined at Old Bull’s Tavern where I had the fettuccine with lemon sauce – this was an interesting combo, but good nonetheless. With dinner ending on the later side, we headed over to the Luther’s Rare & Well Done bar to listen to the band Irritating Julie play. We jammed out and danced into the early morning before making our way back to the hotel for some much needed rest.


Saturday is a free day so several people were up and out on the boat before the sun even peaked through my curtains. People rode to Hilton Head to dine at restaurants and wander around the lighthouse, while others beached it at the sandbar and looked onward as the kids (or adults) tubed off the back of the boats. I personally spent the day in downtown Beaufort, where I grabbed lunch at Panini’s, walked around the waterfront, shopped and visited art galleries before getting ready for our big catered event. In the evening, the Inn was gracious enough to allow us to host a catered cocktail and dinner event. We mingled, drank our wine and had an absolutely amazing meal all together as a Longshore Family. Dinner finished up and that’s when the party began. Country line dancing and some questionable hip-hop moves ensued, but we had a blast. Everyone mingled outside in the breezeway late into the evening, then we were off to Luther’s for another band and another fun night before we departed in the early morning.


It’s really great that we are able to all get together this time of year to enjoy each other’s company and have a great weekend getaway in the middle of the hectic summer. Seeing everyone on their EdgeWater, Robalo and Chaparral boats powered by their Yamaha Outboard engines was amazing. I’ve witnessed boating bring people together in a way that I didn’t think was possible until I started this job and this weekend proved this to be a concrete fact. Boating is a refuge and an escape from everyday life that takes you to new places and introduces you to new people – and that’s exactly what our customer Rendezvous did.


Check out our Facebook page to see some pictures from the trip in an album titled, “Rendezvous 2019.” Thank you to those who joined us and we’ll see you all next year!

