By Frank O'Neil, Chief Commercial Officer
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Moses Waters travelled west from Tennessee to Ventura County, California, as the 19th Century came to a close. He found arable and available land around Moorpark in the hills above Oxnard, then returned east to retrieve his family.
They raised apricots trees and turkeys in their shade until his son adopted the new drilling techniques from the Texas oil boom and found water, transforming their land and the surrounding region into the lemon capital of the world.
Josh Waters is the fourth generation working the Waters Ranch, as he and his wife steadily raise the fifth. After an education in soil science at CalPoly, he worked for a few years as a fertilizer salesman. In 2010, he ate a blueberry for the first time. New varieties were being bred for warmer climates, and they decided to give them a shot—despite the Oregonian nursery’s warnings.
Before long they were raising bigger and better blues than anywhere else on Earth. Through hard working hands and the productivity of his plants, Josh was able to order a custom-appointed 42-foot Lindell Yacht powered by two Volvo Penta IPS 600s in 2020 for delivery in 2021.
When they’re not picking acres of avocados and blueberries by the bushel, family and friends pile onto the “Flounder Pounder” at their slip in Oxnard. From calico and sand bass nearshore to yellowtail, halibut, and bluefin tuna beyond the Channel Islands, they ride in style and safety through wide-open ocean that relatively few dare cross.
And when they’re done, that raw-fresh white fish flesh goes into lemon juice and avocado chunks straight from the trees behind the house for some supremely homegrown ceviche.
Southern California may not frequently be associated with century farming, but the tradition endures because of hardworking people like these.
Thank you to the Waters Family and all the farmers who feed our nation. We hope you enjoy our Lindell Captains’ Club film featuring Josh Waters.
Fish hard, rest easy,
Frank O’Neil
(253) 225-0202
