Fishing with Veterans

Fishing with Veterans just got easier, thanks to a Virginian family.

Virtually indestructible and capable of running in a foot of water, a new boat designed for anglers in wheelchairs is transporting veterans along Virginia waters. U.S. Marine Corps veteran Ed Moore and his daughter Hailey are hosting free fishing and boating trips for military veterans and their families on the Potomac and Occoquan rivers.

They are proud to offer this opportunity at no cost to those that have served our country proudly to enjoy a favorite pastime. They give veterans with physical limitations (wheelchair) an opportunity to participate. They can also facilitate an opportunity to allow disabled vets to take their children fishing.

Their nonprofit organization, Veterans Fishing Adventure, features an aluminum landing vessel named Knot 4 Gotn. The vessel has an air-conditioned cabin, is constructed of 5086 H116 aluminum with closed-cell foam injected in all voids, and is painted with Line-X weather-resistant coating. It’s powered by a jet drive unit designed by Battle Boats.

“Water is very calming,” says Moore, who funded the boat’s construction himself. “Way back when I was in the Marine Corps, I was on ships in Japan and Korea. It was just a neat thing to be out on the ocean. All your problems seem small when you’re near the water. When you walk near the water, you get a sense of being free. You don’t think about the tough stuff. You smile and think about how beautiful it is.”

Plans for the future

Moore hopes to have a fleet of similar vessels spread throughout the Eastern Seaboard. As a federal nonprofit, donations to offset costs are tax-deductible and much appreciated. For more information, visit the organization’s Facebook page or website.

veteransfishingadventure.org

Maryland Makes Boating More Accessible

On a related note, the Chesapeake Region Accessible Boating (CRAB) and their partners are working with the State of Maryland, Anne Arundel County and the city of Annapolis to fund a boating center capable of hosting people with disabilities, recovering veterans and local children from at-risk communities.

Currently based at Sandy Point State Park, CRAB hopes to find a new home because the park’s popularity, special events and frequent traffic backups on Route 50 make it difficult for members to access the waterfront.

“CRAB is very fortunate to have earned the support of every high-ranking elected leader in the region,” says CRAB President Brad LaTour. “What we are striving to do now is to elevate their support to a commitment and the funding of an adaptive boating center in 2019.”

The proposed center will also provide job opportunities for people with disabilities and offer young people the experience to learn a marine trade or manage sailing programs. crabsailing.org

By Chris Knauss, Southern Boating December 2018

Viking Veterans

Today we would like to mark Veterans Day with celebration, honoring America’s veterans for their patriotism, love of country, and willingness to serve and sacrifice for the common good. We are extremely fortunate and grateful to have many of these heroes working with us at Viking. Three Viking Veterans are featured here, and we look forward to highlighting more of these patriots in the future.

Steve Rickards
Supervisor of Mechanical Installation

While still in high school and just 17 years old, Steve visited a Coast Guard station and immediately knew it was his future. He enrolled in the Military Delayed Enlistment Program and shipped out to boot camp upon high school graduation. He then was sent to Jacksonville, Florida, where he boarded a 180-foot cutter which became home base for the next two years. The boat patrolled the waters from San Juan, Puerto Rico, to Savannah, Georgia, performing one of the most crucial missions entrusted to the Coast Guard, the care and maintenance of the Aids to Navigation System.

After specialty training, he was certified as Machinery Technician and stationed in San Juan for eight years. Steve worked at a small boat station and on a patrol boat. The boat’s primary mission was search and rescue as well as law enforcement.

In 1998 Steve was reassigned to Sandy Hook, New Jersey, and was quickly working for Sector New York, the largest Coast Guard operational field command on the East Coast. When the September 11 attacks changed the world, Steve and his unit went into crisis mode and worked around the clock facilitating in the rescues. Sector New York was the main mechanical support and repair unit for the 9/11 responders.

Steve’s last mission was working post 9/11 counterterrorism. His security team boarded and secured every transport, cargo and cruise ship that entered the New York Harbor.

After a 20 year career with the Coast Guard, Steve found himself at the Viking Yacht Company with his military career a deciding factor in his hiring. “Viking liked the structure I could bring to the company,” said Steve. “It’s still part of my personality. Routines, being on time, policy, rules, accountability, those are all things I hold my team to. There is no cutting corners in the military or at Viking.”

Steve Marks
Administrator of Health Services

Steve joined the Delaware Air National Guard in 1985. He always wanted to be an Air Force flight nurse as well as serve his country. His career began in the 142nd AEF on a Lockheed C-130 Hercules aircraft. Four years were spent training in different climates such as Georgia, Texas, Alaska and Hawaii learning how the weather and environment greatly affect methods of recovery and treatment in both natural disasters as well as combat. During these years Steve learned both inflight medical skills as well as all aspects of running a mobile aeromedical staging facility (MASF).

After four years, with a young family at home, Steve left but was drawn back in 1990 when the Gulf War erupted. He volunteered to go back but his original unit was already deployed, so he joined the local Air Force Reserve Unit, the 72nd AES out of McGuire Air Force Base in Burlington County, New Jersey. There he learned to care for the sick and wounded in a new aircraft, a Lockheed C-141 Starlifter, and was quickly deployed to Torrejon Air Base in Spain. Three months in and he was scheduled to deploy to Saudi Arabia. That mission was cancelled and he returned home to spend three more years in the Guard and Reserves.

When asked about his time serving our country Steve said, “Every decision I make today is rooted in the training I received. I was fortunate to serve shoulder to shoulder with Vietnam veterans who taught me more than any class I could take. It was the best training in the world and I would be happy to go back.”

Paul Slason
Engineer Technician

As part of a military family, it was a natural decision for Paul to enlist in the Army in 2011. Beginning his career as a parachutist with the 82nd Division at Fort Bragg in North Carolina, Paul was an infantryman with the 3-73 CAV Infantry Unit. While stateside, he trained for combat and attained the title of Specialist. In 2012 he deployed to Afghanistan for six months as a gunner.

Paul is looking forward to going back to Active Guard Reserve in the next six months. He will be based at Fort Dix in New Jersey and will train to be a Counter Intelligence Specialist.

For more information: vikingyachts.com

Wake for Warriors

Nautique announces a new partnership with the Wake for Warriors non-profit organization.

Wake for Warriors and founder David Deep, come to the aid of American Veterans when they return home from service. David and his team give these heroes a day out on the water with their friends and family; creating memories they won’t soon forget.

Spending time on the water is an incredible stress reliever, and the team at Wake for Warriors gives veterans the chance to get away from it all with quality time on the boat.

Events are planned all year long, and the team at Nautique is happy to contribute to the effort to give these heroes the best possible experience.   “At Nautique, we’re always looking for impactful ways to give back to our communities with our Nautique Cares initiative,” said Nautique president, Greg Meloon. “This partnership with Wake for Warriors perfectly aligns with that and we’re proud to be supporting the American Veterans that have given so much for our country.”

“The entire Wake for Warriors team is excited to partner with Nautique,” stated Wake for Warriors founder, David Deep. “This partnership demonstrates Nautique’s commitment to using their resources to positively impact and help our nation’s military veterans. Our participants will ride behind the best towboats in the world and be supported by the great people at Nautique.”

For more, visit wakeforwarriors.org 