News and Events
Skipjack: The Story of America's Last Sailing Oystermen
April 25, 2010
Christopher White, author of the newly published and critically-acclaimed book, Skipjack: The Story of America's Last Sailing Oystermen (St. Martin's Press), appeared at the Decker Theatre with four legendary skipjack captains from the Eastern Shore, including 89-year old Captain Arthur Daniels, Jr. and his son Captain Stan Daniels, both of Deal Island plus Captain Wade Murphy, Jr. and Captain Stanley Larrimore of Tilghman Island.
Skipjack: America's Last Sailing Oystermen is the story of a quickly vanishing way of life and a culture unique to the Chesapeake Bay. The skipjack, an iconic wooden sailing vessel, has been used for dredging oysters since the nineteenth century. Once numbering in the hundreds, the number of working skipjacks has fallen to little more than a handful as the annual oyster harvest has been drastically reduced due to disease, pollution, and mounting social and economic pressures.
Skipjack: America's last Sailing Watermen was co-sponsored by the C.V. Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience and the Center for Environment and Society with generous assistance from Robert Colborn, Jr. '58 and James Hughes '58, Echo Hill Outdoor School, and Chesapeake Bay Roasting Company. The event also included an exhibition of skipjack-inspired art, including photography and paintings, by Tim Bell, Marion Warren, A. Aubrey Bodine, Michael C. Wooten, Carolyn Egeli, Constance Stuart Larrabee, Mary Ekroos, Pat Vojtech, Chris White, David Harp, Dan Beigel, David Turnbaugh, John Barber, plus ship models from the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum Modeling Guild and many others, poetry by skipjack Elsworth's captain Andrew McCown, and a post-program oyster reception. A very special exhibition of skipjack artifacts and images also appeared at Miller Library, curated by Cynthia Sutton.
Click to enlarge photos.
Cpt. Art (photo: Randy Loftus)
CBMM Modeling Guild displays five-foot skipjack (photo: Donna McGee)
Chris White and Cpt. Art Daniels (photo: Dan Beigel)
Christopher White, Cpt.s Art and Stan Daniels and Capts Stanley Larrimore and Wade Murphy with Michael Buckley (photo: Dan Beigel)
Cpt. Art and son Cpt. Stan Daniels sing for the packed Decker (photo: Dan Beigel)
Cpt. Art Daniels signs book (photo: Donna McGee)
Cpt. Art Cpt. Stan (photo: Randy Loftus)
Cpt. Stanley Larrimore, Cpt. Wade Murphy, and moderator Michael Buckley (photo: Dan Beigel)
Cpt. Wade signing (photo: Randy Loftus)
Decker Theatre (photo: Dan Beigel)
Photographer David Harp with Skipjack Reception guests (photo: Donna McGee)
Miller Library exhibition by Cynthia Sutton
Miller Library skipjack exhibition
Shannon Wyble sells books as fast as author Chris White can sign them (photo: Dan Beigel)
Shore Good sign (photo: Michael Buckley)
Skipjack slide show (photo: Randy Loftus)