Chesapeake Bay Magazine May 2020

Stand-Up Guys Paddle the Bay for Oysters

MAY 2020

Horseshoe Crabs Return to the Beaches

Kayaking Virginia’s Dragon Run Watershed

Better Days

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contents

May 2020—Volume 50 Number 1

On the Cover: The Boston Whaler 380 Realm.

Features

56

Where We’re Headed

16

Paddling Dragon Run Teta Kain leads paddlers

62

on a Nature Conservancy float down Virginia’s Dragon Run—by Danny White.

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Blue Bloods & Red Knots

Wendy Mitman Clarke on horseshoe crabs—the Bay’s prehistoric visitors— and their avian companions.

CBM

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20

16

Monkton, Md.

62

Delaware Bay

26

Tilghman Island

34

Pocomoke River

20

Ruther Glen, Va.

56

Dragon Run

56

Taming Dragon Run p. 56

May 2020

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contents

May 2020

Columns

33

Chesapeake Cocktail: The Black-Eyed Susan Enjoy this Preakness classic any time—

34

Chesapeake Almanac: The Pocomoke River Capt. John Page Williams explores the

38

On Boats: Albemarle 27DC A safe and

68

Jody’s Log: Whose Idea Was This Anyway? The best-laid plans of Capt. Jody

72

Wild Chesapeake: Barrier Island Camping Capt. Chris D. Dollar gets away from

80

Stern Lines: Alabaster Moon

Talk of the Bay

33

12 16 20 26

Nikki G. Davidson.

twists and turns on the Eastern Shore.

10

Bellfounders Tilghman Boatbuilders

it all. Far, far away.

30 42 75 79

38

Poet Dave Brashears howls at the moon.

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From the Editor

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Stand-up Guys

Kent County Tourism Real Estate Showcase Brokerage Marketplace

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from the editor

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May 2020

come from the Southern Land of Hugs.

For those of us who grew up in the shade of live oaks and Spanish moss, embracing was a customary gesture of familiarity and affection that conveyed an intimate level of trust and comfort.

We hugged family members and close friends to confirm our connections.

We hugged hello, and we hugged goodbye. If you ever skipped the hug, it suggested that the bond might be in need of mending. Shaking hands was mostly reserved for talking business and sealing deals. It conveyed a good-to-meet-you opening, and it was a signal that you intended to be as good as your word.

It used to be that men didn’t usually hug each other. Handshakes and high-fives were the sociable extent of it.

But that changed as sports heroes started hugging each other in prime-time on the fields and courts. They scored, they won, and they hugged—so it was all right. Soon, everybody was hugging no matter what side of the Mason-Dixon Line they came from. Meanwhile, girls, as far as I could tell, always hugged each other, no matter what.

The advent of the Me-Too Movement justifiably changed the hugging dynamic. Under the shadow of despicable men in power who fractured the lines of trust between genders, men have become more circumspect in encroaching on personal space. I think this has affected behavior in the other direction as well, and hugs have become fewer and farther between— not such a bad thing, I suppose. There are times and situations when a hug is awkward, uncomfortable, too sweaty, or just not appropriate. Anyone who must hug a lot more than the new normal should acquire a Labrador retriever. They are bred to be hugged, anywhere, anytime, for as long as you wish. We’ve done the research on that.

In January, before Covid-19 came ashore, I was cruising the bread aisle when a woman about my age approached me and said, “Do you know that today is National Hug Day?” I didn’t.

“Then, how about it?” she said, and I replied, “Certainly, of course,” and we did—a cordial embrace between strangers.

“Wasn’t that nice?” she said, and I agreed, “Quite nice.” And she said, “How about another?”

“Why not?” I reckoned, and we went in for another squeeze.

“Just makes you feel good, doesn’t it?” she said. “Yes, it does,” I replied, and it truly did, and we went on our way.

On the way home, I was thinking that my incredible wife and I hadn’t hugged in a while. She’s no Labrador retriever, but she likes hugs about as much. So, when I got in the house, I asked her if she knew about the day being National Hug Day and we smiled and leaned into the familiar bear hug that we’ve perfected over so many excellent years. And we agreed that we should do that more often. We’re pretty good at it, after all.

By-the-way, I checked the date on National Hug Day, and the bread-aisle gal was about a week off. Doesn’t matter. A hug is a hug.

That’s all changed with CDC advice and the tightening of governmental mandates. Nobody’s touching. There’s no hugging. It’s weird, and it’s awful.

This reminds me that we don’t miss the simple things until we are restrained from doing them. I’m thinking now of all I would give to be able to hug the people I’ve lost and those who are right here with me now.

joe@chesapeakebaymagazine.com

THE MONTH OF

M AY IN ANNAPOLIS

May means spring is in full swing. Join us in the capital to experience all that Annapolis has to offer. Spend your sunny days supporting local gems that make this city special.

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talk of the bay

L TO R: Chris “Goose” Norman and Chris Hopkinson train for their Bay Paddle mission.

Stand-Up Guys Paddling the length of the Bay for oyster restoration

by Steve Adams

COURTESY PHOTO

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hat would it take to paddleboard the length of the Bay? And why would anyone do it?

Chris Hopkinson and Chris “Goose” Norman intend to answer those questions through the Bay Paddle, a mission-driven trek that will see them launch their high-tech, 16-foot, touring, standup paddleboards in Havre de Grace, at the top of the Bay, and make the roughly 240-mile trip to Virginia Beach, all to raise awareness and support for the Oyster Recovery Partnership (ORP).

Hopkinson was born and raised in Annapolis and always loved being near the Bay but didn’t discover paddleboarding until 2014 when his wife gifted him a board as a way to get brief breaks from their three-kid household.

“I grew up in Annapolis but never had a boat, so my board was actually the first time I could get on the water,” says Hopkinson. “You can see a lot standing on the water, and I love the unique perspective it provides.”

Norman, 31, also a native Annapolitan, got his sea legs at a young age by sailing and windsurfing on the Bay with his father. He began paddleboarding in 2012 and loved the sport so much that he turned it into a business, opening Capital SUP, a popular paddleboard and kayak rental outfit, with two friends in 2014.

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“Paddleboarding is a great way to get on the water without the hassle of owning a boat,” says Norman. “It’s also great exercise and a unique way to see many different parts of the Bay.” Hopkinson saw oysters as nothing more than an appetizer until a few years ago, when he discovered the shellfish’s importance to the Bay while replicating a video of oysters filtering water in an aquarium tank for his daughter’s elementary school science fair project.

“I never knew how important oysters were until I saw the video, learned that a single oyster filters 50 gallons per day, and actually watched them do it with my daughter,” explains Hopkinson.

Intrigued by the impressive work rate of the iconic Chesapeake bivalve, Hopkinson began reading more about oysters and ORP, the organization that made the video. He loved the active mission of the 26-year-old nonprofit, which works to restore the Bay’s oyster population through efforts including oyster habitat restoration, shell recycling, aquaculture, monitoring, outreach, and education. He loved it so much, in fact, that he decided he wanted to support it by doing something action-oriented and

u Visit baypaddle.org to donate and for more information about their journey.

attention-grabbing—paddle the Chesapeake Bay with a goal of raising one million dollars for oyster restoration.

“I’ve always been concerned about the health of the Bay, but the challenge has really been understanding what I can do to help,” says Hopkinson. “So, after learning that the oyster population is down 99 percent from its historical levels, and that there used to be enough oysters to filter the entire Bay in just four days, I came to believe that bringing them back is the single most important thing we can do to help the Bay and every species in its ecosystem. And I know $1 million is an incredibly ambitious goal for a first-time event, but I figured, why start small? Just think— that would put 100 million oysters back in the Bay, filtering five billion gallons of water per day.”

After sending a brief email describing his “crazy idea” to ORP,

Hopkinson landed a meeting with some of its staff who, he says, agreed that it was pretty crazy and seemed to think he was hoping to become “Oyster Gump,” akin to Forrest running across America. However, they soon realized how serious he was and decided to give him their support.

“We definitely thought the idea was a little out there and weren’t sure whether to take Chris seriously at first,” says Allison Albert Guercio, ORP Marketing Manager. “But as time progressed and he made more and more connections, [including getting Norman, whom ORP knew from working with Capital SUP on oystergrowing efforts in the past] to join him, we were happily on board. We loved the audacity of the idea, the adventure, and the opportunity to engage what will hopefully be a huge number of people in something that not only makes oyster

education, awareness, and action interesting but also sets real, tangible goals.”

Guercio says the Bay Paddle will likely become ORP’s most unique fundraising effort to date, but the organization is no stranger to innovative collaborations. Its oyster restoration efforts receive a portion of proceeds from sales of Flying Dog Brewery’s Pearl Necklace Chesapeake Stout, Chesapeake Bay Roasting Company’s Eco-Reef and Oyster Reef Coffees, and the Chesapeake Collection clothing line, plus all proceeds from Baltimore-based TheQG.com Oyster Recovery Partnership necktie sales.

Chesapeake Bay Media, the parent company of this magazine, The Bay Bulletin, Bay Weekly and CBM Productions got a note from their friends at ORP about the project and immediately joined Capital SUP and

May 2020

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talk of the bay

Annapolis-based design firm Vim & Co as early sponsors. Chesapeake Bay Magazine editor in chief Joe Evans says, “As soon as we heard about the mission we did our research and discovered that these guys are the real deal. They’re experienced, prepared, and truly dedicated to making this work, so we felt like we had to jump in to support them.”

Guercio says ORP will take part in the lead-up to the paddle and the event itself. It has already worked with Hopkinson and Vim & Co to develop Bay Paddle branding and BayPaddle. org, where the public can learn about the work carried out by oysters and ORP, view the Bay Paddle itinerary, and make a 100-percent, tax-deductible donation to oyster restoration. ORP also intends to help Hopkinson and Norman organize and host awareness and fundraising events, from paddle-alongs

to happy hours, throughout the summer, and finally joining them in portions of the Paddle itself.

Both paddlers recently completed Chattajack, a 31-mile paddle through the Tennessee River Gorge, and they recognize that paddling the length of the Bay in nine days will be an extreme physical and mental challenge. With that in mind, they’ll be putting in heavy hours of training over the summer on their light, carbon-fiber-on-foam, racing-style paddleboards, which feature pointed bows and rounded “displacement” hulls, which are designed for going long distances.

They’ll also be praying for north winds and clear skies so that they can efficiently cover the following legs of what Hopkinson imagines could be the Chesapeake Bay’s version of the Appalachian Trail when they launch on September 18:

1: Concord Point Lighthouse (Havre de Grace) to Fort Smallwood Park (Pasadena), 40 miles.

2: Fort Smallwood Park to City Dock (Annapolis), 30 miles.

3. City Dock to Chesapeake Beach, 25 miles.

4: Chesapeake Beach to Cove Point Light Station (Lusby), 25 miles.

5: Cove Point to Point Lookout Lighthouse (Lexington Park), 25 miles.

6: Point Lookout to Hughlett Point Natural Area Preserve (Kilmarnock), 25 miles.

7: Hughlett Point to New Port Comfort Lighthouse (Port Haywood), 30 miles.

NEW DOCK LY RENO S & A VAT MEN ED ITIES !

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8: New Port Comfort to Old Point Comfort Lighthouse (Fort Monroe), 25 miles.

9: Old Point Comfort to Cape Henry Lighthouse (Virginia Beach), 15 miles.

Hopkinson and Norman will ask the public to support them before and during the Paddle by training with them this summer, joining them on one or more legs of the paddle, or committing to complete individdual 200-plus-mile-challenges of choice (biking, running, walking, etc.). They hope businesses will do the same through donations of dollars or contributions of gear and equipment, ideally including a sponsored chaseboat to accompany them throughout the journey.

“The mission is to bring our community together around a cause that we all care about,” says Hopkinson. “So, when the paddle feels overwhelming, I’ll remind myself of how great a gift it is to grow up on the Bay, think about all of the people who’ve donated, and get my motivation from knowing that they’re cheering for us and the Bay.” h Steve Adams is an integrated marketing professional with a master’s degree in journalism. He is an avid paddle-boarder, and he intends to join the Bay Paddle when he can.

BAY PADDLE NEWS Visit baypaddle.org for donation information and follow progress through the free Bay Bulletin news service, Bay Weekly, ORP.org and Chesapeake Bay Magazine’s Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter feeds throughout the summer and the entirety of the Paddle.

May 2020

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talk of the bay

Michael Hamilton’s walking sticks tell stories.

Supporting Player Michael Hamilton’s artistic walking sticks provide solace and a natural connection. story & photos by Austin Green Weinstein

M

ichael Hamilton joined the Marine Corps in high school with a 120-day delay. It was the summer of 1969. “That was Woodstock… summer of love… and I started changing my mind about this war thing,” says Hamilton.

“But it was too late, I already signed up, so I had to go. And so, I made up my mind to go, and I wouldn’t change a thing. It happened, and it makes you who you are now.” Hamilton says that seeing how people in a third-world country live makes you really appreciate this country when you get back from a deployment.

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It was a famous unit, the 3rd division, 1st Battalion, 9th Marines, The Walking Dead. Deployed to Vietnam in 1970, Hamilton went to Camp Pendleton for staging. From there he was flown to Okinawa, stopping in Anchorage to refuel. It was at a base on the Japanese Island that they separated the soldiers into the 1st or 3rd Marine division. Hamilton was placed with the 3rd Division.

The first time they went to Vietnam, they were off the coast giving the marines live ammunition and strapping them up with grenades.

The chaplain passed out miniature bibles on the flight deck of the ship.

The helicopters were loud and they were using cigarette butts as ear plugs. “The sphincter factor is pretty good,” Says Hamilton, “It’s scary, especially the first time. And then we did it again…we went to Cambodia.

And I didn’t know that until we were back out. It was funny. And then, you know you sign these papers that you wouldn’t say anything—where we were, what you did. It’s not even in my record. It’s like, not there. And I always wondered why. Well that’s why, ‘cause we went into Cambodia and we weren’t supposed to be there at that time.”

Like many veterans, Hamilton suffers from trauma from his time in the Marines. He lives with the effects of a presumed exposure to Agent Orange and neuropathy in his legs.

But the VA won’t recognize his injuries, despite the discovery that he was drinking and showering in water poisoned by cleaning chemicals at Camp LeJeune, North Carolina . He believes that you have to be diagnosed with a death sentence to receive any compensation. And he gave up on seeking any compensation assistance from the Veterans Administration.

Fast forward 40 years and he’s living along the Gunpowder River in Monkton, Maryland in Gunpowder Falls State Park where he erected a

7 home right along the river. The property boasts fantastic hiking trails and opportunities for nature watching and fishing. “I love seeing the eagles fly by. I love the geese too—we have a resident population here,” The Gunpowder River is an important tributary to the Chesapeake Bay, providing habitat for baitfish populations, which is essential to the estuary and it supports an excellent shad run in the spring.

In the Hereford Zone in Baltimore County, the river is a thriving tailwater with good trout fishing opportunities.

“I just love the river,” he says, “I love the sound of the water running. I love everything about it.” Hamilton, his wife Mollie, their three shepherds and a blind pet squirrel, have deep connections to nature. He spends countless hours grooming his property and restoring habitat. “I prefer things to look as natural as they can be. My wife thinks I’m nuts,

because I work so hard.” Hamilton and his wife have immersed themselves in the park. “I would stay in the woods all day long, and sometimes I do.”

