I simply can’t put into words how much fun we had at the Ranger Rendezvous at Roche Harbor on San Juan Island. From the weather to the scenery, to the fellowship, to the food, everything was perfect. I’d say the only “fly in the ointment” of an otherwise perfect weekend was Sam’s performance in the cornhole tournament. We were in the semi-finals on the final day and Sam, quite frankly, brought his “C” game… at best… definitely not his “A” game. Okay, he sucked. Go ahead, ask him. I tried to carry him, but we got killed. Other than that, it was a perfect, glorious weekend.
Our Ranger Tug, The Boat Guy I, as usual, was perfect for the Rendezvous. It’s a fast, fuel-efficient, comfortable, and beautiful boat. But, in my opinion, the best features of Ranger Tugs are 1.) the company that makes it and 2.) the community of Ranger owners that call themselves “TugNuts.” They set Ranger/Cutwater apart from all other boats.
When you buy a Ranger or Cutwater boat, you are joining a family that has your back. I’ve never seen anything like it. My Pelican sailboat has a tight community around it, but the boats are no longer commercially made. Ranger is a thriving company and TugNuts is an organization full of energy. Honestly, Ranger and the TugNuts work so closely together, you can’t tell who works for the company and who is simply an owner.
I saw this in action at the Rendezvous. Someone coming from Anacortes had a motor issue. A phone call came in to Kenny, one of the Ranger folks who takes calls 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, from Ranger and Cutwater owners (…and I know it’s true, because their wives and girlfriends confirmed it!). Kenny got the call at dinner and he immediately got on the phone to some TugNuts in the Anacortes area and an engine specialist who knew the engine. The problem was quickly diagnosed and solved and the boat joined us at Roche Harbor the very next day.
Our Ranger R-27 is well-designed to deliver great, comfortable, economical performance for a very long time. And the company and the TugNuts band together to make sure everyone in a Ranger or Cutwater boat is taken care of and enjoying being out on the water. The Ranger Rendezvous was a perfect example of this amazing community in a perfect setting. With everything being so perfect, I can only say it is very sad that the weekend was completely ruined for me because of Sam’s performance in the cornhole tournament. So very sad…
