Summertime Cruising

The Boat Shop boys and the Crockett crew have  been busily building, sanding, and painting in order to get the   F.D. Crockett ready for her August 4 departure to Cape Charles, VA as part of the Chesapeake Bay Buyboat Reunion Tour. The Crockett will spend four days in Cape Charles as the first leg of her summer outreach cruise around the bay. There she will be participate in the parade of buyboats from the Chesapeake Bay Buyboat Association, and be a part of the town’s 125th Anniversary Festival, joining in a variety of festivities. The FD Crockett will be available for tours from 11-4 on Friday, August 5 and from 12-4 on Saturday, August 6 so that the crew can share the history of the boat, explain its restoration by the Museum, and give the public a hands-on look at bay maritime history.

On Monday, August 8, the F.D. Crockett will return to Deltaville to prepare to welcome the flotilla to Chesapeake Marine Railway. This, the former Deagle’s Railway, began as the Price boat-building shop where many of the bay’s historic boats were built. The rest of the boats will arrive Tuesday afternoon, August 9 and will be on display through Wednesday. Some boats may be open for tours, but the crews may be out seeing the sights of Middlesex County. The   Museum will host a special tour of the park and facilities for the buyboat crews while they are here.

On Thursday, August 11, the F.D. Crockett will travel with the fleet to Urbanna for the annual Chesapeake Bay Buyboat Homecoming where more festivities are planned. On Friday and Saturday August 12 & 13 the boats will be open for tours at Urbanna Town Marina from 10:00-5:00. The boats will return to their home ports on the morning of Sunday, August 14.
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Portions of the Crockett’s outreach cruise have been funded by the Chesapeake Bay License Plate Grant in order to bring the history of the buyboats and the watermen who worked them to the generations who did not have the opportunity to see the beautiful craft during their heyday on the bay.

A Day to Celebrate

The crew of the F.D. Crockett watch as  John England, the project manager of the restoration of the the F.D. Crockett, dedicates the vessel  to the boat builders and watermen of the Chesapeake Bay and the families who keep their history alive.

Then they have a little fun as they watch Alberta Flowers, granddaughter of F.D. Crockett, and Vera England, John’s wife, re-christen the boat.  The champagne bottle requires several swings!

                                                                                                                                           

 Then the extended family of the F.D. Crockett, Crocketts, Gaines and Greens, gathered for a  family portrait with the boat.  Betty Green Radwan spoke for all the families in describing how much they all cherished the boat which had been an integral part of their families’  lives for  so many years. She and Alberta Flowers, who was born the year the boat was built,  had both played on the boat as children.

See the Southside Sentinel for a complete article about the dedication. http://www.ssentinel.com/index.php/community/article/accolades_given_to_fd_crockett_volunteers/

Dedication of the F.D. Crockett, May 7, 2011

The ceremony celebrating the dedication of the restored F.D. Crockett will take place on May 7, 2010 at Deltaville Boatyard and Marina at 10:00 a.m. The public is invited.

Kathleen Noffsinger has donated her painting Home Port to Deltaville Maritime Museum in honor of the dedication.

Deltaville Boatyard will host a reception in honor of the hard work by all those involved in the F.D. Crockett Restoration Project on Friday May 6. Contact the museum for more details.

The F.D. Crockett’s Heritage

This past weekend, April 10, 2011, about 70 descendants of the original builders and owners of the F.D. Crockett gathered at the Deltaville Maritime Museum and Holly Point Nature park to celebrate the lives of their waterman and boat builder ancestors with a covered dish picnic. They included as many as four generations— hordes of great-great, great-great-great, and great-great-great-great grandchildren and nieces and nephews of F.D. Crockett, Alexander Gaines, John and Kirby Smith, and William S. "Pretty" Green, and even more friends and museum folks. That's a lot of covered dishes ! It all would have made Lucy Green Lindsey, owner of the boat captained by
her brother "Pretty," proud; she liked to have the family over for dinner after church on Sunday, then have them go out on the boat.

