Newcastle Yachts began in 1999 when Kevin Keith along with Lester Miller, a prominent U.S. businessman, formed Newcastle Marine, Inc. Their goal was to create a company dedicated to building high quality, ocean-going motoryachts. Newcastle’s first mission was to find a suitable location. An existing shipyard in Palm Coast, Florida was purchased and completely rebuilt. A new 6 story construction building, slipway, bulk heading, and 1000-ton marine rail system capable of hauling and launching yachts up to 200' in length are among the many improvements to the facility. Intrigued by the growing worldwide demand for “expedition” type yachts, it was decided Newcastle 's first new build would be the “Newcastle Explorer”, This 102' Expedition Yacht was extremely well received at the 2001 Ft. Lauderdale International Boat Show and subsequently sold one month after the show. The 125' “Newcastle Voyager” is the yard's latest yacht launch. She debuted at the Miami Boat Show in February and has logged over 9000 miles since. Mr. Keith started in his family's shipbuilding business at the age of 17, building commercial fishing vessels for the North Atlantic Ocean and has over 25 active years in the shipbuilding trade. Prior to forming Newcastle, Mr. Keith was President of Keith Marine, Inc. a Florida based shipyard. During his tenure, he was involved in a wide range of projects including USCG passenger vessels, Gaming vessels, Tugs, SWATH Vessels, Motoryachts, Tender vessels for Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines as well as many conversion projects. His commercial experience building strong, reliable ships has served him well in transitioning to yacht building and is evidenced by the ruggedness and reliability in the Newcastle Yachts built today. . Managing Director Joe Ramsey has over 20 years experience in the marine industry. He began his career in 1982 with Offshore Shipbuilding, Inc. where he served in a variety of capacities including Warehouse Manager and Head of Purchasing. Other positions include Materials Manager for Luhrs Corporation, St. Augustine, Florida and Southeast Sales Manager for Daytona Plastics. In 1999, Mr. Ramsey joined Newcastle Marine at its inception as General Manager and was instrumental in the company's successful start-up. His knowledge in Ship Construction and vessel systems is evident in Newcastle 's yachts.