THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, April 28, 1996 TAG: 9604280198
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C12 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY BOB HUTCHINSON OUTDOORS EDITOR
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Long : 102 lines
Traditionally, the person who runs a marina is called a dockmaster. But, political correctness aside, what should you call a woman who holds that job?
``Dockmaster is just fine,'' said Paula Owen, the 24-year-old woman who runs Fishermans Wharf Marina on Rudee Inlet. ``I don't think my husband would approve of my being a mistress, at the marina or anywhere else.''
Last fall, Owen replaced the venerable Charlie Hays, who had been dockmaster and manager of the 100-slip marina. And while Owen doesn't actually carry the title of manager, she is the bustling facility's dockmaster.
Rich Marr is manager of adjacent Sloppy's Joe restaurant and the marina's ``overseer.'' But Jim Sculley, the Atlanta businessman who owns both facilities, has made it clear that Owen runs the marina on a day-to-day basis.
The Virginia Beach native and Bayside High School graduate may be the first permanent corporate female dockmaster for any major marina in Hampton Roads.
``Corporate'' may be the key word here. Nancy Cobb is both president and general manager of Cobb's Marina at Little Creek in Norfolk, where her mother, Ruth, has the semi-official title of dockmaster.
But that's a little different. Daughter still acquiesces to mother in some matters.
Besides, the Cobb family owns Cobb's Marina. Although Warren, the patriarch and Ruth's husband, tells most folks that he's 72 and retired, he's still at the place almost every day.
Another daughter and a son run the family's repair yard, where a grandson works.
But this is about Fishermans Wharf and Paula Owen.
When Hays left Virginia Beach to run the 152-slip Pirate's Cove Marina at Nags Head, N.C., last fall, he had no reservations about whom his replacement should be.
``Paula was the only one for the job,'' he said. ``This is going to sound like bragging, and it isn't. But I think I know how to run a marina and she learned from me.
``On top of that, she loves it and right now, at least, she's perfectly happy giving it all the hours the job demands.''
So what does a dockmaster do?
A little of everything, from booking trips for the marina's four charter boats to making sure that all the boats stay afloat, from pumping fuel to keeping records of which boat goes where and who hasn't paid for their most recent fuel.
On busy summer weekends, the dockmaster may arrive before 5 a.m. and not leave until after 9 p.m.
She may be the official weighmaster for a world record fish catch, may put extra lines on boats in the face of an approaching storm or may call an out-of-town owner to inform him that an oily sheen is coming from his bilges.
Then there is operating the ship's store, ordering and selling bait and fishing tackle, posting the latest changes in state and federal fishing regulations and informing skippers of impending meetings.
Throughout the day, an ear is always bent toward the marine radio, just in case a transient boat calls in with a reservation or a boat-at-sea messages trouble or a special request.
``There's always something different,'' Owen said. ``I guess that's one of the things I like about the job. You don'y sit and do the same thing hour after hour.
``The hours are long. During the summer, you have to be here seven days a week. But there's a lot of time to just sit back, relax and enjoy the scenery.''
Married to Allen Owen, a full-time tugboat skipper and part-time charter skipper, Owen had worked with Hays since she was a high school junior.
``I came here in 1989, looking for a summer job,'' she said. ``I guess Charlie must have taken a liking to me. He practically hired me on the spot. He knows how to run a marina and I tried to learn how to do it all. Fortunately, he let me try.''
When she started, she had spent scant time around the water, except for occasional beach trips as a teenager. ``I didn't really love the waterfront like I do now,'' she said. ``This is where I met Allen.
``This is the first time I've worked all winter. It's even great to be here then. I don't get many days off, but when I do, I'm usually hanging around here. I guess this is just my thing.''
The most demanding aspect of the job, she said, is when a major hurricane is approaching. It's also the most exciting aspect.
``There's a lot to do, a lot to look after. All the owners have to be notified. We have to put extra lines on some boats. Others are moved away from the oceanfront. It's a busy, exciting time.''
She knows she'll need help this summer, when dozens of boats, now in Florida and other warmer areas, return to their slips.
``I can't be here every moment,'' she said. ``I can't be on the fuel dock and waiting on customers in the ship's store at the same time. So I'll need someone to do what I did last year.
``Right now, Don Marchiola is helping me a couple of days a week. But when things really get popping, when we're having fishing tournaments and when 40 or 50 boats are out for a weekend of marlin fishing, I know it'll get hectic.
``But I don't mind. Heck, that's the part of the job I'll like best. It's going to be fun being the dockmaster.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo by BOB HUTCHINSON, The Virginian-Pilot
``I'm usually hanging around here. I guess this is just my thing,''
Paula Cobb says at Fishermans Wharf.
by CNB