Builder Alexander Gaines constructed the F.D. Crockett in 1924 in his yard in Dare, VA, using techniques like the ones used in this picture of Darling's Railway in Hampton circa 1939. When he was done, he floated the hull across the creek to Smith Marine Railway for further work on finishing up the boat.

In the process of log construction, logs were squared off to fit together, then pinned with trunnels or drift pins,then shaped into the boat. The F.D. Crockett was built with 7 major logs and two smaller ones rather than 5 as shown here.

John Franklin and Kirby Smith were young men when they helped complete the F.D. Crockett at their family's marine railway. They are shown here 35 years later standing in front of a boat that they are repairing. Founded in 1842, the railway is still operational today. Tim Smith, a grandson, is recording information about the railway at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Smiths-Marine-Railway-Inc/116929491658393.

The F.D. Crockett was built for Ferdinand DeSota Crockett of Seaford, shown here with his wife Betty. This past weekend, Alberta Flowers, their grand-daughter, and her brother Wayland Crockett, were videotaped sharing their memories of the boat. Alberta was born the year the F.D. Crockett was built. Her grand-father sold the boat when she was a teenager to Marvin and Lucy Lindsey. Ferdinand and Betty's great-great-great-great grandsons attended the reunion.

William S. "Pretty" Green was the captain of the F.D. Crockett for 50 years. The brother of Lucy Lindsey, he ran the boat for her and her invalid husband, giving half the income from the boat to support them. He became the owner of his beloved F.D. Crockett when his sister died. Because of his affection for the boat, his nieces and nephews arranged to have its picture engraved on his tombstone when Pretty (also known as "Purdy" or "Purtty" by his waterman companions) passed away in 1998. He was called that by his many older sisters because he was such a pretty baby, and the name stuck all his life.

(Photo by Frank Moore, circa 1980)

While he did not have children of his own, "Captain Pretty Bill" is survived by many many nieces and nephews who cherish his legacy. There were so many of them at the picnic that they brought a family tree to keep them all straight.

A young member of the Hollingsworth family, the great-great nephew of Captain Pretty, takes the helm of the F.D. Crockett during the picnic.

Railway 2011, continued

The new chunking has been painted, and we found out that there was a reason that some of the old seams had copper on them when we got the boat.

We found out they still need copper. She's starting to look like an old boat again.

She's ready for bottom paint as soon as the weather clears . Then the boat can go back overboard and we'll continue the work at the museum.

Back at the Railway, Spring 2011

Getting ready for the dance

The long winter seems to be dragging on, but the F.D. Crockett has finally made it back to the railway to get ready for her May 7 Dedication at Deltaville Boatyard and Marina. ( Please come!) The guys also want her to be in tip-top shape for the "F.D. Crockett Family" Reunion on April 10. We have Gaines, Crocketts, Greens, and Smiths coming, and it looks like most of them are all related to each other as well as to the boat! (For more on the Smith family of boat builders, who helped Alex Gaines build the F.D. Crockett, see Tim Smith's Facebook page on Smith 's Marine Railway http://www.facebook.com/pages/Smiths-Marine-Railway-Inc/116929491658393.)

There's a lot of work to get ready for the Crockett's "big dance." John has been working on the hatches in the warmth of his shop this winter, and they will be an addition to the boat. Right now they are working on the annual maintenance, and fixing those things that they didn't like the first time. However, finishing up the interior of the boat still lies ahead. Is a boat ever "finished?"

The boat got hauled March 18 onto the railway next to the "Miss Ann." We have these pictures compliments of Crocketteer Johnny McQueen.

Fred's cleaning up the hull.

The boat has been plagued with a persistent leak since the hull was restored–after two years, John's finally decided that more cotton and caulk is not the answer. He and Gordon (notice the tan: he and the most of the other Crocketteers headed south for the winter) took the offending section out and are getting ready to re-chunk the opening.

