November 2022

SAVING ISLAND BIRDS

GRADY-WHITE ADVENTURE 218

TONGING FOR OYSTERS

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Return of a Classic Walk-Around

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ChesapeakeBayMagazine.com | November 2022

CONTENTS

FEATURES

COLUMNS

22 Meet the Ninja Oyster Shucker Championship shucker Gardner Douglas shares his passion online

24 Creating a Custom Oyster Knife Environmentalist Drew Koslow makes one-of-a-kind masterpieces for shuckers

30 Tonging for Oysters (You can do it, too)—Robert Gustafson

37 Up a Frozen Creek 30 Saving Island Birds Conservationists take a lesson from Huck Finn —Marty LeGrand

26 

50  24  16  37  16  30  16 

16 

16 

42 

37  16 

26 16  

'Tis the Season—for Oysters—Jefferson Holland

8 On Boats Grady-White Adventure 218 —Capt. John Page Williams

16 Chesapeake Almanac On the Mend: Restoring the Prize Reefs of the Chesapeake—Capt. John Page Williams

26 Chesapeake Chef

Or how to navigate your way through winter without a boat—Jody Argo Schroath

37 

7 From The Editor

Where we're going in this issue: 37 Havre de Grace  26  Baltimore 50 Wye River  24 Easton  16 Harris Creek  37 Cambridge  16  Little Choptank River 30 Bivlave  16 St. Mary’s River  16 Manokin River  16 Piankatank River  42 Magothy Bay  37 Newport News  26  Norfolk 16 Lynnhaven River  16 Lafayette River  16 Elizabeth River  16 Nansemond River 

Oysters Two Ways—Susan Moynihan

50 Chesapeake Adventures They're Back! Welcoming the Canada Goose —Angus Phillips

64 Stern Lines Guy Talk—Jefferson Holland

ON THE COVER

In the cockpit of a Tartan 4400 Deck Salon: oyster knife by Easton craftsman Drew Koslow (p. 24); oysters from Wild Country Seafood, Eastport; table cloth from Welcome Home, Annapolis State Circle; champagne glasses courtesy of Carrol's Creek Cafe.

Photo by Chris Hendershot

November 2022 | ChesapeakeBayMagazine.com

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FROM THE EDITOR

‘Tis the Season (for oysters!)

by Jefferson Holland

Just eat McNasby’s oysters, they're better than the rest, Just eat McNasby’s oysters, they always stand the test!

Good for the captain, good for the crew, Even land-lubbers, they love ‘em too McNasby’s oysters, Pearl Brand are the best!

I

f the McNasby Oyster Co. had ever had an old-time radio jingle, that would have been it. The former packing plant, the last remnant of an industry that dominated the economy of Maryland’s capital city between the Civil War and World War II, is now home of the Annapolis Maritime Museum. You can tour their exhibit on how important these once ubiquitous bivalves used to be, not just to the financial well-being of the people of the region, but to the ecological health of the Bay as well.

This issue of the magazine is a reflection of that concept. John Page Williams brings us up to date on efforts to restore oyster populations all around the Bay in his Chesapeake Almanac column (p. 16).

Robert “Gus” Gustafson encourages us to tong for our own oysters—but finding a pair of tongs turns out to be a challenge in itself (p. 30). And we get to meet some creative individuals who have found their artistic inspiration between those two shells—one by teaching how to shuck oysters and the other by creating beautifully hand-crafted oyster knives to shuck them with (p. 22).

It’s that time of year when the boat goes up on the hard, but you don’t want to stop exploring.

Thankfully, the Chesapeake Bay offers innumerable opportunities to discover new tastes, new pursuits. If you’re not yet into birding, read this month’s Chesapeake Adventures column (p. 50). Angus Phillips sends us out into the marshes to witness the awesome sight of Canada geese feathering in for a landing. Then Marty LeGrand takes us out onto the barrier islands of Maryland and Virginia, where scientists are exploring new methods to save endangered shore birds (p. 42).

And for the land-bound, Jody Schroath gives us helpful hints on how to cruise through winter without your boat (p. 37).

But these are just a hint of the places we’ll take you and the people you’ll meet in this issue of Chesapeake Bay Magazine.

Good for lumbago, Good for the flu, Good for any little thing that’s ailing you McNasby’s oysters, Pearl Brand are the best!

(Oh, by the way, it’s not true what they say about oysters. I ate a whole dozen on my honeymoon, and only three of them worked.)

November 2022 | ChesapeakeBayMagazine.com

5

ON BOATS

Grady-White Adventure 218

by Capt. John Page Williams

Grady-White Adventure 218 LOA: 21'3" (23'3" w/ swim platforms) Beam: 8'6" Draft: 16" Cockpit Depth: 25" Weight: 3,125 lb (estimated, w/o engine)

Transom Deadrise: 19 degrees (SeaV2 progression)

Bridge Clearance: 5'5" (7'7" w/ hardtop) Fuel Cap: 100 gal Water Cap: 10 gal (optional) Max HP: 250 For more information visit gradywhite.com or Tri-State Marine in Deale, Md. (tristatemarine. com), Southeastern Marine in Richmond, Va. (southeasternmarine.net) or Norfolk Marine (norfolkmarine.com) in Norfolk, Va.

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ChesapeakeBayMagazine.com | November 2022

I

n 1974, Grady-White Boats created the 204-C Hatteras Overnighter, with a lapstrake fiberglass hull. It was one of the first boats on the market with a compact “walkaround” cuddy cabin that offered weather protection around the helm. Thus it appealed to both hardcore anglers and families. Grady-White’s design team had not created the configuration, but they developed innovative, valuable details that made the 204-C the company’s bestseller through the ’70s, ’80s, and early ’90s.

Since the company’s founding, Grady-White’s planning team has always sought feedback on what works well on their boats, what doesn’t, and what additional features people want in them. They spend a great deal of time listening actively to customers, dealers, dealership service staff and their own employees, many of whom (including designers and engineers) are active boat

owners themselves. As outboard engines got larger in the new century and customers began to look more for “day boats,” the market shifted toward larger dual-console and center-console boats. But the basic values of the walkaround cabin configuration remain, and enough people asked for it to trigger a new design.

The Adventure 218 is the first completely redesigned small walkaround cabin model since 2009. It rides on a 21'3" x 8'6" version of GradyWhite’s trademarked SeaV2 continuously variable vee-hull, which it shares with the dual-console Freedom 215 and center-console Fisherman 216, both introduced in 2018. (Previous 20–22' hulls had 8' beams.) The SeaV2 shape, developed by Grady-White engineers in partnership with C. Raymond Hunt Associates, has earned a well-deserved reputation for seaworthiness with a soft ride in rough seas. 

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Left: Pilot and companion seats spin 180 degrees to face aft. Right: The twin swim platforms are easily accessible.

The Adventure 218 shows updated styling with a curved windshield, more bow flare, a more aggressive sheer break, a Euro-shaped transom with twin boarding platforms (telescoping ladder on starboard platform), and retractable ski pylon. It still offers a

forward V-berth and a head, along with an optional modern fiberglass hardtop supported by a sturdy, painted aluminum frame. Horizontal rod holders under the gunwales secure two fishing rods up to 7' on each side, along with a horizontal overhead rack

for two in the lockable cabin. Vertical holders mount on the hardtop (two each aft side rail, four on the trailing edge), with two more in each gunwale.

On deck are helm and companion seats with cushioned, aft-facing “mezzanine” seats immediately behind, over a pair of insulated cooler/ fishboxes. (The port box can be plumbed for a livewell.) A complete set of weather curtains is optional, making the 218 at least a three-season boat on the Chesapeake. The package adds family features without compromising fishability.

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result of conversations with owners, he finds himself often developing design tweaks. Grady-White cheerfully incorporates new and redesigned features on each model each year during its lifespan. “We start out with the hull shape and internal structure,” he told us on our recent visit to the plant, “then work on the interior.

Everybody’s fighting for a feature they’ve designed. We model all of them in 3D, work out a balance and bring them together in a program called Master Assembly. We strive for functional simplicity: providing essential features without unnecessary bells and whistles.” On the 218, the setup is simple, with tight-fitting features and few moving parts.

For example, twin ingenious, patented cushions in the transom corners offer secure seats with cushioned backs for passengers. Turn

over the cushions, though, and they become nonskid steps to the swim/ boarding platforms, with the seatbacks turned inward on sturdy pipe bases.

Below the steps are two small drystorage containers that lift out for access to pumps (raw water washdown plus optional freshwater shower and port livewell) and batteries (the switch mounts in a molded recess on the front of the starboard seat). In between, on

the transom, are two cupholders, the ski pylon and the recess for an optional freshwater shower wand.

Subtle innovations in fittings can make big differences. For example, the bases of the bow rail stanchions used to be plates that required three screws.

New rails have threaded bases that require less space. (They’re fastened belowdecks with stainless washers and locknuts.) The result is that the cabin liner can be wider while still allowing 7" of gunwale walk-space outside. The stanchions save only a couple of inches on each side, but added to the new hull’s extra 6" of beam, they make the cabin feel more spacious.

Also included in the design process is working out techniques to make the boats easier to build, rig and service.

This process improves the company’s already established excellent fit and finish. We saw it in our test boat, which

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was an all-but-final prototype that ran with nary a shudder, rattle or squeak.

Everywhere we looked, construction was tight. Even so, we noted small improvements to fasteners between our tester and the production 218s being assembled in the plant (including the 218 that debuted at the Annapolis Powerboat Show in October 2022).

The 218 is relatively wide for its length. In addition to the cabin’s interior, the extra 6" of beam offer comfortable space between the helm

The uncluttered dash provides plenty of room for a 9" chartplotter screen.

and companion seats. The hardtop— an option that we highly recommend—rides on a frame with plenty of well-shaped handholds, including several pipes of small enough diameter to be comfortable for the hands of multiple ages.

Our test boat carried the maximum horsepower, a 250-hp

Yamaha 4.2-liter V-6. We ran it at a wide range of speeds on the Pamlico River around Bath, N.C., downstream of Grady-White’s headquarters in Greenville. It performed as predicted in the Performance Report on the company website, cruising happily between 24 and 34 mph (3400–4500 rpm), with a top end around 45 mph (5900 rpm).

The 218 is also available with Yamaha’s lighter but still strong 200hp, 2.8-liter four-cylinder engine, which in the company’s test ran most efficiently at 17–28 mph (3500–4500) with a top speed of 39.4 mph at 5,900 rpm. The 200 showed a small edge in fuel economy over those speed ranges.

Both engines have Yamaha’s digital electronic control system, which results in exceptionally neat rigging.

In our sea trial, we tinkered with the 250s running angle and the boat’s

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The generous 8'6" beam allows for a roomy V-berth in the cuddy cabin.

Bennett trim tabs to see how they affected speed and fuel efficiency. As expected, it will pay a new owner of this boat to run at different speeds in a variety of sea conditions in order to learn how to optimize comfort, speed and efficiency. Test day was calm, but we were able to find a couple of wakes to run through. They hardly challenged the 218’s hull. Based on our experience with other SeaV2 Gradys, it should be plenty able in more challenging conditions.

All Grady-White boats have selfbailing cockpits, carefully sized for each model with soles designed so that spray and rainwater flow aft to large, carefully finished scuppers. All deck fittings that can catch rain—

including rodholders, cupholders and even popup cleats—are plumbed with drains that lead overboard. Count the number of above-water scuppers you see on the topsides of any GradyWhite model to see for yourself, or take a plant tour to see how the builders construct the drains. No water goes to the bilge.

So what uses could a water-loving family or couple make of a 218 in the Chesapeake? The Adventure will adapt to virtually any Chesapeake fishery,

from blue catfish and white perch up the rivers to spadefish and tautogs off the Virginia Capes, with everything from rockfish and Spanish mackerel to cobia and red drum in between.

Obviously, it will make a great boat for bottom fishing with bait, casting and jigging around breaking fish, and lighttackle jigging on reefs and wrecks.

Equipped with a long-shaft, bowmount, GPS-connected electric motor (see a dealer about aftermarket rigging), it would be even more

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effective in those fisheries. It could also adapt to casting along marsh banks and shorelines. Want to troll?

The hardtop and gunwale rodholders would allow for spreading six to 10 planer boards and deep lines.

The optional ski pylon, the twin boarding platforms and the folding ladder make the 218 a natural for watersports and swimming, with the two aft-facing fishbox seats for observers. Add cushions to the foredeck cabintop for lounging at anchor. For all-day explorations, we found that the hardtop offers shade, the cabin’s V-berth encourages naps, and its head provides comfortable, lighted, vented space with plenty of headroom for anyone in the party to use the portable toilet (a pumpout model is optional). The insulated fishboxes with overboard drains serve as coolers, or if fishing is on the agenda, add a carry-on cooler placed against the transom bulkhead between the stern seats.

