May 2022

BLAST OFF

CHESAPEAKE BAY MAGAZINE

What Goes Up at Wallops Island

DAM RIGHT

Bloede Dam Removal Brings Back Shad

ON SPECK

Working a Spring Trout Fishery

MAY / JUNE 2022

MAY / JUNE 2022

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CONTENTS

46 MAY/JUNE 2022

Features

44 Dam Right

The Bloede Dam Rremoval offers hope for the Chesapeake’s forgotten first fishery—Kate Livie

50

Taking flight at Wallops Island—Marty LeGrand

Columns 28 Jo ’s Log: The pros and perils of choosing an iffy anchorage —Jody Argo Schroath

32

This family runabout checks all of the boxes—Capt.

John Page Williams

VOLUME 52 | NUMBER 1

Talk of the Bay 6

10 17

Maryland’s chief medical examiner Dr. Pamela Southall shares some fish tales—Niambi Davis

Remembering Ernie Imhoff and the S.S. John W. Brown —Rafael Alvarez

Join the festivities for our newest federal holiday at these towns around the Bay— Dr. Nafeesah Allen

23 Flight Club

Aviation history comes to life at Patuxent River Naval Air Museum—Michael Milne

28 Reedy Island

28 10

10 Baltimore

44

42

44 Patapsco River 46 Annapolis, Md.

46

23 Lexington Park, Md.

Brunch on board—Caroline Foster

50 Wallops Island, Va.

59 Searching the marsh guts for speckled trout — Capt. Chris Dollar

23

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Paul Hagen fly fishes for shad in the Potomac River at Fletchers Cove, assisted by his dog Izzy.

Photo by Jay Fleming

DEPARTMENTS

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Volume 52

Number 1

PUBLISHER

John Stefancik

MANAGING EDITOR Chris Landers

CRUISING EDITOR: Jody Argo Schroath MULTIMEDIA JOURNALIST: Cheryl Costello CONTRIBUTING EDITOR: Susan Moynihan EDITORS-AT-LARGE: Wendy Mitman Clarke,

Chris D. Dollar, Ann Levelle, John Page Williams CONTRIBUTING WRITERS: Rafael Alvarez, Ann Eichenmuller, Robert Gustafson, Mark Hendricks, Marty LeGrand, Kate Livie, Nancy Taylor Robson, Charlie Youngmann

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Chesapeake Bay Magazine (ISSN0045-656X) (USPS 531-470) is published by Chesapeake Bay Media, LLC, 410 Severn Avenue, Annapolis, MD 21403. $25.95 per year, 12 issues annually. $7.99 per copy. Periodical postage paid at Annapolis, MD 21403 and additional offices. POSTMASTER: Please send address changes or corrections for Chesapeake Bay Magazine to 410 Severn Ave., Annapolis, MD 21403. Copyright 2022 by Chesapeake Bay Media, LLC— Printed in the U.S.A.

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TALK OF THE BAY

Hooking a Live One

Catching up with Maryland’s chief medical examiner

by Niambi Davis

I

some of the series’ scenes were shot at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. With it came an opportunity to appear in a TV show described by its fans as the best ever made. “I had the

DAN DUFFY

f the opportunity exists to catch a fish, Dr. Pamela Southall will find it.

“I travel with my rods and tackle boxes and will stop and fish anywhere I see a body of water—anywhere!”

In addition to being an avid angler, Southall is also the interim Chief Medical Examiner for the State of Maryland, charged with investigating suspicious and unexplained deaths in the state.

“I originally planned to become an orthopedic surgeon,” she says, “but was unable to follow a traditional path to medical school.”

Instead, she turned to a field that had always interested her, inspired by the TV show Quincy, M.E. (In the seven-year series, actor Jack Klugman starred in the role of a Los Angeles medical examiner.) This new path led Dr. Southall to enter medical school at Howard University College of Medicine at age 34, and eventually become a proud graduate.

Southall had a television turn of her own. When The Wire, HBO’s Baltimore-based series came to town,

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May/June 2022

privilege to meet and work with some of the awesome cast members. The experience was phenomenal and helped me appreciate what actors go through to make that screen magic.”

From childhood swimming lessons in Kansas City and teenage years spent in Virginia Beach to boat and jet ski ownership as an adult, Southall has always loved the water. A coworker taught her to fish but her total embrace of the sport was cut short when her knee blew out, the indirect result of a long-ago championship basketball game and the patella tendon injury she suffered at age 13.

The injury didn’t heal well and became a decades-long chronic issue. One day, in the words of her surgeon, “it just exploded.” In 2007 Southall underwent surgery.

During a difficult rehabilitation, she spent time at Piney Narrows Marina on Kent Island where she had privileges as part of a boat-sharing arrangement. “As I struggled through rehab I decided to go to the pier one night just to get my mind off of things. It brought me such peace that I went out the next night and the next. Fishing took my mind off the discomfort because it forced me to balance, stand, and bend while doing something I enjoyed. And I

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To this day I credit fishing with helping me get back on my feet, and I thank God for it!”

More than an occasional hobby, fishing plays a major role in Southall’s life. Her past, present, and future trips could be considered the angler’s version of “I’ve Been Everywhere” by Johnny Cash. Locally she’s fished the

“Fishing took my mind off the discomfort because it forced me to balance, stand, and bend, while doing something I enjoyed.

To this day I credit fishing with helping me get back on my feet, and I thank God for it!”

Chesapeake Bay, the Potomac River, Point Lookout State Park in St. Mary’s County, and Wilson Point Park in Middle River. On the Eastern Shore, her list of favorites includes Dorchester County’s Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge (the Everglades of the North) and Kent Narrows near Piney Point Marina. She loves Bimini in the Bahamas because it’s small, beautiful, and dedicated to fishing. Her absolute favorite is North Carolina’s Outer Banks, in part because it offers great fishing, it’s relaxing, and it’s not overrun by condos. After a look at Southall’s wish list, it’s a given that the number of favored locations will only increase.

As far as Southall is concerned, if the fish are running, weather (including cold and rain) is no object. “I have gear

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for those conditions,” she says. “And sometimes it’s nice just to hear the patter of the rain.” Ironically, Southall battles seasickness. “But I do not let that stop me,” she insists. “Dramamine and Scopolamine are my friends. I’ve been on rough, treacherous seas where no one could keep their footing, but even that experience has its own beauty. As the saying goes, a bad day fishing beats a good day working.”

Like any serious angler with an abundance of locations and resources to explore, Southall relies on research, observation, and conversation for leads.

She discovered Baltimore’s popular

“I’m not fond of killing things. But I’m a firm believer that if you catch it, you’d better eat it or give it to someone who will.”

Tochterman’s Fishing Tackle by Googling “bait shops near me.”

“They’re a small, one-stop shop,” she says, “but they’re loaded with equipment and the staff is amazing. I go there instead of some of the larger shops.” Dedicated events like the Fishing Expo & Boat Show held at the Maryland State Fairgrounds are a good source of information for anglers.

When she travels, local bait shops are vital sources. “They know what fish are biting, are helpful and correct 99 percent of the time.”

Shared information among fellow anglers is invaluable. “I always end up talking to someone at the pier because we’re all out here for the same reason.

And that’s to catch fish.” She also watches a lot of fishing shows.

“They’re a great source of charter

DAN DUFFY

“Fishing will play an important role in my retirement plans. You don’t see many African Americans collectively, but I know that we do fish.”

information”, especially those that feature locations in Virginia and North Carolina. BigWater Adventures with Captain Mark Davis is a favorite, as is The Obsession of Carter Andrews, which she describes as beautiful in style and presentation.

Locally, Southall practices catch and release, dulling the barbs on her hook to minimize damage to the fish, though she does keep her catch on charter trips. “I’m not fond of killing things. But I’m a firm believer that if you catch it, you’d better eat it or give it to someone who will.” One Lake Meade outing, however, made that impossible. “It was just me and the captain and we were on fish all day. I caught so many I stopped and released everything after 30.”

For Southall, the nibble of the fish

on her line never gets old. Still, she enjoys the fight. “I’ve gone offshore, done tuna and sailfish in the Outer Banks, and sat in that fighting chair.”

Deatra (Dee) Lopez, a retired Lockheed Martin systems engineer and longtime fishing friend, describes watching Southall in action on a once-in-alifetime experience. “Pam took me on a fishing trip that I now refer to as my epic 55th-birthday celebration. On that trip, we caught more than 50 mahi mahi and I watched her bring a sailfish to the boat. It was the most awesome fishing day of my life.”

Dr. Southall is on track to retire in 2023. “Fishing will play an important role in my retirement plans. You don’t see many African Americans collectively, but I know that we do fish.”

She’d love to join the Ebony Anglers,

the North Carolina fishing team made up of African American women. Or start one on her own.

“I want to fish around the country and around the world,” she says.

“Fishing brings the bonus of the beauty and serenity of being on or near the water. Whether it’s a trickling brook, the quietness of a pond, the flow of a river, or the spray and sounds of the surf, the beauty of water and land together never gets old. I can only describe it as greatness.”

Niambi Davis was raised on the Eastern Shore of Maryland and takes every opportunity to share her love of the Land of Pleasant Living through words and pictures.

May/June 2022

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JIM BURGER

TALK OF THE BAY

On the Desk / On the Bow Remembering Ernie Imhoff

by Rafael Alvarez

T

he other night, reading in my bunk by the glare of a drop light, I came across something curious in American Sea Writing: A Literary Anthology, published in 2000 by the Library of America. The information, new to me, addressed two ardent, entwined passions: the written word and the bounding main. It came from a story by the celebrated New Yorker writer Joseph Mitchell (19081996) called The Bottom of the Harbor, the title essay of the author’s 1959 collection of Gotham maritime tales.

Wrote Mitchell of the mossbunker, better known as menhaden, “[It’s] a factory fish; it is converted into an oil

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May/June 2022

that is used…[in] printing inks, which is why some newspapers have a fishy smell on damp days.” (So, the news is fishy even before the guy at Lexington Market wraps it around your rockfish!)

It reminded me of my friend and longtime newspaper colleague Ernie Imhoff, who died this past December at age 84. Alongside the sea anthology lay Good Shipmates, Imhoff’s detailed account of the restoration of the SS John W. Brown Liberty ship. At the front of the book, Imhoff writes of crossing the Atlantic after college in 1958 on the SS Groote Beer and the spell cast by “a dome of the sky showed a wider blueness by day and

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campaign to resuscitate and sustain the Brown. Imhoff was smitten, volunteered and earned his ordinary seaman’s papers from the Coast Guard. “He wanted his connection to the Brown to be authentic,” said his son Peter Imhoff of Baltimore.

Ernie wrote that the Brown was “hustled together” in 56 days and

SSJOHNWBROWN.ORG

brighter Milky Way at night. The sea changed color—dark blue, green, black, white or gray. The salty wind was exhilarating.”

Such prose, worthy of Mitchell, made me wish Ernie had never become an editor. Much beloved by those he worked with for 40 years at The Evening Sun on Calvert Street in Baltimore, Imhoff joined the paper in the autumn of 1963, covering the space program.

One of his last assignments before being named city editor at the paper of Mencken and Schoettler was the Apollo 11 moon landing in 1969.

In the wake of the big shots’ decision to bury the paper, Imhoff served as the last managing editor of The Evening Sun in 1995. The staff merged with the morning paper and Ernie worked as the paper’s ombudsmen. One of his columns was headlined “We Fix Misteaks.” He retired in 1999 after filing more than 2,000 bylines: Ernest F. Imhoff. The statistic is as close to accurate as possible because Ernie was an obsessive counter of all he did.

“My father counted everything,” said Jennifer Imhoff Foley of Bowdoinham, Maine. “He counted how many banana breads he made for friends and family, every lap he swam in the pool, every step he ran up and down in Bolton Hill” where he and his wife Hilda Klingaman raised their family.

He also covered opera and nonprofits after the demise of The Evening Sun. One of the latter was Project Liberty Ship, the now 44-year

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“My father’s fascination with the Brown stemmed from his love of adventure, his love of history, and his interest in telling the stories of people’s lives.” launched on September 7, 1942 from Bethlehem Steel’s Fairfield yard.

Identical to 2,710 other Liberty Ships that supplied troops and supplies to the Allies during World War II, she is one of two that remain operational. (The other is the SS Jeremiah O’Brien, which

docks in San Francisco.)

The first Liberty Ship to slide down the rails was the SS Patrick Henry, scrapped the year Ernie graduated from Williams College with a degree in German literature. The last one built, the SS Albert M. Boe, is a fish cannery docked in Kodiak, Alaska. Another was named for Harriet Tubman. The SS John W. Brown is currently docked on the Canton waterfront. “It lives today,” wrote Imhoff.

“The fancy Cunard Queens never last nearly so long.”

“As much as Dad loved journalism, he never wanted the end of his career to be the end of his working life. He always had to have one more thing going on.” said Foley, who took her sons on the Brown one afternoon for a trip to the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and back. The ship began steaming under her own power again—for the first time in 45 years—in 1991.

Added Peter, “My father’s fascination with the Brown stemmed from his love of adventure, his love of history, and his interest in telling the stories of people’s lives. As far back as I can remember, he was transfixed by stories of people battling the elements—mountains, weather, or seas.” An adept climber, Imhoff summited 65 mountains of 4,000 feet or more across New England, particularly throughout the Berkshires around his childhood home of Williamstown, Massachusetts. At the top of each, he rewarded himself with a tin of sardines.

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Brian Hope, a retired Chesapeake Bay pilot and artist, was the first chairman of Project Liberty Ship. Hope put together the team that towed the Brown to Baltimore in 1983 from the James River “dead fleet” in Virginia and painted the image of the ship that graces the cover of Imhoff’s book. Asked if Ernie was a natural seaman, the 78-year-old captain said, “He was a natural talker.”

