probably didn’t have to. That’s the kind of respect Jud has earned by always looking out for his customers—shooting straight and working loyally on their behalf.” A FINE FISHERMAN For John, his early friendship with Jud helped to inspire his career in the recreational fishing industry. “Jud is the first person I knew who took me offshore fishing on their private boat.” He had been on commercial charters before, but came away impressed with Jud’s skills. “He’s a tackle junkie and a good fisherman.” But he’s also a workaholic, so he isn’t able to fish on his own boat much, while often being invited aboard his clients’ and friends’ larger yachts. “But he can rig and hook fish with the best of them,” says John. Thinking about fishing conquests, Carl reminisces about the Viking 55 demo, Bluewater, they entered into the White Marlin Open in the early 2000s. “Jud and I were the anglers, and we went neck and neck for top releases [for the whole tournament]. We totaled 21 fish, and he beat me by just 5 points!” At that time there were extra points awarded for tagging fish Carl explains. “We didn’t win big money back then, just a ring and plaque. But that was a fun time, being anglers with himon a new boat with a great team.” More recently, the two fished together on Jud’s Regulator 34, Black and Blue, in the Virginia Beach Tuna Tournament in 2023 and 2024, placing 6th and then 2nd respectively. Over the years, Jud’s proximity to worldclass boats, anglers and brands also fueled his involvement in extracurricular activities such as being a founding board member of the Virginia Beach Billfish Tournament. He’s also served on the board of the Virginia Marine Trades Association helping to promote, protect and encourage commerce in Virginia's ports and seaside communities. In these ways he’s built an impressive legacy in his proteges’ sales and service careers and shaped a culture of giving back to many local charities throughout Hampton Roads, coastal Virginia and the Chesapeake, by way of the tournament. REPRESENTING THE BEST Through all the ups and downs of the economy and enduring so much change in technology, construction techniques and customer demand, Bluewater has always adapted and re-focused on representing the finest brands possible to their customers. This was always an edict of Chris Hall’s strategy, but Jud wouldn’t have had it any other way. Look back on Bluewater’s various marketing slogans over the years and you’ll find phrases such as “judge us by the companies we keep,” and “boating’s best brands.” Spend time at a boat show talking with Jud, and you may hear him put it in much simpler terms. When asked about a brand Bluewater chose not to represent, “We’re boat snobs!” Jud admitted, before elaborating, “We gravitate towards boats that we would like to own personally. If we don’t want it, we can’t sell it. The result is a concentration of extreme quality in our lineup.” While Jud was fortunate to come into the fold when Chris had already struck working relationships with Viking and Hatteras Yachts, Jud did his best to help those partnerships grow and succeed. Jud was a key cog in adding Regulator Marine in 2000, and his relationship with the Maxwells and success selling their center consoles has been well chronicled in issues of this magazine. His success selling Viking Yachts is equally wellknown; and Randy says it was Jud’s relationship with Jan Boone at Hatteras Yachts that partially helped pave the way for the merger between Jarrett Bay “Jud is even and fair. Whether it’s good for him or bad for him–he’s always going to tell the truth.” 29 2025 SEASON
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