While the 218 will sit happily in a wet slip (with the bottom painted) or on a lift, its size makes it relatively easy to keep on a trailer, towed behind a compact, crew-cab pickup like a Ford Ranger or Toyota Tacoma. One unorthodox but thoroughly doable use for this boat would be cruising the Bay and its rivers, stopping each night at a waterside hotel or B&B or even camping on the boat itself.

Grady-White’s new 218 Adventure is seaworthy enough to go virtually anywhere in the Chesapeake system on all but the most extreme days, but it’s compact enough to tuck in easily to small ports of call. Base boat and engine price range is $113,200 to $131,310, depending on engine (F200 or F250) and steering system (mechanical or digital electric).

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

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JAY FLEMING / MD DNR

CHESAPEAKE ALMANAC

On the Mend Restoring the Prize Reefs of the Chesapeake

by Capt. John Page Williams

J

LOC/HARPERS 1884

ust like the coral reefs in the tropics, the Chesapeake Bay once had a diverse, thriving reef system that covered vast stretches of the bottom in the mainstem and well up each of the tributaries. That system’s filter feeders and scavengers caught the perpetual rain of dead plant and animal material that settled constantly from the rich surface layers of water above.

They converted those scraps (scientists call it detritus) into a benthic (bottombased) food web that fed the extraordinary stocks of crabs and fish that supported peoples around the Bay for millennia.

The foundation of that food web was the buildup of shells of our beloved

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ChesapeakeBayMagazine.com | November 2022

Eastern oyster, Crassostrea virginica, growing in huge three-dimensional piles. They rose far enough above the Bay’s floor not only to pose serious hazards to human navigation but also to sustain “live bottom” communities like those we associate with coral reefs. Throughout the centuries of recorded human life along the Bay, from native peoples through the early arrival of English colonists in the 17th century, these oysters were harvested in sustainable numbers with simple tools.

After the Civil War, however, the use of large, efficient dredges led to an oyster boom that spawned a huge, wildly profitable industry. The harvest level, however, was not sustainable,

and the gear greatly reduced the height of the reefs. Meanwhile, water pollution (especially from sediment runoff) smothered many of the nowflattened reefs. By the first half of the twentieth century, the fishery was a pale shadow of its former glory.

In the 1960s, the protozoan disease MSX appeared and decimated the higher-salinity bars in the lower Bay. Then in 1985, another disease, Dermo, knocked all the Chesapeake’s oyster fisheries down even further.

This second crash was particularly devastating to the watermen’s communities of the Eastern Shore, including Tangier and Smith Islands, which depended on oystering for winter income.

A Turnaround Begins In the early 1990s, two key things happened. Scientists estimated the Bay’s oyster stock had crashed to a mere 1% of its former abundance, and accumulating evidence painted a clear picture that the oyster was a key part of the Chesapeake ecosystem.

Scientists at the Virginia Institute of Marine Sciences (VIMS) and the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science (UMCES) began to look at ways to improve commercial oyster production through aquaculture, including techniques that raised the shellfish off the bottom in racks, floats and suspended wire cages.

During the 1990s, waterfront property owners in Virginia began to experiment with off-bottom floats and cages, “oyster gardening” in creeks where water quality was healthy enough for home consumption. Several groups of oyster gardeners banded together, enthusiastically sharing information and techniques. People began to notice how much faster oysters grew in floats, reaching harvest size before disease could kill them.

During this time, Bay scientists also began genetic experiments with

growth on them showed promise.

People on the water began to notice improved clarity over the reefs and around docks with oyster floats. Light tackle and fly anglers started fishing around them. Word spread that the shell and oysters attracted live bottom communities, including predators such as rockfish, speckled trout, flounder and puppy drum.

The VMRC officer also introduced a rotational harvest system to reduce pressure on harvest bars by opening them only once every three years, allowing oysters to reproduce and grow undisturbed in the interim. Although

Until about the time of the Civil War, Chesapeake Bay oysters were harvested sustainably by watermen using hand tongs on shallow reefs.

Then New England schooners brought dredges like this one, highly efficient technology that eventually led to overharvesting.

WILLIAM WHALEY / MD DNR

strains of MSX- and Dermo-tolerant oysters developed initially by Rutgers University for Delaware Bay. And they began to discuss introduction of other oyster species that appeared to show heightened disease resistance.

In the early 1990s, a resource officer with the Virginia Marine Resources Commission (VMRC) recreated threedimensional restoration reefs by building piles of shells in the lower Piankatank and seeding them with spat (juvenile oysters). The resulting reefs, which were closed to harvest, looked like giant, inverted egg cartons set in 6- to 10-feet of water. Oyster

November 2022 | ChesapeakeBayMagazine.com

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Organizations throughout Maryland and Virginia collect empty shells from restaurants, clean and set them with spat (oyster larvae), then replenish sanctuary

AILEEN DEVLIN / VIRGINIA SEA GRANT

AILEEN DEVLIN / VIRGINIA SEA GRANT

reefs with the spat-on-shell.

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ChesapeakeBayMagazine.com | November 2022

the diseases initially killed some, the oysters that survived began forming a disease-tolerant stock.

In the summer of 1993, the state of Maryland brought together a panel of 40 experts known as the Oyster Roundtable, which released a 30-page Action Plan for Oyster Recovery. The plan detailed a series of next steps, including the restoration program now underway at the UMCES Horn Point Laboratory’s oyster culture facility on the Choptank near Cambridge and the founding of the Oyster Recovery Partnership (ORP) in 1994. A key element of Maryland’s Action Plan was to reestablish three-dimensional reefs for ecosystem restoration on natural oyster bars closed to harvest.

Meanwhile, in 1997, VIMS established a new Aquaculture Genetics and Breeding Technology

Center (ABC). Its scientists use a combination of selective breeding and genetic research to domesticate the native Eastern oyster, Crassostrea virginica, for aquaculture and improvement of traits such as survival, growth rate, shape and meat yield.

ABC raises these oysters to supply brood stock for oyster farmers along the East Coast, a crucial role in helping build what has become Virginia’s $16 million aquaculture industry.

In 1999, the Chesapeake Research Consortium released guidance for restoration that specifically described the value of reefs: “Three-dimensional reefs, standing substantially above the bottom, are essential for oyster reproductive success, for predator protection and to create habitat for other organisms.” Today, many more people understand the broad

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ecological values of the reefs our oysters can build. Evidence has also MAINTENANCE built that healthy oyster reefs remove MAINTENANCE COMPANY substantial quantities of nitrogen, a COMPANY critical Bay pollutant.

During the 1990s, because of frustration with MSX and Dermo, interest grew for introduction of a nonnative Asian oyster species, Crassostrea ariakensis, which appeared to resist the diseases. VIMS scientists CHECK US OUT ! experimented with sterile triploid In Cambridge, Asians (oysters bred with three sets of Maryland! genetic material instead of two), to The facilities of a shipyard. avoid introducing the species into the The low cost of a neighborhood boatyard. wild. However, an aquaculture study The quality craftsmanship of atime custom builder. staff is With deep water access in Cambridge our full professional with Virginia watermen found that poised to handle every aspect of repair and maintenance. native triploid oysters grew nearly as fast, with better shelf life and flavor. With deep water fullOUT timeHOW professional is YOU! Gaccess IVE USinACambridge CALL AND our FIND WE CANstaff HELP poised to handle every aspect of boat building, repair and maintenance.

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10 Tributaries Targeted for Restoration The year 2009 was a turning point for oyster restoration when officials rejected the proposal to introduce Asian oysters to the Bay in favor of scaling up native oyster restoration. An Executive Order that year from President Obama set in motion a new collaborative strategy to focus resources on 10 targeted tributaries (five in Maryland and five in Virginia) to restore whole networks of selfsustaining reefs. Maryland’s subsequent 10-Point Plan embraced this strategy and established harvest sanctuaries in 24% of the state’s productive areas to implement it. A renewal of the state-federal Chesapeake Bay Agreement in 2014 further cemented the restoration strategy while encouraging aquaculture and setting guidelines for wild harvest. 

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Restoring the reefs in the targeted tributaries has been a learning process, not without its controversies and stumbles. One problem is a shortage of shell as substrate for restoration. With the century-long decline in harvest, there simply isn’t enough shell around for the jobs at hand. Within careful scientific guidelines, the various restoration partners have experimented successfully with alternative materials including granite blocks, recycled and crushed concrete, and igloo-shaped concrete “reef balls,” all covered with spat-on-shell.

Fortunately, there is real progress.

As of this writing at the end of 2022, three sanctuaries in Maryland are complete: Harris Creek and the Tred Avon River on the Choptank and the entire Little Choptank. The remaining two, the upper St. Mary’s River and the Manokin, are in various stages of design, reef construction and planting of spat-on-shell. Virginia has completed restoration in Norfolk’s Lafayette River and a nearby bonus, the Elizabeth River’s Eastern Branch.

The process is well underway in Virginia Beach’s Lynnhaven River, the Piankatank and the Nansemond, with planning and early planting underway on the lower York River and the Great Wicomico.

The whole endeavor is a wideranging partnership, including the Corps of Engineers, NOAA, VMRC, the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (MD DNR), the Potomac River Fisheries Commission (PRFC), VIMS, UMCES, ORP, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF), The Nature Conservancy (TNC), several watermen’s associations and county watermen’s oyster committees. It’s worth noting that many citizen volunteers and school students in both states are pitching in to help with restoration, especially with ORP’s Marylanders Grow Oysters, CBF, Lynnhaven River

Now, the Nansemond Indian Nation, the Friends of the St. Mary’s River, the Severn River Association and the Coastal Conservation Association/Maryland.

Maryland’s wild harvest bottomed out in the 2003–04 season at a miserable 19,028 bushels but has rebounded in the past 10 years to a range between 150,000 and 420,000 bushels. Aquaculture, including oysters grown both on bottom and in the water column, has averaged about 75,000 bushels. After brutally lean years between 2000 and 2010, Virginia’s total oyster harvests began rising to 600,000 bushels in 2013–14 and have remained stable at around that level for the past several years. It’s worth noting for most of that time, the private harvest on leased bottom and from aquaculture has exceeded that from wild harvest on managed public reefs. Oyster husbandry does work.

Even more important than these encouraging harvest statistics, we citizens of the Chesapeake have fallen love with our oysters again, not only as nutritious and treasured seafood but also for their contributions to the health of our Bay. We certainly don’t want to lose our oyster industry, so programs to sustain and grow it are vital, but it’s even more important that we restore the reefs, for all of the other benefits they provide.

Oysters grow reefs according to their own schedules, not ours. They can’t rebuild a century’s worth of damage in a year or two. Between the watermens’ communities, the scientists and an appreciative general public, we’ve learned ways to help them grow, especially when we all work together.

Now we need to keep that effort going, joyfully, for decades, to ensure our oysters’ future, and our own.

CBM Editor-at-Large John Page Williams is a fishing guide, educator, author, and naturalist, saving the Bay since 1973.

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r o f d r a o b All a

n o s a se

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ChesapeakeBayMagazine.com | November 2022

ou’d think that someone who styles himself as an “Oyster Ninja” would be over the top, but when you meet this gentle man, you’ll quickly realize what a misnomer it is. Distinctly humble for a nationally ranked oyster shucker who’s competed in contests as far afield as Prince Edward Island, Gardner Douglas has also launched a series of podcasts and YouTube videos where he shares his knowledge and skills.

In one video, Douglas demonstrates the various traditional methods of shucking oysters—from the back (“hinging”) or from the front (“stabbing”)—and the styles of knives best designed for each approach.

He’s a natural on camera, immediately likeable and fun to watch. He seems to have a magical empathy with his audience.

“I grew up on the Eastern Shore of Virginia, near Chincoteague,” he recalled in a recent interview. “My grandmother raised me. I was brought up in church, and my grandmother would take me along to visit sick neighbors and old folks’ homes. She taught me about caring about people—that stuck in me.”

Douglas was in his early 20s when he met his father.

“He’s the one who taught me how to shuck oysters,” he said. “They’d hire me and my dad and some other shuckers to work at oyster-and-bull roasts around the region.”

After joining the Army National Guard, he was deployed to Kandahar, Afghanistan, in 2013. When he came back a year later, he said, “I wanted something that would be a stress-reliever; I wanted to be on cruise control for a while. I found that in oysters. It was also a good way to meet people. I’m shucking oysters and feeding you and sharing memories about your first oyster or your first oyster knife, growing up on the water, stuff like that. It brings you closer to people.”

