WHO WE ARE
A little history
We’ve been around since 2002. The focus is rebranded.
Trawlers Great Lakes started in the fall of 2002, we just didn’t know it then. A Father and Son duo was presented with an opportunity to represent a high quality pilothouse trawler brand in Nordic Tugs. What started out as Bay Breeze Yacht Sales and continued for 18 years with a few ups and educational downs, has given us notice. It’s time to focus on what we know best and get trawler centric. We’re staying put in the same location it all started, and the people are still around. Were taking a few entries out of an old logbook and turning to a blank page that’s waiting to be written with new waypoints and entries.
The full circle cruise is underway.
Change is constant
Growth is optional
Change isn’t always fun, but adaptation to change will be. Bay Breeze Yacht Sales to Trawlers Great Lakes.
The Pilot House
Jay Kraft
Sales and Brokerage
Water and boats have been a constant part of Jay’s timeline. Pushing his 8′ rowing pram off the beach of Houghton Lake to running a Gunboat 48 up and down the East Coast has enhanced that timeline. A co-founder of Bay Breeze Yacht Sales and Trawlers Great Lakes has provided a running 18 years of experience with trawlers and what their all about.
Andrew O’Dwyer
Sales and Brokerage
Originally from Australia, Andrew has called Northern Michigan home for over a decade. He holds a USCG Captain’s License and is a certified US Powerboating Instructor. With an impressive offshore racing and cruising background, Andrew has completed three Transpac races—winning two of them. Adding to his expertise, he is also an ABYC-certified marine electrician, bringing valuable technical skills to the team.
Michele Derouin
USCG Captain – Instructor
Michele is the friendly voice you hear when you call TGL, managing office administration for our trawler school and charters. Beyond her role in the office, she is a licensed USCG Captain and one of fewer than ten women nationwide to hold certification as a US Powerboating Instructor. A lifelong sailor who has come to appreciate the trawler lifestyle, Michele finds the greatest joy in seeing clients on the dock, mastering new boat-handling skills.
Tim Wieringa
USCG Captain – Instructor
Tim first joined TGL as a client before becoming a valued member of our team. He and his wife, Martha, attended our trawler school in 2019, where their passion for trawlers took root—building on Tim’s prior experience as a sailor. Now proud owners of a beautiful Nordic Tug 37 and having completed “The Loop” in 2023, Tim has earned his USCG Captain’s License and US Powerboating Instructor Certification. He is our go-to specialist for Nordic Tug deliveries, both new and brokerage, as well as familiarization training. Tim and Martha are often found on our docks after hours, serving as welcoming Ambassadors to TGL clients.
Preston Claytor
USCG Captain
Bio Coming Soon
Rorke Miller
USCG Captain – Instructor
Bio Coming Soon
How we came to be
A need wanting to be met.
It dawned on us one summer day that establishing a source solely focused on trawlers and making it our effort and purpose was calling. A trawler source that addresses needs and offers the opportunity to gain experience. We couldn’t find it. Being the biggest and offering the most doesn’t fit our boutique approach to being that resource. The marine industry, at large, has shifted to generalization and left specialization in its wake. Trawlers Great Lakes specializes in sharing our knowledge and the opportunity to learn and develop that yearning. That’s “why we are” and we’re sticking to it.
Where We Are
Get in touch
We’re no further away than technology allows. Call us, fire off an email or fill out the form and hit send. Lets talk trawlers!
Visit our location in the CenterPointe Marina Complex
12935 S W Bay Shore Drive Ste 115
Traverse City, Michigan 49684
Phone: 231-941-5884
Contact Us
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