August 2004

August 2004

After our short trip across the Potomac in July, we've been kept in port by all the hurricanes coming up the coast, and also by my dental appointments. We started off for our first longer boat trip of the summer - a long weekend at the beginning of August. We will begin by going down to Reedville on the Great Wicomico in Virginia

6 August 2004 - Overnight in Reedville

It was about 10 before we got the boat dried off, and got her ready to leave. The wind tried to blow us sideways into the slip, but it worked out OK. We were going to get fuel, but Bob figured we'd never get off the fuel dock afterwards, and we don't really need it as we've got 50 gallons or more in the tanks. Bob did his usual trick of putting the sails up right away as we motored out the channel of Smith Creek. I had a hard time holding the bow into the wind which was 20-30 knots. Finally he turned away from the wind and got the rest of the sail up (just main and staysail) and turned the engine off, and we sailed toward the mouth of the Potomac.

Pound nets in Smith Creek

I'm hoping that the winds will drop off a bit this afternoon as predicted - NOT. It is too windy and too many waves for me to feel comfortable using the digital camera. We hear on the radio that there is a sailboat taking on water off Point Lookout, and we see the Coast Guard boat from St. Inigos going out to him. Eventually we get to the mouth of the Potomac, and see him with the Coast Guard boat and also the state police helicopter overhead. According to what we hear on the radio, a plastic thru hull broke and a 2" stream of water was coming in to the boat. But it was so rough that the Coast Guard took all the passengers off, and took the boat in tow. They are having trouble getting the pump started so everyone is bailing. Found out from the paper later, that a small power boat was taking on water at about this same spot later in the day. We had a very fast trip downwind to Reedville. The peaches that were in the wire hanging basket got so beat up that Bob threw them out later.

Wicomico Spider

As we come down to the Greater Wicomico, we see a menhaden boat coming out of the river. They apparently decided it was too rough for them, and turned around and went back to the dock along with all the rest of their kin.

Omega Protein boats and plant

Local fishermen alongside a docked menhaden boat

Menhaden boat

Sailboat anchored up past the marina

The owner of the marina was not there, and they don't answer the radio, so I called on the phone and some of the restaurant personnel came out and helped us tie up on the face dock. His instructions to them before he left was that any boat less than 35 feet could take any available slip. I like a face dock better, although we are subject to a lot of dock walkers looking at the boat. When we tied up at Reedville Marina, we had gone 29.3 nm at an average speed of 5.7 knots. The GPS said the max speed was 9.8 knots which is more than our 7+knot hull speed.

Bob on the dock by the boat

We had an early dinner at the Crazy Crab

Inside the Crazy Crab

Crazy Crab Waitress with "Basket Case" on the back of her shirt

I had a crabcake (very good with lump crabmeat) with a tossed salad, broccoli and an enormous sweet potato (twice as big as my crabcake), and

Crab Cake Dinner with Sweet potatoes

Bob had shrimp salad which he said wasn't real shrimp with cole slaw and potato salad.

Shrimp salad plate

They also gave us some hush puppies. This was $29.16 before the tip.

Hush puppies

Then we walked up as far as the museum. They were having an Antique and Classic Boat Show this weekend, and boats were on display on trailers and also at the docks behind most of the houses on Main Street.

The museum docks with the Claud Somers skipjack

The vessels at the dock include the skipjack Claud W. Somers which is part of the permanent collection. This 42' vessel was built in 1911 and worked Virginia waters until 1925 when she went to Maryland owners. Skipjacks are two-sail bateaus with sloop hulls, from which oyster dredging was done. They have no motors, and the only dredging done in the Chesapeake since 1860 is done by sailboats. Since the mid 1960's, some amendments have been made to allow for the use of motors behind sail dredging vessels called a push-boat. Currently, there are even areas in the Bay that allow motor dredging on other types of vessels. But for the better part of the Bay, you must be in a DNR registered oyster sailboat to engage in dredging for oysters in the winter months from November through March.

Skipjack at the pier

Elva C

The Elva-C is a 55 foot By-Boat (a traditional work boat) which was built in 1922, and has been donated to the museum and restored by museum volunteers and local boatbuilder George Butler, whose family has owned Butler’s Marine Railway for three generations. The boat is also available for trips on the Bay and Cockrell Creek. At Christmas on Cockrell's Creek children welcome Santa as he arrives aboard the Elva C.

Three log canoe

small boat shed

Some of antique and classic trailer able boats

I got a walking tour map from one of the docents for the museum (she was leaving and it was too late to visit the museum again, but she ran back to get one for me), and I walked back along Main Street taking pictures of the houses that were on the tour or looked interesting.

Fisherman's Museum

Museum offices

The Pendleton Building

I have not been to the Pendelton Building which was added in 2003 after we actually toured the museum. It provides the shop space and modern facilities for two of the RFM's major programs, Boat Building and Model Making. There are education programs and special events held throughout the year, such as Family Boat Building weekends and display of the Northern Neck Railroad.