Crafting his walking sticks is much needed therapy, and the process strengthens his connection to nature and the park. “Well, I walk all the time along the river in the woods back here. I used to just pick up a stick, and then I started looking for beaver sticks. I started with a knife, trying some different designs, and it just evolved. And I just try new things and I keep getting better at it. I like doing it because it uses wood and antler sheds from here. It’s sustainable.” He dedicates hours of each day to grooming his piece of the park. Afterwards, he spends time searching for and making good use of its renewable resources.

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connects Hamilton with the military community, their families, and their stories. Hamilton loves working on commissions, and he spends days researching the veterans, their units, and their stories before crafting the walking sticks. His work is extremely symbolic and provides healing to the people he works with to make them.

“I look up their units. I incorporate their logos or patches. Learn about what they did and make it very personal for them. Yah know, it makes it all worthwhile. I got to know these people before I ever met them. Some people I never met personally. But I know so much about them by the time I’m finished that it feels like I know them.”

You can support the military community by commissioning a walking stick from Hamilton for your loved one. Just email him— michaelhamilton05@comcast.net Aside from the military community, Hamilton’s clients include friends, family, and folks who just want a real nice walking stick. “It’s a great feeling. I did one for our IT guy who comes here. His son was killed in Afghanistan. He was in the Air Force.

He was a bomb explosive engineer and he was very proud of that. Yeah, he was sadly killed doing the job he loved, and so I was really worried about doing this thing, doing this stick for him. It was his son, who died, so I was scared I was going to screw it up or something. So, I did as much research as I could, and I really put my heart and soul into it. And when I gave it to his wife… she was in tears.

That’s what makes it so personal, and that’s the reward I get.”

Austin Green Weinstein is a fly-fishing guide and professional photographer.

He is also a senior promotional content producer at WBFF-Channel 45, Baltimore.

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talk of the bay busy,” notes Ben. “I graduated, we got married, moved across the country, Kate began a Ph.D program, and we started the foundry. And we had a baby. And we got a dog.”

Kate explains that they always try to move forward, saying, “We’re like the Vikings, who, when they found a new land, burned the boat so there was no going back home.”

A Relationship Forged in Fire

Ben Sunderlin and his foundry crew pour molten bronze into a mold for one of the new North Carolina State University bell-tower bells.

The Bellfounders Virginia’s Kate and Ben Sunderlin shape a future in the lost art of traditional bell-making.

by Karen Soule

JOE EVANS

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hen they aren’t collecting horse manure from a neighbor’s stable; or when they aren’t gathering leftover hair clippings from a nearby beauty salon; and when they aren’t pouring molten bronze alloys into molds for 800-pound bells, Ben and Kate Sunderlin dream big dreams.

“We hope that 50 years from now, B.A. Sunderlin Bellfoundry could be the heart of a traditional bell making institute in the United States,” Kate explains.

“But right now, we’re focused on building a business.”

The young couple’s focus has not wavered since they opened the only traditional bell foundry in the country. “The last five years have been crazy ChesapeakeBayMagazine.com

May 2020

Home for Ben was Indiana where he and Kate, two art majors, met at Notre Dame University. As part of his Master of Fine Arts studies, Ben taught the foundry class while working on his own research into campanology— the science and art of making bells.

At Notre Dame, he was asked to cast a bell for the retiring commanding officer of the school’s ROTC program, Mike Ryan, a former submarine captain. “I got to know Mike really well,” says Ben. “It was an honor that my bell was part of Mike’s decommissioning ceremony. He was ‘rung off the stage’ exactly 30 years after he was first commissioned in the Navy.”

At the time, Kate was studying art history and museum studies. “It was a good first date,” she remembers. (She asked him out first.) “Notre Dame was playing football and it went into overtime, so I sacrificed to go out with him. But he was worth missing the game for.”

While Kate was finishing her own graduate degree, Ben became entranced by the science and the art of campanology. He researched traditional foundries that lined the bell molds in loam—a soil mixture of sand, silt, and clay. He traveled to France and the United Kingdom and received grants to study at the John Taylor Bell Company in England, founded in 1784. “After that first trip abroad, I fell in love with making bells the way they were made centuries

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u Visit sunderlinfoundry.com for more information on the Foundry. ago,” relates Ben. “I was a student researching the process but secretly, I wanted to master it.”

Sunderlin’s craft bore fruit a few years later with the foundry’s largest single order yet: Fifty-five bells for North Carolina State University’s bell tower. The bells will be part of the tower’s carillon, a massive instrument played with a keyboard. While NC State’s carillon won’t be the world’s largest—that honor goes to Riverside Church in New York City whose carillon weighs over 100 tons—the Sunderlin carillon will be the largest in North Carolina.

Embracing an Ancient Science The process of casting a Sunderlin bell is labor and time intensive, requiring great skill and a bit of fearlessness to mess around with molten metal.

The mold for each bell is made in two parts—the “core” and the “cope.” The iron bell-shaped core is covered with a layer of loam made with Ben’s secret recipe—a mixture of sand, clay, horse dung, and human hair. The loam is shaped or “swept” using a digitally designed and computer-cut wooden template to form the inside of the bell. The cope, or outer part of the bell’s mold, is also lined with loam and smoothed in the same manner.

The two halves are put together creating a space between them.

This is where the molten bronze—a mixture of approximately 80 percent copper and 20 percent tin— will flow.

The bronze, sometimes made from scraps of discarded, broken bells, is continually added to the foundry furnace while the

temperature rises to 2000 degrees Fahrenheit. Ben and his employees, clad in leather aprons, gloves, facemasks, and helmets, carefully pour the liquid metal into the mold buried in a sand pit, which is part of the foundry’s floor. It feels primordial, like witnessing a volcano erupting with sparks flying and lava flowing from the mouth of a crater. And it’s almost as hot.

Given the time to prepare the molds and the energy needed to heat the furnace, the foundry will generally pour more than one bell at a time. The bells need to cool over multiple days before they rise from their “sand box,” cool enough to emerge from their molds. “It is critical for the bells to cool down slowly,” Ben explains. “That produces the most refined and balanced tone.”KKK

ChesBay_Half_May2020_Layout 1 3/13/20 11:17 AM Page 1

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Revering the Art That’s the science of their work—tin and copper combined with skill and knowledge, heat and hair. But Ben and Kate bring much more than science to their business. They bring a reverence for the art, something easily appreciated after the bell is polished and tuned, its “voice” sparkling, thundering or soaring.

Making each bell pitch-perfect requires shaving off slivers of bronze from inside the bell. For an 800-pound bell, 50-75 pounds of bronze might be lathed-off to get the perfect tone. The shavings are saved and molded into bricks for another bell.

“Bigger, thicker bells have more presence,” notes Ben. “They have the ‘oomph’ needed to pierce the air.”

Smaller bells, called “trebles” have higher pitches. And if a bell just won’t tune? “We melt it down and make another,” he says.

B.A. Sunderlin Bellfoundry, housed in a former warehouse just off Interstate 95 north of Richmond, VA, is also home to their bell-making museum. Drawing on Kate’s expertise in curatorial studies, the museum has exhibits depicting the history of campanology and the tools of their craft. Kate also has a cannon on display revealing just how similar bells and cannons are.

“There’s a wonderful duality to realize that the same craftsmen who made weapons of war also made these objects that celebrate the spiritual aspirations of humanity,” Ben explains with a far-off look on his face. “Bells had this kind of spiritual power back then. They were used to drive away evil spirits and served as a kind of shield in the wilds of the world.

“These are the things that fascinate both of us and what we talk about in our free time.”

Kate and Ben’s free time is rather limited these days. Along with taking care of their daughter, Jane, Kate gives tours of the foundry to groups, manages the front office, and works on her dissertation.

Ben pours bells and builds the foundry’s’ maintenance and restoration work for churches, cities, and universities. He once mused about recasting the nation’s Liberty Bell in a TedX talk, but noted that would be unwise. A bell does more than just ring.

So, for today, it’s fair to say that a Sunderlin bell cast in 2020 will still be ringing 250 years from now. It’s the alloy that dreams are made of.

Karen and David Soule sail their Ericson 38 Soulmate out of Fishing Bay Yacht Club in Deltaville.

Guided Tours of the Bell Foundry Museum and the Foundry are available by appointment.

Adult: $20 Students, Military and Seniors: $15 Children under 5 years old: Free Groups of 15+: $10 per person Guided Tours with a pour: $30.

The Sunderlins also accept commissions for decorative and special-occasion bells, and they provide tower clock restoration, maintenance and repair services.

To schedule, contact kate@ sunderlinfoundry.com, 804-822-0800.

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Father and son, John and J.C. Kinamon, in J.C.’s Tilghman Island boat shop.

Mighty Fine Boats

Father and son continue the Tilghman Island boatbuilding tradition.

by Larry Chowning

J

ohn C. Kinnamon Sr. and his son J.C., of Tilghman Island, Maryland are steadily turning out fiberglass-over-wood Chesapeake Bay deadrise workboats for Maryland and Virginia commercial fisherman.

The Kinnamons are native Tilghman Islanders. Their lives as professional boatbuilders are strongly tied to their growing-up years, when commercial fishing and boatbuilding were vital to island life. They each own commercial fishing boats and work in Maryland’s blue crab trotline fishery. J.C., with the help of his father, builds about four new glass-over-wood deadrise workboats a year. With knowledge that comes from first-hand experience, the Kinnamons have clear insight into what a Chesapeake Bay waterman wants and needs in a workboat.

Life started for John 82 years ago when a local mid-wife assisted his mother Mary in delivering him into this world. He was born in a house on Bar Neck Road along the Blackwalnut Cove shoreline. Shortly thereafter, the family moved across the cove, to a home on Fairbanks Road where he grew-up. The house had electricity in two rooms, no running water, and two coal-oil stoves to heat the kitchen and living room, he said.

John’s father, Elmer, was a commercial fisherman who worked out of a 42-foot Hooper Island-built, box-stern deadrise. A man seldom forgets what he pays for his

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first house. A commercial waterman never forgets the price of that first new workboat and passes that knowledge on to his son.

“Daddy had that boat built in the early 1940s on Hooper Island and paid $375. It was brand new,” said John.

“That’s all he paid for it. You know [at that price] it was a long time ago.”

John’s father ran fishing parties, and drift-netted for rockfish from his boat.

“I learned early in life what a good boat meant to a waterman’s family,” he said. “I also learned from working the water what watermen need in a workboat.”

John got a taste of boatbuilding early in life alongside his grandfather, Al Kinnamon, who built row and tow skiffs on the island. “My grandfather built fish [also called tow] skiffs for haul-seine and pound-net fishermen,” he said. He also built John a new row skiff and gave it to him on his eleventh birthday.

“If you were a boy growing up in the city, you’d get a new bicycle to ride

around on, but on the island, a boy got a row skiff, and that was a big deal,” he said. “When I got that skiff, I thought I was king of the island.”

John used his row skiff as a platform to chase down crippled geese, trap muskrats, pole the shallows to dip-net soft-shell crabs, and catch a grey trout or two on hook-and-line for his mother’s frying pan.

“I spent a lot of time with my toes in the mud,” he recalls. “In the summer, when I’d go soft crabbing, I used a car inner tube and a basket to hold my catch. I’d tie a line to the basket and around my waist and wade along, chasing down soft-shells with a dip-net.

We children had a steady market. There was an old fellow who bought crabs from us. He paid us twenty-five cents for a dozen crabs providing they all had two claws. If just one crab was missing a claw, he wanted a baker’s dozen for twenty-five cents.”

The Beginning In 1954, John quit school in the tenth grade and enlisted in the Navy. When he came home from military service, he bought an old boat, and he and his grandfather fixed it up. John worked it in the oyster and crab seasons. Over time, he realized he had a knack for fixing-up and selling old boats. “I’d fix one up for the spring trotline and fall oyster seasons; work it myself and then sell it just before Christmas. That gave me Christmas money for my family and time to fix-up another old boat,” he said.

“That’s how I got into the boatbuilding business.”

In the mid-1960s, John started working at area boatyards. He worked at Kastel Boatyard in St. Michaels and Fluharty’s Boatyard on Tilghman Island where he expanded his knowledge of wooden boat construction. He built his first commercial workboats in 1969. His first six new boats were deadrises built of wood with cross-planked bottoms.

All the while, he was repairing old boats and maintaining a boat of his own.

While repairing his own boats, he started experimenting with fiberglass.

Around 1974, Tilghman Island boatbuilder Bunky Miller purchased boat plans to build a fiberglass-overplywood boat from Glen L. Witt of Glen L Marine in California. “Bunky built a boat and used it himself and then built another one for his son-in-law,” said John. “I saw the boats and I liked them.

I talked Bunky into building one for me.

He also agreed to allow me to help him build the boat so I could learn the technique.

“We got about two thirds finished when Bunky turned the job over to me,” said John. “The day it was completed a man came by and bought the boat. I immediately started another one and before I could finish it, I had it sold, and I had orders for two more boats.”

As John experimented with fiberglass-over-wood construction, he saw where he could incorporate changes closer to the style and design of the traditional Chesapeake Bay deadrise workboat. “When we started, nobody much on Tilghman Island knew

anything about fiberglass,” said John.

“We learned as we went and flew by the seat of our pants.”

J.C. Enters the Business J.C. grew-up on Tilghman Island with a similar upbringing. “I don’t guess I was much more than five years old when Daddy took me in the boat-shop and put a hammer and nails in my hands. I’ve been beating nails ever since,” said J.C..

“I started with a row-skiff, trapping muskrat and catching soft-shell crabs in the summer,” he said. “I loved to work a trotline, and Daddy gave me an old/new boat every year. If we were going to have much of a Christmas, I knew the boat I used in the summer would have to be fixed up and sold, so I didn’t get to attached to any boat I had.”

When J.C. graduated from high school in 1987, he went to work for his father and he continued to work in the trotline fishery. The father and son have an affable relationship, and they like to tell stories on each other. Sitting in J.C.’s warm boat-shop with the father and

A new Kinamon deadrise work boat goes through her paces in Virginia.

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son huddled around a warm barrel wood stove, John told the story of 12-year-old J.C. who proudly brought home three Canada geese he had killed while hunting. “J.C. laid the geese on the kitchen floor. One of the geese won’t dead. He jumped up and started flying around the house,” said John.

“We had a time catching that goose. I told him, ‘next time J.C., make sure the goose is dead before you bring him home.’”

J.C. spun his own yarn—a story of the boat his father built that was “positively not for sale!”

“Twenty years ago, Daddy built a boat for himself to go trot-lining,” said J.C.. “It was outside of his boat-shop by the road when a watermen came by and asked him how much he wanted for the boat.

“Daddy said, ‘the boat’s not for sale at any price!”

“The next day the same watermen came by with a cigar box full of cashmoney and dropped it on our kitchen table,” said J.C..

“Daddy counted the money out.”

John interrupted—”Yeah, I couldn’t get the word ‘sold’ out of my mouth fast enough!”

Building Boats Today J.C. builds about four boats a year with his father helping out. John builds a boat a year in his shop located next to his home near the bridge crossing over into Tilghman. J.C.’s shop is located just across Knapps Narrow Bridge on the island.

