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Volume 51

Number 5

PUBLISHER John Stefancik

EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Meg Walburn Viviano

MANAGING EDITOR Chris Landers

Cruising Editor: Jody Argo Schroath Multimedia Journalist: Cheryl Costello Contributing Editor: Susan Moynihan Editors at Large: Wendy Mitman Clarke, Chris D. Dollar, Ann Levelle, John Page Williams Contributing Writers: Rafael Alvarez, Ann Eichenmuller, Robert Gustafson, Mark Hendricks, Marty LeGrand, Kate Livie, Nancy Taylor Robson, Charlie Youngmann

ART DIRECTOR Caroline Foster

Contributing Photographers: Andy Anderson, Mark L. Atwater, Skip Brown, André Chung, Dan Duffy, Jay Fleming, Austin Green, Jameson Harrington, Mark Hergan, Jill Jasuta, Vince Lupo, K.B. Moore, Will Parson, Tamzin B. Smith, Chris Witzgall

PRODUCTION MANAGER Patrick Loughrey

SENIOR GRAPHIC DESIGNER Mike Ogar

ADVERTISING Senior Account Manager Michael Kucera • 804-543-2687 m.kucera@ChesapeakeBayMagazine.com Senior Account Manager Megan Tilley • 919-452-0833 megan@ChesapeakeBayMagazine.com

Publisher Emeritus Richard J. Royer

CIRCULATION

Local navigation, mishap prevention tips, getting members back underway by troubleshooting first; our Captains work harder and smarter to keep you boating.

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September 2021

Theresa Sise • 410-263-2662 office@ChesapeakeBayMagazine.com

CHESAPEAKE BAY MEDIA, LLC Chief Executive Officer, John Martino Executive Vice President, Tara Davis

601 Sixth Street, Annapolis, MD 21403 410-263-2662 • fax 410-267-6924 ChesapeakeBayMagazine.com Editorial: editor@ChesapeakeBayMagazine.com Circulation: circ@ChesapeakeBayMagazine.com Billing: billing@ChesapeakeBayMagazine.com Chesapeake Bay Magazine (ISSN0045-656X) (USPS 531-470) is published by Chesapeake Bay Media, LLC, 601 Sixth Street, Annapolis, MD 21403. $25.95 per year, 12 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 601 Sixth Street, Annapolis, MD 21403. Copyright 2021 by Chesapeake Bay Media, LLC— Printed in the U.S.A.

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Features

SEPTEMBER 2021—Volume 51 Number 5

40 All Puffed Up

32 Baltimore

Sugar toads are a cute and tasty Bay denizen—Jay Fleming

44 Hellbender, Yes!

Photographer Mark Hendricks goes looking for snot otters.

BALTIMORE 32

22 St. Mary’s City, Md. 70 Smith Island

ANNAPOLIS 18 WASHINGTON D.C.

ST. MICHAELS

70 Chesapeake Semester An Eastern Shore college takes it 22 76

22 Holding the Fort

Archaeologists in St. Mary’s dig into the pre-colonial past—Charlie Youngmann

VA VA

18 Save Water, Drink Beer

Brewers team up with Riverkeepers to preserve clean water—Charlie Youngmann

18 Sterling, Va.

76 Point No Point

Talk of the Bay A classroom captain teaches science with skiffs—Ann Eichenmuller

14 Bruington, Va.

28 Hopewell, Va.

outside—Kate Livie

14 STEM to Stern

KATE LIVIE

CONTENTS

DELTAVILLE

CAPE CHARLES

NORFOLK

On the Cover

Toad Potting Pufferfish by Jay Fleming.

September 2021

ChesapeakeBayMagazine.com

CONTENTS

Columns 28 Chesapeake Almanac

Hopewell, Va. has a past, but the future’s bright—Capt. John Page Williams.

32 Chesapeake Chef HOPEWELL, VA: BILL PORTLOCK.COM

Rafael Alvarez on meteorology and crab soup

36 On Boats: Cutwater C-24 CW

John Page Williams puts a compact dayboat to the test.

50 Chesapeake Cocktail

Baltimore Spirits’ Chesapeake Key is a fall refresher.

Chesapeake Almanac 28

76 Wild Chesapeake

Capt. Chris D. Dollar goes after sea bass inside the Bay.

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September 2021

re you a visual learner or an auditory learner? My whole life I have heard these two terms from educators, and I couldn’t relate to either one. I can watch someone demonstrate a skill and I can listen to them explain the skill, all to no avail; I’m one of those that learns by doing. Very recently I discovered there is an education term for that, too: kinesthetic learning. Kinesiology is, of course, the study of movement, and kinesthetic learning uses physical movement to absorb information. It’s hands-on, interactive learning. Lucky for me, the Chesapeake Bay is chock-full of opportunities to learn by doing. Take the helm of a sailboat in the open Bay and try steering by point of sail rather than compass course. When you feel that steady pressure on the wheel and get into a groove, it’s more impactful than any sailing lesson. Climb into a racing shell on a flat-calm river and take some practice strokes. When the blades of your oars slice into the water at just the right depth, the boat balances for a split second, and the hull glides cleanly over the surface, it’s a breakthrough row. Out of the water and into the Chesapeake Bay Magazine office, I’m always learning. This month marks one year since I expanded my role at CBM to editorial director (in the thick of the pandemic, with two young kids underfoot). It was certainly a year of learning by doing, as we contended with no fall boat shows, no in-person magazine production, and plenty of unpredictability. These last 11 issues have translated to countless hands-on

lessons. And this particular issue tells the stories of others who are learning through experience, too. We meet a truly inspired Virginia teacher who combines his on-the-water skills with teaching tools (page 14). In his class, bored high schoolers are totally unheard of. We learn about the magical Chesapeake Semester, a one-of-a-kind experience offered at Washington College on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. It’s a literal immersion into the Bay (yes, the students get wet), its culture, and its environment. It’s the kind of semester I’d have signed up for in a heartbeat—if the program hadn’t launched just two years after I graduated from the same college. Agony! Since I doubt they’d allow me to go back now, toting my two preschoolers, I’m living vicariously through Kate Livie’s firsthand account and its stunning accompanying photographs (page 70). Speaking of stunning pictures, photojournalists Jay Fleming and Mark Hendricks are waiting inside these pages to show us two lesser-known Bay species: the pufferfish and the snot otter. Say what? Take a look inside to see for yourself—maybe you’ll even learn something.

Meg Walburn Viviano grew up boating on the Magothy River. She started as a Chesapeake Bay Magazine intern, launched the Bay Bulletin online news site in 2017, and now leads all of CBM’s media content. Reach her at meg@chesapeakebaymagazine.com.

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Moncure sees life as a classroom

TALK OF THE BAY

STEM to Stern

Shaping the next generation of Bay stewards through hands-on learning—by Ann Eichenmuller

ERIC EICHENMULLER

aterman, seafood restaurateur, river steward, tour boat captain—Richard Moncure didn’t follow the typical career path to his position as a middle-school science teacher. Instead, he took the river path, and its waters run through every lesson he teaches. Chances are you won’t find the Aylett Country Day School educator standing in front of his chalkboard. Moncure believes learning is rooted in hands-on experience, and Virginia’s

ChesapeakeBayMagazine.com 14

September 2021

Tidewater is the perfect classroom. On any given day he and his students might be kayaking on Dragon Run, planting trees at the wildlife refuge, or identifying species on Chincoteague Island. Even when they’re on school grounds, don’t expect to see Moncure’s science students sitting at desks. On the day we visit, his eighthgrade class is outside, putting the finishing touches on a boat—and not just any boat, but one they built from scratch.

The 14-foot cypress skiff is a STEM activity, combining mathematics, science, and engineering, started with the help of volunteers and staff at the Deltaville Maritime Museum. It is now just a few days from being finished, the last step mounting a 2.5-horsepower Yamaha outboard. According to Moncure, projects like this one make difficult abstract scientific concepts more concrete and easier for students to understand. “There’s so much here: physics, fluid dynamics, displacement. Even the motor—we learned about wave lengths and pitch to determine the appropriate size for the boat,” he says. “We also covered types of energy.” He points to a girl near him, carefully sanding the rail. “Megan, what kind of energy are you using?” She thinks for a moment, then brightens. “Kinetic.” Moncure nods, smiling. “When they do projects like this, they see how academic knowledge is used,” he continues. “To build a boat the right way takes math. For example, to get our sides equal, we divided the boat into two triangles and used the Pythagorean theorem to find the hypotenuse.” For proof, he turns to a group of students opening a can of paint. “What’s the equation to solve for the hypotenuse?” His question is met with a chorus. “a 2 + b2=c2!” Moncure laughs. “If you use math, you become a better boatbuilder. If you build a boat, you become a better mathematician.” And this science teacher knows boats. The Virginia native comes from a long line of watermen, and he spent much of his childhood fishing, crabbing, and working in his family’s

Addie Kosek tries her skill with a brush.

Justin Hundley (left) and Jackson Garner (right) tape

Students work

off the boat’s corners.

on their 14-foot cypress skiff.

September 2021

ChesapeakeBayMagazine.com

Richard Moncure’s eighth grade class stops work to pose for a picture.

seafood restaurant. After graduating from college in 2003, he did a stint in Africa with the Peace Corps, took a job as River Steward for the Friends of the Rappahannock, and started Rappahannock Roundsterns with partner Nate Parker, offering ecotours on classic wooden boats. But it was his

time as River Steward that had the greatest influence on his choice to go into teaching. “These big decisions were made that had an impact on the watershed, and there just weren’t enough advocates there to speak up. It was frustrating,” he admits. “There was this

disconnect between people’s enjoyment of what the river offered and their support to preserve it.” He realized the best way to create strong voices for the watershed might be to grow them himself. “Education is the pillar of being a river steward, and it is also the pillar of Rappahannock Roundsterns,” he says. He credits the late Judy Allen, a former ACDS teacher and volunteer with Friends of the Rappahannock, with opening his eyes to how hands-on educational experiences could shape children’s perspectives. Allen and her students were a familiar sight canoeing and marsh mucking along the river, and many of Aylett’s alums went on to

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major in marine science or take an active role in protecting the environment. “I realized that if I could get kids excited about this beautiful river, about its history and its ecosystems, they’d be the ones standing up in those meetings tomorrow.” To that end, Moncure works collaboratively with his school’s history and English teachers to develop students’ research and communications skills. Their goal is not just to raise a generation that cares about the Rappahannock and the Chesapeake Bay, but to give them the tools to be effective advocates. “We want them to be able to make a plan, to find evidence to support it, to use clear reasoning, and to be passionate but also persuasive,” he explains. “If we can teach them that, it won’t just impact the watershed, it will impact every area of their lives.” Moncure concedes that the kind of education he and his colleagues provide requires more resources than traditional classroom teaching. But he says that at every corner, people in the community have stepped in to help. Take the Virginia Outdoor Center, which donated use of a trailer along with a set of canoes and kayaks, a gift Moncure calls “a game changer” because it allowed them easy access to the water. Or that new motor for the skiff—a donation from Garrett’s Marina. The skiff will eventually be auctioned off, with the funds going into the school’s Judy Allen Memorial Science Fund Program. With all the support he has received, Moncure is excited about the future of outdoor education at ACDS— but that’s a discussion for another time. The eighth graders are brandishing their brushes, and Richard Moncure, science teacher, has a boat to paint. Author Ann Eichenmuller lives on Virginia’s Northern Neck, where she and husband Eric sail their Morgan Out Island and a Hobie 16. She is also a novelist and author of the nautical, four-volume Sandi Beck mystery series.