In the Boat Building Shop, facilities are in place to construct traditional small boats and other craft. Boat building classes are held, and special "Family Boat Building Weekends" are offered throughout the year.

Beautiful house and garden near Fisherman's Museum

Reedville is named for Captain Elijah Reed, a sea captain from Maine who came down to this area in 1874 and saw in menhaden (a kind of small fish) a golden opportunity. Legend has it that, as early as the 1620's, the Indians taught the Pilgrims the value of burying menhaden in each hill of corn for fertilizer. By 1885, there were many menhaden factories on Cockrell Creek producing fish oil, meal and fertilizer from menhaden. Factory owners and fishing boat captains who made their fortunes from menhaden built homes along what is now Main Street. The "Millionaire's Row" mansions are now on the National Register of Historic Places. The Reedville Fisherman's Museum has restored some of the oldest homes, and has information about the menhaden industry and the history of Reedville.

Menhaden fishing has declined until there is only the one Omega Protein plant remaining on Cockrell Creek. But Reedville is also a significant charter fishing center for Chesapeake Bay bluefish and rockfish with more than 50 boats operating out of the area.

Charter dock and sign

The Reedville Historic District begins at Crowder's Lane. I have not walked to the 300 block to take a photo of number one on the tour. I started with the church which is #2 on the walking tour because I knew I had to walk back to the marina later.

Bethany Methodist Church

The second stop on the walking tour is at 454 Main Street. The Bethany Methodist Church was completed in 1901, and is noted for the magnificent wooden interior. The bell tower was added in 1921 under the supervision of Captain Fisher who hauled the bricks from New Jersey in one of his schooners.. It replaced the earlier wooden tower. The Reedville Town Hall, built in 1897 with the contributions of 20 subscribers totaling over $13,000. was built where I am standing in the church parking lot. It served as the towns first and only movie theatre, and they also had theatrical productions, commencements and other events there.

This is the William Walker house (504 Main Street) (Stop #3) the Oldest House in town.

William Walker house

It is the centerpiece of the Reedville Fisherman's Museum. It was built (according to local tradition) in one single day on 17 April, 1875 while Mr. Walker was out oystering. It was built on land which was purchased from Captain Reed (who came to Reedville the previous year) and is the oldest house still standing in Reedville. Out in front next to the house is a bronze propellor from a menhaden ship. The back of the oldest house has been 'attached' to the rest of the museum and a ramp added.

back of the house

It has been restored and furnished with accessories and items that would have been typical of a waterman's home in the late 19th century. The museum docents give a tour of the house which is quite interesting.

Second Oldest House

Number 4 is the second oldest house still standing in Reedville. It was built in 1875 by Gamalian T. Robinson. In 1935, Harold Haynie and his wife Miriam bought the house . Miriam was a noted artist and she founded the Reedville Art League. She was also the author of a number of books about Reedville and the Northern Neck. These include: "The Stronghold," "A Kingdom by the Sea" and "Reedville: 1874-1974." These books (and others) are available in the Reedville Fisherman's Museum Gift Shop

682 Main

Stop #5 was built in 1906 by John R. Muir. It was later enlarged and served as a hotel with a livery stable in the rear.There was a lady from NJ and her son sitting on the porch, and she said it was her house, and that Elijah Reed was her ancestor. The walking tour guide says, however, that the house is still owned by a member of the Muir family.

(Stop #6) Halfway down Reed's Lane (which is now Main Street) the Reed Monument is enclosed by an iron fence.

Reed Monument

The fence is an example of the iron fences that once enclosed the yards of a number of the houses on Reed Lane aka Main Street. Sometimes these iron fences may have been sold as scrap for the war effort in WW II. This plot was the site of the interment of Elijah Reed and his wife, family and close friends. Subsequently, they were moved to Roseland Cemetery.

The monument says:
"Elijah W. Reed
"Born November 27, 1827
"Died January 27, 1888
"Founder of Reedville"

I don't have a photo of Stop #7 and I did not walk down "Tom Cat Alley" or Toulson Avenue to see #8. The walking tour pamphlet did not say why the street was locally called Tom Cat Alley. To make up for it, I have two photos of Stop #9

Morris House

Captain Albert Morris and his wife built this three story Queen Anne styled Victorian house in 1895. It is one of the centerpieces of Reedville architecture. For instance, it is featured by the Reedville Museum in the Christmas lighting season. It is now a bed and breakfast. The elegant lower floor features "a tiled entrance hall and formal living and dining rooms that typify the wealth of the late 19th and early 20th century" industralist/entrepreneur. Captain Morris, along with his brother-in-law James Fisher, owned and operated the Morris-Fisher Menhaden Factory.According to their site: "The Morris House offers spectacular water views, a private dock, spacious suites, Jacuzzi's, fireplaces, antique collections,full breakfasts and more. A separate, two bedroom cottage is available daily or weekly"

Morris BandB

#10 This building at #858 Main Street housed the Coast Guard office

Customs House

(in addition to being the Customs House) and was the only place locally where a fishing license could be purchased.It is currently the acupuncture office of Claire Michie a L.Ac. who is a member of the Acupuncture Society of Virginia. Her sign also advertises Chinese Herbs.

