SHIPWRECKED IN THE CHOPTANK RIVER + OYSTER DRUDGIN’ | Waterman | Capt. Wade Murphy

Captain Wade H. Murphy, Jr is a 5th-generation Tilghman Islander who oyster dredges from a national historic landmark, a skipjack named the Rebecca T. Ruark built in 1886. Being America's oldest commercial sailboat in operation & hearing from her ol' time waterman captain, makes this episode a slice of Chesapeake Bay living history.  We begin with family - his grandfather having fallen overboard in 1914 - and hear about the rough bygone crews, skipjacks, the Oyster Wars, and how exactly "arster drudgin'" works. For story time, Capt. Wade recounts his harrowing experience of going down with his ship during an unparalleled November storm. One feels like they're there in the pissing rain & crashing waves as the Captain describes it in vivid detail, culminating on how the historic ship was saved from dying on the bottom of the Choptank River. We end with some question and answer: sailing superstitions, the captain's religiousness, things found in the dredge net, and a short ghost encounter.

If planning a Chesapeake Bay trip, sail onboard Capt. Wade's historic skipjack or join his son's outfit to catch a Maryland crab feast.



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