Some big hunks of wood are added in– they're using some brute force like their earlier counterparts.

But it's secured with modern epoxy rather than tar. What other techniques would the Smiths have used over the years?

Then it's down to the business of cleaning out and filling seams.

This late March weather isn't speeding things along. Let's hope for a sunny April.

Originally published by Vera England on 30 Mar 2011. Published on WordPress after The Deltaville Maritime Museum and Holly Point Nature Park moved from http://deltavilleva.com/museumpark/ to http://deltavillemuseum.com/

Going Home to Poquoson; Meeting the Crockett “Family” at the Workboat Races 2010

The second voyage of 2010 took the F.D. Crockett back to her birthplace to lead the parade for the Poquoson Seafood Festival Workboat Races on October 10.

We left Deltaville to fanfare from visitors at our own Holly Point Art and Seafood Festival on a perfect Saturday, and arrived to a wonderful welcome from our hosts at the Poquoson Yacht Club …

… which included the "Pin of the City," a cocktail party, luxurious accommodations in an on-site motor home, and a bountiful breakfast the next morning.

The Crockett rested peacefully in her home waters once again.

The morning of the Workboat Races we were prepared to receive a few visitors, but what we did not expect was the "Family Reunion" that was centered around the much loved F.D. Crockett. Descendants of the first owner, Ferdinand DeSota Crockett, of the builders, Alexander Gaines and John and Kirby Smith, and members of Captain Purdy Green's family came with children and grandchildren and great grand-children to walk aboard the boat. In the bustle and excitement of the morning, we got names and pictures and lots of confusion as to who went with which. Please contact the museum to get us straight or to add any information.

As a result of the overwhelming response to the boat, the Deltaville Maritime Museum will be hosting a covered-dish "F.D. Crockett Family" Picnic on the afternoon of Sunday, April 10, 2011 at Holly Point Nature Park to give those who have long-time connections to the boat the opportunity to visit the restored F.D. Crockett.

The Museum is making plans for a formal dedication of the F.D. Crockett on the weekend of May 7, 2011.

Among the visitors:

Tim Green, great nephew of Purdy Green, came by with his family.

Shirley Ann Witt, granddaughter of Alex Gaines

Douglas Crockett with Dustin and Corey

Kathy Gaines Sanders and her cousin James T. Gaines

Archie White, long time friend of the Crockett

Alberta Flowers, grand-daughter of Ferdinand DeSota Crockett

Standing proudly with the crew of the Crockett

James Gaines with more of his family

F.D. Crockett's grandson, Wayland Crockett, Alberta Flower's brother

We were privileged to have Captain David Rollins of Poquoson, who in past years had led the workboat parade as owner of the buyboat East Hampton, on board to help judge the races. Among the sights was a log canoe built by Dave's father, sailed by his brother to introduce the festivities.

By the time the races started, we were too busy watching to take pictures, but we did see some gorgeous workboats before the action started.

The next morning, the crew of the F.D. Crockett was ready to depart at sunrise for the trip back to Deltaville.

She backed out of the yacht club as the sky was bright enough to see the multitude of day markers that lined the channel out of the Back River

We met the Misty Virginia on the way,

as we headed out into the Bay for our return home to Deltaville.

Originally published by Vera England on 24 February 2011. Published on WordPress after The Deltaville Maritime Museum and Holly Point Nature Park moved from http://deltavilleva.com/museumpark/ to http://deltavillemuseum.com/

Visit with a Crockett Crew Member from the 1940s

Visit with Wallace Smith, 81, who worked for long time captain Purdy Green. Wallace, nicknamed "Duck," is Purdy's cousin–as well as the son of one of the builders, John Franklin Smith. Along with some more of his cousins, he visited the Deltaville Maritime Museum and was interviewed for this video on the Southside Sentinel. Go to http://ssentinel.com/ and look for "Remembering the Crockett" in the video archives.