Eventually, Douglas started his own business, S.S.Shucking, shucking at private parties in the D.C.

Championship shucker Gardner Douglas shares his passion online

area and as far away as Philadelphia.

“Then I got into competition,” he recalls. “It was so wonderful meeting other shuckers and learning about their cultures. Everywhere on the East Coast, Canada, New England, the Carolinas, has a different culture, all familiar, but all different as well.” He shares what he’s learned in his social media. “The podcast tells the smaller stories that don’t make the headlines. It’s sharing the stories, sharing the struggles, breaking the myths and teaching people about oysters,” he said.

Douglas produces two episodes per month. “The thing about me,” he explains, “I’ve always been an entrepreneur, but the podcast has been a whole different journey. One of my mentors said I have good stories to tell. I asked myself, are people interested in what I’m interested in? I couldn’t find anything close to what I wanted to do. I loved learning about recording audio and video and editing, how to tell a story. I can guide the conversation where I want it to go, where it will entertain the audience.

It’s been really fun.” And it shows.

You can follow Douglas on Instagram at @s.s.shucking and find The Oyster Ninja Podcast on Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

November 2022 | ChesapeakeBayMagazine.com

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Environmentalist Drew Koslow makes one-of-a-kind masterpieces for shuckers. rew Koslow knows oysters inside and out. The former head of the South River Federation in Annapolis first got involved restoring an oyster sanctuary on Glebe Bay. Since then, he has become something of an environmental entrepreneur, managing nitrogen reclamation projects on Delmarva farms out of Easton. He has also delved into the craft of creating beautifully finished custom oyster knives.

“I’ve been a woodworker for quite a few years,” he told me recently. “When I had my kid (now 10 years old), I didn’t have the time to do big projects. Our local farmer’s market had a knife maker, and I’d spend a lot of time picking his brain.

After a while, he said, ‘You should just make a knife.’ ”

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ChesapeakeBayMagazine.com | November 2022

With his mentor’s guidance, Koslow eventually became skilled at creating his own knives.

Concentrating on oyster shucking knives seemed a natural choice. “I don’t forge my own steel,” he explained. His real artistic contribution is the beautifully finished handles with resinimpregnated wood.

“A blacksmith in Portland, Oregon, provides the blade blanks for the oyster knives. They come to me as daggers, and I grind the tip into a rounded shape for opening oysters from the hinge. I haven’t found a blank yet for a blade for lipshuckers, even though the more savvy shuckers use that technique.”

Koslow has created upwards of 200 shucking knives, marketed strictly through social media. “I might do a craft show this winter,

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but I’m also coaching my son’s hockey team, and that comes first.” The knives cost between $175 and $250, depending upon the type of steel and the type of wood. “Every single piece of wood is unique,” he said, “and if you just happen to make your curves with the grain, you sand it and shade it, but you don’t know how the grain looks until you stain it.

Sometimes I do knives on commission. Every one is one-of-akind because every piece of wood is different. Given how many knives I’ve made, I’m surprised how excited I get when that first coat of stain reveals the grain.”

Contact Drew Koslow at djkoslow@gmail.com or @DJK_ Knives on Instagram.

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November 2022 | ChesapeakeBayMagazine.com

23

CHESAPEAKE CHEF

Oysters Two Ways

by Susan Moynihan

’Tis the season for eating oysters. For those of you who prefer your oysters less slurpy, we turned to two stellar chefs for recipes (with a drink recipe as a bonus). Enjoy!

SINGLE FRIED OYSTERS CHEF JOHN SHIELDS Gertrude’s Chesapeake Kitchen, Baltimore “Long before crab was on the culinary radar screen of the Chesapeake, oysters were the must-have,” says Chef John Shields, who has celebrated the Bay in multiple PBS TV series, cookbooks (his newest is The New Chesapeake Kitchen) and as Chef at Gertrude’s Chesapeake Kitchen, located in the Baltimore Museum of Art. As celebrated as he is, this recipe is simple enough for the most basic home chef—which is true to its roots, as oysters were considered common food back in the abundant days of the 19th century.

“The Chesapeake’s briny waters produce some of the tastiest oysters in the world,” he says. “My recipe for Single Fried Oysters is in keeping with my philosophy of ‘keeping it simple’ when preparing oysters and seafood from the Bay." INGREDIENTS 1 pint shucked oysters 1 cup fine yellow cornmeal 1 cup all-purpose flour 1 tbsp salt 1 tbsp Old Bay seasoning 1 tsp black pepper Vegetable oil, for frying Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste Horseradish sauce or tartar sauce, for dipping

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ChesapeakeBayMagazine.com | November 2022

PREPARATION 1. D rain the oysters, reserving the liquor, if desired (see Note). Combine the cornmeal and flour, salt, Old Bay and pepper. Dust the oysters in the flour/cornmeal mixture, one at a time. Set aside the oysters for several minutes to dry, 2. P our oil into a frying pan to a depth of ½ inch.

Heat the oil and saute the oysters for about 5 minutes, or until golden brown. Do not overcrowd the skillet. Add more oil as needed.

Remove the oysters with a slotted utensil and place on paper towels to drain well. Season with salt and pepper.

Note: Oyster liquor may be added to dishes for heightened flavor.

PUSHING UP DAISIES Saltine, Norfolk, Va.

INGREDIENTS .75 oz Aviation gin .75 oz lemon juice .75 oz white wine simple syrup

The classic Corpse Reviver cocktail was so named for its purported curative properties, but equipped with a warning that consumption of three or more may put you back in the grave. This cocktail takes that formula and replaces traditional fortified wine with Chardonnay syrup, which brings vast notes of apple and orange blossom to the party. A little bit of garnish greenery helps to brighten everything up.

.75 oz Pierre Ferrand dry Curacao Rinse of absinthe Splash of soda Sprig of microgreens PREPARATION Combine the first ingredients in a cocktail shaker and shake to mix. Spray the glass with absinthe from a mini spray bottle, or alternatively pour some in the glass, swirl and toss the absinthe. (You just want a touch of the flavor.) Add a splash of soda water for a hint of carbonation, then serve on the rocks with a garnish of microgreens.

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CHESAPEAKE CHEF

CHARGRILLED OYSTERS CHEF MATTHAIS MAIHOEFER Saltine, Norfolk, Va. The Main, the Hilton hotel in Norfolk, is a go-to for locals and visitors alike, due in no small part to their ground-floor restaurant, Saltine. “Saltine features a raw bar that showcases the region's finest oysters, clams and shrimp,” says restaurant manager Michael Cubilete. But that’s not all. “Saltine isn't just another restaurant with a raw bar. We also specialize in craft cocktails that feature curated ingredients, high technical skills to execute, and thoughtfulness behind every recipe.”

Cubilete recommends pairing their chargrilled oysters with their signature Pushing Up Daisies cocktail, which is a spin on a 1930s drink called Corpse Reviver #2. “This drink is bright, crisp and balanced. The house-made white wine simple syrup neutralizes other ingredients and doubles as a palette cleanser after every sip. The buttery notes pair exceptionally well with Chef’s chargrilled oyster recipe.”

INGREDIENTS 1 lb full-fat butter 2 tbsp minced shallot 4 tbsp chopped Italian parsley 1 tbsp furikake (a Japanese condiment) ½ cup shredded parmesan 2 tbsp Kosher diamond salt 1 tbsp fresh cracked black pepper 4 oz kombu (edible kelp) 10 oz water PREPARATION 1. S tart by bringing water to a boil, then turn off the burner and steep the kombu in the water like tea for 45 minutes.

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ChesapeakeBayMagazine.com | November 2022

2. W hile the kombu is steeping, allow the butter to come to room temperature.

3. Once the kombu dashi (tea) has come down to room temperature, whip the butter until it has become light and fluffy. Then slowly mix in the tea in while the butter continues whipping.

4. Combine the rest of the ingredients until fully incorporated.

5. S mear the butter on your favorite oyster, grill or broil until desired done-ness and enjoy!

6. Store any extra butter in the fridge in a covered container for up to a week, or in the freezer for up to 6 months.

Chef’s Note: “We use James River Oysters for our house oyster, although any oyster would work. I prefer a slightly larger oyster, something that will hold a good amount of butter in the bowl of the shell. The recipe has a good bit of salt in it, so people who are sensitive to salt should choose a less briny variety; Mobjacks, Rappahannocks, Skipjacks, Little Wicomicos would all be good. We have been sourcing some awesome oysters from Laughing King and Ragged Island as well; these are on the saltier side but I’m a huge fan.”

SHOT TOWER GIBSON Baltimore Spirits Company The Gibson, not the martini, is the perfect oyster cocktail. Just like oysters, it’s meant to be had fast and ice-cold. The celery bitters and cocktail onion garnish lends just the right amount of savory sweetness to the mix. Add 1/4 oz of the onion pickling juice if you want to kick it up to the next level!.

INGREDIENTS

PREPARATION

2.75 oz Shot Tower Gin

Stir over ice and strain into a coupe glass.

.25 oz Dry Vermouth 1 shake Celery Bitters

Garnish with 2-3 cocktail onions and enjoy while it’s ice-cold.

November 2022 | ChesapeakeBayMagazine.com

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TONGING for OYSTERS

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Few images evoke the history and culture of the Chesapeake Bay more than a waterman standing on the washboard of a small boat, harvesting oysters with a set of long-shafted tongs.

Independent, self-reliant and, if pushed, willing to fight to protect their way of life, hand tongers were the Bay’s version of the cowboys of the American West.

CHESAPEAKE BAY PROGRAM

B Y R O B E R T G U S TA F S O N

Fleets of locally made log canoes sailing into the Bay for a day of tonging have gone the way of the great cattle drives. Disease, parasites and overharvesting have cut oyster populations in the Bay to a small fraction of their historic highs. More efficient means of gathering the remaining oysters have largely replaced commercial hand tonging.

But recreational tonging remains the ideal way to gather enough fresh, wild oysters for a hearty feast or two.

Just as in the Golden Age of Oystering in the Chesapeake (roughly 1870 to 1920), all you need to tong a mess of oysters today is a small boat, a pair of

introduced to hand tonging for oysters over a decade ago when two men whose families landed on the Eastern Shore of Virginia in the early 1600s invited me to “go get some Christmas oysters.”

We motored out of a small fishing village on a bright, very cold winter morning. The captain cut the engine at a place that did not look that special to me. We drifted. His friend hauled out a pair of rusty oyster tongs with long wooden handles and dropped the end with the metal baskets overboard. He tapped them gently against the bottom, testing.

Kicht, kicht. I heard metal scrape against oyster shells. He spread the

ChesapeakeBayMagazine.com | November 2022

tongs and an oyster bar, known around here as a rock.

Both Virginia and Maryland have an open season for recreational oystering. No license is required, with the caveat that oysters can only be taken by hand tonging or gathering by hand from open rocks. Maryland allows state residents to gather 100 oysters a day; Virginia permits a daily catch of a bushel. Additional rules apply, so be sure to check the state websites before dropping tongs into the water. [See “Resources” on page 36 for additional information.]

If tonging seems daunting, I am living proof you can do it. I was

ROBERT GUSTAFSON

Hand tonging for oysters was once a way of life for thousands of watermen on the Chesapeake Bay. Today, recreational tongers can use hand tongs in season to gather oysters for themselves in both Maryland and Virginia.

ROBERT GUSTAFSON

tong handles apart and began to open and close them while churning them up and down against the bottom. He gradually closed the tongs, hauled them up hand over hand, and dumped the contents into a platform on the boat. A mass of muddy shells.

He looked at me over his shoulder as he dropped the tongs back into the water to make another lick. “Grab that hammer,” he said. “Separate the big oysters from the little ones and empty shells—eatin’ oysters in the basket, everything else goes overboard.” That was my introduction to culling oysters.

A few frigid hours later we went home with almost two bushels of

November 2022 | ChesapeakeBayMagazine.com

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TURE GUSTAFSON ROBERT GUSTAFSON

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ChesapeakeBayMagazine.com | November 2022

tonged wild oysters, an unimaginable bounty for a guy who was used to paying at least $25 for a dozen on the half shell. That evening, as my wife and I stuffed ourselves on scores of raw oysters, I resolved to get my own pair of tongs and gather oysters for myself.

The captain told me his tongs had been his father’s, or maybe his grandfather’s. He had no idea where to get another pair. A quick tour of local hardware stores and watermen’s supply houses yielded just shrugs. Everyone knew what I was asking for, but they had no idea where to get a pair of tongs, new or used.