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September 2021

ChesapeakeBayMagazine.com

TALK OF THE BAY

Save Water, Drink Beer

Clean water and good beer go hand in hand—by Charlie Youngmann

PHOTOS: CHARLIE YOUNGMANN

t’s no surprise that bacteria and pollution can cause problems for swimmers and paddlers, but water quality is just as big an issue for craft brewers. It’s not that complicated, explained Emily Franc, vice president of development for the Potomac Riverkeeper Network (PRKN). Every brewer knows that better water makes better beer. So in an attempt to ally its causes and bring attention to the issue, PRKN began partnering with craft brewers in its “1% for the Potomac” campaign, to create better water conditions for outdoor recreationalists, who in turn drink a lot of craft beer—see how that all works together? The Riverkeeper Network’s first partner was Rocket Frog Brewing Company, owned and operated by twin brothers David and Richard Hartogs and based out of Sterling, Va. The Hartogs brothers held an event with PRKN and the D.C. chapter of the Surfrider Foundation within their first four months as a company. “My brother and I have been longtime surfers and fans of the ocean, and have always felt the need to protect our water and our waterways,” David said. The event was held at the brewery and a portion of the day’s proceeds went towards the Riverkeeper Network and the Surfrider Foundation. Rocket

ChesapeakeBayMagazine.com 18

September 2021

Rocket Frog Brewing Company is donating some of its profits to clean water causes.

Frog even raffled off a companybranded surfboard. The 1% program was meant to be a fundraising effort where breweries could donate a portion of their proceeds from a riverkeeper-themed product or event. However, just as the project was gaining momentum in 2019, the pandemic hit and progress came to a screeching halt. It seemed inappropriate to ask for money at a time when most businesses were struggling, Franc said. But this didn’t deter the riverkeepers from their fundraising

efforts entirely. PRKN held a virtual house party for its board members and donors, and invited David Hartogs along as a guest of honor. A raffle that night raised over $1,000. Rocket Frog came on strong in support of clean water, even though they’re actually just getting off the ground themselves—a brewing company built on love of quality water and quality beer. While the boys were growing up, the Hartogs family owned a beach house in Rehoboth, Del., right by the Dogfish Head brewery. By spending their summers at the house, David and Richard were exposed to the idea of craft beer early on. “I was around craft beer, but you never thought it was a movement at that time,” Richard said. When he got a bit older, David began taking online courses on the business of craft beer at Portland State University, and in 2012, he approached his brother about starting his own brewery. Two years later, Richard came on board as his brother’s business partner. It took about six years after the initial idea to finally open the doors at Rocket Frog. The origins of the brewery’s name are a bit obscure. Back in 2013, during a Minotaur V rocket launch on Wallops Island, NASA photos captured the image of a frog that had been caught in the jet blast, and the story made the

local press. Richard had named his fantasy football team after the image, and soon it went from an inside joke to the name of their company. Name in place, the brothers brought on Russell Carpenter as their head brewer. With a Ph.D. in biochemistry, Carpenter had the technical know-how to find the right equipment and brew outstanding beer. From the outset, Rocket Frog’s quality was apparent. In their first four months of operation, the company received a bronze medal at the Great American Beer Festival for its Wallops Island American Brown Ale. “It’s got a grain bill of about 13 different grains involved,” David said. “It’s a complex beer, the most complex beer we do.” With some American hops to give it “that punch at the end,” Wallops Island has gone on to receive another medal (silver this time) at the Great American Beer Festival, as well as other awards and nominations. “Not everyone does a brown ale, especially around our area, so that kind of

Rocket Frog brewer and longtime surfer Richard Hartogs is raising money for clean water causes.

differentiates us,” David said. Rocket Frog isn’t the only brewery that identifies with the push for clean water. Other breweries that have committed to the 1% for the Potomac campaign are Hellbender Brewing Company and The Berliner, both in D.C.; Mustang Sally Brewing Company in Chantilly, Va.; 7 Locks Brewery in Rockville, Md.; and even Molson Coors in Chicago. And now, as the world recovers from the pandemic, the Riverkeepers will push to get more brewers involved in the effort. 

September 2021

ChesapeakeBayMagazine.com

Left: Michael DeMeo, of Rhinohouse Surf & Snow, with a Rocket Frogbranded surfboard auctioned for charity. Bottom: Themed

ROCKET FROG / RIVERKEEPER NETWORK

cocktails at the event.

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September 2021

What will the funds raised go toward? Water-quality monitoring, so that recreational paddlers and other river users have information on when and where it’s safe to go. Franc successfully developed a formal water quality monitoring program during her time as Anacostia Riverkeeper, and brought that success with her to the Potomac in 2018. As the Potomac Riverkeeper Network’s Vice President of Programs and Litigation Phillip Musegaas explained, before the program there really wasn’t much information available to the public about which parts of the river were acceptable for swimming. While bacteria levels were monitored at designated swimming beaches along the Bay, the rivers were a different story. “The challenge when you have a river system is [that] the entire river is essentially a beach,” Musegaas said. The biggest sources of bacteria were untreated sewage discharges from the District of Columbia and Alexandria, Va. The older sewer systems in these cities have their stormwater and sewage lines connected, so after a heavy rain, the excess flow of water gets pumped out into the river. Some of the highest bacteria levels are often found right after a storm.

“If it rains a quarter-inch or more, you are going to see untreated sewage discharges in the rivers,” Musegaas said. While the District of Columbia is currently working on an extensive infrastructure overhaul to fix these issues, many major East Coast cities including Baltimore, Philadelphia, and New York have similar problems with their sewage treatment. Here’s something to toast, though. Over the past three years, the data the riverkeepers have published has reflected that bacteria levels in the National Harbor in Maryland were far lower than anticipated. About 80 percent of the samples taken from the harbor came back clean enough for swimming. Which means more recreation options on the river, and more chances for post-paddling adult libations. With the support of likeminded breweries and other businesses, the riverkeepers can continue to share good news with those who play in the Potomac. If your business wants to support the 1% for the Potomac campaign, you can sign up at potomac.org/ workplace-giving. Charlie Youngmann graduated in 2019 from the University of Maryland’s Philip Merrill College of Journalism. He is a former CBM intern.

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TALK OF THE BAY

Holding Down the Fort

Digging into pre-Colonial history in St. Mary’s City—by Charlie Youngmann

PHOTOS: DAN DUFFY

he recently rediscovered St. Mary’s Fort, built in 1634, has garnered lots of excitement as the first European settlement in Maryland. But the area itself had been occupied long before colonist ships made it up the Chesapeake, which is a key part of the archaeological focus. “Our story begins about 12,000 years ago,” said Travis Parno, director of research and collections at Historic St. Mary’s City. “I told you it was the long version.” According to the archaeological record, this was when the first people arrived in Southern Maryland, though it’s still unknown exactly where they were coming from. Artifacts found at the site in Historic St. Mary’s City have been dated back to between 9,500 and

ChesapeakeBayMagazine.com 22

September 2021

TOP: Archaeologist Travis Parno. BOTTOM: The dig site is near a reconstructed 1667 Catholic Church.

12,000 years ago. Parno says the area of the site would have been an excellent place to settle down, with raised, level ground, fertile soil, and a natural spring within a quarter mile of where St. Mary’s Fort would one day stand.

Corn made its way north from Mesoamerica to the Chesapeake around 650 AD. The adoption of agriculture nudged people into a more sedentary lifestyle. With a predictable source of food close to home, people didn’t have to follow herds for hunting or rely on natural cycles for foraging. The abundant supply of food caused groups to increase in size and become more complex. By about 1300 AD, people began to settle into fortified villages around the Chesapeake. These fort walls, called palisades, consisted of heavy tree timbers placed side-by-side in trenches to form a wooden barrier. The Piscataway tribe was emerging around this time, and they would one day become the most influential group in what is now

Maryland. But they were not without competitors, and clashed with other tribes in the region. “Usually, you build a wall because you want to keep people out,” Parno said. In 1634, Maryland’s first English colonists arrived in the Chesapeake aboard the Ark and the Dove. They stopped on St. Clement’s Island for mass and began their search for a new home. Colonial leadership was aware of native people living in the area and went looking for whoever was in charge to discuss settling in areas of present-day Maryland, Parno said. They sailed up the Potomac River and met with the Tayac, or paramount chief, of the Piscataway people. The colonists were not immediately kicked out of the Chesapeake region, but they were encouraged to find another place to settle somewhere outside of Piscataway territory. The Piscataway had been attacked by neighboring tribes on all sides for

Sifting debris from the dig site for artifacts.

about a century at this point, and thought the colonists could bring more trade to the area and provide a buffer zone against invaders, Parno said. The colonists were told to settle in an area along the Potomac that was inhabited by the Yaocomico, a group allied with the Piscataway. The

Yaocomico agreed to vacate a section of their village so the colonists could live there. This process was overall believed to be a peaceful, economic transaction, explained Parno, despite discrepancies in the concept of land ownership between the Native American and European schools of thought. The colonists saw ownership as an absolute thing, that if you owned the land you had complete control over who and what could be there. The Native Americans saw land ownership as more of a permission to use the land’s resources rather than a binding contract. After settling into a few of the houses the Yaocomico had left behind,

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LEFT: Screens to separate dirt from artifacts. BELOW: Walls of the fort were constructed of tall timbers placed side-by-side.

Travis Parno shows off artifacts found in the recently identifed fort.

the colonists began constructing St. Mary’s Fort, and even held mass in native structures while their chapel was being built. In a 1634 letter from Leonard Calvert, Maryland’s first governor, to a friend in England, Calvert described the fort as a 120-yard square with palisade walls and four flanks, or positions along the wall to mount cannons. “We’ve been doing archaeology here for 50-odd years,” Parno said “But the piece that was missing was St. Mary’s Fort.” In 2017, Parno was able to secure the grant money necessary to hire a specialist, Tim Horsley, to scan the area with ground-penetrating radar. Parno happened to be away on vacation while Horsley conducted his survey and planned to catch up on the progress when he returned. “He’s not going to find it in the first couple days, right?” laughed Parno. But after the first day, Horsley texted Parno, saying, “I think we have it.” Horsley’s

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September 2021

survey had found a dotted black line beneath the ground that vaguely traced a geometric shape. With straight lines and sharp angles, Parno knew this shape couldn’t have occurred naturally. Each of the dots Horsley had found were the remnants of the timbers used to construct the palisade walls of the fort. Within the outline were other geometric shapes, likely leftover from the cellars and buildings inside. Among these smaller shapes were the rectangular footprints of English

buildings, as well as more rounded shapes that could have been native architecture. The dimensions of the fort were about 104 yards by 58 yards, clearly not the shape described in Calvert’s letter. This is likely due to the fact that the fort was still under construction at the time the missive was written, said Parno. A unique element of this colony was its ownership. While the Virginia colony was owned by a joint-stock company and New England colonies were generally formed by religious groups, the St. Mary’s colony was owned privately by the Calvert family. Though the Calverts were trying to gain favor with the Crown by establishing their colony, they also sought a place where they could practice Catholicism openly without fear of persecution, Parno said. Though “freedom of religion” was a pursuit of the Calverts, it didn’t

brought to court and issued a heavy fine for infringing upon the rights of his servants. This practice of freedom of religion was successful for about 60 years, Miller said. But then came a revolution against Charles Calvert, Lord Finds include pottery and money, like a 400-year-old English coin (far left). Baltimore, in 1689 as part of the aftermath of the Glorious Revolution in England. Calvert lost control of the manifest in the way modern people Nonetheless, this idea of founding a colony, and royal governors were may see it. These freedoms were colony without a state-mandated appointed to establish the Church of expressly for “trinitarian” faiths or religion was entirely unheard of at the England as the official church of subsects of Christianity, Parno said. time, explained Henry Miller, a Maryland. In 1704, the governor However, the policies were enforced to professor of anthropology at St. Mary’s ordered the sheriff to lock up the St. varying degrees. There had been College of Maryland. “This was a really Mary’s chapel so that it would never Jewish members of the colony, and in bold experiment,” he said. “And it again be used for worship. During this most respects, they were treated as an actually worked.” period, Catholics were forbidden from equal part of the community. In 1638, at a Jesuit plantation holding office or serving in the militia, Little is known about the down the river from the fort, one of the and were taxed double. “The lesson treatment of Native religious practices Catholic overseers was goaded into there is, we can’t take our freedoms for by the colonists, but they likely weren’t blaspheming by his Protestant granted,” Miller said. extended the same acceptance and servants, said Miller. After an antiTogether with the People to People protections as European faiths. Protestant outburst, the overseer was Project, a collaborative effort between