The comment isn’t a slight. Ernie’s documentarian skills served the Brown as well, or better, than his ability to handle lines. Good Shipmates is a Studs Terkel-worthy oral history of dozens of men who served in World War II and united in salvaging the vessel. “Ernie made a determined effort to interview and get stories from all of the crew members,” said Hope. “There weren’t many he missed.”

Some 16 million American men

“Ernie made a determined effort to interview and get stories from all of the crew members.

There weren’t many he missed.” and women served their country during World War II. About 300,000 of them remain, most between the ages of 90 and 100, with more than 350 passing away each day.

While chipping rust or painting a bulkhead side-by-side with one of the

old salts who brought the Brown back to life, Ernie became fascinated with their lives and their stories, catching up with them in the crew mess over coffee, “tilting his head to the right and start taking notes,” said Foley of her father’s style. “He was a good listener,” said Peter. “People trusted him with their stories.”

The ancient verity is that once you’re dead, you can’t take it with you.

But that’s not entirely true. When people die, they take their stories with them, never again to be asked, “Hey, remember that time?” It’s worse than a library burning down; there are no copies.

Rafael Alvarez worked on the City Desk of the Baltimore Sun from 1981-to2001. He can be reached via orlo.leini@ gmail.com. Learn more about the Brown at liberty-ship.com.

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TALK OF THE BAY

Celebrating Juneteeth

Join the festivities for our newest federal holiday at these towns around the Bay

by Dr. Nafeesah Allen

J

uneteenth became a national holiday in 2021, but its history as a day of celebration is much longer than that. Although President Lincoln freed enslaved people on January 1, 1863 by signing the

Emancipation Proclamation, African Americans in Galveston, Texas didn’t learn of their freedom until two years later, on June 19, 1865, when arriving Union troops announced the end of the Civil War. That day became known as Juneteenth, and it became Black Texas tradition to celebrate every year since. While the history was widely known throughout the south, few communities throughout the rest of the country commemorated it until last year, when President Biden declared the day a federal holiday. As a day of remembrance, Juneteenth galvanizes people of all ages and backgrounds to recognize our nation’s shared past and enjoy Black culture in the present, with many activities and events scheduled across the country. Here’s how you can join in the festivities around the Chesapeake Bay region, from cities and towns to our state capitals.

MARYLAND Annapolis Last year, Phyllis “Tee” Adam had a dream where she saw people having fun in a big field. She had no idea why they were there, but another dream days later left her with one word: Juneteenth. That dream sparked Annapolis’s first celebration, held in 2020 and attracting more than 4,000 visitors in its inaugural year.

This year’s highly anticipated celebration kicks off with a VIP Gala on June 17 that honors the community’s unsung heroes with an awards ceremony and dinner. The formal event will be held at the Crowne Plaza hotel and tickets are available online at theannapolisjuneteenth.org.

June 18 will be full of celebrations that are free to the public, including a

May/June 2022

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LUKE THOMPSON

Darlington

Juneteenth Celebration in Annapolis 2021

parade that sets off from City Dock at noon and ends at the Bates Weems Whalen Field around 2 p.m. The starting place marks the entry point of many enslaved Africans’ first arrival to Maryland, at what was then the state’s central port. The field is where the fun begins. Local musicians including the Avery Sunshine Band, the Chuck Brown Band, and gospel singers Beverly Crawford and Karyn Hawthorne will keep the crowd going until the night ends with fireworks at 9:30 p.m. This gathering is expected to draw thousands who will buy from local vendors, play in the interactive family and children’s zone, and learn more about Annapolis’s Black community. (As of press time, volunteers, entertainers, and sponsors still have time to sign up for the two-day event.)

On June 21, Visit Annapolis and Anne Arundel County will host a virtual lecture by Dr. Richard Bell, Associate Professor of History at the University of Maryland, and author of the new book Stolen: Five Free Boys Kidnapped into Slavery and Their Astonishing Odyssey Home, the true story of five free boys who were kidnapped in Philadelphia and fought to return home. For more details and tickets, check the Visit Annapolis website at visitannapolis.org.

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Baltimore Long known for hosting one of the East Coast’s largest African American festivals, with up to 100,000 attendees, Baltimore is back at it this year. On Juneteenth weekend at Druid Hill Park, the Baltimore AFRAM Festival, in partnership with Baltimore City Recreation and Parks, will celebrate with art displays, musical performances, local food vendors, and workshops designed to educate and entertain. It is poised to become Baltimore’s official anchor celebration of the new national holiday. For more information go to the Afram website at aframbaltimore.com.

The 6th Annual Juneteenth Celebration Festival will take place on Saturday, June 18, at the historic Hosanna School Museum, located in this small town near the Susquehanna.

Also known as the Berkley School, it was the first of four Freedmen’s Bureau schoolhouses in Harford County, built in 1867 on land formerly owned by a free African American named Cupid Paca. As one of the last Freedmen’s schools still standing in the state, the Museum’s commemoration is particularly meaningful. Enjoy a day full of good food, fun, and edu-tainment with music, lectures, craft vendors, costumed interpreters, food trucks, and more.

Salisbury The Eastern Shore celebrations will start at 1 p.m. with a parade beginning at the intersection of Market and Main Streets in downtown Salisbury. Expect marching bands, classic cars, and costumed dance groups, followed by a street festival on North Division Street.

Vendors and volunteers can sign up until June 1, and you can learn more at esjuneteenth.com.

Chestertown

St. Leonard

This celebration is sponsored by the Bayside HOYAS, a youth-centered nonprofit, in partnership with the Town of Chestertown and the Black Union of Kent County. It begins on June 17 at 6 p.m. in Fountain Park with a reconciliation ceremony and block party featuring local band Dell Foxx Company. On June 18 at 11 a.m., the celebrations continue with the Frederick Douglass Day of Acknowledgement, an awards ceremony, and other commemorative events at Wilmer Park.

On June 19, take part in a day of fun for the whole family by celebrating African American Family Community Day at Jefferson Patterson Park, sponsored by the Calvert County NAACP. There will be contests, food and merchandise vendors, a health fair, children’s entertainment, and a living history tour.

Keep an eye on calvertnaacp.org for updates and head to choosecalvert. com to learn more about southern Maryland’s Black histories with a downloadable map listing heritage sites around the county.

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VIRGINIA Hampton Roads The Hampton Roads African American communities are proud to announce their 757 Juneteenth Freedom Fest on June 18. The festival is free to the public but an e-ticket must be downloaded from Eventbrite in order to enter the fairgrounds. (It will also count as your entry to a raffle.) Festivities start with a 10 a.m. parade from the event venue, followed by a celebration highlighting the contributions of local African American communities. The festival will also include various workshops, a baseball game, a kids’ zone, BBQ, and lots of other interesting events.

Visit 757FreedomFest.org for further details.

Portsmouth

Richmond The Elegba Folklore Society will host its 26th annual Juneteenth, A Freedom Celebration, from June 24 to 26 at Richmond’s African Burial Ground.

This celebration is known as one of Virginia’s premier commemorations highlighting Richmond’s inheritance of slavery and emancipation. This year, visitors can see the African Nyon Coya masquerades in ceremonies to honor African ancestors and seek their blessings. Richly told stories will be shared by guest speakers and healers, and a Freedom Market will offer great food and shopping for books, clothing, and more. Find more about the festivities at efsinc.org/events/festivals/ juneteenth/.

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Dr. Nafeesah Allen is a writer and researcher with an interest in migration, literature, and diaspora studies within the global South. In 2020, she launched blackhistorybookshelf.com, an online book review website highlighting global Black histories.

JESSICA R COPELAND

Sponsored by The City of Portsmouth, RAM’S Youth Center and The Book Club, preparations are underway to celebrate Juneteenth all weekend long in downtown Olde Towne. The event promises three days of music, dance, and theatre starting on June 17, including the Sheri Bailey play Abolitionists’ Museum. There will be discussions about history and health.

Local vendors will also sell their wares. Keep an eye on their website juneteenthva.org and contact juneteenthva19@gmail.com to sign up as a vendor or volunteer.

Nyarinda Kelly, Melanie Anderson, Tamara Murphy, and Angela Gardner from Prevail Community Dance Ministry perform in Portsmouth.

May/June 2022

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TALK OF THE BAY

Flight Club

Aviation history comes to life at Patuxent River Naval Air Museum.

Story & photos by Michael Milne

I

raised the flaps of my F-14 fighter jet and pushed the throttle forward as I roared down the runway of Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in southern California, my twin turbofan engines thrusting me upward into the sky.

Within seconds I was streaking over nearby San Diego Bay. As the sunlight dappled the Pacific Ocean, I heard the dulcet tones of my flight instructor, Daniel Dickey, as he urged me to fly under the bay’s Coronado Bridge. Under? Well, here goes. I raced towards the bridge, but misjudged my altitude. Splash!

Unperturbed, Dickey said, “That’s okay.

Let’s try again.”

Fortunately, I wasn’t flying a real F-14 but “soaring” above the ground in a retired F-14 flight simulator at the

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Above: Cockpit of the

Patuxent River Naval Air Museum in Lexington Park, Md. The museum is adjacent to the main entrance of Naval Air Station Patuxent River, the airfield that has been training U.S. Navy and Marine pilots—and more than a few future astronauts—since 1943.

Naval Air Station Patuxent River (locally known as Pax River) was dedicated on April 1, 1943 by Rear Admiral John S. McCain, the grandfather of future U.S. Senator John McCain III, who called it “the most needed station in the Navy.” Originally called Jarboesville, the area was renamed Lexington Park in 1942, honoring the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Lexington, which was destroyed in the Battle of the Coral Sea. Over the years, NAS Patuxent River became the home of the United States Naval Test Pilot School and the Weapons Systems Test Division. The jets roaring overhead on training missions today reveal that the museum isn’t a mere static display reminiscing about a bygone era, but a dynamic connection to today’s armed forces.

The 2 ½-acre Patuxent Naval Air Museum opened in 1978. It sprawls throughout three hangar-sized structures as well as the outdoor Flight Line, where another two dozen aircraft are on display.

the fun you'll have.

Photo by Gordon Campbell-At Altitude Gallery

The modern gray building on Three Notch Road, with a striking wing-shaped roof that appears ready for take-off, is the Test and Evaluation Hall. Opened in 2016, it houses several aircraft including a T-38 Talon supersonic trainer, an X-35C demonstrator aircraft that helped Lockheed Martin win the prize of developing the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.

The runner-up in that battle, Boeing’s X-32B, is displayed outside. Also on view is a restored cockpit from a Soviet MiG-21 fighter jet that was recovered from a scrap heap in East Germany.

In a gallery highlighting naval aviation in space, Patuxent Rivertrained astronaut Jim Lovell (perhaps best known as the commander of the ill-fated Apollo 13 mission, and portrayed by Tom Hanks in the film of the same name) reminisces via video about the space program. A lunar rock that he personally donated to the museum is also on display.

The Flight Technology Hall, the main museum’s former home, now houses U.S. Navy and Marine Corps aviation memorabilia and hundreds of model planes. Museum volunteers took advantage of the downtime created by COVID-19 closures to convert former storage rooms into new display galleries that focus on aircraft artifacts and how Patuxent River personnel have contributed to America’s defense.

Because Pax River also hosts the Navy’s Propulsion System Evaluation Facility, dozens of aircraft engines are on display here. Inspired by all that horsepower, visitors can climb into the cockpit of an F-14 Mach Combat simulator, as I did, to try their hand at rocketing into the sky. Although the adjacent exhibits include a collection of aircrew ejection seats, fortunately for my fumbling time in the cockpit, the simulator is not so equipped.

Outside, the Flight Line holds two dozen U.S. Navy and Marine Corps aircraft that appear poised for takeoff.

When compared to most airplane

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Air intake on a Douglas F-6A Skyray aircraft from the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School

museums, this collection is unique due to Pax River’s role as a testing facility.

Many of the planes on view are one-of-akind prototypes or aircraft that filled a specific role in the testing process.

For example, the 1964 North American T-39D Sabreliner is a civilian plane based on the F-86 Sabre jet fighter that saw action in Korea. This is a one-of-a-kind version; its nose was

outfitted with F/A-18 Hornet gear to support radar development of the advanced fighter at Patuxent River.

The 1957 Douglas F-6A Skyray served at the Pax River U.S. Naval Test Pilot School to demonstrate the unique flying qualities of delta wing aircraft.

The mid-70s Lockheed S-3B Viking was used for carrier suitability and guided missile testing.

Other unusual planes include a Northrup Grumman C-2A Greyhound cargo plane that operated on aircraft carriers (hence the foldable wings, which allowed it to be stored in confined quarters); a Grumman E-2B Hawkeye airborne early warning aircraft with a large radar dome perched on top; and a Northrup Grumman EA-6B Prowler that saw action in the 1986 bombing of Libya and the 1996 Bosnian campaign before settling in as a test aircraft at Pax River in 2004. The newest addition to the group is an F/A-18B jet that was a member of the iconic Blue Angels aerobatic team.

Birders who are used to focusing their binoculars on the osprey that build their large nests in the Chesapeake Bay’s tidal waters may be confused by

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This MV-22B Osprey served two years as a test vehicle.

an osprey of another kind: the BellBoeing MV-22B Osprey Test Aircraft No. 8 that spent two decades as a test aircraft at NAS Patuxent River. Much like its avian namesake, the unique tilt-rotor aircraft can take off and land vertically like a helicopter and fly horizontally like an airplane.