J.C. built four 38-foot deadrise boats in 2019, and John built one for himself to go crabbing. When asked what fisheries are fueling their boatbuilding businesses, J.C. said, “I can tell you in two words— Virginia oysters!”

Over the past two decades, Virginia oyster harvesting has been on the rise, and that has contributed to a demand for new deadrise workboats. Virginia’s oyster harvest hit a low in 2001 when 23,000 bushels were harvested with a dockside value $575,000. Since then, Virginia oyster harvests have grown to over 600,000 bushels a year with a dockside value over $25 million.

Growth in the state’s wild oyster and oyster aquaculture fisheries have contributed to the resurgence.

Kinnamon boats are mainly going to Virginia watermen who are working in the wild oyster fishery and in the Bay’s crab-pot fishery.

Thomas Lee Walton of Walton’s Seafood in Urbanna had J.C. build him a 39-by-11-foot deadrise workboat in 2013.

For years, Thomas Lee and his sons worked out of small outboard-powered fiberglass boats to fish peeler pots

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during the crab season and a 22-inch oyster dredge in Virginia’s public oyster season. The Waltons operate a small oyster-shucking house in the winter and shed soft-shell crabs in the warmer months. With the decline of Virginia’s oyster fishery in the 1990s and early 2000s, oystering had become a secondary business. The demand for the 39-footer came with the emergence of the oyster fishery and the way Virginia started managing the fishery.

In 2007, Virginia initiated a rotational-harvest management plan for certain restored public oyster grounds to give the beds a rest and time to rejuvenate. Virginia’s public grounds range from James River on the Bay’s western shore to Tangier Sound on Virginia’s Eastern Shore. Tangier Sound is a considerable distance from Urbanna, and too far for the Waltons to run daily in a small open boat. The new

39-footer can make the trip to Tangier Sound with relative ease, offers a sturdy dry work platform, and has a comfortable house/pilothouse setup for overnight stays. The Waltons also use the boat to fish and move large numbers of pots in the crab pot fishery.

With the comeback of oysters, J.C. said Virginia watermen are able to spread the cost of a new deadrise workboat out over two fisheries. “When they can make money in their boat crabbing and oystering, versus using the boat in just one fishery, they can justify having a new boat built,” he said.

In February, J.C. had a nearly complete 38-foot glass-over-wood deadrise, which will go to Virginia watermen David Parks of Morattico on the Rappahanock River. Parks will use his new boat in the blue crab and oyster fisheries. Outside of John’s shop was a new 35-foot glass-over-wood deadrise

that he built over the winter for himself to work his trotline. J.C. said his father has already had a waterman come-by asking if the boat is for sale. “I told him it was not for sale,” said John.

J.C. winked at his father and said, “We’ll see if anyone comes by with a cigar box full of cash!”

As we sat and talked, J.C. had left the boat-shed, and John spoke candidly of his son. “When J.C. graduated from high school, I encouraged him to stand on his own and not be in my shadow,” said John. “Now I’m old and I’m in his shadow. He builds a mighty fine boat and I’m so very proud of him.” h A longtime Chesapeake Bay writer from Urbanna, Va., Larry Chowning has authored nine books, including Deadrise and Crossplanked and Chesapeake Buyboats, definitive histories of iconic Chesapeake Bay vessels.

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Cure your CABIN

FEVER

with Kent County open spaces Once we’re past the pall that’s been cast across the globe, it will be time to get out of the house and breath in some fresh, clean country air. One great place with deliciously open spaces waits just an hour or two’s drive away on Maryland’s upper Eastern Shore: Kent County.

Across the Kent’s expansive countryside of forest and farmland, set on a peninsula nestled between the Chester River, Sassafras River and the Chesapeake Bay, you’ll find endless opportunities to do whatever it is that you’ve been longing to get out to do all this time: hiking, biking, birding, boating, fishing, paddling, swimming, camping, picnicking – anything that sets your blood to flowing and your heart to healing.

You can combine bird watching with any other activity. In fact, in Kent County, it’s hard to ignore all the song birds, waterfowl and raptors you’ll come across in habitats that range from farm fields to salt marshes and forests. You can see more than 300 species, including 24 different kinds of ducks, herons, terns, swallows, sparrows, blackbirds and lots of ospreys and eagles.

The Millington Wildlife Management Area abuts the Mason-Dixon Line. The trails take you through the wooded nesting habitats of forest-dwelling birds such as thrushes, tanagers, ovenbirds and other song birds.

The Sassafras Natural Resource Management Area and nearby Turner’s Creek County Park offer miles of trails. Turner’s Creek has a pavilion on a bluff overlooking the Sassafras River where you can spot nesting birds like herons, eagles, swallows and warblers.

There’s a spacious picnic pavilion on the

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bluff overlooking the river that’s available for rent. It would be the perfect setting for a reunion celebration with all the family and friends you’ve been isolated from all this time. Contact Kent County’s Department of Parks and Recreation to make a reservation.

boat ramp. A picnic pavilion perched on the bluff overlooks the beach, with an expansive view of the Chesapeake Bay. This pavilion can also be reserved for private events by calling the Kent County Department of Parks and Recreation.

The National Audubon Society cites Eastern Neck Wildlife Refuge as one of Maryland’s best birding hot spots. This 2,285-acre island at the mouth of the Chester River provides visitors with an opportunity to sample its bird list of more than 250 species by driving or biking four miles of paved roads or by hiking its six trails. There’s also a boat ramp where you can launch out on a water trail. You can see eagles year-round, and ospreys are common all summer long.

Rock Hall also has a small swimming beach and gazebo at Ferry Park, located on Beach Road. With picnic tables, barbecue stands, and pavilions, it offers outstanding views from the Chesapeake Bay to the western shore and allows you to experience some of the best sunsets imaginable. The boat ramp at Rock Hall Landing has direct access to the open Bay.

There’s a wildlife habitat tour at Chesapeake Farms that’s open to the public in season, where you can get close views of waterfowl, eagles, osprey, shorebirds, and songbirds without getting out of your car.

Kent County boasts 343 miles of open bay and protected river shoreline pocketed by isolated coves and creeks, and accessing all that water is easy. There are 30 public boat landings, more than any other county on the Bay. They range from the soft-launch for a car-top kayak on the upper reaches of the Sassafras to the cement launch ramp for trailerable boats at Bogle’s Wharf on Eastern Neck Island, so there’s no limit to the adventures you can plan for you and your sailboat or powerboat. Check the web site for permit requirements. Kayaks and canoes have access not only to the rivers and streams but also several interior lakes.

In Rock Hall, you can park your RV at the Bayshore Campground or pitch a tent by the water. The campground’s amenities include a private beach, bathrooms with showers, electrical outlets, volleyball courts, basketball courts and horseshoe pits.

You can also swim at the historic resort town of Betterton Beach. They have a five-acre waterfront park with a wide, sandy beach, a volleyball court, bathhouse, stone fishing jetty, and a

The best part about swimming in the waters of Kent County is that it is fresh, not brackish like in the lower portions of the Bay, where stinging jellyfish called “sea nettles” can ruin an otherwise refreshing dip.

Besides the campground, Kent County offers more than 40 options for weekend or week-long lodging, from historic inns and bed-and-breakfasts to modern hotels.

You can luxuriate in waterfront estates or unwind in a countryside vineyard farm stay. There are a number of hosts offering private cottages. Amenities range from simple comforts like bikes and kayaks and trails to explore your surroundings, to swimming pools and other upscale perks.

These are just a few of the accommodations you’ll find on the Kent County web site, along with restaurants featuring the finest Chesapeake Bay seafood and farm-totable cuisine, so you can make a whole weekend’s adventure out of your excursion. So grab those you’ve been hunkered down with and take them out to Kent County for a breath of fresh air.

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CALENDAR OF EVENTS

Kent County is host to amazing annual events. Please check the events websites to verify 2020 dates, for some may be rescheduled due to uncertain times.

Chestertown’s Music in the Park Summer

followed by rides, crafts, food & vendors at the

Concert Series provides visitors with an op-

beach. Free Admission. Parking & rides available.

portunity to experience a variety of music from their lawn chairs during free performances by local and regional artists. These concerts

Chestertown Tea Party The annual festival has been cancelled for 2020, but will return Memorial Day

highlight all types of music including big band, jazz, bluegrass, and rock.

Pirates and Wenches Fantasy Weekend August 14 - 16, 2020 Rock Hall, Maryland www.rockhallpirates.com Rock Hall’s Pirates and Wenches Fantasy Week-

Fourth of July in Kent County

end is a town-wide theme party now in its 13th

A countywide weekend full of fun, including

year. The weekend long, town-wide, theme

three days of fireworks in Rock Hall, Great

party features a sea shanty sing-along, rum

Oak, and Chestertown.

tasting, decorated dinghy contest, Caribbean

www.nationalmusic.us

Kent County 4H Fair

beach party, the Buccaneer’s Ball, 5K run/walk,

The National Music Festival transforms Kent

July 16 - 18, 2020

County into a hub of music for two weeks ev-

Chestertown, Maryland

ery June. The nationally recognized event pairs

www.kentcountyfair.org

Legacy Day

gifted apprentice musicians with world-class

Thursday through Saturday, there is something

August 15, 2020

mentors. These performers set out together for

for everyone as always from great food, arts and

Chestertown

open, free, rehearsal and incredible perfor-

crafts, tractor pulls, and midway rides, the 4-H

https://garpost25.org/legacy-day-2020/

mances in venues across the Eastern Shore.

Livestock and Cake Auctions. It is a great and

Legacy Day celebrates the rich cultural heritage

fun way to support our young 4-H members.

of African Americans in Kent County. It’s an

Betterton Day

opportunity for all to have a great time recog-

weekend in 2021.

National Music Festival Postponed to August 8th-15th Various locations throughout Kent County

Chestertown’s “Music in the Park” Summer Concert Series

entertainment and pirate performers, costume contests, treasure hunt and much more.

Alternating Saturdays Beginning June 20 to

August 1, 2020

nizing their shared history. This year’s theme is

August 29, 7 - 8:30 p.m.

Betterton, Maryland

Kent’s Outstanding African American Athletes

Fountain Park in Chestertown, Maryland

Parade starts down Main St. at 10:30 a.m.

of the 20th Century. Free.

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Learn more at HAVENHARBOUR.COM.

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2 ounces Rye Whiskey 2 ounces Orange Juice 1 ounce Lime Juice 1 ounce Simple Syrup 1. Combine ingredients in a shaker.

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The Pocomoke Exploring the Twisting Beauty of this Eastern Shore River story by John Page Williams/photos by Matthew Kane

T

he Pocomoke River is lovely at any time of year, but spring is special. From the small community of Rehobeth upstream past Pocomoke City and Snow Hill to Porter’s Crossing, the river’s bald cypress trees are putting out their soft green needles, and if you look closely, you’ll see a flash of bright gold in the trees as a male prothonotary warbler shows off to attract a mate. Largemouth bass, crappie, and chain pickerel chase minnows among the stems of the broad-leaved spatterdock marshes growing in the shallows.

The Pocomoke river rises at the easternmost point in the Chesapeake watershed in Sussex County, Delaware, then flows through Maryland’s Wicomico, Worcester, and Somerset Counties to Pocomoke Sound in Accomack County, Virginia. It is part of the northernmost cypress swamp on the Atlantic coast.

Swamps and their adjacent marshes served native Chesapeake peoples over centuries as highways, food sources, and shelter. In the early seventeenth century, European settlers came with metal tools, horses, and a different point of view, exploiting this swamp for timber and bog iron, but otherwise considering it dangerous and unhealthful. After harvesting the swamp’s light, strong, and rot-resistant cypress and Atlantic white cedar trees, they drained it to allow agricultural fields and commercial pine plantations to grow in the otherwise waterlogged soils. Only in the latter half of the twentieth century did science begin to teach us the Pocomoke swamp’s many ecological and ecosystem-service values.

Now we are finally learning to restore and conserve it.

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May 2020

English colonists came to Jamestown in 1607 to gather the riches of the New World. To most of them, the prizes were the gold and silver they mistakenly believed to be here. Captain John Smith, on the other hand, is said to have remarked that what he saw was ships’ masts. Britain had harvested most of its large timber, so the virgin forests of the Chesapeake represented a less glamorous but far more useful resource to the pragmatic Smith. It appears that he explored the Pocomoke on his initial voyage of discovery in June 1608, so he would have seen the river’s giant cypresses and Atlantic white cedars.

Sure enough, by the midseventeenth century, English colonists had settled parts of the Pocomoke, and logging has been an industry there ever since with raw lumber shipped out of Pocomoke City and Snow Hill. It had its risks, though. The river’s channel is deep but narrow with tight meandering turns that made sailing a serious challenge. Later on, those bends would challenge steamboats, diesel-powered buyboats, and tugs pushing barges— and there were other issues. In the winter of 1938, the 80-foot buyboat Vigilant with a crew from Virginia’s Northern Neck (including my late friend Earl Jenkins) got trapped for six weeks by ice with a deckload of lumber at the wharf in Pocomoke City. The Depression was on, and there was no money. The crew shivered through on potatoes and cornbread with their only amusement being the Grand Ole Opry on Saturday nights on an AM radio in

the dockside showroom of Duncan Brothers Chevrolet.

In the early nineteenth century, the other local industry was digging out the swamp’s crude bog-iron ore and smelting it in a furnace built at the headwaters of Nassawango Creek, the river’s big tributary, to produce iron pigs that were shipped to Baltimore for manufacture. Today, the Furnace Town historic site offers tours of that remarkable enterprise from the dawn of the Industrial Revolution. The iron furnace failed in mid-century, and the Pocomoke forest gradually took over the site. During the 1930s, workers from the Civilian Conservation Corps dug extensive ditches along Nassawango Creek. They also “channelized” (dredged and straightened) nine miles of the river above Snow Hill to drain the swampland for agriculture and commercial pine plantations. The concept seemed to make business

sense at the time, but the changes damaged water quality and the ecological value of the forest along the river.

The 1950s brought birders to the Pocomoke to observe the warblers that nested in the cypresses. Anglers also came to fish for largemouth bass.

Maryland established two extensive

parks between Snow Hill and Pocomoke City—Shad Landing and Milburn Landing. Snow Hill and Pocomoke City developed riverfront parks with launch ramps. As we began to recognize the value of the swamps and wetlands, The Nature Conservancy’s Maryland Chapter began an extraordinary forty-year effort to

Welcome to Southern Maryland!

Welcome to

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conserve land along Nassawango Creek and to restore the natural channel of the river above Snow Hill.

The guiding spirits of this effort were Joe and Ilia Fehrer of Snow Hill.

Joe had been a National Park Service

executive involved with establishing the Assateague Island National Seashore, but in retirement, he and Ilia spent countless hours advocating for conservation and guiding fellow canoeists along Nassawango Creek and

the river. Since then, TNC’s volunteers and staff have built the Nassawango Creek Preserve into 9,953 acres of the watershed. Joe and Ilia are gone now, but their son Joe carries on the work as TNC’s preserve manager.