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The Woodland Indian Hamlet exhibit shows what life was like for the Yaocomaco people centuries

PHTOTS: COURTESY OF AGWRAPS

before the fort.

members of the Piscataway Nation and St. Mary’s archaeologists, Parno plans to provide a fully immersive historical experience in St. Mary’s. By incorporating native voices into their work, People to People has brought the history of the Piscataway Nation to the forefront, rather than using it as set dressing for the colonial era. The areas near the fort contain a couple of native sites established as early as 3,000 years ago and as recently as 500 years ago, Parno said. He aims to use these sites to illustrate the changing lifeways of the different people that inhabited the area before and after European settlement.

the size of the doors and a few modern fasteners on their older reconstructions. Examples of native trade goods are displayed outside, with expert staff on hand to explain their origins and usage. This way, visitors are provided with the historical context and cultural backdrop to the eventual English settlement of the area. “I think there’s a tendency “Treat this 14-acre field as sort of our laboratory of human experience and sometimes for people to see colonial forts as this bastion of civilization in an look at what life has been like in otherwise unoccupied wilderness, and southern Maryland over the last 12,000 that just isn’t the case, particularly in years,” he said. the Chesapeake,” Parno said. Reconstructed sites offer visitors a firsthand look at what native settlements would have been like in the time before Charlie Youngmann graduated in 2019 St. Mary’s Fort. The building techniques used to erect the woven structures of the from the University of Maryland’s Philip Merrill College of Journalism. He sites have been as authentic to their is a former CBM intern. original construction as possible, save

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Hopewell, Virginia

A bright future for one of the state’s oldest towns—by John Page Williams

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

ention Hopewell to nearly anybody around the Chesapeake who was born before 1970 and they’ll likely respond, “Kepone,” referring to a devastating pesticide spill in the early ’70s that closed much of the James River to fishing for 13 years. Mention City Point to a Civil War buff and the reply will probably be, “General Grant’s headquarters during the siege of Petersburg.” Now let me assure you that there is much more to Hopewell’s story, both looking back and looking forward. And its future is very bright. Peninsulas where rivers meet, like this one at the confluence of the James and Appomattox Rivers, have always been strategically valuable. In addition to providing lookouts for defense and trade, these peninsulas offer deepwater ports to connect with inland traffic. And so it has been with City Point for at least a millennium. Captains Christopher Newport and John Smith met the Queen of the Appamattuck people at what is now City Point in April 1607 on their first exploration up Powhatan’s River (which they named the James). The Appamattuck tribe was well established on the Appomattox River. Sir Thomas Dale founded the English village there in 1613, first as Bermuda City, then Charles City, then Charles City Point, and

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finally City Point. It is the secondoldest continuously inhabited English settlement in the United States after Hampton. When the Virginia House of Burgesses met in 1619 at Jamestown as the first popularly elected governing

Williams of Lapham, Ireland, landed in North America at City Point.) Through these years, the waters and marshes of the James and Appomattox rivers offered the same rich, seasonal tapestry of edible plants, waterfowl, wildlife, and fish that had sustained the Appamattuck people for centuries—cattails, wild rice, ducks, geese, muskrats, shad, herring, rockfish, white perch, and sturgeon. Shallow flats just inside the Appomattox River’s mouth and down the James from the wharves allowed for haul seining the big spring runs, when local people harvested and salted fish to preserve them. The riches of the rivers sustained them, and they also packed some fish for export. By the early 19th century, though, soil During the Civil War, erosion from settlement and farming City Point served as a Union in the upper Appomattox watershed field headquarters. had silted in the channel at Petersburg. Town civic leaders responded to the body in the New World, City Point sent channel problem by constructing an two representatives. eight-mile railroad to the wharves at As colonists founded Fort Henry and City Point, re-establishing in 1838 their then the prosperous town of Petersburg, shipping connection. Between the City Point grew as a ship landing for local canal, railroad, and local industries plantations growing tobacco and grain. running on waterpower, Petersburg In the early 1800s, the village became a flourished between 1838 and 1861, port of entry with a U.S. Customs office. becoming Virginia’s second-largest city (This correspondent notes that in 1815, after Richmond. City Point prospered his great-great-great-grandfather John as a result, from a complex of wharves

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A city at the confluence of rivers

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BILL PORTLOCK.COM

Hopewell a wildlife hotspot.

FRIENDS OF THE LOWER APPOMATTOX RIVER

with deep waters for schooners to load. No wonder the area took on strategic importance during the Civil War beginning in 1861. We’ll leave discussion of the war to other sources, but suffice it to say that the war years and the period after were difficult for everyone. Petersburg rebuilt, but Virginia’s expanding railway network began to divert traffic to the deepwater ports of Hampton Roads. City Point became mostly a port for regional traffic, especially steamboats. In the Appomattox, the accumulating silt began to form the islands of a delta, where trees and rich tidal fresh marshes took root. In 1914, the DuPont Company bought Hopewell, then just a plantation village down the James from City Point, and developed it as Hopewell Farm, with a factory to manufacture dynamite and later guncotton as a replacement for gunpowder. With industrial jobs available, the village of several hundred grew explosively to more than 20,000 in a short time. The General Assembly incorporated Hopewell as a city in 1916, and it annexed City Point in 1923. DuPont left Hopewell after World War I, causing a short economic

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Osborne Landing

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A riverwalk will soon extend all the way up the Appomattox to the City Marina.

September 2021

ChesapeakeBayMagazine.com

Wildlife refuges near Hopewell provide crucial

collapse, but the deep water at the wharves was too valuable to sit idle. By the mid-1920s, Firestone Tire & Rubber, Allied Chemical & Dye, and Hercules Chemical had established factories around the old DuPont site. Hopewell’s fortunes rose through the next 50 years, though pollution grew significantly in the rivers due to minimal treatment of industrial wastewater and municipal sewage there as well as upriver. Even so, rivermen continued to fish the James and Appomattox. Chuck Frederickson, retired Lower James Riverkeeper from the James River Association, remembers two uncles talking about spring haul seining for shad and herring off City Point in the 1930s.

BILL PORTLOCK.COM

habitat for waterfowl.

In 1975, 29 workers from a tiny Hopewell chemical company, Life Science Products, were hospitalized with severe neurological symptoms. The Virginia Department of Health shut down the facility, which had been manufacturing the insecticide Kepone under contract to Allied Chemical. The little plant had been producing 6,000 pounds per day, using

extremely sloppy, cut-rate practices that dumped large quantities of Kepone into the James. The health department reluctantly closed the James to all fishing, a devastating ban that did not lift completely until 1988. With the Clean Water Act’s National Pollution Discharge Elimination System beginning to regulate industrial and municipal

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wastewater, the rivers’ health slowly began to improve. In the 50 years since the Kepone disaster, the cities and industries along these two rivers have made great strides. They are cleaning up their contributions to the rivers, to the point that the James River Association was invited to accept a prestigious international river prize for restoration in 2019. For over 30 years, the cleaner upper tidal James has drawn a constant stream of amateur and professional anglers to local, regional, and national fishing tournaments for largemouth bass. There is a thriving recreational fishery for trophy blue catfish, along with a growing commercial fishery for younger “eater” catfish. Endangered Atlantic sturgeon have come back from near extinction. Two nearby National Wildlife Refuges (Powell’s Creek and Presquile, which also serves as the site of the James River Association’s Ecology School) attract large numbers of bald eagles and great blue herons, plus summering ospreys and wintering migratory waterfowl. In recent years, the City of Hopewell and state, federal, business, and nonprofit partners have turned strong attention to the city’s riverfront and its waters. Therein lies its emerging charm as a base of operations for boaters of all sorts to explore its surrounding waters. Some years ago, the city established its City Marina just inside the Appomattox, with covered slips, transient slips, a launch ramp, and a tackle/bait shop. Next to the marina is the city’s free Riverside Harbor Kayak Launch. The Department of Parks & Recreation offers introductory and skills training with its own fleet of kayaks. Such paddle craft are great vessels for exploring the marshes and islands of the Appomattox delta. A short walk up the hill from the marina sits the Boathouse Restaurant, with dining river views all the way out to the James. Parks & Rec is well into the second stage of constructing the Riverwalk, an engineered wooden walkway that

wraps around City Point and will, by the end of this year, extend all the way up the Appomattox to the City Marina. Meanwhile, Parks & Rec and the city’s stormwater program have collaborated with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation and local volunteers for strategic planting and care of trees and stream restoration in city parks and along streets. Another important partner in the Riverwalk is the Friends of the Lower Appomattox River, a local nonprofit dedicated to developing a regional Appomattox River Trail greenwayblueway. One of the Friends’ signature annual events, the PaddleBattle, comes up on Saturday, September 25, with guided and leisure two- and 10-mile paddles, a 10-mile race, and a picnic lunch for all participants at the Hopewell City Marina. Beyond paddle craft, there’s plenty for visiting boaters to explore. We had a great day exploring Appomattox delta channels with names like Pye

Alley and Rosemary Lane in First Light, our trusty 17' Boston Whaler, but note that we paid close attention to both the chartplotter and depth sounder. At the extreme ends of two channels, we needed to tilt the outboard and resorted to our pushpole. Out in the James, we love exploring around the Presquile Refuge and Powell’s Creek in all seasons, as well as visiting Henricus Historical Park, several miles upriver. The historical park offers programs year-round about 17th-century life, both English and Indian. River towns? We love ’em, especially when they embrace their setting and waterways. Hopewell has come a long way, and it’s only going to get better. Come see for yourself. CBM Editor at Large John Page Williams is a fishing guide, educator, author, and naturalist, saving the Bay since 1973.

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CHESAPEAKE CHEF

Crab Soup, Thunderstorms, and Grandmom Bertha by Rafael Alvarez

ere’s a tale from “the shores of the Chesapeake Bay” (to quote a beloved jingle) that you don’t hear much anymore. Various stews of blue crab and fresh vegetables— particularly corn—have been a staple in the Land of Pleasant Living since long before the 1634 landing of the Ark and the Dove in Southern Maryland. What we enjoy today evolved from dishes of the Bay’s bounty crafted by the peoples native to the Chesapeake. But did you know that if you make crab soup during a thunderstorm it will spoil, or, as they used to say in Baltimore neighborhoods, “spool?” I didn’t until my bookworm friend Leo Ryan—a son of old Highlandtown—told me about his family’s tradition of

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making gallons of crab soup while vacationing each year in Ocean City. The story involves a fabulous cook of Bohemian extraction named Bertha Bohle Muller (1914–1995) and her son, a local Catholic priest named Kennard S. Muller, who died in 2018. Bertha was Leo Ryan’s maternal grandmother and Ken his uncle. “My grandmother made the crab soup when I was a kid growing up on Belnord Avenue,” he said. “When my Uncle Ken was a young priest, she dropped off a batch at the rectory and told the pastor to make sure it went into the refrigerator as soon as it cooled, because storms were coming.” The pastor forgot, thunder and lightning rolled across

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Crabtown, and the Kasper interviewed soup—as predicted— chefs, meteorologists, a went bad. physicist, and everyday “Bertha expressed gourmands who her displeasure to the joyously consume their elder cleric,” own handiwork. The remembered Ryan, answer, like so many “much to the “truths,” was yes and embarrassment of no, citing old wives’ her son.” tales, accepted wisdom, One of the great and just enough science culinary feats of local to persuade a skeptic. journalism occurred Possible culprits during a heat wave in the were a drop in summer of 1973 when atmospheric pressure the late and ingenious (and thus a lower Baltimore Sun reporter boiling point) and David L. Maulsby tried— electrical charges that and failed—to fry an egg occur during a storm; Bertha Muller in her East Baltimore neighborhood, on a slab of marble. bacteria from circa early 1960s. Some 20 years later, Baltimore undercooking; uncoated Sun food writer Rob Kasper set his aluminum pots; and pen to cracking a particularly hard claw: Were Bertha and uneven refrigeration in which soup at the edges of the pot generations of Baltimoreans like her correct in believing that cool but the center does not, allowing bacteria to go forth crab soup made during a thunderstorm will spoil? and multiply.

