Tangier Island

At the top of my destination list for this trip on the Bay was a visit to Tangier Island, towards the middle of the Chesapeake, SE of the mouth of the Potomac River. Thunderstorms were predicted for Monday afternoon so we left Onancock in light drizzle and headed for Tangier, knowing we may we weathered-in because of an approaching front. Anyway, we had flat seas with no white-caps for the first time! Tangier Island here we come!

 We followed the long, windy channel in from Tangier Sound. The island is very small and just about at sea level! The only cars are driven by the Police and Fire Dept., which has long hoses in the back of a pick-up truck! We spotted fire hydrants around the island. The island has two main "lanes", running north and south, that are "busy" with golf-cart, bicycle, and scooter traffic, as well as pedestrians like us. The main lanes are parallel to each other, separated by a marsh in the middle. Three boardwalks connect the main lanes, going over the marsh. On the western coast there is a runway for planes, also running north and south.

Generations of watermen have continued to crab and fish these waters. Family names of Tangier include Crockett, Parks, Pruitt, Williams, and Evans. As we have continued to make our way north on the Bay, I have seen these names in many other seacoast towns. The original setters came from Cornwall, England, and much of their "accent" continues to this day. We had no trouble communicating with islanders....their Cornwall accent via the Carolinas just sounded southern to us. BUT in the restaurant a group of locals were talking, and we couldn't understand what they were saying!

 The island comprises about 758 acres...of which only 83 acres aren't marsh!!! Hence, you are either buried in the Methodist churchyard, or in the front or back yards of your family home! All these old tombstones were from the Thomas family, and situated in the back yard.

More old graves...this time in the front yard!

There is a wonderful museum on the island that explains so much history....from the 1600's to the present.  The British trained runaway Black slaves here to fight in the War of 1812. They were rewarded with property on the many Caribbean islands under British rule, and their ancestors continue to live there today. On our charts, we see danger areas designated as Navy target practice sites. In 1931 Gen. Billy Mitchell tried to prove that aircraft could sink a battleship...a new concept, at the time. He proved it right off the coast of Tangier Island! 




 Everything here reminds you of the mainstay of their economy...the crab! From my teaching days, I am able to tell a male from female crayfish...such a handy skill! But telling a male blue crab from a female blue crab is so much easier. On their undersides, the male has a marking that resembles the Washington Monument, and the female has the capitol building! She also likes to paint her nails!!! 

Their water comes from artesian wells, 1200 feet deep!

                                                                                                     

We couldn't resist the chocolate crab suckers!

                                                     Many of the lighthouses on the Chesapeake used to be just that....houses with lights! The museum had before and after photos...1890 and 1961. They used the same substructure for the new light. Don't you just love the boat garage????

Crab shacks and docks are built along boardwalks over the water all along the entrance channels. No precious land above water is needed!

Here is a view at low tide...lots of Canada geese and goslings!

Kate went on long walks with us, but Lacey only goes on short ones. While we were eating lunch at a restaurant, Kate was tied on her leash. Somehow she managed to jump up on the walkway and started munching on barnacle shells on a crab pot that was part of a decorative display! 

Lacey was having trouble walking for a few days...but ever since she stole a hot dog out of the frying pan (cold at least...all beef, no nitrates!), she has been much perkier! Luckily, she doesn't seem to mind when we all leave the boat for one of our long walks!

As a side note...we were weathered-in the next day and stayed safe and snug at the dock. We saw whitecaps at 7am, and the wind was supposed to be near 20 knots....we motored on FLAT seas on Wed. to Rock Hall, MD, about 100 miles north. Snow Cat is now north of Baltimore, on water she has never traveled before!