The National Aquarium in Baltimore, the Maryland Conservation Corps, and TNC have built a partnership with Worcester and Wicomico County schools in which sixth-grade students raise Atlantic white cedar seedlings in their classrooms over the fall and winter, then plant them in an area of the creek’s headwaters where old drainage ditches have been plugged to restore the original soggy hydrology. Since 2009, the partnership has planted more than 36,000 Atlantic white cedars.

In a separate project, a broad partnership of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, the U.S. Geological Survey, the U.S. Natural Resources Conservation

Keep Our Bay Serene and Clean Dumping boat sewage into the water is bad for our health and the environment.

Use bathrooms, dump stations, and pumpout facilities instead.

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KEEP OUR WATER CLEANUSE PUMPOUTS

PHOTO

BY STEVE STEVEAN ALL AN PHOTO TO BY ALL

Visit http://bit.ly/vdhcva or call (804) 864-7467 for a map of sewage pumpout stations or to report a broken pumpout.

Service, the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, TNC, the Fish & Wildlife Foundation, the France-Merrick Foundation, and local landowners began in 2012 to “free the river” by carving more than one-hundred breaches in the banks of the nine-mile channelized section. These cuts are gradually restoring the Pocomoke’s natural flooding cycle and the swamp’s natural ecological functions. Over time, the river will feel the project’s benefits all the way down to Pocomoke Sound.

Today, the Pocomoke is a true Chesapeake jewel. The small scale of the river makes it especially appropriate for paddling canoes and kayaks. In the Pocomoke River State Park, Shad and Milburn Landings offer access, with Shad Landing providing canoe and kayak rentals and a short itinerary on Corker’s Creek. In Snow Hill, by the Route 12 Bridge, the Pocomoke River Canoe Co. offers rentals and shuttles (including for private boats). There is plenty to see in the immediate vicinity of their landing, but two favorite one-way itineraries are the easy run from Porter’s Crossing down the main river to Snow Hill (5.5 miles) and the trip from Red House Road to Snow Hill (6.5 miles) on Nassawango Creek (the Fehrers’ favorite.)

To see the Pocomoke’s transition from cypress swamp to broad tidal marsh in your own boat, head south below Pocomoke City to the public landing at Rehobeth to explore the river and nearby creeks. Look for the warblers, ospreys, and eagles, and carry a light spinning rod to cast spinners, spoons, and jigs for bass, crappie, and chain pickerel. The Pocomoke will put a springtime smile on your face.

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CBM Editor at Large John Page Williams is a fishing guide, educator, author, and naturalist, saving the Bay since 1973. In 2013, at the urging of CBM's current editor-in-chief, the state of Maryland proclaimed him an Admiral of the Bay. May 2020

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on boats

u Learn more about the Albemarle 27DC at albemarleboats.com.

Albemarle 27DC An ideal dual-console boat for Chesapeake and coastal family fun and fishing

by John Page Williams

T

COURTESY PHOTOS

he first assignment for a true family boat is to give exciting but safe and comfortable boat rides.

Anybody who has hosted a Albemarle 27DC group on a busy summer weekend around Hampton LOA: 30' Roads, Deltaville, or Annapolis Hull Length: 27' 4" can attest that the confused Beam: 8' 8" seas of those high-traffic areas Draft: 31" (engines down) can make a Saturday morning Fuel Capacity: 170 gal. or Sunday afternoon ride a Engine Options: Twin jarring experience. But not if Yamaha F200 or F250 the family boat is Albemarle’s Available through Dare 27 DC (dual console). True to Marina & Yacht Sales— her Carolina Classic roots, (The daremarina.com. venerable Albemarle and

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Carolina Classic boat companies merged in 2015) her 24-degree deep-V hull runs bowproud to cleave the chop, while her classic Carolina-style flare, sharp strakes, and reverse chines keep spray out to the sides. Yes, this company’s hulls are known for their bluewater fishing prowess, but that seaworthiness produces plenty of benefits for family and guests throughout the Chesapeake as well.

The 27DC’s layout is certainly familyfriendly. That compound adjective generally describes plenty of secure seating, shade from summer sun, at least one readily accessible cooler for food and beverages, a work surface for making sandwiches, a freshwater sink, a comfortable head

compartment laid out for grown people, a swim platform with ladder, storage for water toys, and maybe a cushioned space for naps.

This well-designed, open bow area is a great place for young boaters to ride with the wind in their hair under the watchful eyes of the skipper and first mate. The 27DC checks all of those boxes.

The deep bow cockpit is secure, with a seat cushion, bolster, and recessed handrail on each side. It also offers side pockets for sunblock and sunglasses, drink holders, and cushions against the port and starboard consoles that convert the seats to forwardfacing lounges for two. It simply invites engagement and relaxation. It’s a place where kids of all ages will want to hang out.

Meanwhile, the portside companion seat behind the windshield is wide enough for two, with an aft-facing seat behind, on top of the primary, 64-quart food/beverage cooler. There are also twin, cushioned, fold-down seats in the port quarter of the cockpit and against the transom to complete the seating for four guests.

The cockpit is wide enough to offer easy movement with a transom door to starboard leading to a full-width Armstrong bracket that mounts twin Yamaha F200s and serves as a

swim platform with a shower wand connected to the boat’s 23-gallon freshwater tank. The starboard side of the cockpit holds a molded cabinet with freshwater sink and storage or tackle drawers. The sturdy hardtop is optional, but we can’t see ordering the boat without it. It complements the large, three-sided windshield perfectly, adding stout handholds and mounts for zip-on weather curtains that can button up the helm area completely, making the 27DC a legitimate three-season boat in the Chesapeake.

And, by the way, its aft edge can mount a pylon for tow sports.

A look at the helm brings us back to Albemarle’s fishing heritage. It’s all business, with space for a pair of flush-mounted twelveinch GPS/fish-finder displays, a digital engine and fuel management display, a VHF, a stereo, trim tab and electrical breaker switches, a flush-mounted compass, a stainless-steel steering wheel with knob, a footrest, and a skipper’s chair with a flip-up bolster. Between the consoles, a hinged windshield panel and a folding door can shut out gnarly weather for long runs. The self-bailing cockpit is molded with large scuppers. A sea-water pump allows a hose-it-out washdown at day’s end. The lockable, starboard console holds racks for May 2020

ABOVE: (L) The helm area features a wrap-around windshield, head and changing space access, comfy seating, easy passage to and from the cushioned bow lounge, and cooler access.

(R) The bow space is arranged for comfort, play, and fishing.

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The spacious, fish-and-play cockpit is backed up with a standard pair of 200-hp Yamahas

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four rods, with holders for four more in the legs of the hardtop and four in the cockpit gunwales. Overall, the layout provides plenty of space for casting to breaking fish, jigging, and bottom-fishing from the forward and aft cockpits, and the hardtop offers mounts to pull planer boards while trolling. For the latter technique, the aft-facing, port cockpit seat makes a perfect mezzanine for watching the lines. The cockpit sole holds a large, insulated fishbox with a macerator pump-out system, and a lazarette hatch with a bracket for a five-gallon bucket and easy access to plumbing, wiring, and pumps. The transom holds a lighted livewell with “calming blue� gelcoat and see-through lids.

Per standard Albemarle procedure, the all-composite construction is stout, with rugged

and well-organized systems and painstaking quality control, which includes a factory sea trial for each vessel.

Underway, the boat simply feels solid, inspiring confidence. Our test boat featured a pair of Yamaha’s durable four-cylinder F200s, which provided plenty of performance, balanced the hull well, and offered good fuel efficiency for a boat this size. We saw the best cruising speeds in the 25- to 30-knot range at 4,000 to 4,500 rpm, with fuel burns of 14- to 18-gallons-per-hour and conservative range well over 250 miles. Top speed exceeds 40 knots. A pair of 250-hp Yamaha V-6s is optional but probably overkill, in our opinion.

One other note: Albemarle now offers a 31DC, which presents an interesting contrast with the 27DC here on the Chesapeake.

While it is only four feet longer and certainly more substantial, it is half-again as heavy, with optional air conditioning, generator, and a Seakeeper gyro stabilizer, but requiring twin 300- or 350-hp engines at twice the cost and complexity.

It also is not as nimble for tow-sports and gunkholing. It’s probably a better boat for overnights and extended cruising. Meanwhile, the 27DC covers everything from summer evening boatrides to fall-season jigging at the mouth of the Potomac and wreck fishing off the Virginia Capes. It’s what we call a "big little boat," an overachiever that punches above its weight.

Base price for the 27 Dual Console with twin Yamaha F200s and a hardtop is $194,800.

CBM Editor at Large and author John Page Williams is an educator and Maryland fishing guide. In 2013, the State of Maryland proclaimed him an Admiral of the Bay.

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homes

ď ľ Visit HorsleyRealEstate.com for more information on this home.

Blue Heron Contemporary Northern Neck/White Stone, VA PRICE: $1,349,000 Exquisitely designed residence on a point of waterfront just off the Chesapeake Bay. Exterior features include 5’ mean low water at the pier with two boat lifts on Tabbs Creek, waterfront pool, pool house, built-in grill, and a screen porch.

Best blue crabs, oysters, and fishing right outside!

Noted architect, James Gauer, captures the perfect balance of waterfront views and natural light. Terrific interior features with highest quality materials, main level radiant heated floors, and smart house technology. Two-story high ceiling in the great room with a dining area all open to a gourmet kitchen with a massive island. The first floor waterfront master suite is highlighted with an exterior spa, luxurious bathroom, and a sitting room. The home is further enhanced with a waterfront ensuite library, three waterfront guest rooms upstairs, plus a third floor star-gazing nook with a built in bench seat.

Excellent proximity to towns, hour+ to Richmond, Williamsburg, two+ hours to Northern Virginia or Charlottesville. Visit www.horsleyrealestate.com/blueheron-contemporary for more details and video.

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VIRGINIA’S BAY DREAMS ON STOVE POINT DELTAVILLE

FIRST OFFERING Endless Chesapeake Bay views and the area’s most desirable location. Heated pool, wide pristine shoreline + sandy bottom and deck at water’s edge. Superb custom construction featuring 5 bedrooms/ 4.5 baths, chef’s kitchen, huge screen porch. Incomparable bayfront living. $1,375,000

LE CHATEAU

WHITE STONE/ NORTHERN NECK

Imagine Sunsets up the Rappahannock River, great access to the Chesapeake Bay with 4’MLW at the Pier, gorgeous days by the Waterfront Pool with a summer’s Kitchen complete with a Pool House plus an exquisite Estate Sized home with oversized rooms having breathtaking views & 6 bedrooms including a luxurious Master Suite. Situated on 6 Acres, two detached garages with room for 7 cars & apartment above. $2,450,000

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Voted Best Real Estate Firm 6 Consecutive Years!

Real estate professionals are modernizing to meet challenging times Spring is typically the busiest time of year for home sales, but the coronavirus pandemic has upended business as usual.

How are real estate professionals around the Bay adapting?

Like the rest of us, they are getting creative.

With social distancing requirements, it’s no surprise that many buyers and sellers are nervous about showings. If we can’t allow our relatives into our home, the idea of letting in a complete stranger seems absurd. In response, many realtors are turning to 3D virtual tours and even FaceTime to serve the market.

Bo Bragg, principal broker at Bragg & Company in Kilmarnock, Virginia, recently sold a home on Prentice Creek to a gentleman who made an offer sight-unseen. “Zillow’s 3D app allowed him to walk through the home as if he were there in person and even step outside to admire the landscaping,” says Bragg. “He used NOAA.gov to explore the creek’s controlling depths and calculate the distance to the Bay, and he researched the neighborhood and school districts all online.”

Zillow has expanded their virtual tour offerings, allowing buyers to choose between a video tour and an in-person tour where a licensed agent walks through the home while on FaceTime with the buyer. “That’s a great tool” says Bragg, “because the buyer can ask the agent to look in that cupboard or open that cabinet. It’s all done in real-time, which makes for a better experience.”

Katie and David Dew, 3rd generation leaders and brokers of Horsley Real Estate in White Stone, Virginia, believe that

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SPONSORED CONTENT

these enhanced tools have streamlined the entire process and helped their business stay nearly in synch with last year despite the challenges.

“While there are fewer people visiting the Northern Neck on the weekends,” says Katie, “traffic to our website is higher than usual for this time of year, and buyers appear to be better qualified and have already narrowed their search to avoid unnecessary showings.”

This technology is being applied to listings at all price-points. “We have five showings in the next two days for properties ranging from $139K to the sprawling, $6.5-million Dymer Hall estate,” says David. “Some will be second homes and some will be primary homes.”

David comes from the banking industry and comments that, “Interest rates are at historic lows and it’s still a great time to buy. Lots of people are refinancing their homes to take advantage of the low rates and liquidate equity.” Even with the high volume, most banks still project a 45-day closing, according to David.

The increased use of telecommunication tools isn’t the only way real estate professionals are adapting. Many brokers have incorporated new policies and

procedures for their agents when performing in-person showings.

“We advise the use of N95 masks and gloves and request that sellers leave all the lights on and interior doors open to reduce the touching of surfaces,” says Katie. “Only agents are allowed to open doors and should use disinfectant wipes when doing so. ” And, when the buyer is ready to make an offer, services like DocuSign allow for contracts to be written and accepted remotely.

Bragg & Co. and Horsley Real Estate are early adopters of technology. Both embraced the use of drone footage, 3D apps, and FaceTime video tours as soon as the technology became accessible. They are even using Facebook Live to broadcast to multiple audiences in real-time.

That puts other realtors who are late-adopters at a distinct disadvantage. They may struggle with the learning curve to gain the ability to apply the technology to all of their listings quickly and effectively.

“We can’t create demand,” says Bragg, “But we are leveraging the tools we have to take advantage of the demand that exists.”

And, as for the Dymer Hall estate, Katie quips “Who wouldn’t want to quarantine themselves on 36 acres with sweeping views of the Chesapeake!”

homes

 Visit mcnelisgroup.com for more information on this estate

50051 Airedele Road, Ridge, MD 20680

PRICE: $2,399,000 Gated, waterfront estate with nearly 16 acres of land, 2,922 feet of shoreline, and a multiple slip pier, located just inside the channel to the Chesapeake Bay. This secluded point on St. Jerome’s Creek and its Southern prong is the perfect deep-water location, with access to sought-after fishing grounds, ideal for crabbing and oystering.

The stunning white brick and stucco ‘Louisiana style’ residence has dramatic flair including double, curved stairs with handcrafted teak railings and Italian marble floors upon entry and a fully outfitted gourmet kitchen, with solid-wood custom cabinetry and high-end appliances.

The integral breakfast area plus, a large family room with a gas fireplace are the heart of the home. An elevator services the upper two levels, landing in the large mid-level owner’s suite, and on the top floor. The mid-level includes five bedrooms, three of which are suites, and multiple access points to the outside. The third level is yet to be finished, however balconies with spectacular views are completed.

The detached garage houses an incredible shop area, and a separate guest house is on-premises. The location is extremely private and offers the very best in waterfront lifestyle.

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We offer virtual home tours for your convienence!

