Mohammed
EL Neweishy is employed as a Marina Manager at El Gouna, Egypt,
on the Red Sea. At the young age of 25, he is focused on being
the best he can be in his field. Mohammed recently visited
the United States to attend the first phase of his certification
as a Marina Manager, attending the International Marina Institute
classes in Newport, Rhode Island. He extended his stay in
the US to take time to visit marina facilities on the Treasure
Coast.
Hosted
by the Marine Industries Association of the Treasure Coast,
EL Neweishy had the opportunity to tour more than a half dozen
marine operations. After arriving in Orlando on Friday afternoon,
| March
7, we were out of the airport and on our way to visit
Tim Grabenbauer at the Vero Beach Municipal Marina. There
we got the full walking tour of the marina, including
the newly acquired dry stack storage building. It had
been a busy day at the marina, so Grabenbauer was able
to provide a look at how they handle the high level of
activity on their computer program. We then met my husband,
Tim Price, for a bit of Treasure Coast culture at Conchy
Joes. It was time to call it a day. EL Neweishy settled
in at Pirates Cove Resort & Marina. |
|
Saturday
morning we were off and running. First stop was the House
of Refuge on Hutchinson Island; then north on the island to
the Ft. Pierce Inlet which gave us the opportunity to take
photos of some pelicans making no headway in a strong westerly
wind. Next stop was Harbortown Marina, where EL Neweishy saw
an operation that was home to multiple marine businesses,
including Whiticar Marine Services North. The marina in El
Gouna hopes to increase their service facilities and add a
dry stack storage. A tour at Harbortown and conversations
with Tim Price from Whiticar provided Mohammed insight on
how to manage the service component at his facility. There
was no language barrier and it was surprising to hear how
we deal with so many of the same issues across the globe.
Next to Cobb’s Landing, where Marty Laven from the Dockominium
Group treated us to lunch. The remainder of the day was spent
acquiring the list of essentials EL Neweishy was taking home
to his American friends. Target, Radio Shack and GNC at Treasure
Coast Square provided most of the items on his list.
Monday
was non-stop, beginning with the Harborage Yacht Club. Bill
Hill gave us the full tour of both the club and the new public
access floating docks. EL Neweishy had questions about everything
from employee management to power pedestals on the dock.
 |
From
one first-class facility on to another, we met with Darryl
Schmiermund at Hinckley Yacht Services. He was very informative
on Hinckley operations and their commitment to their product
and customers. After a quick lunch at Shrimpers, we arrived
at Sailfish Marina, where owner Butch Bayley showcased
his dry stack storage facility. We convinced EL Neweishy
to climb up on the fork lift, but couldn’t convince
him to ride along to pick up a boat to place in storage.
Amazingly, one minute and forty-two seconds is |
all it
took Paul (a professional fork lift operator) to place the
22’ Pathfinder back in its rack. The day ended with
a full tour of the host resort, Pirates Cove, another fine
example of a marina complex.
Tuesday
was time to travel north to visit some friends. We learned
we have many things in common. Our customers want good service
at a reasonable price and we agreed boaters are fun people.
EL Neweishy was pleased they don’t have hurricanes in
Egypt and don’t have to deal with submerged land leases.
He hopes to return in December to attend the next level of
his Marina Manager certification. I’m thinking my future
vacation plans may include a trip to Egypt.
To visit
El Gouna go to www.elgouna.com.
Slideshow
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| If
you have fished over the St. Lucie County Artificial Reef
Sites over the past year, please complete the following survey.
Survey
Survey
should be submitted to;
Completed surveys can be submitted to:
Jim Oppenborn
St. Lucie County / Public Works Department
2300 Virginia Avenue
Ft. Pierce, FL 34982-5652
Fax: [772] 462-2362
e-mail: oppenborj@co.st-lucie.fl.us |