Back in the cockpit of the stimulator after my splashdown, Mark, a student volunteer, adjusted the software so I was flying a more sedate World War II-era P-51 Mustang. The propellor-driven aircraft was easier to handle than the F-15 jet and I made a successful landing back at Miramar.

“Not bad,” Flight Instructor Dickey assured me. “Now you’ll have bragging rights with your friends.”

As I left the museum, I looked skyward to see the next cohort of flyers

Patuxent River Naval Air Museum whizzing overhead in the blazing August sun, continuing the aerobatic display that has gone on at Patuxent River since the pilots of the Greatest Generation first revved up their engines here and roared into the great beyond over the Chesapeake Bay. .

Michael Milne is the author of the Roadster Guide to America’s Classic Car Museums & Attractions.

22156 Three Notch Road, Lexington Park, MD 20653 Hours: Tuesday–Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sunday noon–5 p.m.

Admission: Adults, $9; active military & seniors, $7; children, 5–12, $4; children 4 and under, free.

Flight simulators are an additional $10 for 30 minutes.

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27

JODY’S LOG

Circumstantial Evidence Why we choose an iff y anchorage

by Jody Argo Schroath

T

he most seductive phrase in boating may well be “under the right circumstances,” as in, “Under the right circumstances, you can sail from Rock Hall to Deltaville on a single tack.” Yes, you can, but most of us will never live to see the day.

Usually, however, this qualifying phrase is used to describe anchorages.

“This is a very good anchorage under the right circumstances,” somebody or other will write. This almost always means it’s very good only in a dead calm and absent any boat traffic. In any case, within these four words lie nearly infinite possibilities for making a flawed decision. I speak from experience, of course; so much experience that I have broken down the psychology of the thing into three categories of decision-making: sheer laziness, necessity, and voluntary disregard for “right.” So, let’s begin.

Let us say, for example, that you are heading down the Bay on your way to a long weekend in Hampton, Cape

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I have broken down the psychology of the thing into three categories of decisionmaking: sheer laziness, necessity, and voluntary disregard for “right.”

Charles, or some similarly lovely place.

You’ve been plugging away at it all day and are crossing the Rappahannock River just as the sun is slipping behind Virginia’s Middle Neck. Time for a decision. The logical action at this point would be to scoot into Deltaville, either up Broad Creek or around Stingray Point and into Jackson Creek for a nice quiet anchorage. So, what do you do? Well, either of those two is

good. But what if you’re tired and just don’t feel like going that far? The last time I found myself in this position, which was last November, I took the easy way out, which was to head for a spot described by someone as an “adequate anchorage under the right circumstances.” This simply involved coming into the Piankatank River and then getting as close to the eastern shore of Stove Point Neck as depth would allow. Having reached this point, I crossed my fingers and dropped the anchor (after sounding first, of course—I’m lazy, not stupid). It was the kind of spot we cruising-guide writers call a roadside anchorage: easy and convenient, good under the right circumstances—say, very light winds and little boat traffic. To be fair, I thought I was close to “right” in this case because the NOAA forecast was for the afternoon’s 10-knot west winds to diminish overnight to 5. Which, course, is not what happened. At 2 a.m., the wind clocked around to the

THE ULTIMATE OYSTER OPEN northeast and piped up to 10-gusting-15 kts. Not a gale, certainly, or even a small craft warning, but with a fetch from Saxis to Deltaville of 37 nautical miles, it was enough to make life very bobbly and to give me a lee shore a mere 0.1 nautical miles away.

By 4 a.m. I’d had enough, and by 5 I had the anchor up and was slaloming through the crab pots to get back to the Bay. Lesson learned? Of course not.

Now we come to necessity. And here, I feel, many of you could cite your own examples. Sometimes we all just have to make the best of an uncomfortable situation, right conditions be damned. Tides, currents, winds, crab pots, sudden squalls . . . these can all play a part in forcing us to choose that iffy anchorage as the best solution.

Naturally, I have an example handy—a trip up Delaware Bay early last fall. Yes, I know, Delaware Bay and iffy are practically synonymous, but in this case, a late start out of Cape May because of the current led to my arrival just south of the Chesapeake &

Like

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Delaware Canal about 10 minutes before last A to light. This was a bit of a open ‘em? sticky wicket. Delaware Bay itself has very few 1 anchorages, and the C&D Canal has no horizontally,oysters keeps juices in the she Over 1 Opens MILLION Now ANYONE can open oysters! anchorages at all until opened without injury! you reach the far side at Chesapeake City, where you have the basin. The nearest marinas, Delaware City and Summit North, were already closed for the night. That left only one usable choice: the anchorage area behind Reedy Island. This Opens horizontally, keeps juices sounds nice and cozy, in the shell - Now ANYONE but Opens Reedy Island horizontally, keeps juices in theopen shell. can SAFELY oysters! actually offers about as muchNow ANYONE can open oysters!

207-592–4775 protection as James Island off the Little AWSH UC KSOYST E ROP ENER.COM Choptank River, which is to say, virtually none.

But in boating, we have the unwritten Law of Islands: It’s called an island; you anchor behind it; you feel better. So, seeing no other good choice, I went through the Reedy Island Dike and found a spot to drop the anchor just as the last light went out. Now this is a good enough anchorage under the right (calm) circumstances. The holding is good and there is plenty of

To be fair, I thought I was close to “right” in this THE ULTIMATE OYSTER OPENER! case because the NOAA Like forecast was for the afternoon’s 10-knot west winds to diminish A to open ‘em? overnight to 5. Which, course, is not what 1 2 happened.

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room to swing, though the current still races through like billy-o.

That night, the winds were light from the south and life was good. But in the morning, just after dawn, a strong east wind set in, smacking Moment of Zen, which was being held north-south by the current, hard on the beam. So hard that when I came on deck to raise the anchor, Zen was rocking so hard that I had to crawl across the deck and push the windlass foot-button with my hand. All through the three-mile trip up to the entrance to the C&D, the boat rocked and the interior rearranged itself. At the same time, the very idea of boating hit one of its periodic low points in my affection, and I swore solemnly that I would never, ever do this again. Five minutes into the C&D Canal, however, with the sun shining now and the wind at my back like an Irish poem, I was once

In boating, we have the unwritten Law of Islands: It’s called an island; you anchor behind it; you feel better. again deeply in love with boating and the morning’s misadventures forgiven.

It’s always the same way with “under the right circumstances” adventures and me. Which brings me neatly to our final category: choosing an “under the right circumstances” anchorage just for fun. This is something like choosing to step into a shower while the water is still cold just to see what it feels like—exciting, but

pretty stupid. Not so very long ago, for example, I chose a very windy day to go into the Honga River, thinking surely I’d find a reasonably protected spot to spend the night. Ha! I was not completely unprepared. I had studied the chart and found Duck Cove, which sounded charming and seemed to have a nice protective hook of land on the southwest and a protecting spot on the south called Cherry Ridge.

A jury of cormorants watched Zen’s arrival from the Honga entrance marker, “1H”. They seemed a little judgmental, and I soon learned why.

Approaching Duck Cove, I could see at once that there was no longer anything cove-like about it. First, there was no hook, protective or otherwise, only more Honga River. And Cherry Ridge had apparently been named ironically, possibly by the same developers who named Florida’s Ridgewood Mountain

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In the end, because, as I’ve mentioned, psychologically an island is an island, I turned my back on the lost Duck Cove and the rest and headed back toward

Delaware Bay and iffy are practically synonymous. the river’s entrance. I brought Zen in as close as I dared to the three sad but spunky pines trees on the vestigial remnants of Lower Hooper Island and dropped the anchor in about five feet of water. Into the night, the wind blew over Lower Hooper Island and through its bedraggled pines, ruffling the water all around me while the Bay’s short chop poured through the wide-open waters all around. But that night, too, the stars shown through the unpopulated darkness in inconceivable profusion, and everything was all right.

The anchorage’s shortcomings were forgotten. About nine o’clock, Zen was joined at anchor by a fellow cruiser, who had chosen this “under the right circumstances” anchorage for the best reason: necessity.

Happy cruising and anchoring, whatever the circumstance!

CBM Cruising Editor Jody Argo Schroath, with the help and not infrequent hindrance of ship’s dogs Bindi and Sammy, goes up and down bays, rivers and creeks in search of adventure and stories.

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ON BOATS

Cobalt R6 Outboard

by Capt. John Page Williams

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For information, visit Cobalt Boats, www. cobaltboats.com; Bosun’s Marine, Grasonville, Md. www.bosuns.com; and Prince William Marina, Occoquan, Va. www. pwmarina.com

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A

family runabout’s first two jobs are to keep its people safe and comfortable. It should also perform adequately for exhilarating ventures such as day cruises, tubing and swimming, and sunset picnics. It should offer amenities specifically designed to support those activities.

Moreover, as a major investment for any family, it should hold its value for however many years the family chooses to keep it.

Cobalt Boats have been checking all of those boxes for a long time, first under the ownership of the St. Clair family and, for the past four years, under the corporate ownership of Malibu Boats. The company has always offered inboard/outboard power from Volvo or MerCruiser, but the advent of large, powerful four-stroke outboards

has made them favored choices in tidal waters like the Chesapeake. Cobalt’s strong naval architecture and engineering team has responded with hulls specifically designed for power from Yamaha and Mercury.

The subject of this review, the 25'5" R6 Outboard, hits a sweet spot as a family runabout. It’s large enough to carry 14 people and tame a Chesapeake afternoon southerly but small enough to run well with 300–350hp engines. While Yamaha’s F300 is a strong, durable engine, both Chesapeake Cobalt dealers prefer to rig the outboards with 300-hp V-8 or 350-hp I6 Mercury Verados, citing the engines’ quiet operation (which results from innovations in Mercury’s dedicated Noise/Vibration/Harshness engineering laboratory). “A single 300 is

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A port-side console conceals a Porta Potti, upgradable to an electric toilet.

plenty fast,” said Bosun’s general manager, Jeff Truesdale of Grasonville, at the broad mouth of the Chester River.

“With it, an R6 tops out in the low 50s, but not many families want to run that fast in Chesapeake seas. More to the point is the boat’s efficient, comfortable performance at speeds from the low 20s to the mid-30s. It cruises especially well at 3400 rpm, 25–26 mph.”

Credit Cobalt’s design team and lamination crews for that performance. Wide, sharp reverse chines and crisp lifting strakes damp spray and provide stability at rest, while an all-composite hull provides strength and enough weight to

complement the shape for a soft ride with no rattles or shakes. The engine bolts to an integrated transom bracket, with balance carefully calculated around placement of tanks, batteries, seats, and people.

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The outboard model has a sturdy, solid feel underway, with an 18-degree running bottom curving to a sharp bow. The R6 is a “terrific hull,” said Truesdale, “soft-riding with 16 layers of fiberglass set with vinylester resin, plus

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Kevlar in the keel.” Keith Carr, delivery captain at Prince William Marina on the Potomac, concurred. “We’ve had broad experience with Cobalts. Their performance is amazing. They draw ear-to-ear grins from customers. I’ve made deliveries in all sorts of nasty weather. There are no rattles, spray, or jarring. The boat will take more than

Left: The forward seating area includes an L-shaped lounge to port and a single seat to starboard. Right: Multifunction settees extend down both sides of the R6’s cockpit.

we can. It’s a great size for the Bay and its rivers.”

While the R6 legitimately offers seating for up to 14 adults, most family outings will include fewer people who will find the R6 downright spacious, with details carefully planned by “people who run their own boats,” according to Prince William’s long-

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The helm console offers electronic touchscreen displays for sonar and charting along with engine data.

time President, Carlton Phillips. The bow deck holds an anchor locker for a through-stem plow anchor, with a windlass optional. Cobalt mounts eight-inch stainless cleats at the bow, amidships for spring lines, and astern.

Phillips notes that they are supported by aluminum backing plates laid into the boat’s deck laminations. He also touts Cobalt’s stainless steel fender clips, quick-mount fittings installed in the decks at proper fender positions.

The fender lines are pre-set, with stainless pins at their upper ends.

When docking, simply insert the pin into the fitting and the fender hangs in the optimum position to protect the boat’s shining gelcoat.

The forward cockpit includes an L-shaped lounge to port and center, with a single seat to starboard. The area seats up to four, with cup holders and grab handles placed in appropriate locations. The double-stitched

cushions, made of a material that remains cool to the touch on sunny days, rise on neatly fastened stainless piano hinges and gas struts to offer finished storage for fenders, life jackets, towels, and clothing. When lifted, the starboard seat provides service access to dashboard at the helm, including marine electronics and stereo.

The walkthrough between the port (head) and starboard (helm) consoles includes a folding door and a center section that close tightly for snotty weather, with a long, cushioned storage space beneath the sole for objects like water skis, boards, and tow toys. Cobalt engineers shaped the port console’s door and hinges so that it swings free and opens wide for easy access backing in. The R6 hull is deep enough for the head to be “functional,” as Carlton Phillips puts it.

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holding tank, and sink console. To starboard, the helm console offers a Garmin glass bridge, including a pair of 7" or 10" electronic touchscreen displays that provide sonar and charting along with engine data.

Below lie a neat line of switches, there are rockers for trim tabs, controls for the stereo, and to starboard of the dash, an optional cell phone holder/ wireless charger. The throttle/shift/trim lever mounts to the side. Both the swiveling helm and the fixed companion seat have a flip-up bolster for sitting higher while underway.

Multifunction settees extend down both sides of the R6’s cockpit. To port, the forward end forms the companion seat, but a swinging back on a robust, polished stainless steel frame allows the space to convert to an aft-facing lounge for observing folks riding tow toys. The after section of the port settee holds a similar seatback, which swings aft to provide a forward-facing lounge or forward to offer an aft-facing lounge for watching swimmers when the boat is on the hook or at a beach.

