As the saying goes, there's a fine line between love and obsession. And no one knows this better than boaters. We arrange our lives around the wind and tides, spend mountains of hard-earned cash, and endure the wrath of those who think our boats have replaced them on our priority list. To most, it looks like lunacy. But it's not, as the average boater knows how to keep his passion under control. Then, of course, there are the few who can't. Curious to see what demons drive them to excess, we tracked down four who went over the top and never came back. What we found were boaters who were willing to spend without thought or reason, abandon lucrative careers, and lose themselves in something bigger than plain old boating. Call them eccentric, mad, or charmingly wacky. But as you read their stories, we dare you not to find that, somewhere down deep, they aren't that far removed from you. Yup, it's a fine line indeed.
[ The Fish Lover ]
Growing up on the Chesapeake Bay, Bud Hein surrounded himself with all things fishy, in terms of work and playtime. But a few years out of high school, while working in a marina, he began to wonder if fishing was just a boyhood infatuation. Thinking he needed to get into a more serious long-term relationship, Hein enrolled in college and emerged with a degree in photography. From there he went to New York, apprenticed, and opened his own studio.
True love, however, has a way of standing the test of time. When Hein returned from an assignment in London to discover his wife had moved out, he began to wonder if it wasn't time for a change. During a soul-searching day on the water with his father, Hein had an epiphany. Photography paid the bills but it wasn't his true love. His true love was fishing.
So at the age of 37, he moved back to the Chesapeake. He held on to a few accounts in New York, but his passion and time had been taken over by making lures-mostly bucktails for use on his home waters. Soon they became popular enough that Hein chucked his camera. His life had come full circle. "I was making a living," recalls Hein. "Not a great one, but I was getting by. And I was fishing like crazy."
Not long after, the owner of a local tackle store mentioned that he was thinking of retiring and wondered if Hein would like the shop. "I bought him out and I've been here for 13 years," says Hein. "I always said I'm gonna have a tackle store one day, and this one just happened to fall in my lap." Now, looking squarely at the big 5-0, Hein doesn't regret a single minute. "I never have a problem getting up and coming to work in the morning, I'll tell you that," he says with a chuckle. Yes, the hours are long and the money isn't what he was making as a photographer. "Still, I love every minute of it. It can be grueling, but it was definitely the right choice."
