Three Encore Water Shuttles Expected to Run Regular Route on Opening Day

There’s never needed to be a dockmaster for any of Everett’s waterfront for the past 100 years, but Encore’s Jay Larcome is going to be a very valuable asset to the docks and waterways around Encore in the coming months.

Larcome is Encore’s first Dockmaster, and is responsible primarily for managing the dock staff and making sure the four Encore water shuttles are on time and in working condition.

“My primary job is to make sure the water shuttle is running on time and welcoming people on and off the water shuttle – getting them on the dock and pointed in the right direction,” he said.

He said right now they believe they will have three of the four water shuttles operating on opening day, June 23. He said that while Bay State Cruise Lines would captain and operate the water shuttles, he has a crew of four full-time staffers on the dock and one extra helper. There are also two seasonal workers during the summer boating season that will be on his staff as well.

“I think it’s very exciting to see the water transportation side of Encore,” he said. “It’s something like I haven’t ever seen in Boston. It will be exciting to see it come together. We’ve got great folks working the docks and we’re really excited about the water transportation side of the development.”

Larcome has a long history of working in security and the boating world.

He worked for 25 years as a police officer for Newburyport Police Department, retiring in 1998. For several years, already having his Master’s Captain License, he transported yachts from Florida to the Bahamas to New England. After that, he began working for Chuck and Ann Lagasse at a 500-slip marina in Newburyport. Eventually he transferred to the Lagasse’s Charlestown Marina operation just down the river from Encore.

For the last three years, he has been launching the Lagasse’s new Provincetown marina operation.

At Encore, he said that the larger 250-foot mega yachts would not be able to come into Encore, and they would probably have their passengers transfer to smaller boats at the Inner Harbor. Those boats would then drop off people at the Encore docks.

He said they are approved for touch-and-go dock operations, so no one can come in and “park” their boat. They can stay for five or 10 minutes to pick up and drop off passengers. Likewise, there will be no anchoring in the Encore inlet or the Mystic River. That, he said, would be patrolled by Everett Police in their new Harbormaster boat.

His staff, however, will be on the docks 24/7 to welcome passengers to the touch-and-go in private boats.

He said he is very excited for the opening day, and the coming months after as the full water program digs in.

“It’s a touch and go situation for the time being because this is a small piece of the bigger puzzle. As the days go on, the puzzle will fill out and we’ll offer more amenities. We’re going to keep it simple at the beginning and just get our feet wet and not try to go overboard,” he concluded with a laugh.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *