One of last skipjacks returns to the bay

Annapolis museum bought Wilma Lee from N.C. nonprofit

Flags and the sail on the mast of the historic skipjack Wilma Lee, recently purchased by the Annapolis Maritime Museum & Park. The crew had to measure the mast with tape to be sure it would clear a bridge in North Carolina on the ship’s journey home. (Rachael Pacella/Baltimore Sun Media Group photos)

The Wilma Lee’s name appears on the bow. The vessel left Wanchese, N.C., on June 7 and arrived in Eastport for a champagne toast on Tuesday evening after a week at a dock on the South River. ( )

The historic skipjack Wilma Lee arrived back in the Chesapeake this past week, pulling into Eastport on Tuesday.

The 47-foot-long vessel was built in 1940 in Dorchester County, but has been in North Carolina since 2012, hosted by the nonprofit Ocracoke Alive.

Recently the Annapolis Maritime Museum & Park purchased the historic vessel, intent on bringing it back to the bay and using it to teach about the environment and Maryland’s maritime heritage.

Skipjacks are Maryland’s official state boat; at one time hundreds sailed the Chesapeake’s shallow waters in search of oysters. Just a few remain.

The Wilma Lee is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Before it could return to the waters of the bay, the museum had to sail it here. Enter volunteers Joe Lombardo and Dennis Krizek, as well as part-time captain-for-hire Matt Hurst of Talbot County. The three men sailed the ship — also using the vessel’s twin diesel engines — out of a boatyard in Wanchese, N.C., on June 7 and arrived at a dock on the South River on June 12.

It waited there for a week, and made its grand entrance at a champagne toast at the museum Tuesday evening.

There were obstacles along the way.

The crew sailed up the Intracoastal Waterway, but unsure of the precise height of the boat’s mast, stalled behind a bridge in Coinjock, N.C., concerned that the bridge’s clearance of 64 feet, 4 inches would not be enough.

After two days, Krizek climbed the mast with a measuring tape to see exactly how tall the Wilma Lee was — 63 feet, 9 inches.

The ship also experienced an oil leak, but Hurst managed to get the part for the emergency repair.

Hurst has oystered on skipjacks before, and knows that there is always some kind of work or repair that needs to be done. The Wilma Lee also needs a little cosmetic love. But Hurst, and his temporary crewmates, see opportunity on deck.

A lot is planned for the ship — dockside tours, programs and private charters. In a news release, the museum said it will also offer education programs on subjects such as water quality, oyster dredging, navigation and — of course — learning to sail.

“This will be an authentic experience,” Krizek said.

The museum has been expanding, said Carol Sisco, chairman of its board. And the boat offers another platform to expand.

“The real value of this boat, to be honest, is unknown,” she said.

Sisco declined to say how much the boat sold for, but said an anonymous donation covered the cost. The donation was made specifically to honor L.B. “Buck” Buchanan and his wife, Marsha, she said.

Buchanan was on board for the final leg of the boat’s journey to the museum Tuesday — though it was only from a nearby restaurant to the dock. He said he wants to preserve the heritage of the skipjacks, a vessel specifically designed for watermen to navigate shallow waters and harvest oysters.

People call the Chesapeake’s skipjacks the last commercial sailing fleet in the nation. Cyndy Carrington Miller, who chronicles them on the website The Last Skipjack Project, says the fleet is diminished now, fragile and in danger.

“If people do not start coming together to support these boats, the entire fleet is in danger of being lost,” she said. “It takes money to keep these wooden boats alive.”

Krizek and Lombardo don’t plan on abandoning ship — they’ll be back to volunteer again.

“There’s a lot of work to do now,” Krizek said. “This is just the beginning.”

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