September 2022 by Chesapeake Bay Magazine

SEPTEMBER 2022 PaddlersTopWaterTrailsfor MARINESHOWCASESERVICES NEWFIES The Original Water Dog BAY CLEAN-UP AT 40 Ospreys & Optimism

Safe MembershipHarbor 2023 EXPLORE LOCATIONS UNLIMITED COMPLIMENTARY TRANSIENT NIGHTS Whenever and wherever we have extra slips, Members stay for free. FUEL AT OUR COST Members will buy fuel at our cost from fuel docks operated by Safe Harbor. MEMBER EXPERIENCES & DISCOUNTS Make more memories and get more discounts at over 130 waterfront locations nationwide and beyond. Starting in early 2023, benefits will include:

September 2022 New Brokerage Power Sail Service. . . 7330 Edgewood Rd, Annapolis, MD 21403 410.280.2038 | NORTHPOINTYACHTSALES.COM American Made Summer 2023 Delivery

ChesapeakeBayMagazine.com September 20222 Crusader Yacht Sales Is Your Annapolis Dealer For Jeanneau Sailboats and Excess Catamarans! WE HAVE BOATS IN STOCK! Limited Availability for Fall or Spring Delivery CALL NOW To Lock In On Our Special Prices For Fall Boat Show! INVENTORY AVAILABLE JEANNEAU SUN ODYSSEY 349 - 410 - 490 / NOW! EXCESS 11 - 12 - 15 / NOW! CALL NOW TO SCHEDULE A TESTAnnapolisSAIL! 410-269-0939 Solomons www.CrusaderYachts.com443-906-0321 EXCESS 11 EXCESS 15 SUN ODYSSEY 410 SUN ODYSSEY 490

September 2022 ChesapeakeBayMagazine.com 3 PLAN YOUR VISIT + PURCHASE TICKETS AnnapolisBoatShows.comAT BOATANNAPOLISTHESHOWS OCTOBER 13 – 17, 2022 ANNAPOLIS, MARYLAND OCTOBER 6 – 9, 2022 ANNAPOLIS, MARYLAND

W H ER E SH O RE FL AVOR S VisitQueenAnnes.c om 410-604-2100 PLAN Y OU R C H E S APEAKE B AY A D VE N T U R E

September 2022 ChesapeakeBayMagazine.com 5  46  10  62  53  16  60  60       10 Chestertown 16 Georgetown, D.C. 46 Cambridge 53 Blackwater NWR, Sassafras River, Patuxent River, Middleneck, Va. 60 Annapolis, Alexandria 62 Hanover, Pa. CONTENTS SEPTEMBER 2022 VOLUME 52 | NUMBER 5 Features 46 Through Her Eyes Discover the hidden side of the Chesapeake on the Harriet Tubman Byway.— Kate Cli ord Larson 52 Through Your Eyes Fall is the perfect time to get out and explore the Bay’s tributaries by paddle. Marty LeGrand 62 Newﬁes Genial giants meet their inner working dog. Je erson Holland Columns 9 From the Editor: Of Ospreys & Optimism Je erson Holland 22 Chesapeake Almanac: Moving Forward There is good news about our Bay. Capt. John Page Williams 28 On Boats: Sea Pro 199 CC A well-built, seaworthy, versatile utility boat Capt. John Page Williams 60 Chesapeake Chef: Fried Oysters Blackwall Hitch, Annapolis and Alexandria, Va. 80 Stern Lines: Ruff and the Bear Je erson Holland 22 On the Cover: A kayaker stops to smell the giant lotus blossoms on Parker’s Creek o of the Sassafras River. Photo by Chris Cereno  Talk of the Bay 10 Let It Rain Create a rain garden to protect the Bay. Nancy Taylor Robson 16 Barge into History on the C&O Canal A new replica provides a portal to the past. Je erson Holland SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION 34 2022 Marine Services Showcase It’s not too early to start getting your boat ready for next season.  53  53  53

ChesapeakeBayMagazine.com September 20226 CRUISINGJeffersonJohnPUBLISHERStefancikEDITORHollandEDITOR:JodyArgo Schroath MULTIMEDIA JOURNALIST: Cheryl Costello CONTRIBUTING EDITOR: Susan Moynihan EDITORS-AT-LARGE: Ann Levelle, John Page Williams CONTRIBUTING WRITERS: Rafael Alvarez, Ann Eichenmuller, Robert Gustafson, Mark Hendricks, Marty LeGrand, Kate Livie, Nancy Taylor Robson, Charlie Youngmann CREATIVE m.kucera@ChesapeakeBayMagazine.comCONTRIBUTINGMegNEWSCarolineDIRECTORFosterDIRECTORWalburnVivianoPHOTOGRAPHERS:JimBurger,DanDuffy,JayFleming,MarkHendricks,JillJasuta,CarolineJ.PhillipsGENERALMANAGERKristaPfunderPRODUCTIONMANAGERRebeccaVolsoinADVERTISINGSENIORACCOUNTMANAGERMichaelKucera•804-543-2687PUBLISHEREMERITUSRichardJ.RoyerCIRCULATIONTheresaSise•410-263-2662office@ChesapeakeBayMagazine.com CHESAPEAKE BAY MEDIA, LLC CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, John Martino EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT, Tara Davis 410 Severn Avenue, Suite 311, Annapolis, MD 21403 410-263-2662 ChesapeakeBayMagazine.com EDITORIAL: CIRCULATION:editor@ChesapeakeBayMagazine.comcirc@ChesapeakeBayMagazine.comBILLING:billing@ChesapeakeBayMagazine.com Chesapeake Bay Magazine (ISSN0045-656X) (USPS 531-470) is published by Chesapeake Bay Media, LLC 410 Severn Avenue, Annapolis, MD 21403. $25.95 per year, 11 issues annually. $7.99 per copy. Periodical postage paid at Annapolis, MD 21403 and additional offices. POSTMASTER: Please send address changes or corrections for Chesapeake Bay Magazine to 410 Severn Ave., Annapolis, MD 21403. Copyright 2022 by Chesapeake Bay Media, LLC— Printed in the U.S.A. Volume 52 Number 5 We Take Care of it All, Including the Boats •Unlimited Training with Licensed Captains •350+ Boats in our Fleet •The Oldest and Largest Boat Club •14+ Locations in MD & DC •100+ Boats in MD & DC •Reciprocal access to 4000+ boats at 350+ clubs worldwide ou Belong YHere ou Belong Here www FreedomBoatClub com How the Club Works Pay a 1x Entry Fee & Monthly Dues Get Unlim ted Training from L censed Captains Take Any Boat Out as Often as You Wish ere CHESAPEAKE BAY MARITIME MUSEUM Your Chesapeake adventure begins here! 213 N. Talbot St., St. Michaels, MD | 410-745-2916 | cbmm.org

September 2022 ChesapeakeBayMagazine.com 7 The biggest and best ﬂeet of towboats are on your waterways, ready to jump into action when you need help on the water. For peaceful, worry-free boating, be sure to get Unlimited towing from TowBoatU.S. Get Towing and Get Going! BoatUS.com/Towing 800-395-2628 Details of services provided can be found online at BoatUS.com/Agree. TowBoatU.S. is not a rescue service. In an emergency situation, you must contact the Coast Guard or a government agency immediately.

September 2022 ChesapeakeBayMagazine.com 9 FROM THE EDITOR

W hen I comingstarteddown to the Chesapeake Bay in the mid-1970s, osprey sightings were rare and eagles were nowhere to be found. Then Rachel Carson’s book Silent Spring revealed the evil of insecticides like DDT and other chemicals polluting the food chain, which sparked the establishment of the Environmental Protection Agency and the passage of the Clean Water Act 50 years ago.

Now both ospreys and eagles are nesting on the Bay in record numbers. In Chesapeake Almanac on page 22, John Page Williams cites many other indicators showing that the Bay cleanup efforts are making progress, despite the negative impact of millions of new people who have moved to the watershed over the decades. Wait! That includes me. And you, too, I’ll bet. So, what can we do to help with the Chesapeake’s cleanup efforts? If your property could benefit from a rain garden, then the Bay would benefit too, by reducing excess runoff pollution. Learn how to create one in Nancy Robson’s Talk of the Bay article on page 10. We’re also celebrating another anniversary in this issue: the 200th birthday of one of the Chesapeake’s iconic heroes, Harriet Tubman. Fortunately for us, the viewscapes of the marshes and forests of Tubman’s youth on Maryland’s Eastern Shore haven’t changed much in all that time. Kate Clifford Larson, the best-selling author of an acclaimed biography of Harriet Tubman and an award-winning historian and consultant, takes us on a tour of the area through Tubman’s eyes, beginning on page 46. Of course, we can’t have too many stories about boats, and this issue abounds with opportunities for you to explore the Bay by water, from a ride on an historic barge on the C&O Canal (page 16) to paddling water trails in Maryland and Virginia (page 52), with tips on how to choose the right kayak. You’ll also find a review of the new Sea Pro 199 Center Console (pageTo28).top it off, you can meet some of the most adorable dogs on the planet and discover the astonishing origin story of the Chesapeake Bay retriever. I’m hoping you’ll find inspiration to get out and experience some of the history, culture and adventures you’ll be reading about in this issue of Chesapeake Bay Magazine

Of Ospreys & Optimism by Jefferson Holland

ChesapeakeBayMagazine.com September 202210 techniques for slowing down water,” Brill notes. “It [also] focuses on this idea that clean water is a right of every living organism on this planet.” Retaining water on site prevents silting and fertilizerfueled algae blooms that degrade water quality in the Bay and destroy marine life. It’s also why riverkeepers and other Bay-focused entities help design restorations.landscape “We do restorations on ag land that programsandowners,workRiverkeeper.Kelleher,eachflowingofthousandsreduceofpoundspollutionfromintotheriveryear,”saysZachSassafras“Wealsowithpropertypublicparksriver-friendlyfor

• Careful Process (i.e., it’s not just the ends but also the means that matter)

• Transitional Ethic which acknowledges that we’re not all going to start building composting toilets tomorrow, but we can each take a positive step toward the ultimate goal: overall health and resiliency Environmental group ShoreRivers helps with a community planting of native trees in Chestertown, Md.

Permaculture Coined in the late 1970s by Australian ecologist Bill Mollison and environmental designer David Holmgren, the concept was originally a mash-up of “permanent” and “agriculture” that morphed into a holistic approach to land management. Four general precepts: • Care for the Earth • Care for People

Let It Rain Create a rain garden to protect the Bay. by Nancy Taylor Robson TALK OF THE BAY T he Chesapeake Bay is nearly 200 miles long and covers 4,479 square miles. The land area surrounding the Bay covers 64,000 square miles. It’s this relationship of land to water that makes the restoration of the Bay so complex. Every time it rains, stormwater flushes through the land and washes 64,000 square miles of land pollution into 4,479 square miles of water. Of the 18 million people living within that watershed, many are property owners. If you’re one of them, there are simple ways you can help reduce the amount of stormwater polluting the Bay. You can become part of the landscaping movement called providespermaculture.strategiesBothBermsbecomingkeeponeChestertown,WashingtonSustainabilityandpermaculturesaysyouactually“You“permaculture.”canneverstopwaterbutcanslowitdown,”ShaneBrill,educatorDirectorofatCollegeinMd.Raingardensarebeautifulwaytostormwaterfromrunoff.canalsohelp.aredesignusedin“Permaculturedifferent

Adventure 218 Your New A dventure Awaits. gradywhite.com Uniquely Grady-White UNITED STATES POWERBOAT SHOW

ChesapeakeBayMagazine.com September 2022

The University of Maryland’s Bay-Wise program recommends that property owners do a soil test before

Volunteers plant native shrubs in a “riverfriendly” rain garden in Chestertown. individuals. I love being able to empower individual homeowners.”

While farmers must file nutrient management plans to prevent excess nutrients running off into waterways, individual property owners can fling fertilizer on lawns whether they need it or not. And it turns out that most lawns don’t need it.

“Three of the most important actions you can take to help our waterways and our planet are [to] plant native plants, stop using lawn fertilizers, and reduce turf grass,” says Kelleher. Even if you don’t cut down on turf, forgoing lawn fertilizer is a painless way to reduce pollution. Plus, it’s budget-friendly; paying for fertilizer that’s not used by the plants is a multi-pronged waste. “Fertility is not just harmful to the Bay and that ecosystem,” notes Jason Reed, Master Gardener Coordinator with Penn State Extension in York, Pa. “It’s also loss for the ecosystem of the homeowner.”

ChesapeakeBayMagazine.com January/February 2022

“Permaculture’s exciting because it [simultaneously] considers multiple functions,” says Kathy Thornton of the Adkins Arboretum in Ridgely, Md. For example, take the choice and positioning of plants in our landscapes. “You want something to be beautiful, but it can also fix nitrogen in the soil, filter water and hold onto soil.”

Over the years, with the growth of development, phosphorous runoff from lawn fertilizers has increased exponentially. In the late 1990s the turf grass industry estimated there were just over 3 million acres of turf grass in the Bay watershed. By 2004–2005, that number had climbed to nearly 3.8 million acres, according to a study by the Chesapeake Stormwater Network.

Senior living just got an upgrade. There’s retirement — then there’s first-class retirement. A retirement where your needs are anticipated, where you’ll find style and attention to detail everywhere you look, and where the service is second to none. This is retirement living the way it should be, at The Village at Providence Point—A National Lutheran Community. From gourmet to casual dining, a state-of-the-art aquatic center and stylish, well-appointed residences, you’ll find everything here is built to exceed expectation. Why? Because when it comes to the next step in your retirement, we think first-class is the only way to go. VISIT OUR MODEL APARTMENT. CALL TODAY: 410-881-8782 Dream. Explore. Discover. RESERVATIONS!

September 2022 ChesapeakeBayMagazine.com 13 A LIFE PLAN COMMUNITY • COMING TO SCENIC ANNAPOLIS, MARYLAND •

SOMETHEVILLAGEATPROVIDENCEPOINT.ORGCHOICESARE

OBVIOUS

NOW ACCEPTING

IMAGES DEPICTED BY ARTIST RENDERING AND SUBJECT TO CHANGE, PENDING FINAL DESIGN AND ENGINEERING. The Village at Providence Point is affiliated with National Lutheran Communities & Services, a faith-based, not-for-profit ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, serving people of all beliefs. The Village at Providence Point is subject to the final approval of the Maryland Department of Aging.

ChesapeakeBayMagazine.com September 202214 they introduce fertilizers, to determine if and what they may need. The type of fertilizer is key too. Maryland now prohibits including phosphorous (a huge culprit in algae blooms) in lawn fertilizer sold in the state, and phosphorous is either banned or limited in ten other states. Another easy step property owners can take is eliminating weed suppressant on lawns. Prior to World War I, most grass seed contained clover, a nitrogen-fixing legume that naturally enhances soil fertility and quality. Clover is also food for our besieged pollinators, especially bees. Dandelion flowers are one of the first, most reliable forage plants for both honeybees and many of the region’s 450 native bee species, and dandelion leaves (prior to blooming) are also excellent in spring salads. (Well-made dandelion wine’s not bad either). Without weed suppressants, clover, violets and other plants have an opportunity to grow, offering a buffet for pollinators. For those of us brought up to aspire to aristocratic swathes of unadulterated green (which is in fact a food desert), forgoing weed suppressant requires an adjustment in outlook. And while a lawn dappled with clover, violet and dandelion may lie athwart some outdated suburban HOA codes, it’s much closer to the multipurpose way that permaculture— and nature—functions. We just need to view our landscapes through a wider, better-informed lens. You might begin by installing a rain garden on your property. A rain garden is done in a low spot in the landscape that collects rainwater runoff from a roof, driveway or street. It slows the flow and allows the water to soak into the ground. When planted with native grasses and flowering perennials that A rain garden is a cost-effiicient and beautiful way to control stormwater runoff and provide habitat for pollinators.