The starboard settee offers the same aft folding backrest, as well as dedicated space beneath the bench for a carry-on cooler.

Look at the photos on the Cobalt website of the two settees with both after hatches raised. They tell a story about Cobalt’s attention to detail. First, obviously, there is additional storage there, and the bins lift out for service access to plumbing, wiring, and tanks in the bilge. But look closely at the two hatches, each rising on a stainless piano hinge and suspended by a pair of gas shocks. Notice that the undersides of the hatches are finished gelcoat, with gaskets shaped to fit the rims of the storage compartments.

Note also the gutters along the rims, so any water that falls drains aft to the stern platform and overboard, not into the storage. Note the stainless bolts fastened with stopnuts and washers that hold all fittings, especially the two

!"#$%&'%&($%)'*+&*,--%./&#"$%'0%1#&/2&$"%3'/&45%&($% 1*677%84%-'/9$9%28&(%:"$;8#;%0$/&#"$4%/4%4&/.9/"9% $<#8:;$.&%:"'=898.>%#.4#":/44$9%=$"4/&8-8&?@% !"#$%&'()*&+#$(,&*#*-.(/(01"2*$'(3&"4+5(6##+7$+4

Celebrating 30 years of bringing the thrill and freedom of learning to sail for anyone with a disability, recovering warriors, and children from underserved communities.

Coming soon in 2022!

The CRAB Annapolis Adaptive Boating Center For more information about Chesapeake Region Accessible Boating: www.crabsailing.org or 410-266-5722

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RIGHT: A central walkway leads back to a full-beam swim platform. BELOW: The aft under-seat storage shows Cobalt's attention to detail.

backing plates for each backrest hinge. Each hatch is a complicated part, but it is designed, fabricated, and assembled to last. While you’re looking at that picture, notice the placement of cupholders both fitted into topside pockets for those sitting forward on the settee and on the ledges just outside the aft cushions for people lounging there with the seatbacks set for facing aft. Observe also the scuppers in aft end of the cockpit. Any water that might find its way onto the cockpit sole drains to gutters running along both sides, which lead to those two scuppers.

They, in turn, lead through the transom and overboard.

A central walkway between the settees conveniently leads back to a deep, full-beam swim platform at the transom. Here the advantage of single-engine power shows. With the seatbacks set aft-facing, they and the stern deck form a happy space that can serve multiple swimmers and spectators, thoughtfully including stereo speakers and a switch to control them on the port side.

To starboard of the engine is a flip-down swim step, an ingenious, patented Cobalt feature. The nonskid step hangs on two sturdy, polished

stainless steel straps that allow it to stow in a pocket on top of the platform, secured with a simple, spring-loaded lock. When released, it flips over to form a secure in-water step for a person climbing into or out of the water. A telescoping ladder to port is an option.

“Cobalt is all about customer satisfaction,” remarks Jeff Truesdale.

“Customers often say I want one because that was my grandfather’s boat.” Carlton Phillips agrees. “Malibu has carried on the tradition the St. Clair family established. They work with us well, especially under today’s difficult circumstances. These are sturdy, well-built boats. Cobalt sticks with tried-and-true. When something works, it works. People keep their Cobalts and take good care of them.”

Base MSRP at press time for an R6 Outboard with a 300-hp Mercury Verado V-8 is $131,298. Cobalt offers a Design Your Dream section on its website to fit out an R6 with a full range of options.

CBM Editor-at-Large, educator, guide, and author of three quintessential Chesapeake Bay books, John Page Williams was named a Maryland Admiral of the Bay in 2013.

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CHESAPEAKE CHEF

Soft-shell Crab Benediction Brunch on board

by Caroline Foster

Soft-shell Crab Benediction is a delectable combination of creamy, tangy, crunchy, salty, peppery, and sweet—glorious and heavenly.

his tripod was on my cutting board. Sigh. I obliged.

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M

ay means the return of crab season, just in time for the return of full-on boating season. To celebrate, CBM creative director Caroline Foster shares one of her favorite recipes, created in the galley of the J42 where she and husband Doug lived at the time.

“Benediction was a brilliant name created by auto-correct. After a taste test, my daughter Evelyn texted me, ‘Holy moly, that was good. What do you call it?’ At which point, Soft-shell Crab Eggs Benedict became “Benediction” and whoosh … it was out on Facebook.

Heavenly, blessed, and divine as it is, the name was befitting.

“This seasonal Chesapeake breakfast is a trifecta of not-so-easy culinary skills: perfectly poached eggs, sautéed soft-shelled crabs, and hollandaise sauce. The first time I made it, we were underway with six people on board, including a film director who planned a 360º panorama VR filming of the event. It was 99º on the Bay, 56% humidity, winds 0-5 (mostly 0). I was in the galley with my Force 10 range full-on, toasting English muffins, heating pans of hot oil and boiling water, reciting my benediction that the hollandaise would thicken, the poached eggs wouldn’t fall apart, and the legs of the crabs wouldn’t stick together. I’m happy to report, it all worked —and it will in a land-locked kitchen as well.”

SOFT-SHELL CRABS BENEDICTION INGREDIENTS

FRIED SOFT-SHELL CRABS

6 cleaned soft-shell crabs

Mix all of the breading ingredients together in a shallow pan.

Mix all of the egg wash ingredients together in another shallow pan. Meanwhile, heat up the canola oil to 375º in a large pot.* Dredge one crab at a time, first in the flour mixture, then in the egg mixture, then back to the flour mixture. Shake and carefully place in the hot oil. Fry for 2 minutes, turn over with metal tongs, and fry for another 2-3 minutes. Remove to a paper towel-lined plate.

BREADING 1 cup flour 1/2 cup self-rising corn meal 3 teaspoons garlic powder 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper 2 teaspoons thyme 3 teaspoons kosher salt 1 teaspoon black pepper EGG WASH 1/3 cup evaporated milk

* For a low-tech oil temperature check, put a popcorn kernel in your oil. It will pop when your oil reaches 350º–360º.

2 eggs, lightly beaten 2 tablespoons water ALSO NEEDED

HOLLANDAISE SAUCE

4 cups canola oil

Ingredients:

6 English muffins, halved

3 large or 4 medium egg yolks

2 tomatoes, sliced

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Soft butter spread

1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste

Minced chives for garnish

1-2 pinches cayenne pepper

Fresh ground black pepper DIRECTIONS Preheat your oven to hot. Or if you have a broiler, use that. Lay your 12 muffin slices on a baking sheet and toast in your hot oven until they just start to crisp. Remove from oven, lightly butter each half, and wrap them in a towel to stay warm.

6 large eggs 3″ of boiling water in a pan 1 teaspoon white distilled vinegar

Note: The sauce can be set aside at room temperature for up to one hour. If you plan to make your sauce ahead of time, keep it in your ice box and re-whip when needed, adding a little hot water.

9 tablespoons butter, melted

2 cups watercress

THE PERFECTLY POACHED EGG

slowly pour in the melted butter and continue to crank for one to two minutes until thickened.

You’ll find this amazingly similar to winching in the jib sheet.

DIRECTIONS Melt butter in a small pan on your stove. While the butter is melting, separate your eggs and place the yolks in your hand-cranked processor with the beater element attached. Add the lemon juice, salt, and cayenne and beat for about 30 seconds. While beating,

ASSEMBLY Lay two English muffin halves on each plate, touching. Place a small handful of watercress on each muffin, then lay a slice of tomato on each half (two tomato slices per plate).

Top with a fried soft-shell crab.

Carefully slide a poached egg onto the crab. Then pour the hollandaise sauce over your masterpiece and sprinkle on some chopped chives and fresh ground pepper. Serve the first plate to your hungriest guest and continue on with the rest.

Fill your pan with four inches of water and bring to a low boil. Break an egg into a small measuring cup. Once your water is at a good simmer (not quite a rolling boil), stir in the teaspoon of vinegar and continue stirring in the center to create a funnel of simmering water. Gently pour your egg into this funnel and let poach for 2 minutes and 15 seconds.

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Dam Right

By Kate Livie

The Bloede Dam Removal and the Chesapeake’s Forgotten First Fishery

Dr. Matt Ogburn is searching for ghosts. Not the see-through spectral kind, festooned in chains like Jacob Marley. These are genetic ghosts. They apparate in native species of fish, showing themselves in behaviors passed down through the generations and, in some cases, the centuries.

The Patapsco River, in particular, has recently become a haunt for this kind of waterborne ghost-spotting. Dammed first in 1761, and then multiple times over after that, the fish in this river should have forgotten long ago that the headwaters of this river spawned their great-great-great-great-fishly progenitors. But Ogburn, a senior scientist with the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, thinks it might be possible that modern shad can remember. Or at least, he’s interested to see if they can.

“It’s a question I really want to answer. Will shad from a genetic stock go back up the river to spawn? Will it occasionally happen? There might be fish out there that will start coming back, and over time, you could build up a more migratory portion of the population.”

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Ogburn and his SERC team of researchers are studying the population of river herring and shad on the Patapsco, and they’re especially interested to see if these ghosts of memory (or something more pragmatic, like lower river population density) might motivate these native species to return to spawning grounds blocked for a century or more. In 2018, Patapsco River’s Bloede Dam was demolished as part of a $17M environmental restoration initiative. With the obstructing dam removed, the free-flowing stretch of the river is now Ogburn’s laboratory.

Using what’s known as “environmental DNA” (that’s fish scales and detritus floating in the water to you and me), Ogburn has discovered that yes, there have been a few shad passing upstream. Less than 20 last year, but it’s a start. If the fish return, it will mark a homecoming for a species long barricaded from its natal river. Maybe more importantly, it will prove that it is possible for the Chesapeake to heal when given the chance.

The Patapsco River and the process to gradually undam its flow is an important

environmental story because of the shad, alewives, and river herring that the river’s restoration will attract. But it’s part of a great Chesapeake cultural story too. For centuries, the springtime chapter of our seasonal culinary cycle was dominated by shad.

Shad was the ultimate flavor of spring, a taste of life returning after a long, cold winter. Fatty and restorative, its flesh and roe were a harbinger of the year’s harvest and plenty to come. Beginning with the Native Americans and continuing through the 20th century, Chesapeake people netted shad in incredible amounts and found all sorts of ways to prepare and preserve it. We named the shadbush trees that bloomed in the spawning fish season after them, and watched the branches eagerly for blossoms indicating that the spring run had started.

We associated shad and shad feasts with politicking season; we named riverside towns after the fish; and in the 20th century, we dropped mentions of shad roe into popular theater tunes. An article from the Baltimore American in 1907 conveys the

Nets, boats, and other gear were customized in the 20th century for the sole harvest of Chesapeake shad,

BAIN NEWS SERVICE/ THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS COLLECTIONS.

in response to a growing market for shad roe.

If

the fish return, it will mark a homecoming for a species long barricaded from its natal river.

Maybe more importantly, it will prove that it is possible for the Chesapeake to heal when given the chance.

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THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS COLLECTIONS

Shad were typically harvested with large nets and pulled into vessels or ashore by hand. In the 18th and 19th centuries, the labor force behind this fishery was largely enslaved, and on Chesapeake rivers, these African-American fishermen and women kept the international shad industry fueled with hundreds of thousands of pounds of fish each spring.

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vital role shad played in the town’s springtime economy and culture. “In the early history of this town, shad fishing was the principal industry. In fact, for many years, it was a special cash income to the laboring people, who sacrificed everything like work for the spring fishing for shad.”

But the story of shad stopped short in the 20th century. Along with it went all of the Chesapeake’s associated traditions and tastes. As dams were built, shad stopped arriving in our waterways and on our plates. And for the last part of the century, though the remaining few were protected by a moratorium, it seemed shad were pretty much gone for good.

To understand the shad story, you have to start long ago when the Chesapeake’s waterways were wide open, flowing tributaries. American shad, Alosa sapidissima, are anadromous. This means they spawn in the headwaters of the Chesapeake’s rivers where they were born, and return to the ocean as small fry where they grow and mature. Once ready to reproduce, they begin the journey back

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to their natal waters and arrive in springtime to repeat the process.

All up and down the East Coast, shad followed the same cycle, joined by other species that share their wandering ways: alewife, hickory shad, blueback herring.

Together, millions of fish in one raging, silvery torrent flooded from the sea to the spawning grounds of their birth every April, forming a vital link in the food chain for all sorts of other species—including humans.

The Chesapeake’s native populations built funnel-shaped weirs from stone to catch and trap shad; some of the weirs still remain on the bottom of the Susquehanna and Rappahannock in ghostly, submerged vees. In open water, they also constructed forebears of the modern-day pound net. And to fully harness the potential of the shad run, they also night-fished for them, using small fires in their clay-lined dugout canoes to attract and catch huge schools. Smoked slowly over the heat from slow-burning fires, the catch sustained tribal communities throughout the year.

After colonization, shad formed the backbone of the Chesapeake’s first commercial fishing industry. Shad were easily

WILLIAM CRUIKSHANK / THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS COLLECTIONS

filleted and packed in barrels of salt for long-term preservation and shipping, sustaining enslaved workers at Dominican sugar cane plantations and members of the Continental army alike. At riverfront estates like George Washington’s Mount Vernon on the Potomac, enslaved men and women used Native American night fishing techniques to attract and harvest shad, landing their catch in enormous, bulging nets.

Some fish would be reserved for feasting, and here native traditions persisted as well, as butterflied, descaled shad were pinned to planks near coaled fires to cook.

The oily, bony fish would cook slowly in the radiant heat, absorbing the woodsmoke and rendering into a silken, buttery treat that melted in your mouth. Later, this tradition would be absorbed into the political cycle, especially along Virginia’s James River, where shad plankings became synonymous with springtime politicking. Elsewhere, shad plankings were just community festivals, locals stuffing themselves with smoky shad and roe to celebrate the influx of delicious food after a long scarce winter.

