One of the best parts of traveling is the people and places you get to meet and experience. You come in contact with certain people you know from the first time you meet, they are genuine authentic people. The people you know if your ever in a bind, or needed anything they would come to your rescue; the ones who you can go years without seeing and it’s like nothing has changed when you hang out again. Lance and Kristen Moss the owners and operators of Surfari Charters are those exact people.
I had the pleasure of meeting them down in Nicaragua back in the summer of 2003. I was fresh out of high school and heading down for the summer to cook at a surf camp. Lance originally hails from Niceville, a small town in the Florida Panhandle. Lance and Kristen drove down after graduating from Flager College in their old school Toyota Land Cruiser and began to plant their roots in Nicaragua. I remember the day their first panga “Va Pue” rolled into town. They had been waiting patiently as it was a critical part of their business model to be able to access remote surf spots as well as explore the endless fishing possibilities the Pacific had to offer. Whether they are live baiting for roosterfish or cubera snapper off rock piles, trolling for wahoo, and dorado, or teasing up sailfish and marlin; they have spent the time and put in the work to make sure their clients have a successful trip. They are now the premier surfing and fishing operation in Nicaragua.
We’ve been smuggling SeaDek pads in our surfboard bags to deck out the Va Pue for years. The crew at Surfari Charters knows how to product test and put SeaDek through the paces better than anyone. These are work boats! They live outside on a mooring ball 365 days a year, get surfboards with sharp fins tossed in and out, and have more fish gaffed and pulled over the gunnels in a summertime than most boats see in their lifetimes. When Lance called and let us know they were working on importing a new boat for the Surfari Charters fleet, we were all excited to see them expanding. Having twin motors and a larger boat will provide a longer range. This will allow them to explore and push harder than before. They picked up a used Cape Horn and redid the entire boat from top to bottom. They spent months restoring the boat and adding top of the line electronics and radar systems to suit their fishing style and needs.
Like most projects this one was a time crunch. The boat had to make it onto a ship leaving out of Miami with very little time to waste. The boat rolled into the shop late in the afternoon where out team jumped right on it and got it digitized. Lance and I went over the color options and logo placement to make sure the kit worked well for their clients keeping them safe and comfortable. Snow camo over black 6mm with a brushed texture is what we settled on for the majority of the surfaces. For the coaming bolsters on the boat, we chose a 20mm storm gray over black, and added several laser logos to promote their supporters. Our team ran the kit on our night shift and got her installed installed the next morning with time to spare. She then got shrink wrapped that evening at our facility and head south to Miami early the next morning.
All went smoothly and we’re stoked for Lance when we got pictures of “Lady Raye” safe and sound down in Nicaragua. Thanks again to Lance, Kristen, and all the crew of Surfari Charters. We know you will be putting her to good use and we look forward to getting down soon for some product testing!