• OWN

Nancy Taylor Robson is a UMD Master Gardener, Bay-Wise certifier and the author of four books, including Woman in the Wheelhouse, a memoir of her six years working on coastal tugboats.

YOUR OWN BOAT SLIP • COVERED & OPEN 30 - 62FT • ANNUAL AND SEASONAL LEASES EASY/QUICK BAY ACCESS • FUEL DOCK • PUMP OUT • GATED FOR SECURITY • POOL • CLUB HOUSE • LAUNDRY • WI-FI • TRANSIENTS WELCOME 500 PINEY NARROWS ROAD, CHESTER, MARYLAND 21619 LOCATION: KENT NARROWS ON MARYLAND’S EASTERN SHORE • Lat: 38 97.38 Lon: 076 24.83 CALL 410-643-6600 FOR MORE DETAILS WWW. PINEYNARROWSYACHTHAVEN.COM KentFrontNarrowsDoortotheEasternShore ChesapeakeBoatingClub Classroom and hands-on training Join the club and use the boats Power & Sail 410 . 280 . 8692 clubinfo@ChesapeakeBoatingClub.com Learn it then Live

September 2022 ChesapeakeBayMagazine.com 15 absorb excess nutrients, rain gardens can be a cost-effective and beautiful way to reduce runoff from your property and provide habitat for pollinators. All plants draw carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere, and what they don’t use to grow, they sequester in the soil. Native plants are better suited to the local climate. They rarely need fertilizer, require less watering and tend to be very low maintenance. But planning and planting a garden in fall? Yep, and here’s why. Because by fall, you’ve likely seen what gulleywashers do and how water moves through your landscape, so you know where a rain garden will be best positioned. Early- to mid-fall is also one of the best times to plant trees, shrubs and perennials. Plants planted in the fall can develop a stronger root system due to autumn’s warm soil temperatures, cool air temperatures and predictable precipitation. It’s also an optimal time to fertilize (if you really need to), with less weed competition and fewer insect pests. Another plus is that off-season plants are on sale in fall. Nurseries are clearing out, often at fire-sale prices. Potted perennials in the nursery center may look a little peaky, and you often won’t see their bloom. Which is what the internet is for; look ’em up, (preferably by Latin name rather than just common name, which can vary from region to region) if you want to see how they will bloom next spring. But, by planting them now they will reward you with lusher growth and blooms than if they had been planted in spring, on the cusp of summer’s hotter, drier weather. It’s just one piece of the diverse permaculture web, but one offering almost-immediate satisfaction and enjoyment that endures for years, permaculturally.

A new replica provides a portal to the past.

Story and photos by Jefferson Holland

ChesapeakeBayMagazine.com September 202216

TALK OF THE BAY

T he main attraction of the 184.5-mile-long Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historic Park is the towpath. Mules used to tread that path, towing barges up and down the canal. Today, the path serves as a popular hiking/biking trail between Washington, D.C., and Cumberland, Md., with connections that run over the Allegheny Mountains all the way to Pittsburgh. But now, for just one mile of that distance, you can see firsthand how the canal was originally intended to function. Last October, the nonprofit Georgetown Heritage organization launched a $1.5 million replica of the packet boats that moved coal, grain, lumber and building stone from the mountains to the tidewater of the Chesapeake Bay for nearly 75 years. Barges like this one hauled a million tons of cargo in 1875, the canal’s peak.

The new boat hauls up to 60 passengers on a one-hour tour up and back on about a half-mile of restored canal. The C&O Canal became a National Historical Park in 1971. In 2011, the previous replica canal boat, The Georgetown, was damaged beyond Barge into History on the C&O Canal

The boat was built at the Roudebush Yacht & Engine Works shipyard outside of Baltimore. According to Capt. Bob Solomon, operations manager for Georgetown Heritage and one of the boat’s captains, the hull was built in two halves that were put together after the boat was delivered to Georgetown. Measuring 80 feet long and 12 feet wide, the boat is modeled after designs for historic packet boats that were used on the canal during its early years of service. They were built to fit into the narrow canal locks. And, like the originals, the replica “has the maneuverability of a living room couch,” Capt. Solomon says. Not being one to pass up a fun boat ride, I jumped on the chance to check out the new canal barge on one muggy day in July. I made my way to Lock 3 and there it was: the long, narrow packet boat, cheerfully painted in green and white. A young woman in a straw bonnet and long calico skirt served as our docent. She took her audience of about 50 passengers back in time as she told the history of the canal. Pacing up and down the aisle between the wooden benches, she told tales like the one of James Curry, who escaped slavery in North Carolina and worked his way to freedom in 1837 on a barge like the one we were on.  Modern-day bargemen guide the long, narrow packet boat replica along a restored stretch of the C&O Canal in D.C.’s neighborhood.Georgetown

September 2022 ChesapeakeBayMagazine.com 17 repair and deemed inoperable. The new boat was funded by a grant from the District of Columbia and designed as a historic replica of the boats you would have seen in the 1880s, the heyday of the Canal’s commercial operation in Georgetown—with a few modern upgrades, of course.

ChesapeakeBayMagazine.com September 202218

Fully-stocked Marine Store • Beer & Wine • Snacks & Ice Cream ETHANOL FREE GASOLINE

Full service marina in beautiful Eastport overlooking downtown Annapolis. Ethanol free gas, diesel, pumpout & parking. Annual and transient slips with monthly, daily & hourly rates.

The four locks that connect the Potomac River with Rock Creek are the heart of the canal in D.C. There were originally 74 locks that allowed boats to rise the 605-foot difference in elevation between Georgetown and Cumberland. The Washington Lock 3 is one of 74 locks that once lifted barges a total of 605 feet along the 184.5-mile-long canal. Monument, by contrast, is only 555 feet tall.Lock 3 is where the new canal boat is docked and where the existing National Park Service visitor center is located. Our tour began with a lift in the lock. The captain squeezed the boat in between the high rock walls, with seemingly only centimeters to spare on either side. Two costumed staffers closed the huge wooden gates at the downstream side, and water began to gush into the lock, slowly raising the hull about 7 feet.

September 2022 ChesapeakeBayMagazine.com 19

Costumed interpreters share the history of the C&O Canal with passengers on one-hour guided tours along the canal’s ﬁrst mile.

Flying into our 51 st year NOVEMBER 11–13, 2022 EASTON, MARYLAND WATERFOWL FESTIVAL® Tickets, event schedule and MORE at WaterfowlFestival.org! Your visit and art purchases benefit waterfowl and wetland restoration and conservation efforts in the region. TICKETS $20 FOR ALL THREE DAYS • World-class artists, small-town feel • Shore sporting and hunting traditions • Regional music, food, wine and beer tasting • Outdoor activities FIVE GALLERIES of world-renowned painters, sculptors, carvers, & photographers

Once the water became level with the upper portion of the canal, the staffers opened up the massive upstream gates and we edged our way toward the Key Bridge. Modern-day canal boatmen in matching blue T-shirts worked the packet boat as their predecessors must have done in the past, using long wooden poles as bow thrusters, pushing the hull away from the stone-lined edges of the narrow ditch. This replica barge has modern amenities and materials, including an onboard restroom and a 20 kw electric motor at each end of its fiberglass-andcomposite foam hull. During the voyage, the guide gave her passengers a background history of the canal. The race to settle the West started with two shovels full of rocky dirt in two different locations on the same day: July 4, 1828. One shovel, wielded by 91-yearold Charles Carroll of Carrolton, the oldest living signer of the Declaration of 2022

The race was to see which mode —water or rail—would prove to be the most economical means of transporting raw goods and people between the Chesapeake Bay and the Ohio River, somehow overcoming the 3,000-foot elevation of the Allegheny Mountains. The Chesapeake & Ohio Canal would parallel the north bank of the Potomac River to Cumberland, Md. The Baltimore & Ohio Railroad would begin along the Patapsco River Valley, Packet boats like this hauled a million tons of coal, grain, lumber and stone from the mountains to the Bay in 1875, the canal’s peak year.

E ciency & Style C108 • Outboard Power • Trailerable • Fits in Standard Slips • King Size Master Bed Amazing Performance • 8GPH at 18MPH • Top Speed 30MPH aspenpowercatamarans.com | 360-668-4347 | Family owned and operated POWER CATAMARANS

Independence, broke ground for the B&O Railroad in Baltimore. The other shovel, plied by 61-year-old John Quincy Adams, then the sixth President of the United States, launched the C&O Canal at Little Falls, Md.

ChesapeakeBayMagazine.com September 2022

September 2022 ChesapeakeBayMagazine.com 21 hop across the Potomac at Harper’s Ferry, and run up the southern bank of the river to Cumberland and then on to Wheeling on the Ohio River in what is now Curiously,West-by-God-Virginia.whilemules hauled packet boats up and down the canal, for the first year or so of its existence, the carriages on the railroad were drawn by horses. When the first steam locomotive, known as “Tom Thumb,” proved its mettle in 1830, the future of the canal was doomed. Still, the race lumbered on for another 100 years. It took until 1850 for the C&O Canal to stretch its full 184.5 miles from the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C., to Cumberland. The railroad passed there eight years earlier and reached Wheeling in 1853. Flooding was a perennial problem, and the Great Johnstown Flood in 1887 devastated the whole Potomac River valley, leaving the canal in ruins. It never fully recovered and virtually shut operations by 1924. The federal government bought it in the 1930s and the Civilian Conservation Corps did a lot of restoration to the works along stretches of the canal. It became a National Historical Park in 1971. Once we reached Key Bridge over the Potomac River, the captain stopped the boat, walked its 80-foot length across the cabin top and took the helm at the opposite end. What had been the bow became the stern. The boat reversed its course and returned to Lock 3. The ride along the canal provides a serene contrast to Washington’s other tourist attractions, and the experience of rising through the lock was intensely satisfying. The boarding area is located at C&O Canal Lock 3, along the Canal towpath between Thomas Jefferson and 30th Streets NW. Tours run four times a day. To make reservations, see georgetownheritage.org/boat-tours Dumping boat sewage into the water is bad for our health and the environment. Use bathrooms, dump stations, and pumpout facilities instead. Visit http://bit.ly/vdhcva or call (804) 864-7467 for a map of sewage pumpout stations or to report a broken pumpout. Keep Our Bay Serene and Clean KEEP WATEROURCLEAN-USEPUMPOUTS ALLSTEVEBYTOOPHAN onceyourstraightheadlinesLocaldeliveredtoinboxaweek.FORFREE. chesapeakebaymagazine.com/news SIGN UP NOW 24/7 BAY NEWS

ChesapeakeBayMagazine.com September 202222 DNRMARYLAND

by Capt. John Page Williams

—Written by Herb Campbell & Ronnie Bowman, sung by Dailey & Vincent

I’ve heard people say they’d like to return to the Chesapeake as it was in the 1950s. That’s not a great goal, though. Anybody who was around the James River at Richmond, the Elizabeth River between Norfolk and Portsmouth, the Potomac between Alexandria and Washington, D.C., or Baltimore Harbor in those days remembers how filthy those waters were. Besides, ecosystems don’t go backwards, any more than human history does. They—and we— moveAfterforward.40years of effort and expenditure, is the Chesapeake actually improving? The short answer is unequivocally yes, by a number of important metrics. For example, those urban waterways of the Chesapeake system are now healthier than they have been for a century. We are slowly learning to live with it more effectively. It will, however, be a different Bay from what we have known before. The groundbreaking Clean Water Act of 1972 and subsequent amendments have required huge improvements in discharges of industrial and municipal wastewater (sewage). The states of Virginia and Maryland, along with the District of Columbia, have responded vigorously with increasingly advanced treatment systems that have greatly reduced discharges of polluting nitrogen and phosphorus, even as the Chesapeake watershed’s population has ballooned from 12 million to 18 million people. (Editor’s note: Meaning there are 30 million more toilet flushes per day “Lord, take me back and leave me there.”

CHESAPEAKE ALMANAC Moving Forward There is good news about our Bay.

Water quality in the James River has improved through streamside buffer plantings, stream restoration projects, living shorelines and more.

After 40 years of effort and expenditure, is the Chesapeake actually improving? The short answer is unequivocally yes, by a number of important metrics.

September 2022 ChesapeakeBayMagazine.com 23

We have not always considered the long-range effects of actions like clearing original old-growth forests for agriculture and housing, paving surfaces for roadways (both of which greatly accelerate the way water runs off our land instead of soaking into soil) and laying intricate networks of pipes for drinking water, sewage and storm runoff. Now, pipes laid three

It turns out that in the 1960s, we were feeding the Chesapeake a junk food diet of nitrogen and phosphorushumanequivalentroughlytoaon15,000caloriesperday.

Investments in the region’s wastewater treatments plants have dramatically improved Potomac River water quality.

The folks who operate the treatment plants are Bay restoration heroes who do their jobs every day. Is there more to be done in wastewater?

The greater challenge today lies in the degree to which we humans have spread ourselves out across virtually all 64,000 square miles of the Chesapeake/ Susquehanna drainage basin over the past four centuries. We are absolutely the most invasive species in this watershed. Remember Pogo, the comic strip possum’s immortal quote, “We have met the enemy, and he is us.”

ChesapeakeBayMagazine.com September 202224 than 40 years ago.) Making progress in spite of that increase has been like running up a down escalator. It turns out that the worst systemwide pollutants in the system have been fertilizer and dirt. The former— primarily nitrogen and phosphorus— have come not just from farms and lawns but also from many, many other human activities. Nitrogen and phosphorus are good for ecosystems in the same way that food is good for humans—in the right amount. It turns out that in the 1960s, we were feeding the Chesapeake a junk food diet of nitrogen and phosphorus roughly equivalent to a human on 15,000 calories per day.

The initial success stories for the Chesapeake’s “pollution diet” have been the Elizabeth River between Norfolk and Portsmouth, the reaches of the James below Richmond and below Lynchburg, and the Potomac around Washington, D.C. Smaller cities like Easton, Md., on the Choptank and Fredericksburg, Va., on the Rappahannock, along with populous counties like Fairfax and Anne Arundel, have also made significant progress.

Of course there is, as long as we keep living here, and Baltimore especially continues to struggle with chronic problems at its plants, even under heavy regulatory and legal pressure to fix them. Even so, we’ll gladly accept the progress and keep going with cleanup of problems like the remaining combined sewer overflows in Richmond and Alexandria. And the pressure stays hard on Baltimore.

September 2022 ChesapeakeBayMagazine.com 25 generations ago and largely forgotten are reaching the end of their useful lives. Replacing them costs a lot and disrupts busy communities. Bay scientists have been working for 40 years to understand the ecosystem features that have made the Chesapeake so valuable to us, and to learn how to conserve and restore them. That challenge includes not only the obvious habitat values of oyster reefs and underwater seagrass meadows but also the water treatment and resilience values of forests, stream buffers, wetlands and natural shorelines that do water-treatment work for us without imposing operating costs. We’re just beginning to make progress through conservation practices like fencing livestock (and their manure) out of streams, practicing precision no-till agriculture to calibrate fertilizer applications to the specific needs of crops, regenerating soils in farm fields and pastures, and installing “green infrastructure” like bio-retention basins in cities and suburbs. All of those practices restore the ability of the Chesapeake watershed to “catch rain,” filter it and grow trees before releasing it into surface waterways. In other words, they restore some of the natural systems that helped the Bay ecosystem function before we began changing it so radically. We won’t get back to 95% oldgrowth timber in the watershed, but more greenery will make a seriousAnotherdifference.joker in the deck comes from the air we breathe. Yes, clean air is important for the health of our lungs, but it’s also critical for healthy waterways. In particular, oxides of nitrogen (NOx) from combustion of carbon-based fuels (think vehicle exhaust and power plant stacks) are heavier than air and highly soluble in water. Have you ever noticed how clean the air feels after a hard rain? Where did all of that Norfolk’s Elizabeth River is now fishable.

Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel

ChesapeakeBayMagazine.com September 202226

“stuff” go when the water scrubbed the atmosphere? Overboard, into stormwater pipes or swept out over the Bay, to fall and dissolve there. Reductions in NOx under the Clean Air Act have produced substantial declines of nitrogen pollution over the past 30 years. Shifting away from carbonbased energy sources will help even more. It’s a win-win for our lungs and our Chesapeake.Notethatdealing with runoff pollution from land-use changes, power generation and transportation broadens the scope of the Bay cleanup considerably. For better or for worse, anyone looking for simple answers has come to the wrong estuary, and watershed. This ecosystem is just too large, stretching from Otsego Lake around Cooperstown, N.Y., to Hampton Roads, Va. We now have to think about not only the tidal Bay and the huge Chesapeake/Susquehanna

chesapeakebaymagazine.com/boating

SEE the Chip and Shuck in action and order yours today! the perfect Oyster Opener Chip the Shell, Shuck the Oyster!

theOysterOpener.com

Finally…

faces direct habitat issues like loss of “live bottom” (oyster reefs and grass beds), hardened shorelines (bulkheads and riprap) and siltation of channels, all complicated by rising sea levels and subsidence (sinking) of land. After 50 years of learning, we’re making real progress on oyster reef restoration, and we are actively developing effective techniques to build living shorelines that stabilize valuable waterfront while restoring habitat necessary for many Bay creatures. Improvements in water quality lead to better water clarity, which helps the seagrasses. Dealing with rising sea levels (also known as building coastal resilience) is another area of active development, especially in Hampton Roads, Tangier and Smith Islands, and Annapolis. What does a “saved Bay” look like? It’s not easy to say, because what we are doing is groundbreaking. No society has ever restored the health of an ecosystem as large as the Chesapeake/Susquehanna watershed before, especially one with a constantly growing population. We don’t know how long the process will take, though imposing deadlines and serious accountability measures are helping us make the hard decisions that move the cleanup forward. If this job were easy, we’d have completed it 20 years ago. We know, though, from at least coststhegreatlyecosystemChesapeakeofthateconomicpeer-reviewedonestudy,thebenefitsahealthieroutweighincreasingoffailure.

September 2022 ChesapeakeBayMagazine.com 27 watershed but also now the “airshed,” which extends to an area some six times greater than the watershed. Even more complex, we’re now faced not just with specific, immediately lethal poisons but the cumulative effects of multi-sourced, sub-lethal stresses. One ugly example is the combination of overly warm summertime water and drivenpollution-depletion of dissolved oxygen that squeezes our rockfish into tight schools in environmentalanddetectivecenturysophisticatedproblemslives.shorteningtheirskincanlikewaterbornewhichdiseasesMycobacteriosisinfecttheiranddisruptgrowth,theirSuchcomplexrequire21st-scientificworkstate-of-the-artcures.TheChesapeake

And we know that what we are all doing—together—is working. The improvements are subtle and gradual, but we’re turning around damage that is at least two centuries old. And the heavy human footprint will continue to press down as long as 18 million of us live our busy lives here. But make no mistake, we are helping our Chesapeake/Susquehanna ecosystem move forward. Let’s celebrate the progress, but keep the cleanup going. If you’d like to learn more about scientific evidence of cleanup results, a good place to start is the Chesapeake Bay Program’s Chesapeake Progress website, chesapeakeprogress.com

CBM Editor-at-Large John Page Williams is a fishing guide, educator, author and naturalist, saving the Bay since 1973. No society has ever restored the health of an ecosystem as large as especiallywatershedSusquehannaChesapeake/thebefore,onewith a constantlypopulation.growing

The boat comes with twin batteries in a finished lazarette under the cockpit sole, actuated by a switch in the storage box beneath the helm. The 199 CC adapts well to light tackle fishing around the Bay, especially when equipped with an optional 36-volt bow trolling motor powered by three 12-volt batteries on dedicated pads in another finished compartment beneath the sole forward of the console. The bow mount would be a great accessory for both casting in shallow water and positioning over a reef or wreck for jigging or bait fishing. At 2,500 lbs. plus outboard, fuel, batteries, gear and tandem-axle trailer, the boat fits easily within the 5,000-lb.

Sea Pro 199 CC by Capt. John Page Williams

ChesapeakeBayMagazine.com September 202228 ON BOATS

PHOTOSCOURTESY

Sea Pro 199 CC LOA: 19'9" Beam: 8'3" Draft: 13" (engines up) Weight: 2,500 lb (without engine) Transom Deadrise: 16º Fuel Capacity: 60 gal Max Power: 175 hp MSRP for the 199 CC as tested with a Yamaha F150 is $70,402. For more information, visit seapromfg.com/199center-console. Sea Pro’s Chesapeake dealers are Tri-State Marine, Deale, Md., (tristatemarine.com) and Lynnhaven Marine, Virginia Beach, Va. (lynnhavenmarine.com). Sea Pro’s 199 Center Console is a well-built, seaworthy, versatile utility boat that can serve many functions for Chesapeake boaters. It pairs well with 150-hp outboards from Yamaha, Mercury and Suzuki—a group of engines all known for power, efficiency and durability. (Our test boat, from Tri-State Marine in Deale, Md., had a Yamaha.) For boat rides of all sorts, there is comfortable, secure seating for up to seven people, including two on cushioned bow lounges with lift-up seat backs, one in front of the console, two on the helm seat/leaning post, and two in jump seats at the transom. For tow sports, order the sturdy optional transom arch.

annapolisyachtsales.com • 410.267.8181 COMFORT MEETS PERFORMANCE VISIT OUR SHOWROOM Grand Opening 20% OFF sale through Annapolis Boat Show! Call Charles at 443-995-4800 or 410-267-8181

tow rating of a mid-size SUV like a Ford Explorer or a compact pickup like a Toyota Tacoma, making it a natural for exploring interesting Chesapeake rivers and ports as well as for keying in on new fishing waters. On our sea trial day, the Bay was calm off Herring Bay but there was enough boat traffic to get a sense of how this Sea Pro model behaves in seas. With no trim tabs on our test boat, a light load and the air resistance of a T-top, the Yamaha F150 lifted the rig onto plane at about 3,300 rpm (18 mph). At 3,500, it was running cleanly 25 mph, burning 5.6 gallons per hour. Four-thousand rpm produced 28 mph with a 6.4-gph fuel burn, and 4,500 yielded 34 mph with 8 gph. Top end was in the mid-40s at 5,600 rpm. The same boat with no T-top would have turned around 5,800. The 199 CC is clearly a good match for overall use, Above: The helm features SeaStar power steering and a 7" Simrad electronic display with sonar and GPS. Right: Guests can opt for jump seats at the transom. Bay!

ChesapeakeBayMagazine.com September 202230

Celebrate the

SUBSCRIBE TODAY

31September 2022 ChesapeakeBayMagazine.com with plenty of power and speed for tow sports and covering water. For idling around, the engine burns 0.5 gph at 600 rpm.The199 CC’s hull has a moderate transom deadrise of 16 degrees that continues forward as a running surface about halfway before gradually sharpening and then cutting away quickly to the bow. The result is full hull volume forward to support the weight of three trolling motor batteries and two people sitting on the bow lounges, but that part of the hull will pound hard into short, choppy seas if driven too hard. Trim tabs will allow the hull to lift onto plane at slower speeds and help lower the bow to use the sharpest deadrise for cleaving the waves. Running both into and with some steep powerboat wakes, the hull’s lifting strakes and double chines threw spray out flat to the sides and the boat felt solid, with no rattles or shakes even when we hit them harder than we should have. The hull is composite and foam-filled, with a limited, transferrable lifetimeThewarranty.cockpitis self-bailing, with a high-volume, proprietary drain system. As with any semi-V-shaped bottom, time on the water experimenting with different combinations of trim and speed will yield a good partnership between skipper and vessel. By the way, the shape of this hull should make for good stability at slow, creek-crawling and sunset-watching speeds. For the latter uses, we recommend the optional Bimini top, whose frame attaches with two easily removable pins and four straps at the corners that hook onto the gunwales. Put it on for socializing and remove it for more activeThepursuits.boatcomes with many useful standard features, including SeaStar power steering, a 7" Simrad electronic display with sonar and GPS, an Audison stereo system, a raw-water washdown 410-326-4251 CALVERTMARINA . COM vert ALFRESCO MARINA Means having dozens of picnic tables, over 40 acres of open space for dogs, kids and fun, walking paths, plentiful parking, large pool and deck, outdoor dining, a beach, lots of room to breathe and enjoy nature and view wildlife. We also have several 35’ COVERED SLIPS as well as ﬂoating TRANSIENT SLIPS. SOLOMONS, MD

ChesapeakeBayMagazine.com September 202232 system, a swim platform with threestep telescoping ladder, wiring and plug for a trolling motor, and a compass. Other useful options for general use include a battery charger for the house and trolling motor batteries, Phender Pro bumper holders, a cushioned helm pad, a 50-liter Sea Pro cooler beneath the helm seat, a larger Simrad electronic display, and Sea Pro Connect by Boat Fix, which is a 24/7 cellular boat monitoring system with 24/7 concierge service. For hardcore fishing, add vertical rod holders on each side of the console, more on the back of the helm seat, and rod pockets for horizontal holders in the hull sides. 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. There's a single seat in front of the center console (right) facing the double lounges in the bow (below). Like Oysters? 207-592-4775 • www.awshucksoysteropener.com Opens horizontally, keeps juices in the shell. Now ANYONE can open oysters!1 TH E U LT IM AT E O ST E R OPE A to open ‘em? Over 1 MILLION oysters opened without injury! FAST, SAFE, EASY! Oysters? www.awshucksoysteropener.com horizontally, keeps juices in the shell. ANYONE can open oysters!1 2 AT E OY ST E R OPE N E R ! ‘em?to oysters opened without injury! FAST, SAFE, EASY!Opens horizontally, keeps juices in the shell - Now ANYONE can SAFELY open oysters! OverAWSHUCKSOYSTEROPENER.COM207-592–47751MILLIONoystersopenedwithoutinjury!

AnnapolisSchoolofSeamanship.com Sign up with the Annapolis School of Seamanship • New Boater Training • Captain’s License Classes • Courses for Cruisers

So now’s the time to do a thorough check on your boat, inside and out. How long has it been since you stripped all the bottom paint off? That stuff builds up fast, and added weight makes your hull less efficient; besides, your barrier coat isn’t meant to last forever. Are you having your boat hauled for the winter? Do you need to have it shrink-wrapped? Maybe this is the winter you remove all the canvas and just have the boat detailed in the spring instead of keeping it under wraps all winter. It’s usually a pretty good idea to take everything out of your boat for the winter anyway. That way you can clean the inside, then put everything back in its place in the spring and start the season in ship shape. So now you’ve worked up a long list of stuff that needs work, stuff that needs to be updated, stuff that needs to be replaced. And then there’s that wish list of stuff you really need to buy (read: stuff you really need to convince your spouse that the boat can’t do without and that will definitely be worth the investment because it will significantly enhance the boating experience for both of you). The next question is, where do you start? Here’s a suggestion: Rather than spend every weekend for months trying to line up all the work you need to have done, take your list with you to a boat show. The sailboat and powerboat shows in Annapolis, for instance. Go on one of the days that’s least populated and get there early. You’ll find hundreds of brains to pick among the booths in and around the exhibit tents. Experts in every aspect of marine service and maintenance are all there, all in one place, all eagerly waiting to talk to boat owners just like you.

W ith the boom in boat sales over the past couple of years, it’s bound to be a busy winter for the businesses in the marine services industry all around the Chesapeake Bay. That means it’s more important than ever to line up any maintenance and repair work you need to have done as soon as possible.

ChesapeakeBayMagazine.com September 202234

It’s not too early to start getting your boat ready for next season.

MARINE SERVICES SHOWCASE SPONSORED CONTENT

You’ll also find all the latest in electronics, radio communication and navigation technology; fuel-efficient inboard engines and outboard motors, bow and stern thrusters, pumps and propellers; batteries, inverters and generators; sails, rigging and cordage; yacht tenders, dinghies and life rafts; refrigeration, galley appliances and equipment; heating and cooling systems; crew apparel, footwear and foul-weather gear; Biminis, dodgers and canvas work; marine toilets — in fact, everything you could possibly need to upgrade your current boat or (if you’re sufficiently tempted to trade in your old boat for one of the hundreds of new ones on display) to commission your next boat.

The timing of the boat shows in early October means that you can schedule maintenance jobs and new equipment installations over the winter so your boat will be good as new by the first nice day next spring. If you can’t wait for October, we’ve compiled our own list of marine service providers we can heartily recommend.

SPONSORED CONTENT Service and Storage Professionals Reserve dry or wet winter storage at our premier Chesapeake Bay facilities, or request service from our friendly and experienced in-house technicians. Learn more about wintering with us at HAVENHARBOUR.COM. HAVEN HARBOUR MARINA 20880 Rock Hall Ave Rock Hall, 410.778.6697Maryland HAVEN HARBOUR SOUTH 21144 Green Lane Rock Hall, 410.778.6697Maryland

ChesapeakeBayMagazine.com September 202236 MARINE SERVICES SHOWCASE 2022 Bay Bridge Marina 410-643-3162baybridgemarina.com Bowleys 410-335-3553bowleysmarina.com Campbell’s Boatyards, LLC 410-226-5592campbellsboatyards.com Chesapeake Boat Basin 804-436-1234chesapeakeboatbasin.com Chesapeake Yacht Sales at Deltaville Yachting Center 804-776-9898dycboat.com Generation III Marina 443-521-7748generation3marina.com Gratitude Marina 410-639-7011ospreypoint.com Harbour Cove 301-261-9500harbourcove.com Haven Harbour Yacht Services 410-778-6697havenharbour.com Herrington Harbour North 410-867-4343herringtonharbour.com/north/ Intrinsic Yacht & Ship 410-263-9288intrinsicyacht.com Knapp’s Narrows Marina 410-886-2720knappsnarrowsmarina.com North Point Yacht Sales 410-280-2038northpointyachtsales.com Yacht Maintenance 443-205-4502yachtmaintenanceco.com BottompaintingTopsidepaintingFiberglass/compositeInboardOutboardenginerepairenginerepairrepairElectronicsinstallationandrepairTeakandcabinetryRiggingMetalfabrication/weldingDetailingCanvasShrinkwrappingHVACLandstorageTravelLift/Size • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •35-855&&4075ton50ton50ton50ton35ton30ton35ton200ton3550tonliftstons25&75ton30&40ton MARINE SERVICES SHOWCASE SPONSORED CONTENT

September 2022 ChesapeakeBayMagazine.com 37 TRANSIENT DOCK FLOATING NEW! Marina Amenities • 17 dedicated transient slips for vessels to 60’ • 160’ face dock with 100amp service • Welcoming catamarans with beam up to 34’ • Deep-water approach & docking (6-13’ MLW) • ValvTect gas & diesel, pumpout station • Courtesy vehicle & onsite laundry Full-Service Boatyard • 50-ton TraveLift • Mercury Marine Certiﬁed Techs • Outboard Engine Repower/Reﬁt • Mechanical & Electrical Repairs • Bottom & Running Gear Repairs • Electronics Sales & ChesapeakeBoatBasin.comService | (804) 436-1234Guests staying 3+ receivenightsa25-centpergallonfuelcredit Valid through 2022 Your gateway to exploring Kilmarnock’s Historic Main Street