I came to realize how far removed we are from the days when tonging was a way of life for thousands of Chesapeake Bay families, and when making tongs was a ubiquitous local industry. But I found that with persistence and a little luck, a set of tongs can be assembled, and you too can start gathering your own oysters. uring oystering’s heyday, every Chesapeake blacksmith made oyster tong heads for local watermen. A beautiful example can be found at the Samuel D. Outlaw Blacksmith Shop Memorial Museum, which was owned and operated by a Black man of that name between 1927 and 1991 in the waterfront village of

d

Onancock, Va. During those glory days of oystering, general stores and lumber yards around the Bay advertised the availability of both shafts and lumber especially suited to making shafts, the best being longleaf yellow pine. In 1893, Hopkins Bro. General Store, just down the street from Mr. Outlaw’s

shop, advertised, “100 pairs of tong shafts between 14 and 30 feet.”

Lacking a local blacksmith or a waterfront general store, I clearly needed a more creative approach. If this is an antique technology, how about an antiques store? I scoured every antique store on my part of the Eastern Shore of Virginia, but tongs were as scarce as oyster teeth. As I struck out at the last shop, the clerk at the counter asked, “Looking for anything special, hon?” After I explained, she said, “Maybe Bert could help. He is over stocking his booth.”

TURE GUSTAFSON

Far left: Gunnar Gustafson (the author's son) with a pair of 12-foot tongs; 30-foot were once common. Center and right: Fifthgeneration tong shaft maker Turner Messick in the workshop started by his family in 1859.

Paydirt! Bert’s booth was full of old rusty tools. He was enthusiastic.

He could get me a pair of the metal tong heads and would charge 45 dollars. Any wooden shafts would be rotted beyond use, though. The following week, as promised, I found a pair of rusty tong heads knotted together with Manila rope hidden at the back of his booth.

Now I needed wooden shafts.

Despite their simple appearance, I knew from my time on the tonging boat that the shafts are actually carefully crafted works of art. I could probably make a clumsy pair with some one-by-fours from the lumber yard, but after more than 300 years of documented use in the Chesapeake, the design of traditional tong shafts has evolved to fit their purpose perfectly. They are beautifully tapered, flexible, light and delicate but strong, and a perfect fit in the tonger’s hands.

Searches online and by phone turned up nothing. Could it be that no one made tong shafts anymore? Then, with one phone call, my search for oyster tongs evolved from practical to fascinating to an inspirational trip back into Chesapeake Bay history.

I found a 20-year-old newspaper article about the Messick family of Bivalve, Md. The Messicks have been making tong shafts since 1859, originally as a sideline to their main job of making caskets. The article pointed out that oysters were in decline, few people tonged anymore and the tong shaft business was going the way of buggy whips and whale oil lamps.  November 2022 | ChesapeakeBayMagazine.com

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ROBERT GUSTAFSON

I doubted that the business had rebounded in the ensuing two decades and so I was prepared to learn that Messick Brothers had closed shop after nearly 150 years. I called around and found a phone number. Wilbur “Turner” Messick, Jr., the son of one of the men interviewed for the old newspaper article and a fifthgeneration tong shaft maker, returned my call. Sure, he’d meet me at the family workshop in Bivalve the following Saturday morning.

Mr. Messick was very friendly, though a little reserved. He opened the door to the workshop built by his great-grandfather before the Civil War and we stepped back in time.

Downstairs, he showed me stacks of sawn longleaf yellow pine, the prime traditional timber for shafts. Upstairs, I marveled at all the ancient tools, piles of scrap lumber and two 30-foot-

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long workbenches—one with a little trapdoor at the end to allow really long shafts to poke outside—and rack after rack of beautifully finished tong shafts ranging in length from eight to 28 feet, all made by Mr. Messick using the tools, techniques, patterns and skills passed down by his forebears.

Mr. Messick allowed that he had sold only a few pairs of shafts in recent years, but he was ready to supply shafts as soon as tonging on the Bay revived. I bought a pair of twelve footers, light golden in color, emblazoned with a “Messick Bros.

Bivalve, MD” brand, and featuring a handmade brass-and-copper pivot.

Mr. Messick lowered the shafts down to me through a small secondstory door specially designed for that purpose.

Where there were once dozens or perhaps hundreds of tong shaft

makers on the Bay, Mr. Messick is very likely the only one who remains with such a direct, unbroken link to the now-distant heyday of the

Chesapeake Bay oyster industry. His knowledge, workshop and traditional tong shafts are a regional treasure and the first stop for anyone assembling a set of tongs.

When I arrived home, I bolted the rusted metal heads to the new shafts and, on a bluebird day in March, set out with my friend Buck to tong.

Locating oysters is half the battle. The other half is working the tongs, which will give any CrossFit class a run for its money in terms of rapid exhaustion.

But we came home with oysters and increasing knowledge about where and how to find more. very winter since, I have tonged for oysters at Christmastime and at other times during the season.

Using traditional tools in traditional landscapes brings those iconic Chesapeake images to life and increases my appreciation for the

E

November 2022 | ChesapeakeBayMagazine.com

33

craftsmen who made the tongs and the watermen who used them.

In 2022, I assembled another set of tongs. Again, I found a set of metal heads by asking at several antiques stores (this time in Maryland). And more than a decade later, Mr. Messick was still open for business, as gracious as ever, and happy to supply me with a pair of 16-foot shafts and a pair of eight-footers for “nippers.” Business remains slow, but he plans to persevere.

Oyster season is here. If you are a fan of oysters in any of their delicious culinary forms, it’s time to claim your birthright, get some tongs and get out on the water!

Robert “Gus” Gustafson lives on the Eastern Shore of Virginia by way of Chicago, Harvard University and a career on Capitol Hill. In his spare time, he coaches the Broadwater track and field teams and cultivates heirloom vegetables and fruits from the Chesapeake region.

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ChesapeakeBayMagazine.com | November 2022

Up a Frozen Creek Or how to navigate your way through winter

without a boat

by Jody Argo Schroath Ah, here’s winter upon us already. Time to tuck our boats into the yard and say goodbye to weekend cruises, day sails and dock parties for months and months. What do we do now? Sigh. Cheer up, I say; we could be living in Minnesota, where we wouldn’t even be able to find our boats until June. Here on the Chesapeake, on the other hand, we could theoretically be out on our boats all year long, given enough clothes and a weak mind. Yeah, I don’t do that either. So instead, let’s consider a few alternatives.

BOATUS

T

6

New Dock Lines and One Valuable Skill

reat your boat to a new set of dock lines this winter by making them yourself.

This is a highly agreeable occupation because it teaches you how to splice line while also allowing you to stay warm in front of the fire and close to the kitchen. And being able to splice line—like being able to tie a bowline in the dark (another fine winter lesson)—is invaluable in an emergency. At least probably it is. Depends on the emergency, I guess. And If you do make the splices for six dock lines (two bow, two stern and two springs), you’ll be a whiz at splicing . . . at least for a few weeks, until you forget.

Why make your own dock lines? Because you can make them just the right length for your boat. The rule of thumb, by the way, is at least two-thirds of the length of your boat for bow and stern lines and at least the entire length of your boat for spring lines. You can make shorter ones one color and longer ones another so you can quickly tell them apart. Of course, I always forget which is which, but that’s a different issue. For the diameter of the line, the general rule is one-eighth inch for every eight feet of boat length. So, use 3/8-inch line for a 24-foot boat and 5/8-inch for a 40 footer. You can also make the end-loops any size you want. Pre-made dock lines come with a 12-inch diameter loop, but there are times when having a bigger loop is very handy.

So, all set? Now go to a marine store and buy good marine three-strand nylon rope (like New England or Samson). You don’t have to get the whole shebang all at once in case we have short winter or you really hate this.

They keep it in stock. Maybe you could start with enough for just the two spring lines. Why use threestrand instead of double braid? The easy answer in this case is that three-strand is a lot easier to splice. Both are good. While double braid is a bit stronger, threestrand is stretch-ier, which reduces the strain on your deck hardware, and ultimately your boat, when it’s being yanked around by heavy weather or even boat wakes. There’s other stuff, but we don’t have room.

Why not just make the end loop with a bowline?

Ha ha, nice idea—not! Knots weaken the line; splices do not. Seriously, this is going to be easy, once you figure it out.

So, how do you make a splice? I’m not going to tell you, first because then you really would be confused and second, because I wouldn’t have room for the other fun things I want to suggest in this article about doing boaty things without the boat. Instead, I want you to find the YouTube video or knots app animation or boating-book drawings that make the most sense to you. Everybody’s brain logic works differently. We’ll put some of the resources up on chesapeakebaymagazine.com, but you’ll find plenty more by doing a search online or at your local library. Chapman’s is pretty good. Send me a photo of your finished product.

November 2022 | ChesapeakeBayMagazine.com

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THE ULTIMATE Books to While GIFT Away the Winter FOR ow here’s an easy one: Read a

OYSTER N book about the Chesapeake.

There are some very good ones.

LOVERS Here are just a few. Most of these

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A n n a p ol isSc hoo lo f Seamansh i p.c om November 2022 | ChesapeakeBayMagazine.com

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3

Winter Land Yacht Cruises

H

ere’s the plan: Take a stroll along the waterfront, visit a museum you may have missed and then try out a new waterfront restaurant. It’s almost like boating. Not really, but it’ll still be fun. By the way, some of the Bay’s museums and waterfront restaurants close for the winter, so I’ve tried to keep to the ones that don’t. Still, not a bad idea to call ahead.

PAT VENTURINO

Havre de Grace Here’s a nice easy land cruise, with a walk along the Havre de Grace Promenade. Start at Tydings Park at the south end of Havre de Grace and walk north on the boardwalk until you reach Concord Light. It’s not quite a mile. Along the way, be sure to stop at the Decoy Museum on Giles Street and the Maritime Museum on Lafayette Street.

The Concord Point Lighthouse is Maryland’s second oldest. Since this is winter, you’ll likely find it closed, but you can still admire the view, where the flow of the Susquehanna River meets that of the tidal Chesapeake. Now gather up your forces and continue up Concord Street to Girard. Turn west two blocks and reward yourself with a double dip of strawberry with a drizzle at Bomboy’s Homemade Ice Cream at Girard and Market streets. For a nice meal and a terrific view, walk or drive up to Tidewater Grille on Franklin Street.

Cambridge Golly, where to start? On one end of your trip or the other, you’ll want to stop at the Harriet Tubman Underground Railway National Historical Park, which is south of Cambridge on Golden Hill Road in Church Creek (not literally in the creek, of course).

Then you’ll want to visit at least a few of the nearby stops along the Tubman Byway, like Bucktown General Store and Joseph Stewart’s Canal. The Byway is nearly 200 miles long, so perhaps you can save the rest for another visit.

Now drive north a few miles into Cambridge itself. Here you’ll want to see the Harriet Tubman mural and the visitor center. While you are there, take a good long walk through one of the Chesapeake’s most fascinating towns. You’ll find shops, lots of good restaurants, lovely architecture and a deep and abiding connection to the Bay. If the Richardson Maritime Museum on High Street is open, by all means pay it a visit. It is dedicated to boatbuilder Jim Richardson and the many other craftsmen who have kept the area’s watermen afloat. You’ll also want to drop by Ruark Boatworks on the other side of Cambridge Creek on Hayward Street. And J.M. Clayton Seafood. Finally, stretch your legs before the trip home with a walk along the Choptank waterfront from Long Wharf Park to Great Marsh Park, just shy of a mile.

Newport News The wonderful Mariners Museum and Park and its adjacent Noland Trail make a perfect destination for a winter land-yacht expedition because they are nearly impossible to get to by boat. Start where you like because it’s all going to be fun. The museum entrance fee is only $1, and the entrance to the park and the 5-mile-long Noland Trail is free. Follow the trail—or part of it—around the shoreline of Mariner Lake.

There are more than a dozen bridges along the way, nearly all interesting with stone lions’ heads and what not.

The museum itself is a wondrous mixture of displays, such as the America’s Cup exhibit, dramatic early maritime photography, a movie or two, the International Small Craft Center, the extraordinary miniature ships of August and Winifred Crabtree. And of course you’ll want to visit the definitely dazzling U.S.S. Monitor Center, which comes complete with a full-scale replica and a highdef Battle Theater with, as they put it, “unexpected loud and flashing lights.”

Whew, I just used a lot of modifiers! All deserved. Now for the equally important restaurant part. The museum has its own café, naturally, but it is, unnaturally, closed at the moment, so I suggest you motor five miles south to Crab Shack on the James. I haven’t eaten there in a couple of years, but I remember that it has great views and food. It is also within easy walking distance of Leeward Municipal Marina.

