THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, October 20, 1996 TAG: 9610180191
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 16 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: COVER STORY
SOURCE: BY SCOTT McCASKEY, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 127 lines
This time of year, a steady stream of motor and sailing yachts plying the Intracoastal Waterway drop anchor at Chesapeake's Atlantic Yacht Basin for repair or winter storage.
The yacht basin, which is observing its 60th anniversary this year, is set behind a copse of trees east of Great Bridge Locks, hidden from the view of thousands of motorists who drive through Great Bridge without even knowing it is there.
Dick R. Bierworth of Hilton Head Island, S.C. is one of many sailors from up and down the East Coast who make the basin a frequent port o' call.
``I heard about this place by word-of-mouth along the waterway,'' Bierworth said. ``They can fix just about anything and have the parts on hand. And the fresh-water storage prevents barnacle growth.''
Like many of the company's patrons, Bierworth, 62, lives on his yacht for much of the year and makes annual visits to the basin for repairs. He recently had the rudders on his 67-foot Hatteras cabin cruiser cleaned before heading to Hilton Head.
But past stopovers for Bierworth and generations of other skippers have been more urgent. The basin offers one of the Mid-Atlantic's best harbors against hurricanes.
``I almost got caught in a hurricane 12 years ago, so I pulled in here where I knew I could keep the boat safe,'' Bierworth said. ``It's an inland location, and the locks prevent against a surge. It's about as hurricane-proof as you can get.''
Local residents not familiar with the site need only drive down the Route 168 Bypass and look westward. The facility sits on a peninsula surrounded by tall pine trees. A 1,625-foot dock stretches along the waterway. Facing southward is a network of large, covered storage and repair sheds set on pilings. The sheds can protect about 150 yachts up to 85 feet in length; a floating storehouse for tens of millions of dollars in watercraft from around the country and across the Atlantic.
``I came here during Hurricane Bertha,'' said John Noakes of Halifax, England, who owns a 40-foot motor yacht. ``It looked like a very good yard. I'll store the boat here until next spring.''
While fall, particularly October, is traditionally the company's busiest time of year, activity at the yacht basis is up almost real-round.
``Business has been above average throughout the last two years,'' said Atlantic Yacht Basin President William S. Hull. ``We've been doing a lot of repair, painting, and re-powering engines. A lot of painting.''
Hull, 62, said the company has been so swamped they haven't even had time to throw a 60th anniversary party.
``We're kind of just tending to business now,'' he said. ``We did have a big splash a couple of years ago when we added 550 feet to the dock. The mayor was there.''
Much of the increase in work can be attributed to the 1993 repeal of a luxury yacht excise tax, Hull said: ``The tax had a dampening effect on the industry. People are back taking care of their boats.''
Boat maintenance and repair at the yard often makes for a dynamic picture. A marine railway can pull yachts up to 110-feet long onto land, where a 60-ton Travelift - a kind of nautical jaw - places the boats on blocks for repair. The yard buzzes with the work of a 40-employee crew, machinists, electricians, painters and carpenters. Boards of teak, mahogany, white cedar and oak soon become shiny new decks and railings. A 24-hour security team makes sure the yard and boat owners' interests are protected.
The facility does service local police and Coast Guard craft, but the majority of its work is on private yachts. About 20 percent of the clientele is local, and the remaining 80 percent comes from boats traveling on the waterway.
``The basin is the last bastion of a yachtsman's refuge before Coinjock, N.C., said Charles T. Martin III, a licensed captain and yacht salesman for Casey Marine in Hampton and Virginia Beach. ``It's one of the oldest and best-known yards on the Mid-Atlantic. It's known for quality work.''
The company does not sell boats, but does offer a complete selection of supplies, equipment and machinery. Hull said that the yard is a ``full service'' operation in that it can do almost any kind of repair and can provide fully-covered storage for yachts up to 85 feet, up to 200 feet uncovered. Atlantic Yacht Basin is one of the only privately-owned yards on the Mid-Atlantic that can ``haul'' a 110-foot vessel onto land.
Boats are in Hull's blood. The son of a naval officer, he came to Norfolk in 1949 and attended Granby High School, where he met Allene Atkinson, whom he later married. Her father, Dunwody Atkinson, established Atlantic Yacht Basin 60 years ago. After graduating from the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., in 1956, Hull served in the Navy through the early 1960s. In 1964 he resigned his commission, settled in Norfolk and took a job as the basin's superintendent so he could ``watch his family grow.''
During his years at the company's helm, Hull has overseen steady expansion and upgrading, adding cranes, more storage space, an 80-foot by 85-foot climate-controlled finishing building, lengthening the dock, and providing a full-benefits and retirement package to his employees.
``It looks a lot different around here than it used to,'' said 62-year-old labor foreman Arlee Vincent, who has been with the company since 1953. ``It's grown quite a bit.''
In recent times, two of Hull's three sons have come aboard to assist in the family business. W. Vance Hull, 38, is the company's production coordinator and manager of the basin's supply store. Spencer D. Hull, 31, is the office manager.
The senior Hull plans to remain head of the organization for awhile. Meanwhile, he is focusing on projects prescribed in the company's master plan. Acquiring a new Travelift and expanding storage space are top priorities.
Hull gives a lot of credit for the success of the business to his employees, saying they are a ``talented and dedicated group.'' He describes himself as someone who likes a steady workload.
``I'm not a workaholic, but I do like to keep busy,'' Hull said. ``But it's not all work and no play. We didn't have a 60th anniversary celebration, but we do have a great Christmas party.'' ILLUSTRATION: Staff color photos including color cover by MORT
FRYMAN
Atlantic Yacht Basin celebrates its 60th anniversary of service to
big boats and their owners.
Will Thrasher sands a sailboat hull ``smooth as a baby's bottom.''
Steve Johnson paints the drive shaft of a yacht at the yard.
A steady stream of moter and sailing yachts heading southward drop
anchor for repair or winter storage.
Arlee Vincent, a member of the 40-man crew that works in the yard,
drives a utility boat to check on a yacht docked at Atlantic Yacht
Basin.
``I almost got caught in a hurricane 12 years ago, so I pulled in
here where I knew I could keep the boat safe. It's an inland
location, and the locks prevent against a surge. It's about as
hurricane-proof as you can get.''
-Dick Bierworth of Hilton Head, S.C. by CNB