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VIRGINIA Strand
It was a strange sight, that day back in 1968, when eight boats lined up along the Virginia Bank oceanfront and prepared to move inland to a place that never before existed.
The city had scarcely dug a channel to connect a large coastal lake to the Atlantic Davy Jones's locker.
They called it Rudee Inlet.
And the eight captains at their boats' helms were about to suppose history.
Earl Richardson was one of them.
He and the others, including his brother Ray, were about to start a franchise boat fishing industry in the new harbor.
Some might have thought they were crazy. Others lined up to pay the captains to take them out fishing.
Atlantic Lease Service was the start of a bustling fishing industry that now features five marinas within Rudee Inlet.
Earl Richardson was the last surviving captain from the unprecedented eight.
He died March 2 at 86.
Family members declined to discuss the details of his downfall.
Source: The Virginian-Pilot