DEAL ISLAND, Md. -- A Chesapeake Bay tradition dating back over six decades returned to Somerset County on Monday as the 66th annual Deal Island Skipjack Race set sail.
From the shoreline, the historic wooden boats appeared as specks against the vast waters of the bay. However, for locals and visitors, binoculars and cameras brought the action into focus.
"They’re spread out, so it’s hard for me to know who’s winning, but I think they’re all winners," said Mary Lee Ross.
Despite the seemingly scattered scene on the water, the race followed a carefully planned course.
"The start is here, they went north to a red mark, came across then went south all the way down here to another red mark, turned, and they’re gonna come back north and go across the finish line,” explained Meg Jones, walking us through the map handed out to each spectator.
Sailing the course requires skill and precision, with captains relying solely on the wind to propel their vessels.
"There’s a lot of tactics going on, trying to read the wind and read the water and just figure out what’s your best line," said Bill Schneider. "It’s a game of inches really."
This year, victory belonged to captain Shawn Ridgley, who steered the 119-year-old Ida May to a narrow win.
"We took our tack all the way across and set ourselves up for a final tack back to the finish line, and that gave us one less tack than the Murphy's had to do on Rebecca," Ridgley said.
While activities off the water added to the festival atmosphere, most of the attention remained on the handful of captains keeping the skipjack tradition alive.
"There used to be hundreds of these on the Chesapeake Bay,we're down to a fleet of about 23, I think the number is," said Schneider."It's a whole culture, it's a whole lifestyle, and so this, these races that are happening on the Chesapeake Bay, there's three in the month ofSeptember, are an attempt to preserve that culture, that legacy, that is really uniquely Maryland."
Beyond celebrating history, the race also serves a practical purpose. With oyster dredging season beginning in October, the annual event allows crews to test their boats and ensure they are ready for work.