Sportsfishing Boat Captain's Main Mission to 'Give Others Hope'

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va - Fishing is a popular summertime activity and recently, CBN News spent the day with one boat captain who says his main mission is giving others hope.

Every morning for nearly 30 years, Captain David Wright of High Hopes Sportsfishing has been sending fishermen off to sea with a prayer on the radio. 

"Great and mighty God. Thank you for this day. We thank you for the chance for those of us who work on the water to come out here and make our living," Wright prayed.  "We ask for your presence to be with us, and we pray for your hand of protection to be on each and every one of us that's out here on the water today. "Thank you most of all for the free gift of eternal life that comes to those who believe in Jesus.  Hope you all have a good day. Amen." 

Wright's fellow fishermen respond with gratitude on the radio.

"Thank you, Dave, I really appreciate it," one boat captain said.

"Amen. Thank you, David," another replied. 

"Capt. David, much appreciated. Thank you," another captain responded. 

Wright says the prayers began at Rudee Inlet during a particularly great tuna season back in 1991.

"We were actually having a discussion about how good our tuna fishing was and somewhere along the line, one of our Captain's said, 'We should work together but we should have a prayer in the morning before we start our day,'" he recalled. "I was like, yeah, that's a great idea. I had no idea it was going to be me." 

High Hopes is more than just the name of Capt. Wright's boat, it's the message behind every prayer that he prays and the feeling fishermen say they get when they hear it.

"Amen. Thank you, David. Stay safe buddy," replied Ross Lee, another fisherman on his radio. 

"Honestly, it kind of gives you a sense of hope that somebody's kind of looking out for you," Lee told CBN News." Because when you leave the slip and you leave the inlet, you're at the mercy of mother nature and everything so it's always nice to know that somebody's looking out and praying for everybody."  

19-year-old Haley Harris is one of the few female first mates you'll see at Rudee Inlet.

"How did you fall in love with fishing?," CBN News asked Harris.  

"My Dad, worked as a mate where I am now and worked his way up to Captain and I was like, that's pretty cool, that's what I want to do so I fish every day and work every day and it's really fun," she replied. 

CBN News asked Harris what it was like to work next to a local legend like David Wright.

"It's really awesome," she said "People come down here looking for him and I'm like he's just two slips over, go see him! He's the best. He has a really big heart and really cares about your well-being.  And always cheers you up and puts a smile on your face."

Wright says out on the water fishermen always help each other. CBN News witnessed that firsthand as a fellow charter boat lost power. High Hopes was able to tow the boat loaded with fishermen to safety. 

"You're a good man!" he told the other fisherman. "I'm going to get you out of the tide line." 

Wright says whether it's throwing someone a rope, taking families out for a dream fishing trip, or throwing up a prayer, giving hope is the mission.

"I never know who's listening, never know.  So we do it anyway," he told CBN News. 

"God told me many years ago when I started this and I didn't know what to do, to pray, to say," Wright said. "He said, tell them about me. Thirty years or so later, the Great Commission still exists." 

Wright says he hopes the fisherman's prayer tradition will continue. 

"There's another generation of fishermen that will come after me and my hope and prayer is that this carries on," he noted.