This building at 876 Main Street (Stop #11)

Northern Neck State Bank

was formerly the Peoples Bank of Reedville. It opened in 1910 and was built of the same brick as the Gables across the street. Captain Fisher supervised the construction. During the depression, this was the only rural bank to remain open, due to Captain Fisher who personally loaned the bank $109,000. Next to the bank in what is now the parking lot, used to stand the Dey Building which housed a law office, a milinery shop, a dentist, the Post Office, a bowling alley, a grocery store and a barber shop. It was razed in the 1950s.

#12 Reed's Wharf. Now we are down at the end of the street by the marina

Virginia Seafood Products plant

Reed's Wharf is the original site of the Reed factory, and later the Chesapeake Oil and Guano Company factory. The area was the business hub of the community, and steamships bringing supplies to Reedville landed here. Many of the buildings that were here were destroyed by fire in 1925. Currently at this location is the Virginia Seafood Products plant for processing fish (which also sells bait and tackle and possibly fish), as well as Reedville Marina and the Crazy Crab restaurant

#13 861 Main - Sea Products.

13-861Main

The Reed and Rice Store which was at 861 Main Street was opened in December 1912, and was the very latest thing in retail esblishments at the time. Inside, there was a drug store with a marble soda fountain.A handsome stairway led to the upper floor where the ladies milinery department was located. Milliners came to the store each fall and spring by steamboat.The store also sold and delivered groceries, building supplies, coal and ice.The building is now the home of Sea Products. which sells prepared fresh or frozen fish and seafood.. Closed November to March.

The Gables #14 was built in 1909

The Gables

with ships ballast bricks brought in from Baltimore in 1902 and stacked on site. They were periodically restacked so they would weather uniformly.Captain James C. Fisher aligned the roof with a compass. He erected the wooden mast of his schooner, the "John B. Adams" through the top two stories. Building the Gables took eight years because what was built one day, Capt. Fisher was likely to have torn down and rebuilt the next. Local historian, Miriam Haynie writes, "Finally, it was finished [in 1914] and stood in all its gabled Queen Anne glory -- with a fountain in front, a coach house on the side and a handsome wrought-iron fence to enclose it all." From the B&B website: "The brick arcadia wraps around three sides of the house with double doors opening into marble floored vestibules at each end of the wide center hall. The grand quarter- sawn oak staircase with hand carved “waves of the sea” and original parquet “sunrise” landings, sweeps up to the third floor. Opposite the stairwell are the antique filled parlors separated by massive oak pocket doors. Across from them is the formal dining room with its exquisite Venetian chandelier."On the second floor, French doors open into the marble floored vestibules leading to the wicker filled sun porches on each end of the center hall..."The third floor was the Captain’s billiard room. It is an octagonal room with the main cabin mast from the ship as the center support. It runs from the 3rd floor through the 4th floor and the massive slate roof is hung from the top of the mast on the compass rose. Small bell shaped rooms finished in double planking tongue and groove wood are located off the billiard room on the cardinal points of the compass.. ... The fourth floor is a virtual museum area, essentially unchanged since the Captain had it built. The mast continues to the top of the roof. The walls are all varnished double planking tongue and groove. All of the construction is mortise and tenon and was done by shipwrights. "

Looking out across the creek

The Gables Coach House

was built in 1880 as a stables for the Gables. Since April 2002, guests can now enjoy four lovely new rooms. The Coach House also houses the dining room, gift shop, an ice cream parlor and an outside bistro. Additional rooms are available at the Gables itself.

811 Main

#15 This Queen Anne style house was built in 1888 by Elijah W. Reed's son George N. Reed.

811 Main

(Stop #16)

Bailey Cockrell House

The north wing of the Bailey Cockrell Queen Anne style home was built prior to 1884 to house Elijah Reed's factory workers. In 1886, Isaac Bailey purchased the house and one acre of land. An addition was then built which more than tripled the size of the house. Isaac Bailey designed and built the "Bailey Skiff" which was a popular open shallow draft fishing boat used in the lower bay region at the turn of the century.

791 Main Street

In 1899, the house was sold to Dr. L.E. Cockrell, who had his office next door at 791 Main Street which is Stop #17

#18 Main Street #729 Chesapeake Oil

Chesapeake Oil

This building is uninhabited and appeared to be abandoned on both of our visits. The building was purchased from the Chesapeake Oil and Guano Company in 1884 by Captain John Hinton as a family home. Later it was called Reedville House and was used as a hotel with a livery stable in the rear.