Solomons, MD Office: 410-394-0990

|

Dunkirk, MD Office: 410-657-8188

|

McNelisGroup.com

$998,000 BRETON BAY WATERFRONT

$949,000 WATERFRONT FARMETTE

$1,175,000 WATERFRONT FARM

38969 Hodges Rd, Avenue, MD 4 Beds | 3.5 Baths | 5,469 sq.ft.

Helen Mattingly Wernecke, REALTOR® 301-904-5344 | helen.wernecke@mcnelisgroup.com

1470 Turner Rd, Lusby, MD 3 Beds | 2.5 Baths | 2,660 sq.ft.

Chris McNelis, BROKER 410-610-4045 | chris@mcnelisgroup.com

41399 Philip Ln, Leonardtown, MD 4 Beds | 3 Baths | 3,100 sq.ft.

Judy Szynborski, REALTOR® 410-610-3989 | judy.szynborski@mcnelisgroup.com

$999,900

$949,000

$441,000 WATERFRONT FARMLAND

170 Ball Rd, Saint Leonard, MD 6 Beds | 5 Baths | 5,919 sq.ft.

Chris McNelis, BROKER 410-610-4045 | chris@mcnelisgroup.com

211 C St, Solomons, MD 4 Beds | 3 Baths | 2,270 sq.ft.

Chris McNelis, BROKER 410-610-4045 | chris@mcnelisgroup.com

Tract 1 Turner Rd, Lusby, MD Lot | 48.98 Acres Chris McNelis, BROKER 410-610-4045 | chris@mcnelisgroup.com

$1,895,000 WATERFRONT

$249,900 WATERFRONT LOT

$649,900 BEACHFRONT LOT

10015 Breeden Rd, Lusby, MD Main House | 4 Beds | 3.5 Baths Guest House | 1 Bed | 1 Bath Chris McNelis, BROKER 410-610-4045 | chris@mcnelisgroup.com

3805 Fish Hook Dr, Broomes Island, MD Waterfront Lot | 2.57 Acres Chris McNelis, BROKER 410-610-4045 | chris@mcnelisgroup.com

2975 Cove Point Rd, Lusby, MD Beachfront Lot | 2.01 Acres Chris McNelis, BROKER 410-610-4045 | chris@mcnelisgroup.com

Contact us at 410-394-0990 to learn more about these properties.

View more of our listings at McNelisGroup.com ©2020 BHH Affiliates, LLC. An independently owned and operated franchise of BHH Affiliates, LLC. Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices and the Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices symbol are registered service marks of HomeServices of America, Inc.® information not verified or guaranteed. If your property is currently listed with a Broker, this is not an intended as a solicitation. Equal Housing Opportunity.

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DAVID DEW

DavideDew@gmail.com 804-436-3106 www.horsleyrealestate.com David Dew, of Richmond, and Katie Horsley Dew, of White Stone, are leading Brokers with nearly 20 years of sales experience in the Middle Peninsula and the Northern Neck. The Dews are experts in their market, proven by high sales volumes, enthusiasm for their clients and industry, and consecutive annual platinum award winners plus named Top Virginia Realtor last 3 years. With the Dews, you get two professional Realtors working to fulfill the needs of their clients. A family-owned company founded by Katie’s grandmother in 1975, the third generation leads with aspirations to a strong future and growing success for all the Horsley Real Estate team. Our firm specializes in luxury waterfront, cottages, and inland homes…we have something for everyone!

BERNADETTE LA CASSE

BernilaCasse@gmail.com 804-384-7740 www.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 have been 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. Bernadette’s more than 30 years of experience in corporate operations help facilitate these sometimes complex real estate transactions. Bernadette holds a BS in Mathematics from Potsdam College and an MBA from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. She and her family live in Mathews, Virginia, on the beautiful Chesapeake Bay.

DIANA WOLFSON

Dwsellsnnk@gmail.com 940-395-1775 www.horsleyrealestate.com Diana Wolfson Grew up outside of Washington D.C., getting out on The Chesapeake Bay every chance she could. Her parents bought a weekend house on The Northern Neck in the early 1990’s to accommodate their sailing/ boating hobby. She moved to White Stone full time in 2013 to start NN Burger with her husband and sons. After a few years in the restaurant business she went back to Real Estate, a career she started in Texas. Diana joined Horsley because they are the best real estate firm in the area, with the reputation and values that a Realtor can grow with. Diana enjoys showcasing the wonderful lifestyle of The Northern Neck—beautiful waterfront and inland properties, small town charm, and wonderful friends and neighbors.

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NEENA RODGERS

NeenasRealEstate@gmail.com 804-436-2326 www.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 3 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. Visit Neena’s website, RodgersandBurton.com to read more about Neena and her team along with the Chesapeake Voice blog.

ROSEMARY GRIFFITH

RomyGriff@gmail.com 804-387-1807 www.horsleyrealestate.com Rosemary is a native of McLean, Va. and spent years residing in Richmond. In 1996, she and her husband bought waterfront land in Mathews, eventually fulfilling their dream to live on the water. She understands first-hand the unique requirements for building in a rural waterfront setting. She spent decades in the film/tv industry, developing an eye for detail and an ability to coordinate logistics and professionals to meet a time-sensitive goal. Rosemary has owned and managed an apartment building in Northern Virginia, and renovated several homes in Richmond. She became a real estate agent in 2014 and truly enjoys helping her clients explore the beautiful counties while navigating the waters of buying and selling in a waterfront community.

MCKANN PAYNE

Mckann@rodgersandburton.com 804-815-4192 www.horsleyrealestate.com McKann Payne is a native of Urbanna, in the Middle Peninsula. She is uniquely suited for success in real estate with her in-depth understanding of the region, an astute eye for design, and her superb organizational skills with a can-do attitude. This has earned McKann loyalty and respect in the real estate industry.

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.

When not working, you can find McKann in her garden, kayaking on the creek, or cruising the Rappahannock River with family and friends.

SANDI LENT

Sandi@rivahrealestate.com 804-694-6101 www.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. An avid gardener, she holds the coveted designations of MIRM, Master in Residential Marketing, from the National Association of Home Builders.

ANDREA HOLT

AndrejHolt@gmail.com 804-854-9530 www.horsleyrealestate.com Andrea Holt started her sales career as an advertising rep for boating and tourism publications. In 2010 she took a position as a New Home Consultant for Clayton Homes, selling homes and acting as a general contractor. “It was a great education in construction and land, and ignited my passion for home sales,” she says. In 2013 Andrea got her real estate license and has since been a repeated Platinum Sales Award recipient. She attributes this to spending time with her clients, listening and sharing info about the market.

“We moved here in 1997 from Northern Virginia when we purchased a marina in Deltaville. The people I work with today are as surprised as I was that a place like this exists. It’s an area that’s in my soul and I get to share that everyday”

HUNTER LAW

HunterLawRealtor@icloud.com 804-480-0269 www.horsleyrealestate.com Hunter Law is a native of Fauquier County and graduate of Wakefield and the College of Charleston. As a child, Hunter spent most of his time fishing, crabbing, and boating on the Rappahannock River and the Chesapeake Bay. After graduation, Hunter was fortunate to move to the Rappahannock River and make the area his home. Hunter is still an avid outdoorsman and spends most of his free time on the water.

He became a realtor with Horsley in 2010 and received the Platinum sales award his first year and has since earned the Diamond award in sales for 2016-2019. You can find Hunter in Horsley’s Urbanna office location.

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WilliaMSBurg Waterfront

AMAZING home on James River w/ wonderful privacy!! Only 10-15 minutes to almost EVERYTHING. 106ft of riverfront.

1st floor master, walk out basement, glass balcony, patio, bulkhead, pier, boat lift!

$675,000

Seaford Waterfront

PERKINS POINT! Waterfront custom home built by Almond Contracting with open floor plan - 1st floor master suite offers sitting room and private porch.

$529,900

$569,900

old Port Cove Waterfront

Deep Water Access!!! Birch transitional w/ dock & boathouse (currently holding a 33’ Formula Sport Cruiser). Enclosed back porch has plenty of natural light. BIG deck and LARGE master bedroom.

Port haYWood Waterfront

MillerS landing Waterfront

DEEP WATER!! - 8.6 ACRES of Privacy in Gloucester! Approx. 1200’of water frontage on Halls Creek with a dock, boat slips and 2500’ of patios and deck! Large finished walk out basement, back up generator!

757-879-1504 s 1-800-GARRETT

Bennet Creek Point Waterfront

Boatable waterfront (approx. 2’ at low tide) with huge yard in nice subdivision.

Extremely large backyard. Some of the best schools in Virginia! Mostly first floor living with three total master bedrooms.

$399,900

$499,000

Waterfront close to the bay! 4900+ sqft. on 3.54 acres!! Large 12’ x 37’ deck overlooking the water & private dock with built-in benches perfect for entertaining or a day of fishing & crabbing!

York CountY Waterfront

One of the BEST waterfront peninsulas in Hampton Roads with approx. 2 acres of privacy, 162’ of living shoreline to prevent erosion on Chisman’s Creek. An incredible dock, owner says 5-6’ of depth at the pier.

Seaford Waterfront

WATERFRONT W/ DEEP WATER ACCESS!!! Located on a navigable canal, just minutes to the Bay! Open floor plan.

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Greg Garrett

SPONSORED CONTENT

BARBARA BRAGG

Barbara@braggco.com 804-436-6787 www.braggco.com Barbara has been a licensed real estate agent since 1987. She received her Graduate Realtor Institute designation (GRI) in 1989 and her broker’s license in 1990. She works in both the real estate brokerage and development lines.

She is a member of the National Association of Realtors, Virginia Association of Realtors, Northern Neck Association of Realtors and the Chesapeake Bay and River Association of Realtors. Barbara is an award-winning producer and has consistently been recognized as a leader in the industry. Barbara possesses over thirty years of real estate experience and has lived in the area for forty years allowing her to offer her clients expert advice in both the sale and acquisition of real estate in the Northern Neck and Middle Peninsula.

TERRI GROH

BO BRAGG

Bo@braggco.com 804-436-7337 www.braggco.com Bo is the owner of Bragg and Company, a multi-faceted real estate business involved in brokerage, development, and construction in the Northern Neck and Middle Peninsula. He holds a B.A. from Virginia Commonwealth University and an M.B.A. from The College of William and Mary. A Class A licensed Virginia contractor, he is also a top-producing real estate broker and is routinely awarded the Platinum Sales Award by the Northern Neck Association of Realtors. Bo has significant experience in real estate finance and development, and lives in Irvington with his wife Camille and two children. He serves on the Chesapeake Academy Board of Trustees and attends Campbell Memorial Church.

LINDA CARON

Lcaron6725@gmail.com 540-623-6725 www.braggco.com Linda, her husband, a retired Marine Colonel, and their children have lived all over the country. After settling in Fredericksburg VA in 2006, Linda became a full-time real estate consultant. In 2018, she and her husband exchanged the busy lifestyle of Northern Virginia for the serenity of the Northern Neck.

Over the last fourteen years, Linda has successfully assisted buyers and sellers in nearly 200 real estate transactions and has consistently been a Top Producer. She is deeply knowledgeable about the real estate market and uses the most innovative marketing techniques. Let her put her training, experience, and skills to work for you in finding your next or selling your current home!

50 ChesapeakeBayMagazine.com

May 2020

TerriGroh4@gmail.com 804-436-6874 www.braggco.com Always professional, with a personal touch, Terri Groh became a Realtor in 1984 in Louisville, KY. She has been serving the Northern Neck and Middle Peninsula buyers and sellers since 1999 with real estate expertise, local knowledge, and professional service. Terri is a member of the National Association of Realtors, the Virginia Association of Realtors, the Northern Neck Association of Realtors, and the Chesapeake Bay and Rivers Association of Realtors. She is an associate broker and an Accredited Buyer Representative. Terri can take you step by step through the real estate process, whether buying or selling. Give her a call today and get started!

KATIE PARKER

KatieyParker@gmail.com 804-517-2255 www.braggco.com Living near the water has always been a way of life for me. Growing up just outside of Richmond near the James River, weekends at the family cottage on the York River, and now raising my family in the Northern Neck on Dymer Creek. With each chapter I have gained knowledge of Virginia’s river realms and their housing markets. Whether buying, selling, renovating,or building, my combined experience as an educator and realtor have given me a unique insight into clients’ needs during the buying and selling of their homes.

My husband, two young sons and I have had the pleasure of calling the Northern Neck our home since 2012, where I have embraced the river lifestyle and love to share it with others.

ALICE RIVIERE

AlicenRiviere@gmail.com 703-727-6767 www.aliceriviere.com Alice Riviere has been in Virginia real estate since 2009. She spent her early years in Richmond, moved to Alexandria where she started her real estate career and then settled in Irvington. Since much of her family is from the Northern Neck, it seemed natural to end up here. She graduated from UVA with a double major in mathematics and communications and spent her first working years as a teacher. In addition to enjoying real estate, she loves working with children and still spends time tutoring. She is eager to share what the Northern Neck has to offer with those looking to be a part of this unique area. It’ one of the best places in Virginia!

KELLY W. ANTONIO

Kelly.Braggco@gmail.com 703-919-3378 www.braggco.com The Northern Neck has always been special to me. I grew up in Heathsville (Northumberland County) and after attending college, getting married, starting a family, and starting my teaching career in Northern Virginia, my husband and I decided to return to the area to raise our boys. Beginning in 2004, I worked as a school teacher in the area but recently, I began exploring other opportunities that would give me more flexibility to allow me to spend more time with my growing boys. We’ve renovated two of our own homes and I have fallen in love with the processes behind renovating, restoring—and now selling—homes. I’ve spent more than half of my life in the Northern Neck and I love helping people find a place here so that they can enjoy the area as much as we do.

Get rural!

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Discover the Northern Neck of VA

CARTER’S CREEK

CORROTOMAN RIVER

1000 Queenstown Road, Lancaster, VA

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RAPPAHANNOCK RIVER

647 Crab Point Road, White Stone, VA 22578

Breathtaking sunsets, 12+ wooded acres, 2 levels with elevator, multiple balconies & walls of windows. 3 bedrooms, 4 full baths and 2 garages, one attached.

$899,000

Bo Bragg (804) 436-7337 Bo@braggco.com

PRENTICE CREEK

548 Prentice Creek Road, Kilmarnock, VA

Contemporary waterfront home situated on over 6 acres. Ideal for horses. 4 bedrooms and 3.5 baths. Upscale finishes throughout.

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$670,000

tion New Loca 4341 Irvington Road,Irvington, VA 22480 400 South Main St. Kilmarnock, VA 22482

Real Estate Brokerage | Development | Construction May 2020

B a r b a r a Bragg (804) 436-6787 Barbara@braggco.com ChesapeakeBayMagazine.com

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SPONSORED CONTENT

HELEN WERNECKE

Helen.Werenecke@ mcnelisgroup.com 410-394-0990 www.mcnelisgroup.com

Helen Mattingly Wernecke has a true love for real estate and in her first full year of real estate she received two prestigious sales awards Southern Maryland’ Association of REALTORS® Platinum Award and Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Leading Edge Award.

Helen’ focus is on waterfront properties and those with farming/agricultural potential. Helen holds a Bachelor’ in Business Administration with a concentration in Human Resources.

Helen served the U.S. Navy for 30 years as a distinguished civil servant, culminating as a senior program manager. A lifelong resident of Southern Maryland and a career in leadership and program management, Helen’ experience and relationships translate well for home buyers and sellers in the region.

