Fish Tales and Boat Sales: Meet Pat Kelly of HMY Yacht Sales
To be featured in Angler's Journal, Pat Kelly was interviewed to discuss who he is, what he does, and his passion for fishing.
Originally a boat captain, Patrick Kelly, better known as “PK,” traveled the world fishing the East Coast, Mexico, St. Thomas, Venezuela, and many more locations. After years of running sportfish operations, Pat transitioned into yacht brokerage from his full-time captain's career to join HMY Yacht Sales.
“Over the years I established a relationship with the owners and employees of HMY Yacht Sales. After some time, they thought I could be an asset to the team, and I joined the team as a broker about 20 years ago. Today, I feel I’m still an asset to the company as a top sales professional. It has been a long journey, but an enjoyable process. The industry has seen a lot of changes, but HMY is the best company to work for in the world.”
The transition into being a broker was a smooth one for Pat Kelly, as he made his first sale one week into working at HMY Yacht Sales.
“I haven’t looked back. It's been an amazing journey,” says Pat.
Before yacht brokerage, and his captaining career, back to where it all started was Pat Kelly's childhood stomping grounds- Ocean City, Maryland. “At the time it was the white marlin capital of the world. It still is!” Pat grew up in a small coastal town and at an early age he started pumping gas on the marina docks.
“I remember being a child and seeing all these boats come in. The boats traveled from all over the world to fish in the White Marlin Open. I would watch in awe as the boats came in. Then the boats would leave, and I felt this big void. I thought to myself, one day I want to be on that boat that leaves Maryland to go catch fish and travel the world. That’s what I did!”
One fishing destination that Pat traveled to over the years, stands out. That location is Costa Rica. Not only has Pat Kelly grown fond of the fishery in Costa Rica, but the people, and the culture as well. His fishing stories in Costa Rica start about 15 years ago when he began fishing the sailfish circuits with Frank Bongiorno, on “Dealers Choice.”
“I’m fond of the fishery down there. Over the past 7-8 years they’ve developed the FAD (fish aggregation device) fishing in Costa Rica and this summer we dedicated our time offshore to making a trip to Costa Rica every three weeks.”
Pat Kelly had a spectacular last trip this summer. They caught 54 of the 68 hooked blue marlins and saw over 80 blue marlins in a brief time span of two days. “We fished for 2 days and when we left the fish were still biting! But, we had done what we came to do. We caught fish. We had an amazing time. It was a memory I’ll never forget.”
When a crew like Pat and his friends are persistent and plan, the magic happens. “That’s when the action starts. You start catching them. That is the fun part!” says Pat.
As HMY’s current top producing broker in 2021, Pat Kelly isn’t just another guy walking the docks and selling boats. He has lived it. From being a private and charter boat captain, fishing in world-class tournaments, to traveling waters from Maryland, the Caribbean, and Central America. Pat’s passion lies deeply rooted in his upbringing in a small coastal town in Maryland. His passion has poured into his professional career and taken him to locations where he can share his wealth of knowledge and experiences with friends and now clients.
To watch the interview online, click here.
