It doesn’t seem possible, but one man is saving a skipjack folks thought was destined for the burn pile. Farmer Bob Fitzgerald, of Venton, thinks he can rebuild the famous City of Crisfield.
Dry-docked at Scott’s Cove Marina in Chance, the skipjack has been out of the water since 2016. It was captained by owner, Art Daniel, who died in June 2017, just a few months short of turning 96.
He was dredging oysters about two years before an accident ended his days on the Chesapeake Bay.
Daniel’s son, Stan Daniels (the two last names are spelled differently), died in October 2019, and was the last to dredge oysters aboard the boat his father captained for decades.
For years the skipjack was deteriorating and major repair work was delayed.
Restoration looked unlikely
Built in 1948-49, in Reedville, Va., Daniel’s boat was among 35 of the surviving skipjacks, or “bateaus,” in 1987. The number has steadily dwindled. Today there are probably less than 10 working the bay.
The City of Crisfield is the sister skipjack to the Somerset, which was heavily rebuilt over the past five months by owner and captain Bobby Leath of Salisbury. The City of Crisfield has always called Wenona her home port.
As winters came and summers went, much of the skipjack above the waterline was rotting. The bottom was replaced at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum in St. Michael’s in 2001, after the skipjack sank in Cambridge Harbor. Shipwright Mike Vlahovich estimated then that it would cost more than $200,000 to do the necessary work on the boat.
It was never done.
Daniel’s widow, Stella, tried to get donations to save the skipjack and hosted a fundraiser on site in August 2016, but the modest amount of money contributed was a drop in the bucket to the tens of thousands of dollars needed to save and rebuild it.
With oyster prices low, oyster buyer Danny Webster said those who could have rebuilt the skipjack were discouraged from doing so, fearing an inability to recoup their substantial financial investment in saving it.
The City of Crisfield was looking rougher than ever by the end of this past summer. Weeds were growing along the edges of widening holes on deck, and bits and pieces of the boat were falling to the ground. The hold was full of rainwater.
“People must think I’m crazy doin’ this,” said Fitzgerald, retired educator and still active farmer.
He’s sharing his “craziness” with his former high school pupil, Harold “Stoney” Whitelock. The two are still working on rebuilding the Anna McGarvey, a project they started on in January 2019. Whitelock, who is patent tonging this oyster season, helps when he can.
“This is Bob’s boat, his project” said Whitelock, “but I’ll help him when I can.”
Skipjack ownership murky
Truth is, the City of Crisfield is not “Bob’s boat,” and it’s still uncertain as to who owns it.
As work goes on, there’s still the unresolved legal matter of who or what entity owns the skipjack.
Whitelock said Daniel’s son, Rev. Bob Daniels of Crisfield is giving the skipjack to the Skipjack Heritage Museum in Chance. Yet no paperwork has been exchanged.
“Daddy (Arthur Daniel Jr.) died without a will, and my brothers Terry and Stan are dead so that leaves me and my sister Jenny as the main owners. My brothers children would also come in for it, too, “ he said. As will Stella, Daniel’s widow.
“We can’t get a clear title through the Custom’s House,” Daniels said. “I’ve been spending money but nothing’s happening yet. I told Stoney he could take her for the Skipjack Heritage Museum.”
Daniel, dying intestate, has resulted in a complicated and entailed ownership of the skipjack. Nevertheless, Fitzgerald works on good faith.
How is it possible that a man 81 years old can save the day? See the rest of the story in the Dec. 2 edition of the Crisfield-Somerset County Times.
"save" - Google News
December 04, 2020 at 10:50PM
https://ift.tt/36GXyIr
Farmer leads effort to save derelict skipjack ‘City of Crisfield’ - County Times
"save" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2SvBSrf
https://ift.tt/2zJxCxA
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Farmer leads effort to save derelict skipjack ‘City of Crisfield’ - County Times"
Post a Comment