JUDY SZYNBORSKI

Judy.Szynborski@ mcnelisgroup.com 410-394-0990 www.mcnelisgroup.com

Judy Szynborski, REALTOR®, is a licensed real estate professional with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices McNelis Group Properties, serving Southern Maryland and beyond. Her dedication, experience, and problem-solving abilities in an ever-changing real estate market have afforded Judy many accolades throughout her career. Most recently, she was elected President of the Southern Maryland Association of REALTORS® (SMAR) in 2019, awarded SMAR’ 2019 REALTOR® of the YEAR, and Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices 2019 President’ Circle Award for production. Judy provides a higher level of service and has the experience to guide transactions to a successful close. Judy is a Chesapeake Bay area native, and enjoys boating and international travel.

LISA SHULTZ

Lisa@shultzrealtors.com 804-724-1587 www.shultzrealtors.com Lisa is a native of Virginia and started in real estate in 2012, joining her husband and mother-in-law in a real estate team. She has been awarded the Long & Foster Service Award for The Bay/River Office two years in a row. The Shultz Team represents the top agents with Long & Foster for the Northern Neck & Middle Peninsula. Lisa grew up in Fairfax County, Virginia and graduated from James Madison University where she earned a bachelor degree in English with a concentration in Creative Writing and two minors in Mathematics and Spanish. Whether it’ hiking in the mountains, boating or stand-up paddle boarding on the rivers, snorkeling in the Caribbean or biking through Kilmarnock, she feels at home in nature.

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T h e S h u l t z Te a m

NEILL SHULTZ

NeillShultz@gmail.com 804-580-0476 www.shultzrealtors.com Neill started in Real Estate in 2012, joining his wife and mother in a real estate team.

The Shultz Team represents the top agents with Long & Foster for the Northern Neck & Middle Peninsula. Neill has worked in drafting management with architectural and maintenance systems companies and tree surveying. Neill’s family moved to the Northern Neck when he was 8 years old and knows the waterways like his own backyard. He graduated from Lancaster High School and was a member of The Boy Scouts of America, earning his Eagle Scout Award. Neill graduated from James Madison University where he earned degrees in Anthropology and Environmental Science.

He is a member of the Kilmarnock Planning Commission.

BEVERLY SHULTZ

Beverly@beverlyshultz.com 804-436-4000 www.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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he is is yesa and no. Yes, as to the heanswer answer resounding yes. regulations, permits and actual construcIt’s been widely accepted that water tion and materials. in the canpractices help alleviate some ofBut thenot most comway we think and plan design. mon stressors such as mental fatigue, With regard to theanxiety regulations, memory problems, and permits depresand construction, there are many restricsion to mention just a few. When these tions whenbuild, it comes to waterfront properfeelings it can create stress overload ties, designMany has an affect our andbecause chronicthe stress. find the on soluChesapeake Bay. Items to be aware of are tion to be adding water features to their established wetlands, land disturbance, homes. You just happen to have thecontaining soil runoff, first floor to Chesapeake Bay which iselevations one of thedue most flooding, rising sea levels. beautifuland water features right outside your When building on the waterfront it’s window. important to living select the correct that When directly onmaterials the water’s can withstand the harsh both weather elements, edge, you can design your indoor especially during a major storm like a the hurand outdoor living spaces around ricane Due to the salt content, water.orInor’easter. suggest creating a carefully stainless steel screws interior and nailsspace are used. designed personal withI also suggest water insulation higher than regulaincredible views, all while staying tions require, especially facingor theincreased water, as inside during foul weather well as higher wind ratedsuggest roofingcreating shingles. pollen season.

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I suggest Bay, you part of your apeake “must have” list can and amake “niceittoahave” list. everyday if you choose.ofEmbrace Then as youlife start the process designing the new water into or your family’s you lifestyle your home renovation, havewith a smart designofand both andyou intelclear direction what youcreative want, why ligent want it, building and how practices. it will improve your lifestyle Letfamily the healing and living. begin.

Your Northern Neck & Middle Peninsula of Virginia Real Estate Specialists

Set Sail To The Bay & Beyond!

Reedville River Oasis!

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This 1887 farmhouse combines old river charm with modern amenities & style. Featuring over 5 private acres, 4200+ sq.ft., 5 bedrooms, 3.5 bathrooms, sunroom, screened porch, hot tub, heated pool & 4+ bay garage with a full waterside apartment above. Located just minutes to the bay with a brand new dock with boat lift.

$1,050,000

www.BarrettCreek.net

This property offers very deep water & expansive waterfront views. It is located just off the bay on a protected creek. The home has been completely updated with a waterside kitchen with wood stove fireplace, a first-floor master bedroom featuring 14’ ceilings & more.

The 3 car garage is heated and cooled.

$797,500

Live Where Others Vacation!

You Can Have It All!

www.RockHoleCreek.com

This custom-built home is located on a protected creek right off the Chesapeake Bay with deeded access to a pristine private sand beach. Featuring over 4 acres, a huge open kitchen, water views from every window and first floor living. The property is elevated out of the flood zone with a gentle slope to the waterfront and pier w/ boat lift.

$684,500

Please visit our property websites to view interactive oor plans, aerials, maps and more!

www.PotomacRiverWaterfront.com

Enjoy the sound of the waters lapping onto the shore at this gorgeous & efficient beach home.

Walls of glass capture huge Potomac River views all the way to Maryland. The home features 3600+ Sq.ft, a finished basement with rec. room & elevator. No flood insurance required!

The community offers pool, tennis courts, boat ramp and more!

$649,500

804.724.1587

www.BeverlyShultz.com

Celebrating Why We Live Here Tiny Christchurch School Takes Down the Sailing Titans—p. 32Young Ospreys

Spread Their Wings

MAGAZINE MAGAZINE November 2018 June 2019

J.O. SPICE

The Crab House’s Secret Weapon

TILGHMAN TO THE STARS

CHESAPEAKE BAY MAGAZINE

Preserving a Historic Life Finds a Way On Chesapeake Eats Swimming with Ed Farley FindKeeping Your Waterfront Easton Neighborhood the Chester River Alive Restaurant Guide the River OttersOyster Traditions Camping Paradise

BaySlow Taxidermists Your Roll Preserve Memories With Seakeeper

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Turning Science Into Chesapeake Gold

The High Art of the

THE OTHER SHELLFISH

OYSTER R ROAST T

NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2019

Bringing Back Bay Scallops

HELMSMAN 38E

Made onOspreys the Bay Young Holiday Gift Guide Spread Their Wings

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A Chesapeake Bugeye’s Space Shuttle Ride

HOOPERS ISLAND OYSTER COMPANY

Eastport Oyster Boys A Mystery Beneath Score a Revolution the Chester River

Planning Makes a Practical Cruiser

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Whalertowne Comes to Annapolis

Boat Show Drops Anchor in Baltimore

Rabbit Hunting With The Pro & His Hounds

Outdoorswomen Go From Field to Table

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Eastern Shoreman’s Call of the Wild

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Winter’s Freeze Brings Iceboat Dreams

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Richard Scofield’s 33 Years Tending Bay Treasures

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The Crab House’s Secret Weapon

ORIGINS p. 28

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Paddling the Dragon Kayaking Virginia’s Dragon Run with Teta Kain

T

eta Kain came to Dragon Run for the birds back in 1993 when her birding competence and reputation landed her an invitation to conduct monthly avian surveys for the Friends of Dragon Run at their Big Island preserve. For nearly six years, Kain kept her feet on the ground, despite hearing repeatedly that the only way to truly experience the Dragon was to paddle down its tea-colored waters.

“One of the guys in the organization said, ‘Teta, you’re not really seeing what the Dragon’s all about,’ and I said, ‘Yeah, but I don’t like canoes,’” she says.

She laughs at the irony as she steers her pickup truck along a back road on Virginia’s Middle Peninsula on our way to a nearby farm to set up a shuttle for the Friends of Dragon Run paddle trip that Kain will be guiding—a role she’s undertaken for the last two decades.

Petite and bespectacled, with tufts of iron-gray hair escaping from a vintage 1970s Dallas Cowboys stocking cap, Kain speaks with a conspicuous Maine accent. She’s beginning to retrace her path from New England to Virginia when we arrive at the put-in site. A wild turkey gobbles from nearby woods as we pick up Andy Lacatell, Chesapeake Bay program director for The Nature Conservancy in Virginia (TNC), who slides onto the back seat.

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Teta Kain (right) first paddled Dragon's Run in 1999.

story & photos by Danny White

Kain’s journey to becoming the foremost authority on Dragon Run features almost as many twists and turns as the waterway itself. “I was in the military back in the Jurassic Age,” Kain says. Nearing the end of her two-year tour as an Air Force nurse, Kain planned to return to school, study anesthesiology and then re-up as a major. However, while stationed on a base in Texas, she met her future husband. “We married in 1962, and that was the end of my nursing business, thankfully,” she says.

The couple had transferred to North Dakota when Kain learned that her husband’s work with the cruise missile program had landed him a new position at Langley Air Force Base in Hampton, Virginia. “I wasn’t crazy about coming to Virginia,” Kain admits. “But when we moved from Hampton to Gloucester in 1986, I felt like I had come to the middle of the universe,” she says. “Everything wonderful happened.”

Among those events was the fateful invitation to monitor birds and Kain’s introduction to Big Island and Dragon Run. Another revelation would be discovering an alternative to the dreaded canoe. Kain finally ventured onto the Dragon when friends enticed her into trying out their kayak, which was still a novelty back then. They launched beneath the Mascot bridge, where we are headed. “I instantly fell in love,” Kain says. “The next day I rushed down to Farmville and bought my own blue kayak, and I’ve had it ever since.” Because few people in those days owned kayaks, Kain decided that, if she wanted paddling partners, she’d better purchase a second boat. Then a friend in failing health offered her two more. “I guess it was about three years later, with one incident and another, I found that I had 13 kayaks,” she adds.

With her own fleet and the passion of the newly converted, Kain led paddle trips for anyone who expressed an interest. By 2008, her kayaking pastime had evolved into a formal program for the Friends of Dragon Run. With additional equipment and help from committed volunteers, Kain organized daily trips for a dozen guests throughout the spring paddling season. In 2016, Kain turned over the role of paddle master to the group’s president, Janice Moore. “I am getting a little long in the tooth,” Kain chuckles. She still leads every group downstream, along with a support crew of trained volunteers. Liberated from the myriad responsibilities of trip logistics, Kain relishes the ability to focus on interpreting the Dragon’s natural and cultural history for those paddling in her wake.

Moore and today’s crew members and guest paddlers are gathered by the water when we turn into May 2020

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the grassy Mascot bridge parking area. The crew has everyone outfitted, and the kayaks are lined up ready to launch. Following a few words of welcome, Moore invites Lacatell to say a few words about the significance of Dragon Run and efforts to protect it.

Dragon Run is one of Virginia’s most pristine blackwater streams. It and its countless braided sloughs meander through a wetland wilderness for nearly 40 miles, traversing four eastern Virginia counties until, just southeast of Saluda, the channel widens to form the Piankatank River. The Piankatank, in turn, flows another 15 miles before feeding into the Chesapeake Bay between Deltaville and Gwynn Island.

Dragon Run is one of Virgnia's most pristine blackwater streams.

Dragon Run first commanded Nature Conservancy attention in 1973 when it co-sponsored a Smithsonian Institution study of the Chesapeake Bay watershed, which ranked the Dragon second on its list of most ecologically significant systems. But it would not be until the early 2000s that TNC was able to make significant, on-the-ground, conservation investments here. A major portion of Lacatell’s work has centered on protecting land along the Dragon and restoring oyster reefs downstream in the Piankatank.

“Our partnership with Friends of Dragon Run has been essential to our collective success,” Lacatell says. “They did the first land deal along the Dragon at Big Island and helped folks understand what conservation could look like here,” he says.

“They are great stewards, and their work set down a

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solid foundation on which we could help the Friends and other partners build.”

TNC established its Dragon Flats Preserve in 2003, purchasing nearly 500 acres of exceptional bald cypress, pine, and hardwood forest along 1.5 miles of the run. Roughly half of the Friends’ spring paddle route from Big Island to Mascot follows the preserve boundary. The Virginia Institute of Marine Science owns a nearby preserve, and other surrounding lands remain privately owned but protected under permanent conservation easements. This protected corridor exemplifies the larger conservation story here, according to Lacatell.

Partners have pieced together a remarkable mosaic of public and private conservation lands to preserve a critical wilderness area in the backyard of 1.5 million people, most of whom have never heard of Dragon Run. “The 10,000-acre Dragon Run State Forest didn’t exist 10 years ago,” Lacatell says. “In all, over the last 15 or so years, we’ve collectively protected about 22,000 acres, and that’s almost a quarter of this entire watershed.”

“Almost everything I’ve learned since coming to the Dragon has come from Teta and the Friends,” Lacatell adds.

It’s time for Kain to lead our group into the heart of this primeval swamp, and time is of the essence, as we’re reminded by gray skies and gathering clouds. “We want to beat the rain, and the rain is going to come,” Moore says, hastening our launch. Along with a kayak, paddle and PFD, each of us is outfitted with a radio so that we can hear Kain’s narration as our boats form a downstream train. For a blackwater stream, the currents can be surprisingly swift in places, and it’s clear that Kain wants to reassure any novices, offering tips for how to “show the kayak who’s boss” and how to navigate around cypress knees and other obstacles.

Bald cypress trees dominate this swamp, and, as the Smithsonian report noted, the hauntingly

beautiful Spanish moss draping these ancient forest giants reaches the northernmost limits of its range here. Cypress tree root systems (the knees) protrude from wetland muck and shallow water like stalagmites from a cave floor. One scientific theory for this strange adaptation is that masses of intertwined knees provide extra stability on sodden ground, especially against the brunt of coastal storms.

“You almost can’t blow them over, not from the roots, but you’ll see a lot of cypress trees with their tops blown out by lightning,” Kain explains. “Then they keep on growing for another several hundred years. They’re pretty tough old trees,” she says. She adds that this resilient and extensive cypress swamp forms a formidable barrier that has helped to keep Dragon Run wild throughout more than four centuries of human habitation.

Unlike most other conifers, the bald cypress is deciduous.

This time of year, the A temporary, soft launching pad accomodates the Dragon Run adventure. needles have turned to rusty orange and brown

hues. “If you go up in an airplane,” Kain tells us, “you’ll see what almost looks like a burned road where the cypress trees line this river.” Not only do the trees change in fall, but they also affect seasonal fluctuations in the Dragon. Flow levels run highest in spring, which is prime paddling season and also when cypress trees need to soak up water to grow new green needles. Fall is a drier season, which can make paddling an iffier proposition, except that the cypress trees help to refill the stream. “They shed their water before wintertime because they would explode with all that water in them” when temperatures drop below freezing, Kain says.

Lacatell and some of the crew members have been chatting along the way about a recent night paddle with Kain, and I soon gather that one of the “highlights” of a nocturnal excursion down the Dragon is the sudden realization that you’re surrounded by spiders. As Kain guides us into a quiet sheltered slough to break for a floating lunch, Lacatell requests some spider lore for our mealtime entertainment.

Kain is happy to oblige. “There are spiders everywhere on the Dragon—thousands upon thousands,” she says, smiling with obvious delight.

Though mostly out of sight by day, “At night their eyes shine under our LED lights, and it’s quite a sight. It’s really quite wonderful.” Judging by some expressions around me, I’m not certain the sentiment is unanimous.