MARINE SERVICES SHOWCASE Bay Bridge Marina Bay Bridge Marina’s service department has a certified team of professionals ready to help you maintain your vessel. Complete winterization program, annual storage: wet or dry. Direct #: 410.643.3466 Services offered: Bottom painting Topside Outboardpaintingengine repair Inboard engine Fiberglass/compositerepair repair Electronics installation and repair 25-LandShrinkDetailingwrappingstorageand70-tonlift Bay Bridge Marina 337 Pier One Road, Suite 102 Stevensville, MD 410-643-3162baybridgemarina.com21666 Bowleys Marina Bowleys Marina is known for its great location at the mouth of Middle River and a floating fuel dock—available not just to members but also the general public. The floating fuel dock is convenient for docking. The marina touts non-member haulout and storage. Mechanic on site for services. Services offered: Fuel dock/pump out At-slip pump out service Winter land storage Haulout and launch Bottom painting Ship store Bowley’s Marina 1700 Bowleys Quarters Rd. Middle River, MD 410-335-3553info@bowleysmarina.combowleysmarina.com21220 Campbell’s Boatyards, LLC We have three marinas/boatyards in Oxford, Md. Services offered: Bottom painting Topside Outboardpaintingengine repair Inboard engine Fiberglass/compositerepair repair Teak and cabinetry 2YachtLandHVACShrinkDetailingwrappingstoragesaleslifts:75-tonand 40-ton lift Campbell’s Boatyards, LLC 26106A Bachelor Harbor Dr. Oxford, MD 410-226-5592campbellsboatyards.com21654

ChesapeakeBayMagazine.com SPONSORED CONTENT Generation III Marina Full-service marina for power and sail on the Choptank River. We specialize in Awlgrip refinishing, Beta engine repowers, fiberglass and gelcoat repair. Services offered: Bottom painting Topside Outboardpaintingengine repair Inboard engine Fiberglass/compositerepair repair Electronics installation and repair Teak and cabinetry 50-tonLandShrinkDetailingMetalRiggingfabrication/weldingwrappingstoragelift Generation III Marina 205 Cedar St., Cambridge MD 443-521-7748generation3marina.com Chesapeake Boat Basin We are a Mercury-certified repair and repower center that offers a wide range of services for all of your boat and outboard engine needs. And we are your local Boston Whaler dealer! Services offered: Bottom Outboardpaintingengine Winterization,50-tonLandShrinkDetailingElectronicsFiberglass/compositerepairrepairinstallationandrepairwrappingstoragetravelliftspringcommission, road calls, repowers, Mercury certified Chesapeake Boat Basin 1686 Waverly Ave. Kilmarnock, VA 804-436-1234chesapeakeboatbasin.com22482 Chesapeake Yacht Sales at Deltaville Yachting Center A full-service marina for 20+ years, Deltaville Yachting Center is well known for working with boaters to achieve the best value for service investments. Services offered: Bottom Outboardpaintingengine repair Inboard engine Fiberglass/compositerepair repair Electronics installation and repair Teak and cabinetry 50-tonLandHVACCanvasShrinkDetailingMetalRiggingfabrication/weldingwrappingstoragelift Deltaville Yachting Center 18355 General Puller Hwy. Deltaville, VA 23043 dycboat.com, 804-776-9898 NARROWSKNAPP’SDREDGED TRANSIENT GROUPS WELCOME Quality craftsmanship for a fair price! WINTERAVAILABLE!STORAGE in storage, winterizing, shrink wrapping, and commissioning with a 20 room year-round Inn, 75 slips, a 35-ton Travelift, a complete shop and fuel dock, Knapp’s Narrows Marina and Inn can provide you and your boat a home all year. 800-322-5181 • www.KNAPPSNARROWSMARINA.com

MARINE SERVICES SHOWCASE Harbour Cove Marina Harbour Cove Marina has one of the few fully enclosed boatels on the Bay. Known for having great mechanics, the marina was named a “Best Small Marina,” by Chesapeake Bay Magazine readers in their Best of the Bay survey. Services o ered: Full-service marina Storage (boatel, in-and-out service, lift slips, wet slips and winter storage) Engine MercuryFuelPaintingFiberglassservicesdockoutboard dealer Certi ed Mercury dealer Certi ed Volvo dealer Harbour Cove Marina 5910 Vacation Ln. Deale, MD 301-261-9500harbourcove.com20751 Gratitude Marina Gratitude Marina is known for its superior engine diagnostic and repair. The Gratitude team takes pride in providing professional and honest service to all customers. Services o ered: Bottom Outboardpaintingengine repair Inboard engine Fiberglass/compositerepair repair Teak and cabinetry certiGas35-ton,LandShrinkDetailingMetalRiggingfabrication/weldingwrappingstorage16-footbeam&dieselmechanicservice,edYANMAR Gratitude Marina 5924 Lawton Ave. Rock Hall, MD 410-639-7011ospreypoint.com21661 • Indoor & Outdoor Waterfront Dining • 30,000 sf of waterfront office space • 245 Floating Boat Slips & Fuel Dock with Pump-Out • Full-Service Boat Yard with 25-70 Ton Travel Lift • Slip Holder Amenities: Pool, Sauna, Fitness Center, and WiFi • For Slip Rentals & Office Leasing call 410.643.3162 • Bay Bridge Marina winter storage package includes haul, wash, block, storage, and launch.* • Shrink wrap and winterization available. *A $100 deposit and a signed contract are required by December 15 to reserve outdoor storage space. Space is limited, so call soon! service@baybridgemarina.com410.643.3466For Slip Rentals & Office Leasing call 410.643.3162 Presented by FREE SEMINARS* AT THE POWERBOATANNAPOLISSHOW Call Annapolis School of Seamanship at (410) 263-8848 for more information Sign up for classes like: What Boat is Right for me Modern Marine Navigation Get your Captain License DockingAnchoringDestressed Weekends on the Chesapeake Bay

September 2022 ChesapeakeBayMagazine.com 41 SPONSORED CONTENT Haven Harbour Yacht Services Haven Harbour Yacht Services o ers a complete range of marine maintenance, repair and installation services at two Rock Hall, Md. locations. Our in-house specialists hold unrivaled expertise in a wide array of industry disciplines and trades. Services o ered: Bottom painting Topside Outboardpaintingengine repair Inboard engine Fiberglass/compositerepair repair Electronics installation and repair Teak and cabinetry 50-tonWetRefrigerationLandHVACCanvasShrinkDetailingMetalRiggingfabrication/weldingwrappingstoragestorageand35-tonlift Haven Harbour Yacht Services 20880 Rock Hall Ave. and 21144 Green Lane Rock Hall, MD 410-778-6697havenharbour.com21661 DELTAVILLE YACHTING CENTER 18355 General Puller Hwy., Deltaville, VA 804-776-9898 ❘ www.dycboat.com ❘ info@ dycboat .com ABYC & Factory Trained Techs Helping Boaters Since 2001 SERVICESWINNINGAWARD BACHELOR POINT · 410.226.5592 JACK’S POINT · 410.226.5105 TOWN CREEK · 410.226.0213 Slip Rentals H Haul-Outs H Dry Storage Restoration H Repairs All the comforts of a full-service marina plus repairs, repowers and refits. Floating docks to 100 ft. at Jack's Pt. & Bachelor Pt. Year-round and transient slips oxford, md CumminsCertified Dealer T hree great locations in Oxford, Maryland to service all your boating needs . For info. contact PJ at campbellsyachtsales.com Full-Service Yacht Brokerage Campbell’s Yacht Sales campbellsboatyards.comDealer•Repairs•Service 24/7 Chesapeake Bay News Local headlines delivered straight to your inbox once a week. SIGN UP NOW chesapeakebaymagazine.com/news

ChesapeakeBayMagazine.com September 202242 MARINE SHOWCASESERVICES SPONSORED CONTENT Herrington Harbour North Marina Resort & Yacht Center Herrington Harbour North Marina Resort & Yacht Center is the most comprehensive boat repair and maintenance facility on the East Coast, with first class haul-out services, secure and accessible land storage, and 19 marine contractors on-site. For over 25 years, boaters have come to depend on us for our expertise, quality and customer service. Secure boat storage available yearround with 24/7 private security. Haul and launch at your convenience, do-it-yourself service friendly, room to work on your boat stored on land, frost-free water and electric 50' from your boat on land year-round. Services offered: Bottom painting Topside Outboardpaintingengine repair Inboard engine Fiberglass/compositerepair repair Electronics installation and repair Teak and cabinetry 5LandHVACCanvasShrinkDetailingMetalRiggingfabrication/weldingwrappingstoragetravelliftsrangingfrom35-85 tons Propeller service, custom sails and sail care services, yacht lettering & graphics West Marine on-site Herrington Harbour North Marina Resort & Yacht Center 389 Deale Rd. Traceys Landing, MD 410-867-4343herringtonharbour.com/north/20779 With deep water access in Cambridge our full time professional sta is poised to handle every aspect of repair and maintenance. GIVE US A CALL AND FIND OUT HOW WE CAN HELP YOU! The facilities of a shipyard. The low cost of a neighborhood boatyard. The quality craftsmanship of a custom builder. MAINTENANCECOMPANY Cambridge, MD 410-228-8878 • www.yachtmaintenanceco.com With deep water access in Cambridge our full time professional sta is poised to handle every aspect of boat building, repair and maintenance. GIVE US A CALL AND FIND OUT HOW WE CAN HELP YOU! The facilities of a shipyard. The low cost of a neighborhood boatyard. The quality craftsmanship of a custom builder. MAINTENANCECOMPANY Cambridge, MD 410-228-8878 • www.yachtmaintenanceco.com CHECK US OUT ! InMaryland!Cambridge, 410.263.9288 | intrinsicyacht.com Don’t miss a day on the water! Our professional and certiﬁed service technicians can diagnose and ﬁx any problem with your boat quickly. WE’LL HAVE YOUR BOAT READY WHEN YOU ARE

September 2022 ChesapeakeBayMagazine.com 43 410.335.3553 • BowleysMarina.com Bowleys MAG 1120.indd 1 10/21/20 4:50 PM Full Services for power and sail on the Choptank River in CallCambridgeusfor • Awlgrip Painting • Complete Refits • Repowering • Gel Coat and Fiberglass Repair • S/S & Aluminum Fabrication • Carpentry • Rigging 205 Cedar St, Cambridge, MD 21613 (410) generation3marina@gmail.com228-2520 Full Services for power and sail on the Choptank River in CallCambridgeusfor • Complete Reﬁts • Repowering • Fiberglass & Gelcoat Repair • S/S & Aluminum Fabrication • Carpentry • Rigging • Awlgrip Painting Call for winter storage today! 205 Cedar St, Cambridge, MD 21613 (410) generation3marina@gmail.com228-2520 BoatExceptionalCare&Repairsince1980 Direct Access to the Chesapeake Bay LOCATED ON THE MOUTH OF SWAN CREEK • 5924 Lawton Ave. | Rock Hall, MD 21661 410-639-7011 | www.gmarina.com A liated with Osprey Point Marina 2022 Premium Lift Slips Available • Full Service MarinaMechanical, Carpentry, Teak, Varnishing, Paint, Fiberglass, Gelcoat, Rigging, Lifelines • Air-conditioned Bathhouses • Easy Access Fuel Dock • Land Storage • WiFi • Transient Slips Available

ChesapeakeBayMagazine.com 2022 MARINE SERVICES SHOWCASE Intrinsic Yacht & Ship Full-service yacht brokerage specializing in Yamaha and Mercury engines, custom projects, regular maintenance and more. Services o ered: Bottom painting Topside Outboardpaintingengine repair Inboard engine Fiberglass/compositerepair repair Electronics installation and repair Teak and cabinetry LandShrinkDetailingwrappingstorage Intrinsic Yacht & Ship 7076 Bembe Beach Rd., Suite 201 Annapolis, MD 410-263-9288intrinsicyacht.com21403 Knapp’s Narrows Marina Although we are widely known for all of our repair work, large renovations are our specialty. Whether your boat needs a new bottom, a new top or something in between, please contact us for an estimate on the nest repair work in the area. We can make your aging vessel as good as new. We would enjoy discussing your project and making your ideas work for you. Services o ered: Bottom painting Topside Outboardpaintingengine repair Inboard engine Fiberglass/compositerepair repair Electronics installation and repair Teak and cabinetry 35-tonLandHVACCanvasShrinkDetailingMetalRiggingfabrication/weldingwrappingstoragelift Knapp’s Narrows Marina 6176 Tilghman Island Rd. Tilghman, MD 410-886-2720knappsnarrowsmarina.com21671 JAN/FEB 2021 dogged pursuiT p.54 British Colonial Marines & the Fight for Freedom Black Duck & Dumplings On Va’s Eastern Shore Fox-Red Yellow Labs Make Fetch Happen F IND Y O U R H OME TOW N MARCH 2021 Let a Pro Broker Help Find Your New Boat Eastern Shore Art for the Rest of Us Busy Beavers Can Build a Better Bay

September 2022 ChesapeakeBayMagazine.com SPONSORED CONTENT North Point Yacht Sales North Point Yacht Sales & Service is an active and respected member of the brokerage boat and new boat sales community. Whether you are a sailor, power cruiser, buyer or seller, we have the knowledge and expertise to produce the best results for you. Services o ered: Outboard engine repair Inboard engine repair Electronics installation and repair Rigging North Point Yacht Sales 7330 Edgewood Rd., Suite 1 Annapolis, MD 410-280-2038northpointyachtsales.com21403 Yacht Maintenance Company Yacht Maintenance Company Specializes in large vessel repair—up to 120' and 200 tons. We o er travel lift, railway and crane service for vessels of any size. Sailboat maintenance includes batteries, grab rails, lifelines, running rigging and sails. We service and repair batteries, carpentry, carpeting and upholstery, generators and welding. We also install engines. Full services available, including: Outside and underneath care Bottom BarrierWaxingRepaintingwashcoatremoval and replacement Fiberglass blister sanding/blasting Yacht Maintenance Company 101 Hayward St. Cambridge, MD 443-205-4502yachtmaintenanceco.com21613 Beltway to Bliss in 20 Minutes Discover it all at Herringtonharbour.com HERRINGTON HARBOUR NORTH 389 Deale Road Tracey’s Landing, MD 410.867.4343 HERRINGTON HARBOUR SOUTH 7149 Lake Shore Drive North Beach, 301.855.5000MD

BY KATE CLIFFORD LARSON

This year marks the 200th birthday of famed abolitionist and Underground Railroad agent Harriet Tubman. The landscape hasn’t changed in the 200 years since Tubman’s birth in Dorchester County on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, and today you can see the marshes and forests much the way Tubman saw them.

46 ChesapeakeBayMagazine.com September 2022

Through Her Eyes

Discover a hidden side of the Chesapeake on the Harriet Tubman Byway.

T he internationally acclaimed, 125-mile Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Byway and All-American Road winds its way through Dorchester and Caroline counties, carrying visitors to more than three dozen places where Tubman lived, worked and executed her famous missions of liberation. With multiple entry and exit points, the Byway transports sightseers through the region’s historic Underground Railroad network, a system so strong and secret that Tubman “never ran her train off the track and never lost a passenger.”