On this lot (Stop #19)

Tommy's

there was originally the Blundon and Hinton store building - a grocery and department store. Behind the store was the Blundon and Hinton Cannery. Later it was the Reedville Market. In 2001 at our visit, this was Elijah's Restaurant (named after Elijah Reed the town founder). In 2004, the name had been changed to Tommy's Restaurant

Tommy's Restaurant and handicapped parking

View from the porch where I sat down to rest

Stop #20

Reedville Marina Railway

In 1906, Isaac Bailey's workshop was on this site, and Sam Butler bought the workshop and set up the first marine railway. Several tools owned by Mr. Bailey are still being used today in building, restoring and conducting maintenance on many area boats. The railway is now being operated by the third generation. George Butler helped the Reedville Fishermans Museum to restore the byboat Elva C.
"Watermen pay a hauling fee and work on their own boats or they pay to have Butler repair and maintain their boats. The railway holds two boats

Original Texaco building

Kilduff Texaco-This interesting building with large oil tanks behind it is at 691 Main Street. It has a sign on it which says that it is the original Texaco building. It is now Kilduff Oil. They have heating oil and other products including biodiesel.

Stop #21 at 621 Main Street

621 Main Street

This house was built in 1890. The first house here was built in 1876, but was burned down in 1888. (Loss by fire was quite common in wooden homes.) The story goes that after the fire, the family took out the pot of beans that had been cooking in the oven.and had them for dinner. The building appears to have some later non-authentic architectural additions (like the porch and the iron porch railings).

#22 617 Jett Foto

Jett Foto

This building was built in 1912 and was first called Megill's Store. It had an ice cream parlor, a butcher shop and a bakery. When the street was widened, it was moved back to its current location. In 1944 it became the home of the Haynie Insurance Agency. Then it was the Reedville Art Gallery which sold the works of local artists. Now it is apparently a photographer's studio called Jett Foto

#23 607 Main

607 Main

The private residence at 607 Main Street was built in 1890, and over the years has been the Crowther Meat Shop and the Miersch Barbar Shop.The home at 585 Main Street was built in 1884 for Captain Croswell, one of the last schooner captains of the Chesapeake.

Stop #24 is the Garrison House

The Garrison House

which was built in the Queen Anne style in 1885, and was a boarding house for 25 years. Bob is walking on that side of the street. I took the picture because of the mermaid by the door.

Stop #25 The Masonic Hall A.F. & A. M.

Masonic Hall on Reed Street

at 31 Reed Street was built in 1927 in the Colonial Revival style. Behind the Hall was the Pythian Hall which served as the first Town Hall (before the one that was built next to the Bethany Methodist Church in 1897) and the only public school before Reedville High School was built in 1908.

As we walked back to the boat, we passed the

Steamboat Wharf

Reedville Steamboat Wharf which is right down on the end of Main Street next to the Reedville Marina.. They sell chum and ice for fishermen, and you can also come and buy fish fresh off the boat in the afternoon. I saw some cats and kittens on the roof and tried to take their photos

cats and kittens on top of the building

They put a big power boat named Fair Dinkum in front of us on the face dock.

Fair Dinkum on the dock in front of us

Neither of us can stay more than Friday night, as they need the docks and slips for the boat show. After we got back to the boat, we got dessert (I had apple pie with ice cream and Bob had coconut cream pie) and took it back to the boat to eat. The restaurant was too full for us to get a seat, and it was pretty windy and cold to eat outside.

Saturday, August 7, 2004

Saturday, we wait for Fair Dinkum to leave - he needs a fan belt and no one here has any idea when or where one can be purchased. The gas dock is right in front of Fair Dinkum, and someone is there getting gas, so he has a hard time getting out. (And his being there makes it hard for other people to get in to get fuel, although we did see a single hander in a crab pot boat make a very nice job of it.) It is very easy to get off the dock with FAIR DINKUM gone. We push off about 9:20 and Bob puts up the main and jib, and turns off the engine when we get out of the river. We are following

another sailboat

that spent the night anchored up past the marina

an Old Chimney

Crab Pot boat

Crab pots stacked on shore

Homes in Fleeton from Cockrell Creek

On the Fleeton side, at the end of the peninsula is this building which looks like it might be a lighthouse, but smaller

Lighthouse model

After we get out of the Wicomico River, Bob puts up the main and jib, and turns off the engine.

Wicomico spider

We have the VHF radio on (as always) and hear someone inquiring of another boater if he was trying to avoid submarines by zig zagging. We passed the Reedville-Tangier ferry about 10:41

Tangier ferry

The wind decreased and at 1207, Bob started the engine. We are heading for Tangier

Gunkholing in the Chesapeake
Second Section Activities
August 7-9 Boat trip across the Bay continued
August 18 - Dental visit
September 3 - Aunt Eleanor's funeral

There is a rhyme about the timing of hurricanes in the hurricane season. The majority of hurricanes are in August and September
June - Too Soon (first month)
July - Standby
August - A Big Gust
September - Remember
October - It's over ?
November- The Ender (the last month)

As I said at the beginning of this section, hurricanes had kept us in port up to the beginning of August.