But the watershed’s watershed moment for shad began as the Chesapeake’s growing population turned to water for power in the 18th century. First, as tobacco plantations transitioned to wheat, waterways were dammed for grist mills and flour production—which led in turn to a series of bloody conflicts on major Bay tributaries such as the Susquehanna. Especially from landowners upstream of the mill dams, which were effectively barred from their expected spring influx of shad, the obstructed waterways sparked acts of violence and in some cases murder. Known as the “Shad Wars,” they were just the first chapter in the battle between those who want to harness the power of water and those who want access to the natural resources they restrict.

The Industrial Revolution of the 19th and early 20th century upped the ante with Chesapeake dam building, and the Patapsco

River was just one case study. Dams for sawmills, cotton mills, woolen mills, water reservoirs, and early hydroelectric power proliferated below the river’s fall line. By 1933, engineers for the Office of Water Supply for Baltimore City mapped 28 licensed dams on the Patapsco—some in operation, some in ruin. Some of the Chesapeake’s biggest tributaries were dammed in even greater numbers. Today, just the lower Susquehanna River alone has ten, including the massive Conowingo Dam. As the waterways essential to their life cycle were cut off, consumer demand for the fish, especially the roe, grew. Shad were harvested in even greater numbers. Fishing nets got bigger and more numerous as shad numbers began to dwindle throughout the Chesapeake. The Patapsco River’s shad population in particular was dismal. As early as 1876, in a Commissioners of Fisheries report, authors P. R. Uhler and Otto Lugger sounded the alarm: “The American Shad…the most savory of all fishes, was formerly common in all the rivers emptying into the Chesapeake Bay on the Western Shore, and in the principal ones of the Eastern Shore. The principal fisheries are now in the Susquehanna, Potomac, and

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Shad planking was a popular way to prepare shad in order to avoid the hundreds of tiny bones in each rich filet. Fish were butterflied and attached to planks, which were placed next to open fire to allow the heat to melt the bones and infuse the fish with savory smoke. Shad plankings were community events, and became so popular with Virginia politicians seeking to curry favor with constituents that today the term is synonymous with politicking.

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If

other rivers such as the Potomac and Rappahannock are any indication, dam removal can bring back shad.

And as for the rest of us, perhaps we’ll rekindle our love of shad as populations grow in the wake of the Chesapeake’s undamming.

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Chester rivers, although smaller numbers thinking a lot in her role as director of River are taken in the Patuxent and Severn. It has Restoration for American Rivers, a major been almost cleared out of the Patapsco partner in the Patapsco restoration. “The River, although a few stragglers venture to Bloede Dam removal project reflects a get beyond tide during almost every spring.” reconsideration of the environment, its value By 1939, the Maryland Conservation and its role. Science and technology has Department (later the Maryland Department advanced so much, and now we have the of Natural Resources) stated that, “The Bay is opportunity to view the effects, observe and literally strewn with fishing gears, most of learn. It points to a rethinking of what we which are set to catch consider critical fish all day and all infrastructure.” night, throughout the Across the country, season, thus not giving a thousand dams have [shad] access to the already been removed breeding grounds.” as part of a national To support the undamming movement.

Chesapeake fishery, Focused on restoring the Bloede Dam restoration efforts like flow of long-dammed shad hatcheries began rivers and bringing back in the 20th century, lost ecosystems, the but it was too little, push to free restricted too late. Influxes of rivers has resulted in all hatchery-produced sorts of species making shad couldn’t make a comeback. In short, it their way up rivers works. Now we get to dammed multiple see if the Patapsco—and Destruction of Bloede Dam times, even with fish the shad and herring ladders and other that once teemed in its attempts at environmentally friendly waters, a bygone chapter in the Chesapeake retrofits. The fishery plunged, declining from story—will return.

17.5 million pounds at the turn of the As part of the Patapsco’s restoration, century to less than two million pounds by two other dams—Union and Simkins— the 1970s. Maryland closed its shad fishery were removed first. But Bloede marked the in 1980, and Virginia followed suit in 1994, biggest, most ambitious and costliest and our collective memory of shad, the taste removal, and one that aimed to open up the of spring, started to die. greatest stretch of river to spawning fish and Which brings us to the demolition to the ecosystem they relied upon. For the Bloede Dam on September 6, 2018. The American Rivers and Maryland DNR, which Bloede Dam removal marks a huge shift in owned and operated the dam, the multiour environmental consciousness. The million dollar price tag was a worthwhile Patapsco stopped being a valuable source of investment that would reconnect historic power for mills in the early 20th century, habitat, reestablish native aquatic and at some point in the following century, populations, and improve water quality. the river itself—its habitat, its beauty, its “The removal of Bloede shows we can do peaceful banks providing a natural oasis so hard things,” McClain said. “To have the close to the city of Baltimore—became river be rebirthed back to what it once was. valued more than its ability to turn a profit.

We can’t turn the clock back to preSerena McClain sees this kind of shift in industrial times, but you can remove a dam

May/June 2022

JAY FLEMING

and allow a river to be a river.”

It’s been a few years, and it will take more time to see how much the river can heal, but parts of the Patapsco started to reset almost immediately. The huge sediment load trapped behind the dam, for example, began to wash away immediately after the dam was blown up, scouring away to reveal the rock and gravel bottom of the natural riverbed beneath. Paddlers can now traverse downriver long stretches of the Patapsco, which only has one dam left.

But it remains to be seen what will come back up the river, now that the flow is clear. What ghosts of behavioral memory might awaken in the remaining shad and herring in the Chesapeake, and if they come, can one element of the Chesapeake’s seasonal cycle be restored with their springtime run? The state of Maryland is betting so. In 2019 alone, the Maryland DNR stocked 335,000 American shad and 1,480,000 hickory shad in the Patapsco River.

Now Dr. Obgurn and his team are awaiting this year’s spring run to see if any of those fish, or maybe some ancestors of the fish that spawned here 100 years ago, will return. They’re using all sorts of methods to check: sonar devices; microchip “pit” tags that work like a fish EZ pass and count every fish swimming past the old dam location to head upstream; and of course, environmental DNA. Last year’s numbers were low—just 11 American shad and 40 to 45 hickory shad were counted below the dam—but like the waters of the Patapsco, hope springs eternal.

Dr. Ogburn is optimistic. “There’s still so much to learn about the species. It’s not like we know everything and there’s no hope.

Our research has shown that alewife and river herring started using stretch of the river above the Bloede Dam site, all the way up to Daniels Dam. And we just got funding to investigate river herring and American shad, with what will be brand-new tools.”

It may take as long as the dam was in place for the shad and herring to find their

way upstream again, but now that the river is free, scientists have time to wait and see.

If some of the other rivers like the Potomac and Rappahannock are any indication, dam removal can bring back shad. And as for the rest of us, perhaps we’ll rekindle our love of shad as populations grow in the wake of the Chesapeake’s undamming. Like the people before us who called this watershed home and awaited the shad’s return each spring, we’ll wait patiently. Scientists, anglers, and hungry roe connoisseurs alike, watching the blooms on the shadbush emerge, eventually we’ll return to the river on that first warm day.

Kate Livie is a Chesapeake writer, educator, and historian. An Eastern Shore native and current faculty at Washington College’s Center for Environment and Society, Livie’s award-winning book Chesapeake Oysters was published in 2015.

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NASA/BILL INGALLS

A Northrup Grumman Antares rocket takes off from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility carrying supplies, hardware, and scientific experiments for the International Space Station.

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Seeing what’s up at Wallops Island

BY MARTY LEGRAND

early space capsule safety tests for NASA’s first manned mission, Project Mercury.

Rockets launched from Wallops Island have lit up the East Coast skies, dazzling—and occasionally alarming—onlookers for decades.

During a total solar eclipse in 1970, Wallops launched more than 30 rockets in a 24-hour period to study the eclipse as it passed overhead.

Suborbital research flights from Wallops, including one just last year, have emitted eerily colored vapor clouds—milky white, yellowish orange, vivid red, green-violet—so high into the atmosphere they were visible for hundreds of miles. These chemical vapors helped probe such mysteries as the upperlevel jet stream and space plasma.

Then there was the particularly bizarre spectacle on the cusp of Halloween, 1959—a vivid, star-like object with a flickering tail that, in the words of one press report, “startled the dickens out of thousands of citizens all over the Eastern

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ChesapeakeBayMagazine.com

NASA/JOEL KOWSKY

W

hile billionaires dabble in the delights of space flight, the day-to-day business of rocketry carries on at a flyspeck island off the Delmarva Peninsula. Squeezed between the Atlantic and marshy coastal lagoons south of the MarylandVirginia border, Wallops Island once held wild horses, domestic livestock, and hungry mosquitos. Today it’s home to the only launch range owned and operated by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

Over the years, unsung Wallops Island Flight Facility has made NASA history and provided residents of the mid-Atlantic with close encounters of the space-flight kind typically reserved for Floridians and Sunshine State tourists.

Wallops launched its first rocket in 1945— five years before Cape Canaveral did—making it the oldest U.S. missile range in continuous operation. Fifteen years later it conducted

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NASA/ MARTIN BLAHA

Loading cargo into the CRS-15 Cygnus spacecraft, bound for the International Space Station.

52

Seaboard.” A worker in Onancock, Va., who saw it told a local paper that he took off running because, “I didn’t know what was going to happen.” The object turned out to be a harmless (if spookily shiny) high-altitude, light-reflecting balloon launched from Wallops.

Today, the government facility and its commercial aerospace partner, the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS), launch on average 10 to 15 rockets a year, including sounding rockets that conduct suborbital research, orbital spacecraft bearing classified military and other payloads, and Wallops’ star performers, powerful Antares rockets that regularly carry cargo to the International Space Station.

An Antares launch this Presidents Day weekend drew thousands of spectators to the Eastern Shore to watch as a Northrup Grumman twostage rocket roughly 13 stories tall lifted off from MARS’s launch pad 0A. It carried a Cygnus space capsule filled with 8,300 pounds of crew supplies, hardware, and scientific experiments for the space station.

Skies were mostly sunny, temperatures hovered in the mid 40s, and winds gusted to speeds that threatened to delay liftoff, but the midday flight—the fifteenth resupply mission from Wallops—went off on time and without a hitch. It was a familiar thrill to veteran launch watchers and gasp-worthy for first timers.

Watching NASA’s live television feed from home, as I did, was an informative if less-thanimmersive substitute for being there. Evelyn Shotwell, executive director of the Chamber of Commerce for Chincoteague, Va.—Wallops’ island neighbor to the north—offered some insight into the front row experience.

“You’ll see the light [from the rocket’s engines] and the smoke and you’ll see the rocket go up. When it’s almost directly overhead,

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May/June 2022

then you hear it. It sounds just like thunder.

Like thunder rumbling in the distance,” she said. Chincoteague is a popular launch-viewing venue. Shotwell’s favorite spot is her own front yard, “or my neighbor’s dock.”

The crowd invariably erupts in applause and cheers. “Usually someone starts clapping,” she said, “and people shout, ‘Go Antares!’ or ‘Go NASA!’” Kids are over the moon, so to speak.

Spectators gather hours before launch time to await an aerial show that’s seemingly over in less time than it takes to get settled in one’s folding chair. Even with mostly blue skies and 10-mile visibility in February, the glow from Antares’s rockets faded from sight all too soon.

Watching with binoculars helps prolong the experience. Nonetheless, it’s an anticipatory thrill that an estimated 10,000 to 15,000 visitors travels miles to witness whenever Antares blasts off.

The viewing spot of choice is the grounds of Wallops Visitor Center, but the Covid-19 pandemic forced the center’s closure two years ago and, as of March 2022, it had yet to reopen.

Keith Koehler, public affairs specialist at Wallops, said the center may be able to welcome visitors again by this summer. If so, the reopening would be well timed; the next Antares launch is scheduled for late summer.

The Visitor Center lies about four miles northwest of Wallops Island (as the seagull flies), where three launch areas and seven launch pads are operated by NASA, MARS, and Rocket Lab, a private company that specializes in launching small military, scientific and commercial satellites. The six-square-mile island, owned by NASA, is off limits to the public except for 373 marshy acres that comprise the Wallops Island National Wildlife Refuge.

On launch days, the Visitor Center’s gates open four hours before scheduled lift-off. For popular flights, spectators are already lined up waiting to grab a seat on the bleachers or a spot in the field at the marsh-side viewing area.

Loudspeakers broadcast the countdown; inside, visitors can watch a live television feed of the launch. Koehler said the Visitor Center’s outdoor viewing area can accommodate about 3,000 to 4,000 spectators. He said there are probably at least twice as many more watching from parks, beaches, marinas, restaurants, and other venues up and down the shore.

“Winter launches, you tend to get fewer

NASA WALLOPS/ALLISON STANCIL

The Minotaur I, a one-time use launch system used for small satellites, heads skyward, carrying three national security payloads for the National Reconnaissance Office.

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NASA/BILL INGALLS

An Antares rocket is rolled out to Launch Pad-0A at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility.

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NASA/PATRICK BLACK

people,” he said, although Shotwell said Chincoteague hotel rooms were booked up for February’s Antares launch, which coincided with a long federal holiday weekend.

(Chincoteague is about a three-hour drive from Washington, D.C., and two hours from the military bases of Hampton Roads.)

T

he Visitor Center sits near the entrance to Wallops Flight Facility’s main base. Located on the mainland beside Route 175 just before it crosses onto Chincoteague Island from the west, the main base has its own colorful past. Until its closure in 1979, Chincoteague Naval Air Station operated here, beginning as a World War II pilot training facility whose novice airmen included a future president. George H.W. Bush spent two months stationed here in 1943.

