Kyle Fennel is the owner and operator of Chesapeake Marine, a Baltimore area maritime business that serves recreational boaters and commercial vessels. From salvage work to launch services to a full marina with an event venue, Fennel’s entrepreneurial spirit drives his growing business.
The good stuff
Kyle Fennel isn’t getting much sleep these days… and that’s not a bad thing. What keeps him up at night? The good stuff: a growing business and a growing family.
Fennel is the owner of Chesapeake Marine in Middle River. He and his wife, Liz, who works as a nurse, are parents to two little boys, a baby boy, Miles, born in May and his “big” brother, Jackie, who will turn two in September.
Chesapeake Marine provides a wide variety of services on and off the water, including launches to large vessels and barges, which were in especially high demand this spring at the site of the Key Bridge recovery and salvage operation.
Fennel says, “The Key Bridge tragedy was right in our home waters, so it was an important opportunity to help our community. We made many runs shuttling crew back and forth to the work site and were glad to be of assistance.”
Introduction to commercial and recreational vessels
Fennel got started in the maritime industry in his early 20s when he took a job in Baltimore working for McAllister Towing, a large company with about a dozen locations along the Eastern Seaboard. He started as a deckhand, became a licensed engineer, and worked his way up to assistant port engineer. Soon he moved from Harford County to the Middle River area and bought a 41-foot Hatteras to get out on the water with friends.
The leap to business owner
Although he didn’t grow up on boats, Fennel had fully embraced the watery lifestyle for both work and play. During his time on the water, he met the Deckelman family whose business, “Bay Assist,” had served as a towing and salvaging company for decades on the Chesapeake Bay. The exposure to this business, specifically the mentorship provided by Liz’s grandfather, Captain Jack “Elvis” Deckelman, inspired him to open Chesapeake Marine. The company opened eight years ago with just one boat and has grown dramatically since then. Today Chesapeake Marine has six boats in its fleet and employs nearly a dozen people.
Serving recreational and commercial vessels
Fennel explains the scope of services the company provides. “We work with both recreational and commercial vessels. I employ four part-time captains, and although we are based out of Middle River, we keep some of the boats in high-demand areas to quickly reach our customers.
“For commercial vessels, we offer 24-hour a day launch services, making runs to the ships for crew changes and dinghy runs with supplies.
“For recreational boaters we offer towing services, diving, refloating, haul out, disposal, outboard sales, and more. We are delighted to announce that on July 1 we became an authorized Suzuki repower center. On the repair side, we do everything in-house, from fiberglass work to outboard service. To make the experience as seamless as possible for the boat owner, we will work closely with their insurance company throughout the job.”
Continued expansion: adding a marina and event venue
Two years ago, Fennel added Middle River Landing Marina to the Chesapeake Marine family. Situated in a protected harbor at the headwater of Middle River, the site (previously known as Riley’s Marina) had been his land base for repair work during the previous six years.
When Tom Wilhelm, the owner of Middle River Landing Marina, was ready to retire, Fennell purchased the business. Located just a short cruise from Hart Miller Island, the full-service marina has 102 slips, fixed and floating piers, and a shop for repairs that is now an authorized Suzuki Repower Center. In addition, the Maryland Party Boat, which can accommodate 120 people, is docked at the marina.
Fennell says, “We’re continuing to make improvements at the marina so that we can offer both indoor and outdoor spaces for large events such as weddings. Having the party boat docked right here creates a unique opportunity for guests to combine a waterfront event at the marina followed by a cruise on the party boat. We’re very excited about what the future holds for us here.”
Learn more about the venue and all the services that Chesapeake Marina offers at chesapeakemarine.net.