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A

1

Excellent Way to Out-Wait the Wait

nd now for what is probably the best over-wintering solution of them all. You’ll need no equipment at all, not your car, not your computer, not even your reading glasses. All you’ll need are a few spare moments and a good memory. Okay, it’s not perfect. I could never put it as well as essayist and lifelong sailor E.B. White (yes, the Charlotte’s Web fellow) did in his piece “The Sea and the Wind That Blows.”

He begins: “Waking or sleeping, I dream of boats—usually of rather small boats under a light press of sail.” He goes on to explain that while other men, awaiting their turn at the barber shop, pick up a magazine to read, he sits down and picks up the

thread of whichever of his past boating adventures he has begun earlier. “There is hardly a waiting room in the East that has not served as my cockpit,” he writes.

And that’s the idea. Simple and nearly perfect. As you go through the motions of winter, spin out your memories. Perhaps they are of a perfect early morning motor across a pancake-flat sea, down past Rock Hall, all the way into Solomons for dinner. Or maybe they are of a whooping-good broad reach from the Patapsco River down to Deltaville, shoved along by a 20-knot northerly and an impatient sea. What do I relive? Well, there’s that time I ran aground cutting the shoal too close

south of Fernandina Beach. But there’s also that late afternoon sail with a friend in my venerable little Albin Vega 27, from the mouth of the Yeocomico River up to Breton Bay, holding her precariously wing and wing the whole way, and then ghosting her inside on a dying breeze to an anchorage off Protestant Point. Yes, that’s what I remember.

So, you see? If you do it right, boating’s not gone for the season, it’s just relocated.

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

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BY MART Y LEGR AND

A

ALEX WILKE/TNC

s day breaks on a hazy August morning, Virginia’s barrier islands rest lightly on the horizon. Through a peach-colored dawn, they seem to float on the coastal bays they shelter.

It’s not yet six o’clock and Alexandra Wilke, a coastal scientist with The Nature Conservancy, is headed to one of the southern islands to check on a late brood of piping plover chicks.

A federally endangered species, the plovers nest on pebble- and shell-covered beaches within reach of the sea and whatever predators happen to be prowling the area. A prolonged nor’easter in early May wiped out the plovers’ first nesting attempts, but eight plover couples and 27 pairs of another shorebird of conservation concern, American oystercatchers, successfully renested on the island to which we’re headed.

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Wilke (Alex to friends and co-workers) guides her skiff northward through Magothy Bay near the southern tip of the Delmarva Peninsula. She or her colleagues make island trips daily during the birds’ breeding season (April to August), an intense period when the lives of biologists who monitor coastal bird populations are not their own—as I came to appreciate when I tried to reach them. Twelve-hour days are not uncommon.

A few private homes and a handful of fishing shacks on stilts still dot Virginia’s barrier islands, but nearly every one of these fragile, shape-shifting strips of beach and cordgrass are protected now—some by governments, some by easements, but most under the stewardship of The Nature Conservancy as part of the Volgenau Virginia

CONSERVATIONISTS TAKE A LESSON FROM HUCK FINN

that strut the boardwalk in search of handouts. From spring to summer, these and other “beach birds” make their homes and babies along the same shores that beckon humans. But for some, it’s a precarious existence.

ZAK POULTON/TNC

Coast Reserve, a 50-mile stretch of unparalleled coastal wilderness. As manager of VVCR’s migratory bird program, Wilke oversees habitat so vital to nesting and migrating birds that it’s part of something called the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network.

“It’s a voluntary network of important shorebird sites,” she explains as we thread a salt marsh-lined channel. “It’s completely non-regulatory, but it’s a celebration of how important this place is.”

VVCR comprises about half of what’s known officially as the Maryland-Virginia Barrier Islands Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network. An unbroken, mostly undeveloped strip of naturally dynamic land masses sculpted and re-sculpted over the years by tides and storms, the islands host hundreds of thousands of shorebirds annually. The coastline seems sultry and serene on this morning—deceptively so, because these are the front lines of an ongoing struggle for species survival.

To casual observers, the Chesapeake Bay and the Eastern Shore seem lousy with waterbirds: terns that dive for baitfish, gulls

Rising sea levels caused by climate change threaten nesting grounds from here in southeastern Virginia to Assateague Island at the Maryland-Delaware line and beyond. So do coastal storms that have grown more frequent and more intense with global warming. Predators such as raccoons, foxes,

Opposite page: A piping plover wades the shallows. Above: A colony of nesting royal terns in Virginia.

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owls and gulls devour eggs and even young chicks. And then there’s us; our beachcombing, our dogs, our surf fishing, our boat wakes, our litter, our penchant for hardening coastlines—all have the potential to disrupt or destroy bird colonies.

Wilke guides the boat past terrain barely above sea level. Though there’s little evidence around us, there were houses, hotels and hunting lodges on these islands less than a century ago. That all changed on another August morning nearly 90 years ago, when the un-named hurricane of 1933 lashed the midAtlantic coast. In less than 24 hours, the storm inundated islands, leveled an entire town, wiped out fisheries and ended the islands’ era as a tourist and sporting destination.

These days, Virginia’s more than a dozen seaside islands and adjacent lagoons host other visitors: shorebirds such as plovers, oystercatchers, whimbrels and dowitchers that probe mud flats and beaches for insects and small mollusks; colonial waterbirds including gulls, terns, skimmers, cormorants and pelicans that dine on fish in near-coastal waters; and wading species such as herons, ibises and egrets that forage in muddy and marshy areas closer to shore.

We reach our destination, Myrtle Island, a speck of land that the ocean shaved from

Sandy gray in color and plush as a little stuffed toy, the chick is—scientifically speaking—adorable.

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neighboring Smith Island two centuries ago.

Wilke anchors the skiff and we step ashore.

Most of Myrtle’s piping plover and oystercatcher chicks have fledged, but she wants to check on a three-week-old plover and its parents. She sets up a spotting scope a respectful distance from the nest area. In no time, Wilke spies the chick’s fluffy head rising about a low dune. Sandy gray in color and plush as a little stuffed toy, the chick is— scientifically speaking—adorable.

By monitoring the number of chicks each nesting shorebird pair produces, scientists can set goals for stable populations—a challenging task. Shorebirds are among the nation’s most threatened species. According to the U.S. Shorebird Conservation Plan, 31 of 57 U.S.breeding species are at grave risk, including piping plovers (“endangered”), oystercatchers (“greatest concern”) and another seasonal visitor, whimbrels (“high concern”).

Myrtle Island, like many of its part-beach, mostly-marsh neighbors, is migrating westward due to sea-level rise and coastal storms, which erode beaches and smother adjacent marshes. Computer modeling by the Virginia Institute of Marine Science shows Myrtle has retreated at an astonishing 22 feet per year since 1852, losing about 44 percent of its area and, likely, its sand volume. Thousands of acres of critical barrier island habitat have vanished, scientists estimate.

“They’re actually rolling over the marsh,” Wilke says of the islands’ retreat—bad news for shorebirds that require beachfront living.

“If you’re an oystercatcher or a plover you need an open, sandy place to nest,” she says.

“And piping plover access to good substrate where they can feed is huge.”

The Maryland-Virginia coastal islands support populations of piping plovers, oystercatchers and federally threatened rufa red knots, all of which migrate along the Atlantic Flyway. In addition, salt marshes in the coastal bays host an estimated 40,000 whimbrels, “possibly 100 percent of the eastern population,” according to the

SOME OF VIRGINIA’S AT-RISK ISLAND BIRDS AMERICAN OYSTERCATCHERS

WHIMBREL

PIPING PLOVER

COMMON TERN

BLACK SKIMMERS

ROYAL TERN

Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network’s website.

Most of Virginia’s barrier islands (accessible only by boat) are open to the public for low-impact activities such as birdwatching and hiking. Through outreach, The Nature Conservancy educates visitors about the birds’ presence and how to keep from harming them. (Hard-to-spot plover nests, for example, can be trampled by anyone who strays above the tideline.) Islands where birds nest are posted with warning signs.

The outreach is neither heavy-handed nor punitive. The conservancy and its various state and federal partners want citizens to appreciate what a treasure they have. “There are birds that come here that just left South America,” Wilke says. “That’s where whimbrels and oystercatchers are ambassadors.” One of the conservancy’s most popular events is Whimbrel Watch, an annual citizen-based count of the birds conducted from the mainland.

“They stop here for three weeks to gorge on fiddler crabs and in late May they leave,” Wilke says of the birds, which travel 3,000 to 4,000 miles nonstop. “On the big flight nights, you watch hundreds and hundreds.”

One year, whimbrel-watchers here counted more than 8,000.

After temporarily losing my footwear in knee-deep muck returning to the boat, we push off in search of American oystercatchers, a species close to Wilke’s heart and one on which she’s done award-winning research.

(The birds were the subject of her master’s thesis at the College of William and Mary.)

If you’re a migrating shorebird, Virginia’s coastal lagoons must look like the Everglades North—expanses of green marsh bound up in twisty tentacles of clear-blue water. After 20 years at VVCR, Wilke knows these neighborhoods. Drifting up an island creek, she soon finds dozens of black-headed oystercatchers standing atop a mud flat, waiting for the ebb tide to expose their

Shorebirds are among the nation’s most threatened species. 31 of 57 U.S.-breeding species are at grave risk.

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The 2,300-square-foot structure resembled a floating avian tiki bar with its ersatz beach, neon green “plants” and chick huts colorfully painted by local school kids.

In the 1980s, 2,500 common tern pairs were breeding in Maryland, 1,500 in Chesapeake Bay and 1,000 in coastal bays. By this decade, the total was just 500 to 600.

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signature meal. As they’re wont to do, many perch on one leg.

Large and strikingly marked with vivid, orangey-red bills and yellow eyes, American oystercatchers seem to be doing well in coastal Virginia, particularly here. A 2018 state-wide survey documented a 13 percent increase in breeding pairs since 2008, with a 26 percent increase in the barrier islands alone, where more than 500 pairs are now breeding. The birds’ primary threat, island predators (mostly raccoons and foxes), has been managed through trapping programs, Wilke says.

On the other hand, piping plovers are on the decline for reasons unknown. (Unlike oystercatchers, plovers nest only on barrier islands.) The Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources estimated just 183 breeding pairs were present in 2021. Regional biologists are working with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to unravel the decline’s possible causes.

Shorebirds aren’t the only beach birds at risk along the Virginia-Maryland coast.

Colonial waterbirds—fish-eating species that

ChesapeakeBayMagazine.com | November 2022

nest in large colonies or rookeries—are impacted too. They may not be as adorable as plovers, as celebrated as migrating whimbrels or as iconic as oystercatchers, but time is running out for three breeding waterbirds on Maryland’s endangered species list: black skimmers, common terns and royal terns, whose numbers have declined between 80 and 95 percent since 1985.

Citing anticipated sea level rise and ongoing erosion of islands on which the birds traditionally nest, the scientific journal Waterbirds warned back in 2007 that “resource managers should investigate any promising, even potentially novel, approaches taken to benefit seabird populations.” The remedy of choice? Restoring eroded islands with dredge spoils, a practice called nourishment. From 2013 to 2015, four such islands were created. Without renourishment, three have totally eroded. The other will be gone within a year.

Dave Brinker, a longtime ecologist for the Maryland Department of Natural Resources,

PHOTOS: KIM ABPLANALP

was a coauthor of the Waterbirds article. “I’ve spent 30-plus years of my career here watching these things disappear,” he says of the islands today.

And as the islands go, so go the birds.

Take common terns, a medium-sized tern that nests near water on loose sand, shell or pebbles. In the 1980s, 2,500 pairs were breeding in Maryland, 1,500 in Chesapeake Bay and the remainder in coastal bays. By this decade, the total was just 500 to 600.

Several years ago, Brinker and conservationists with the Audubon Society and the Maryland Coastal Bays Program hatched an innovative (some would say oddball) solution to habitat erasure. They Huck Finned a raft covered in broken clam shells, stuck tern decoys on it (complete with a come-hither soundtrack of bird calls), towed it into a coastal bay south of Ocean City and invited the birds to roost. Twenty-three pairs nested the first year, when the raft was launched belatedly. And 155 did so in 2022,

when the raft was enlarged and deployed at the start of nesting season.

“I got the idea from other people who created artificial islands,” Brinker tells me. “I was pretty certain it was going to work because it had worked in other places.”