Once, while landing his plane after a simulated bombing run at sea, Bush and two crewmen survived a crash that destroyed their aircraft.

One of three components of the 6,200acre Wallops Flight Facility, the main base houses the range control center, an airport for conventional aircraft flying scientific missions, and administrative offices that oversee, among other missions, NASA’s sounding rocket and scientific balloon programs (although the balloons are now launched elsewhere). Radar and transmitter facilities are situated farther south, near Assawoman, Va., on land bordering a causeway that crosses the salt marshes and links the mainland with lower Wallops Island.

Part of Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., NASA’s Wallops campus includes

a few other notable federal tenants, including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the U.S. Navy, and the U.S. Coast Guard.

The oldest part of Wallops Flight Facility, the barrier island itself, is shaped roughly like a westward-facing pipe wrench. The wildlife refuge comprises the northern, wrench end, with the rocket launching areas located near the tip of the handle. The island is named for a 17th-century surveyor, mariner, and Eastern Shore land speculator, John Wallop. By the late 19th century, it was owned by a private hunting and fishing club from Pennsylvania. The group built a large clubhouse/hotel near the beach and used the island as sporting grounds and summer resort into the 1940s, grazing livestock there as well.

In the mid-1940s, NASA’s predecessor, the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, leased land for a rocket launching site on the lower island. Out-of-towners gradually stopped visiting the resort during World War II. And when shoreline erosion claimed the remaining resort building by 1950, the federal government used eminent domain to take permanent ownership of Wallops Island.

The feds rounded up the island’s wild ponies and sent them to Chincoteague. But even the U.S. government couldn’t displace all residents.

Contractors had to battle a “large number of vicious mosquitoes and green-headed horseflies” while constructing the island’s first rocket complex, which included housing for personnel, a single launch pad, and a control center.

The remote, seaside island became an ideal testing ground for rockets that by now May/June 2022

Joining an Antares rocket to a Northrup Grumman Cygnus spacecraft at Wallops' Horizontal Integration Facility.

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could shatter the speed of sound. Manmade wind tunnels were no longer sufficient to test aeronautic design at such high velocity so “Wallops became a wind tunnel in the sky,” Koehler said, launching its very first rocket, a test model, along the beach on June 27, 1945.

More than 16,000 have been fired here since, occasionally grabbing national attention.

Two rhesus monkeys, Sam and Miss Sam, survived their brief flights aboard Little Joe rockets here in 1959 and 1960, helping prove that space travel was safe for Project Mercury astronauts. Television cameras recorded the primates’ adventures, including retrieval of their space capsules at sea.

On September 6, 2013, Wallops’ first (and thus far only) lunar mission drew 14,000 spectators to watch a Minotaur rocket send the Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment

Explorer (LADEE), a robotic spacecraft, into lunar orbit to study the moon’s atmosphere. (The launch gained unintentional notoriety when a bullfrog inopportunely loitering near the launch pad was blasted skyward as the rocket ignited. A NASA photo of the frog’s silhouette, legs akimbo, went viral.)

Less than two weeks later, Orbital ATK (now part of Northrup Grumman) launched its inaugural resupply mission to the International Space Station from Wallops, becoming NASA’s second commercial cargo provider to the station.

(Elon Musk’s SpaceX Dragon came first at Cape Canaveral.) Orbital suffered a spectacular failure in 2014, however, when an Antares rocket exploded in an orange fireball seconds after liftoff from Wallops.

Wallops’ bread and butter has long been sounding rockets—spacecraft whose speeds,

Where the Rockets Glare Red Roughly once a month, Wallops Flight Facility sends some variety of spacecraft hurtling into the heavens. Visitors to the Eastern Shore can make plans to enjoy closeup views of these spectacular events by consulting the launch schedule at www.nasa.gov/centers/wallops/ home, Wallops’ social media pages, or calling 757-824-2050. Bear in mind that launch times depend heavily on weather and other conditions, so delays and postponements are possible. Fortunately, the Chesapeake’s far shore boasts plenty of enjoyable distractions.

Here are the best viewing locations, their proximity to the launch range, amenities like parking and restrooms, and advice on what to expect and what to do. Bring binoculars, folding chairs, bug spray, and sun protection; personal electronics for monitoring the launch; and time-killing materials

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(books, video games, snacks) for waiting.

Antares rocket launches are very popular and occur only twice a year. Plan to reach your chosen destination early to avoid traffic and ensure parking and viewing spots.

Have a backup option just in case.

Center for all launches,” said Wallops spokesman Keith Koehler. No-nos: Pets, RVs and tents; coolers must stay in vehicles, Don’t Miss: The on-site museum, which chronicles Wallops and NASA history, and displays some nifty rockets.

Wallops Flight Facility Visitor Center

Chincoteague Island

Chincoteague Launch Proximity/Direction: 4 miles, south Note: Temporarily closed. May reopen this summer.

The closest thing to being in a NASA control center, the Visitor Center offers an outdoor viewing area with field and bleacher seating, audio and visual launch broadcasts, free parking (first-come, first-served), food vendors, restrooms, and a NASA gift shop. There’s night viewing, too. “We typically open the Visitor

Chincoteague Launch Proximity/Direction: 7 miles, southwest Wallops’ island neighbor has choice views over Chincoteague Inlet plus ready access to food and drink. (We like Don’s Seafood and Amarin Coffee.) If you’ve got a waterfront hotel room, your seat is reserved. Otherwise, check out these popular spots: Curtis Merritt Harbor: This public marina on the island’s southern end—used by charter, tour, and fishing boats—has a large parking

while impressive, fall short of enabling them to reach sustained orbit. They linger just long enough in space—five to 20 minutes—for their payloads to gather data for astronomers, physicists, climatologists, and other scientists. A Wallops sounding rocket mission this January, for example, studied the source of low-energy X-rays in the atmosphere that can affect radio communications and GPS navigation.

Wallops’ future lies with MARS. Not the planet (at least not yet), but the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport. The commercial launch complex has breathed new economic life into the old missile base. A government-run enterprise of the Commonwealth of Virginia, MARS has conducted missions for NASA, the U.S. Space Force, and Rocket Lab, whose own launch pad is located there. If Rocket Lab’s dreams are realized, it will soon be

lot, a public restroom, and helpful locals. Get the best views on the bluff where a large cross marks the Waterman’s Memorial, honoring mariners and servicemen lost at sea.

Don’t Miss: Dolphins frolicking offshore Assateague Island (Maddox Boulevard) causeway.

East of Chincoteague: Assateague Island National Seashore and Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge are generally closed for launches, so the causeway offers the best unobstructed view from the island’s ocean side. Park off the roadway or in the McDonald’s lot.

Don’t Miss: Museum of Chincoteague Island, a treasure trove of island lore.

Robert Reed Waterfront Park: In the heart of downtown, this grassy park is home to the town dock, a statue of the pony Misty of Chincoteague, and giant Adirondack chairs. Parking is somewhat limited.

Don’t Miss: Sunsets over the bay.

launching numerous low-cost, quick-turnaround satellites—many military defense payloads— from its 59-foot-tall Electron rockets.

“They’re looking at the possibility of flying one a month,” Koehler said. Rocket Lab is currently considering adding a second launch site to accommodate larger, Antares-size rockets as well. Wallops is a finalist for the project.

Sam and Miss Sam aside, Wallops has never launched a manned space mission. But Koehler isn’t ruling it out given the rapid evolution of space flight. Have Wallops and MARS been approached by any rocket-smitten billionaires, I wondered? “We’ve talked to them,” Koehler said.

“We’ll see.”

Maryland native and award-winning contributor Marty LeGrand writes about nature, the environment, and Chesapeake history.

Secluded Spots The locals and kayakers know which back roads to follow for a water’s edge perspective. Here are two:

Old NASA Ferry Dock Mappsville Proximity/Direction: 3 miles/east-southeast Before a roadway connected Wallops to the mainland, a ferry provided the only access. Pierce Taylor Road (Rt. 730) leads to the old dock on Arbuckle Creek, where you’ll find a boat ramp, parking, and a picnic gazebo.

Mutton Hunk Fen Natural Area Preserve Metompkin Proximity/Direction: 7 miles, northeast You’ll need your walking shoes to access the best viewpoint, Gargathy Beach, at the northern tip of Metompkin Island, another Virginia barrier island. A sea-level fen, this preserve offers parking and two hiking trails.

Atlantic Beaches Particularly on clear days or nights, beaches from Fenwick Island, Del., to Virginia Beach, Va., provide fine views of Wallops launches. In Ocean City, Md., try Inlet Park down near the fishing pier. Unlike the Virginia District of Assateague Island seashore, Maryland’s portion—and Assateague State Park—remain open for launches.

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WILD CHESAPEAKE

A Consciousness of Speck Searching the marsh guts for speckled trout

CHRIS D. DOLLAR

by Capt. Chris D. Dollar

I

looked at my fishing partner with a conspiratorial smile, and he returned it. The facial contortions were more like sneers, as if The Grinch and his twin brother had just swallowed Little Cindi Lou Who. “Man, that’s a fishy spot—gotta be holding specks, right?” I hissed at my fishing partner.

The skiff’s trolling motor pushed us along a jagged “marsh tump,” a phrase I’ve heard used to describe a slice of saltwater marsh jutting out into

Angler Roger Schwarb caught a 15.75-inch crappie at Triadelphia Reservoir.

deeper water. The dull, almost soothing slap of water pinged against the small skiff’s hull, like pans gently clanging together in the distance. A flooding tide carried ocean waters deep into stands of spartina, eel grass swayed gently below the surface. On the shoal extending from the marsh point, you’d

only have a few yards of wet-wading before your knee-deep walk turned into an over-your-head soaker.

Water pushed past the marsh point with determination, but the backside eddy remained calm and inviting. The water was nearly gin clear, with the sun low and fading behind the clouds.

Other key parameters—water temperature, presence of baitfish— combined for perfect conditions to catch speckled trout, also called specks or spotted seatrout.

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My partner had tied on a hookless surface plug. I stood at the bow with my fly rod at the ready. Why was my companion’s lure hookless? We were playing the “pop n’ swap” game in which a spin caster and fly angler team up to fool a game fish into attacking the topwater lure. When it misses, you fire the fly at it. It’s a decades-long proven tactic, and fun as hell. Though I’m not exactly sure what the plug caster gets out of such an arrangement; perhaps a sense of angling altruism.

My friend’s cast was flawless, inches from the shoreline. Mere yards into the retrieve, his erratic reclaim drew the ire of a predator: A swirl the size of a pizza pan erupted behind his plug. I quickly shot the fly, a chartreuse foam popper loaded on an eight-weight fly rod, as close to the spot of eruption as I could. My retrieve was equally

fitful, trying my best to mimic a wounded baitfish.

Success. Angrily, the fish peeled off line, making a good showing that belied its relatively short stature. Once to hand, I admired the pretty speckled trout, which stretched to 20 inches, before releasing it back into the brine.

We moved from marsh bank to marsh bank, and for the next several hours we both enjoyed outstanding marsh fishing before the tide quit.

During that hiatus, for some reason Johnny Cash’s killer rendition of Kris Kristofferson’s “Sunday Morning Comin’ Down” broke through my brain. Billowy clouds strewn with contrasting deep and faint hues of grays wafted past the horizon. The air was idyllic, washing over my pores.

There wasn’t a better place to be— among the Chesapeake’s magical

CHESAPEAKE BAY MAGAZINE

Black Duck & Dumplings On Va’s Eastern Shore

Fox-Red Yellow Labs Make Fetch Happen

marshes, where the salt meets the fresh and game fish run wild.

Fish Where the Specks Are In my halcyon days of deep marsh excursions, each meandering twist convinced me I’d run out of water, forcing a retreat. Sometimes it did, others times not. Either way, fishing marsh guts, rips, and channels unleashes an exploratory joy in me.

Willets, egrets, and herons flushed into flight by the boat’s wake. A marsh hawk slung low in the sky, scouring the black needlerush for its next meal. A crab pot lying orphaned against the lush, verdant spartina. Who knows what other gems were hidden from view further back in the wetlands.

Out in the marsh, there are days when there is no rhythm or reason to the tides; they pour in and out at a

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BOB BRUNS /MARYLAND FISHERIES SERVICE DNR

relentless pace, immune to tide tables and theoretical laws of lunar astrophysics.

Public ramps with easy access to fishing the marsh for specks abound on both sides of the Chesapeake. On the Delmarva Peninsula, the spring of the year brings good fishing for speckled trout and other game fish that prowl the marshy waters from the Honga and Annemessex rivers down to Onancock and Hungars Creek. Watts, Tangier, Smith, and Fox islands are all noted speckled trout grounds.

On the western shore, Chesapeake fishermen can find speckled trout, as well as red drum and some rockfish, cruising the marsh guts and oyster lumps in the Lynnhaven and Piankatank rivers. Fish the shorelines south of the York River, Mobjack Bay, or lower Rappahannock,

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just to name a few places.

A key to successful speckled trout fishing, at least in my experience, is finding clear water. If it stained or roiled, you got a real challenge. A moving tide is important, too, with each specific location having its preferred tide cycle for the best odds at catching. I love the beginning of an outgoing tide at the mouth of a creek or marsh gut.

Seven-foot rods with reels loaded with fourteen- to twenty-pound test line and eight-weight fly rods are ideal in my view. Lure options are numerous. I carry a selection of topwaters, soft plastics paddletails, popping corks, and of course live bait. If you pinned me down, I’d fish three- to four-inch paddletails. I fish a lot of Z-Man and D.O.A.s on the lightest jigheads I can get away with. On overcast days or at lowlight, I throw a topwater plug like Stillwater’s Smack Jr. or Heddon’s Super Spook, Jr. Slow-sinking twitch plugs, such as X-Raps and MirrOlures 52 series, can be effective, too. I like flies that resemble baitfish like menhaden, silversides, and minnows. Throwing crab or shrimp patterns work as well.

