Boating THE ISSUE

In addition to sightseeing tours, the Virginia Dare has hosted private parties, weddings, even a funeral. “People come from all over the world to ride on her.”

Vessel. The license allows a pilot to operate fishing and sailing charters, run a dive boat or offer sightseeing tours. With that, clarke started a sightseeing tour business, captain Vic’s sea ray services, which has been a big hit.

“everyone is always happy on a boat,” clarke said. after connecting with 14-year Virginia Dare capt. gary Fisher, clarke set his course toward helming the faux paddlewheeler.

The process took some time and required additional paperwork, testing and on-the-job training, but clarke was up to the challenge.

When asked to identify the biggest challenge with the Dare, clarke said, “When the wind is blowing, the boat can act like one big sail, which can make docking tricky sometimes.” capt. Barry Bridges has his 50-ton coast guard rating and has served as a master captain of the Virginia Dare for more than three years, although he’s had his master license for more than seven years.

Bridges, a lake resident since 2000, makes his living as a realtor and broker of Bridges and co. a lifelong boater, Bridges obtained his captain’s hours piloting for