Nonetheless, the concept took two years to get from drawing table to salt water. There were design issues to address; the float needed wheels so it could be towed and stored for the winter, and its 16-foot-square segments needed to flex when assembled to absorb wave energy. Bird safety features were incorporated: outdoor carpet to cover segment gaps so chicks wouldn’t fall through, little V-shaped huts to shelter chicks from the

Clockwise from far left: A gangway allows fledgling terns to return to the raft after their practice flights; a tern chick mistakenly expects a meal from one of the raft’s decoys; adult birds rest beside one of the colorfully decorated chick shelters.

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ALEX WILKE/TNC

are temporarily removed from the raft and banded aboard a pontoon boat. “They’re hitting us, pulling my hair,” Larned said. The adults also let fly with, shall we say, aerial emissions, so Abplanalp has learned to wear a bicycle helmet. Thanks to banding efforts in 2021, scientists discovered that 15 tern couples returned to the raft to nest in 2022.

The natural islands on which these birds once nested are mostly gone. Currently 300 to 500 pairs of common terns nest on Poplar Island in Chesapeake Bay, where material dredged from shipping channels continues to replenish the island. But when 23 tern pairs adopted the raft as home in 2021, it became the largest colony in Maryland’s coastal bays.

Waterbirds disappear within a few years from islands no longer suitable for nesting. “That’s why we’re all feeling such a sense of urgency,” Abplanalp says. “If we don’t do something [like the raft], then species will abandon the area.” Which happened

KIM ABPLANALP

Thanks to banding efforts in 2021, scientists discovered that 15 tern couples returned to the raft to nest in 2022.

sun and plastic vegetation for habitat verisimilitude.

Two of Brinker’s colleagues—Archer Larned, a coastal bird habitat specialist with the Maryland Coastal Bays Program, and Kim Abplanalp, a tern raft field assistant and contract photographer—showed me the birds’ figurative life raft. In its 2022 iteration, the 2,300-square-foot structure (roughly half the size of a basketball court) resembled a floating avian tiki bar with its ersatz beach, neon green “plants” and chick huts colorfully painted by local school kids. Mid-raft, a mast of sorts supported two solar panels that power the raft’s safety lights, bird-monitoring cameras and a playback system for tern calls. A small ancillary raft gives fledging terns a close-by practice landing strip.

The birds chattered at us as our boat approached. Both women said they get a more hostile reception during bird-banding operations, when chicks and adults

Clockwise from above: Kim Abplanalp (left) and Archer Larned band common terns; signs caution those islands; Maryland DNR’s Dave Brinker takes tern measurements.

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KIM ABPLANALP

visiting Virginia’s barrier

“We broke the geological process that creates small islands in coastal bays,” Brinker says. “Inlets get created by storms, then sand gets moved through the inlets to create islands. When we decided to harden the Ocean City inlet and change it, we totally changed the hydrodynamics of the coastal bays.”

“We probably need at least four wellmaintained islands,” Audubon’s Curson says of spoil-built sites. Brinker envisions a hybrid approach to maintaining them, protecting their most wave-vulnerable shore with riprap while encouraging sloping beach elsewhere.

But island-building has its detractors, even among environmentalists.

“They get all bent out of shape about taking bay bottom,” Brinker says.

Dredging bottom disturbs submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV), where crabs and small fish live.

“I’m talking about a couple of acres of SAV in thousands of acres of bottom. These are endangered species,” he says of at-risk colonial waterbirds. “SAV is not listed as endangered.”

So, which stands a better chance of survival: the piping plovers of Myrtle Island’s rapidly retreating sands in Virginia, or the common terns living on a raft in Maryland’s Sinepuxent Bay? Difficult to say, but Brinker argues that when it comes to coastal birds, islands are essential habitat.

“Humans can no longer sit back and say Mother Nature can take care of herself,” he says in advocating for spoil islands.

“Otherwise, we’re going to lose a lot of these colonial nesting waterbirds. The handwriting is on the wall.”

KIM ABPLANALP

to Maryland’s most endangered colonial waterbird, black skimmers.

“Black skimmers and royal terns are not really able to nest successfully in coastal bays,” David Curson, director of Maryland bird conservation for Audubon Mid-Atlantic, tells me. “Disappearance of islands is a very big part of the problem. It’s the headline issue.”

Curson and Brinker are already considering construction of another $250,000 raft, this one for black skimmers and royal terns. “Something more golf club-shaped,” Brinker says of its design, with a dogleg off the main raft to accommodate both species’ nesting needs.

As successful as the concept has been for common terns, manmade rafts (which are built largely with federal funds) aren’t colonial waterbirds’ best hope. “It’s a stopgap thing,” Larned says.

Brinker, Curson and other conservationists favor a renewed—but this time sustained—program to nourish islands with material dredged by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and others. “We nourish the beach at Ocean City periodically to the tune of billions of dollars,” Brinker argues.

“Creating islands with dredge material wouldn’t cost nearly as much as beach nourishment. Maybe one million dollars every five or ten years.”

Conservationists contend that creating sustainable islands in Maryland’s coastal bays is a debt long overdue. When the 1933 hurricane inundated the barrier island at Ocean City, storm surge filled the coastal bays. As the water rushed seaward again, it carved out the Ocean City inlet. Maryland proceeded to make nature’s channel a permanent fixture by dredging it and building a jetty.

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

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JACK WILDLIFE

CHESAPEAKE ADVENTURES

They’re Back!

by Angus Phillips

I

can’t remember the year, or even the decade for sure, but it was probably the early 1990s when it dawned on me and my mates that we were hurrying across the Bay Bridge in the predawn dark to hunt wild Canada geese on the Eastern Shore, while folks from over there were racing the other way to hunt a tamer version of the same species in the D.C. suburbs.

It was our introduction to the modern phenomenon of “resident geese,” the happy honkers that luxuriate on golf courses and lawns all year, getting fat on abundant public and private grass lots, pooping on sidewalks, roosting and nesting along suburban

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ponds and creeks with little fear of predators or hard times.

It’s an easy life, compared to the challenges of Atlantic flyway migratory geese—the lean, wary, hauntingly beautiful birds that follow timeless tradition, flying 1,200 miles north to Canada’s barren Ungava Peninsula each spring to lay eggs in shallow nests.

They raise their young on the tundra amid foxes and birds of prey, then fly south each fall with the surviving little ones to feed in fields of winter wheat and leftover grain from Delaware to Virginia and points beyond.

Fifty years ago, the Eastern Shore of Maryland was so loaded with these acrobatic migrants it was advertised as the “Goose Capital of the World,” and waterfowlers traveled from distant states and foreign lands to take a crack at them.

Well, things change in the natural world, if you hadn’t noticed. Nobody knows for sure the relative numbers of resident vs. wild geese wintering here today; the cousins look pretty much the same and they intermingle freely.

Migratory geese [mī-grə-ˌtȯr-ē gēs]

noun 1 Lean, wary,

hauntingly beautiful birds that follow timeless tradition, flying 1,200 miles north to Canada’s barren Ungava Peninsula each spring to lay eggs in shallow nests.

So counting anything more than goose heads in the winter is tough. But summer counts, when migrants are away, show that residents have gained a lot. The population rose steadily and seems to have hit a plateau at about 1 million birds in the coastal states from Virginia to New England.

That figure comes from a guy who knows: Bill Harvey, chair of the Canada Goose Committee of the Atlantic Flyway Council, a consortium of 17 states and Canadian Provinces.

Harvey, who also heads Maryland’s Department of Natural Resources Game Bird Division, has been watching geese come and go since 1989, when he joined DNR after graduate studies at Cornell. And while he has no beef with the booming resident goose population, like me he much prefers the wild birds from up north, whose habits and haunts he knows from personal experience.

From 1993 to 2019, he spent two weeks every May wandering the tundra, monitoring ups and downs of migratory Canadas. It was a bumpy ride for him, flying close to the ground in a little amphibious airplane with his Canadian counterpart, and for the geese, whose numbers soared and plummeted depending on the weather.

Harvey has seen the best of times, when he counted 180,000 nesting pairs on the Ungava, which borders Hudson Bay. And he’s seen the worst, in the mid ’90s, when numbers dropped to 34,000 nesting pairs and almost no young were hatched during a miserable, freezing late spring.

In 1995, faced with plummeting numbers, Maryland slammed the door on migratory goose hunting after two decades of abundance. From goose seasons lasting 90 days, with a limit of three birds a day for hunters, the state went into a five-year moratorium, in hopes it would keep the wild geese from disappearing for good. 

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Resident geese [rez(ə)dənt gēs]

noun 1 The happy honkers that luxuriate on golf courses

and lawns all year, getting fat on abundant public and private grass lots, pooping on sidewalks, roosting and nesting along suburban ponds and creeks with little fear of predators or hard times.

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It worked. Like the Maryland rockfishing moratorium that preceded it in the 1980s when the state fish was in danger of vanishing, the hunting closure gave the birds a respite from their most dangerous predators, humans. By the early 2000s, hunting season for migratory geese reopened on a short timeframe with a one-bird daily limit.

Slowly and unsteadily, the goose population rebounded on the Eastern Shore and up on the tundra. Harvey didn’t get to go to Ungava in 2020 and 2021 because of Covid, but he went back last May and was buoyed to count birds in numbers close to the good old days—164,000 nesting pairs.

That will be welcome information to hunters, who can expect a slightly more liberal season next year, but also to legions of nonhunters who thrill to see the flocks arriving in the fall, swirling down from great heights, honking their eerie cries and tumbling into fields and ponds with breathtaking grace.

It used to be the first big flocks arrived on the Eastern Shore in midSeptember, but these days with climate change, many flyway geese extend their stays in New York and Pennsylvania and points north until a hard freeze comes, Harvey said.

Lately the big concentrations of migrants may not occur till December and January. “But they still get here, eventually,” he said with a smile.

One side benefit of the new migratory goose reality for me has been the tighter limits on hunting. In the days of plenty, it seemed every field on the Eastern Shore had a goose pit and every creek and pond had a blind.

Goose guides were everywhere; most of the good spots were taken by commercial operations and the ones left were expensive to lease.

With tighter restrictions on hunting the migrating population, many

waterfowlers shifted their attention to the Bay’s Western shore, where the plump resident geese are readily available, the season is long and the limit is five birds a day. If what you want to do is kill a lot of lumbering, low-flying geese, that’s the place to go.

But if you like to watch one of the most spectacular wildlife sights in the mid-Atlantic region, wait till winter and take a trip to the Eastern Shore, to Wye Island Nature Preserve, Blackwater or Eastern Neck Natural Wildlife Refuges, or Bombay Hook on the Delaware Coast. The geese over there may look the same from afar as the ones in Rockville, but they behave very differently. They are wise to the ways of humans, and wary. They come in high, in big vees, and circle warily before setting down. They have a way of spilling wind to lose altitude quickly that’s heart-stoppingly beautiful.

Hunters call it oak-leafing, where they flip their wings from horizontal to vertical in mid-flight and tumble 10 or 20 feet at a time, then go back to

Oak-leafing [ohk lē-fing]

verb 1 To flip wings

from horizontal to vertical in mid-flight, tumbling 10 or 20 feet at a time, then go back to horizontal and flip to the other side to lose more height.

horizontal and flip to the other side to lose more height.

My wife and I, anchored in a cove off the Wye River years ago, were settling down in the cockpit for a sunset supper when the distant honks of an approaching flock found us. The birds came in high over the trees, then started tumbling down past the flaming red and yellow leaves of October sycamores, oaks and willows, dropping rapidly to the water with a soft splash and flutter of wings. There they sat by the dozens, just a stone’s throw away, preening, honking contentedly, and there they stayed all night. I have hunted geese through the years, and still do from time to time, but I’ve never had a more memorable experience than that starry night on the Wye with the wild Canadas.

Angus Phillips was outdoor editor of The Washington Post for 35 years, covering the fishing, hunting and boating scene both locally and globally. He’s lived in Annapolis since 1983.

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homes

 Visit HorsleyRealEstate.com for more information on this home.

474 SANDY RUN TRAIL, KILMARNOCK, VA 3900 SF / 4 BEDROOMS / 5 BATHROOMS / 5’MLW

One of the most unique properties in the Northern Neck. Take in the salty air breezes and unwind at this private family retreat. Relax on your private Sand Beach or launch the kayak and take a tour of the back creek. Head out on a fishing excursion, just minutes from your home to great catches. Entertaining has never been so easy! You and your guests will enjoy 3900 square feet of endless views from every room. Grand living room with vaulted, beamed ceiling, cozy fireplace, new wet bar and deck access. Enjoy cooking in this newly renovated luxurious kitchen with an open dining area and double sliding doors leading to the screen porch with three sides of water views. Bedrooms feature two ensuite downstairs, one ensuite upstairs, bayside bedroom with private balcony and bonus room with balcony and full bathroom. All located on a private 2.5 acres overlooking Indian Creek / Chesapeake Bay and just minutes from great town amenities. Don’t miss this rare opportunity to make this your stay-cation.