Hunting speckled trout in skinny water requires stealth; don’t spook your quarry. I fish out of a kayak, so I use a small anchor that I quietly slip overboard using an anchor trolley. For center consoles, stern-rigged power poles are popular nowadays.

Prized Game Fish You never forget your first one. I certainly haven’t. Years back, a client pulled in a fat-bellied gator trout that topped eight pounds. The fish’s slivery flanks and gorgeous rounded spots initially caught my eye. The two teeth protruding from its upper jaw, almost the size of a tiny cat’s fangs, made me chuckle. It pounced on a plastic paddletail on a light jighead among the grass flats just north of Ewell, the tiny Smith Island fishing village.

Within the past decade, more

Chesapeake anglers have discovered the joys of shallow water fishing for specks. That’s great, but it also means more pressure is being put on this great sport fish, so sensible regulations and angler ethics are critical to ensure populations remain stable.

Trout face other challenges, however. We’ve lost much of the Bay’s key shallow water habitats, so its urgent we build more threedimensional oyster reefs and protect more marshes and grass flats. Trout are also susceptible to cold stuns and red tides. And like other drums, specks school up, making them targets for commercial netting operations and prone to being locally “fished-out.”

Last year, using a loophole in regulations, commercial fishermen used haul seines as “stop nets,” an illegal technique in which large quantities of speckled trout are kept alive in the net’s pocket to be harvested multiple times over several days. The sport fishing community alerted the Virginia Marine Resources Commission to the destructive practice. As a result, the agency issued a letter to participants to cease the practice. The Commission has also pledged to adopt language before the 2022 season clarifying the Commonwealth’s netting regulations. Given all of these factors, we should manage them—and, for that matter, all gamefish and forage—for maximum abundance, not for maximum harvest.

Although I enjoy other fishing styles, in my heart of hearts I’m a shallow water guy who much prefers the solitude of the marshes. The fewer crowds the better. That’s why I’m enamored with speckled trout, which ply their trade in these relatively peaceful settings. Amen to that.

Capt. Chris Dollar is a fishing guide, tackle shop owner, and all-around Chesapeake outdoorsman with more than 25 years’ experience in avoiding office work.

May/June 2022

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Find your own ideal piece of Chesapeake Bay waterfront

C

hesapeake Bay waterfront property comes at a premium for a good reason: It’s invariably stunningly beautiful. Who wouldn’t want to wake up to witness the sun gleaming off the shimmering silver surface of the Bay or one of its thousands of rivers or tidal creeks, with ospreys whistling overhead and a great blue heron poised at the edge of the reeds, ready to pounce on breakfast.

Of course, there are some practical considerations beyond just the cost. In the Bay area, we have

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several tiers of homes with water access: waterfront, which means a home that’s adjacent with direct water access; water view, which is not exactly right on the water but close enough to see it daily; water privileged, which means being in a community that has a communally owned beach, boat ramp and marina (or any combination thereof); and winter water view, where once the leaves drop, you can get a glimpse of the water if you lean out of your bathroom window at just the right

angle. The relative price for properties generally decreases the further they get from the water’s edge.

There are features that impact the relative price of waterfront properties as well. Some lots are so far up the creek that they’re only technically waterfront twice a day, at high tide, while others boast water deep enough to moor a yacht. Zoning regulations can restrict how close to the water’s edge you can build, and how much foliage you can remove to improve the sightlines or govern the size of a pier.

While global warming has made the winters in this region milder, it’s also

caused sea level rise. A wise buyer will consult the Sea Level Rise Viewer, a tool provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on their website. It will give you an idea of where the water’s edge is projected to be 50 years from now. Ironically, there are areas in the southern portion of the Bay where the sea level is rising at the same time the land surface is subsiding. This online tool can give you the assurance you need when making such a big investment.

Erosion is a constant problem on the Chesapeake Bay. Fortunately, a relatively new technique called a “living shoreline” can provide protection from the action of the tide and waves at the same time it improves the natural habitat. Instead

of a solid rock wall from one side of the property to the other, a living shoreline comprises a series of low stone sills separated by gaps, backfilled with sand and planted with native grasses and shrubs. The gaps allow access in-and-out water access for horseshoe crabs, diamondback terrapins, grandkids and other wildlife.

While the Chesapeake Bay is just 200 miles long from mouth of the Susquehanna River at Havre de Grace, Md., to where the Bay meets the Atlantic Ocean between Cape Henry and Cape Charles, Va., there are 11,000 miles of shoreline, and one little piece of that could be yours. The fun part is in the finding of it. Start exploring now.

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DAVID DEW

(804) 436-3106 davidedew@gmail.com horsleyrealestate.com Managing broker, David started his real estate career 20+ years ago and knows the market extensively. Richmond, VA native, David moved to White Stone with his wife Katie Horsley Dew. Before real estate, he was a loan officer and branch manager at a local bank. David and Katie have successfully made a team for themselves as leading brokers with Platinum sales and Top Agent awards. The relationships and dedication to their career fulfill them to serve their clients. David and Katie reside on Dymer Creek with their two children and thoroughly enjoy and are grateful for all life has to offer.

SANDRA LENT

(804) 694-6101 sandi@rivahrealestate.com horsleyrealestate.com With a career that spans 20+ states and thousands of transactions, Sandi has devoted her career to residential real estate. Whether a waterfront estate or cozy condominium, Sandi’s analytical perspective and negotiating skills are ideal in guiding her clients to fulfill their real estate goals. White glove service is her trademark, providing uncommon experience in every type of residential sale. When she and husband Tim chose the Piankatank River in Hartfield as their new home in 2001, Sandi put this knowledge to work.

She appreciates and understands all the amazing benefits of life in Virginia’s Chesapeake Bay region.

ROSEMARY GRIFFITH

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Rosemary and her husband have lived in the Bay area since 2009 after building their waterfront home in Mathews. Originally from McLean and Richmond, she knows waterfront living is buying a lifestyle that she loves sharing. She has been a full time Realtor since 2014 after many years in the film business and owning a local food shop in Mathews. She works very hard for her clients to ensure a pleasant and positive experience.

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NEENA RODGERS

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Growing up in the family firm, Katie has been surrounded by real estate her entire life with her grandmother, founder of Horsley Real Estate and father, now principal Broker, passing along the work ethics and marketing skills to continue to grow with her buyers and sellers, and set the family firm above the rest. A husband and wife team, David and Katie cover all the Northern Neck and Middle Peninsula areas of Virginia’s Chesapeake Bay, specializing in waterfront estates and homes. Blessed with two children, David and Katie reside on Dymer Creek and love living a fulfilled life with family and business.

(804) 436-2326 neenasrealestate@gmail.com horsleyrealestate.com Neena has been a top producer and consistent Platinum Award recipient since joining the Horsley firm in 2003. She is proud to have been named a Top Virginia Realtor 5 years in a row. A Cum Laude graduate of American University, Neena and her husband moved to “The River” in 2001 for the wide open spaces and uncluttered waterways, and her family relishes their time cruising and sailing. Neena’s clients love her tenacity and integrity, and she attributes her success to hard work, an extensive knowledge of the waterways and care and concern for every client. Neena manages the Horsley office in Deltaville.

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Prior to entering real estate, McKann was an accomplished master educator for nearly 20 years with superior communication skills, which she has carried into real estate. McKann is a graduate of James Madison University. She and her husband, Chad, and their son reside in White Stone on the beautiful Carters Creek.

(804) 384-7740 bernilacasse@gmail.com horsleyrealestate.com

Bernadette La Casse has lived on the Chesapeake Bay since 2005 and loves the unique charm and laid-back pace of the region. She has been involved in real estate since 2014, and looks forward to helping you navigate your real estate needs. Bernadette is proud to consistently be voted one of the Top Agents in Virginia, and works closely with her team as Broker for the busy Mathews/Gloucester branch office of Horsley Real Estate. She is dedicated to providing the critical local and regulatory information necessary for her clients.

SHELLEY RITTER

DIANA WOLFSON

(301) 717-5157 shelleyritter@horsleyrealestate.com horsleyrealestate.com

(940)395-1775 dwsellsnnk@gmail.com horsleyrealestate.com Diana Wolfson a native of Potomac Maryland, grew up on the Chesapeake Bay sailing with her father every weekend. In 2013 she and her husband and two sons relocated to White Stone VA full time and opened NN Burger. Diana became a Realtor in 2017. She has had great success with Isabell Horsley Real Estate working out of White Stone and Urbanna offices. “I have an amazing career serving my clients helping them facilitate their real estate transactions.”

Shelley has developed an eye for homes through a background in real estate staging, visual merchandising, interior design, and sales. This makes Shelley a great asset in finding you a home or a buyer for your property. Working with clients in the home furnishing fields, Shelley came to appreciate the deep connection between people and their houses. In today’s world, we are spending more time at the home than ever before. Our house has become a home office, our favorite restaurant, and center of family entertainment. Whether you are a buyer or seller, Shelley’s keen eye and creativity can work for you.

May/June 2022

ChesapeakeBayMagazine.com

69

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

ANDREA HOLT

Andrea Holt moved to the Chesapeake Bay area from Fairfax, VA in 1997 when she and her family purchased a marina in Deltaville on the Piankatank River. Andrea has combined experience in marketing, general construction knowledge, and above all, a passion for the Bay and rivers of the Northern Neck and Middle Peninsula. She is a consecutive Platinum Sales Awards with the Northern Neck Association of Realtors and is named a Top Agent in Virginia Living Magazine.

Today Andrea lives on a 20-acre farm, in Wake, one mile from the Rappahannock River.

(804) 577-0363 John.mecke4@gmail.com horsleyrealestate.com

(804) 577-3584 coastalva@virgininastoughton.com horsleyrealestate.com Virginia has deep family roots in Lancaster County as her family has lived here back to her great grandparents. She was born in White Stone, moved out of the area, and returned in 2006 to raise her three boys. Since starting her real estate career she has earned the loyalty of numerous clients due to her exceptional customer service and knowledge of the area. Virginia is excited to exceed your expectations.

MARGARET EPPES CURTIS

John Mecke began his time on the Northern Neck in 1998, but began his love of the Chesapeake in the 1950’s sailing on his father’s Star Class, “Flying Cloud” on the northern Chesapeake Bay. An active member of the community he combines his in-depth knowledge of the local real estate market with 38 years as a Sales & Marketing Executive to offer the skills and business acumen that is important in successfully fulfilling the needs of his many clients.

JOHANNA CARRINGTON

RHONDA WELLS

(804) 467-9766 johannacarrington@gmail.com horsleyrealestate.com

(804) 436-4709 Rkwells11@gmail.com horsleyrealestate.com

(804) 435-2919 nngypsycharters@gmail.com horsleyrealestate.com Margaret, a Richmond, VA native, attended St. Catherine’s School. She worked for 46 years and retired from Bank of Lancaster as Vice President and head of the residential lending department specializing in portfolio and secondary market home mortgages as well as coordinating construction loans with owners and builders. After retirement, she became licensed realtor in 2011.

She has been married 55 years and enjoys fishing on their charter boat Gypsy Charters with Captain Ted Curtis, sailing, gardening & Mah Jongg.

JOHN MECKE

VIRGINIA STOUGHTON

(804) 854-9530 andreajholt@gmail.com horsleyrealestate.com

Rhonda has lived and worked in the Northern Neck Area for 17 years. She has been a realtor for 34 years and started her real estate career in Richmond, VA. Since then, she has earned many awards. Living in White Stone Rhonda knows the area and knows the ins and outs of the Real Estate business. ”

Johanna Carrington knows the territory! She and her husband moved over 20 years ago to the Northern Neck, where they raised their three children, and enjoy the relaxed lifestyle and friendly community. As an artist and former designer, Johanna has an eye for detail and offers professional guidance for all your real estate needs. Give her a call today to learn about selling your home or starting the search for your dream waterfront or inland property.

What puts Isabell K. Horsley Real Estate above the rest?

Experience - There’s nothing typical about Chesapeake Bay real estate and we’re here to help you navigate with accurate property analysis based on our insight of the area and what each individual property has to offer.

We know the area… it’s our backyard! Small town

Local agents make all the difference - From the Bays, Rivers and Creeks, we know the neighbors, the waterways, town, events, set backs, regulations, schools, attorneys, contractors, subdivisions, taxes and local business.

Our sales record speaks for itself - Our agents work hard for you and it shows with consistent sales increases over 45+

all just steps away from the water’s edge. Not sure where to

all the Northern Neck & Middle Peninsula with 332 Sales with $158 Million is Sales for 2021.

LOCAL KNOWLEDGE OF AREA & THE MARKET T R U S T E D S I N C E 1 9 7 5 - F A M I LY O W N E D FA B U L O U S T E A M O F 3 5 + A G E N T S COVERING ALL THE NORTHERN NECK & MIDDLE PENINSULA AREAS

Voted Best Real Estate Firm 9 Consecutive Years!

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What puts Isabell K. Horsley Real Estate above

W W W. H O R S L E Y R E A L E S TAT E . C O M

Experience - There’s nothing typical about Chesapeake Bay real estate and we’re here to help you navigate with accurate

We know the area… it’s

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Truly ONE OF A KIND home lacking nothing!! Seller has invested over 2.2 mil in home!! Heated pool, outdoor shower and bathroom, massive pool deck, covered patio, 3 car garage, whole house generator.