Bob at the wheel

We are coming into Tangier. Tangier is really a cluster of marshy islands in the Chesapeake Bay about fifteen miles from the Eastern Shore. Tangier has been eroding away for years. The island now is only about a mile wide by three miles long. The land is flat and marshy with the highest point on the island at about seven feet above sea level. Island residents are clustered in three communities known as "ridges". The waterline of Tangier is very low lying and marshy and the edges of it are exposed at high tide.

Planes over the airport

Coming around into the channel

There are two entrances to Tangier harbor - the Chesapeake Bay side (west) and the Tangier Sound side (east). The Chesapeake Bay side has the deeper and more reliable channel. Unfortunately, there used to be a low power line across the channel which meant that most sailboats could not use it. But the overhead power line has been put underground, so it isn't an overhead hazard anymore.

[Don't anchor in the channel - - If you cut the power line everyone on the island will be mad at you.]

RosalieAnn at Parks marina

We yell across to the dockmaster at Parks who is on one of the other boats (they don't answer the radio any more than the marina in Reedville does), and she puts us alongside of the little house with the bathrooms. This is perfect for us, as I don't have to climb over the lifelines. Also we are not aground at low tide as I think we would be if we were in a slip.

Parks marina bathrooms

The marina is not fancy, but the charge for a boat over about 35 feet is only $25.00.

We have come 16.9 nm at an average speed of 4.4 knots.

Tangier Island was visited in 1608 by Captain John Smith, who gave it the name. A part of the island was patented by Ambrose White in 1670. It was settled in 1686 by John Crockett and his son's families. In 1814, it was the headquarters of a British Fleet ravaging the Chesapeake Bay. From here the fleet sailed to attack Fort McHenry. Tangier Island has been mostly isolated from the mainland for many years and the men have made their living from the water. Now, most of their business is crabbing, particularly soft crabs.

There is a mail boat that comes each day from Crisfield, and there are now tourists that come on ferries from Crisfield, Reedville and Onancock in the summer and hunters that come in the fall and winter. In the summer people come on their own boats, and some come in their own planes. The island women do a considerable business housing and feeding the tourists.

There's a boat up at the other end of the marina which is across the ends of the slips up there. We find out later that this is a common practice.

Parks Marina with boat across the end of slips

Bob petting the cat on the docks

Curious cat

Marina cat lying next to Bob in the cockpit

I decided that we should have lunch in town,

"Billboards" advertising restaurants

so we walked up to FIsherman's Corner

Fisherman's Corner Cat

Fisherman's Corner

specials board

and we both had

Tangier crab soup and apple pan dowdy

The apple pan dowdy turned out to be apples and granola and ice cream in a tall glass. I used the bathroom, and took my picture in the bathroom mirror. There are crabs stenciled all over the walls.

Me taking my picture

These are the trashcans that they have on Tangier. It took me a couple of seconds to realize that this nice lighthouse model was really a trash can. I was even more surprised to see one out on the marshlands. There are a lot of trashcans around, and the island is very clean.

Lighthouse trash can

Then we walked out in town, past the recipe fence. If you want the recipe for some of the local dishes, you find it on this fence, take it out of the bag and put money in to pay for it. You get 10 for $1.00

Recipe Fence

Cat silhouette on the railing

(I bought a map from a box on a fence for $1.00) and got a tour on a golf cart tour vehicle for $4.00 each. Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of the actual multi-passenger golf cart. While you can undoubtedly walk all around the island (there are only two roads lengthwise and it is impossible to get lost), it is relatively cheap to do the tour, and you get the information about the island that you might not otherwise get or think to get. The two streets are Main Street, and Ridge. Ridge is on a ridge which is about 5 feet higher than Main Street. In between Main and Ridge is a swampy area crossed by four bridges.These are the photos I took on the tour.

Lane between houses

Bike rental sign

This sign advertises bike rentals by the day, overnight or by the week - Best Deals in town. The guy that we met that was staying at the Chesapeake House had two boys who were having a really good time riding their bikes. I also saw some tourists riding bikes, and of course there were islanders who rode bikes. There was a bike rack in the graveyard next to the church.

marshland

Water Tower and trash can

School House Bridge

Tangier All Age School

This is the only school on Tangier and it teaches all grades through high school. Our tour guide said that the high school graduated 6 students in June. She added the most of the teachers were 'from' Tangier..

water between Ridge and Main

Probably not a problem for visitors, but this IS an island and subject to storms. Hurricane Isabel wiped out a lot of the docks - many of the docks you see in town that look new ARE new, as they've been rebuilt since October 2003. Subsequent hurricanes have also led to significant floods. The school had to be raised up above the floor level where it is in the photo. Mr. Parks said that his house was already high enough.

Sign at Wanda's

Wanda's is a gift shop that is primarily notable because she has a soft shell crab exhibit showing the stages of the crab molt and how they are harvested. It's something that is easier to see in person than to really understand by reading about it. This is a seasonal exhibit which she runs with her son Teddy. Teddy's crab shedding shack is behind the store.

