CHANGING FACE 

 OF WANCHESE: 



Boatbuilding Booming 

 as Fishing Dec ines 



By Ann Green 

 Photographs by Michael Halminski 



the wind slices across the waterfront at Wanchese 

 Seafood Industrial Park, Buddy Davis walks briskly toward a sleek 

 white yacht. 



Davis, who is CEO of Davis Boatworks, stops and glances at 

 the shiny wooden deck and tuna tower on the new 61 -foot boat. 



Two of Davis' employees are getting the boat in tip-top shape 

 for the new owner. "This is a $2.5 million boat," says Davis. "The 

 owner is from Canada. He will fish a little and cruise a lot." 



Dressed like a yachtsman in a plaid cap, khaki pants, 

 windbreaker and moccasins without socks, Davis points proudly to 

 another new 50-foot white yacht that has just been completed. 

 "Our client is flying in today from New Hampshire to inspect it," 

 says Davis. "He is a hard-core fisherman." 



Directly across Mill Landing Creek from the bobbing new 

 yachts, several weathered trawlers are docked in front of seafood 

 businesses operated by Wanchese families for several generations. 



The two sides of the creek show the changing face of 

 Wanchese — a tiny fishing village on Roanoke Island that is still 

 unincorporated. 



"The fish industry was booming in the 1 970s," says Davis, a 

 former fishing captain. "At times, there were several hundred 

 trawlers in Mill Creek. Now you never see more than a dozen 

 trawlers." 



Instead, yachts and sportsfishing boats crowd the dock at the 

 Wanchese Industrial Park where many boatbuilders have their 

 headquarters. 



Although the industrial park was first developed in the 1970s, 

 boatbuilders didn't begin leasing space until 1983 when Davis 

 opened the first boatyard. 



Now, several boatbuilders and a variety of other businesses — 

 from a seafood distribution company and a trawl supply store to a 

 brewery and radio station — occupy the 30-acre park. 



Continued 



22 HIGH SEASON 2001 



