Braving the weather and the tides, Chesapeake Bay watermen rely on sturdy workboats to deliver the Bay’s abundant finfish and shellfish to market. Buyboats, skipjacks, bugeyes and draketails are just a few of the vessels used to harvest fish, crabs, oysters, clams and other seafood from the Bay.
This video has more about the history of Chesapeake Bay workboats:
Life as a waterman is rarely glamorous, but most of them wouldn’t have it any other way. Photographer Jay Fleming’s article and photography in Soundings’ October 2017 issue sheds light on the hardscrabble lives of the Bay’s watermen and the boats they use to make a living.