FLEMINGJAY

In early 2022, National Geographic named the Tubman Byway one of 25 “Best of the World” journeys for its family-friendly accessibility, breathtaking scenery and significant historical sites. Best of all, it’s one that you can easily do

B orn enslaved, Tubman later liberated herself when she faced the auction block and deeppocketed buyers eager to carry her off to the cotton fields in the Deep South, far away from loved ones. “I had reasoned this out in my mind,” Tubman later said. “There was one of two things I had a right to, liberty, or death. If I could not have one, I would have the other; for no man should take me alive.”Once free, she returned to the very landscapes she escaped and then later led—illegally and at great risk to her own life—scores of family and friends along the dangerous paths of a complicated Underground Railroad network to freedom. She could not read or write, and she had no money. What she did have was a brilliant mind and powerful passion for freedom, equality and justice. These qualities were fortified by deep faith, which steeled her for the dangers she would later encounter. “I should fight for my liberty,” she told an admirer, “as long as my strength lasted.”

on your own, at your own pace. Just download the map and guide (an audio tour is also available) from the Byway website at harriettubmanbyway.org.

sawriverstidalplaceanmuskrats,TubmanmarshessomeRefugeNationalBlackwaterWildlifefeaturesofthewheretrappedandisexcellenttoviewthelandandasHarrietthem.

T ubman was born during the late winter of 1822 on a large plantation that hugged the Blackwater River. Named Araminta by her enslaved parents, Rit and Ben Ross, “Minty” was the fifth of nine siblings. By the age of 6, her enslaver, Edward Brodess, took her from her parents and started leasing her to his neighbors. Her first forced labor work included setting muskrat traps in cold marshes during the winter months. With no warm clothing to protect her from icy riverbanks, she frequently fell ill. As a teenager in the mid-1830s, she suffered a near-fatal traumatic brain injury in

ChesapeakeBayMagazine.com September 202248

FLEMINGJAY

I had spent the summers of my youth along Maine’s south coast fishing, clamming and crabbing, so the familiar sights and sounds of watery, tidal landscapes eased me into Tubman’s world, one that I soon discovered was both hidden and in plain sight.

I first became seriously interested in Harriet Tubman when I enrolled in a graduate program in Women’s Studies at Simmons University in Boston during the early 1990s. My daughter was in the second grade at the time, and one day she came home with a little storybook about Tubman. I knew the basics of Tubman’s life as an enslaved woman and then Underground Railroad agent, but that children’s biography—and my daughter’s delight with it—sparked a curiosity that has profoundly shaped my professional life for nearly 30 years.Iremember my first few visits to the Eastern Shore. While working on my doctoral dissertation on Tubman, one of my academic advisors suggested that I explore the physical landscapes where she was born and raised and the place from which she escaped to freedom. They felt that I would gain valuable perspectives on her life if I could see the region and imagine her in those fields and forests and on the water.

I made my way from my Boston home to Baltimore and then across the Bay Bridge, following Route 50 down the shore to Dorchester County. As a born-and-bred New Englander, I found the flat terrain foreign at first, but the shore and its estuaries—the rivers, streams and marshes—felt like home.

the Bucktown Village Store. The store still exists and serves as a site on the Tubman byway. She survived, reborn with a ferocious determination to be free, fortified by vivid dreams and visions that foretold the future. Her parents struggled to nurture and educate her from afar. Her education did not happen in a traditional classroom, but rather on those landscapes where she learned to read the environment—the forests and fields, rivers and marshes, the clouds and stars. She studied people without being noticed, and she learned how to move through the woods and pastures unobserved, and tread silently at night with no light to guide her but the stars. Though the head injury left Tubman with recurring seizures, she grew strong and worked at jobs often reserved for men. She cut trees in the forests with her father, a timber inspector, and served as a stevedore on the docks in Madison. There, she learned the secret communication and transportation networks of Black mariners known as Black Jacks. She studied the constellations. She learned where to find shelter and forage for food. She could not swim, so she analyzed the water—its currents, its depths and dangers.In1849,at the age of 27, Tubman escaped. Traveling by night, using the North Star and instructions from Black and white supporters, she found her way to freedom in Philadelphia. Once there, she realized that liberty meant little without her family. “I was a stranger in a strange land,” she later told an interviewer, “and my home, after all, was down in Maryland; because my father, my mother, my brothers, and sisters, and friends were there. But I was free, and they should be free.”And so she returned. Using all the skills she mastered as a child and young adult, she successfully guided nearly 70 friends and family members brothers, and sisters, and friends were there. But I was free, and they should And

September 2022 ChesapeakeBayMagazine.com 49

Born lovedSouth,fieldsoffeagerdeep-pocketedauctionwhenliberatedTubmanenslaved,laterherselfshefacedtheblockandbuyerstocarryhertothecottonintheDeepfarawayfromones.

thejustleadoutHarrietMytheEducationMuseumTubmanandCenterhostsworld-famous“TakeHand”muralofTubmanreachingthroughawalltoyoutofreedom.It’safewblocksfromcountycourthouse

north over the course of 10 years. Some of her paths to freedom were by water, others overland, but all were dangerous. A brilliant strategist, she defied detection by slave catchers and snitches lying in wait, becoming the Underground Railroad’s most famous “conductor” and earning her the nickname “Moses.”

ChesapeakeBayMagazine.com September 202250

I n Cambridge, the Harriet

Born in New Jersey in 1821, the son of a woman who had escaped slavery on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, William Still grew up to become a passionate abolitionist and one of the most significant Underground Railroad operatives on the Eastern seaboard during the 1850s, running an active anti-slavery network that assisted Harriet Tubman and other freedom seekers fleeing from North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Delaware and other southern states. The saga of the Still family is illuminated at the newly established William Still Interpretive Center near Denton in Caroline County, one of more than three dozen sites along the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Byway and All-American Road. The Center, housed in an historic 1820s one-room cottage, features a period slave cabin interior, exhibits about the Still family, and a garden patch highlighting foodstuffs common in gardens cultivated by Eastern Shore people. The Center’s interpretation provides visitors with a more nuanced and personal African American family history, one that reflects common themes prevalent in the history of slavery and the pursuit of freedom in the Chesapeake region—that of enslaved families and the consequencesheartbreakingofthestruggle to be free.

William Still, “Station Master” child adult,

where, in 1857, Tubman’s friend and Underground Railroad collaborator Rev. Samuel Green was convicted for owning a copy of Uncle Tom’s Cabin and sent to prison for 10Situatedyears.

on the Choptank River, Cambridge’s Long Wharf is a good place to imagine how the water served as a barrier and a gateway to freedom. Daring Underground Railroad stories abound along the course of the river to its headwaters in Caroline County. In nearby Bucktown, the historic Bucktown Village Store shares Tubman’s early experiences in that agricultural community and reveals the spot where she was nearly killed by an iron weight that crushed her skull. About a mile down Greenbriar Road sits the former Brodess farm, where Tubman spent portions of her

and young

she dangerous.butotherswerepathsyears.themembersfriendsguidedsuccessfullynearly70andfamilynorthovercourseof10Someofhertofreedombywater,overland,allwere

Using all the skills masteredsheas a

. From Cambridge, the Byway takes a northeasterly path, following Route 16 through East New Market, past creeks and fields to Preston in Caroline County where many freedom seekers sought shelter. During the late 1840s, Tubman moved to the area to work with her father on a 2,200-acre plantation at Poplar Neck. In the fall of 1849, she used all those lessons, all those skills she developed to liberate herself, and then, later, her family and friends. Her father secretly helped her from his Poplar Neck home. Nearby Quaker and Black families helped, too. Their stories and more deepen the importance of preserving historic landscapes. And because these landscapes—and marshscapes—are so well preserved, you and your family can follow Harriet Tubman’s inspirational journeys, visit the sites where she stood, and see them through her eyes. Plan your experience at harriettubmanbyway.org/the-byway/.

2022 ChesapeakeBayMagazine.com 51

JASUTAJILL

Situated on the Choptank CarolinetocourseaboundRailroadDaringgatewaybarrierwatertoWharfCambridge’sRiver,Longisagoodplaceimaginehowtheservedasaandatofreedom.UndergroundstoriesalongtheoftheriveritsheadwatersinCounty.

childhood. All of these sites are among the 45 stops along the Tubman byway. The nearby Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge features some of the marshes where Tubman trapped muskrats, and it’s an excellent place to view the tidal land and rivers as Harriet saw them. The Refuge visitor center explains the status of the natural environment, and the threats that global warming and sea level rise pose to the region’s pristine landscapes, historic sites and recreational areas. Just down the road, at the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad State and National Park Visitor Center in Church Creek, Tubman’s extraordinary life and accomplishments are on display. An award-winning, LEED-certified building and museum, the Tubman Center features an orientation film, exhibits, interactive programs, a picnic pavilion and Legacy Garden, and ranger-led educational programs and tours for children and adults. Check out their website for the latest daily schedules and special events, at harriettubmanbyway.org/visitor-center

Kate Clifford Larson is a best-selling author of acclaimed biographies including Bound for the Promised Land: Harriet Tubman, Portrait of an American Hero. An award-winning historical consultant and interpretation specialist, her work includes Maryland’s Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad State and National Park, the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Byway and All-Ameri can Road, and the Harriet Tubman Home and National Historical Park in Auburn, N.Y.September

I remember our guide, Susan Meredith, pointing out a beach. At places like this, she told us, a famous Dorchester Countian once guided others to overnight shelter. Moving in darkness, they waded on sandbars, avoiding the Blackwater River’s quicksand-like mud.

ChesapeakeBayMagazine.com | September 202252 Through Your Ey es

S ome years ago, I got to paddle Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. Blackwater is one of the largest wildlife refuges on the Delmarva peninsula, and if you want to feel truly humbled by nature and by history, I highly recommend it. We must have looked like floating crayons that day in our vivid kayaks, but the bald eagles and ducks overhead paid us no heed; the eagles circled low in search of fish, while the ducks squawked in alarm. We were a party of three, all alone with the birds in a landscape that looked much like it did two hundred years ago—minus the trees cut down to become ships and islands since swallowed up by the rising sea.

BY MA RTY LEGRAND

A kayaker stops to smell the lotus blossoms on Turner’s Creek.

CERINOCHRIS

Fall is the perfect time to get out and explore the Bay’s tributaries by paddle.

DESTINATION: Mount Harmon Plantation Tour: 2.5 hours Put In/Take Out: Mount Harmon dock

DESTINATION: Turner’s Creek Length: 4 miles Put In/Take Out: Turner’s Creek landing

The Chesapeake has hundreds of places like Blackwater, where nature and history are best contemplated quietly in a kayak or canoe. Virtually every county along the Bay now offers water trails complete with maps and suggested itineraries paddlers can use to plan their journeys. We’ve chosen a sampling of these so you can plan your own excursion and see the wonders of the shallower waters of the Chesapeake Bay through your own eyes.

A natural harbor on the lower Sassafras, Turner’s Creek is the river’s most popular paddling site, noted for pristine scenery and a profusion of American lotus plants. “In mid-summer months the creek is filled with blossoms,” says Chris Cerino of the Sultana Education Foundation, which offers guided paddles. Turner’s is bordered by Sassafras Natural Resources Management Area and Turner’s Creek Park. Just downriver on Lloyd Creek, watch for bald eagles and an endangered beach dweller, the Puritan tiger beetle.

“What Harriet Tubman did, she’d walk over to those islands,” Meredith said, before explaining how Tubman led her enslaved friends and family to the swampy hideouts she’d known since childhood, the first stop on their journey to freedom.

Cerino and others lead Sultana Education Foundation guided paddles around this peninsular plantation, a thriving tobacco port when “sot-weed” was the king of crops. Paddlers get to explore the creeks—Back, Foreman’s and McGill—that surround “World’s End,” the 200 or so acres that remain of a once 1,200-acre plantation. These public paddles include your kayak and gear, plus a tour of Mount Harmon’s restored 18thcentury manor house. 

Tobacco Rowed: The Sassafras Centuries ago, agricultural ports lined this 22-mile-long river on Maryland’s upper Eastern Shore, which runs from western New Castle County, Del., to Betterton, Md., where it empties into the Bay. That schooner has long since sailed, ceding the Sassafras to powerboaters, paddlers and workboats. Narrow and forest-lined near the upriver town that shares its name, the Sassafras widens as it flows due west to the Bay. Lining its shores, you’ll find explorable creeks, a preserved tobacco plantation, water lily-like plants bigger than your head, and a speedy, sand-dwelling insect found almost nowhere else.

September 2022 | ChesapeakeBayMagazine.com 53

If it’s solitude you seek, get thee to the upper Sassafras. Narrow and forest-lined, this stretch of river should be tackled at high tide; the water’s skinnier than a heron’s bill by the time you near the town of Sassafras. As you paddle more than two miles upriver from Foxhole Road landing, you’ll share your surroundings with herons, kingfishers and stands of fuzzy cattails, but not many of your own species.

DESTINATION: Upper Sassafras Length: 5.5 miles Put In/Take Out: Foxhole Road landing

ChesapeakeBayMagazine.com September 202254 | September 2022

Highly recommended, this easy-to-navigate trail offers the best variety of scenery and wildlife. In the fall, look for northern harriers, marsh hawks, bald eagles, black ducks, shovelers and pintails. Susan Meredith suggests a detour into Buttons Creek, which she’s nicknamed “the land of the living decoys” for its population of easily approachable ducks. If you’re hanging with the puddle ducks and dabblers during hunting season, though, wear orange and don’t go early in the morning.

The Orange Trail Length: 7.6 miles Put In/Take Out: Shorters Wharf ramp

FLEMINGJAY

This 26-mile-long river and its main tributary, the Little Blackwater River, pool into a massive tidal marsh that’s an annual layover for tens of thousands of migrating waterfowl, from blue-winged teal to tundra swans. Since 1933, their habitat has been federally protected as Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge. The year-round populations are also impressive, including the largest group of nesting bald eagles this side of Florida. Three colorcoded water trails provide 17 miles of paddling pleasure.

Even experienced paddlers avoid the refuge’s third trail, a dicey, open-water route marked in purple. (It’s closed from October through March.) Instead, take Blackwater Adventures’ signature guided tour of the delightful Little Blackwater River. Watch bald eagles and ospreys, explore quiet, loblolly-lined coves and look for river otters frolicking in the water. Meredith and other guides will explain local culture and history, including ties to Tubman, whose mother was born on a tobacco farm along this river. Paradise Retained: The Nanticoke Pristine. Peaceful. Almost primal. Paddlers heap praise on the Nanticoke, the Eastern Shore’s largest, bestpreserved tributary. Largely undeveloped and likely to stay that way, the watershed’s wetlands and wooded creeks support rare flora (white cedar swamps), fauna (sturgeon) and countless bird species. Some 63 miles

The Green Trail Length: 8 miles Put In/Take Out: Rte. 335 kayak/canoe launch

Little Black water River Tour: 2 hours Put In/Take Out: Blackwater Adventures launch site

Three color-coded water trails provide 17 miles of meandering pleasure at Blackwater.

Critters of the Blackwater Lagoon: Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge

A marshy, scenic route along Coles Creek, this is also an easy trail, which curls into a wooded area. Less traveled than the popular Green Trail, you’ll get to see such critters as great blue herons, bald eagles, red-winged blackbirds and muskrats. The water here can get shallow, so remember rule number one for Blackwater paddlers: Don’t get out of the boat! The marsh muck here will suck the water shoes right off your feet.

BALTIMORE WASHINGTON D.C. ANNAPOLIS CAMBRIDGE ST. DELTAVILLENORFOLKMICHAELS See for yourself 1 SASSAFRAS RIVER • Turner’s Creek – 4 mi. • Upper Sassafras – 5.5 mi. • Mt. Harmon Plantation –2.5-hour tour paddlethesassafras.com BLACKWATER NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE • The Green Trail – 8 mi. • The Orange Trail – 7.6 mi. • Little Blackwater River –2-hour tour fws.gov/refuge/blackwater/map 3 NANTICOKE RIVER • Broad Creek – 6 mi. • Barren Creek – 8 mi. • Wetipquin Creek – 2 – 8 mi. nanticoke-river-water-trailfindyourchesapeake.com/places/trails/ 4 PATUXENT RIVER • A Jug Bay – 2 – 4 mi. • B Nottingham – 3 – 7 mi. • C Broomes Island – 1 – 2 mi. patuxentwatertrail.org 5 MIDDLE PENINSULA • A East River – 11.7 – 13.8 mi. • B Dragon Run – 40 mi. • C Guinea Marshes – 2.5 – 5 mi. peninsulavirginiawatertrails.org/middle1 4 2 5 3 2 AB C B A C

Choosing the Right Kayak by Bill Burnham

As longtime kayakers, the most frequently asked question we hear is a simple one: What kayak is the right boat for me?

