to talk about the Valhalla. Its styling, appearance and recognition is beyond compare.” He points to its sleek lines and faux teak finish on the toe rails, transom and console helmpod as attributes making it exceptionally eye-catching. “When it replacedmy old boat inmy slip at Sharky’s, I had friends texting me photos, saying, ‘we love your new boat!’” Performance-wise the Valhalla is going to be more versatile for his needs in retirement, noting he can single-hand, cater to guests, go to lunch, or fish offshore, all in the same package. He plans to fish the boat a lot in fact, noting he’s already had some success targeting kingfish and plans to participate more in that vibrant local fishery and scene. On the entertaining side of the coin, he cites day trips to the sandbar and Atlantic beaches, plus doing cocktail cruises for his wife and her girlfriends a few times per year. Aside from that and local cruises to restaurants, he is eyeing longer range trips to New Bern and Beaufort, North Carolina and Charleston, SouthCarolina, with hopes of trailering it to the Keys next winter. The Donoghues also looking forward to going north to the Chesapeake this summer to revisit the stomping grounds of John’s youth. “St. Michaels, Annapolis and Oxford are some of the spots I haven’t been to in thirty years, since I moved to North Carolina,” he says. The boat will be based at his brother’s house on Rumsey Island for a time as they reconnect with those popular Maryland destinations. A GREAT EXPERIENCE Overall, John deeply appreciates his time spent with the Bluewater Yacht Sales team, citing not only their professionalism, but many deepening friendships. “I consider Hawk a good friend now and would not hesitate to recommend him to anyone. He’s very versatile and knows both power and sailboats. He’s easy to get a hold of and has great follow-through. He was a great ally in buying this boat and selling the other one.” Most importantly, John said, “I really enjoyed working with Wyatt and Baxter too. They’re very hospitable and fun to be around. Thinking back to my days owning a car dealership, I’d be very pleased with how Wyatt represented Bluewater, and Baxter was a great listener. Everyone was very easy to communicate with and highly responsive.” With all the negotiating and paperwork out of the way, John was excited to turn his attention to making memories with his family out on the water. He notes that not only did he whet the appetite for his son to buy a boat of his own, but, “the grandkids have been bitten by the boating bug too. They know when we’re together, we’re at least boating to dinner or going out for a day cruise to get some sunshine.” And that, of course, is what it’s all about! 21 2025 SEASON
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