San Juan Island was home to a record 40 Rivieras for the annual Roche Harbor Experience

Roche Harbor, San Juan Island, United States: This year’s annual Roche Harbor Experience on the picturesque San Juan Island set an international record with more than 40 Riviera boats and 100 owners from Canada and Washington State participating in the weekend activities hosted by Emerald Pacific Yachts and Van Isle Marina.

Emerald Pacific Yachts dealer principal Rob Scott said the first fleet of Rivieras cruised into the harbor on Wednesday June 15 followed by the remaining Rivieras who arrived from far and wide on Friday June 17.

“The first of the festivities began with a round of golf and by Friday evening everyone was looking forward to the potluck dinner where everyone brought along a meal that they had created,” Rob said.

“This year large tents were placed on the lawn across the bay and were host to the various evening events.  Some walked; some came by a small barge, but most came by dinghy to the tents with a large variety of appetizers, dinners, and desserts.  The beautiful sunset was a nice bookend to the first full day.”

Saturday kicked off with a round of Frisbee golf on an organized course which a few of the island locals had put together.  Frisbee golf is a game of golf using varying size Frisbees.  The aim of the game is for players to throw the Frisbees at a target or in a basket. A dinghy scavenger hunt took place in the afternoon with prizes going to those who did well but the real festivities began with a “Casino Night”. 

Professional dealers and tables for poker, blackjack, craps, and roulette were provided and each guest was given $3,000 dollars of Riviera play money.

“The tables were full and a friendly competitive spirit could be heard throughout, not to mention all of the smiles.  Unbelievably, one player converted that $3,000 into $100,000.  Of course, he said he would put it towards a new Riviera.

“During these festivities close friends of mine, Lance and Scott, were carefully preparing the main course for the barbecue dinner, which included tender beef brisket with homemade Loose Tooth BBQ sauce. A local caterer provided the rest of the meal and in the end it was a great team effort.”

With more than 130 Riviera owners, family members and guests in attendance, the Casino night was a huge success and finished with prizes and gifts for all those in attendance.

“Throughout the entire Riviera Experience weekend the camaraderie was clearly evident by all of the smiles and laughter.  New members to the Riviera family, the Riviera 43 Open Flybridge with IPS and a Riviera 5000 Sport Yacht with Zeus propulsion were warmly welcomed and prospective new Riviera owners were also invited to take part in the festivities.”

Emerald Pacific Yachts and Van Isle Marina plan to make next year’s event bigger and better with a new record number of Rivieras in attendance. 

BACK TO HOME PAGE