Skipjack
The Story of America's Last Sailing Oystermen
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4.0 • 6 Ratings
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
In Skipjack, Christopher White spends a pivotal year with three memorable captains as they battle man and nature to control the fate of their island villages and oyster fleet. Through these lively characters, White paints a vivid picture of life on a skip - jack, a wooden oystering sailboat as they dredge for oysters—a favorite staple of iconic American seafood cuisine for over a hundred years. But this last vestige of American sailing culture is rapidly dying. State officials have mismanaged the waters, putting sport above business, and modernization above tradition. These captains must set aside their rivalry to fight for their very livelihood. With so many obstacles, it is not certain the fleet will survive the season. Hinging on its success, the viability of the nation's premiere estuary and the survival of a classic American town hang dangerously in the balance.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In late March 1978, biologist and science writer White (Chesapeake Bay) joined the crew of the sailing ship Rebecca T. Ruark, a "skipjack" that was "among the last sailboats still employed in commercial fishing in North America." Renting a cottage in Tilghman, a village then untouched by development and tourism, White spent the next year chronicling the lives and community of the oystermen. In order to preserve the oyster population, an 1865 Maryland law limited the dredging of oysters to sail-powered ships; for over 140 years, this "enforced obsolescence" approach worked; now, however, the oyster population of the Bay (once "king of the American oyster") is plummeting for reasons not entirely clear, though pollution, disease and more efficient fishing methods have all contributed. Naturally, what's at stake is not just an important sea creature but a way of human life; White mines information and testimony on every aspect of community life, from family recipes to skipjack races to oyster wars, in a moving account. Examining the circumstances and difficult decisions of men like the skipper of the Rebecca, a third-generation oysterman, White provides on-the-ground insight into the possibilities and problems of simultaneously sustaining a community and an ecosystem.
Customer Reviews
Perfect
I was born and raised on The Bay but never had quite the knowledge of the Skipjack fleet. This book was great from the humorous characters to the eloquent language used to describe The Bay in all her glory. One of my favorites. I will be giving this book for Xmas.