“My Raymarine technology has changed the game. I can see where I catch fish year after year. The plotter is a computer now, not just a navigation chart.” – Captain Bill Platt

Schooled on Saltwater

You might say the sea was Bill Platt’s first teacher. He learned to fish at the young age of five, before he even started elementary school. Growing up, Bill’s playground was the ocean, so much so that he came to own two boats before he ever owned a car — a telltale sign of the places life would take him on the water. It would be no surprise later that his career path would spread his love of boating and fishing on to others as a licensed charter-boat captain and professional fishing guide. 

Equipped to Win

His dedication to doing what he loves pays off in many ways. Since 1986, Captain Platt has earned several first-place and championship wins in professional fishing tournaments throughout the Gulf of Mexico and along the southeastern U.S. coast, recently at the King Master Orange Beach (Alabama), fishing out of his Texas home port. Captain Platt brings back his trophy catch with the help of his Raymarine Electronics System. With all those long hours at sea, he depends on his FLIR M364C. He says, “The night-vision camera takes a lot of the strain and uncertainty out of my navigation so I can focus on where I’m going without worry.”  FLIR’s proprietary Color Thermal Vision makes it easy to identify channel markers and see a depth of detail not usually visible to the human eye, improving situational awareness even by day with 30X optical zoom.

Passion Multiplied

Not only is Captain Platt a Raymarine power user, as an ambassador, he also shares his expertise with other fishing fanatics and anglers looking to outfit their own fishing boats. With extensive personal experience using his Axiom XL 22 in a variety of challenging conditions, he knows just what features to recommend when customers come to him at Custom Marine Electronics, Bill’s retail dealership near Galveston, Texas. No matter the quest on the ocean Captain Bill emphasizes, “You have to have the best equipment to bring you home safely–and that’s Raymarine.”