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Anton and Kendall Webre, owners of Norton Yachts in Deltaville.
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Anton Webre is pictured on a Jenneau sailboat offered through Norton Yachts.
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Onna and Lew Grimm, owners of Deltaville Yachting Center and Chesapeake Yacht Sales, are pictured aboard one of their Catalina sailiboats.
On March 13, 2020, Friday the 13th no less, President Donald J. Trump declared the coronavirus disease a pandemic. He issued a declaration that essentially shut down the nation.
Kendall Webre, co-owner of Norton Yachts in Deltaville, will never forget the day, like millions of other Americans. Boating had been on a steady decline for about 15 years before the pandemic even hit, she said. Webre and her husband, Anton Webre, were in the fourth year of owning Norton Yachts, a Deltaville institution that traces its roots to 1948. Suddenly the Webres didn’t know what the future held—if any—for Norton Yachts.
“We weren’t sure what to expect,” Kendall Webre said. “I think we thought this was going to be a huge challenge for us.”
She woke up the next day with one thought: “If we’re going down, we’re going down fighting,” she said.
Her first business move was to buy a bunch of Google AdWords, going all-in on an online push to attract customers. Not long later came the shock of her boat business-owning life.
“The industry just exploded,” Kendall Webre said. “It looks like the coronavirus did it. We had a great year last year, and we’re poised to have even a better year this year.”
Where Recreation Meets Social Distancing
It turns out, Webre didn’t need those AdWords. It also turns out that boating is built for a pandemic because it’s the perfect combination of getting out and having fun while social distancing.
“It has been the most wild ride,” Webre said, noting that they are selling boats they can’t even deliver until 2022.
When the pandemic hit, people couldn’t travel, couldn’t go out to eat, couldn’t go to a movie and had to wear masks everywhere.
But they could go to the marina and take their boat out on the Chesapeake Bay. Or they could go buy a boat and take it out on Chesapeake Bay. Without a mask.
They were experienced boaters and novices alike.
“People decided to go all in,” Webre said.
“I’m seeing a lot of new boats…”
Norm Faulkner, president of NWP Energy, is an avid sailor and gets out on the water a few times a week. NWP Energy is directly connected to the boating industry, distributing to marinas ValvTect, a marine fuel and additives specially made for marine engines.
Faulkner lives on Carter Creek and works in Kilmarnock next to Chesapeake Boat Basin just off Chesapeake Bay. He noticed right away that 2020 was different than years past—and so is 2021.
“I’m seeing a lot of new boats,” he said, nodding toward his neighbor. “I know there are million-dollar yachts coming in and out of there.”
Faulkner described how the Northern Neck was uniquely positioned during the pandemic because so many people have second homes in the region. When they went to working remotely, many of them relocated to those second homes.
After all, they’re closer to their boats and the bay and away from urban crowds.
Waiting Lists for Boats
In the Williamsburg area, the James City County Marina has almost 250 people on the three waiting lists for covered and uncovered slips and dry storage, said Trayton Ripley, park supervisor for the county.
“The state of boating in James City County is extremely positive,” he said. “The boat ramps at the James City County Marina and Chickahominy Riverfront Park see heavy use daily during boating season and from what I hear, every marina in the Tidewater Region has an extensive waiting list for their boat slips.”
It’s no surprise because folks in Williamsburg love the outdoors, including boating. Per-capita spending on outdoor recreation is $76.74 in James City County and $75.42 in Williamsburg, according to a 2016 state report. Both are higher than the state average.
In the highly stressful pandemic, boat owners found refuge, relaxation and pleasure on their boats. Richmond resident Gerald Hemphill keeps a 38-foot sailboat in Deltaville and gets down to sail about 12 to 14 times a year. The last weekend in April 2021 was the first time he had been on his boat since November.
“It feels fantastic,” he said.
Hemphill said he was on his boat more than normal last year. He never gets tired of it.
“This part of Chesapeake Bay has so many options,” he said. “It’s just a magical, very unique area for boaters. Any of the rivers you go up, the currents have created a deep-water gunkhole, and about every river on the bay has that.”
Boating’s Economic Impact
Measuring the economic impact of boating in the region with data is difficult. Anecdotally it is easy—try counting the marinas just in Deltaville, for example. (We think it’s about 19.)
A 2011 Virginia Institute of Marine Science study calculated the total economic impact of boating in Middlesex County at $53.9 million, based on 2007 figures. The study pegged the boating business at supplying 588 full-time jobs in the county, generating $14.8 million in labor income.
Which makes sense because Deltaville touts itself as the boating capital of Chesapeake Bay. The annual “Dealer Days” boat sales event featuring eight local boat dealers was held May 1-2 and was considered a rousing success.
In Lancaster County, marina owners recently told the Lancaster Board of Supervisors that having no boat taxes in the county has been a boon to their businesses.
Clay Holcomb, owner of Chesapeake Boat Basin, said land storage for boats is up 31% since 2015, and labor sales are up 16%, according to minutes of the meeting. He’s hired four new employees since 2015, slip rentals have increased, and he’s expanding his dock.
The National Marine Manufacturers Association estimates the recreational boating impact in Virginia’s 1st Congressional District at $311.3 million. The district encompasses the Northern Neck, Middle Peninsula and upper Peninsula, with recreational boating supporting 2,680 jobs and 217 businesses.
It’s a nice chunk of the $3.5 billion economic impact boating makes in Virginia, along with more than 17,000 jobs and supporting 790 businesses, according to the National Marine Manufacturers Association.
Lewie Lawrence, executive director of the Middle Peninsula Planning District Commission, said the pandemic’s effect on boating has been beneficial.
“As early as last March 2020, I noted an increased presence of recreational boaters on the water day after day, month after month,” Lawrence said. “The pandemic presented an unusual opportunity for boat owners to reconnect with the water.”
The Future of Boating
For Lawrence and others, the real question is whether the new boaters continue to use their boats as the economy opens back up. Or will their leisure activities move away from boating?
“Given that the Middle Peninsula coastal economy is inexorably linked to boating,” Lawrence said, “I hope the love for recreational boating continues to grow into the future, which will benefit local marinas, bait shops, boat repair shops, etc.”
Faulkner says give it three years to see if folks stick with boating.
“Wait three years and there may be a lot of used boats that come back on the market,” he says with a smile.
Lawrence sees a bright future for boating.
“Due to the pandemic, there are a lot of new boat owners, returning boat owners or upgrading boat owners on local waters,” he said. “There is potential for those new to boating to fall in love with the water and become the next generation of boaters, which is essential to growing the boating industry. Once you are hooked, you continue to upgrade and that’s good for the market.”
Webre has no complaints.
“We are just so thrilled to see what’s going on in the industry,” Kendall Webre said. “And in the community.”
Interested in boating but you’re a first-time boater? You can find information on training and certifications, safety and education, boat registrations and other information here: dwr.virginia.gov/boating and here: boatus.org/virginia. I Norton Yachts, Deltaville: NortonYachts.com I Deltaville Yachting Center and Chesapeake Yacht Sales, Deltaville: DYCBoat.com I Chesapeake Boat Basin, Kilmarnock: ChesapeakeBoatBasin.com I NWP Energy, Kilmarnock: NWPEnergy.com