Grandma Bertha’s Crab Soup INGREDIENTS 12 freshly cleaned crabs 3–4 cans tomatoes 1 cup chopped celery 1 large chopped onion 1 bunch chopped parsley (remove stems) ¼ cup barley ½ head chopped cabbage 1 tsp thyme ½ dozen potatoes (cut into small cubes) 3 bags frozen vegetables 1 Tbsp corn starch (mixed with cold water) Salt/pepper to taste Cook all ingredients until done (a few hours) on a clear-sky day.

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September 2021

One of the most frequent responses was, “I believe it because that’s what my Daddy always said”—or in Leo Ryan’s case, a strong-willed and tough old East Baltimore bird named Bertha. Parkville’s Kevin Reid was a professional chef for 50 years before recently retiring as the personal chef to the Archbishop of Baltimore. A good friend of Ryan’s, Reid stands behind the explanation of poor refrigeration. “People put a big pot of crab soup in the fridge and because it’s so dense, it takes too long to get down to 45 degrees,” said Reid, a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America. “It must be broken down to smaller, shallow pans and can’t take more than four hours to get cold enough to hold. Same for chicken soup, bean soup; on and on if it has protein.” Bertha Muller passed her crab soup recipe down to her daughter, Kathleen “Kas” Ryan, Leo’s mother. Kas—whose husband Leo, Sr. often brought home live crabs from West Baltimore—in turn taught Leo’s wife, Lori Thomasson Ryan, the trick. Lori inherited the meteorological caveat as well. “My mom (Kas) never really knew the measurements of the spices, she did it by sight,” said Leo. “When we were first married and Lori wanted to make crab soup, Mom

would throw the spices together in an old mayonnaise jar and give it to her to throw in the pot.” Later, when Lori was keen on taking off the training wheels, she and Kas made the delicacy together and ingredients were measured and written down. And thus the family recipe has graced the annual Ryan summer vacation in Ocean City since the early years of the couple’s nearly 40-year marriage. “Each July, Lori gets out a faded piece of paper with Mom’s recipe written in her beautiful, Palmer-method cursive,” wrote Ryan in a paean to all the things he holds dear. “The soup simmers on an afternoon with no threat of lightning. “In the evening, it finds its way into Fisher’s popcorn tubs and then the freezer. We’d have it on a day when the summer sun was so glorious we’d stay on the beach until dark. “Then we’d go back to our rental and put the soup on while we got showers, enjoying it with corn on the cob and BLTs on doughy white bread with Maryland tomatoes. “I’d wash it all down with a cold beer and Lori and I would go for a walk, hand-in-hand, and talk about how lucky we are.” Rafael Alvarez is the author of the Orlo and Leini stories.

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ON BOATS

Cutwater C-24 CW by Capt. John Page Williams

Cutwater C-24 CW

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LOA: 29'2" Beam: 8'6" Hull Draft (Motors Up): 19" Hull Draft (with Motors Down): 32" Weight (dry, no engine): 6,300 lb. Bridge Clearance: 8'2" Max HP: 300

Fuel Capacity: 116 gal. Fresh Water Capacity: 26 gal. Waste Capacity: 13 gal. For more information, visit pocketyachtco.com or cutwaterboats.com.

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September 2021

full day on the water, and a rich, memorable, and safe experience—what does a boat have to give us to support that mission? Today, we ask for a lot: seaworthiness combined with shallow-water capability, speed with efficiency, comfortable sitting and standing, food/ beverage storage and service, abundant gear storage (including space for bulky items like tow toys), shade on sunny days, a head sized for real people, fishing capabilities, and maybe a bunk for little ones to nap. How large does a boat have to be for a manufacturer to pack all of that into one hull? Fluid Motion, the Pacific Northwest parent company of Ranger

Tugs and Cutwater Boats, says 24'9", citing its C-24 CW (Center Walkaround) and C-24 DC (Dual Console). The company has carved out a strong niche for compact cruisers with its two brands. “If there’s a way to include more functionality per foot, our engineers will find it,” proclaims the company’s website. That statement squares with our previous experience with Ranger Tugs. Now Cutwater is applying that expertise to these new day boats. Pocket Yacht Corporation, Fluid Motion’s longtime East Coast dealer, recently made a C-24 CW available to CBM’s On Boats for a sea trial off Annapolis. We came away impressed.

The bow compartment features upholstered lounges port and starboard; Cabin headroom is 6'2", with plenty of space for a counter and sink; The hardtop's forward support legs form the front corners of the console.

First, understand that 24'9" applies to the boat but does not include the large, integrated swim platform/engine bracket. From the stemhead at the bow to the rear of the Yamaha outboard’s cowl, the length overall is 29'2". Second, the C-24 hull has high sides, with a self-bailing cockpit built over a foam-filled stringer grid. It weighs a hefty 6,300 lb. dry, without engine. The interior layout is innovative: a control console offset slightly to port, with a wide walkway to starboard and a gunwale-level walkway to port (liberally supplied with handholds on the hardtop). The result is a bow compartment with upholstered lounges port and starboard, and a cushioned seat for two on the front of the console. The gunwales on the after end of the lounges hold twin cupholders and triple vertical rodholders. There’s a stanchion between the lounges for a removable table that can lower to form a sunpad. The flat bow deck has two hatches. To port is the locker for the anchor, chain, and rode, plus the windlass and a folding anchor roller. (True to its Pacific Northwest origin, the C-24 CW comes with an 11 lb. anchor, 15' of high-tensile chain, and 150' of rode). Under the starboard hatch lies a telescopic ladder for trips to sandbars. On the hook or the beach, this boat is happy. The CW model’s hardtop forward support legs form the front corners of the console, with the rear legs anchoring the rear corners of the helm seat. The console offers a workmanlike helm with wheel, single lever throttle/ shift control, compass, VHF, standard 9" Garmin chartplotter/fishfinder (12" unit optional), Yamaha engine data September 2021

ChesapeakeBayMagazine.com

Our test boat’s Yamaha F250 provided an ample top speed of 36 knots (5,900 rpm) with two aboard and three-quarters of a tank of fuel.

display, switches, stereo, controls for the trim tabs and bow thruster, and cupholders. Below the helm lies a two-level footrest. Immediately to port is a companionway leading to the cabin. Enter and the wisdom of the raised gunwale to port becomes obvious. Headroom is 6'2", with plenty of space for a counter and sink, plus horizontal storage racks for five fishing rods and a cushioned lounge. The porcelain head sits to starboard. The lounge extends forward under the bow compartment, though total length is only 60"— enough for a young person to nap. Beneath is considerable storage. The helm seat is a large structure with multiple functions. There are adjustable seats for the skipper and a companion, with flip-up bolsters for standing and leaning. The sides below the seats provide a 12-volt refrigerator to starboard and a tackle storage compartment to port, while the aft side offers a cushioned seat for two on a

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September 2021

slide-out cooler. Above the cooler is a cushioned seat back, and the flat surface above it holds an optional electric grill ($1,050 plus $1,700 for an optional inverter) and a sink with lid. The after edge of the hardtop above holds six vertical rodholders. There’s more. Knowing the popularity of standup paddleboards and kayaks, those Fluid Motion engineers designed a sturdy rack for the hardtop that can hold two of either, without crowding out rods in the holders. Beneath the cockpit sole lie fish or storage boxes port and starboard, with a finished central compartment for access to wiring, plumbing, and tanks. The transom’s face mounts a foldout seat for two. Above are a large livewell, a bait prep sink, another cooler, and a transom shower system with wand. Centered between the livewell and the sink is a pop-up ski tow stanchion. To starboard is a sturdy door to the swim platform/engine bracket. It holds a telescopic, stainlesssteel boarding ladder and a grab rail. In terms of fishing, there’s not much in the Chesapeake that the C-24 CW can’t adapt to easily, except maybe working shallow underwater grass beds with fly rods. The cockpit sole is all on one

level from the bow compartment aft all the way to the swim platform, which is broad enough to make working a big cobia or drum around the engine easy. There is plenty of rod and tackle storage, with flush-mount cleats and rodholders on the gunwales. The transom makes a good workstation for bait fishing. Pick the technique appropriate for the day and go. So how does this compact, do-everything day boat run? Its hull is interesting: variable deadrise deep-V with twin strakes and broad chines, laid up with precise, sharp edges to knock down spray. Roughly amidships on each side are twin steps to draw in air and reduce surface resistance. Proprietary Cutwater Laminar Flow Interrupters in the bottom between the strakes help to hold the hull firmly in turns. The wide chines give the hull easy motion at rest and drifting in all directions. Our test boat’s Yamaha F250 provided an ample top speed of 36 knots (5,900 rpm) with two aboard and three-quarters of a tank of fuel. More to the point, though, the boat was much happier—and more efficient—at 4,500 rpm (27 knots) than at 4,000 (15 knots), a sign of the speed at which the hull steps begin to prove their worth. Given the boat’s weight and intended uses with families and friends, I’d opt for the optional Yamaha F300 engine ($5,250). It’s in the same engine family as the F250, so there’s no increase in weight, and it provides a little extra shove to handle people, full coolers, and gear. Cutwater’s “special factory direct pricing” for the C-24 CW starts at $125,937. For more information, visit pocketyachtco.com or cutwaterboats.com. CBM Editor at Large, educator, guide, and author of three quintessential Chesapeake Bay books, John Page Williams was named a Maryland Admiral of the Bay in 2013.

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Do those live in the Bay?!

The little-known

pufferfish and how to eat it

orthern pufferfish, often called “swelling toads,” “sugar toads” or “sea squab,” are one of the Chesapeake’s most intriguing fish. These 8- to 10-inch box-shaped fish with emerald green eyes range from Florida to Newfoundland and come into Chesapeake waters in the early spring as they prepare to spawn around hard structure in the shallows of the mid and lower Bay. Toads hang out in local waters until early to mid-November, when the temperature drops below 50 degrees. They feed on crustaceans and shellfish by crushing through the shells with their strong, beak-like teeth. Coarse skin, like heavy grit sandpaper, is the fish’s armor against predators, but when toads feel threatened, they will deploy their most distinctive defense—inflating themselves with water or air so that they are too large to eat whole. Watermen in the Chesapeake Bay target northern pufferfish, or swelling toads, by setting “toad pots” baited with crab scraps near oyster reefs, shipwrecks, and other underwater structures where the fish tend to congregate. Toad pots are similar to traditional hard crab pots, with a smaller wire mesh. Because swelling toads can eventually find their way out of a pot’s funnels, watermen must continually fish their pots throughout the day and without letting them “soak,” or sit for long

Stor y & photos by Jay Fleming

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Once a toad pot is pulled to the surface, the startled creatures inflate themselves with air.