Sign describing soft crab process

Blue crabs live 2-3 years. They grow by shedding (molting) the hard shell (exoskeleton). The molting takes place more than a dozen times during their lifetime. When the blue crab comes out of the hard shell it is very soft. That's why it is called a soft-shell crab. About two weeks before the crab sheds the hard shell it becomes what watermen call the 'peeler crab' The watermen search for the peeler crabs, and bring them home and keep them alive in soft-crab 'farms' until they shed their hard shells. The peeler crab goes through three stages before they actually shed. The first stage is called the "green crab stage". At this stage, the crab starts changing color and becomes less spry than the average crab. The second stange is the "rank peeler stage". The crab's color changes to a deep red color. The hard shell starts cracking under the pinters. The third and final stage is the 'buster crab stage' The crab now actually bursts its hard shell and frees itself in a matter of minutes. At this stage, the crab has to be removed from the pen because the crabs who still have shells will eat the soft-shell ones. The Chesapeake produces more blue crabs and soft-shell crabs than any other body of water in the world.

Gladstone Memorial Health Center

Large Sat dish and graves beside cart path

The water table is too high on most of the island to allow for burial in the ground. So some burials are done at the surface of the ground (as is also done in Key West and New Orleans among other places - but on Tangier the graves are much less elaborate). There are a lot of graves in people's yards - anywhere that the land isn't too marshy.

Church with bike rack and historic marker

The Methodist church and parsonage are some of the biggest most prominent buildings on the island.

One of the few cars behind the historic marker

The informational sign outside of the church on Tangier tells part of the story of the Rev. Joshua Thomas. The Rev. Thomas was responsible in great part for the predominance of the Methodist church in Somerset County and Tangier Island. Rev. Adam Wallace's 1861 biography, "The Parson of the Islands" describes Joshua Thomas as being of a "natural roughness, a polished diamond of the first order, to whom lawyers, judges, doctors and preachers gave more heed than they would to the most cultured man in the community." He was a fisherman, who was converted to Methodism in 1805. He became an official member of the circuit (which included Tangier Island) as an exhorter.

When the British Fleet headquartered themselves here during the war of 1812 (occupying themselves in ravaging the Chesapeake Bay), Brother Thomas, as Joshua was now known, conferred with the British Admiral on several occasions. Brother Thomas influenced the Admiral to spare the trees around the Methodist camp ground and to use a vacant house as a headquarters rather than seizing a neighbor's home. Before the fleet left Tangier (which was bigger then) to take Baltimore (Fort McHenry of "Star Spangled Banner" fame) Brother Thomas was asked to exhort the soldiers.

At the appointed hour, some twelve thousand men were lined up in columns to hear Joshua Thomas preach. He warned them of the danger and told them God told him they could not take Baltimore and would not succeed in their battle. I don't know how much of the defeat of the British at Ft. McHenry was due to this 'pep talk' that the Rev. Thomas gave them, but I understand some of them came back to Tangier and asked for his absolution.

Parsonage for the Methodist Church

Golf carts and motor scooters

One of the few regular vehicles

Local Shop

What Not Shop

Cat lying in the 'street'

Cat that walks by himself

Looking across to the back of the rectory

Bob got some ice at the grocery story (we aren't running the refrigeration just for this weekend).

Grocery store

There is a LOT of current in the marina when we get back. We can see the water rushing past the pilings. The fenders have gotten out of position, and Bob tries to push the boat away from the pier so he can put them into position, but he can't do it by himself. After I take the picture, I go to help.

Bob tries to push the boat out to fix fenders

A power cat is tied up at the end of our dock, and a big power boat named TIGGER comes in who has been promised that spot.

They tied up to the pilings across the ends of the slips (the 3 pm boat leaves so that he won't be blocked in)

Tigger tied to the ends of the slips waiting

to wait for him to vacate the space - he was only going to be an hour, but his hour is up and there is no sign of him.

I've decided to eat dinner at Crocketts family style which is up past the church. Mr. Parks tells us that she doesn't seat anyone after 5:15, so we start at 4:30 and hike up there as fast as I can.

Bob walking along the street

Drawing of Chesapeake House

Chesapeake House sign

Crabcake posing for his picture

This is a cat named Crabcake. Crabcake lives on Tangier Island several houses down from Hilda Crockett's Chesapeake House. From November 1 to April 30, Crabcake stays around his home. He eats and sleeps at home. But from when Crockett's opens May 1, until they close Oct 31st, Crabcake sits outside of Crocketts every day, even though he doesn't get fed at Crocketts. He must be there because he enjoys the attention and all the petting that the tourists give to him.

