Chesapeake Almanac: Bay Paddle

That’s a Wrap

Hull designs for your go-fast boat—by Ann Eichenmuller

We were lying on the beach, lulled to sleep by the sound of the waves, when our nap was abruptly ended by the frantic shout of a little boy.

“Shark!”

We both sat up, expecting to see a scene reminiscent of Jaws. Instead, we watched as a bright yellow tour boat roared by, complete with a gaping mouth of jagged teeth and flames streaming from its gills. The vessel was the 70-foot Rudee Rocket, a Virginia Beach icon, and while we’ve done our share of boat-watching, we had never seen anything quite like it.

“It is eye-catching,” Captain Skip Feller of Rudee Tours agrees. “Going up and down the beach, being able to draw attention like that, makes all the difference.”

Although the Rocket’s design is more elaborate than most, custom paint above the waterline has long been seen on large muscle boats and racers. Now, with modern advances in computer graphics and marine wraps, these same head-turning designs are available— and affordable—for everyone.

“The majority of the boats we do are center-console fishing boats,” notes John Hall, Jr. While his company, AGWraps, did the graphics for Rudee Rocket, he points out that most of his clients are not commercial operations, but rather private owners of smaller vessels who want to personalize their boats.

“There are essentially no limitations to the artwork,” he explains, “and there’s no real increase in price for a more complex design.”

With endless choices, it is up to the graphic designer to tease out exactly what the customer would like to see. “Our clients often don’t come in with a set idea—they don’t come in and say, ‘I want a fish here, I want a boat this big in the background.’ So we ask a lot of questions. Basically, we try to pull the ideas out of their heads.”

The company’s four in-house graphic designers start by showing clients examples of other wraps and stock images to get a feel for the theme they want. Hall says it usually takes a couple of days to develop a design, and another day or two of going back and forth with the client to fine-tune the final graphics. For most of Hall’s clients, the real draw of the boat wrap is the opportunity to have a totally unique look. Creating that look is a job that requires a special kind of artist.

“I’m pretty picky,” Hall laughs, when asked about what he looks for in a graphic designer. “I look for good composition skills, but also someone with a little bit of an edge. The kind of

custom work we do is radical—more like t-shirt design than corporate artwork.”

Leafing through the company’s photo gallery, I am surprised by just how varied these designs can be. While leaping sportfish seem to be a popular motif, the finished wraps range from solid colors and geometric shapes to complex canvases of tropical sunsets, speeding boats, and mermaids. The graphics are bold and, yes, edgy. I mention they would seem as at home on a motorsports track as they do at the dock.

“That’s actually how we got into marine wraps,” Hall laughs. “We have a marina nearby, and the boat owners would see these custom cars we’d just wrapped sitting outside the shop. A few of them stopped in to see if we could do the same thing to their boats, and now it’s a major part of what we do.”

It’s easy to see why. For anyone with an older vessel, re-doing the gelcoat is time-consuming and expensive. Even paying to have a mid-sized boat professionally detailed can cost a thousand dollars or more. For two to three times that, boat owners can get a brand new, custom look—one that should last seven to eight years. In addition, wraps have the benefit of being fast. Hall says the entire process, from walking through the door with a general design idea in your head to being out on the water in your “new” boat, takes just seven to 10 days. Most of that time is spent designing and printing, with clients’ boats usually in the shop for no more than 24 hours.

But what about selling a wrapped boat? Could a personalized design make it more difficult to find a buyer?

“It’s the opposite,” Hall says. “The wrap protects the gelcoat underneath from the elements, and it can be removed without damage. Some of our clients actually cite resale value as one of the reasons they choose to wrap their boats, because it preserves the gelcoat in pristine condition.”

For Captain Heller, while the longevity of the wrap over paint and the cost are factors to consider, it’s variety that seals the deal. “The main reason to choose a wrap is because you can have anything you want.”

Ann Eichenmuller is a freelance writer and the author of two nautical mystery novels. She lives along Virginia’s Rappahannock River where she and husband Eric sail Avalon, a Morgan Out Island.

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Take a cruise aboard the historic Skipjack Wilma Lee

Connecting visitors to the Chesapeake Bay’s history, ecology, and culture.

CHESAPEAKE ALMANAC The Bay Paddle

One epic Chesapeake adventure deserves another—by John Page Williams

Last year, his daughter’s science project led Annapolis native Chris Hopkinson to an unprecedented Chesapeake adventure. He watched, fascinated, as she placed a handful of mud from Deep Creek’s bottom and half a dozen live oysters from Annapolis Seafood Market into an aquarium tank full of creek water. Within three or four hours, the tank’s water was clear as the oysters filtered out the mud, ingesting whatever algae had been in it. “How can I draw attention to restoring the Bay’s oysters,” Chris wondered, “in a story that people will pay attention to?”