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The meat in the tail section is sweet and delicate. Tails are typically fried whole and eaten off the bone like a chicken wing, hence another of their many nicknames, ,, ,, Chicken of the Sea.

Watermen in the Chesapeake Bay target northern pufferfish by setting “toad pots” near underwater structures.

ChesapeakeBayMagazine.com

September 2021

periods of time. Once a toad pot is pulled to the surface, the startled creatures inflate themselves with air. Sometimes, a pot full of toads can even float on the surface. Sugar toads are also a bycatch for pound netters and haul seiners in the mid and lower Chesapeake. Recreational fishermen using bait such as peeler crabs or bloodworms will occasionally catch toads. After World War II, watermen perfected the art of catching the sly swelling toads in peeler pots. Toads were abundant and the fishery was lucrative for many watermen. Multiple packing houses in Crisfield, Md. diversified their operations from processing crabmeat from April to November to include the popular delicacy. In the mid-1960s, however, the toads became more scarce, and in 1964 the processing houses abandoned their efforts. The large-scale fishery became a thing of the past and has never come back. Unlike other species of pufferfish, the northern pufferfish is not poisonous and is safe for human consumption. Watermen process the toads for commercial sale by removing the sandpaper-like skin and head, leaving behind the meat and bones of the tail section. Although the process is tedious, cleaned toad tails fetch a higher price per pound relative to other fish caught commercially in the Chesapeake Bay. The meat in the tail section is sweet and delicate. Tails are typically fried whole and eaten off the bone like a chicken wing, hence another of their many nicknames, “Chicken of the Sea.” Fried sugar toads will occasionally pop up on seasonal menus of high-end restaurants in Baltimore, Washington D.C., and Richmond, but the most consistent place to find them during the summer months is at the Exmore Diner on the Eastern Shore of Virginia. This hidden gem of a restaurant employs local watermen to catch the seasonal delicacy. During years of abundance, toads will create a buzz amongst those who wait for this Chesapeake delicacy.

Although the process is tedious, cleaned pufferfish tails fetch a higher price per pound than other fish caught commercially in the Chesapeake Bay.

Jay Fleming is a professional photographer, videographer, and conservationist focusing largely on Chesapeake and Atlantic Coast maritime themes and nature. September 2021

ChesapeakeBayMagazine.com

IMAGE COURTESY OF KODI BOWERS

Kodi Bowers maintains a grip on a slippery hellbender

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“HELLBENDER” BY BRIAN.GRATWICKE

Searching for

slimy salamanders in Maryland’s mountain streams

Hellbender,yes! Hellbende Story & photos by Mark Hendricks

d Thompson is the only salamanders that are passionate about larger are the critically hellbenders. The retired endangered Chinese and biologist, who has the Japanese giant salamanders. rough exterior of a Unlike other salamanders, the mountain man and a hellbender lives its life heart of gold, has been completely underwater in fascinated with the oddcool, rocky, fast-flowing looking creatures for decades, mountain streams. They and his enthusiasm for these breathe through wrinkly flaps animals is contagious. of skin on the sides of their Reminiscing about one of his bodies, though they also have most memorable moments vestigial lungs. Their bizarre, with the species, he says with Frankenstein-like appearance a chuckle, “Once, while has plagued the hellbender Dr. Richard Raesly (left) and Kodi Bowers carry making a show for MPT, I with an array of nicknames: a hellbender nest to the river. decided to taste hellbender snot otter, Allegheny alligator, slime. Boy, was it bitter!” It was a memorable, if mud devil, grampus, and even “lasagna lizard.” Mostly unconventional, way to show how the species are believed nocturnal, the solitary hellbender hides under rocks during to defend themselves from potential predators. the day and emerges at night to hunt crayfish. Many are surprised to learn that Maryland is home to They are also an indicator species, which means if the North America’s largest salamander. The Eastern hellbender pollutant-sensitive hellbender resides in a particular is one of the most unique animals to inhabit North America, location, the water quality of that river is usually good. let alone the state. Reaching average lengths of 12–15 inches, Historically, the hellbender was found in Maryland’s September 2021

ChesapeakeBayMagazine.com

Many are surprised to learn that Maryland is home

subspecies found only in the Ozark Susquehanna drainage, though Plateau of Missouri and Arkansas today it is only found in the TOP: Nesting boxes ready to place. (the Ozark hellbender) is. farthest-west portion of BOTTOM: Crayfish are hellbenders’ prey of “The biggest issue for Garrett County. choice. RIGHT: Placing the nesting box. hellbenders in Maryland is the Thompson, who spent 30 population falling below a years working for the Maryland threshold where they cannot Department of Natural Resources replace themselves,” says Wildlife and Heritage Service, has Thompson. In other states, such as seen their declining numbers New York and Ohio, hellbenders firsthand. “There is a very clear reared in captivity have been trend that the population is released back into the wild to boost declining. Without population the population. “This is mainly augmentation, the (Maryland) because humans have treated our hellbenders are on their way out, streams and rivers with total unfortunately,” he warns. disrespect ever since we got to this It hasn’t been easy for the country. Silt and sedimentation is hellbender. For decades, the probably the worst offender, but population has continued to poisoning the water with acid mine drainage and other decline throughout its range from the Appalachians of chemical pollution is obviously a factor as well.” southern New York to northern Georgia, as well as parts of In Maryland’s little remaining hellbender habitat, the Midwest. Their conservation status is listed as near sedimentation is a significant issue and its consequences threatened by the International Union for Conservation in are far reaching. Sediment input from multiple sources such Nature (IUCN), and the small population in Maryland is as agriculture, deforestation, road construction, and listed as endangered. The species is currently not listed as development has negatively impacted many streams in the endangered under the Endangered Species Act, though a

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September 2021

to North America’s largest salamander. state. This in turn negatively affects many freshwater species, from insects to fish, because the excess sediments fill spaces in the substrate that provide habitat for eggs and early life stages. For hellbenders, the sediment reduces the fills in the undersides of the rocks that hellbenders breed under, resulting in breeding failure in many populations. Poor water quality, resulting from the damming of rivers, acid mine drainage, sewage, fertilizers and herbicides, and even road de-icing salts, impact these animals at any time, but especially in the early life stages of eggs, larvae, and juveniles. Like all amphibians, hellbenders have permeable skin, making them especially sensitive to environmental pollutants. Thompson last found a six-inch juvenile in 1986 and a sub adult in the mid-1990s and has only encountered adults since, a troubling sign. Despite the seemingly dire state of things, there is still hope for this odd but lovable animal. In 2014 Thompson began placing hellbender nesting boxes to aid in reproduction. You’re probably wondering what a hellbender nesting box is; it’s not something that comes up in everyday conversation. Imagine a large, bootshaped, concrete box weighing over 50 pounds that essentially provides a sediment-free shelter and nesting area for hellbenders. The hellbender enters the nest through the neck of the boot where it can breed and protect its eggs. (Another cool hellbender fact: It is the male that stands guard over the eggs.) The technique was first used in 2012 when scientists placed the boxes in hellbender streams in Missouri, resulting in some early successes. It is now being used almost everywhere with a hellbender population. In 2020 the Maryland Natural Heritage program awarded Frostburg State University a grant to create and place 50 new boxes to help with the state’s small population, under principal investigator Dan Hocking, who was assisted by his student Kodi Bowers. For Bowers, an Iraq war veteran and Purple Heart recipient, the connection to the species is personal. “Hellbenders and the natural world have helped fill a void in my life after the United States Marine Corps. Being involved in projects like this help to quiet the mind and focus on the task at hand. It gives a sense of purpose and a greater sense of accomplishment, knowing that you are

“The biggest issue for hellbenders in Maryland is the

population falling below a threshold where they cannot replace themselves.”

September 2021

ChesapeakeBayMagazine.com

Submerging a nesting box, which the scientists hope will become a salamander’s new home.

helping to impact and change the future of a species for the better,” he says. Shortly after the project began, Hocking left FSU and Dr. Richard Raesly took over the project. In the almost decade since the original boxes were placed in a Missouri stream, some much-needed upgrades have been implemented. “While the [original] design was successful, there were problems with the accumulation of sediment and boxes being washed away at high flows. More recently, a more hydrodynamic design was developed by researchers at the University of Missouri,” says Raesly. I went out with Raesly and Bowers early in the summer to see how the boxes work. With a rock climber’s form and youthful enthusiasm for all things ecological and aquatic, Raesly lifted the heavy slab of concrete on his back and carried it with Bowers to a site for a first test run using the boxes in the field. Wading through the fast-flowing water, he located a good spot. After placing the box into the frigid water, they searched for rocks to help weigh it down and blend into the stream floor. “The nest boxes that are being deployed will help to census the population. Historically, determination of population status required flipping over large rocks that could disturb the hellbenders,” says Raesly. Because the species is so sensitive and the population so low, the risk of disturbance to the species has always been a touchy topic, but technology could make the survey efforts much less intrusive. “The new boxes have lids that can be opened without disturbing a nesting hellbender, and half the boxes have a small port that can be opened to insert a fiber-optic camera to determine if the box is occupied, “ he says. Hellbenders breed in late summer. After mating, the male will protect the eggs and juveniles for upwards of seven months. Because the boxes are designed to prevent sediment from entering the box, this also protects eggs and

Once a creature of Appalachian lore, it is now seen as one of the many “canaries in the coal mine”—animals whose presence alone can speak to the health of an ecosystem.

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September 2021

any juveniles from being smothered. As the autumn approaches, a census of the population will be taken by checking whether any of the boxes are occupied. In recent years, less than a handful of hellbenders have been documented using the boxes. This is partly due to the fact that they are difficult to study and will leave a box if sediment accrues. Reflecting on a previous survey, Bowers reminisces, “We sampled maybe half a dozen boxes one night and I wasn’t very optimistic, considering how rare the species truly is in the state. We eventually came upon a box and opened the lid and there was one inside. It was probably one of the most exciting times of my life—not only to find one, but also to hold one.” Even for researchers, finding a hellbender is quite an event. With such a small population it is remarkable to encounter one in a nesting box. On a late summer’s day, I accompanied Ed Thompson to check the boxes. The water levels were low, perfect for the survey, and as we walked into the river he warned me not to get my hopes up. After a full day in the river, we were elated to find two nesting boxes that had hellbenders inside, though we saw no eggs. Observing that first wild hellbender was an incredible moment. It moved through the box swiftly. The first thing I noticed was the size, something that is not lost on Bowers. “You really cannot comprehend how big one is by looking at a picture,” he says. “It isn’t until you see one in person and

A hellbender peeks out from its nest box.

hold it in your hands that you truly take in the significance of the experience.” They also disappear quickly and easily, and their mysterious nature makes them difficult to study, even in the few areas that still host healthy numbers. As ancient as hellbenders are, there is still much to be discovered. Once a creature of Appalachian lore, it is now seen as one of the many “canaries in the coal mine”— animals whose presence alone can speak to the health of an ecosystem. But what was once only myth is now propped up with conservation science. Are the efforts of individuals like Ed Thompson, Richard Raesly, Kodi Bowers, and others enough to keep them alive in Maryland? I sure hope so.

Mark Hendricks is an award-winning conservation photographer and author whose work focuses on the habitats of the Chesapeake Bay watershed. His book Natural Wonders of Assateague Island was released in 2017 and he is currently at work on his second book. markhendricksphoto.com September 2021

ChesapeakeBayMagazine.com

CHESAPEAKE COCKTAIL

Chesapeake Key

his month’s cocktail comes from the folks at Baltimore Spirits Company, makers of Epoch Rye, Shot Tower Gin, and 1904 Apple Brandy Liqueur, a ginger-infused ode to the resilience of Baltimore, rebuilding after 1904’s great fire. Founder and CEO Max Lents writes:

“The Chesapeake Key is one hell of a boat drink! It’s almost tiki, but the 1904 Apple Brandy Liqueur really brings something new to the table. Ginger, grapefruit, and almonds—who knew!? If you really feel like going for it, freeze up some coconut water for the ice!”

