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Capt. Ron Locke
By Jan Fogt
Though O'Neill still calls the Hatterascal job the best of his life, he finally turned the reins over to renowned Capt. Ron Locke in 1990. A year later, Todd Anderson joined the team as first mate, his first of two tours of duty on the Hatterascal. Locke and Anderson worked together for close to two years, adjusting to the go-go nature of the job and hosting high-profile customers like NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt, who later purchased three Hatterases.
Anderson likens his time aboard the Hatterascal to postgraduate work in the marine field. "It definitely makes for a well-rounded seaman," he says. "Because you are constantly on the go, you learn a lot about navigation and running different inlets. In those two years I really learned the waters and inlets on the East Coast and in the Bahamas and Mexico."
That experience became invaluable to Anderson when he returned to the Hatterascal as captain in 1996, and even today in his current position as captain of a large cruising yacht. While the current boat "unfortunately" is not a Hatteras, Anderson's wife still maintains family ties by handling the marketing and advertising for Jarrett Bay Yacht Sales, Hatteras' dealer for Maryland, Virginia and the Carolinas.
Locke has also stayed in the greater Hatteras family. After leaving his post as factory captain, he went to work for Jerry Booth, who at the time was campaigning a Hatteras 82 Convertible in the fertile waters of Panama. Today, Locke and the Booth family still fish hot spots throughout the Caribbean and Central and South America aboard their 86 Convertible.
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