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Beautiful 3 bedroom 2.5 bath home located in desired Mill Creek Landing Community.

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This all-brick home is only one block from the James River! Classic style, modern amenities, accessibility considerations, outdoor living space, complete apartment above 3 car garage. A complete remodel!

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Nestled into the woods on an expansive lot, with plenty of entertaining space on a tiered deck! Beautiful wood fireplace, excellent walk in closets, granite counters and remodeled bathrooms. Tabb schools!

SUFFOLK

This masterpiece of a waterfront home is located in the highly sought-after Riverfront neighborhood of Suffolk. With 4 bedrooms, 3.5 bathrooms plus an upstairs den/media room, the home has so much extra space!

HARTFIELD

Accented with Rock and Stone throughout, MASSIVE closets, and workmanship that will amaze you. Nestled inside 6 private acres that include a large pond full of fish with a new dock for a fisherman’s dream.

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SMITHFIELD FIELD

DEEP WATER!!! Beautiful view of the Pagan River located next to Smithfield Station! The value is in the land! Property is being sold as-is/where-is.

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Greg Garrett

ChesapeakeBayMagazine.com

71

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

NEILL SHULTZ

LISA SHULTZ

neillshultz@gmail.com 804.580.0476 shultzrealtors.com

lisa@shultzrealtors.com 804.724.1587 shultzrealtors.com

Neill has a strong passion for his family and the Northern Neck. Neill is a Virginia native and grew up in the Northern Neck boating and sailing on the tributaries of the Chesapeake Bay. He also grew up in real estate; his father was a real estate attorney, and his mother has remained a top broker in the area for decades. Neill started in real estate in 2012, joining a family real estate team that represents the top agents with Long & Foster for the Northern Neck and Middle Peninsula of Virginia. Neill’s professionalism and knowledge of the market conditions have supported his clients into making educated choices in an ever-changing market. He is an excellent guide through the selling and buying process with strong negotiation and closing skills. Neill is always striving to be at the forefront of marketing, utilizing all of the latest technology to be sure his listings stand out among the rest. More than anything, it is his love for the water and his community that drives his passion in waterfront real estate. Neill has been on the Kilmarnock planning commission for over 6 years and serves his community through volunteer efforts.

BEVERLY SHULTZ

beverly@beverlyshultz.com 804.436.4000 shultzrealtors.com Beverly is an Associate Broker and started in real estate in 1991 in the Northern Neck with Bowers, Nelms & Fonnville. She was named Rookie of The Year and launched her successful career in real estate. In 2012, Beverly joined her son and daughter-in-law in a real estate team. The Shultz Team represents the top agents with Long & Foster for the Northern Neck & Middle Peninsula. Beverly was raised in Mississippi and moved to Northern Virginia with her family in 1979, but once they crossed over the Rappahannock River, they knew they were home. With 30 years of real estate experience in the Northern Neck, Beverly has unsurpassed knowledge of the area’s waterways and lifestyle.

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May/June 2022

Lisa is a Virginia native and started in real estate in 2012, when she joined her family real estate team. The Shultz Team represents the top agents for Long & Foster with The Northern Neck and Middle Peninsula of VA. Service to her community and clients is of the utmost importance. Lisa has been awarded the Long and Foster Service Award 2 years in a row. She also serves on the Long & Foster advisory board for the Richmond/Chesapeake Bay Region. She is tenacious through the negotiation and transaction process, providing her clients support every step of the way. The Shultz Team uses all of the latest technology to market their property listings so that they stand out online and in print. Lisa and her husband, Neill are raising two young children in the Northern Neck and on the waters of The Chesapeake Bay.

DAWN PARRISH

dawnsparrish@gmail.com 804.833.5351 shultzrealtors.com Dawn began her real estate career in 1997. Starting on the property management side of the industry, she serviced the needs of 200+ residents at multiple properties. The sale of her first home sparked an interest in the buying and selling side of the industry and she became licensed in 2006.

She’s found great passion and pride in walking the path of home ownership with many clients throughout the years. Dawn and her husband, Shane, have been married since 2002. They have three children, Jacob, Mya and Courtney with 2 fur babies Levi and Palace. After enjoying part-time river life, they decided to make the Northern Neck their full time home!

Your Northern Neck & Middle Peninsula of Virginia Real Estate Specialists

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Introducing “Bayin Breeze.”

This& completely new” riverNeck home with southern exposure has all of the suits your goals. That’s why we have been the top producing agents Long Fosterremodeled, for the “like Northern and Middle great outdoor living spaces to enjoy the water views and breezes off the bay with front and back porches, balconies Peninsula since 2013. We are passionate about the Chesapeake Bay Lifestyle and are eager to share it with you! attached garage offers great storage and small workshop. You can ha

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This property offers privacy on a point of land in a coveted waterfront community. This is an impressive home with 22-foot ceilings, a wall of windows overlooking the water, superior construction, stunning foyer and more. Enjoy the outdoors from the in-ground pool or waterside deck. The pier has power, water and 8 ft MLW.

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Over 4 acres on Tabbs Creek in Bay. First offering of this cus views from all the bedrooms a featuring gas log fire May/June ChesapeakeBayMagazine.com W i l 2022 to n C r e e k L ux ury .c om 73 $759,000

Please visit our property websites to view

ADVENTURE

IS CALLING New Regency P65 - Now in Annapolis!

Contact us for a showing! 410-397-7323.

The new Regency P65 has raised the bar on what it means to own a luxury motor yacht. With a focus on style, quality, and execution, every Regency is designed for quiet beauty and engineered for perfection. Remarkable craftsmanship is reflected in subtle ways throughout the yacht, including some of the finest hardwood carpentry found anywhere in the world. Come tour the Regency P65 at Seattle Yachts’ Annapolis office and see what the future of luxury cruising has to offer. For more information on the Regency P65 please call 410-397-7323.

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TARTAN 395 65’ 2019 Regency P65 .....................................$2,895,000 60’ Jeanneau Yachts - September .........

CALL 51’ 2022 1983 WASA Atlantic 5160 .................................. $57,000 54’ 54Yachts Pilothouse ....................... $450,000 51’ 2004 2023 Symbol Jeanneau 51 - oct 2022 .. ON ORDER 54’ 2015 Riviera - Belize 54 DayBridge ......$1,099,000 50’ 1988 Transworld - Fantail 50 ................... $240,000 51’ 1986 Antigua 51 ............................................ $130,000 49’ 1983 2021 Wasa Jeanneau SO 490 # 147 in stock ......... CALL 51’ Atlantic 51 ...................................$57,000 48’ 2004 2023 Viking Excess Princess 15 # 14 In Stock CALL 50’ V50 FLY ............................ ................... $350,000 50’ ...................................... $390,000 45’ 2014 1983 Jeanneau Bristol 45.5509 ........................................... $150,000 50’ - Fantail 50 .................... $240,000 44’ 1988 1993 Transworld Pacific Seacraft 44 ............................ $199,000 49’ 2021 Jeanneau SO 490-147 In Stock ............. CALL 44’ 1982 Gulfstar 44 CC ........................................ $95,000 49’ 2020 Jeanneau SO 490 - HAYETTE .......... $525,000 44’2022 2023 Tartan Jeanneau 440Model - Sept 2022 ............... CALL CALL 45 455SO - New ..........................

43’ 1983 2015 Tartan .......................................... $150,000 $590,000 45’ Bristol 4300 45.5 ............................................

41’ 2022 Jeanneau SO 440-321 410 - 209InInStock Stock............. ........... CALL 44’ 44’ 4400 - FL .................................

41’ 2004 2007 Tartan Island Packet SP Cruiser ................. $335,900 $285,000 44’ c Seacraft 44 .............................

40’ 1993 1981 Pacifi Nautilus 40 Pilothouse .......................$199,000 $70,000 44’ 1987 C&C 44 C/B ..............................................$79,000 40’ 2022 Excess 12 # 29 In Stock .................... $688,205 43’ 2008 Tartan 4300 - MD ....................................... CALL 43’ 2005 Jeanneau 43DS ................................... $183,000

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41’ 2022 Jeanneau SO 410-131 In Stock ............. CALL 41’ ..........................................

40’ 2002 1977 Tartan Gulfstar4100 Hood 40 ..................................$229,000 $99,000 40’ 405 COUPE ..................................

CALL 40’ 2022 2000 NIMBUS Pacific Seacraft 40 ............................ $275,000 40’ 2006 Pacific Seacraft 40 - Spain .............. $335,000 40’ 2006 Pacific Seacraft 40 ............................ $335,000 40’ 1981 Nautilus 40 Pilothouse ........................$79,000 40’ 1998 1997 Catalina Pacific Seacraft 40 ............................ $120,000 $265,000 40’ 400 .........................................

40’ 1977 2022 Gulfstar Nimbus T11 # 151 July 2022 ................. CALL Hood 40 ...................................$99,000 40’ Pacific 395 Seacraft 40 ............................. $295,000 39’ 1997 2022 Tartan -6 ....................................... $539,000 40’ T11-80 In Stock 39’ 2022 2023 Nimbus Legacy 12 Downeast OB .......................... ......................... CALL CALL 39’ 2022 Tartan 395 - 6 In Stock ............................. CALL 38’ 2022 Jeanneau SO 380 - Sept 2022 ............... CALL 39’ 2022 Excess 12-29 Cat - In Stock ..................... CALL 38’ 1999 1987 Mainship Hans Christian 38T ...............................$115,000 $93,500 39’ 390 ......................................

38’ 1981 1997 S&S Prout- Fincraft Manta 38 .......................................... $99,500 38’ ....................................$80,000 2023 Excess Exxcess11-42 11 # 70 2022 ..................... ................... CALL 37’ 2022 Cat- -Sept In Stock 37’ 2001 Jeanneau SO.........................................

37 ....................................$65,000 2006 Tartan 3700 $199,900 37’ 2003 2002 Tartan Pacific 3700 Seacraft 37 ............................. $120,000 37’ - Spray ........................... $165,000 37’ 2002 Tartan 3700 - Strider ......................... $185,000 37’ 2000 Tartan 3700 - LIBERTY ..................... $174,500 37’ 1998 J Boat J/37 ................................................$65,000 37’ 2003 Tartan 3700 - Spray ................................... CALL

37’ 2005 Beneteau 373 ...................................... $105,000 37’ 3700 - LIBERTY ................... $159,000 36’ 2000 2006 TARTAN Hunter 36 ................................................ $77,500 37’ ........................$94,900 36’ 1998 1979 Searay PearsonSundancer 365 ketch 370 .............................. $35,000 37’ 2004 Jeanneau SO 37 ................................. $110,000 35’ 1986 Baltic 35 ................................................... $49,500 37’ 2010 Tartan 3700 ccr - VENTURE ............. $259,000 34’ 1979 2022 PEARSON Jeanneau SO - 818 in Stock ........... CALL 36’ 365349 Ketch ............................$44,000 33’ ........................................ $69,500 36’ 2001 2006 Beneteau Hunter 36331 .................................................$87,500 36’ 2022 Tartan - SPRING 2022 ........................

CALL 30’ 1992 Wilbur 365 30 ............................................. $125,000 35’ 2008 1986 Catalina Baltic 35 309 ....................................................$59,500 30’ ........................................... $74,500 34’ 1990 Pacific Seacraft Crealock 34 ...............$86,000 29’ 2022 Nimbus T9 - Twins # 72 In Stock ......... CALL 34’ 2022 Jeanneau SO 349-780 In Stock ............ CALL 26’ T8 # 185Crealock In Stock34......................

CALL 34’ 2022 1994 Nimbus Pacific Seacraft ............ $110,000 27’ 2017 27831 SS.....................................$59,500 ................................. $95,000 31’ 1986 Monterey Island Packet 27’ 1991 BCC $135,000 31’ 2007 Sam PacifiLc Morse Seacraft 31 .............................. ............................. $148,500 29’ 2022 Colgate NImbus T9 CALL 26’ 2010 26 ..................................................... ............................................. $38,900 28’ 1937 2014 Port Searay 280 SunDeck 24’ Carling - Seabird............................$69,500 24 .................. $69,000 26’ 2019 Fantail 26 .................................................$99,900 24’ 1987 Pacific Seacraft Dana 24 ................... $55,000 26’ 2000 Grady White 26 Powercat ...................$49,000 22’ 1998 Sam L Morse Cutter .............................$45,000

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STERN LINES

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

Boating on the C&O Canal

A

boy holds the boat for a disembarking couple on the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal adjacent to Fletcher’s Cove on the Potomac, in an undated photo estimated to have been taken between 1909 and 1920.

Fletcher’s Cove Boathouse (better known today simply as Fletcher’s, located at 4940 Canal Road in Washington, D.C.) is out of frame to the right, and remains a popular spot for boat rentals, biking, and fishing. The building on the left of the picture is the Abner Cloud House, built by flour miller Abner Cloud, Jr. in 1801. The Cloud House still stands, as part of the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historical Park. The park shares the house with a Colonial Dames of America chapter, which offers interpretive tours.

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SUNSHINE

INSPIRED.

Visit a place where the adventures are as vast as the sea — Hampton. Soak up the sun and the fun at Buckroe Beach, climb aboard the Hampton Queen for a tour of Chesapeake Bay, or charter a boat to visit the Atlantic Ocean. Savor the moment, and the flavors, with waterfront dining and fresh, delicious seafood.

Take a leisurely stroll along the world’s greatest natural harbor, or grab your fishing gear and cast a line on Hampton’s public pier.

PLAN YOUR TRIP. 800.800.2202 VisitHampton.com

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Eighteen million people call the Chesapeake Bay watershed their home. It’s rich in history, plays a vital economic role, and is an astonishing source of natural beauty. This precious resource needs help to stay clean and healthy.

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