Contact: David Dew

Katie Horsley Dew

804-436-3106

804-436-6256

DavidEDew@gmail.com

KatieDew@horsleyrealestate.com

HorsleyRealEstate.com SPONSORED CONTENT

Chesapeake Lifestyle Experts

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ST. MARY’S COUNTY

50359 Scotland Beach Rd - 2616 SF POINT OF LAND with 600’ of shoreline on 1/7 acres. 4BR/3.5 home with brick FP, 2 car garage is being sold furnished, just in time for holiday season! Enjoy incredible wildlife action, water views of Tanner Creek and the Bay, parks and restaurants nearby! $799,900

Denise Neitzke

REALTOR®/Team Member

Chris McNelis

Associate Broker/Team Leader

Ashley Burroughs

REALTOR®/Operations Coordinator

Will Hooper

REALTOR®/Executive Assistant Announcing our new Team Member

Megan Erickson

© Melissa Barrick Creative

REALTOR® Look for her in our future ads!

O 410-394-0990 M 410-610-4045 Web: mcnelis.penfedrealty.com Waterfront. Land and Farm.

Condominium. Commercial.

Serving Southern Maryland and the Patuxent River region since 1992

Megan Erickson REALTOR®/Team Member Denise Neitzke REALTOR®/Team Member ..............................................................

CALVERT COUNTY

259 Cove Drive - 2717 SF + unfin bsmnt NEW HOME on Leason Cove near Solomons Island with private pier and deep water! Main level living with super primary suite, great room floor plan with gas FP and open kitchen.

Huge composite deck on the creek, unfin basement with rough-in, level walkout. $1,100,000

Chris McNelis ASSOCIATE BROKER/ Team Leader

Announcing our new Team Member Lacey Foerter REALTOR® Look for her in our future ads! ...................................................

O 410-394-0990 M 410-610-4045 Web: L veChesapeake.com ...................................................

Waterfront. Land and Farm.

Condominium. Commercial.

Will Hooper A member of the franchise system of BHH Affiliates, LLC Serving Southern Maryland and the REALTOR®/Executive Assistant Patuxent River region since 1992

Celebrating Years as Your Waterfront Specialists® Voted #1 Real Estate Agency

Call Today!

Buying/Selling properties with an easy commute to Washington DC, Annapolis and Baltimore

301-261-9700 • 410-867-9700 • WWW.SCHWARTZREALTY.COM • 5801 DEALE-CHURCHTON ROAD • DEALE, MD 20751

JUST LISTED

WATER PRIV. COMMUNITY

JUST LISTED

WATERFRONT

75 Oyster Point, White Stone, VA 22578 37.650845N / 76.422318W $2,450,000 WATERFRONT

BOAT SLIP WITH DEEP WATER

RAY MUDD/MIKE DUNN 410-320-4907

RAY MUDD/MIKE DUNN 410-320-4907

100% FINANCING AVAILABLE

JUST LISTED

2 HOMES

GREAT STARTER HOME

100% FINANCING AVAILABLE

RAY MUDD/MIKE DUNN 410-320-4907

RAY MUDD/MIKE DUNN 410-320-4907

RAY MUDD/MIKE DUNN 410-320-4907

Deale: 2Br., 1Ba., freshly painted, new carpet, large kitchen, nice yard, walk to marina’s, waterfront dining, shops and more. 40 minutes to D.C., 25 minutes to Annapolis.

Schwartzrealty.com/MDAA2012536

Southern Anne Arundel County: 3Br., 1.5Ba., eatin kitchen, living room with sliders to rear deck overlooking fenced rear yard, shed, large driveway for your boat/RV, walk to community pier, beach, playground, vboat ramp and more.

Schwartzrelaty.com/MDAA2047082.

Northern Calvert Co: Beautiful 69+ acres of farmland with 2 homes, 3 barns. Main home is on 67 acres with 1 car detached garage and guest house on separate 2 acres. Further subdividing is possible.

Schwartzrelaty.com/MDCA2002330

JUST REDUCED

JUST REDUCED

JUST REDUCED

MOVE IN READY

THREE SEPARATE LIVING UNITS

ZONE FOR COMMERCIAL/MARINE

GEORGE G. HEINE JR. 301-261-9700, 410-279-2817

GEORGE G. HEINE JR. 301-261-9700, 410-279-2817

$799,900

RAY MUDD/MIKE DUNN 410-320-4907

Arnold: Located in sought after community of Schoolers Pond. Move in condition. 4Br.,3Fb.,2Hb., upgraded kitchen, hwd. flrs., gas fp., finished LL, public water/sewer, gas heat, walk to community pier, beach, playground, kayak rack and more.

Broadneck school district.

Schwartzrealty.com/MDAA2047568

$310,000

$454,900

CLYDE BUTLER 443-223-2743

$1,100,000

$699,900

Southern Anne Arundel Co: Over 2,900 sq.ft.+.. 5Br., 3Fb, 2Hb., expansive Bay views. Impressive waterfront Southern Anne Arundel Co: 3Br., 2Ba. with expanporch, hardwood floors, formal dining room, owners sive Bay views. Pier with boat lift & jet ski lift. Upbedroom with enclosed porch, 2 car garage. Close to dated kitchen with corian countertops, family room with woodstove, whole house generator.

North Beach boardwalk, marina’s & shops. 45 minutes 45 minutes to D.C.. to D.C.. Was the original “Inn of Holland Point”.

Schwartzrealty.com/MDAA2034564.

Schwartzrealty.com/MDAA2044428 • • • •

5 Bedrooms, 6.5 Baths Total 4 Fireplaces Throughout Gorgeous Millwork & Solid Hardware Each Section has Living Room, Den, Full Kitchens & More • Overlooking the Tides Inn Resort • Beautiful Sunsets & Great Creek Cruising Awaits!

• Iconic Home in a Fabulous Area

$309,900

$899,995

69+ ACRES

$1,344,900

$970,000

Huntingtown; 3br., 1.5ba., Farmette with 3+ acres, horses are welcome. Large barn in very good con- Annapolis, 9br., 6ba., Unique property ideal for large Snug Harbor, 4br.,2ba., Home, income opportunity, family or a family compound with three separate property totaling 106,931 acres. Commercial/madition. Move in ready, recently renovated. unites. In addition there are two separate and rine zoned property, with 135 ft. Of bulk headed schwartzrealty.com/MDCA2006808 approved and recorded building lots. Must see this waterfront, 200 ft. Pier with 12 boat slips. property to appreciate what it has to offer.

Schwartzrealty.com/MDAA2011224 Schwartzrealty.com/MDAA2042178.

A B U N D A N T LY

~ For our small Waterfront Communities that surround the Chesapeake Bay ~

~ For our wonderful Clients ~ ~ For Loving what we do! ~

AMAZING WIDE VIEWS! 652 Little Oyster Lane, White Stone, VA Sunsets - 4’ MLW at Pier - 4 Boat Lifts - Customized 2900 SF - Great Entertaining Home

JUST OFF CHESAPEAKE BAY 875 Flowering Fields, White Stone, VA Dymer Creek - Deep Depth & Protected - 3312 SF - Two Fireplaces - Multiple Upgrades

DEEP WATER DEPTH 316 Woodbrook Drive, Lancaster, VA New Pier - 8’MLW - Sand Beach - Wide Views - 3480 SF - Great Private 2 Acres

DAVID DEW • 804.436.3106 • DavidEDew@gmail.com KATIE HORSLEY DEW • 804.436.6256 • HorsleyRE@yahoo.com

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

Buying? Selling?

CREATIVE SPACES REMODELING

Specializing in WATERFRONT HOMES

We have you covered.

Browse our showcase of CBM recommended Chesapeake Bay realtors; take a virtual tour of some of the bay’s most luxurious waterfront homes & estates; learn more about the market and what it takes to make your house a Chesapeake Bay Home.

Experience the Life There are many builders and remodelers that can build a nice home, but we understand the passion and the lifestyle of living on the water and can build you a home that connects your home and your lifestyle together as one.

Custom Homes • Full Remodels Additions • Outdoor Spaces

remodelthebay.com 410.867.0407

chesapeakebaymagazine.com/ real-estate

DISCOVER PUNTA GORDA, FL

where boating is a way of life all year long.

We specialize in waterfront properties

Located on Charlotte Harbor Florida’s 2nd largest harbor

AndreaeBoatingH922.indd 1

Call or go online today for available properties, videos and Punta Gorda area information.

941-833-4217 · 866-761-8138 · discoverpuntagorda.com 9/9/22 10:51 AM

16105 Thomas Road, Piney Point, MD

Barbara Stellway Associate Broker, CRS

KW Metro Center 240-298-9191

barbarastellway@gmail.com

Stunning Potomac River waterfront on gated 2 acres.

Fully furnished; this 5 bed/4.5 bath home is ready for your next getaway. Home is 6,656 SF and offers everything you could desire; hot tub, sauna, palatial master suite, screened porch, 10,000 lb. boat lift plus 2 jet ski lifts, detached 2 car garage with loads of storage in addition to attached 2 car garage and 2 sheds. The spectacular sunset views promise not to disappoint! Offered at $1,995,000.

Your Northern Neck & Middle Peninsula of Virginia Real Estate Specialists

www.GreatWicomicoRiver.com

You can have it all!

Your River Sanctuary

deck, inground pool, hot tub, deep water pier on protected creek, attached 2 car garage and detached 1 car garage. 3 BR, 4 BA, 3796 Sq.ft. 1.82 Acres NEW PRICE $950,000

patio overlooks the private pier on Indian Creek with access directly to the Bay. Close to town

www.TipersCreek.net

www.CockrellCreek.com

Set Sail From Your Private Haven This remarkable property sits on a peninsula on a deep, protected creek with access

Your River Playground!

Completely renovated river home with new pier, sand beach shoreline close to amenities of Reedville and a quick boat ride out to the Chesapeake Bay. There is a large detached garage/workshop, outdoor shower, multiple porches and firepit. Highspeed internet is available! Vacation rentals are allowed! 3 BR, 3 BA, 2130 sq.ft., 1.56 Acres. $559,000

this peaceful setting from one of the decks, patio or screened porch. The private peir has 6’+ MLW, electric and water. 3 BR, 3 BA, 3630 Sq.ft. 1.7 acres. $795,000

$959,000

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

804.724.1587

ShultzRealtors.com

877.269.3021 Maryland

BLUEWATERYACHTSALES.COM Virginia

North Carolina

Florida

EST. 1968

65’ Viking 2000 - Call Hank: 804.337.1945

65’ Sea Ray 2015 - Call Scott: 757.570.3944

64’ Horizon 2007 - Call Connor: 757.968.2353

61’ Chadwick 2017 - Call Danny: 252.665.4018

60’ Hatteras 2010 - Call Daryl: 252.259.0235

60’ Hatteras 2020 - Call Scott: 757.570.3944

55’ Custom Carolina 2006 - Call Jeremy: 410.507.4150

54’ Meridian 2011 - Call Chuck: 703.999.7696

54’ Gary Davis 1996 - Call John: 301.991.3308

52’ Viking 2016 - Call Connor: 757.968.2353

52’ Grand Banks 2000 - Call Chuck: 703.999.7696

45’ Ferretti 2017 - Call Chuck: 703.999.7696

43’ Formula 2020 - Call Jud: 757.846.7909

43’ Everglades 2018 - Call Joe: 252.241.1316

43’ Everglades 2016 - Call Roger: 410.456.3659

42’ Regal 2017 - Call Mark: 757.406.1673

39’ SeaVee 2018 - Call Mark: 757.406.1673

39’ Cigarette 2021 - Call Roger: 410.456.3659

38’ Sabre 2015 - Call Chuck: 703.999.7696

38’ Boston Whaler 2022 - Call John: 301.991.3308

38’ Sabre 2015 - Call Jud: 757.846.7909

36’ F&S 2013 - Call Roger: 410.456.3659

34’ Back Cove 2014 - Call Mark: 757.406.1673

33’ Grady-White 2018 - Call Chuck: 703.999.7696

BOATING’S BEST BRANDS (New model representation varies by territory)

BLUEWATER HAS EVERY VALHALLA, REGULATOR, EVERGLADES, SABRE & BACK COVE MODEL IN STOCK OR ON ORDER!

