MARITIME TRADITIONS
Click here for Maritime Facts program sign

Boatbuilding

Deltaville Boat Builders, Deltaville,
    Middlesex County, Virginia
The Deltaville Maritime Museum
has a superb collection of ship
models, art, and photography. It
also has an active boatbuilding
shop, which crafted the tender
to the schooner Virginia and a
thirty-one-foot reproduction of
John Smith's barge, the Explorer.
museumpark.deltavilleva.com

Smith's Marine Railway,
    Dare, York County, Virginia
Smith's Marine Railway has been
operating on the same site since
1842, when the family settled on
the banks of Chisman Creek in
Dare, Virginia. "K.T." Smith is
the patriarch who oversees the
family business, while his three
sons, Nathan, Tim, and Jamie,
run the boatyard with help from
several other family members.

Alan Staley,
    Faversham, Kent, England
Alan Staley makes and repairs
wooden boats, and he advocates
the preservation of historic boats
and boatbuilding methods. He is
an active member of the Wooden
Boatbuilders Trade Association,
which encourages public knowledge
and use of wooden boats.

Harbor Crafts and Activities
Click here for Harbor Activities program sign (pdf format).

Ted Boscana, Williamsburg, Virginia
Carpenter Ted Boscana has worked
for the Colonial Williamsburg
Foundation for seventeen years.
He apprenticed under Master
Carpenter Garland Wood for
six years. www.history.org

Brenda O'Donovan and
    Linda Benson, Chatham Historic
    Dockyard, Chatham, Kent, England
Chatham Dockyard supported the
British Royal Navy for over 400
years. Its ropeyard was established
in 1618 and is the only one still in
operation. O'Donovan and Benson
offer ropemaking demonstrations
and hands-on experience to
visitors. www.chdt.org.uk

Marshall Scheetz,
    Williamsburg, Virginia
Master Cooper Marshall Scheetz
apprenticed as a cooper under
James Pettengell, who learned
his trade at London's Whitbread
Brewery in the 1960s. Scheetz
demonstrates his craft at Colonial
Williamsburg. www.history.org

Historic Maritime Projects

Alexandria Seaport/
    Thomas Jefferson High School
    Project, Alexandria, Virginia
"Wood, Water & Stone: Building
a Dugout Canoe" is a project of
Thomas Jefferson High School
for Science and Technology.
At Mount Vernon, George
Washington's estate, students
built a Native American canoe
using traditional methods.
www.alexandriaseaport.org
www.tjhsst.edu

Reedville Fishermen's Museum/
    John Smith Boat Project, Reedville,
    Northumberland County, Virginia
Museum volunteers researched and
built the Spirit of 1608, a recreation
of the barge used by Captain John
Smith and his Jamestown crew to
explore and chart the Chesapeake
Bay in 1608. Reedville is home to
the only remaining menhadenfishing
operation in the Mid-
Atlantic. www.rfmuseum.org

Sultana Shipyard/John Smith
    Boat Project, Chestertown,
    Kent County, Maryland
Master Shipwright John E.
Swain, Shipwright Nicholas
Biles, and a group of volunteers
recreated John Smith's shallop.
The new shallop is home to a
crew of explorers, historians,
naturalists, and educators, who
are retracing Captain John
Smith's 1608 expedition to
explore the Chesapeake Bay.
www.sultanaprojects.org

Working the Water
Click here for Fishing and Boats program sign (pdf format).

Danny K. Bowden,
    Chincoteague, Accomack County,
    Virginia
Danny Bowden can trace his family
back to the 1600s on Chincoteague
and Assateague islands. Today,
like many of his ancestors, he
follows the seasons, gill-netting
for rockfish in the spring and
fall, crabbing in the spring and
summer, and guiding waterfowl
hunters in the fall and winter. He
participated in the 2004 Mid-Atlantic
Maritime Festival program.

Mary and Marie Hill,
    Hobson Village, Suffolk County,
    Virginia
Freed African American slaves
founded Hobson Village, located
west of Portsmouth, Virginia.
It lies between the James River
and the Chuckatuck Creek,
where the villagers made their
living by oystering. Marie and
Mary Hill, mother and daughter,
have traced their ancestors
back to the mid-1800s through
land deeds and land grants.

Andy Riches,
    Whitstable, Kent, England
Andy Riches is an oysterman well
acquainted with historical and
present-day methods of oyster
extraction and the important
role of oysters in the Kentish diet
and economy. He is also expert
at repairing oyster-dredging
equipment. Riches has played a
major role in reseeding many of the
oyster beds around Whitstable.

Ken Thomas,
    Dungeness, Kent, England
Ken Thomas, a fisherman who has
lived in Dungeness for much of his
life, is interested in preserving the
history of this unique area of Kent.
He fishes the English Channel using
a gill net and is also quite familiar
with other fishing techniques, such
as trawling, drifting, and potting.

Virginia Institute for Marine
    Science (VIMS), Gloucester Point,
    Gloucester County, Virginia
VIMS plays an important role
in marine science education by
working closely with schools,
businesses, government agencies,
and individuals. www.vims.edu