Ernie Foster honored at 19th annual Carolina Boat Builders Tournament
Hatteras native and fishing icon Ernie Foster was honored at the 19th annual Carolina Boat Builders Tournament on Thursday evening, July 28, as representatives from the Dare County Boat Builders Foundation paid tribute to a local legend.
Ernie Foster was a prominent fixture throughout the evening’s honorary “Captain’s Night” dinner, from the cover of the tournament’s glossy program, to the signature drink that was served to attendees – a cocktail named the Albatross Outrigger which was outfitted with two candy-cane striped straws.
The tournament selects a person from the local Outer Banks community to honor every year, and up until 2022, the honoree was traditionally a boat builder with a deep local footprint.
But this year, the committee responsible for selecting the honoree set their sights on Foster and the Albatross Fleet, which was a natural choice considering Foster’s ties to island history, advocacy, and education.
Foster and his family were pioneers in the Outer Banks charter fishing industry, with his father, Ernal Foster, building and launching the original 41-foot Albatross – the first charter business on Hatteras Island – in 1937. Early newspaper articles and publicity about the Albatross charter trips and the Outer Banks’ hospitality in general put Hatteras Island on the national map, and helped plant the seeds of the modern tourism industry that fuels the region’s economy today.
Foster accompanied his father on these charter trips from the time he was three years old, and he became a mate in the Albatross Fleet in 1958, but he also created a lasting legacy that goes miles beyond the waters of Hatteras Inlet. A still-active and tireless advocate for Hatteras Island, and especially for the working watermen community, Foster also had a long and successful career as a public school teacher, which was an ideal fit for the Carolina Boat Builders honor.
Through entry fees and sponsors, the annual Carolina Boat Builders tournament is the primary fundraising tool for the Dare County Boat Builders Foundation (DCBBF), which does a world of good on a local level when it comes to education. For nearly 20 years, this 501-C3 non-profit association has provided scholarships for working watermen and their families throughout Dare County, granting roughly $75,000 in scholarships to local residents in 2022 alone.
“It has been around that [$75,000] number for the last few years, too,” said Dan Oden, owner of Oden’s Dock in Hatteras village and DCBBF Board Member. “And all of these scholarships go to Dare County students. Some kids we’ve supported all the way through college and up to their masters’ degrees, and these scholarships have even helped adults who are going back to school.”
“Hatteras Island gets a third of that money every year, and they do a really good job [at providing these funds]. It’s impressive. Having this tournament, and especially having all of our sponsors, puts together the money that they give to these scholarships.”
On Thursday evening at the Pirate’s Cove Marina venue, Oden introduced Ernie to the crowd.
“Ernie and I work closely. Albatross fleet is just down the dock, and has been one of our customers for as long as I can remember,” said Oden in a later interview. “Both of us are members of this community, and I would be the person on the [DCBBF] Board closest to Ernie, so they thought I would be the right person to introduce him.”
“I was honored,” he added.
When Foster took the stage and spoke to the crowd, he connected the dots between his own history as an educator, and the Foundation’s primary goal to help local students further their education.
“In addition to being in the fishing world, I was also an educator at Manteo High School,” said Foster at the event. “And when I look at the boat building industry, and what this industry has done economically for Dare County, and then I look at the efforts in this room to provide these scholarships… as an educator, I cannot tell you how inspiring it is to see this group of individuals who have done so much for so many.”
“It makes such an impact on so many of our young people. Thank you all so much.”
During his speech, Foster also casually mentioned a legendary charter fishing trip in 1958 with his uncle William, (“everyone knows him as Captain Bill”), where they landed an 810-pound blue marlin – a new world record that stood for 16 years until it was broken near Oregon Inlet.
“The great thing about that ‘first’… was being the first boat to deliberately release a blue marlin,” said Foster. “That was in 1958, and that was a very forward thing [when it comes to] fishing and fishing tournaments.”
After 62 seasons with the Albatross Fleet, Foster also noted how he was grateful to have so many capable hands taking the reins. He credited his wife, Lynne Foster – who is also a synonymous name with the Albatross Fleet’s success – as well as Bryan Mattingly, who has been running the fleet’s operations for roughly three decades, and who has upgraded the business’s now-three boats to peak condition.
“I started with the Albatross Fleet when I was 17 years old,” said Mattingly at the event. “Captain Williams was my basketball coach in high school, so we have some ties, going back a long time.”
“It’s been an honor to be a part of this business, to see it grow, and to help Ernie kind of let go a little bit and know that things will be all right in the future,” added Mattingly.
“But, for the most part, I really want to thank these boat builders and [the Foundation] for this scholarship. You guys sent all of my kids to college. All of them. And the only reason was because I was a waterman, and was working on the water.”
At the event, Foster was also honored by artist Steve Goione, who produces beautiful renderings of vessels by Carolina Boat Builders at their annual tournaments, and who created an individualized and striking work to pay tribute to Ernie Foster.
Goione met Ernie’s father years ago, when he was just starting his artistic career and had about four prints under his belt. He was advised to meet captain Ernal Foster for insight, which he did while they were sitting on the docks of Hatteras village.
“I knew who he was…. But I wish I really knew who he was, because I got to sit and talk with them for about a half hour, and he told me all about how we were fishing wrong…It was wonderful,” said Goione.
“Well, here it is all these years later, and tonight I get to meet Ernie Foster. And it is my honor to present to [him], for Dare County Boat Builders, print number one of the Albatross.”
After the remarks, photos were taken of Ernie Foster and the local Dare County boat builders to commemorate the occasion. Some of the boat builders were retirees, some were active builders or sons of boat builders, but regardless of status, it was clear that everyone who was shuffled into the photo felt privileged to stand alongside Ernie Foster.
“I’m proud to have the Albatross Fleet in our community,” said Oden after the event. “It’s a tough business that they’ve been in all these years, and they’ve been at the top of their game for decades. It’s an honor to be down the dock from them.”
Oden’s Dock is one of the primary Hatteras Island-based sponsors for the scholarship-funding tournament, alongside Hatteras Harbor Marina, and the Hatteras Marlin Club.
This is in addition to an arsenal of local, national, and international sponsors that effectively assist the Dare County Boat Builders Foundation’s long history of providing thousands of dollars in scholarships every year.
With Foster’s long ties to education, fishing, and advocacy, (a fitting connection to the Foundation’s own inherent goals), it was natural that he would be honored at the 2022 Carolina Boat Builders Tournament.
But for most folks at Thursday’s event, from the anglers who returned to the Manteo docks after a hard day of fishing, to the friends and supporters who appreciated the opportunity to see Ernie Foster in the spotlight, the evening was a chance to pay tribute to a local icon, who has been instrumental in making the Hatteras village fishing industry as legendary as he is.
- For more information on the Dare County Boat Builders Foundation, visit https://www.dcbbf.org/
- For more information on Ernie Foster and the Albatross Fleet, visit https://albatrossfleet.com/.