Inside Chesapeake House

menu

Dinner is $17.00 each for all you can eat. They start out putting the cold dishes on the table (cole slaw, potato salad, pickled beets, ham, and applesauce), and then add rolls, green beans, corn pudding, fried clam fritters, and then you ask for either one or two crab cakes (which are round).

crabcake

It finishes up with home made pound cake. One of the guys at our table flew in his private plane, and he came down to see our boat after dinner. He is staying at Crockett's B&B

Crockett's Guest House

because Shirley's Bay View (over by the airport) is full. We saw both of the Crocketts Guest House and Shirley's on the island tour.

Shirley's

We walk back more leisurely,

Cats

One of the Crockett Family's House

flower

chicken

Tangier Island is small and is shrinking from erosion. So all the land above water is used to the maximum - chickens, bikes, cats and graves all share space in the tiny yards of the houses on the island. Bike rentals and crab shedding demonstrations can also be found in the yards of houses

cats chickens and bikes

Sidewalk lined with annuals

House with no driveway

and I stop and sit on the bench by the church.

Methodist church after dinner

The Rev Swain wrote A BRIEF HISTORY OF TANGIER ISLAND, VIRGINIA Originally written by Reverend C. P. Swain in the 1890's, it relates the history of both the people and the Methodist religion on the island. From 1808 through 1858 up to 10,000 people swelled the island each summer for Methodist camp meetings.

In a letter to the Richmond Dispatch, July 30, 1899, Rev. Swain wrote:

"In 1835, when there were only a few people here, they built a small framed church, 18 by 18 feet. In 1842 they enlarged the building to 22 by 26. In 1860 the house was again enlarged to accommodate the ever-increasing congregation. In 1870 a new building was erected, 36 by 50, at a cost of $2,400, and made to cover about 2,000 square feet of ground floor and to seat 600 people. In 1896 it was found that a larger building was needed, and the present structure, modern in its construction and conveniences; Lighted with gas and heated with steam, was erected at a cost of $10,000, about $7,000 of which has been paid in cash, and the rest is all subscribed."

According to the sign on the church foundation wall, this church was renamed the Swain Memorial M. E. Church in 1900 the year after the above was written. I presume he had died before the church was named after him, but I can't find any information out about that. The marble memorial was erected in his memory by the citizens of Tangier.

Swain memorial

The kids are riding bikes and they have ice cream after dinner at Spanky's.

Spanky's

The power cat is gone, and TIGGER is tied up with their bow sticking across in front of ours. They intend to go to St. Leonard creek tomorrow.

Ducks

Fishing boat at sunset

Sun sets over Tangier Island harbor

Hilda Crockett's Chesapeake House doesn't seat you for dinner after 5:15 pm. So no matter how slowly you eat, you are done by 6 pm. About all there is left to do in town is walk around, and then watch the sun set. Tangier is fairly flat and you can see the sun set from just about anyplace.

Sunday August 8, 2004

Tigger and RosalieAnn at Parks Marina

We really can't leave until TIGGER does. There is a boat behind us so we can't back up, and the wind is blowing us toward the dock. The lady from TIGGER walks out in town to take some photos, so it is fortunate we are in no hurry as we are only going to Crisfield today.

Parks marina boardwalk

The evening before I saw the people on one of the other sailboats in the marina feeding the ducks. So even though Bob said not to feed them, I threw them a few crumbs in the morning.

After TIGGER leaves Bob takes off the lines (the boat doesn't move from the dock as the wind keeps us alongside)

As we left the marina

and we motor east out the channel toward Tangier Sound. The depth sounder does go off (it is set for seven feet), and Bob sees as little as 6 feet.

Municipal dock

A man stands by the crab shedding troughs

Anchorage

The harbor in Tangier has a very swift current in it, and it is a very busy harbor. Not only are there fishermen who run around in the harbor, but there are the ferry boats from Crisfield and Reedville that come in and turn around. Also, there are depth problems at some places even in the channel. Anchoring needs to be out of the channel. The channel bends at this point. There is a power boat and a sailboat both anchored here.

Tangier harbor going east

Tugboat in Tangier Sound

When we get to Crisfield, we are back in Maryland. It doesn't take us very long to get there even though we didn't even tried to sail as the wind is under 5 knots

Old Fertilizer Plant stack

Janes Island ATON and power boat

Marker-the beginning of the channel to Crisfield

Old house on point

The entrance profile of Crisfield has really changed. The brick building which in the past was a useful landmark to find the harbor entrance is barely visible because they are building a big condo right by the entrance channel.

Large new condo building by harbor entrance

Coming in past Evan's Crab house

Crisfield is a tiny village of less than 2800 people on the Delmarva peninsula. In Maryland, on the eastern shore of the Chesapeake Bay, Crisfield is the southernmost town before you get to Virginia. The town was originally called Somer's Cove after one of the settlers in the area. They started out as farmers, but soon became watermen. The harbor and marina are still called Somers Cove. Because of the low lying marshy land, billions of oyster shells were used in the foundations for local roads, buildings and railroads. Some places in Louisiana use oyster shells in a similar fashion. A businessman named Crisfield got the railroad extended as far as Somer's Cove so that their product could be shipped quickly. Some stories go that the town was renamed in honor of Crisfield to appease him when he fell through a rotten pier.

