speed of 30 knots, although Batson usually cruises at just below
teeth-rattling speeds (between 20 and 24 knots). With no cabin
space, it’s a day cruiser that he’ll nose into the ocean for a 50-
mile spear fishing expedition, or stick closer to home—when his
family is aboard—trolling the Intracoastal Waterway.
When originally launched by the Navy it was an armed
rubber ducky. With little need for a 50-caliber machine gun,
removal of the gun mount was the beginning of a year-long,
self-executed restoration project that resulted in a more family
friendly vessel that gets out onto the waterways, weather
permitting, year-round.
“We go out pretty much every weekend,” Batson says. “It has
curtains on it, and if it’s sunny—even in the dead of winter—
we’ll ride around.”
Though content with his purchase and the results of the restoration,
Batson muses about an upgrade.
“I’d like to have about four more feet on this for more deck
space,” he says, “but the bigger the boat, the less you can bring
it into the shallow water around here. It’s nice to be able to pull
this right up onto a beach.”
Clayton “Ben”
Smith II, D.D.S.,
is a resident of
Wilmington since
the age of two
and the current
owner of the 50-foot
Salvation, docked at the
Fish House Grill end of the Bridge
Tender Marina. After graduating
from New Hanover High School
in 1982, Smith went fishing for
four years. He’d gotten his first job
working on a charter boat at the
age of 12, and was a First Mate
by the end of that summer. Once
the cap and gown came off, he just
kept on going. There was some
thought given to making a living
out of charter fishing, but Smith
says a cooler head prevailed.
“I had second thoughts,” he says,
“because it was such a hard way
to make a living and a lot of the
resources (fish) were drying up.”
His Dad, who’d been in the
Navy, was a dentist and his mother
was a nurse. With an interest in
biology and chemistry, he entered
the University of North Carolina
30
WBM april 2011
Wilmington for a couple of years,
and eventually transferred to UNC
Chapel Hill and, from there, to
dental school. He kept his captain’s
license during his studies and
worked weekends on charters. He’s
married now to Kim and has three
boys, ages 8, 9 and 15. Dentistry
may be Smith’s vocation these days,
but boating and fishing are now, as
they’ve always been, his passion.
Though he’s owned smaller boats
in his lifetime, Salvation is the
first big boat Smith has owned by
himself.
Ben
Smith
Salvation
Allison Breiner Potter