Forget a cheeseburger in paradise—it was Maryland crab claws in paradise for Jimmy Buffett this weekend.
The legendary entertainer with an island vibe just spent a few days docked at Chesapeake Inn Restaurant & Marina on the C&D Canal, cruising the upper Bay before heading down to Annapolis.
Chesapeake Inn owner Gianmarco Martuscelli tells Bay Bulletin he got a call from Buffett’s personal assistant just before the weekend, asking for a slip for his head-turning Caribbean blue, 42-foot custom sportfisher.
“The marina was actually full,” Martuscelli laughs, “but once we found out who it was, a couple of our seasonals were nice enough to move their boats to get him in.” Buffett’s captain asked Chesapeake Inn to keep the visit under wraps until after the singer and his crew had left.
The restaurant and marina staff followed the rules, even hiring security for the section of dock around the slip, but as Martuscelli points out, Buffett’s boat is pretty noticeable. Last Mango is a never-before-seen combination of a 42 Freeman Boatworks catamaran hull and a custom Merritt Boatworks house, built in Pompano, Florida.
The 73-year-old Buffett, his staff, and his longtime captain, Vinnie LaSorsa, spent the weekend exploring the area, posting a photo on Instagram of Buffett standup paddleboarding just offshore from Concord Point Lighthouse on Sunday.
Martuscelli says Chesapeake Inn Restaurant catered lunch on the boat for Buffett and the crew that afternoon, serving them crab bisque, sushi, brick oven pizza, and Bay crab claws. Buffett took more of the crab bisque to go.
It’s not the first time Buffett has enjoyed time on the Bay; we hear he loves the area. He apparently visited the marina about five years ago, but flew under the radar on that trip.
Martuscelli says Buffett and company were bringing the boat down from the New York area, but wasn’t sure where they were headed next. One of our readers in Chesapeake City saw Buffett’s boat have a rendezvous with a sea plane (!) off Tower Point on Monday. And Bay Bulletin spotted Buffett’s signature turquoise powerboat and his matching sailboat at Annapolis Yacht Basin on Tuesday.
With a net worth of $550 million, as reported by Forbes, Jimmy Buffett can bring all of his water toys to the Chesapeake. And local Parrotheads aren’t complaining.
-Meg Walburn Viviano
