My name is Mark Elder and I live in Lafayette, Louisiana. I sail out of a marina in Mandeville, Louisiana on the North Shore of Lake Ponchartrain. I am employed in the wholesale lumber business and, as evidenced by the horrible housing market, this equals a bad lumber market. Yet, these times of a historically bad market and extreme lack of consumer confidence do little to dissuade Tom Schock from extolling the wonders of the Harbor 25', eventually those statistics would also mean little to me.

Mark aboard Victoria

In late 2006, I purchased a Stone Horse sloop. Although it had an unreliable diesel engine, needed some cosmetics, and some sail repairs, it was exactly what I needed, as I had just started sailing in 2005.  

By late 2009, I was ready to upgrade to something not just larger but newer.  

You know the call: dependable engine, comfortable interior and pleasing to the eye with all the bells and whistles.

Enter the Harbor 25'.

Like many sailors, I subscribe to several magazines and noted with interest the various ads for too many boats in the size I wanted to purchase for myself.

Vicki lounging on the Harbor 25 Mark named in her honor

My girlfriend and I attended boat shows in Houston and Tampa and New Orleans. One ad in particular kept getting my attention, the Alerion... however I felt it was a priced above my budget. Then I discovered The Harbor 25' (which frankly was also above my budget, just not as much as the Alerion.)

I flew to Tampa to attend a SAIL US show where we viewed and crawled over Hunters, Rhoades, Beneteau, Com-Pacs and other manufactures whose names I forgot or whose prices were out of my budget.

However, there was a boat I remembered seeing in one of the magazines that did catch my eye and that was the HARBOR 25'. 

Unfortunately the 25' would not be displayed at the St. Petersburg show according to the show website. I flew home to Louisiana with a briefcase full of brochures from all the exhibitors but truth be told, the only boat I wanted to sail, or should I say own was the HARBOR 25'. And this is where the story gets interesting...

One day in late November, I called the Schock Company and asked for sales. I was directly forwarded to Tom Schock, himself.  

I was impressed to be put through to the Owner of the company.

I could not imagine calling Catalina Yachts and speaking to Mr. or Ms. Catalina, or Mr. or Ms. Com-Pac. But I, Mark Elder, who can tie a Windsor knot far better than any other, had a wonderful, informational and rather long conversation with Mr. Schock.

Tom informed me that Schock would not be attending the St. Pete boat show. However, there was a HARBOR 25' in St. Pete that had been recently delivered and who Tom could arrange to have the new owner take us out for a morning sail.

Camaraderie among Harbor sailors is evident

I was immediately struck by the loyalty of the customers of W.D. Schock and owners of the Harbor 25'.

I was beginning to understand now that the Harbor 25' and it's owners were more than just customers and somehow knew then that I too would become a member of this club.

And so began an 18 month long journey that brought my girlfriend Victoria and I out to Southern California, to see first hand why the HARBOR 25' is the perfect boat for us.

Indeed, I would soon find myself talking with friends and family about the pros and cons of purchasing a boat of this magnitude (i.e. price range) with just about anyone who would listen. After reading and studying every brochure published and visiting every web site, I found that while I may not be a sailor, I was pretty well informed on the pros and cons of the all boats in the 25' to 30' range.  

Mark's future Harbor 25 in Newport Harbor

And again I kept coming back to the Harbor 25'.

In late December 2010 I made a serious decision to purchase a new boat and by January that boat was going to be the HARBOR 25'. The decision to purchase the Harbor 25 was sealed on a trip to my girlfriend's high school reunion in San Marino, CA.

We flew into L.A. May of 2011. The reunion was wonderful and Victoria had a chance to reconnect with her friends from San Marino High School days. We visited downtown LA, feasted on great food from LA to Pasadena and enjoyed beautiful SO CAL weather. But now it was time to visit Corona and tour the factory, get a complimentary sail in Newport Harbor and then explain to Tom we were not yet ready to purchase such a big ticket item.  

The day came and we both really enjoyed touring the factory and seeing each step of the building process.

