About Veteran Angler Charters

Veteran Angler Charters, based in West Haven, CT., was formed for the purpose of providing
therapeutic and recreational fishing excursions to veterans of all branches of the armed forces.
The program idea was conceived by the founder, Captain Kathy Granfield, and began as a
charitable venture during the spring and summer of 2009. During that first season Captain
Kathy and her crew ran eight fishing trips in Long Island Sound for the New Haven Vet Center in
West Haven, CT, and the New England branch of The Wounded Warrior Project. The trips
were conducted at no cost to the veterans.

A very successful first season left Captain Kathy with the desire to be able to offer these trips to
more veterans in more places. To that end, Veteran Angler Charters was incorporated as a
501(c)(3) in December of 2009. The mission: to provide no-cost charter fishing trips to service
members who have sustained a service-connected physical or psychological injury (veterans
may be asked to verify their discharge status). Capt. Kathy was joined in 2012 by Capt. Mark
Petitt (MA), in 2013 by Capt. Randy Bagwell (RI), Capt. Mike Pirri (CT) in 2017, Capt. Shawn
Tibbetts (ME) in 2018, and Captain Chris Gergely (CT and RI) in 2021. Connecticut trips take
place in central and eastern Long Island Sound; Rhode Island trips in Narragansett Bay and
Block Island Sound; Massachusetts trips in Cape Cod Bay, and Maine trips in the Gulf of Maine.
Species targeted include striped bass, bluefish, fluke, porgy (scup), black sea bass, tautog,
tuna, and occasionally shark. We strictly honor all fisheries regulations.

It is expensive to run a charter fishing boat; we recognized that though many captains might be
willing to donate a trip or two per season, running a dozen or more free trips per season would
not be financially feasible for most. We therefore rely on the generosity of individual donors,
corporate sponsorship, fundraising events and the support of other service organizations to help
us cover our expenses. Our board is composed entirely of volunteers. All captains donate
their time; the funds raised are used to cover the direct costs of our trips.