Chesapeake Key INGREDIENTS 1.5 oz 1904 Ginger Apple Liqueur .75 oz lime juice .5 oz grapefruit juice .5 oz orgeat syrup Shake all ingredients together with coconut water ice cubes, strain into rocks glass over coconut ice, and garnish with basil. (Note: Coconut water ice cubes are optional, but recommended!)

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September 2021

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here’s an old Chesapeake tale about a yachtsman who runs his new sailboat aground in the mud. He’s stuck there until an old waterman putts by and offers to lend a hand. The yachtsman grabs a line and heads forward to rig up a bowline, but the waterman says, “Just hand me yer halyard!” Mystified, the yachtsman unhooks the halyard from the mainsail and swings it over. The waterman loops the line around the kingpost on his stern and slowly pulls away, making the sailboat heel over. The keel pops out of the mud and the hull slides off the shoal into the deeper water. “That was amazing!,” the yachtsman cries. “How can I ever thank you?” “That’ll be a hundred bucks,” the old man says. “A hundred bucks? That’s an awful lot for five minutes’ worth of work,” the yachtsman says. “Well,” the waterman drawls, “that’s only five bucks for the doin’, but it’s $95 for the knowin’.”

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September 2021

When you’ve got a problem with your boat, it pays to hire somebody who knows what he or she is doing. The American Boat & Yacht Council (ABYC), a nonprofit, member organization based in Annapolis, can help you find one of those somebodies. Over the past 67 years, the council has developed global safety standards for the repair of recreational boats, sharing them via seminars, workshops, and technician certification courses in electrical systems, diesel and gas engine service, A/C and refrigeration, marine surveying, and corrosion. ABYC’s president John Adey notes that 90 percent of the boats built in America over the past five years have been built to ABYC standards, “so it makes sense to make repairs to those standards as well,” he says. You can have your boat repaired and maintained to ABYC standards by making sure that the technicians you hire are ABYC-trained and certified.

S P O SNPS OO NR SE OD R EC D O NCT OE NN TT E N T

BOAT MAINTENANCE

Knowing is Half the Battle By Jeff Holland

Derek Rhymes, an Annapolis-based marine surveyor with All Boat & Yacht Inspections, notes that keeping your boat well maintained is not only smart for the obvious reasons of safety, but there’s also a chance that your insurance company might not cover a loss if damage is the result of poor maintenance. “Electrical systems on a boat can function perfectly but might have hidden issues that are just waiting to start a fire,” he says. “If damage is caused by lack of maintenance, it might not be a covered loss. Fire is the most scary thing that will happen on your boat and is largely preventable. Poorly installed or maintained DC electric systems are the primary sources.” Clay Holcomb, with the Chesapeake Boat Basin in Kilmarnock, Va., is a dealer for Boston Whaler boats and Mercury and Suzuki outboard motors. “Everything in the boat business—from the engines, the boat itself, and electronics integration—has become so technologically

advanced it is necessary to not only be properly trained by the manufacturer, it is equally important to have the correct diagnostic equipment to perform the proper services to the products,” he says. “No one is better equipped and trained to handle your vessel than the dealer itself." One of his buyers had his engine worked on by another, “non-branded,“ shop, he recalls. “We found that the servicing facility had caused $900 of damage to the engine just because of their lack of training and carelessness.“ There could also be problems when you go to resell your boat. Buyers are becoming more knowledgeable, Holcomb notes. “Since we are a sales facility for new and used boats and engines we have found that a used boat that has been maintained properly with receipts to back up the services sell quicker and for a higher price than those with no service records, or records by non-branded service facilities.“

September 2021

ChesapeakeBayMagazine.com

MARINE SERVICES SHOWCASE Atlantic Yacht Basin

Bay Bridge Marina

Atlantic Yacht Basin is best known for its refinishing work of superior marine paints; bow and stern thruster installations, and Naiad Stabilizer installations and maintenance for yachts up to 110 feet.

Bay Bridge Marina is known for its experienced gas and diesel mechanics, as well as a continued dedication to the experience of their guests. Gas pumps will be be upgraded. New security measures will include cameras and dock gates.

Services offered:

Note: Now under new ownership. New owners are Petrie Ventures & McGrath Developers

Complete exterior and interior refinishing Installations of teak and other marine woods Naiad Stabilizer maintenance and installation Repowering or installing mechanical systems Renewing electronics Topside canvas Complete underwater gear maintenance Bottom painting Secure, protected-from-the-elements storage in a non-tidal, freshwater basin Atlantic Yacht Basin, Inc. 2615 Basin Rd. Chesapeake, VA 23322 757 482-2141 atlanticyachtbasin.com

Services offered: Haul-out services with 25–70ton travel lifts Power washing Storage Bottom sandblasting Reconditioning Blister repairs Bay Bridge Marina 357 Pier 1 Rd. Stevensville, MD 21666 410-643-3162 baybridgemarina.com

Barrier coating Bottom painting Winterization packages Spring commissioning packages Maintain and repair any system, including engine, electrical, plumbing and sanitation

S P O N S O R E D

C O N T E N T

Bluewater Yachting Center

Bohemia Bay Yacht Harbour

Full-service marina with facilities built for boaters of all stripes— from transient snowbirds, day-trippers, hardcore sportfisherman to long-range cruisers. Well known for paradaption that are considered feats of engineering and aesthetics.

Bohemia Bay Yacht Harbour makes sure to keep its slipholders on the water. The broad range of services offered allows customers the convenience of “one call does it all.” Bohemia Bay Yacht Harbour prides itself on its consistency and stands behind all work.

Services offered:

Full paint—topsides and bottom Custom fiberglass fabrication General maintenance Mechanical Electrical Welding and metal fabrication Bluewater Yachting Center 15 Marina Rd. Hampton, VA 23669 bluewateryachtingcenter.com

Teak and custom cabinetry Mezzanine refits Stabilization installations Polishing Detailing Running gear repair and maintenance

HVAC system repair/installations Outboards Inboards I/O’s Jet skis VacuFlush Systems winterization Bohemia Bay Yacht Harbour 1026 Town Point Rd. Chesapeake City, MD 21915 bbyh.com

Electronics installations 50-ton lift Detailing Props/running gear Bottom painting Minor fiberglass repair Shrink wrap, etc.

MARINE SERVICES SHOWCASE Bowleys Marina

Campbell’s Boatyard

Bowleys Marina is known for its great location at the mouth of Middle River and a new floating fuel dock—available not just to members but also the public. The floating fuel dock is convenient for docking. The marina touts non-member winter haul out.

Campbell’s Boatyard is known for its highly skilled crew.

Services offered: Fuel dock / pump out At-slip pump out service Winter land storage Haulout and launch Bottom painting Ship store Mechanic onsite

Services offered: Slip rentals Dry storage Indoor dry storage Engine repairs (and re-powers) Carpentry services Varnish services

Paint of boats Mechanical services Yacht sales Cummins dealer Yamaha outboard dealer

Campbell’s Boatyards P.O. Box 410 Oxford, MD 21654 410-226-5592 campbellsboatyards.com scampbell@campbellsboatyards.com

Bowleys Marina 1700 Bowleys Quarters Rd. Middle River, MD 21220 410-335-3553 bowleysmarina.com info@bowleysmarina.com

Three locations in Oxford: 26106A Bachelor Harbor Dr., Oxford, MD 21654 (Bachelor Point) 106 Richardson St., Oxford, MD 21654 (Jack’s Point) 109 Myrtle Ave., Oxford, MD 21654 (Town Creek)

Cummins & Yamaha–Repower or Repair.

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oxford, md 410.226.5592 – Bachelor Pt. 410.226.5105 – Jack’s Pt. www.campbellsboatyards.com

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September 2021

HAVEN HARBOUR MARINA 20880 Rock Hall Ave Rock Hall, Maryland 410.778.6697

HAVEN HARBOUR SOUTH 21144 Green Lane Rock Hall, Maryland 410.778.6697

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.

MARINE SERVICES SHOWCASE Chesapeake Boat Basin

Coan River Marina

"Our commitment to customer service and satisfaction is unbeatable” is the motto at Chesapeake Boat Basin, known for their dedication to pleasing their customers.

Coan River Marina is known for its peaceful setting. A quiet location, the marina is "floating your dreams by the Bay." Services offered:

Services offered: Mechanical Electrical Boat system services Certified Mercury Marine Dealer with master and certified technicians Monitor Channel 16 Approach depth 13' 50-ton travel lift

WiFi 25-ton travel lift On-site help/mechanic including winterization or DIY yard On-land storage Fuel polishing

Clean marina certification Friendly staff, pet friendly Deepwater slips with electric and water Boat ramp Diesel and non-ethanol gas Pump-out station Clean heads Coan River Marina 3170 Lake Rd. Lottsburg, VA 22511 804-529-6767 coanrivermarina.com info@coanrivermarina.com

Chesapeake Boat Basin 1686 Waverly Ave. Kilmarnock VA 22482 chesapeakeboatbasin.com

Your gateway to exploring

Kilmarnock’s Historic Main Street

Chesapeake Boat Basin is the Northern Neck and Middle Peninsula’s exclusive dealer for Boston Whaler Boats, and our factory-trained technicians provide unparalleled customer service.

ChesapeakeBoatBasin.com | (804) 436-1234

• 50-Ton Travel Lift • Bottom & Running Gear Repairs • Mercury Marine Certified Techs • Outboard Engine Repower/Refit • Minor Fiberglass & Gelcoat Repairs • Electrical Systems Service • Electronics Sales & Service • Seakeeper Dealer & Installer

ChesapeakeBoatBasin.com

(804) 436-1234

S P O N S O R E D

C O N T E N T

Deltaville Yachting Center

Fairwinds Marina

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.

The repair facility at Fairwinds Marina is dedicated to 100% customer satisfaction. Known for senior mechanics—who have each been working on outboards for more than 35 years—the marina employs the only two Yamaha master technicians in Annapolis and the only Evinrude elite technician in Maryland.

Services offered: Engine repowers and repairs Generator repairs and installations Air conditioning repairs and installations Full-service rigging shop and swaging Aerial work platform Aluminum and stainless fabrication Cosmetic care—washing, waxing and compounding Fiberglass and gelcoat repairs—cosmetic and structural Awlgrip and Alexseal painting—enclosed building Farrow blasting, bottom repairs & painting Marine electronics installations Haul outs Electrical systems repairs and installations Deltaville Yachting Center and Chesapeake Yacht Sales 18355 General Puller Hwy. Deltaville, VA 23043 804-776-9898 dycboat.com

Services offered: Full-service boat yard Maintenance services Service of all portable outboards, up to 20hp, 1994 and newer Bottom painting Shrink wrapping Detailing Fiberglass repair CeramicPro protective coating Fairwinds Marina 1000 Fairwinds Dr. Annapolis, MD 21409 855-856-4811 fairwindsmarina.com

Are you looking for a quick stop, a home base or a trusted place to get work done? How about a quiet port in the storm or a safe spot to store your boat and car? AYB is all of these things and much, much more.