DESTINATION: Broad Creek Length: 6 miles Put In/Take Out: Laurel River Park, Del. Popular with bass anglers and bird watchers, Broad Creek boasts scenery galore. Narrow and tree-lined at Laurel, it widens and turns swampy as you head downstream toward Bethel, a convenient turn-around spot. Look for ospreys, herons and wood ducks, and don’t be surprised if a beaver bids you good riddance with a tail slap. Park a vehicle at Phillips Landing, a park near the creek’s mouth, to extend your paddle by about four miles.

DESTINATION: Barren Creek Length: 8 miles Put In/Take Out: Mardela Springs boat ramp Snaking through Nanticoke National Wildlife Refuge, Barren Creek delights kayakers as they round every meander. Heading west (downstream), the creekscape transitions from wooded banks guarded by loblolly pines to a marsh awash in the delightfully named water lily, spatterdock. Watch for bald eagles, herons and other waterbirds. On reaching the Nanticoke, venturesome paddlers can turn upriver (mind the tides) about a mile to reach historic Vienna on the opposite shore.

Our answer is also simple: Tell me where you’re looking to paddle and how far? But what about price? A good kayak is not cheap, yet there are plenty of cheap kayaks for sale. What about weight? Is it light enough to put on top of the car by myself?

ChesapeakeBayMagazine.com | September 202256 long, the river begins in Delaware, hugs the city of Seaford and passes several small towns and swaths of wildlife preserves before spilling into Tangier Sound. Avoid the boat-busy river in favor of meandering creeks filled with bald eagles, beavers and large-mouth bass.

Speaking of transporting, what is the best way to do that? The answers will lead you to a dizzying variety of boat lengths, hull shapes and features like rudders, skegs and pedal drive systems. Be brave, dive in and never lose sight of the bigger picture: Understanding where you will paddle most often, and what you want to accomplish, is the first step in choosing the right kayak. The second piece of advice we give is to try as many different kayaks as you can before buying, whether that means borrowing from friends, renting from an outfitter or attending a “demo day” where various manufacturers bring their boats to try out. Kayaks generally fall into two categories: sit-on-tops (often referred to as “sit-upons”) or traditional kayaks

DESTINATION: Wetipquin Creek Length: 2 to 8 miles Put In/Take Out: Wetipquin Park ramp or Tyaskin Park beach An upstream paddle on a fairly short creek, this trip takes you through forests and salt marshes Native Americans once canoed. Leaving Wetipquin Park, you’ll pass a bridge and face an immediate choice: Paddle northeast on the main creek or southeast on Tyaskin Creek. Unlike (sit-insides). Lengths vary from 8 feet to 18 feet long. Some kayaks have rudders: that’s a fin at the back of the boat that drops down and allows you to steer using your feet. Some kayaks feature a drop-down skeg which assists with making the boat go straight. Others have pedals that help to propel the Sit-on-topsboat. are straightforward, simple kayaks. They are self-draining through holes called “scuppers” that allow water to wash over the kayak and drain while helping maintain buoyancy. Let’s have a seat in one and start talking comfort. Make sure the seat provides you enough back support and is easy to adjust so you can range from a relaxed posture to a more upright, aggressive paddling posture. Find out where to put your feet for bracing. A comfortable foot position will allow you to feel stable in waves, and give you something to push against should you need to dig in and paddle hard. Inspect the storage areas, called hatches. Can you reach them while sitting upright? Do the hatch covers provide a reliable seal that will keep out water should a wave or boat wake sneak up and wash over? This checklist applies to traditional kayaks—the “sit inside” variety—as well, with one major additional safety feature: bulkheads. Bulkheads are foam or composite walls that separate storage hatches fore and aft from the cockpit where the paddler sits. With fore and aft sealed, in the event of a capsize, only the area where you sit fills with water. The

CERINOCHRIS

57September 2022 | ChesapeakeBayMagazine.com

Kayaks made of fiberglass, carbon fiber or Kevlar are generically referred to as composite boats. These materials are sturdy, lightweight and cost more. Touring kayaks—those long, 16- to 18-foot boats— are most often made of this material. In rough wind and waves, a composite boat is stiff and sturdy. But they are also fragile and, when needed, repairs can require some skill.

Wherever your search for the “right” kayak leads you, keep in mind a simple premise: Kayaks, whether short or long, tippy or stable, are a means to an end. They take you along creekside forests where songbirds bustle about the thick trees and shrubs. They lead you to quiet coves where egrets and herons stalk their fishy prey. They send you shooting downriver in search of swift water and thrills. They are an exercise machine, allowing you to test your endurance on long trips along miles of open water. However you choose to enjoy paddling, the right boat can make the experience easier, more enjoyable and safe. Bill Burnham is author of Kayaking for Everyone and co-owner with his wife, Mary, of Burnham Guides Paddling Adventures (burnhamguides.com) in Onancock, Va. hatches remain dry, stay full of air and act as flotation, allowing the paddler to get back in the kayak without it sinking.Boat length is a direct result of knowing where you will paddle and your skill level as a paddler. Short boats—say, any kayak from 8 to 12 feet long—are usually wider, more stable and suitable for beginner paddlers and calm conditions. Long boats—bascially anything over 14 feet—are often considered “tippy,” but they cut through the water more efficiently and can handle rough conditions generated by wind and waves. We often refer to short boats as akin to sportscars: they’re fast and highly maneuverable. Long boats are more like Lincoln Continentals, made for the longBoathaul.materials have an impact on performance, weight and price. Entry-level kayaks are going to be a form of plastic. These rotomolded kayaks are heavy but extremely durable. If you are hard on your equipment, dragging it or paddling amongst hazards like rocks, then thick, rotomolded kayaks are your ticket. Thermo-molded kayaks are also plastic, but the material is thin, lightweight and more fragile than rotomolded plastic. Turner’s Creek opens up onto the sandy bluffs of the Sassafras River.

DESTINATION: Broomes Island Length: 1 to 2 miles Put In/Take Out: Nan’s Cove This island (really a peninsula) typifies the hard-working watermen’s communities that once dominated Southern Maryland. Crabbing and oystering aren’t the fisheries they once were, but there are still plenty of fish in the Patuxent.

Dragon Run is one of the Chesapeake’s most ecologicallywaterways.significant

ChesapeakeBayMagazine.com | September 202258 poet Robert Frost, you won’t second-guess your pick of these divergent routes; both are scenic and bird filled. To lengthen your trip slightly, launch from the beach at Wetipquin’s mouth. Honey, They Shrunk the Chesapeake: The Patuxent A gobsmacking 115 miles long, the gentle Patuxent flows generally southeast, transitioning through thick woods and tidal marshes, active farmland and sandy bluffs on its Bay-ward journey. Relatively narrow and quite deep, it’s the longest river entirely within Maryland, and nicknamed “the Chesapeake in miniature.” Officially, the trail follows the entire river, but it’s the more navigable lower half—from Bowie to Solomons Island—that’s of interest to most paddlers. If you’re considering a multi-day trip, there are eight paddle-in campsites.

DESTINATION: Jug Bay Length: 2 to 4 miles Put In/Take Out: Patuxent River Park (west shore) A freshwater tidal estuary, Jug Bay is one of the river’s crown jewels. Park-protected on both shores, it’s an oasis of wetlands, forests and tributaries where sora rails feed in fields of wild rice, muskrats and beavers lodge in nearby creeks, and archaeologists still unearth artifacts thousands of years old. Launch at Patuxent River Park’s Jackson’s or Selby’s landings and explore for yourself, or take a guided marsh tour led by Jug Bay Wetlands Sanctuary naturalists.

Launch at Nan’s Cove, a small park just upstream of Broomes, and go kayak fishing for white perch and catfish. The cove is well sheltered, making it ideal for a family outing. Adjacent coves invite additional exploration.

Deck Boats and Dragons: The Middle Peninsula Along with its neighbor, the Northern Neck, this is what’s called “Rivah Country.” Bounded by the Rappahannock River to the north and the York to the south, Virginia’s Middle Peninsula is defined by winding rivers, deepwater creeks and a beautiful bay that spills into the Chesapeake; in short, it’s a paddlers’ paradise. The peninsula’s eastern counties—Gloucester, Mathews and Middlesex—offer nearly 900 miles of shoreline to explore, including a maritime heritage trail and an enchanted stream like one that Tolkien would have created.

DESTINATION: Nottingham Length: 3 to 7 miles Put In/Take Out: Nottingham Patuxent Riverkeeper Fred Tutman grew up along the river near Queen Anne, an area he still loves. His office is 15 miles downriver at Nottingham, an unspoiled stretch of water he also recommends. His picks of campsites downstream of Nottingham: Spice Creek (5 miles), “very isolated, very private”; and Milltown Landing (6.7 miles), “gorgeous, a nice place to roll in the grass and look at the stars.” For a shorter paddle to either, put in at Magruder’s Landing.

DESTINATION: Guinea Marshes Length: 2.5 to 5 miles Put In/Take Out: Maryus Road/Maundy launch

September 2022 | ChesapeakeBayMagazine.com 59

DESTINATION: Dragon Run Length: 40 miles A cypress swamp draped in moss. Darkened waters in a forest primeval. A plant that plays possum. It’s not Middle-earth, it’s Dragon Run, a remote, brackish stream that becomes the Piankatank River. One of the Chesapeake’s most ecologically significant waterways, “The Dragon” holds many wonders, including featherfoil, an aquatic wildflower favoring beaver ponds, and the drought-detesting resurrection fern, which appears dead until rehydrated. Not easily accessed, Dragon Run is best paddled on guided tours led by the Friends of Dragon Run.

DESTINATION: East River Length: 11.7 to 13.8 miles Put In/Take Out: Williams Wharf or Town Point Landing Centerpiece of the Mathews Maritime Heritage Trail, this five-mile-long Mobjack Bay tributary is lined with historic wharves, ex-shipyards and grand estates, including Poplar Grove, briefly owned by John Lennon and Yoko Ono. (Look for its unusual sidekick, a tide mill.) Williams Wharf, three miles upstream from Mobjack, divides the river’s lower, wind-exposed section from its sheltered upper waters, which fork west and east. The former offers inviting creeks; the latter leads to Mathews via ultra-shallow Put In Creek, site of a town kayak launch.

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

WHITEDANNY

The peninsula offers paddlers another unique environment: the salt marshes of the Chesapeake shoreline. A narrow inlet in Gloucester County, Maundy Creek provides access to once-inhabited Big Island, gateway to the Guinea Marshes fishing grounds. Watermen (“Guineamen”) abandoned Big Island, now a seabird nesting site. Oyster and mussel beds still line the island, and at low tide you’ll see sandpipers and plovers wading the flats. Watch for diamondback terrapins, cobia and cownose rays too.

The inviting Wine and Oyster Bar at Blackwall Hitch in Alexandria

ChesapeakeBayMagazine.com September 202260

Blackwall Hitch opened their first restaurant in the Eastport neighborhood of Annapolis in May 2014. They soon expanded with a second location on Old Town Alexandria’s waterfront a year later. What makes them so successful? A classic American menu that’s both familiar and elevated; a locally sourced, seasonal approach to menus, which change frequently; and a chic, nautical-inspired vibe that runs through each location. Take their fried oysters, courtesy of Daniel Hlusak, culinary director of Titan Hospitality Group. This recipe takes a simple dish—buttermilk fried oysters—and upgrades it with a corn salsa, tangy cherry pepper remoulade and pickled chilies. Make the components in advance, and then serve with hot oysters, fried on the spot.

Blackwall Hitch Annapolis and Alexandria, Va.

Fried Oysters

CHESAPEAKE CHEF

September 2022 ChesapeakeBayMagazine.com 61 6OYSTERSeachlocal oysters 1 cup buttermilk 1 cup dredging flour CORN SALSA 1 ear sweet corn 1 teaspoon red onion ½ teaspoon each red and green ¼pepperteaspoon jalapeno 3 stems cilantro 2 ½chivesteaspoon lemon juice 1/8 teaspoon lime juice 1 teaspoon olive oil 4 each cherry tomato Salt and pepper CHERRY PEPPER REMOULADE 1 teaspoon gherkin 1 teaspoon caper 1 teaspoon yellow onion 2 Tbsp cherry pepper 2 cloves garlic ½ roasted red pepper 1 cup mayonnaise 1 teaspoon lemon juice 1 teaspoon chopped parsley Salt and 11222PICKLEDpepperCHILIESFresnochiliesTbspwhitevinegarTbspsugarteaspoonsaltcupice FRIED OYSTERS

In order of preparation: FOR PICKLED CHILIES Bring vinegar and sugar to a simmer, set aside and add ice. Slice chilies and set in liquid for minimum 2 hours. FOR PlaceREMOULADEgherkin,caper, onion, cherry pepper, garlic and red pepper into food processor and blend until paste. Transfer into mixing bowl, add remaining ingredients and fold together. Chill for at least an hour. FOR CORN SALSA Shuck and kernel corn. Roast or sauté to char. Dice onion and peppers, chop herbs, quarter tomato, combine all ingredients. Set aside at room temperature.

FOR OYSTERS (COOK LAST AND SERVE HOT) Bring 2 quarts vegetable oil to 350 degrees. Do not fill pot more than halfway up with oil. Place oysters in buttermilk, then dredge in flour. Fry 2 mins until PlacePLATINGset.the corn salsa as a base on the plate. Wash the bottoms of the oyster shells, place fried oysters inside shell. Dot with remoulade, add pickled chilies (and perhaps a splash of chopped parsley) and enjoy!

The British Royal Navy had Newfies aboard during the Napoleonic Wars to swim tow lines across stormy seas to other ships and to rescue sailors lost overboard. A Newfie named Sailor led the Lewis and Clark expedition over the Rockies. (Well, maybe he didn’t actually lead them, but if Sailor was anything like my dog when we’re out on a walk, you can bet he was always up ahead of everybody else on the trail.) And two Newfoundlands were the ancestors of the hunting breed we know as the Chesapeake Bay retriever. (See sidebar on page 66.)

ChesapeakeBayMagazine.com September 202262

Now that Newfoundlands are becoming more domesticated, the folks at the Newfoundland Club of America don’t want those original utilitarian attributes to disappear from the breed. That’s why they conduct training sessions and certification tests all around the country, where Newf owners can introduce their pet to the inner working dog that lies beneath all that huggable fur. To pass the test as a certified Water Rescue Dog in the senior division, the dog must retrieve two articles in the proper order; leap from a boat to

ust adorable. Who can resist those big brown eyes and all that fluffy fur? I know I can’t. One sight makes me want to give any Newfie a hug, and to heck with all the drool. There’s no doubt that Newfoundland retrievers are among the cutest dogs in the world, as well as one of the top 50 most popular home pet breeds, despite their enormous size. But underneath all that cute exterior lie the bones of a working dog: sturdy bones connected by mighty muscles, covered by a double-thick waterproof coat and propelled by webbed feet that help it surge powerfully through the water.

Some say Newfies evolved from the black “bear” dogs that the Vikings brought to Newfoundland around 1000 C.E. An archaeological dig at a Viking settlement on the northern tip of Newfoundland unearthed skeletons of large dogs. Another theory suggests that they descended from the American black wolf. Whatever their origin, Newfoundland fishermen used to put these dogs to work hauling nets ashore and drawing carts full of fish to market. by Jefferson Holland, with contributions by Noah Hale

Genial giants meet their inner working dog

Underneath all that cute exterior lie the bones of a working dog: sturdy bones connected by mighty muscles, covered by a double-thick waterproof coat and propelled by webbed feet that help it surge powerfully through the water.

