from Dugout to Racing Yacht Spo radi c attempts to revive a nd ma inta in th e races fa il ed unt il the Miles Ri ver Yacht C lub was fo rmed at St. Michaels in 1924. Three years late r the Gove rno r's C up was establ ished as the premier prize in log canoe rac ing, and the spo rt began its slow revival . By the 1920s the trans itio n of log ca noe rac ing fro m a co ntest among working watermen to a spo rting event was nearl y complete. The o ld boats vani shed into th e mud of th e ma rshy coves whe re old boats we re taken to die; new o nes, built by spo rtsmen specificall y fo r rac ing too k to the wate r. Careful restoratio n has kept a few ve ry o ld boats a li ve : Island Blossom was built in 1892, Magic in 1894, and Island Bird, th e smallest of the canoes, in 1882 . Another venerable ca noe, th e Rover, was resto red in 1972 by he r owne r, Ma rio n M arshall , Jr. of St. Michae ls, without the use of fiberglass patches o r sheathing, w hi c h is co mmo nl y fo und in o th e rs. In the 1970s there were more restorations and even new co nstructio n . The Jay Dee and Flying Clo ud ~ built in the 1930s for racing a nd th e la rges t of th e log ca noes, returned to thei r nati ve Easte rn Sho re fro m long yea rs of disuse or sailing alien waters. New canoes such as Faith P Hanlon , Spirit of Wye Town and Tenacious joined th e fl eet. Othe rs have fo ll owed , e ithe r resc ued fro m rot or built fro m the keel log up by ded icati on and love of the spo rt . By th e e nd of 1982 the re we re 23 of the m , w ith rumors of mo re coming. The allure of the log ca noes is ove rwhe lming. The s ight of a dozen of th e m crowding the sta rting line in the Miles, Tred Avo n or C heste r Ri ve rs is breathta king. Knowledgeable spectato rs look for distincti ve colors o n the ir " kites", o r read th eir numbe rs; othe rs ma rve l at the d azz le of white geo metri c sail s and the fantasti c rigs th at send the m slic ing th ro ugh th e wate r at such speeds. A round the first ma rk they co me. sail s fl apping a nd crew sc rambling to windwa rd o n 12-foot planks j utting fa rover each canoe's high side. "'Sailing a log ca noe is li ke riding a bicycle," says Doug las Hanks, a ve te ran sa il o r wh o has skippe red log ca noes in spe ll s s ince the 1930s. " Balance and coo rd inati on is everything when you race log ca noes . They 'll turn ove r as qui ckly in calm as they will in a wind." Betwee n perfo rming an e ndl ess balancing act , bailing and c ha ng ing sa il s on a breezy day, a log ca noe's crew is consta ntl y o n th e jump. Eve n so, th e slightes t mi sjudgement or a flaw in the w ind th at ta kes eve ryo ne by surpri se will dump th e m bes ide th e ir ca psized boat, tang led in the sa il s, rigging and the clouds of stinging jell yfi sh th at a re the curse of th e Chesapeake. ' ¡It 's mu c h mo re of a c ha lle nge to sail log canoes than any oth e r kind of boat I know," says Do ug Hanks, who has raced o n ri ve rs, bays a nd oceans. " Winning the race is kind of incidental; first yo u have to get o ut to th e course a nd th en you have to stay right s ide up till yo u get ho me . And so metimes , whe n yo u have a long tow fro m o ne yac ht c lub to a noth e r and th e weath e r's a littl e rough , yo u wo nd e r wheth e r yo ur ba ile rs are go ing to g ive o ut befo re yo u eve n get to whe re yo u' re s upposed to race ." But C hesapea ke Bay log ca noe race rs are an enthus iasti c breed . The ha rd wo rk , te mpe rme ntal boats, tri c ky weath e r and jell y fi sh do n't sto p th e m . Whe n summe r co mes , the log ca noes will be ready, a nd , o n almost eve ry summe r weeke nd , o n so me ri ve r, off so me yac ht club o n Ma ryland 's Easte rn Shore, the g un w ill po p a nd th e s lee k boats with the ir towe rs of sa il s will lunge across the line, defy ing th e w ind fo r a chance at g lo ry.
In "Becalmed Beyond the Buoy" th e Sandy (7) , one of th e oldest canoes, lies nea r the new Fa ith P. Ha nl o n. In ':August on the Bay" the Mag ic (3) trails th e square stern ed Jay Dee , built as a racer in 1931.
In "Mo rning Mist " the Fa ith P. Ha nlon (76) , launched July 4, 1976, j oins the red-kited Sil ve r Hee l and Mag ic fo r a race.
Mr: Valliant is an &lsrern Shore native and the editor ojTh e Wate rman's Gazette, Annapolis MD. Mr. Robinson 's an ,ji-om his studio in Washington CT, has been widely seen in national and international exhibitions in the US. *Once th e propertY of the late John Noble ofNe\\ ' York , res10red and sailed wdar b1¡ his son Allen.
SEA HISTORY, SUMMER 1984
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