Bay Roberts tour boat makes for a marriage of family aspirations

By Olivia Bradbury / Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Earlier this year, Jennifer Yetman and her family officially opened Old Salty Dog Excursions, a tour boat company in Conception Bay North.
Yetman is originally from Upper Island Cove, but now lives in Bay Roberts with her husband Jeremy. The business is a family venture: Jennifer is the business’s founder and owner, Jeremy volunteers his skills for the boat, and their children help out during the summer.
“It’s providing a variety of unique, personalized, and intimate excursions on the waters of beautiful Conception Bay North,” said Yetman.
Old Salty Dog Excursions was inspired by the family’s love of the ocean.
“When I think back to when I was growing up, fish was always a big deal in our house,” said Yetman. “All kinds of fish. Cod fish, mackerel — my dad loved to fish all kinds. And my husband is actually originally from Port de Grave, so he was born and bred right on the water, and it’s in his blood.”
Jeremy worked offshore on the Grand Banks for 20 years and has all the certifications to be able to handle the navigational side of the business.
“And my personal experience with marketing and development and business, it was just such a natural fit for us as a couple to kind of marry, should I say, two of our skillsets together to create this beautiful business,” said Yetman. “We pride ourselves on being fully certified and insured with over 25 years worldwide marine experience. We know our passengers are sure to have a safe and captivating experience with us.”
The couple had toyed with the idea of the business for a couple of years. Once their children got a bit older, they decided to take the plunge. The business officially opened in May. They have received bookings from people as far away as Florida, as well as from locals.
“The local support that we’ve had since we actually launched this has truly been heartwarming,” said Yetman. “The community has truly wrapped their arms around the concept of what we want to do here, and what we’re hearing from many people is that this service in this area specifically, is long overdue. And a lot of people, specifically tourists and even locals, have often longed for somebody that has been fully certified and trained to be able to take people out on the boat on the water.”
A number of Airbnbs, both local and as far as Holyrood, have connected with them to be able to suggest the service to their guests.
Old Salty Dog Excursions offers midmorning, afternoon, and sunset cruises. Passengers can fish cod on dates aligned with the recreational cod fishery, something Yetman notes has been very popular. For out of province patrons, the Yetmans have incorporated Screech-ins. Excursions can also focus on the culture and history of the area.
“My husband can take them throughout all that — all the coves, all the nooks, all the little crannies, and all the history,” said Yetman. “And people are just really loving it. The kids are learning so much.”
The boat’s main pickup spots are Bay Roberts, Brigus, and Port de Grave, however custom excursions from different pickup locations are possible.
“Because we’re operating on a ‘load and go’ method, we really can leave from anywhere within reason,” said Yetman, “but, because we didn’t know how the first season was going to go, we wanted to try to contain it and start it here in our own little neck of the wood. But really the sky is the limit of what we can do because of the method that we’re operating.”
Because they have been so busy with custom excursions, the Yetmans have not yet had much opportunity to promote their water taxi service. “For example, if you’re in Bay Roberts and the Brigus Blueberry Festival’s coming up and you’d like to go up there by water as opposed to driving, or if they want to take in the fireworks by water, they can book a water taxi service from us,” said Yetman.
At the moment, Old Salty Dog Excursions has just one vessel, but Yetman hopes that if the season goes well they will be able to add another next year, which might make it possible to hire on summer students. She hopes to eventually have a fleet of smaller boats so they can create employment and hire more people, creating buzz for the local business community. She noted that, like many new businesses, they have gotten requests for complimentary excursions and donations to help people in need. “We’ve really been able to lean into that and be able to provide some of that, even though it’s still our inaugural season, because we know how important community is and giving back,” said Yetman.