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Captain Dan spent the last
5 years as an offshore commercial
fisherman. His quarry was typically lobster, monk and sea bass and involved
traveling out of Chincoteague from 10 to 60 miles offshore. During his last year as a commercial
fisherman the vessel he was on broke a hull fitting below the waterline and started taking on water.
It was
on the verge of sinking before they overcame the problem. This was just as the Coast Guard
rescue helicopter approached the boat. After they limped back to shore he reassessed
his job risks and decided to take a position on land. He said while these 40 to 50
foot boats look small tied up at the dock, they really shrink when you are
60
miles off shore in the black of the night, with the wind pitching and tossing
the boat and not a friendly light on the horizon. Dan has been operating Capt. Dan's Island Tours for
4 years. To the
right you find a picture of Dan learning his craft at the age of 4, in the slip
next to what is now the Hampton Inn. On the left he is jumping into the R & R
Boat Rental slip, circa 1983, which is were the lobby of the Hampton Inn is
today. He is Coast Guard licensed as a Master,
copy below, and
qualified to operate inspected vessels of up to 50 gross registered tons.
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Because
of the timing conflicts that arose after Dan took the position onshore his father, Captain Ray
started to assist him during the 2008 season. While Ray does not have the offshore experience that Dan has, he does have 60 years of experience
on the
inshore waters around the Island. To the left you see Ray with an
apprentice, Gavin, Dan's son. Ray is the portly gentleman on the right. In the photograph to
the right you see
a picture of Ray circa 1949, also learning his trade in the same area
that Dan started his 30 years later. Ray is
also Coast Guard licensed as a Master, copy above,
and qualified to operate inspected vessels of
up to 50 gross registered tons. Ray is a certified Eastern Shore of Virginia ecotourism guide.
If you call for information or reservations Miss Abby, Dan's
wife, will be the person who assists you. She is a certified
Eastern Shore of Virginia ecotourism guide and is qualified to answer any
questions you may have about our trips or the area. To the left is Miss
Abby
getting the boat ready for the 2010 season. To the right is Miss Charlotte Ray,
Dan and Abby's second child, who arrived in June of 2009.
The
photograph below and to the left is Captain Dan's Great - Great Grandfather,
Elijah Jester with Dan's Great Grandfather, C. Ray Jester in the pilot house of the
"Susan P. Barns", Ray Jester's first boat. It was one of the three
"Down the Bay" boats which he owned,
the other two
being the "Anna Belle" and "Norman James". The boats were used in his oyster business
the "Jester Oyster Company", which was near the intersection of Main
and Taylor
street and is pictured to the right. The "Anna Belle" was chartered by the
United States Navy on June 15, 1917 and commissioned from August, 1917 through
December, 1918 as the
"USS Anna Belle"
(SP-1206). During WW1, the U.S. Navy purchased, borrowed, or leased
private vessels and pressed them into service as Sectional Patrol Craft.
Depending their design they would be used for coastal patrols, escorts, sea
rescues, sub chasing, communication and navigation aids, and even as tugboats.
At the war's end, many of these vessels were decommissioned and returned to
their former owners. The Anna Belle was decommissioned and returned in December,
1918. The Anna Belle was lost in the "62" Ash Wednesday storm only to be found
washed up on a marsh below Wallops Island, a total loss. Dan's Great Grandfather
removed her nameplates and brought them home.