AYB OFFERS • Comprehensive marine services • Dedicated craftsmen with decades of experience • All trades represented in house • Up to 110’ capacity railway plus travel lifts • Year-round covered storage • Protected, non-tidal basin • Convenient location on ICW • Dockmasters & fuel available 24/7 • Fully-stocked marine store

757-482-2141 • 800-992-2489 www.atlanticyachtbasin.com ICW at Mile 12, Great Bridge, 2615 Basin Road, Chesapeake, VA 23322 Email: info@atlanticyachtbasin.com

MARINE SERVICES SHOWCASE Generation III Marina

Gratitude Marina

A full-service marina for both power and sailboats, Generation III is known for its Awlgrip paint jobs. The experienced prep crew goes the extra mile to deliver an end result with true depth of image. Through a commitment to quality and detail, the marina can put out a finished product that is second to none.

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 offered: Awlgrip Gelcoat and fiberglass repair Complete refits and restoration Engine repowers Stainless and aluminum fabrication Generation III Marina 205 Cedar St. Cambridge, MD 21613 410-228-2520 generation3marina.com

Custom carpentry and repairs Mechanical services Wet and dry storage 50-ton travel lift Electronics updates and installation

Services offered: Mechanical Carpentry Teak Varnishing Paint Fiberglass Gelcoat Rigging Lifelines Winterization Preventative maintenance Gratitude Marina 5924 Lawton Ave. Rock Hall, MD 21661 410-639-7011 gmarina.com

WINTER STORAGE AVAILABLE!

GOT A PROJECT? Quality craftsmanship for a fair price! We have the experience and facilities to bring your dreamboat up to Bristol condition. Specializing 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.

KNAPP’S NARROWS DREDGED

800-322-5181 • www.KNAPPSNARROWSMARINA.com

TRANSIENT GROUPS WELCOME

ON BOARD TRAINING Private instruction on your boat Docking Courses Women at the Wheel Course Basic Boat Operation Course

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Harbour Cove Marina

Haven Harbour

Harbour Cove Marina has one of the few fully enclosed boatels on the Bay. Known for having great mechanics, the marina was named “Best Small Marina of the Year” in 2019 by Chesapeake Bay Magazine’s Best of the Bay.

Haven Harbour excels in painting and gelcoat. Technicians who work in the discipline have decades of experience and are serious craftsmen when it comes to hull-side paint jobs and restoration.

Services offered: Full-service marina Storage (Boatel, in and out service, lift slips, wet slips and winter storage) Engine services Fiberglass Painting Fuel Dock Mercury outboard dealer Certified Mercury dealer Certified Volvo dealer

Services offered: Mechanical/engine work (in-board and outboard) Paint Fiberglass Gelcoat Air and refrigeration Electronics and electrical

Rigging and sails/canvas Custom carpentry Bottom maintenance Winter storage (dry and wet) Brightwork Washing and waxing

Haven Harbour Marina 20880 Rock Hall Ave. Rock Hall, MD 21661

Haven Harbour South 21144 Green Ln. Rock Hall, MD 21661

410-778-6697 havenharbour.com Contact: Charlie Petosa, Managing Director

Harbour Cove Marina 5910 Vacation Ln. Deale, MD 20751 301-261-9500 harbourcove.com

Direct Access to the Chesapeake Bay

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410-639-7011 | www.gmarina.com Affiliated with Osprey Point Marina

ChesapeakeBayMagazine.com

September 2021

MARYLAND BOAT SALES & SERVICE AT HOLLY NECK MARINA Pre-Owned Boat Sales Holly Neck Marina is a full New Boat Sales- Savannah & Finnseeker service marina offering Boat Brokerage complete marine repairs, boat Trailer Sales detailing, and shrink wrapping. Boat Service & Repairs It also offers in water slips and dry/land storage. Shrink Wrap Specialists 2426 Holly Neck Road, Middle River, MD 21221

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4 1 0 -5 7 4 -3 9 8 8

S P O N S O R E D

C O N T E N T

Herrington Harbour North

Holly Neck Marina

Herrington Harbour North Marina Resort & Yacht Center is the most comprehensive boat repair and maintenance facility on the Chesapeake Bay with first class haul-out services, secure and accessible land storage, and 19 on-site marine contractors to maintain, repair, and upgrade your boat in one convenient location. For over 25 years, boaters have come to depend on us for our expertise, quality, and customer service.

A full-service marina located off Sue Creek, Holly Neck Marina is partnered with Maryland Boat Sales—a full-service brokerage and new boat dealer. The partnership allows customers to have a onestop-shop for all their boating needs at one marina.

Services offered: Land storage Haul & Launch Seasonal maintenance Electrical Mechanical Carpentry Fiberglass Canvas

Sails Props Refrigeration Air Conditioning Rigging Detailing Lettering Bottom painting

Herrington Harbour North Marina Resort & Yacht Center 389 Deale Rd. Tracey’s Landing, MD 20779 410-867-4343 herringtonharbour.com

Services offered: Boat engine repair—Suzuki and Mercury outboards, inboard engines and Sterndrive Boat storage Winterization Shrink wrapping Detailing Bottom painting Holly Neck Marina Contact: Michael Miceli 2426 Holly Neck Rd. Essex MD 21221 mdboatsales.com

HERRINGTON HARBOUR SOUTH 7149 Lake Shore Drive North Beach, MD 301.855.5000

HERRINGTON HARBOUR NORTH 389 Deale Road Tracey’s Landing, MD 410.867.4343

Beltway to Bliss in 20 Minutes Discover it all at Herringtonharbour.com

MARINE SERVICES SHOWCASE Intrinsic Yacht & Ship

Knapp’s Narrows Marina

Intrinsic Yacht & Ship specializes in custom projects such as rodholder installation, complete dash upgrades, paint work and acrylic dash installations. “You dream it and we work hard to find a way to make it happen.”

Knapp’s Narrows Marina is a full-service boatyard offering competitive rates. The marina specializes in Awlgrip paint jobs.

Services offered: Detailing Paint and fiberglass repair Electrical systems Marine electronics Audio/visual and lighting Spring commissioning and winterization Custom projects Intrinsic Yacht & Ship 7076 Bembe Beach Rd. Suite 201 Annapolis, MD 21043 (Port Annapolis Marina) 410-263-9288 intrinsicyacht.com

Services offered: 35-ton travel lift Storage Bottom painting Waxing Commissioning Decommissioning Awlgrip painting Fiberglass Gelcoat Barrier coat Mechanical Electrical Knapp’s Narrows Marina 6176 Tilghman Island Rd. Tilghman, MD 21671 knappsnarrowsmarina.com

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• Repowering • Gel Coat and Fiberglass Repair • S/S & Aluminum Fabrication 205 Cedar St, Cambridge, MD 21613 • Carpentry • Rigging (410) 228-2520 generation3marina@gmail.com

205 Cedar St, Cambridge, MD 21613 (410) 228-2520 generation3marina@gmail.com 64

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September 2021

LO C A T E D I N LOT T S B U R G , V A O N T H E B E A U T I F U L C O A N R I V E R

804-529-7299

marina.lewisetta@gmail.com

S P O N S O R E D

C O N T E N T

Lewisetta Marina

Tome’s Landing Marina

Lewisetta Marina is dedicated to becoming known for specializing in short hauls—sanding, painting and putting boats right back in the water.

Tome’s Landing Marina is known for white glove, red-carpet levels of hospitality offered to members. TLM offers stress-free boating without shallow water, no long no wake zones and easy fresh water access to the Bay.

Note: The marina is now under new ownership. The new owner is working on making vast improvements. Completed improvements include a remodeled ship store and bath house. Services offered: 25-ton travel lift Winter haul and storage Shrink wrap services Fiberglass repairs Bottom sand and paint

Well-stocked ship’s store Lift slips and wet slips Boat ramp and sand beach Ethanol-free gas and diesel Bait, ice, snacks and drinks

Lewisetta Marina & Marine Services 410 Church Ln. Lottsburg, VA 22511 804-529-7299

Amenities: Fully enclosed luxury boatels—storage for boats up to 43' Full-service, club-like atmosphere Easy parking Sales of Velocity Powerboats, Hacker-Craft luxury mahogany boats, Bennington pontoon boats and remarkable pre-owned boats Services Mercury, Yamaha, Volvo-Penta and Ilmor motors and drives Sales of 89 octane ethanol-free gas Detail services Tome’s Landing Marina 1000 Rowland Dr. Port Deposit, MD 21904 410-378-3343 tomeslandingmarina.com

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September 2021

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BACKGROUND PHOTO: BENJAMIN FORD

s the ferry from Crisfield pulls up to the dock in Ewell on Smith Island, the passengers onboard are disoriented. Though the pilings are visible, the dock itself is not. Due to a seasonal surge called a king tide, it’s under two feet of water. We look at each other, shrug, and start to take off our shoes and roll up our pant legs. Luggage and backpacks are passed over to a waiting canoe, and we tow our gear behind us as we slog inland, barefooted, through the unusually high tide. It’s a Venetian-style welcome, and certainly one that might deter less hardy souls. But for the students and professors of the Chesapeake Semester wading past the sandbagged Methodist Church, it’s just another learning experience—a remarkable, yet regular, day in our Chesapeake classroom. Most Chesapeake educational programs are designed to be environmental sparks—illuminating one-time trips or experiences that expand on classroom studies with marsh explorations, seine net samples, and a sail, cruise, or a paddle. By contrast, Washington College’s Chesapeake Semester is a long, slow burn. Over the course of a full college semester, students dedicate their entire 16-credit course load to this multidisciplinary program. They commit to what is essentially a study-abroad program for the Chesapeake, sacrificing sports, parties, and traditional on-campus life. Their schedule alternates between two weeks of classroom studies in Chesapeake history, culture, environmental science, biology, and the arts and then two weeks in the field, applying what they’ve learned. Over four of these fieldwork

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September 2021

Hands On, Feet Wet: Exploring the Bay with Washington College’s Chesapeake Semester BY K AT E LI V IE

KATE LIVIE

“journeys,” guided by Washington College professors (including yours truly), students explore the tributaries of the watershed. Throughout the semester, students visit working maritime communities, environmental scientists and advocates, historic sites, archaeologists and anthropologists, farms, forests, and fishermen—all to gain a nuanced understanding of the challenges confronting the Chesapeake and coastal communities around the world. On Smith Island, for example, the Chesapeake Semester students paddle out across North End Bottom to Martin National Wildlife Refuge, where they seine the shallows and collect water and soil samples. They meet with waterman Mark Kitching at his crab-shedding operation to discuss the

“

I want students

to be open minded, think critically,

and ask questions.”

crabbing industry, regulations, and the challenges of surviving storms and high tides on Smith. At sunset, they wade out on the submerged road towards Rhodes Point to take photographs for a photo essay assignment. The next day, for a few hours, the students stop by the cultural center, the restaurant, the church, and an artist’s collective shop, chatting with islanders to develop a more intimate understanding of island rhythms, values, and community. During this visit, many of them will also try a fried soft-shelled crab for the first time. It’s a wonderfully unorthodox approach to college teaching, designed to help students go beyond the classroom’s conceptual mindset to the nuances of the real world. “I want

September 2021

ChesapeakeBayMagazine.com

“

Really, how could

students to be open minded, think critically, and ask questions,” says Dr. John Seidel, director of the Center for the Environment and Society (CES) that runs Chesapeake Semester. “Students who have taken the Chesapeake Semester say it changed their lives. They think differently, they are willing to speak out, they get comfortable with the idea that questions may not have a ‘right’ answer. Through Chesapeake Semester, students have a sense that there are obligations toward their human community and the natural community. Because of the experiences they’ve had, they are well-placed to make a difference.” The inspiration for the Chesapeake Semester came from two places: a similar maritime program

Shannon Thomas handles a

Chesapeake Bay?”

