THE BLUEWATER STORY 1968 Coastal Virginia BORNTOBOAT Bluewater was launched when life-long boater and sailor Chris Hall, Sr. took part ownership in a boat dealership in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Over time, he began offering sales, service and support to all of the boating communities he was actively involved with near his Portsmouth home – sailing, cruising, fishing and even hydroplane racing. 1970s Hampton, Virginia THEYACHTING CENTERDEVELOPS In the early seventies, Chris Hall bought three separate waterfront facilities on the Hampton River and developed them into a single service and sales yard. Calling it Bluewater Yachting Center, he began catering to the community of sailors and racers based at Hampton Yacht Club as a one-stop shop – a place that could not only sell you a boat, but service it in every way. 1980 APARTNERSHIPWITHVIKING Next, Bluewater acquired a four acre boatyard on Sunset Creek, where they dealt and serviced many new boat lines and started performing warranty work for Viking Yachts. Earle Hall started helping his brother Chris with many aspects of the business and developed a close relationship with Viking’s Pat Healey. By 1985, the company was selling, not just servicing new Viking yachts, and the Hall and Healey families set out to help the company become the dominant force they are today. 1986 Williston, North Carolina ASENSATION IS BORN Meanwhile downeast, an ambitious young charter captain, Randy Ramsey, and a team of friends were building their first plank-on-frame custom sportfish boat. They employed techniques learned from legendary Outer Banks craftsman Omie Tillet and other master builders to design and construct the 52’ Sensation. Long before they ever knew it, they had given birth to a wildly successful boat building and servicing company, Jarrett Bay Boatworks. 1991 EXPANDINGNORTH & SOUTH In 1991, Bluewater opened up their first sales office in Annapolis, Maryland and in 1995, a location in Pirates Cove, North Carolina. By the end of the decade, Chris Hall offered partnerships to his two most trusted friends and team members: his brother Earle, who heads up service, and Jud Black, who consistently performs as the company’s top sales earner and also oversees the Yachting Center in Hampton, Virginia. 1996 SUPERCHARGEDSERVICE Bluewater then purchased the neighboring 200+ slip Hampton Roads Marina, catering to a mix of power and sailboat clientele, and set out in rebuilding the entire complex. Meanwhile, Jarrett Bay was also thinking big, moving a final time to an incredible new 175 acre development along the ICW in Beaufort, North Carolina.
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