The five Rivieras rafted up alongside each other on Lake Washington on another perfect summer’s day
This is the story of how the last Riviera 40 Flybridge ever constructed, hull 288, caused a cascade of Riviera luxury motor yachts to find home berths at Pleasure Point Lane on Lake Washington in the city of Seattle, US.
Pleasure Point original, keen fisherman and pleasure cruiser Joe Peterson was first drawn to Riviera over a decade ago, having heard of its blue water capabilities and on-board comforts.
“While the Pacific Northwest is beautiful, the weather can be, and regularly is, very hard on things, as are we,” says Joe. “With a Riviera you can go out fishing, shrimping and crabbing all day, beat it up in weather and seas and then come back, hose it off and have a dinner party onboard or even get married.” Joe and wife Libbi love GUNK so much they recently tied the knot on her bow in Union Bay.
The pristine beauty of Lake Washington offers some of the best year-round fishing in the north western United States
Joe and his crew aboard GUNK, prepare for another fishing expedition
GUNK heads for home from the stunning waters of British Columbia, Canada
Until a few years ago, Joe lived on Pleasure Point Lane with his Riviera moored in front of the house. Then Joe sold his home to Kurt and Juli Anderson.
“We’d always been boaters but when we bought the house from Joe, I didn’t know anything about Riviera,” says Kurt. “At the time only one other neighbour on the Lane had a Riviera, Steve and Kristin. Because of Joe’s Riviera they’d bought a Riviera 45 Flybridge.”
Joe insists that it wasn’t his powers of persuasion, rather, it was all GUNK. “I didn’t convince anyone; I think they were just impressed with my Riviera and what I was able to do with it and they took my lead. GUNK has been around the city for a long time and Riviera has become increasingly popular. People see how I have taken really good care of GUNK and that we use it a lot. There’s good reason why 288 of these boats were made…it’s a great boat.”
JuJu is moored in front of Kurt and Juli’s home at Pleasure Point Lane, Lake Washington, Seattle
"When I saw a Riviera 42 come up for sale in Canada, I bought it immediately."
Kurt Anderson
Meanwhile, Kurt and Steve started boating together. From Seattle, the San Juan Islands and Roche Harbour offer world-class scenery, fishing and eco-tourism for boaters.
“I was so impressed with the build [of Steve’s Riviera], just fascinated by this seemingly perfect boat,” says Kurt. “And then another neighbour, Dean and Debbie, bought a Riviera 42 Flybridge and I started craving the 42 — it’s amazing, made well, it’s a great size and has a great layout. We do a lot of crabbing and shrimping and salmon fishing around here and I realised this is a good boat for all of that. But the problem is that these boats are sold before they even hit the market so when I saw a Riviera 42 come up for sale in Canada, I bought it immediately.
“My Riviera, JuJu, is a fishing machine. The back cockpit is spacious and low down to the water and it’s got trolling valves so we can slow the speed below idle speed, which is good for salmon fishing. We get a lot of tide exchange and currents around Puget Sound, and some nasty weather when we’re far enough north, but I take this boat through all of it, out to the ocean to fish offshore, and I have complete faith that it can handle it. The reliability of a Riviera is phenomenal. We also love the layout, it’s super comfortable and the galley is terrific.
Joe shows off his catch of Californian spot prawns
Crew mates Hank and Gus show off their impressive salmon haul
A haul of Dungeness crab, a species native to the US West Coast
Kurt’s passion for fishing is rewarded
Kurt and Juli love fishing aboard their Riviera 42 Flybridge, JuJu
“We love JuJu so much and to such an extent that our family, my kids and the extended family, all consider the Riviera to be part of the family. All our family photos include the boat. We even called our dog Riviera. We tossed around a bunch of names and someone came up with Riviera and Riv for short — it’s perfect.”
By now there are three Riviera luxury motor yachts on Pleasure Point Lane. “Then Mike and Diane moved to the Lane and coincidentally they had a Riviera 5400 Sport Yacht. So now there are four Riviera owners on the Lane and we all hang out on weekends; our kids know each other and we boat heavily.
Kurt with his beloved pooch Riviera, Riv for short, named in honour of his boat
“We go fishing together, do overnight trips or we do longer trips, like up to Desolation Sound in Canada where we stay at anchor for days, swimming off the boat, relaxing, salmon fishing. We even hosted a wedding on the back of JuJu for our cousin who I fish with. Having a Riviera has been a wonderful addition to our lives for sure. It’s a phenomenal life. We also belong to the Seattle Yacht Club and this is where our Riviera story goes full circle because Joe, the original Riviera guy, is a trustee of the Club. Just a couple of weeks ago he got married on his Riviera and we all went to the ceremony.”
Joe might have moved from the Lane but today he’s much closer to the sea. “I don’t miss the water commute,” he says. “My boat is now moored much closer to the salt. Also, all of the old neighbours have now joined the yacht club so I’m able to keep in touch.
Five Rivieras ruling the lake
“I’m proud that so many people have a Riviera,” says Joe. “It’s really fun how there’s now four Rivieras in that little part of the lake. The kudos goes to Rob Scott first…he had the original Riviera dealership here and was instrumental working with me to get GUNK brought in from Australia. After 15 years, it still looks great and performs very well. I still really love it and have just finished a major refit. It’s every bit as beautiful as the new boats are now, it has a timeless quality and gets a lot of compliments.”
As for the naming of GUNK, readers will need to stay tuned for the next edition of What’s in a name, part 4.