Long story short, he thought up a trip down the Chesapeake’s 200-mile mainstem on his standup paddleboard, assisted by a carefully structured support crew. Chris is an endurance athlete who has completed two Ironmans. “I’ve always been inspired by Ironman events: normal athletes overcoming incredible obstacles. Using something unique like paddling the Chesapeake, with eagles and dolphins—it would be so cool if people looked at the Bay Paddle the way they look at the Ironman, overcoming obstacles and maintaining that healthy lifestyle.” Despite the pandemic, he made the trip in nine days last September, raising $180,000 for the Oyster Recovery Partnership (ORP) to put 18 million oysters onto restoration reefs in the Bay. Chesapeake Bay Magazine was proud to be the project’s media sponsor.

This year, he’s organizing an expanded Bay Paddle for 2021: a 215-mile, 8-day, staged paddle race to protect the Chesapeake. As this issue

of Chesapeake Bay Magazine goes to press, dozens of paddlers have signed up, both standup boarders and kayakers. He’ll paddle part of it himself, but for this go-round, organizational details and logistics will claim some of his time. Beneficiaries include ORP and Chesapeake Conservancy, which is working to have the Chesapeake Bay declared a National Recreation Area by the National Park Service. As part of that process, Chris would like to get the Chesapeake Bay established as a paddling destination and challenge akin to through-hiking the Appalachian Trail.

The Bay Paddle’s 2021 itinerary is, again, ambitious, following roughly the same route along the Eastern Shore that Hopkinson kept to last year to minimize wind and seas (subject to adjustment for weather). Each team is responsible for engaging its own support crew, including a chase boat capable of assisting its paddlers in any way they need and dealing with rough conditions, if they occur. Since on open water crossings it is often difficult to see the next destination, Chris plans to use a 20-foot helium balloon on 100 feet of line to set 30 feet in the air each day as a marker. He’ll also deploy race buoys to help paddlers stay on course.

What will the intrepid paddlers taking on the Bay Paddle 2021 face on each leg? Quite a lot.

AN ENDURANCE GAME

Chris Hopkinson hoists a celebratory beer after reaching the Atlantic

CONCORD POINT LIGHTHOUSE, HAVRE DE GRACE

33 miles to Gratitude Marina, Rock Hall

Paddlers will leave from the spot where the tidal Susquehanna River opens out to the broad Susquehanna Flats. In September, the Flats will be covered with underwater meadows growing

Notes on Gear and Special Challenges

In 2020, Chris Hopkinson used a special 14' race board from Starboard, with a 75" Red Paddle (and a spare on the support boat). In choppy water, seas break over the board, but there’s enough buoyancy to keep it up so it doesn’t drag underneath. Chris notes that falls from the board are rare while training, but side winds and chop in open water “can roll you over.” He took 15 falls in first day, in 3-4' seas, with wind quartering at 45 degrees and cold air. It was discouraging, which is part of the tremendous grind of such endurance events. An ankle strap tethered him to the board for falls, and he held firmly onto the paddle. “Returning to the board and getting back up is tough in waves. The board has a V in the bottom; it doesn’t like to sit still. Regaining balance saps energy. This is an endurance game.”

Throughout the nine-day trip, he stopped every couple of hours to check in with his support crew, especially at broad crossing points, according to current conditions and upcoming weather. He carried a waterproof handheld VHF marine radio and a phone with the WindFinder app. He also mounted an NKSport SUP trainer on his board to keep track of time and speed, and a GoPro camera to record parts of each day. He wore an inflatable PFD at all times, along with a Camelbak pack with fluids and snacks. On broad crossings, he asked his support boat to get a hundred yards ahead and set a line, going down Eastern Bay to Claiborne.

up to ten species of grasses that serve as home for a rich community of freshwater critters, from insect larvae, shellfish, and, yes, some blue crabs, all the way up through juvenile fish and forage species to big predators such as largemouth bass and rockfish. And don’t forget to add in the great blue herons and bald eagles, along with the first migratory waterfowl that will winter here. Last year, the combination of wind, waves, and chilly water on the Flats and the Upper Bay gave Chris his most challenging day of the entire paddle. He says it was a more trying experience than completing either of his Ironman events. Here’s hoping the Flats will be more inviting to paddlers this time around.

ROCK HALL

22 miles through Kent Narrows to Claiborne Landing, near St. Michaels

There’s lots of history for paddlers to think about and boating activity to see in this stretch. Kent Island has been inhabited for nearly 12,000 years, and was home to the Matapeake tribe in more recent centuries; they called the island Monoponson. William Claiborne of the Virginia Colony built a trading post here and renamed it Kent Island in the early 1630s. A few years later, Maryland colonists successfully challenged his ownership and took it over. It has been a hub for this part of the Bay ever since, from early trade and farming to seafood harvest, pleasure boating, and suburban development. The leg’s terminus, Claiborne Landing, lies on the Bayshore just below the mouth of Eastern Bay. It’s named for William Claiborne and served for years as a connection to Baltimore by steamboat.

CLAIBORNE LANDING

27 miles to Taylors Island Campground

This leg begins as paddlers make their way south from Claiborne through Poplar Narrows, under the relative protection of Poplar Island, the wildlife refuge that the Army Corps of Engineers, the Port of Baltimore, and partners have rebuilt with “beneficial use” of dredged material from the shipping channel to Baltimore (SEE POPLAR STORY, PAGE 38). The route will take them through