We tied up in Crisfield after a trip of 12.4 nm. A boat named EXODUS comes in after us and is across the dock. There are many empty slips in the marina, but I suppose it is Sunday and everyone has to be back at work on Monday.

Somer's Marina

Crisfield calls itself the crab capitol. Although Annapolis is "Crab Town" in CB lingo, the real crab town in Maryland is Crisfield. The street signs in Crisfield all have an outline of a crab on them. This one was on the corner next to The Cove Restaurant. I don't know the significance of Charles Adams Corner.

Street signs

Water tower

Most stuff in Crisfield is closed (like the little museum). I took the laptop up to the marina office and used their email line. Then we walked up

and ate at the Waterman's Inn which was closed when we were here before (i.e. on Monday and Tuesday),

Window box with shells and eating utensil 'flowers'

We had a choice of the Early Bird Dinners or the Blue Plate Specials. We took the Early Bird (before 6) for $10.95 each. Bob had steamed shrimp, a crabcake, lima beans and a salad, and I had a crab cake, broiled Tilapia, ratatouille and wild rice. We both had dessert - I had creme brulee and Bob had a chocolate volcano.

Museum sign

We walked around to the other side of the marina to where the (closed) museum is, and took some photos there.

Map from bulletin board near museum

Posted walking tour map

The escorted walking tour (which I have not taken) leaves from the J. Millard Tawes Museum M-Sa at 10:00 a.m. It goes by a working boatyard, makes a stop at Metompkin Seafood where crabs and oysters are processed, and visits the depot area where the boats leave daily for Smith and Tangier Islands. Afterwards, you can talk to Binky Dize at the crab shanty in back of the museum and see crabs shed. Binky's there most days from noon to 1 p.m. Tours are $2.50 each. Children under 6 are free, and 6-12 are $1.00. On this map it says:
"Look both ways before crossing the streets. Some of our citizens are more accustomed to driving boats than motor vehicles"
"Stay together and stand in the designated areas while in the packing houses. The owners are always looking for extra employees!!"
"Enjoy yourself and remember - DON'T BE CRABBY OR A WATERMAN "WILL GET YA!""

I took a photo of the two flagpoles to illustrate the difference between a flagpole for the US flag and the Maryland state flag. A US flagpole should have an eagle on the top. For a Maryland flag, you need to have a gold cross bottony on the top.

Maryland flagpole on the right

After we got back to the boat, I went for a swim, but the water in the pool was quite cold, and I couldn't stay in it long.

Bob on RosalieAnn in Crisfield (Somer's Cove)

Sunset from our boat

There isn't much night life in Crisfield. The nicest thing to do is dine where you can watch the sunset, have an ice cream cone from the pavilion at the end of the dock, or from the deck of your boat.

Monday August 9, 2004

It looks like the predicted winds are from the SW and will be good for getting back home today and there are possible thunderstorms again tomorrow. So we cast off relatively uneventfully about 0900.

The Crab Place Truck

Crisfield boat

J. C Tawes and Side Street Market

Tangier Cruise boat

Pavilion at the end of the dock (good for watching sunsets)

Sign - Thanks for visiting Crisfield

After we motor out of the Crisfield harbor and down the river, we turned south toward Tangier as Bob thinks that going through Tangier rather than north around Smith will give us a better angle on the wind to get from there to the Potomac. So we motor though Tangier harbor, this time from east to west.

As the saying goes - don't take your boat "where the standing bird has a dry butt."

Waterside of Tangier

Tangier harbor

Parks Marina from the harbor

The menhaden boats are out in force,

and we see some schools of menhaden on the surface between Tangier and Smith Point. But they lied about the winds again. Nothing we can do gives us any wind for sailing. We had chicken for lunch, and I ate the last nectarine and Bob had a banana.

We got in to the marina just before 4 pm after 36.5 nm at an average speed of 5.2 knots. We got fuel first (50 gallons - we carry 100 gallons) before we went to our slip. We've used the engine about 14 hours on this trip.

Courtney's from to Smith Creek

After we get the boat unloaded, we go down to Courtney's for dinner (Scheibles is closed on Monday and the Spinnaker rebuild after Hurricane Isabel has not been completed).

For the rest of August, although I had another visit to the dentist, we spent some time eating hard crabs locally at a local crab house - the Drift Inn

Drift Inn

Hard Crabs

September 2004

9 September 2004

Our first trip in September was to the funeral of Bob's Aunt Eleanor. A sad occasion, but we could connect with family

We took another trip up to Baltimore in September to the dentist, and then we went to another local crab house - Seabreeze (next to another crab house on the Patuxent, Sandgates)

Seabreeze placemat - instructions on eating hard crabs

Seabreeze pier on the Patuxent

Seafood dinner at Seabreeze

Sandgates sign out on the highway

On the way home we stopped for fuel at

Ridgells -the only full service gas station in the county