The Trot Line
Thursday, May 27, 2021
When we were studying “Active Captain” to learn about the holding at our current anchorage, we read all these comments about the local crab fishermen and their “trot lines.” This really meant nothing to me until this morning when we saw a few of these boats make their way up and down San Domingo Creek. The lines are extensive, maybe a quarter mile long) and seem to lie along the bottom of the creek. At intervals, bait bags are tied to the line. Presumably there is a float attached at one end (or possibly both ends). The vessel comes alongside the float and picks up the line with a boat hook. The line is laid over some kind of pulley attached to the boat. The boat then drives along the length of the line. As the bait bags are pulled up, one after another, the crabs are lifted near to the surface. The smart crabs let go as they get close to the top but the crabber holds hit net in the water under the bait bag and catches the crabs before they drop back to the bottom. It seems a pretty ingenious system, which reminds me of watching children trying to catch crabs in the UK using beef hearts in net bags attached to a string. Of course there is the whole question of where is this line relative to our anchor and chain. We will have to face that another day.
After watching the crabbing operation, we took the dinghy to the public dock on the south side of St. Michaels. We walked into the town and found the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum. Will Gates, the boat captain at St. Mary’s, recommended the museum to us. He told us that a new version of the “Dove” was under construction at the Maritime Museum. In fact we were able to get a good look at the partially planked hull. It’s quite an amazing undertaking. The cross-members of hull are stout, even the planks look substantial (at least 2 inches thick). A young worker named Matt gave us a little tour showing us the various different woods that are used for different parts of the ship, the steaming operation that allows the plank to be bent to the shape of the hull, the way the lead is pieced into the keel. We even got to go topsides and look at the work going on above. Standing on the deck, I thought that those who crossed the Atlantic on the “Dove” were some brave souls. Admittedly it’s bigger than our boat but still....
Other highlights of the museum were a corkscrew lighthouse that had formerly been positioned out in the bay but was now on land. You could get a sense of what life as a lighthouse keeper might have been like from the displays and signage. One building was devoted to small working boats that had plied the waters of the bay either fishing, crabbing or oyster fishing. Another building was devoted to pleasure craft on the bay—different styles of sailboats and powerboats. At that point there was more to be seen but we were tired. If we hang around tomorrow we can get back into the museum using the pass we bought today.
Gloria
38 46.244 N, 76 13.754 W
Fantastic pictures of the Dove. Thanks!
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