NORTH CAROLINA FAMILY GOING FULL THROTTLE WITH NEW VIKING 72C Chris Worden grew up in Fort Lauderdale and fondly remembers his first fishing trips with friends as a teenager. After meeting his wife Wendy at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, the couple enjoyed a beach house in Carolina Beach for most of the nineties while founding a successful stock market analysis and software business. He moved their residence and the growing company to Fort Lauderdale for much of the 2000s before deciding to return both full-time to the Wilmington area in 2008. While living in each of these two oceanfront communities, they made great use of the water and recreational boating opportunities while raising their family. Throughout the decades they owned a wide variety of boats, including sportfish and motoryachts, most notably a 55-foot trawler and 42’ power catamaran which their family of four enjoyed using to cruise The Bahamas when their children were young. Additionally, Chris rattled off an impressive list of other express and cuddy cabin style boats he’s owned for fishing the Gulf Stream in both Florida and North Carolina. As a life-long Miami Dolphins fan and season ticket holder, Chris and family rarely miss a game, including many away trips. He explains his two most recent center consoles, a 39 and 32, were called Fins Up and Fins Up Jr., with their new Viking 72 Convertible replacing the 39’ Fins Up. If that sounds like a mighty leap up, it is—but on the other hand, it has also been a long time coming. Chris and Wendy have had their eyes on a Viking Yacht for years, dreaming of a boat that would allow them to pursue two goals in one package: perform the serious angling he’s enjoyed in his smaller boats, along with returning to the onboard cruising lifestyle they previously enjoyed as a family. The Wordens visited many years’ worth of boat shows where they’d run into former fellow Carolina Beach resident and Bluewater Sales Professional Clark Sneed and kick around ideas. They also attended multiple Viking VIP events in Florida, sea-trialing the Viking 55C several times, and taking the 62C and 42 pod demo boats for a spin. After all that research and testing, Chris came to a conclusion: “Because we were going to use the boat as a family not just as a fishing boat, I really wanted something big enough to have both the day head and the space to use the boat for more than just fishing.” That meant focusing on even larger models than what they had previously sea-trailed in order to find their ideal Viking Yacht. 14 BLUEWATER
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