BACKGROUND PHOTO: KATE LIVIE

terrapin on the Chester River.

laboratory than the

BENJAMIN FORD

Chesapeake Semester student

you find a better

run by Mystic Seaport and Williams College, and the fundamental belief that the richest experiences happen outside of the classroom. Seidel aimed to greatly expand on the Mystic footprint of maritime history and on-the-water programs by adding rigorous humanities coursework, first-person field encounters, and hands-on experiences. For Seidel, the possibilities seem endless. “Really, how could you find a better laboratory than the Chesapeake Bay?” Seidel says. “It introduces a level of political, social, and environmental complexity that is difficult to find anywhere else in the whole world. Literally outside our back door.” Today, Chesapeake Semester stands as a national model for experiential, interdisciplinary college learning. Since 2009, over 130 students

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September 2021

Chesapeake Semester students identify specimens from the Susquehanna River with Dr. Martin Connaughton.

BENJAMIN FORD

have participated in the innovative program. Graduating with varied majors from psychology and business to environmental science and education, Chesapeake Semester alumni use their real-world experiences, connections with diverse Chesapeake people, and environmental and societal questions posed by the program to enhance their understanding of the larger world. The challenges of Chesapeake Semester—meeting Bay stakeholders across the political and environmental spectrum, foraging and sleeping in a tidewater woods, paddling the Susquehanna and exploring the Conowingo Dam, hiking in the jungle during a comparison study trip to Belize—have shaped the futures of the students who have participated in the program. Graduates have found internships or careers with NOAA, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, the Wyoming Fish and Game Department, the Chesapeake Bay Environmental Center, the University of Maryland’s Horn Point Lab, and the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum. Many, like Elle Bassett, a 2010 Chesapeake Semester alumna and 2012 Washington College graduate, have leveraged their skills through

Students wade into the shallows with a seine net, assisted by Chesapeake Semester Program Manager Benjamin Ford.

September 2021

ChesapeakeBayMagazine.com

KATE LIVIE

Students take a crash course in Chesapeake experiences: paddling the Chester River, sailing on

Rogers-Fiala is the Philip Merrill Environmental Education Program Manager for the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, and she credits the program’s critical-thinking skills as a primary influence in her approach to teaching. “I look back, less on specific experiences, but [on] the feelings I got when I was able to be curious and ask questions, and how much more valuable it was to take a student-driven approach to learn about the Chesapeake Bay. It transformed my own approach to teaching. It also really helped me fall in love even more with the Bay, and inspired me to keep learning more about it.” Importantly, Chesapeake Semester’s emphasis on understanding multiple environmental perspectives also left a lasting impression. “The Chesapeake Semester did a really good job of showing me that there are a lot more people at the environmental

BRIAN PALMER

skipjacks, and catching crabs.

leadership roles within Chesapeake organizations. For Bassett, the MilesWye Riverkeeper for ShoreRivers, the benefit of the program is clear: “Every job I’ve gotten since the Chesapeake Semester was because of the Chesapeake Semester.” Bassett found the hands-on aspects of the program refreshing and transformative. Where else would you be foraging for Native Americaninspired dinner (muskrat baked in coals, mushrooms prepared in a pumpkin) for college credit? For Bassett, those moments were not just memorable but the foundation of a career. “For my work life, pretty much all aspects of everything I learned in Chesapeake Semester I use daily in my career. There’s no component I haven’t touched now as a Riverkeeper that we didn’t talk about in the Chesapeake Semester.” Fellow Chesapeake Semester alumna Kellie Rogers-Fiala agrees.

BACKGROUND PHOTO: KATE LIVIE

Students paddle as a group on the upper Chester River from Millington to Crumpton.

ChesapeakeBayMagazine.com 74

September 2021

pretty much all

aspects of everything I learned in

Chesapeake Semester I use daily in my career.”

table than just environmentalists,” Bassett says. “It opened my eyes to how many different types of people need to be in the conversation as we discuss Chesapeake Bay issues. That sort of complexity is not something I think I would have gained from a course that was just in the classroom.” For Bassett, Rogers-Fiala, and the many other graduates of the Chesapeake Semester, the program created a direct, practical path from their experiences as students in the Bay’s brackish ‘classroom’ to professionals shaping the future of Chesapeake science, education, policy, and fisheries. It also built life skills essential to stewardship of the Chesapeake’s environment and heritage: passion, empathy, and the ability to listen and build consensus. “The reason that we’re doing the work is not just for the ecosystem— so many other things depend on it,” Bassett says. “As Riverkeeper, I have to connect with people and help them build their relationship with their environment. Listening to what they value and leaning into what makes the

river meaningful to them, whether they’re on a family trip to St. Michaels or they’re crabbing on the Wye for their livelihood ... I have those kinds of conversations every day. And that’s exactly what Chesapeake Semester did such a great job of teaching.” Kate Livie is a Chesapeake writer, educator, and historian. An Eastern Shore native and current faculty at Washington College’s Center for Environment and Society, Livie’s award-winning book Chesapeake Oysters was published in 2015.

KATE LIVIE

“

For my work life,

Chesapeake Semester is a program run each fall semester by the Center for Environment and Society at Washington College. Offered to sophomores, juniors and seniors, the experience is open to any discipline, with no prerequisites. For more information on the program or the Center for Environment and Society, contact Program Manager Benjamin Ford at bford2@washcoll.edu or visit: washcoll.edu/learn-by-doing/ces/chesapeake-semester

September 2021

ChesapeakeBayMagazine.com

WILD CHESAPEAKE

Sea Bassin’ in the Upper Chesapeake by Captain Chris D. Dollar

RICHARD P. GUNION/DNR MARYLAND FISHERIES SERVICE

ike most anglers, I can be a creature of habit, fishing my go-to honey hole for the same species time after time. After all, if it ain’t broke, why fix it? But variety is not only the spice of life, it also bodes well for anglers looking to add to their species list and expand their experiences. With few rockfish (stripers) in the Chesapeake Bay these days, diversification is more important than ever. As conservation groups work with fishery managers to rebuild the East Coast striper stock, many conservation-minded anglers are doing their part. More of us are practicing catchand-release of this prized gamefish, as well as targeting other species such as blue catfish, snakeheads, and black sea bass. The first two fish might ring a bell for upper Chesapeake fishers, but perhaps not so much on that third species. Also known as blackfish, sea bass are tasty bottom dwellers typically

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September 2021

caught in the ocean waters off the Delmarva Peninsula. Catching a legal black sea bass in Maryland’s part of the Chesapeake Bay was considered rare not too many years ago. However, based upon on-thewater reports from anglers and charterboat captains, that seems to be changing. Moreover, Maryland state biologists caught black sea bass in their

winter trawl surveys for the first time in 2020 and 2021. Although there is no scientific consensus as to why the blackfish’s range is expanding, they’ve been caught in even more northern waters, as far north as Buzzards Bay, Mass. On the upper Bay, the best terrain for catching sea bass is similar to that in the Atlantic—meaning, over reefs and other structure. In the Chesapeake, we commonly call such important fish habitat “live bottom,” which traditionally has referred to the Chesapeake’s vast oyster bars. Sadly, the Bay’s once-prolific vertical reefs are a mere fraction of their historical abundance. So today, live bottom—at least to me—can mean any structure on which a thriving ecosystem exists; a place where bottom fish can hide, rest, and feed in favorable conditions. Manmade reefs and other hard-bottom areas fit that bill. There’s a lot of good work going on in this arena. By now you catch my drift: The key to getting on a good sea bass bite is

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Kick-off the holiday shopping season at the Chesapeake Marketplace. You’ll find gifts for everyone on your list—the art lover, the hunter, the fisherman and the gourmet! You can even find the perfect painting for your own collection from the artists of the Working Artists Forum.

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HOLIDAY SHOPPING Kick-off the holiday shopping season at the HOLIDAY SHOPPING Chesapeake Marketplace. You’ll findat gifts Kick-off the holiday shopping season the for everyone on your list—the art find lover, the Chesapeake Marketplace. You’ll gifts hunter, the fisherman and the gourmet! for everyone on your list—the art lover, the You canthe even find the and perfect hunter, fisherman the painting gourmet!for your owneven collection from the artists of the You can find the perfect painting for Working Forum. your own Artists collection from the artists of the Working Artists Forum.

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painters, sculptors, carvers Experience the nation’s bestand wildlife photographers exhibiting numerous painters, sculptors, carversinand downtown pavilions and galleries. photographers exhibiting in numerous downtown pavilions and galleries.

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NOAA/JOHN ROSENDALE

finding a good patch of live bottom. Otherwise, you better have packed a good lunch because it’s likely to be a long day waiting for a nibble. Generally, in the summer, blackfish like to hang around the shallower depths from 15–25 feet. The fish then move to deeper waters on the reefs as the water temperatures drop in the fall. Some of the more popular reefs that hold sea bass and other gamefish include the Gooses, Tilghman, Point No Point, and Tangier Reef. This is a partial list, however, and several sea bass grounds are conveniently close to a public ramp. You can catch Chesapeake Bay sea bass with either a conventional or spinning outfit, albeit on lighter gear than what’s used on the coastal reefs. Anglers I spoke with often use the same setup that they use when vertically jigging for stripers—meaning, a bait caster reel spooled with 15-pound braid, matched with a rod of medium power with fast or extra-fast tip. Spinning reel fans will do fine with a 3,000-sized reel also loaded with 15- to 20-pound test braid. I exclusively use braid because of its low stretch and abrasion-resistant properties. More importantly when targeting fish like sea bass, which can hit gently, it’s much more sensitive than mono so you can better detect the strike. The caveat is that if you have novices on board, braid can be more hassle than it’s worth, since in the wrong hands it can easily foul into a bird’s nest of unimaginable horrors.

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If you’re new to fishing, or taking folks that are just getting into fishing, a friendly heads up: Braid is so fine that it can slice skin if handled improperly. Braid is also finicky about which knots it will take. You have several options but two that I prefer for braid are the palomar knot and the uni-knot. The latter requires a few extra steps from traditional versions. Not sure what

I mean? Remember, YouTube is your friend. Sea bass will hit bait and lures, with a preference for fresh bait—as fresh as you can get it. You cannot go wrong with bloodworms, squid strips, and other fishy bait. Did I mention it should be fresh? Also, processed baits such as Fishbites have been known to bring strikes. A standard top-bottom rig, flicker-style hooks, and the new Chesapeake sabiki rigs are proving themselves to work well. Go on the smaller size with hooks: #2 or #4 hooks on your bottom rigs, and 1/0 or 2/0 hooks on your lures. Speaking of lures, I reached out to Captain Lonnie Johnson, inventor of G Eye Jigs and Rain Minnow lures, for

his take on what the sea bass like. He’s been enjoying a good sea bass bite for a few years so his intel is timely. “Last year, I ran the gamut with bait and lures,” he said. Not surprisingly, his favorite lure is the Rain Minnow, a metal jig he makes and sells. Pink and blue were the hot ticket, though it probably didn’t hurt that he tipped them with squid. Other sea bass-catching metal jigs include Lil’ Bunker and Crippled Herring. Here are a few other tips. After locating fishy structure with your fishfinder, deploy a wreck marker so you can easily return to that spot. GPS is helpful, but the surface marker can make your drift more efficient and easier to replicate, not only when the bass are biting well but when current and wind affects your drift. Anchoring up can also work. As far as keeping a few for dinner, sea bass are an excellent-tasting fish that can be prepared in several ways. Maryland’s regulations for the Chesapeake Bay and its coastal waters are identical: May 15–Dec. 31, 2021, with a minimum size of 12.5 inches and a daily creel of 15 fish. Virginia’s limit is also 15 fish at least 12.5 inches long. In my opinion, you only need a handful. So if you’re looking for a change of pace from the other bass with the seven stripes, the hard-fighting, good-tasting sea bass is just what the doctor ordered.

Capt. Chris Dollar is a fishing guide, tackle shop owner, and all-around Chesapeake outdoorsman with more than 25 years experience in avoiding office work.

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