Margaret & I on the dock at Smith Island
Margaret drove the 21/2 - 3 hr. to Reedville after a long day at work, arriving just after 11pm; well past a sailors' bedtime, but she's worth waiting for! The following morning we set sail east across the Chesapeake … destination either Smith or Tangiers islands …. wherever the wind would blow us, comfortably ;) Weather was great - light steady breeze, with settled seas, and it took us to Smith island, Maryland's last inhabited island.
Captain & Mate on Smith Island dock
payment on the honour system
It was the first visit there for all of us. There is no option to anchor out, and as we approached the port town of Ewel, I hailed the local marina on VHF 16 …. no response …. again …. no response.... one more time …. nothing.
Tried their cell phone number too … still no luck in making contact.
We docked there regardless, as it truly was our only option and upon entering, found no staff …. just a note explaining their honour system, with a mailbox to accept payment. Another first. 'Got to love these smaller communities.
Gil with both his girls - me & Serenada
Smith island has a population in the hundreds (400'ish?) and the islanders make their living off the water - crabbing, oystering, eeling, and fishing … with a little added by tourism. The three of us toured the island on foot.
crab pots
Margaret treated us to lunch, so we took advantage and treated ourselves to the local delicacy, a soft crab sandwich!
soft crab sandwich
more crab pots
typical waterman's crabbing boat
repair shop
left behind as the population declines
crab pot floats
Smith Island has three settlements: Ewell, Rhodes Point and Tylerton. Ewell, the largest with a population of about 250, is the port town and welcomes all visitors. Rhodes Point is about 3 miles up the main road, which we walked to …. the town map was posted on their welcome sign … too cute!
population 80
Rhodes Point garden features
more and more crab pots
waiting for 'peelers'
inside the crab shanties
it's not the watermen profiting from crabs
While in Rhodes Point, we needed use of some facilities. The only public buildings, the church and community center were both closed. We inquired with a couple of fellows working at the local boatyard / haulout facility, and had no luck there either. It seemed the closest facilities were back in Ewell, 3 miles back! We quickened our pace. Luckily, one of the fellows was making his way into the bigger town, spotted us along the roadside, and offered us a ride. A short cut to the ladies room was not to be turned down. We felt like teenagers free riding on the back of his pick-up.
free riding
The third town of Tylerton is actually separated from Smith Island by water and can only be reached by boat, so we weren't able to visit it. It also had a population of about 80 people. It's hard to imagine what it would be like to live in such small communities, isolated on an island.
ready to leave Smith Island
The time came for us to depart and sail back to the mainland. As it happened, however, the better sail had us heading to Tangier Island, and Margaret's schedule was flexible enough to allow another stop and an extra day away from the office, so we decided to visit it also. We docked at Parks Marina.
Parks Marina on Tangiers Island
also on the honour system
Tangier Island is shrinking. Outsiders describe it as sinking; but the islanders correct that and tell you it is being washed away. The local museum is taking up a collection to build a breakwall around the island, now only about 11/4 square miles in size. Tangier Island is even smaller than Smith Island, but its' population is similar - about 450. Like Smith Island, the livelihood depends on crabbing, oystering, eeling and fishing, with a little extra from tourism.
We found Tangier the more picturesque of the two islands....
returning from crabbing
crab shanties of Tangier Island
picture perfect
yet more crab pots
Both Smith and Tangier Islands have their own unique dialect, described as an old English brogue; and their own unique expressions:
First generation to live on Tangiers - 'come heres'
Second generation to live on Tangiers - 'been heres'
Third generation to live on Tangiers - 'lived heres'
Fourth generation to live on Tangiers - Tangiermen
Unique expressions:
"Eating our white bread" - doing real well
"Vamped up" - repaired temporarily
"Now what's to pay" - now what's up
Fire Hydrants of Tangiers (above) & Smith (below)
so serene
When it was time to leave, we couldn't! Check out our chartplotter's depth measure below - 1.8 ft! Our vessel's draft is 4'6". The tide was out. We couldn't even power off. Often the bottom is soft enough - like butter - that we can manage to maneuver despite being 'on bottom,' but not this time. We had no option but to wait for the tide to come in. Eventually, the tide rose enough, and with the help of passing wakes of other boats, we got off.
depth finder reading 1.8 ft. - stuck in the mud!
The sail back to Reedville on the mainland was pleasant and took about 4 hours, so despite our late morning departure, we arrived mid afternoon. Margaret had yet to drive back to Alexandria, but was kind enough to let us take advantage of her and her car, to load Serenada up with the heavy stuff - wine, beer, water and other drinks - always a challenge for us cruisers who have to mule many of our provisions. Thank you Margaret!