Marino has owned Newfies for more than 30 years and has been a volunteer master trainer for most of that time. She came down from her home in Massachusetts to lead this fetch a paddle; figure out which of three swimmers is the one in distress and carry a life ring to that person; retrieve an object underwater; carry a line from shore to a steward in a boat and then tow that boat to shore; and leap from a boat to save its handler who has “fallen” overboard.

be a bale of black wool—but on closer inspection, the bale bore two liquid brown eyes and an equally liquid sheet of drool forming around the chin. Most of the dogs were out with their owners, and most of their owners were wearing bathing suits and life jackets.

ChesapeakeBayMagazine.com September 202264

Noah and I nodded to one another knowingly. We had found the right place. We were welcomed by Dwight Gorsuch, president of the Colonial Newfoundland Club, the mid-Atlantic branch of the national organization. Gorsuch lives in Rock Hall, Md., with his wife, Christine, and their four—yes,Gorsuchfour—Newfoundlands.introducedustothe day’s key trainer, Sue Marino, who serves as the regional club liaison for the NCA.

I attended one of the series of seasonal training sessions on an overcast Saturday in July along with Chesapeake Bay Magazine’s summer intern, Noah Hale, a student at St. John’s College in Annapolis. The training took place at Codorus State Park near Hanover, Pa.

The group was not hard to find. There was an array of colorful pop-up tents along the grassy bank of a large lake, and as we approached, we saw that each tent shaded at least one big dog crate, each of which was cooled by an industrial-strength battery-operated fan. Some of the crates were packed with a bucket of water and what appeared to

Marino cautioned new owners to be patient while training their dogs. Often times, she explained, when your dog doesn’t “get it,” it’s because you’re pushing too hard, too fast. “Everything’s got to be broken down into baby steps,” she said. “We’ve got to take all the little parts of the exercise and train each one so that the dog understands it. Every dog is different. Train it the right way so that your dog’s happy with it, you’re happy with it, and you’ll be successful with it.” Noah and I waded knee-deep in the cool, clear water of the lake to take pictures of the first training session: carrying a line from shore to a rowboat. The dogs were separated by age groups. The first dog to participate was Cosmo, a 2-1/2-year-old owned by Scott Dickensheets from Montpelier, Va. Cosmo took hold of a small rubber fender attached to a line and waded out toward the boat, then swam a few yards to come within reach of the woman sitting in the bow. She grabbed the line and Cosmo, still holding the fender in his mouth, pulled the boat to shore.

September 2022 ChesapeakeBayMagazine.com 65 weekend’s session. The participants had come from as far away as New Jersey and Pittsburgh. Sue gathered the two dozen or so dogs and their owners together for a pep talk. “It’s so exciting to me when one of you progresses to the next stage, or the lightbulb goes off in your dog,” she told them. “That’s all the reward I need. It’s just so much fun and I don’t even have to be working my own dogs to enjoy it. When people say ‘my dog won’t swim’ and that afternoon they’re swimming away, you know? It’s just wonderful—it makes me feel so good.”

Now, this boat was a 12-foot aluminum Smokercraft that weighs 112 pounds without a motor. Inside the boat were two adults, so let’s say they weighed 350 pounds together. Add the oars and other gear and you’re probably Opposite, clockwise from top left: Newf X-ing sign; trainer Marino gives a pep talk; Cosmo hauls 500 pounds of boat and crew to shore. Clockwise from top: Teresa Rainey of gets a tow from Percy; Ann Felter gives a pep talk to 4-year-old Stanley; brown-coated Bella attends her first training session at 24 weeks old.

ChesapeakeBayMagazine.com September 202266

Meanwhile,retriever.Canton

The animals introduced into the bloodline included native hounds, coon dogs, water spaniels (the source of the curly fur)—and according to at least one myth— otters. The odd result was that after 80 years of selectively breeding the offspring of two separate dogs on opposite sides of the Bay, their descendants were brought together in Baltimore and they were found to be nearly identical. So much so that the American Kennel Club recognized the Chesapeake Bay “Ducking Dog” as a uniquely American breed in 1888. Since then, what we now call Chesapeake Bay retrievers have come to be considered the world’s most capable dogs for hunting waterfowl. Their “sedge” color helps them blend into the winter marsh grasses that cover duck blinds. Their oily, double-thick coat protects them from icy water, and their instinct to find and bring downed birds back to their owner has become legendary. It’s no wonder they have been sought after by haughty and humble hunters alike. President Teddy Roosevelt owned a Chesapeake who was a descendant of one owned by Gen. George Custer. It became the official dog breed of Maryland in 1964. You can see a statue dedicated to the Chesapeake Bay retriever on the grounds of the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum in St. Michaels, Md.

Shipwrecked Newfies Evolve into Chesapeakes

The Canton sent a boat across to take the inebriated sailors to safe harbor. With them came a pair of water-soaked pups. When they arrived in Norfolk, the mate of the Canton bought the pups from the rescued sailors for a guinea apiece. These were Newfoundland water dogs, a male and a female, named Sailor and Canton. They were thought to have been born of different families. The mate gave Sailor to John Mercer of West River, south of Annapolis. Canton came to be owned by Dr. James Stewart of Sparrows Point on the Gunpowder River, north of Baltimore. Mercer traded Sailor to Gov. Edward Lloyd V for a valuable Merino ram. Lloyd brought the dog across the Bay to his ancestral home, the Wye House on his family’s vast plantation, where Sailor proved his value as a natural duck-hunting was also proving her duckhunting instincts in the marshes around Carroll’s Island. While it’s unlikely that the two dogs were ever bred together, each of their owners carefully selected other dogs for them to breed with in order to enhance the ability of their progeny to retrieve downed waterfowl.

Noah and I hung around all morning, meeting the dogs and their owners and watching them in action. Colleen and Pablo Balmaseda came from Silver Spring, Md., with their 1-1/2-year-old pup, Gub. Colleen’s family had a Newfie when she was a kid, she told me, but Gub was their first one as a couple. “We’ve come to several weekend trainings,” she said. “We want to get him Wecertified.”alsomet Rosalyn Shum from Loudon, Va., who brought her 8-year-old Newf, Tiffany. Tiffany had her own custom drool bib. “She used to be a show dog,” Rosalyn explained, “but she couldn’t care less” about trophies.

The ship Canton out of Baltimore, sailing short-reefed through a storm along the barren coast of Maryland in 1807, encountered a British brig from Newfoundland taking on water. Her crew had given up hope of rescue and tried to drown their sorrows in booze before they drowned in the brine.

“Her purpose in life is to be adored,” she said. And for that, no training is needed.

talking 500 pounds of weight to haul through the water from a dead stop. Cosmo did it with ease and earned the trainer’s praise. “‘Take-and-hold’ is the cornerstone for water rescue work,” Marino explained. “It’s very important to take the time to teach it and teach it well.” The other senior dogs took their turns with varying degrees of success.

The next exercise saw three volunteers in the water about chest deep. The one in the middle started splashing and calling for help. Five-year-old Percy swam to the rescue with a bright orange life ring that he took straight to the one of the three men who was obviously in distress, then pulled him toward shore once the victim had grabbed hold of the ring. Percy belongs to Theresa and Scott Rainey, who had come from Alexandria, Va., to participate in the training.

homes  Visit www.garrettrealtypartners.com for more information on this home. 108 PINEWOOD ROAD, VIRGINIA BEACH, VIRGINIA 23451 PRICE: $2,460,000 Beautiful all brick custom home on over 2 acres of private waterfront land on Linkhorn Bay. Set off the road with over 5k sq ft, oversized windows offering expansive water views, 10 foot ceilings, screened recessed lights up and downstairs, 4 zone geo-thermal HVAC, 1st Floor Primary Bed & Bath with jetted tub and shower steamer, wood and tile flooring, full bar, utility room, huge screened in porch and raised patio, dock with floating dock. Detached all brick shed and generator room with hookup. This home is one of a kind. Contact: AJ Suvari | 757-472-2355 | asuvari@ggrva.com SPONSORED CONTENT ONE-OF-A KIND CUSTOM HOME ON 2 ACRES OF WATERFRONTPRIVATE

Whether we are doing a whole home remodeling project with an addition or a custom home, the process should be exciting and fun for the client. I would like to share a few key components that we provide so when we are done with the project, everyone is happy and we can celebrate the project with a party in the completed home.

BUILDING A SUCCESSFUL PROJECT

Second, we are HONEST and UP FRONT. We make sure our clients fully understand what they can and cannot build and how much it will really cost. Our goal is “no surprises”; we don’t want surprises and neither do our clients.

The first key component is for us, as the designer and builder, to LISTEN. Yes, that’s right, we listen carefully to what our clients want, why they want it, and what they want to invest financially to get it. As a Design/ Build firm we put both design and construction under one roof.

Third, we have a detailed PROCESS that we follow during the pre-construction phase and after contracts are signed. This ensures that our team will seamlessly turn the project over from design to production. The production team will then take lead in building the project while the pre-construction team will remain in a supporting role through successful completion.

Creative Spaces Remodeling is a Design/Build firm that specializes in remodeling and custom home building on waterfront properties up and down the Chesapeake Bay.

When you pull all of this together with smart design and superior craftsmanship you will fall in love with your newly designed home and have made us your friends for life.

Fourth, COMMUNICATION. It is the number one action that determines the success of a project. Great communication creates great results. I personally teach at least (6) communication training sessions with our whole team each year. This has been proven to be beneficial as a team.

$900,000 DanDy Tranquil neighborhood off the York River presents a stunning, Colonial-style home. Charming, all-brick home comes wellappointed w/ luxurious finishes. No HOA & minimal flood insurance!

$550,000 Virignia Beach waTerfronT Beautiful all brick custom home on

757-879-1504 s 1-800-GARRETT greg@ggrva.com Realty Partners presents COASTAL VIRGINIA’S finest garrett Realty Partners Building Futures Suffolk This masterpiece of a waterfront home is located in the highly sought-after Riverfront neighborhood of Suffolk. With 4 bedrooms, 3.5 bathrooms plus an upstairs den/media room, the home has so much extra space!

$650,000 Taylor farmS Truly ONE OF A KIND home lacking nothing!! Seller has invested over 2.2 mil in home!! Heated pool, outdoor shower and bathroom, massive pool deck, covered patio, 3 car garage, whole house generator. $1,400,000 yorkTown Gorgeous 4 bedroom 3 bath home. Beautiful landscaping, large kitchen w/ island, first floor bedroom and full bath, large sunroom. 1.72 AC lot w/ extremely large outbuildings for storage or entertainment space. running man Nestled into the woods on an expansive lot, plenty of entertaining space on tiered deck! Step inside to coziness with a beautiful wood fireplace, excellent walk in closets, granite counters and remodeled bathrooms!

Together

over 2 acres of private waterfront land on Linkhorn Bay. Set off the road with over 5k sq ft, oversized windows offering expansive water views, 1st Floor Primary bedroom. $2,460,000 $649,900 SmiThfiel DEEP WATER!!! Beautiful view of the Pagan River located next to Smithfield Station! The value is in the land! Property is being sold $449,000as-is/where-is. kingSmill Custom built colonial in highly sought after gated community! Extremely large lot on over 1 acre with water views and deeded pond access. Walk out “sunlight” basement with kitchenette that opens to the yard. $1,000,000 heriTage coVe 3 bedroom 2.5 bath ranch located on a quiet cul-de-sac. Back up generator, beautifully landscaped, large deck, spacious back yard, detached 1-car garage and a very shallow tidal creek the property backs up to. $600,000 hfielD GarrettGreg • 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

garrett

HORSLEYREALESTATE.COM

37.650845N / 76.422318W $2,450,000

DAVID DEW 804.436.3106 804.436.6256KATIEDavidEDew@gmail.comHORSLEYDEWHorsleyRE@yahoo.com

75 Oyster Point, White Stone, VA 22578

HORSLEYREALESTATE.COM

37.650845N / 76.422318W $2,450,000

Awaits!

DAVID DEW 804.436.3106 804.436.6256KATIEDavidEDew@gmail.comHORSLEYDEWHorsleyRE@yahoo.com

75 Oyster Point, White Stone, VA 22578

DAVID DEW 804.436.3106 804.436.6256KATIEDavidEDew@gmail.comHORSLEYDEWHorsleyRE@yahoo.com

Southern-Living style home with the double porch & abundance of glass along the waterside, makes this waterfront residence an ideal setting along Carters Creek just off the Rappahannock River. Private Pier with two boat lifts, water, electricity & 7-8’MLW - Ideal for most any size boat! Designed perfectly with the best views & great floor plan for entertaining. Room for large families or guests with 5 bedrooms, 4.5 baths. Enjoy the convenience of being close to town & great amenities of dining, shops, theatre, & much more!

75 Oyster Point, White Stone, VA 22578

37.650845N / 76.422318W $2,450,000

Awaits!

HORSLEYREALESTATE.COM

Southern Exposure & Expansive Views Gorgeous home with walls of windows, expansive hardscapes, decking and landscaping, pier with boat lifts, 2 car attached garage and 3 car detached garage with lift and workshop. 4 BR, 3BA, 4396 Sq.ft. 1.9 Acres $1,075,000 Brand New Waterfront Retreat Newly built one level home with open floor plan and waterside sunroom & deck. Private pier on protected creek with quick access to the Bay. High Speed internet and rental opportunities. 3 BR, 2 BA, 1986 Sq.ft. 1.63 Acres $599,950 You can have it all! Incredible one level home with huge open floor plan, waterside screened porch and 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 $975,000 GreatWicomicoRiver.comGreatWicomicoWaterfront.comRockHoleCreekRetreat.com GreatWicomicoRiverRetreat.com Virtually tour all our listings! Your Northern Neck & Middle Peninsula of Virginia Real Estate Specialists Lindal Cedar Home on private acreage with open floor plan, 3 en suite bedrooms, basement level movie theatre with wet bar, waterside deck, nature trail and pier. 3 BR, 3 BA, 2 Half BA, 3014 Sq.ft. 4.6 Acres $799,000 Please visit our property websites to view interactive floor plans, aerials, maps and more! ShultzRealtors.com804.724.1587

Chesapeake Lifestyle Experts 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 LookREALTOR®forher in our future ads! O 410-394-0990 M ServingCondominium.Waterfront.Web:410-610-4045mcnelis.penfedrealty.comLandandFarm.Commercial.SouthernMarylandand the Patuxent River region since 1992 A member of the franchise system of BHH Affiliates, LLC Megan Erickson REALTOR®/Team Member Denise Neitzke REALTOR®/Team Member Chris McNelis ASSOCIATE BROKER/ Team Leader Will Hooper REALTOR®/Executive Assistant Announcing our new Team Member Lacey Foerter REALTOR® Look for her in our future PatuxentServingWeb:MO...................................................ads!410-394-0990410-610-4045LveChesapeake.com...................................................Waterfront.LandandFarm.Condominium.Commercial.SouthernMarylandandtheRiverregionsince1992 .............................................................. SOLOMONS AREA WATERFRONT PRIVATE PIER, DRUM POINT Don’t miss this newly built waterfront home in the coveted Drum Point community of Solomons, MD. The 2,700sf home features a 70' deck, main-level primary suite, high-end finishes, and 100-feet of shoreline with a private pier on Mill Creek. Asking $1,100,000

Call or go online today for available properties, videos and Punta Gorda area information. 941-833-4217 · 866-761-8138 · DISCOVER PUNTA GORDA, FL where boating is a way of life all year long. We specialize in waterfront properties Located CharlotteonHarborFlorida’s 2nd largest harbor AndreaeBoatingH.indd 1 chesapeakebaymagazine.com/real-estate Buying? Selling? We have you covered.

