THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, September 29, 1996 TAG: 9609290207
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C17 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY BOB HUTCHINSON, OUTDOORS EDITOR
DATELINE: CHINCOTEAGUE LENGTH: 102 lines
Bob Pohlmeyer was certain of two things when he called his stepdaughter, Donna Rae Roeske, to the side of his deathbed in the early spring of 1995.
He knew he was losing the battle against the cancer which slowly, steadily had been rotting away his insides for months, perhaps years.
And he knew who he wanted to take the helm of the ship he had been piloting for more than three decades, Capt. Bob's Fishing camp near the south tip of this island on the seaside of Virginia's Eastern Shore.
Donna Rae.
He had called her to his bedside to tell her something which not only shocked her but also pleased her:
He was leaving her the business which had been his love and his labor for more than 30 years.
Now, says Roeske (pronounced ``Risky''), she understands why he did it.
``Bob knew I could run the business, that I could keep on making it work, that I would bring some fresh ideas to it,'' she says. ``And he knew my mom wasn't in the best of health and couldn't handle it.
``He also knew that I would be here on the island to look out for Mom. So he was really taking care of both of us at the same time.''
So she resigned the management job she had held with an air-freight firm for 11 years, put her house in Virginia Beach up for sale and moved to her birth island.
``It wasn't a tough decision,'' said Roeske, 48, ``even though I had been gone from Chincoteague for almost 28 years and had lived most of that time in Hampton Roads.
``I guess I was ready to come home. This island will always be home, just like it is to every Chincoteaguer, no matter where on earth they end up.
``Besides, I knew it was a good business that I could make even better. Bob had diabetes and some other health problems and he had let a few things slide in recent years.
``But he built this business from nothing, starting in 1960 with seven wooden rental boats. At the end, he had 100 boats and almost that many outboard motors.
``Besides, I had already decided that I was coming home to help him even if he had lived. I knew he couldn't carry on by himself. He was awful sick for the last six months.''
Pohlmeyer died in Arpil 1995. He was 71.
Almost immediately, Roeske began embarking on what she calls her ``five-year plan.''
In addition to the rental boats, Capt. Bob's is a major marina for small boats, featuring 114 slips, 70 in seasonal (summertime) rentals. It also sells fuel, bait and fishing tackle.
But a 25-foot boat is the biggest the marina can handle.
``I've been working on the place ever since I took over,'' Roeske said, ``starting with a lot of new outboard motors. But we're so busy in the summer that it's hard to get much done.
``I want to redo the marina, at least some more, this winter. I want to change the slips around so we can handle at least 30-footers, maybe even bigger boats.
``Chincoteague has always been known for its flounder fishing, just like Wachapreague. But we're getting more and more people coming here to go offshore fishing. I want to be able to accommodate them.
``I want to add a second story to the tackle shop, a sort of home away from home for me. We have to have some security here at night. I know about that. I used to own a security company in Virginia Beach.
``Within five years, I'd like to add a steamer-type restaurant. Nothing fancy, just stuff like steamed seafood. We're getting enough people here now to support it.''
This bustling town has long been attractive to tourists because of the famous mid-July Chincoteague wild pony swim and Pony Penning.
But the island of 5,000 has become a true tourist mecca in recent years with the opening of the bridge to adjacent Assateague Island on the oceanfront.
Chincoteague is home to several major campgrounds. New hotels and restaurants have sprung up. Scores of new summer homes recently have been built. Manyolder homes have been bought and restored as summer places.
Roeske said Chincoteague is where Nags Head, was in 1968, when the North Carolina Outer Banks began exploding as a resort/summer place.
``I don't mean that we're another Nags Head,'' she said. ``We're too small. But the changes have been amazing here in the two years I've been back.
``It's going to continue. I want to take advantage of it. I want to do some different things, new and exciting things.''
During the pony-penning this year, when the island's poplation swelled to almost 50,000, she put one of her ideas into practice.
In the annual event, wild horses are rounded up on Assateague and swum across Assateague Channel to Chincoteague. They are led through town to the firemen's carnival grounds, where selected young horses are sold at auction.
This year, Roeske had three caravans of her rental boats, loaded with more than 250 people, directed to Assateague Channel for prime viewing as the swim took place.
``We charged $75 per boat and that was for as many as six or seven people, depending on their age,'' she said. ``Other places were charging as much as $50 a person.
``It was incredibly popular. I believe that next year I could probably rent 100 boats, maybe even more.
``When I do something like that, something to please the customers, something that's good for business, I almost feel like Bob is looking down on me from up above and smiling.
``He put a lot of faith in me when he left me this business. I don't want to disappoint him.'' ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO BY BOB HUTCHINSON
Donna Rae Roeske lived off Chincoteague for 28 years before moving
back to operate Capt. Bob's Fishing Camp. by CNB