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NewportPhotoBoat.com
Servicing Newport, Rhode Island
Private Boat Charters
for Photography, Drone and Videography
Harbor Tours, Picnic and Swim
for Family and Friends
Doug's love of the water was born on his fathers 36' Henry Luhrs spending summers with his family on the waters of Beverly, MA to Bar Harbor, ME.
At 5 his dad put him in a new 8' foot Marblehead Butler Pram and shoved him off the beach where he grew on the waters of Rice's Beach and Hospital Point Light House. Doug's "Little Tyke" now "Old Butler" is Doug's mooring tender today.
Doug learned to sail at the Beverly Jubilee Yacht Club racing Turnabouts, International One Tens, Two Tens, and numerous day sailors. He competed in regattas around Beverly, Manchester and Marblehead.
At 8 Doug was confidently operating his father's 36' Henry Luhrs, "Shellback". At 10 he received his Scuba Diving certification at New England Divers from the famed Frank Sanger, acquired a 16' Lyman Islander power boat and earned money for school cleaning boat bottoms, inspecting moorings, retrieving valuables and diving for lobsters.
Doug's next boat was "Harvest", a 36 foot S2 sloop purchased in Ft. Lauderdale in 1979. He often sailed Harvest between his homes in Ft. Lauderdale and Edgartown on Martha's Vineyard, stopping in Newport for a week or more while enroute seasonally
Doug down sized in 1994 to "Boy Howdy" a 23' Robalo C/C. With his grandson on board they pulled hundreds of fish from the waters of Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket.
In 2010 Doug moved to Newport and reinvented Boy Howdy to "Shellback" in honor to his father a term used to describe a person who has crossed the equator by boat. Shellback was repowered in 2016 with a new 300 hp Mercury Verado.
In the beginning
Doug's professional career spans over 35 years of aviation. He was a pilot for Air Florida, Southwest Airlines and United Parcel Service. After 18 years at UPS, Doug retired as a B-747 Management Instructor, FAA Check Captain and UPS International Chief Pilot.
Doug is easy going and a fun guy. Always cool and calm under pressure. He has a perfect record of professionalism and safety and is regarded by many photographers as one of the best boat drivers in the business.