“Two of the best species here are the fishing spiders,” Kain continues. One of these, the six-

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Teta Kain leads the Dragon Run sojourn.

spotted spider, ranks as one of the most capable anglers among nearly 20 species known around the world to prey on fish. These semi-aquatic arachnids fish by planting their back feet on a rock or plant while their front feet float. The slightest touch or ripple will trigger an attack.

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“If you were a fish, you would not be happy to see him coming. He’s about that big around,” Kain says, spreading her fingers about four inches, “And he scowls, with all eight eyes,” she laughs. “If you’re a fish, you’re a goner.” Fishing spiders can walk on water, swim, and even dive in pursuit of fish, which they inject with a venom that liquifies the insides for easy consumption.

Having polished off our own lunches, we proceed downstream and over a beaver dam. To keep paddle trails easily navigable, the Friends have replaced sections of some dams with removable wooden panels. Kain quips that Dragon Run’s abundant beavers can boast about living in gated communities.

We’re approaching the end of our journey, but a final highlight stretches before us. We’re entering a section that was channelized—dug out and straightened—to facilitate transporting logs downstream during timber operations that occurred here in the 19th and early-20th centuries.

Despite its unnatural origins and the grayness of the day, the canal is stunning. Nature is steadily reabsorbing this lush tree-lined tunnel back into the surrounding wilderness. “It’s not quite as spectacular today as it was yesterday with the sun shining down through the leaves,” Kain says, her words a reminder that every journey along the Dragon is a special, unrepeatable experience.

Too soon, we’re hauling our kayaks up the bank, and I recall what Kain told me earlier this morning when I asked what Dragon Run means to her: “It’s a feeling I get every time I come on this river that I’m in another world, a perfect world, and I don’t want anything to happen to that world.” h Danny White is a senior conservation writer with the Nature Conservancy in Virginia—nature.org.

How to Paddle Dragon Run With the exception of the Mascot bridge, put-in and take-out sites along navigable stretches of Dragon Run are limited to private land. Fortunately, Friends of Dragon Run offers daily paddle trips for several weeks during spring and fall. Spring trips launch at the Friends’ Big Island preserve, travel along The Nature Conservancy’s Dragon Flats Preserve, and take out at Mascot.

Fall trips start at Mascot, pass through the historic canal and end at a private farm.

The organization provides kayaks and all necessary paddling equipment for each participant. These trips serve as the group’s primary fundraising activity, so a donation of $50 is suggested to support their conservation work.

For more information, visit dragonrun.org.

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Blue Bloods & Red Knots Horseshoe crabs return to the Bay, along with their avian companions

GREGORY BREESE/USFWS

by Wendy Mitman Clarke

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I

t’s late spring, and under a full moon rendering the Delaware Bay a palette of glittering mica, the beach is alive. What should be a miles-long ribbon of placid silver sand instead appears to be covered with brown rocks, and the rocks are moving.

Horseshoe crabs are here to spawn. By the hundreds of thousands, night after night under this spring moon (as long as the bay is relatively calm), they will crawl up this beach in unruly, clumsy piles, each female capable of laying up to 100,000 eggs over several nights. It is our region’s very own version of the arribada—arrival—a primeval compulsion propelled by the tide, moon, and season, and nowhere in the world does it occur as dramatically and significantly as here.

Still, it’s only half of the story. Just as the turn of the season has pulled these ancient creatures from the sea to this beach, so it has drawn by the tens of thousands a robin-sized bird on an epic migration of some 9,000 miles from the bottom of the globe to the top—Tierra del Fuego to the Arctic. On wings only 20 inches across, the rufa red knots can fly 1,500 miles at a stretch. By the time they arrive at the Delaware Bay, most of them have flown directly from Brazil nonstop, their reserves of body fat utterly spent. Unerringly they arrive for this one thing: the nutrient-dense, easily digestible eggs of the horseshoe crab, which they can find only here, only now.

So, this is a story of a relationship, one written both in a precise moment and over ages of time. It’s a story of decimation and survival—how overfishing horseshoe crabs contributed to a more than 75-percent population decline in rufa red knots (now a federally threatened species) from the 1980s to the 2000s.

GREGORY BREESE/USFWS

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It’s also a story of how this relationship prompted the first plan of its kind for an East Coast marine resource—an adaptive resource management, or ARM, framework—that acknowledges the interconnectedness of two species and seeks the best way to manage one to support the other, constantly adjusting based on consistent monitoring and assessment of both.

This sounds a lot easier than it is. By most accounts, it may be succeeding. But first, some history—specifically, a few million years’ worth.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) calls the horseshoe crab a living fossil. Relatively unchanged for at least 350 million years, Limulus polyphemus—so named for the mythical one-eyed cyclops Polyphemus because one of their many eyes appears as a single cluster in the middle of what could be considered their foreheads—is, if nothing else, a survivor. Misnamed, it’s actually related to spiders and scorpions, not crustaceans.

Mostly, they crawl around on the bottom munching marine worms and shellfish such as razor clams. Molting through their first decade, it takes them that long to reach sexual maturity, the females a year later than the males.

They can live to be about 20 years old.

Four species exist worldwide, but only one—the most abundant—is in North America, and it ranges from Maine to the Yucatan Peninsula. Elsewhere, its numbers are in trouble. Found mostly in Southeast Asia, the remaining three species are imperiled due to a variety of factors, among them overfishing and loss of spawning habitat. Last year, the International Union for Conservation of Nature listed one of them, known as the tri-spine horseshoe crab, found largely in China, as endangered.

Despite its humble appearance and demeanor, few species have been studied as thoroughly as the horseshoe crab, and this is because of its utterly unique attributes.

Among those are its eyes. It has ten of them—some of them clusters of photoreceptors on its body including its bayonet of a tail, and they are remarkably sensitive. According to the FWS, “Two large compound eyes on the prosoma [head] are sensitive to polarized light and can magnify sunlight 10 times. A pair of simple eyes on the forward side of the prosoma can sense ultraviolet light from the moon.” In 1967, Dr. H. Keffner Hartline shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his study of the optic nerves of the horseshoe crab’s lateral eyes, which provided new understanding into the workings of the retina.

But while its eyes are astonishing, what’s truly mindblowing about horseshoe crabs is this simple fact: “There is not a single person alive on the face of the earth who has not been touched by the horseshoe crab, because every time someone gets a shot, whether it be a vaccine or a therapeutic product or an IV saline solution or any implanted device, even vitamins that are injected—all of that ChesapeakeBayMagazine.com

May 2020

is tested for endotoxin using LAL.” That’s from Allen Burgenson, an LAL industry representative to the Horseshoe Crab Advisory Panel of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC).

LAL is Limulus Amebocyte Lysate, a component in the crabs’ unique, blue, copper-based blood. This clotting substance has the ability to detect bacterial endotoxin at an unparalleled level of sensitivity. In 1977, the Food and Drug Administration approved LAL as the mandatory way to test biological products and medical devices for endotoxin.

In the U.S., four companies are federally approved to manufacture and sell LAL. They do this by harvesting horseshoe crabs, taking about a third of their blood, then releasing them back to the wild. The ASMFC estimates 15 percent of crabs don’t survive this procedure. But in Asia, where a substance called TAL is those species’ equivalent, the process is entirely fatal; the crabs are exsanguinated, then used for food and other products.

Long before LAL was a blue glimmer in scientists’ eyes, horseshoe crabs were harvested by the millions in New Jersey and Delaware. Easy to catch, they were tossed in open pens, dried, then ground to make fertilizer. By the 1960s this fishery had ended, but in the 1990s, demand for the crabs picked up again, this time as bait for eel and whelk. Fishermen found that females in particular caught the most eels.

Landings of 44 million pounds annually from Maine to Florida between 1971 and 1975 climbed to 3.5 billion pounds by 1997, according to the National Marine Fisheries Service.

Resource managers grew concerned, not least because there were no accurate population assessments of horseshoe crabs.

With the full moon and calm spring weather, thousands of horseshoe crabs come ashore to spawn.

Meanwhile, surveys of red knots began an alarming trend. According to data in the FWS Recovery Outline for the rufa red knot, one-day peak counts gathered through aerial surveys of red knots in the Delaware Bay fell from a high of 95,530 in 1982 to as low as 12,375 in 2007. Numbers in the birds’ wintering grounds in Argentina and Chile also plummeted, from a high in 1995 of about 75,000 to a low in 2011 of about 10,000. While various factors contributed to this population crash—including habitat loss and

predation—scientists pointed to a lack of food at the critical point in their northbound migration through the mid-Atlantic, and the Delaware Bay specifically, as a major cause.

“Nearly 90 percent of the entire population of the Red Knot subspecies rufa can be present on the bay in a single day,” noted the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. “The reduction in food available to the knots because of the heavy harvesting of horseshoe crabs is in part responsible

Nearly 90 percent of the red knot population can be present on the Bay during the horsehoe crab spawn.

horseshoecrab.org

for a sharp decline in Red Knot populations.”

The ASMFC, which represents 15 coastal states coastwide, began capping states’ harvest of horseshoe crabs in 1999 when it implemented its first multi-state horseshoe crab management plan. Subsequent innovations in bait bags also helped lower by as much as 50 to 75 percent the amount of crabs needed for the whelk and eel bait fishery. But the biggest innovation happened in 2012, when the commission approved the Adaptive Resources Management (ARM) framework as part of the management plan.

“It’s one of the few that I know of ecosystem models that are being used where you’re combining multiple species to make management decisions,” says Mike Schmidtke, ASMFC Fishery Management Plan Coordinator. Unlike traditional methods, which usually focus on one species, the ARM monitors data of two species whose life cycles are entwined, and the system model makes annual assessments based on those data.

“We check that every year, and every year we go back and say, which harvest package do we recommend?” says Eric Hallerman, a professor of fish conservation at Virginia Tech who’s on the ASMFC Delaware Bay Ecosystem Technical Committee. “It’s exciting. To get folks to buy in and live by it and manage by it, it takes a while. I’ve been proud to be part of this.”

Hallerman’s role in the ARM is vital, because since 2002, his Virginia Tech Horseshoe Crab Trawl Survey has been the definitive longitudinal survey of horseshoe crab numbers in the mid-Atlantic and lower Delaware Bay—despite a hiatus between 2012 and 2015 due to a lack of funding. (The survey is so vital that several of the region’s congressional representatives are working to remove it from the vagaries of the annual appropriations process and make it part of the NOAA Fisheries annual budget.) In addition to counting and measuring crabs, researchers now can determine whether they have spawned and estimate whether they’re immature, newly mature, or mature. This provides an assessment of potential abundance going forward, Hallerman says.

“That information is critical from a modeling standpoint,” Schmidtke says.

“That let us, in the 2019 assessment, to have an actual population model for the Delaware Bay region…That was a big step that the science took because that was the first time we’ve been able to get an actual numeric estimate for the number of horseshoe crabs in a given population, as opposed to just looking at a transit increase or decrease.”

Data from the trawl survey are combined with data from two research teams—one in New Jersey and one in Delaware—that monitor red knot passage population. While the initial ARM framework used aerial surveys, in 2011, this more refined assessment began, which uses both physical

recapture of birds and sightings of tagged birds, says Jim Lyons, a research ecologist with the U.S. Geological Survey at Patuxent Wildlife Research Center who’s on the ARM working group, a subcommittee of the ASMFC Delaware Bay Ecosystem Technical Committee.

“I analyze their data, and that estimates how many red knots stopped in Delaware Bay that year,” he says.

“That passage population goes directly into the decision-making process for the crab harvest recommendation.”

The good news is that numbers of both species appear to be stabilizing.

The ASMFC’s 2019 Benchmark Stock Assessment found that in the Delaware Bay, horseshoe crab abundance was neutral, while New York was in poor condition, and the Southeast is in good condition. In fall 2019, the commission’s Horseshoe Crab Management Board approved a harvest limit of 500,000 male crabs and zero females for the 2020 season.

(Schmidtke notes that landings have not approached harvest quotas in years, which indicates the pressure on the fishery has eased.)

“We’re guardedly optimistic,” Hallerman says. “I am speaking, I think, for the majority of us. We’re not out of the woods yet, but I think we’re starting to see a recovery.”

In its Recovery Outline for the Rufa Red Knot, the FWS notes that while threats to the birds’ survival continue— high among them climate change and habitat loss—the ARM is having a

In 1998, The Ecological Research & Development Group (ERDG), a 501(c)3 non-profit wildlife conservation organization founded in 1995 with a focus on horseshoe crab conservation, launched its highly successful Just Flip ‘Em Program to bring attention to the high mortality the crabs incur from being stranded up-side-down during spawning and to encourage, through a simple act of compassion, an appreciation for this remarkable creature who will not survive public indifference.

The horseshoecrab.org web page is a rich source of information on the crabs including how we can engage in conservation and appreciation by reporting sightings and especially tagged crabs and by joining the annual survey. ERDG also offers educational programs for classroom use and sponsors competitions to celebrate these fascinating creatures.

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positive effect. “Under the current management framework, the present horseshoe crab harvest is not considered a threat to the red knot.”

Lyons says that in 2011, the passage surveys estimated 43,570 red knots, “and it’s been fairly steady since then with some variation from year to year. Last year was 45,133.”

It’s not all clear on the horizon. The FWS report noted that inconsistent funding for the necessary surveys could imperil the ARM. And in its 2019 Horseshoe Crab Benchmark Stock Assessment, the ASMFC noted concerns about bycatch, something researchers know little about yet: “The magnitude of horseshoe crab discards in the targeted horseshoe crab fishery and other fisheries is potentially the most important uncertainty and highest priority research recommendation identified in the assessment to improve abundance estimates. Preliminary results show discard mortality may be comparable to or greater than combined mortality from other sources.” Meanwhile, incessant human pressure on shoreline habitat is an issue that shows no sign of abating. When shorelines are rip-rapped or developed, crab spawning habitat is lost.

But horseshoe crabs and rufa red knots, through the ARM framework, are providing resource managers, scientists, and others new insights into how to approach the holistic management of species within interconnected ecosystems—the intertwined stories of completely different animals.

“It absolutely is very cool conceptually,” Schmidtke says, “If you think about it and the implications for it, and you see the interconnectivity, and how so many different things impact each other.” h Wendy Mitman Clarke is a CBM editor-atlarge. She’s also a science writer and editor for Maryland Sea Grant and senior editor at Good Old Boat magazine. Read her work at wendymitmanclarke.com.

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jody’s log

Whose Idea Was This?

Why planning doesn’t always pay off, with examples.

by Capt. Jody Argo Schroath

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hings are not going well. We are headed south out of Fort Myers, tracking the coastline toward Naples, and things are not going well at all. The ship’s security chief, Bindi, an untraceable canine mix, gives me a hard look. “It’s your job not to let this happen,” her eyes say as clearly as if she were a Marine Corps drill instructor with a sociology minor. Sammy, the navigator trainee, also a seafaring pooch, is concentrating hard at some point on the horizon, pretending that none of this exists. “I’m not here. I’m not here,” he chants to himself. Jean, the only other human on the boat, sits as far back as she can get on the cockpit seat with the two dogs. They are trying to get away from the spray that comes over the bow and in through the open front windows with every second or third wave. The windows are open so I can try to pick our way through the crazy-quilt seas.

