The boatyard, which caters to repair of sailboats and powerboats from across the East Coast, is 

 a family business. 



'This was my grandfather's property," says Russell of the property that is a stone's throw from 

 a retirement complex. "It is a great place for a boatyard." 



A PLACE IN HISTORY 



Morehead City was bustling at the turn of the 20th century: The three-story Atlantic Hotel, one 

 of the most famous hotels along the Atlantic Seaboard, overlooked the waterfront. Two fish houses, 

 an ice and coal company, and several cottages also graced the area. 



"In the early 1900s, it was supposedly the East 

 Coast's second busiest commercial fishing center, 

 second only to Gloucester, Massachusetts," according 

 to Morehead City: A Walk Through Tune by Jack 

 Dudley. 



During this era, many recreational anglers could 

 be found in sharpies — sailing craft with a straight- 

 plumbed bow and flat bottom, with no dead rise in 

 the bow. Tourists also rode in the boats to the Royal- 

 Chadwick Pavilion on the ocean side of Bogue Banks, 

 according to Dudley. This was the beginning of the 

 local charter boat fleet. 



By 1912, a sea wall was constructed along the 

 waterfront. And about the same time. Charles Seifrit 

 of New Bern and D. B. Willis opened a Coca-Cola 

 bottling plant where the Ottis' site is today. 



In 1933, the waterfront lost its biggest attraction 

 when the grand Atlantic Hotel burned. 



Five years later, Ted Gamer Sr. and Tony Seamon 

 opened their first restaurant, the Sanitary Fish Market 



— with 12 stools, a counter and a two-burner kerosene 

 stove, according to Dudley's book. 



Food was cheaper then, but wages were low as 



well. 



"I started working for 30 cents an hour," says 

 manager John Tunnell, who started at the business in 

 1944. "Back then you had to put the menu on the wall. 

 The highest meal was a shore dinner for $ 1 .50. You 

 could order shrimp for 60 cents." 



In 1941, Headen Ballou, who became known as 

 Capt. Bill, converted a fish house into the Waterfront 

 Cafe and Fish Market. Later, the restaurant was 

 renamed Captain Bill's Waterfront Restaurant. 



Mullet boats would tie up nearby. "Big fish boats 

 would unload at the fish houses on the waterfront," says 

 Tunnell, who is also a photo-historian. 



"For-hire" boats still are found on the waterfront 



— and their numbers are increasing. Woo- Woo Harker 

 has run the Carolina Princess out of Morehead docks 

 for more than 25 years. 



"I am now on my third head boat," says Harker, 

 whose face lights up when discussing his business. 



Continued 



Coastwatch I Early Summer 2006 I www.ncseagrant.org 9 