Duck and his relatives were full of information about the museum exhibits. He had plenty of stories to tell about how he worked on the boat one year when he was 17. Tired of school, he asked if he could help his uncle oystering — and soon decided that school wasn't so bad after all.

It was wonderful having Wallace Smith come to see the Crockett. We welcome visitors who knew and loved the Crockett in its earlier years and would love to hear your stories.

Our First Urbanna Oyster Festival

The F.D. Crockett has been so busy that we haven't had time to write about our adventures! After the Poquoson Seafood Festival in October (our return to the Crockett's original home, where we were welcomed with open arms), we got ready to make our first trip to the Urbanna Oyster Festival on November 5 & 6, 2010. We got off to an early start early that week: a cold windy morning with a beautiful sunrise as we rounded Stingray Point. But also at Stingray Point we had the wind NE about 25 with 4 ft. seas. Those pictures will have to remain in your imagination, as the crew was safely in the pilot house as the boat heaved through the waves; but the boat handled well.

The winds had died by the time we tied up at Urbanna Town Marina 3 hours later giving John time to check out the leaks where the cotton had heaved out from between the logs from the pounding around Stingray Point.

But it was still cold when we set up the exhibits for the festival.

(Photo by Bob Walker)

We had plenty of visitors to come on board: our neighbor, the Godspeed, counted 2300.

(Photo by Bob Walker)

Among them were the "Crockett Girls," the original owner F.D. Crockett's great granddaughters and their mom.

Sunday morning after the festival, not quite so early, we headed back to Deltaville.

Another cold windy day; a little rough when we left Urbanna Creek, but as we got down the river the wind was behind us, so we didn't have to plow through it like we did on the trip up…..

we headed back under the bridge

Captain John surveys the decks on the leeward side of the pilot house.

We caught up to the Godspeed, which had left an hour or two before us.

And we traded a few pictures. These two are from Eric Speth, the Godspeed's Captain (and runner up in the Amateur Oyster Shucking Contest)

The winds settled down as we got even further down the river …

… making it a pleasant ride with the winds behind us as we passed the Godspeed, rounding her stern for another photo opportunity.

As we reached the bay we had a sleigh ride around Stingray Point, but cruised back into Mill Creek with nary a ripple.

(Photo by Chuck McGhinnis)

Our next adventure will be hosting visitors after the Jackson Creek Christmas Cruise.

Originally published by Vera England on 7 December 2010. Published on WordPress after The Deltaville Maritime Museum and Holly Point Nature Park moved from http://deltavilleva.com/museumpark/ to http://deltavillemuseum.com/

Sea Trials!

Since the F.D. Crockett returned from Reedville, John and the guys spent the rest of the summer working on the rails. The "waist" around the boat has been completed, and she looks a lot more like she did originally. We got to take her out onto the bay in September for "sea trials" prior to our planned trip to the Poquoson Seafood Festival Workboat Races on October 10.

Bob Walker took pictures of the F.D. Crockett from his boat:

When we got to Windmill Point, Gordon and John dragged the anchor line out of the hold to do an anchor drill for the first time.

Once it was in the water, they had to haul it out. It looks like John's doing the work, but Johnny (hidden behind him) really gets all the credit for anchor retrieval!

Then they stowed it so it'll be ready for next time.

John is just visible in his red life jacket at the stern of the boat. He's ready to jump into Bob's boat to check out how the Crockett looks in the water.

Here's a view of the topsy turvy stern as Bob and John head back toward the boat.

Once Bob gets on a steady course …

… John jumps back in the Crockett:

Sea trials completed for the day, the F.D. Crockett heads back to the museum docks.

Originally published by Vera England on 6 Oct 2010. Published on WordPress after The Deltaville Maritime Museum and Holly Point Nature Park moved from http://deltavilleva.com/museumpark/ to http://deltavillemuseum.com/