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SEA BEYOND

2022 Nimbus T11 In Stock! Give us a call!

410.397.7323

410.397.7323 SEATTLEYACHTS.COM WASHINGTON

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2024 Endurance 658L

Seattle Yachts

410.397.7323

2024 Northern Marine 64

Seattle Yachts

IN STOCK

2022 Northern Marine 57

Seattle Yachts 410.397.7323

844.692. 2487

ARR. SUMMER 2023

2024 Northwest 63

Seattle Yachts 410.397.7323

ARR. JUNE 2023

2023 Nordic Tugs 44

Seattle Yachts 410.397.7323

2007 Selene 40 $425,000 Dan Bacot 757.813.0460

COMING SOON

ARR. SPRING 2023

2023 Nordic Tugs 40

Seattle Yachts 410.397.7323

IN STOCK

2022 Nimbus T11

Seattle Yachts 410.397.7323

2004 Menorquin 120 $270,000 Rob Summers

443.771.4467

Dan Bacot 757.813.0460

COMING SOON

IN STOCK

2022 Ocean Sport Roamer 30 OB Seattle Yachts 410.397.7323

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2014 Nordic Tug 34 $375,000

2023 Nimbus 405 Coupé

Seattle Yachts 410.397.7323

2022 Nimbus T8

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2023 Nimbus T9

Seattle Yachts 410.397.7323

SELL YOUR BOAT! LIST WITH US! Seattle Yachts

410.397.7323

ANNAPOLIS 410.269.0939

TARTAN 395 65 Hull #7 Miami BS $2,480,000 65’ 2023 2019 Jeanneau Regency Yachts P65 .....................................$2,895,000 65 2024 658L #19 Build ...... $4,100,000 60’ 2022 Endurance Jeanneau Yachts 60 -In September ......... CALL 60’ 2024 Jeanneau Yachts 60 - Fall Show Boat .. CALL 54’ 2024 2004 Jeanneay Symbol 54Yachts Pilothouse ....................... $450,000 55’ 55 - Fall Show Boat ... CALL 54’ - Belize 54 DayBridge ......$1,099,000 51’ 2015 2017 Riviera Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 519 ........... $415,000 1951 Antigua Kyntyell 51 Custom Classic ................... $130,000 $140,000 51’ 1986 ............................................

49’ 1983 2011 Wasa HanseAtlantic 495 ............................................. $315,000 51’ 51 ...................................$57,000 49’ 2023 Jeanneau 490 # 168 In Stock ................ CALL 50’ 2004 Viking Princess V50 FLY ................... $350,000 48 2023 Excess Catamaran 15 # 14 In Stock ..... CALL 50’ 46’ 2014 2013 Jeanneau 509 469 ...................................... ..................................... $390,000 $325,000 45 1998 45 Ketch ................................. $129,000 50’ 1988 Brewer Transworld - Fantail 50 .................... $240,000 45’ 2021 1983 Jeanneau Bristol 45.5SO ............................................ $120,000 49’ 490-147 In Stock .............

CALL 44’ 2023 Jeanneau 440 - Dec. 1 Arrival ................ CALL 49’ 2020 F&C Jeanneau SO 490 - HAYETTE .......... $525,000 44 1980 44 .................................................... $129,000 45 45544 - New Model ..........................

CALL 44 2022 2014 Tartan Jeanneau DS .................................. $315,000 44 2024 14 # 7 Fall 2023 .......

CALL 45’ 1983 Excess Bristol Catamaran 45.5 ............................................ $150,000 43’ 2015 Tartan 4300 ........................................... $590,000 44’ 2022 Jeanneau SO 440-321 In Stock .............

CALL 43 1986 Hatteras ACMY..................................... $109,000 44’ 2004 Post Tartan 4400sh - FL ................................. $335,900 43 1984 Sportfi ....................................... $115,900 41’ 1993 2000 Pacifi Hunter 410............................................... $99,000 44’ c Seacraft 44 ............................. $199,000 41’ 1987 2023 C&C Jeannneau # 209 In Stock ............... CALL 44’ 44 C/B 410 ..............................................$79,000 40’ 1988 Canadian Sailcraft ................................. $75,000 43’ 4300 - MD .......................................

CALL 40’ 2008 1999 Tartan C&C 121 .................................................... $95,000 43’ 43DS ................................... $425,000 $183,000 40’ 2005 2007 Jeanneau Selene 40...............................................

SOLOMONS 443.906.0321

JEANNEAU 410

Featured Featured Brokerage Brokerage

40 T11 167 In Stock .....................

41’2022 2022 Nimbus Jeanneau SO# 410-131 In Stock ............. CALL 40 ..................................... $229,000 $270,000 41’2004 2002 Menorquin120 Tartan 4100 ..........................................

40’ 1995 Regal Commodore .............................. $94,900 40’ 405 COUPE ..................................

CALL 40’ 2022 2006 NIMBUS Pacific Seacraft 40 ............................. $325,000 40’ 2006 Excess Pacific 12 Seacraft - Spain .............. $335,000 40 2022 # 29 In40Stock .................... $688,205 1997 Nautilus Pacific Seacraft 40 ............................. $265,000 40’ 1981 40 Pilothouse ........................$79,000 40’ 1998 2000 Catalina Pacific Seacraft 40 ............................. $120,000 $275,000 40’ 400 .........................................

40’ 2023 Nordic Tug 40 # 11 April Arrival .......... CALL 40’ 1977 Gulfstar Hood 40 ...................................$99,000 39’ 1999 Mainship 390 .......................................... $85,000 40’ c Seacraft 40 ............................. $295,000 39’ 1997 2024 Pacifi Legacy 12 On Order July 2023 ..............

CALL 38 1984 38T11-80 MK I........................................... $68,000 40’ 2022 Sabre Nimbus In Stock ..........................

CALL 38 2004 386 $85,000 39’ 2022 HUNTER Tartan 395 - 6............................................

In Stock .............................

CALL 38’ 1997 Prout Manta cat .................................... $99,500 39’ 2022 Island ExcessPacket 12-29 Cat In Stock .....................

CALL 38 2003 380-............................... $200,000 39’1980 1999 Morgan Mainship382 390 ...................................... $115,000 38 ............................................. $39,500 38 2023 Jeanneau 380 Arrives March ...............

CALL 38’ 1981 S&S - Fincraft 38 ....................................$80,000 38 ............................................... $215,000 37’2004 2022 Sabre Excess386 11-42 .....................

CALL 37 2003 Jeanneau SunCat Fast- In 37Stock ........................... $87,000 37’2006 2001 Beneteau Jeanneau 373 SO 37 ....................................$65,000 37 ....................................... $110,000 37 Sprite ........ $150,000 37’1999 2002 Pacifi PacificSeacraft c Seacraft37 37- Sea ............................. $120,000 37 cSeacraft 37 - Odyssa .............. $190,000 37’2003 2002 Pacifi Tartan 3700 - Strider ......................... $185,000 37’ 2000 Tartan 3700 - Liberty ......................... $168,000 37’2023 1998 Excess J Boat J/37 ................................................$65,000 37 Catamaran 11 # 75 In Stock ..... CALL 37’ 2003 Tartan 3700 Spray ...................................

CALL 36’ Beneteau 36- CC ..................................... $99,900

36’ 36373 ................................................. $88,000 37’ 2005 Hunter Beneteau ...................................... $105,000 36’ Hunter 36 ................................................. $99,900 37’ 2009 2000 TARTAN 3700 - LIBERTY ................... $159,000 36 2023 Tartan 365 # 5 February Arrival ............. CALL 37’1994 1998 Catalina Searay Sundancer 370 ........................$94,900 36 36 MK II..................................... $69,750 37’ 2000 2004 Cruisers Jeanneau3672 SO 37 ................................. $110,000 36’ .......................................... $98,900 35 Rassey $45,900 37’1972 2010 Hallberg Tartan 3700 ccr -......................................

VENTURE ............. $259,000 35 2002 Hunter 356 ............................................... $72,500 36’ 1979 PEARSON 365 Ketch ............................$44,000 35 1994 Beneteau 352 .......................................... $52,000 36’ 2006 Hunter 36 .................................................$87,500 34 2023 Jeanneau 349 # 841 In Stock ................. CALL 36’1977 2022 Tartan Tartan 34c 365.................................................

- SPRING 2022 ........................

CALL 34 $47,500 34 34 Trawler ............................. $43,000 35’1994 1986 Mainship Baltic 35 ....................................................$59,500 34 343 .......................................... $85,000 34’2006 1990 Beneteau Pacific Seacraft Crealock 34 ...............$86,000 34 2010 Tartan 3400 .......................................... $185,000 34’ 2014 2022 Nordic Jeanneau In Stock ............

CALL 34’ TugSO 34349-780 ...................................... $374,000 34’2022 1994 Jeanneau Pacific Seacraft Crealock 34STOCK ............ $110,000 33 Sun Fast 3300 IN ...... CALL 33’ 2006 WELLCRAFT 330 COASTAL .............. $110,000 31’ 1986 Island Packet 31 .....................................$59,500 32’ 2001 NORDIC TUG 3231 ..................................

31’1988 2007 Pacifi Pacificc Seacraft Seacraft ............................. $178,000 $148,500 31 31.................................. $85,000 29’2022 2022 Ocean NImbusSport T9 .....................................................

CALL 30 30 # 123 In Stock ...... $539,500 28 ..................................................... $93,000 28’2004 2014 Albin Searay28280 SunDeck ............................$69,500 26 T8 .................................................$99,900 # 185 In Stock ....................... CALL 26’2022 2019 Nimbus Fantail 26 24 1937 Port Carling Seabird ............................. $69,000 26’1987 2000 Pacifi Gradyc White 2624 Powercat ...................$49,000 24 Seacraft ................................. $55,000 22’2018 1998 SeaRay Sam L Morse Cutter .............................$45,000 21 210 SPX ...................................... $59,900

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My wife Jackie and I invite you to contact us if you are interested in listing and selling your beautifully maintained motoryacht, trawler or larger sailing yacht!

We understand the lifestyle and needs of maintenance & care these beauties require and are ready to assist you in your buying or selling needs, whether it be in the midAtlantic or at our winter southern location in Stuart, Florida! Complimentary Dockage till sold here in Annapolis or Stuart.

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YAC H T V I E W. C O M

STERN LINES

Guy Talk

by Jefferson Holland

N

ot being of the female persuasion myself, I can only suppose that women must be curious as to what guys talk about when women aren’t around. Especially guys on boats.

Since we’re talking stereotypes, it’s generally assumed that all sailors are salty talkers. I’ll admit to being a bit brackish myself—a little bit salty, a little bit fresh—but there was this one time when a particular conversation was unsuspectedly caught on a recording, a classic “hot mic” situation that gave away the secret.

This was way back in the last century, when cell phones were still fairly new and land lines all had message machines hooked in. There we were, the three of us guys—me and my buddy Kevin, helping Capt. Bill deliver a boat across the Bay from Rock Hall to Annapolis. It was one of those big trawlers, well appointed with all the latest navigation gear.

Even though Bill was perfectly capable of handling it on his own, we decided we should tag along, not because he needed our help, but because our motto was Excusationem aliquam in navi excursio, or “any excuse for a boat ride.”

And it’s a good thing we went along, too, since it was on one of those clear, blustery days after a November nor’easter had blown through, and the north wind scudded whitecaps across the surface of the water. Because we had to take our time cutting through the chop, we were

64

ChesapeakeBayMagazine.com | November 2022

running a bit late and Kevin wanted to check in with his honey to let her know. His phone was dead, so he borrowed mine. He left a brief message on the machine and set the phone down on the helm dash while we guys resumed our conversation.

He did not hit the “end” button.

Back in Eastport, the message machine kept on recording. And kept on. And on.

When Kevin’s better half got home, she saw the red light flashing. She hit the “play” button. She listened for a full 15 minutes until the time ran out.

This is what she heard: “You use milk in your grits?”

“Sure. Whole milk, not skim milk. I wouldn’t use half-and-half or cream, though.”

“Salted butter?”

“No, I use unsalted. You want to be able to control the amount of salt you add at the end.”

“I found a place where you can get real stoneground grits from this mill in South Carolina.”

“Oh, yeah, that makes all the difference. I’d never use the instant kind…”

And so on.

Yes, ladies, a full 15 minutes of grits recipes.

When I got home later that afternoon, my wife asked me how it went, but she didn’t have to ask.

Kevin’s wife had already called her. I wonder what they talked about.

November 2022 | ChesapeakeBayMagazine.com

65

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