877.269.3021 BLUEWATERYACHTSALES.COM Maryland Virginia North Carolina Florida EST. 1968 BLUEWATER HAS EVERY VALHALLA, REGULATOR, EVERGLADES, SABRE & BACK COVE MODEL IN STOCK OR ON ORDER! 72’ Viking 2018 - Call Clark: 919.669.1304 64’ Horizon 2007 - Call Connor: 757.968.2353 61’ Chadwick 2017 - Call Danny: 252.665.4018 43’ Formula 2020 - Call Jud: 757.846.7909 43’ Everglades 2018 - Call Joe: 252.241.1316 42’ Sabre 2006 - Call Scott: 703.307.5900 40’ Formula 2008 - Call Roger: 410.456.3659 39’ SeaVee 2018 - Call Mark: 757.406.1673 36’ F & S 2013 - Call Roger: 410.456.365938’ Jupiter 2020 - Call Jud: 757.846.7909 38’ Sabre 2015 - Call Chuck: 703.999.7696 39’ Cigarette 2021 - Call Roger: 410.456.3659 52’ Grand Banks 2000 - Call Chuck: 703.999.7696 48’ Sea Ray 2002 - Call Chuck: 703.999.7696 48’ Ocean 2000 - Call Roger: 410.456.3659 55’ Custom Carolina 2006 - Call Jeremy: 410.507.4150 54’ Custom 1993 - Call John: 410.390.3044 52’ Viking 2016 - Call Connor: 757.968.2353 60’ Hatteras 2010 - Call Daryl: 252.259.0235 35’ Boston Whaler 2018 - Call Preston: 910.473.2628 31’ Regulator 2020 - Call Carl: 757.708.0786 28’ Regulator 2015 - Call Scott: 703.307.5900 28’ Regulator 2021 - Call David: 443.944.6122 27’ Everglades 2023 - Call Today: 877.269.3021

410.397.7323 SEATTLEYACHTS.COM WASHINGTON CALIFORNIA FLORIDA MARYLAND CANADA PHILIPPINES LIVE THE ADVENTURE SEA BEYOND 2022 Nimbus T11 Arriving soon! Give us a call! 410.397.7323

2023 Endurance 658L Seattle Yachts 410.397.7323 2022 Northern Marine 57 Seattle Yachts 410.397.7323 2014 Nordic Tug 34 $375,000 Dan Bacot 757.813.0460 2024 Northern Marine 64 Seattle Yachts 844.692.2487 2004 Menorquin 120 $240,000 Rob Summers 443.771.4467 2022 Nimbus T8 Seattle Yachts 410.397.7323 2024 Northwest 63 Seattle Yachts 410.397.7323 2007 Selene 40 $425,000 Dan Bacot 757.813.0460 2021 Nimbus 405 Coupé Seattle Yachts 410.397.7323 2023 Nimbus T9 Seattle Yachts 410.397.7323 Seattle Yachts 410.397.7323 SELL LISTBOAT!YOURWITHUS! 2022 Ocean Sport Roamer 30 OB Seattle Yachts 410.397.7323 IN STOCK ARR. FALL 2023 ARRIVING SOON ARRIVING SOON 2023 Nordic Tugs 40 Seattle Yachts 410.397.7323 2022 Nimbus T11 Seattle Yachts 410.397.7323 ARR. SPRING 2023 2023 Nordic Tugs 44 Seattle Yachts 410.397.7323 ARR. JUNE 2023 ARR. FALL 2023 IN STOCK ARR. SUMMER 2023 COMING SOON COMING SOON

Featured Brokerage 60’ 2023 Jeanneau Yachts 60 - May 2023 CALL 55’ 2024 Jeanneau Yachts 55 - Sept 2023 CALL 53’ 2009 Tartan 5300 $925,000 51’ 1983 WASA Atlantic 51 $57,000 50’ 1988 Transworld - Fantail 50 $180,000 49’ 2023 Excess Catamaran XCS 15#14 CALL 49’ 2011 Hanse 495 ............................................. $315,000 49’ 2023 Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 490#168 CALL 46’ 2003 Hylas 46 $425,000 45’ 1983 Bristol 45.5 $130,000 44’ 2023 Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 440 - Nov 23 CALL 44’ 1980 F&C 44 $129,500 44’ 2024 Excess Catamaran XCS 14 - August 2023 CALL 44’ 2023 Nordic Tug 44 - On Order June 2023 ... CALL 43’ 2015 Tartan 4300 $590,000 41’ 2023 Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 410#209 CALL 41’ 2000 Tartan 4100 - Fresh Water CALL 40’ 2007 Selene 40 AC Trawler $425,000 40’ 2004 Menorquin 120 Trawler $270,000 40’ 1995 Regal Commodore 402 $94,900 40’ 2023 Nimbus T11#167 - Sept 2023 CALL 40’ 1997 Paci c Seacraft 40 $265,000 40’ 2000 Paci c Seacraft 40 $275,000 40’ 2023 Nordic Tug 40 - On Order March 2023 CALL 40’ 2022 Nimbus 405 Coupé CALL 39’ 2022 Excess Catamaran XCS 12#29 ........ $670,000 39’ 2019 Tartan 395 # 1 $549,000 39’ 2023 Legacy L12 - March 2023 CALL 39’ 1999 Mainship 390 $109,000 38’ 2023 Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 380 - Dec 2023 CALL 38’ 1997 Prout Manta 38 $99,500 38’ 1984 Sabre 38 mk I $75,000 37’ 2023 Excess Catamaran XCS 11#75 ................ CALL 37’ 1999 Paci c Seacraft 37 $150,000 37’ 2007 Paci c Seacraft 37 $190,000 37’ 2000 Tartan 3700 - “Liberty” $168,000 37’ 2003 Tartan 3700 - “Spray” $139,000 37’ 1998 Sea Ray 370 Sun Dancer $84,900 36’ 2003 Beneteau 36 CC ..................................... $99,900 36’ 2005 Hunter 36 $88,000 36’ 2000 Cruisers 3672 $98,900 34’ 2023 Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 349#818 CALL 34’ 1994 Paci c Seacraft 34 $120,000 34’ 2014 NordicTug 34 $374,000 34’ 1994 Mainship 34 Trawler $53,500 34’ 2010 Tartan 3400 .......................................... $185,000 33’ 2023 Ocean Sport 30 - 123 - IN STOCK CALL 32’ 2002 Hunter 326 $47,500 32 2006 Beneteau 323 $64,500 30’ 1992 Wilbur 30 $125,000 30’ 2023 Nimbus T9 - Twin Mercs CALL 28’ 1991 Sm L Morse BCC $135,000 26’ 2023 Nimbus T8#185 ........................................... CALL 26’ 2010 Colgate 26 $38,900 24’ 1937 Port Carling Seabird $69,000 24’ 1987 Paci c Seacraft 24 $55,000 21’ 2018 SeaRay 210 SPX $59,900 410.269.0939ANNAPOLIS 443.906.0321SOLOMONS CRUSADERYACHTS.COM Featured Brokerage JEANNEAU 410 65’ 2019 Regency P65 $2,895,000 60’ 2022 Jeanneau Yachts 60 - September CALL 54’ 2004 Symbol 54 Pilothouse $450,000 54’ 2015 Riviera - Belize 54 DayBridge $1,099,000 51’ 1986 Antigua 51 $130,000 51’ 1983 Wasa Atlantic 51 $57,000 50’ 2004 Viking Princess V50 FLY $350,000 50’ 2014 Jeanneau 509 $390,000 50’ 1988 Transworld - Fantail 50 $240,000 49’ 2021 Jeanneau SO 490-147 In Stock CALL 49’ 2020 Jeanneau SO 490 - HAYETTE $525,000 45 2022 Tartan 455 - New Model CALL 45’ 1983 Bristol 45.5 $150,000 44’ 2022 Jeanneau SO 440-321 In Stock CALL 44’ 2004 Tartan 4400 - FL ................................. $335,900 44’ 1993 Paci c Seacraft 44 ............................. $199,000 44’ 1987 C&C 44 C/B .............................................. $79,000 43’ 2008 Tartan 4300 - MD ....................................... CALL 43’ 2005 Jeanneau 43DS ................................... $183,000 41’ 2022 Jeanneau SO 410-131 In Stock CALL 41’ 2002 Tartan 4100 $229,000 40’ 2022 NIMBUS 405 COUPE CALL 40’ 2006 Paci c Seacraft 40 - Spain $335,000 40’ 1981 Nautilus 40 Pilothouse $79,000 40’ 1998 Catalina 400 $120,000 40’ 1977 Gulfstar Hood 40 $99,000 40’ 1997 Paci c Seacraft 40 $295,000 40’ 2022 Nimbus T11-80 In Stock CALL 39’ 2022 Tartan 395 - 6 In Stock CALL 39’ 2022 Excess 12-29 Cat - In Stock CALL 39’ 1999 Mainship 390 $115,000 38’ 1981 S&S - Fincraft 38 .................................... $80,000 37’ 2022 Excess 11-42 Cat - In Stock ..................... CALL 37’ 2001 Jeanneau SO 37 .................................... $65,000 37’ 2002 Paci c Seacraft 37 ............................. $120,000 37’ 2002 Tartan 3700 - Strider ......................... $185,000 37’ 1998 J Boat J/37 ................................................ $65,000 37’ 2003 Tartan 3700 - Spray CALL 37’ 2005 Beneteau 373 $105,000 37’ 2000 TARTAN 3700 - LIBERTY $159,000 37’ 1998 Searay Sundancer 370 $94,900 37’ 2004 Jeanneau SO 37 $110,000 37’ 2010 Tartan 3700 ccr - VENTURE $259,000 36’ 1979 PEARSON 365 Ketch $44,000 36’ 2006 Hunter 36 $87,500 36’ 2022 Tartan 365 - SPRING 2022 CALL 35’ 1986 Baltic 35 $59,500 34’ 1990 Paci c Seacraft Crealock 34 $86,000 34’ 2022 Jeanneau SO 349-780 In Stock ............ CALL 34’ 1994 Paci c Seacraft Crealock 34 ............ $110,000 31’ 1986 Island Packet 31 ..................................... $59,500 Paci c Seacraft 31 ............................. $148,500 29’ 2022 NImbus T9 ..................................................... CALL 28’ 2014 Searay 280 SunDeck ............................ $69,500 26’ 2019 Fantail 26 $99,900 26’ 2000 Grady White 26 Powercat $49,000 22’ 1998 Sam L Morse Cutter $45,000 ANNAPOLIS 410.269.0939 SOLOMONS 443.906.0321 CRUSADERYACHTS.COM Explore the Chesapeake Bay your way with a new, local yacht charter company with over 30 years of charter and hospitality experience • Concierge Level Options • 30 Lighthouses for Picture Taking • 11,684 Miles of Explorable Coastline • Freeform Itinerary • Unlimited Sunset Opportunities Chesapeake Bay Yacht Charter 7350 Edgewood Rd, Annapolis, MD 21403 CBYCharters.com Call for availableSpecials410.267.8181bookings!Available Yacht Management Bare Boat Charters Yacht Sales Special On-Water Events

Buy your next boat from CBMM! 213 N. Talbot Street, St. Michaels, MD 21663 | cbmm.org 410-745-4922 | boatdonation@cbmm.org CAUSEGREAT PROCESSSIMPLEPRICESGREAT My wife Jackie and I invite you to contact us if you are interested in listing and selling your sailingtrawlermotoryacht,maintainedbeautifullyorlargeryacht! 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. Call us anytime to discuss, or email us about your needs and how we can assist. -John & Jackie Kaiser 2004 54’ Offshore Pilothouse Motoryacht owners YachtFor“Jacqueline”aTruly Personalized Broker Experience YACHTVIEW.COM 443 . 223 . 7 86 4 john@yachtview.com Presented by FREE SEMINARS* AT THE ANNAPOLIS POWERBOAT SHOW Call Annapolis School of Seamanship at (410) 263-8848 for more information Sign up for classes like: • What Boat is Right for me • Modern Marine Navigation • Get your Captain License • Docking Destressed • Anchoring • Weekends on the Chesapeake Bay

Then kavooosh! Ruffian leaped off the end of the dock, snatched the teddy bear and brought it back safely. I grabbed Ruff by the scruff of his neck and helped him scramble up onto the float and we delivered the teddy back to Bear, who laid down, cuddled the teddy under his muzzle and sighed with Ruffrelief.stood next to all of us and shook.

Ruff and the Bear by Jefferson Holland STERN LINES

Way back in the last century, a legendary dog named Ruffian adopted us. He was part Labrador retriever, part Chesapeake Bay retriever, 90 pounds of personality wrapped in black, curly fur. He had grown up with the rowdy bunch of young guys who worked as instructors at the Annapolis Sailing School, hanging out at the marina at the mouth of Back Creek. After the end of one season, most of the guys went back to college and I offered to look after Ruff for a few weeks until we could find him another home. A few weeks turned into 12 years full of amazing stories. I was working as the PR guy for Annapolis Boat Shows at the time, and we produced a maritime heritage celebration in the harbor one spring. The main attraction was a water rescue demonstration by Newfoundland retrievers owned by members of the Colonial Newfoundland Club. We had arranged a square of floating docks as the demonstration arena, but it turned out that the Newfies refused to jump into the water off the docks. I was surprised at this, since Ruffian was not just good at leaping off the end of docks, he would do it just for fun, even when nobody was around to watch. But it turned out that the dogs had been trained in a lake where they could wade into the water from a beach.Eventually, we figured out how to sink one end of a float and turn it into a ramp. This worked well, and the dogs performed their rescues to the delight of the visitors who crowded around the square. One of the stars of the show was Bear, a two-year-old Newfie weighing about 120 pounds. Bear took ahold of the bowline of my 100-pound canoe and pulled me and four little kids around in circles. He swam a life ring out to a volunteer who pretended to be drowning and hauled the “victim” back to safety. When he wasn’t in the water, Bear would always have his teddy bear with him. This was a full-size, stuffed toy that Bear carried around in his mouth everywhere he went. After the day’s program, I was talking with Bear’s owner at the end of one of the high, fixed wooden piers by the adjacent waterfront hotel. My little daughter was with me, and so was Ruffian. I wanted both of them to meet this wonderful Newfoundland. As we were talking, Bear sat down and set his teddy bear carefully on the deck, but too close to the edge of the pier. We all watched with alarm as the teddy bear tipped, tipped, tipped over and splash! landed in the harbor. Bear stood up on all fours and stared down at the teddy bear. He gasped. He gasped again. Here was a 120-pound, highly trained water rescue dog and he was helpless to save his beloved pet teddy as it began to drift off in the tide.

ChesapeakeBayMagazine.com September 202280

March 2022 ChesapeakeBayMagazine.com 81 333 Busch’s Frontage Road • Annapolis, MD 410-349-8800 • VolvoCarsAnnapolis.com Your Volvo. Built Your Way. Reserve your new Volvo, designed to suit your lifestyle.

Easton • Oxford • St. Michaels • Tilghman Island No matter the season, Talbot County is the Eastern Shore’s culinary hotspot. Explore our coastal towns, fabulous restaurants, and elegant inns. Or bike, kayak, and sail the Chesapeake Bay. 410-770-8000 | TourTalbot.org true talbot. true talbot.chesapeake. chesapeake. trueflavors call for our bike and water trails maps!

September 2022

Articles inside

Newfi es

Stern Lines: Ruff and the Bear

From the Editor Of Ospreys & Optimism

Through Her Eyes

Chesapeake Chef: Fried Oysters

Chesapeake Almanac Moving Forward

On Boats: Sea Pro 199 CC

Barge into History on the C&O Canal