“Are we going to die?” Jean asks, trying to sound as if she’s not really serious.

“Shoot no, no, of course not,” I reply. And we’re not. I’m pretty sure. We are just having a thoroughly miserable time of it and making no progress at all against the steep seas that are coming at us from three or four different directions. The wind is howling. The seas keep rising. Early on in this predicament, I had picked a momentary lull and spun the boat back the way we’d come, Fort Myers’s San Carlos

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May 2020

inlet. But as the waves and current bustled us north, I could tell that they were pushing us toward the tip of Estero Island instead of the inlet, which makes a jog west. In order to hit the channel, we’d have to come broadside to the seas. That, I knew, could be disastrous.

Four years earlier, not far from where we were now, my husband Rick and I had been caught by surprise in a steep, beam sea as we crossed the mouth of Boca Grande Inlet where it enters Charlotte Harbor. Suddenly, Moment of Zen began rocking wildly.

Down below, the toaster oven and printer crashed to the cabin floor. The chart locker door swung open and smacked the television set below it, cracking its screen. Snapping out of our shock, we quickly angled up Charlotte Harbor enough to take the seas on our stern quarter. Immediately, Zen settled down. We held our course up Charlotte Harbor until we were past the inlet and could return, wiser but now a bit poorer, to the Gulf ICW channel.

The waves in this present case were a lot steeper, which made the prospect of riding a beam sea into the inlet considerably more dangerous.

Dangerous enough to roll a 36-foot Endeavourcat? Possibly. Not worth taking the chance. So, I did the only thing I could think of. I waited for another lull and reluctantly turned Zen back to face the incoming seas.

How did we get into this predicament? The answer is simple: This was not supposed to happen. That morning, at anchor behind Sanibel Island, I had checked marine and local forecasts. South winds five to 10 knots, seas one-foot or less. I checked the tides and currents: max flood 1:30 p.m..

Fine. We left the anchorage about nine o’clock and passed through San Carlos Inlet about 10:00, catching the last of the ebb. At about 11 o’clock, the current turned, and the wind piped up out of the north. Perversely, as the current picked up, so did the wind. By noon it

was blowing 18 to 20. At this point, the waves began piling up quickly. By 1:30, about 20 miles south of San Carlos, we were being drenched in wave after wave of spray. Braced into position at the helm, I stared through the open windows, trying to pick out the highest waves to take off our front quarter then steer hard for the next one. Our progress could be measured in inches.

Now, remember where we left off, because I need to tell you why I’m telling you this story. Which is, that as fun and pleasant and jolly as boating generally is, it is also occasionally an unalloyed pain in the neck calling for ingenuity, perseverance, and the ability to pretend you know what you are doing. At these moments, discomfort is also usually involved. Sometimes, as in this case, quite a bit of discomfort. None of us is immune. We make our plans, set out happily and then, from time to

time, are caught by some nasty surprise or other. For example, I’ve had a new engine fail mid-channel while navigating through busy Norfolk. And I realized that I’d lost a prop when I turned to come up against a face-dock and nothing happened, which is to say, I continued heading for the dock. Squalls, unexpected shallows, beer left on the dock . . . we’ve all had it happen. It’s what makes boating more than an A-to-B occupation. It challenges us. It makes us better and more self-reliant in spite of ourselves. And it gives us better stories to tell at parties.

I have spent hundreds of pleasant days out on the water, but I’d be hard put to describe them to you, and if I could, you’d probably doze off anyway.

But the unexpected, I remember. I’ll not forget the last day of a month-long trip up the ICW two years ago when I left an anchorage on the Little Choptank

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for the final leg up to Annapolis and home. A major storm with two days of gale-force winds was forecast to begin late in the afternoon. Instead, it arrived mid-morning while I was just off Bloody Point. With the wind coming in from the east, I tried to find some protection along the Eastern Shore, thinking I could anchor up Shipping Creek if I absolutely had to. But there was no shelter to be had on the east side because the wind immediately began to back to the northeast. Now the leg northwest to Annapolis would give me a very wicked beam sea. Yes, that again.

I cut the best angle west I could and managed to reach West River. It was a Sunday morning in early spring, so the marinas were closed and the usual anchorages looked blowy white and uninviting. I decided to head back out of the West and try to make the turn into the Rhode River where there would

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jody’s log

possibly be more protection from the northeast. By the time I reached the Rhode River channel, however, I realized I was far enough south that I could take the waves on Zen’s port quarter about a mile into the Bay and then get the same angle on the starboard quarter into Annapolis harbor. Woo-hoo! I finished those last two legs with a kind of joy, reveling now in the storm because I knew I was home free. Home free by luck, perhaps.

But home free, nonetheless. Which seems how a lot of trouble works itself out. You just keep plugging away at it, trying one thing and then another until it finally sorts itself out.

Now none of the things I’ve mentioned has been life-threatening and none has been anything completely bozo, like sailing into a hurricane, or setting out for Bermuda with half a tank of fuel and no sails,

two things you may be surprised to learn I have never done. No, you can’t just potter about willy-nilly with no thought. Boating demands something better of its skippers. Though, speaking of bozo, very many years ago, while sailing an old wooden Comet off Dog Island, Florida, I was busy worrying that the rudder might come off and instead the mast fell down. In any case, do all the prep work you can, which I clearly had not done with the Comet, but when things do go awry, don’t lose your head. Keep trying until something works, and, above all, buy good towing insurance.

Okay, back to my story, which you may or may not recall was about trying to get south out of Fort Myers. I knew that our misery had a time limit. As long as I didn’t bury the nose or get turned sideways, the current would eventually slow to slack and then begin

to move with the wind. This would let the seas lay down, and we could be on our way. And that’s exactly what happened. It seemed like an eternity, but three hours later we could begin to measure our progress against the high-rise apartments and hotels along the beach, and the waves became only a minor nuisance. We reached Gordon Pass into Naples just after dark, and, with Jean standing on the front deck with a spotlight, we worked our way up the Gordon River channel. In the blackness, we found nothing that would work for an anchorage, but I remembered that a few years earlier, Rick and I had docked at the city marina. And this, I remembered, had a fuel dock. If that dock was empty, which I fervently hoped, we could tie up and explain our presence in the morning. It was, and we did. That night, Jean and I walked the ship’s dogs

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through Naples’s 5th Avenue shopping district, bright and busy with late-night crowds. We joined them as if we had never had a care in the world. Ah, it’s fine to be a boater! h 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.

ARGO: AN APP TO CALL OUR OWN With the free Argo app (no relation), boaters can share their experiences, photos and recommendations with boating friends or non-boating friends who like to know what we’re up to out on the water.

Argo comes complete with map, routing function, captain’s log, and news feed. You can put in your destination and the app will find the shortest route based on your boat’s draft. It will also determine how long it will take you to get there.

Note: We haven’t tried out this function, yet, but the route is based on NOAA charts. The app’s map looks like Google or Apple maps, but with markers and some depths—handy but not meant to replace your chartplotter or navigation app such as Navionics.

Argo lets you keep track of your trips in the captain’s log, which you can then share with friends through the news feed feature. While you are out on the water, you can drop pins to mark hazards, great fishing spots, good anchorages, favorite dock bars, and so forth. There is even a function that lets you chat with friends to arrange meet-ups.

The app is available at the Apple App Store and Google Play.

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very year, Mike Weatherstein fields a flurry of questions as boaters prepare to launch their Memorial Day weekend adventures.

Do you know a good waterfront restaurant? Where is the next fuel dock?

Where to get a good drink? What’s the best route from Point A to Point B? Is there a cool island beach nearby? What’s the closest hotel to the water?

Weatherstein has plenty of suggestions, but helping new boaters navigate the Chesapeake Bay was always a struggle. Until now. This year, Weatherstein is armed with a new tool that boaters can download to their phone called Argo, a free navigation and social app that connects the boating community by helping to plan trips, plot routes, find hot spots and scenic byways, and then share information with friends.

“I get asked all the time about where to go and how to get there,” said Weatherstein, a marine master technician at All Star Marine in Essex, Md. “I tell them to follow such-and-such a creek and they say, woah, we’re new to boating. We don’t know where that creek is. How cool is it for them to punch it into an app and it takes them there?”

Think of it as having a first mate in your pocket.

Argo helps boaters discover new dock bars, restaurants, anchorages, fishing holes and historic bay side towns with descriptions and photos. Argo’s news feeds and messaging functions allow friends to share experiences or plan their next raft-up.

Not sure how to get there? Argo will auto-route to a chosen destination based on the draft of your boat and provide hazard and map information with help from fellow boaters. During the trip, Argo can track your speed, show water depth and give an estimated time of arrival. Boaters can even save favorite voyages by logging the route, reports, photos and comments that can be shared with others.

“Punching coordinates into a chartplotter might take you on a straight path right across land,” Weatherstein said. “Argo will give you an actual route and keep you away from hazardous water.”

Join the Argo community at

www.argonav.io or download the FREE app

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wild chesapeake Delmarva are far too numerous to chronicle here. Most sites are full of modern amenities and facilities. The places I’m suggesting below are not those. These offer primitive camping, accessible only by boat or kayak. You pack it in, you pack it out.

Seaside Magic

Barrier Island Camping

by Captain Chris D. Dollar

F

ew things satisfy my appetite—both spiritually and as an epicurean—like campfire food. Seared into my memory are the camping trips I’ve taken to the lower Chesapeake’s and Atlantic barrier islands. I recall a trip to Tangier Sound when a robust moon doused nearly everything with drunken, swanky light, and soft crabs and rockfish snapped, crackled, and popped in the cast-iron skillet over the campfire.

Vegetables wrapped in foil roasted next to the coals. The Bay’s secrets were tucked away quietly for the night, the beer ice-cold, and, for the moment, all seemed right with the world.

Early spring to mid-summer is prime time camping in my book, mainly to avoid bug season and the summer crowds, but also to witness the natural world awaken from winter. Places to camp, boat and fish in the Chesapeake watershed and along

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Places where the ocean mingles with coastal bays make for fascinating explorations. We know we aren’t the first to see the white sandy shores or poke our skiffs into concealed salt marsh guts, but it sometimes feels that way. From Chincoteague Bay down through Magothy Bay, there are miles of beaches and inlets begging to be experienced. Many, like Parramore Island, owned by The Nature Conservancy, are restricted. Other lands are privately owned; but don’t be that guy. Be respectful.

No one owns the labyrinth of sloughs, cuts and channels that dissect these islands, however, at least up to the high-tide mark. Nature abounds along the beaches and marshes of our part of the Atlantic Coast. Sand dollars, ribbed scallops, and whelk shells adorn sandy beaches. Beach grass, sea oats, and goldenrod give way to bayberry and wax myrtle thickets. The latter often make up ideal heron rookeries. Pelicans and various types of gulls, pipers, plovers, and terns can also be observed. Later in the season, porpoises run the inlets, and sometimes you may even spot whales.

On the seaside of Virginia near Cape Charles is Mockhorn Wildlife Management Area, an Atlantic coastal island of more than 7,000 acres of tidal marshland owned and maintained by Virginia’s Department of Inland Game and Fisheries. The area consists of two tracts—Mockhorn Island and the GATR tract. Mockhorn is the most primitive of the two with its natural state of mixed upland and marsh

habitats. Once a sporting club, remnants still remain of failed efforts to tame this apparently untamable island, including concrete walls and structures in varying states of disrepair.

You’ll want to make camp on the high ground amongst the loblolly pine and red cedar hummocks. Watch out for poison ivy, and pay close attention to the wind and tidal ranges, especially if you go exploring. Note that spring turkey hunting is allowed during the April split on the GATR tract.

Waterfowl hunting is also allowed on Mockhorn Island in the fall and winter.

As the inshore waters warm, anglers can find flounder in the tidal guts while surf anglers target migratory spring runs of black and red drum. The surrounding waters of Magothy Bay, South Bay, Ship Shoal Channel, and New Inlet also attract

saltwater gamefish including gray trout, croaker, and, during the summer, tarpon. Before you launch, go see Chris Snook at Chris’ Bait & Tackle on Route 13. She will give you the 411 on what’s biting and on what.

She has everything you’ll need. Access to Mockhorn Island is fairly straight forward—Launch at the boat ramp at Oyster, located at the end of Route 639.

For a change of pace, camp at nearby Kiptopeke State Park. Or check out Fisherman’s Island National Wildlife Refuge. On your way back to civilization, make it a point to stop into the town of Cape Charles. No longer a sleepy Eastern Shore village, Cape Charles has excellent restaurants and the Cape Charles Brewing Company brew-pub to ease you back into the modern pace of life.

Bay Side Adventure Jane’s Island State Park (410-968-1565) in Crisfield, Maryland offers three primitive, back-country campsites equipped with tent platforms and boat landings. It is an easy paddle from the park’s launch, and an even easier run by skiff. The Water Trail is well marked, but be mindful of the tides, particularly when wind-driven.

A couple times while paddling, I doddled too long, and was forced to wait out the ebb until the rising tide returned enough water to float out.

Wildlife is abundant here, including the endangered peregrine falcon, which nests on towers. Bird lovers may also see pelicans, ospreys, American oystercatchers, black skimmers, and black rails. The

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wild chesapeake

regular lineup of water activities includes crabbing and fishing.

Speckled trout, rockfish, croaker, bluefish, and spot can be caught nearby.

If you’re feeling adventurous, skiff across Tangier Sound and explore the shallows between Tangier and Smith Islands. Stop into Tylerton for a Drum Point Market crabcake after casting lures or flies to an undercut marsh bank for specks and stripers. Don’t be surprised if you’re the only angler around. And, if you get skunked, do you really care? You’d be hard-pressed to find a prettier place to while away the time.

If platform camping isn’t rustic enough for your inner Bear Grylls, run south to the Cedar Marsh Wildlife Management Area or a bit north to South Marsh WMA to find some dry, high ground to pitch a tent. With rising sea level, finding a dry spot to make camp may be a challenge, especially on big, moon or wind driven tides. If these options are too much like roughing it, Jane’s Island has 100 campsites, 49 of which are equipped with electrical hook-ups to accommodate tent or vehicle campers, as well as bath houses with hot-water showers and flushing toilets.

Whatever your comfort level, who doesn’t need a respite from a fractious, noisy world? Head to a place where an infinitesimal trail of stars disappear into that luminary cathedral, and where salt-enriched air washes over you at daybreak. The back bays and barrier islands of the Atlantic seaside and Chesapeake fit that bill perfectly. Spend a few days exploring and I guarantee you’ll find it cathartic and rejuvenating.

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

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stern lines

Alabaster Meadow Moon glow, oh moon glow, How softly you sit upon the night.

Pale outlines fade in—fade out.

Shadows in this lean light, Struggle—just to be.

A softness to the air Like the breast of a bird.

So deep in white down, Nary a sound is heard A silent zephyr paints silver upon the cheek, As lightness of light, Brings senses to a peak.

How can the moon on borrowed light, Hallow the ground, transform the night?

A glade of grass—a ring of trees, Would think it still in eternities.

Now bathed in the glow it seems not real, so catch it—breath it—remember the feel.

Listen now! The loon—forlorn, He knows ephemeral, But another Moon.

by Dave Brashears, Eastport, 1989

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