Talk radio goes boating

Boat/US Magazine, Jan, 2004 by Scott Croft

They come into our boat, home, office and are even with us while we drive. Like a lighthouse on the radio dial, they are the voices of boating's talk radio personalities using the airwaves to bring the boating lifestyle to local audiences and around the world via the Internet.

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In a country with over 13 million registered boats and 70 million people who went boating at least once last year, it's been surprisingly tough going for those who want to bring radio and TV to boating, especially when you consider that, at last count, there are over 70 magazines reaching every recreational boating niche from southern sailors to San Francisco Bay boaters.

If there is one common denominator among these radio personalities--Capt. Lou Gainor of New England, Capt. Mike Whitehead of California, Dave Hanson of Chesapeake Bay, and L.J. Wallace of South Carolina--it's perseverance and a passion for all things boating. Three got their "lucky" break by having to purchase their own airtime, produce their own stories, secure their own advertisers, and, oh yeah, don't forget, host the show. If you know of any other boating radio personalities, let us know at scroft@BoatUS.com.

Capt. Mike Whitehead

San Diego, CA

Juiced up with 50,000 watts of power, San Diego's Capt. Mike Whitehead has no problem reaching a huge audience from Mexico north to Oxnard, CA. "Boaters have a lot of questions," says Mike, and his "Boathouse Radio Show" aims to answer them.

"Like a golfer with a bad swing, boaters, mechanics, and all types call my show for advice," says Whitehead. Whether it's a boating lifestyle issue, discussing a common sense solution to an environmental problem, or just giving practical cruising advice, he has covered it all.

His recreational boating bully pulpit is taken seriously in California boating circles, attracting attention from the state's Department of Boating and Waterways. Director Raynor Tsuneyoshi recently appeared as a guest to talk about the role that his department plays in California, and how it is fighting off yet another attempt by another state agency to merge with it for its dedicated fund of boater's fuel taxes.

Whitehead put himself through Long Beach State University teaching sailing, lifeguarding and working for the fire department. Soon he started developing sailing programs for Newport Beach and led Cal State-Fullerton's sailing program for eight years. He became a BoatU.S. member in 2001.

By the time he was 25, he had earned a U.S. Coast Guard operator's license, skippered ever-larger boats, and started a private lifeguard firm. Along the way, he met his wife Danielle, while he taught sailing.

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Whitehead realized in the '90s that with cable TV growing by leaps and bounds, there was opportunity for a boating program, and his first media venture, "Boathouse TV," was born in 1995. Currently in hiatus, the show is expected to return in the 2004 season.

The "Boathouse Radio Show," which airs Sundays on San Diego's KCBQ 1170 AM from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. (worldwide at kcbq.com), started just a couple years ago as an extension of the TV show, but with more focus on current events. "Radio allows you to go live up to the minute, reaching people in cars, eager to call in," says Whitehead, who is also a columnist for the Daily Pilot, and writes for Sea and Santana magazines.

"The biggest thing boaters want to know is where they can go," says Whitehead, who routinely makes deliveries down to Mexico, up to Canada and out to Hawaii. He's not short on ideas. He's also had his fair share of scrapes. Last year while on a delivery job rounding the "Cape Horn" of the Pacific, Point Conception, waves began to bury his 45-foot powerboat's bow.

"The waves were very steep and at close intervals, and the crew was asking, 'Now seriously, Captain, are we going to be OK?'" Whitehead beat a hasty retreat.

A few years ago on another occasion rounding Point Conception, waters were so rough that a crewmember's head slammed into a toilet bowl, knocking out a couple teeth and biting through his tongue. Again, Whitehead turned back to rush his crewmember to the hospital.

If Whitehead has an agenda, it's that he wants to make boating like NASCAR and wrestling--"popular with families," he says. And as the father of two girls, he should know. The future looks bright, with the show going to two hours next year.

Capt. Lou Gainor

Boston, MA

In Massachusetts, Capt. Lou Gainor counts on his family to help him with his show, "Nautical Talk Radio," which airs Sundays from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. on WATD 95.9 FM in Marshfield, MA, (and worldwide at 959watd.com). Lou's mom is his studio audience, his son the show's engineer, and his wife, Ellen, follows up every broadcast with a critique.

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The formula seems to have worked--Capt. Lou just produced his 600th show which reaches from Boston, its North and South Shores, to Cape Cod. Not bad for a guy who vividly remembers his first boating experience getting dunked when a dinghy he was in tipped over heading back from the family's mooring in 1954. Far from a negative experience, Capt. Lou has gone on to own no less than 13 boats, from Zodiacs to large liveaboard cruisers.