Chesapeake Bay, Oysters and the Skipjack

...... by Bill Hudson

Archeologists have evidence of man enjoying a meal of oysters as far back as 35,000 years at Neanderthal sites in both Gilbraltar and Portugal. The ancient Romans had houses with huge tanks for keeping oysters fresh. And during the Roman occupation of Britain in 78 B.C., the Romans exported their prized oysters from the Kentish coast back to Italy. In 1189, the king of England issued charters to towns on the Kentish and Essex coasts to collect and sell oysters. But by 1557, the demand had been so high that some of those oyster beds were already in danger of extinction.

Imagine the excitement of Captain John Smith in 1607 as he began the exploration of the largest estuary in the United States . . . the 2,300 square miles of the Chesapeake Bay. He and his men discovered the local Nanticoke Indians had also long-valued oysters as confirmed by a site containing 30 acres of empty shells. 

Chesapeake oysters were so plentiful that early ships often ran aground on huge oyster beds or reefs. Colonists appreciated the endless food source, but also realized a potential money-maker. Oysters are always in demand; the Chesapeake Bay was loaded, and oysters are readily accessible. The largest oyster beds are typically found in shallow waters of depths from two to thirty feet, near coves, creeks, and the mouths of rivers. By the early 1700s, watermen in boats were scrapping the top layers of reefs with oyster tongs, bringing them up in bunches as shown in the figure. These early watermen became known as “tongers.”

Man, being competitive, creative and capitalistic, soon developed a far more efficient method of rapidly harvesting oysters. . . the dredge – a heavy cage with or without iron teeth dragged from the back of a large sailing vessel across oyster beds. Huge numbers were gathered quickly. These watermen became known as the “dredgers,” or more colloquially as “drudgers” by the local folks. But acknowledging the damage that dredging does to reefs and underwater grass beds (a necessary habitat of many water species), the Maryland General Assembly prohibited dredging in 1820. Only Maryland residents were permitted to harvest oysters by either hand or tonging. But the neighboring state of Virginia continued to allow dredging. And the exact borderline between the two states was questionable.

Predictably, tongers and dredgers did not get along. So, in 1865, the sail-dredge law was passed in Annapolis, Maryland. It officially divided the waters – rivers for tongers and the Bay for sailing dredgers only. Powered vessels were prohibited from dredging. But the rapid rise in oyster prices tempted outlaw dredgers. Many invaded tonger grounds. . . typically “in the dark of a new moon, while wearing black, with mud on their sails for camouflage, and the name of their boats obscured.” The Oyster Wars were in full swing and the bodies of many watermen were left floating on the Chesapeake. By the 1880s, nearly every waterman wore a gun and the newly formed Maryland Oyster Navy was overwhelmed. The tongers and police violently fought with dredgers for over 50 years until the Depression, poor prices, and the scarcity of oysters diminished the hate.

During these times, three types of sailing vessels became popular in both Maryland and Virginia. In the 1840s, it was the pungy boat with a large keel and two tall masts. But these were large and heavy, with deep draft; and they were expensive.

As dredgers began working shallower areas, the cheaper, lighter draft bugeyes became popular. The bugeye was a small, flat-bottomed centerboard schooner with two masts. In 1885, these sold new, including sails, for about $1,150.

The 1890s marked the development of the skipjack. . . a simple wooden, one-masted, V-bottom or deadrise, that was cheap to build and easy to operate. Roughly 50 feet in length and 16 feet wide, the skipjack is light with a wide beam, low freeboards, and a square stern capable of dredging even in the shallows with a small crew. By 1901, with approximately 2,000 in service, the skipjack had replaced nearly every pungy boat and bugeye.

Today, only 29 skipjacks remain operable. They still dredge for oysters complying with Maryland’s many restrictions for sail-powered dredge boats. However, in 1965 Maryland allowed the use of motor power two days per week. As a result, most remaining skipjacks added a stern davit to hold a small motorized pushboat.

In 1985, the skipack was designated the state boat of Maryland. To this day, the law prohibits skipjacks from carrying “not more than two shotguns not larger than a number ten gauge and using shot not larger than number one.” As a side note: In 1959, when I was 15 years old, my Grandpop Hudson (a watermen from Greenbackville, Virginia) gave me his double-barrel 10-gauge Ithaca shotgun. 

In my Newsletter of September 2022, Owning A Monterey Clipper, I discussed my fortunate meeting with Paul Kraus, an artist and model ship builder who lives in Fort Bragg, CA. Paul exhibits his work along with his wife Stephanie in Noyo Harbor at: Sportsman's Park Gallery and Gifts, 32094 North Harbor Drive, Fort Bragg, CA 95437. I encourage anyone traveling through Fort Bragg to call 707-813-7261 for an appointment and/or stop by. Paul can also be contacted directly at balsaboy2@gmail.com.

This past June on our yearly drive up the Pacific coast, I asked Paul to make a Chesapeake Bay Skipjack to add to my growing collection. Paul recently completed the model and I can’t wait to pick it up in the spring. Once again, for any boat enthusiast or historian, I could not recommend a better investment than a custom wooden model made by Paul Kraus. 

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Ref (1) Skipjack, The Story of Americas Last Sailing Oystermen, Christopher White, 2009

       (2) The Oyster Wars of Chesapeake Bay, John R. Wennersten, 1981

       (3) Maryland Code / Section 4-1013 Dredging Regulations and Prohibitions

       (3) Wikipedia