A beautiful back drop while cruising the Harbor 25

Lunch with Tom and then onto to Newport and finally stepping on to the HARBOR 25' that I had been talking about for almost 2 years! With Tom at the helm of a beautiful blue Harbor 25, we quickly learned how easy the Harbor 25' handled. We were wowed by her tight turning radius. The sails quickly filled and off we went zipping by the multitude of Electric Packets, whale watching boats and the beautiful homes of Hollywood's legends.

Tom displayed all of the reasons that the Harbor 25' was the boat for Victoria and me. The reasons were plain to anyone in the cockpit that day. Victoria and I exchanged glances that said we had to find a way to get this boat and soon.   

Tom offered us both a chance at the helm and we immediately fell in love with everything about her.

We then motored to the slip, helped Tom stow away the boat. As we said goodbye, Tom handed me the pertinent information, including the price delivered from the factory.  

All I knew was that Victoria and I had to get back to Louisiana and figure a way to buy this boat.

The Harbor 25 as she rests and awaits her new owner

My Uncle Joe, a man who has had many big toys in his life, gave me some great advice:  don't worry about the purchase price, just figure out what your monthly note will be and sell a hell of lot more lumber. The boat will be your incentive to work not just harder but smarter. Unfortunately my Uncle passed away in this Fall, but not before we purchased a HARBOR 25' from Tom Schock on May 23rd 2011. He was able to see her resting in the slip.

We had the boat shipped to Mandeville, Louisiana and even got the driver to stop over in Lafayette so that my mom and dad could see the boat from the bottom up while on top of the trailer. Also, it was the perfect opportunity to let Victoria see her name sake, because the Harbor 25' is  named VICTORIA, a regal name for a regal boat. And again, WD SCHOCK was kind enough to help me find a wonderful marine printer in CA who knew exactly what I wanted.

A beautiful boat and a beautiful smile

We have now had Victoria for about four months and each and every time we sail her, we learn a little bit more our boat and about sailing.  

A look of satisfaction from a well made decision

One thing we have learned is that we are never shorthanded because it seems like all of our friends want to sail with us on Victoria, including Vicki's son, Trevor, who attends college in New Orleans. Let's face it, sailing is in need of bodies, of new converts and where there were two devoted HARBOR 25' sailors in Louisiana, there are now three! Indeed Trevor probably knows more than I do and is more than just a competent sailor. He and his friends, rather than watch TV, play video games or study for Monday exams, want to sail and that is a good thing.   

Our cruises are fun filled, sun filled and mostly wind filled!

An afternoon sailing the Harbor 25 beats studying any day

With some ice cold Abita's in the built in-ice chest, a deep red watermelon, a few New Orleans style po-boys, and some Zydeco tunes blasting on the built-in ipod stereo system, we are ready for anything! The boat is easy to handle, easy to raise and lower the main and there is really nothing tough to do so it's kick back, grab the tiller and head out for another beautiful day of fun and sun.

The girls turn at the helm

Tom asked me in May, what would my goals would be if I bought the boat. I told him the usual things, improve my sailing skills, entertain friends and family and eventually sail the boat along the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Tom convinced me that in time all of my goals were easily attainable. And frankly, at first I thought it was a sales ploy on Tom's part.  

Now I realize that he was only telling the truth.  

My sailing skills have improved, I have had many friends and family on the boat for day trips to nowhere, and I am planning on sailing along the Mississippi Gulf Coast in the summer of 2012.

Boys, boats and beer...life is good

Lucky for us, Louisiana has mild winters and so we're looking forward to sailing December thru March.

Perhaps instead of cold local Abita beer, red watermelons and po-boys, we'll have to get some hot seafood gumbo, but otherwise we will sail Victoria year round and with each and every trip we will become better sailors and help spread the word about the joys of owning a W.D. Schock HARBOR 25'.

You can't put a price on valuable time with loved ones

So if you are ever in the New Orleans metro area and are interested in learning more about the Harbor 25' then feel free to contact me, Victoria and Trevor. Our views may not be the most objective but our views on the Harbor 25 are our views and they are honest.