company’s flagship demo platform that summer, starting at the Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament. Over the last several years, Captain Sean Dooley has been at the helm of the Viking Yachts demo program. He’s responsible for all boat movements and maintenance, hiring of the crew, and the fishing strategy at each event. Interestingly, the dynamic of always utilizing one of the newest boats off the production line puts Dooley and his team at an instant disadvantage—they have little time to get to know the boat before immersing themselves in the first competition. Besides prepping the boats to travel and fish, they must keep them in boat-show condition for all the prying eyes and VIP appointments back at the dock each night. Viking CEO Pat Healey is intricately involved in the program as well, making it a point to fish every event, and spend day and night with customers. It’s nearly an around-the-clock schedule for him and other Viking brass, plus the rest of the fishing team they’ve assembled. “I call them my thoroughbreds,” Healey told Marlin Magazine recently. “I can’t have them sitting around too long. We have to go out and run ’em.” Over the past several years, the Viking demo team has proven they excel at every challenge Healey throws at them, and the 2024 season was no different. They arrived at Big Rock directly from New Jersey tournament-ready and performed admirably throughout the week, catching two white marlin and two sailfish. They then quickly set their sights on a much bigger trip in the coming days—plying west to Bermuda. In late June they made the long hop across the stream and fished in the first two legs of the Bermuda Triple Crown, where they had a consistent if not dominant performance, earning two 2nd place finishes. They caught six blue marlin in the Sea Horse Anglers Club Tournament, followed by eight blue marlin in the Bermuda Big Game Classic! The Viking 82 then returned stateside in time to fish the White Marlin Open (WMO) and Pirates Cove Billfish Tournament in August. At the WMO they released one blue and five white marlin, while showing off their new flagship in Ocean City each night. Their terrific string of summer success concluded with a 3rd place finish in Pirate’s Cove, releasing two blue marlin and three sailfish. How this team manages to fish at such a high level and return each night to wineand-dine Viking’s VIPs, is a testament to their skills and professionalism. This is more than just a demo boat—it’s a high-impact, results-driven program that connects customers with the best production boats which are manned by some of the world’s top anglers. BLUEWATER’S 64 This past year Bluewater personnel didn’t exactly set out to have a full-blown demo schedule but decided to fish their new Viking 64C in two tournaments that book-ended the season. Delivered in late Spring 2024, the 64 Convertible immediately underwent commissioning and provisioning at Safe Harbor Bluewater in Hampton, Virginia. There, Viking specialists installed electronics, customizations and finishing touches in time to send the boat south to the Hatteras Marlin Club Tournament in late June. Bluewater Sales Professional and Captain, Carl Beale, was the primary man at the helm of the 64 Bluewater during this time. He took the point ondelivering, fishing and maintaining the boat, withhelp fromother sales staff in Virginia, North Carolina and Maryland. At the invitation-only Hatteras Marlin Club (HMC), Bluewater brokers Daryl Brower, Aubrey Wroten and Clark Sneed were aboard, some accompanied by prospective customers. It provided a great opportunity to shake down the Viking 64, learn her mannerisms, and expose clients to all her features and luxuries. “It’s very comfortable and fast and had very minimal break-in challenges,” recalls Carl. He noted that the sonar and electronics needed some attention to get ready and dialed in for tournament action. “It fishes really well and is quite comfortable and smooth.” 15 2025 SEASON
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