Stats for May 30, 2019

Origin: Yorktown Harbor

Destination: Tangier Island

Distance: 55.2 miles

Speed: 8.1 mph

Time on the Move: 6 hours and 48 minutes

Weather was perfect to leave Yorktown and head to Tangier Island. As soon as my brother, Brad, heard we were going on this boat trip, he made sure to tell us about Tangier and how we had to go because it is sinking and won’t be there forever. It has been on our “must visit” list ever since.

Heading to Tangier, we had to go all the way across the Chesapeake, which seemed like we were heading out to nowhere. The weather and waves cooperated and Tangier appeared before us.

Tangier Island was settled in the 1770’s (though Native Americans and others were here long before that) and is based on a crabbing culture. Most people here make a living by crabbing, calling themselves “watermen.” The residents speak a unique dialect of English that sounds like a foreign language when they speak amongst themselves. Many linguists have studied the language and find it to be quite unique from other dialects and even different from that of early settlers. One thought is that the isolation of the island has allowed the dialect to evolve over time, separate from what exists elsewhere since these people do not interact with those on the mainland often.

One more interesting aspect of the island is that it is, indeed, sinking and is predicted to be uninhabitable by 2050 due to rising sea levels and lack of sea wall fortifications around the island. They say 67% of the island has disappeared since 1850–hard to imagine. Already, there are signs of rising water everywhere. Small “crab condos” that crabbers use to house molting crabs have become individual islands that can only be reached by boat. Front yards are constantly flooded, and the streets are quite often underwater at high tide (as you’ll see in our pictures).

There is one marina for transient boats on the island. Mr Parks is 80 something years old and runs the marina though he can barely walk. He helped us battle wind and current to get into our slip and then rested against the side of our boat for a while to regain his strength. We learned that many places on the island are only open from 10-4 or so each day while there are tour boats visiting. There was only one place open for dinner, so we headed there to get a feel for the island. Of course we ordered all things crab—fried soft shell crab (basically a crab that just melted and shed its hard shell right before he was dropped in the fryer) and she crab soup. We also had salad and pizza!! It was unique and different.

Afterwards, we walked around town and almost lost Tobin to a speeding biker. (These fast bikers need to settle down and keep an eye out for 5 year olds!!) The houses are quaint and quite often rundown. There are graves all around the island, and it is not unusual to see a small plot in each yard. We found a sign that said keeping graves near homes helped make tending graves convenient, protected bodies from grave robbers or animals, and also minimized flooding or high tides that would float bodies to the surface since the area around homes is usually built up. Interesting and creepy!!

We found a playground, toys to keep us entertained, and one other looper who was also visiting the island. We also found this cute cat who wanted to become a boat cat. There were cats everywhere on the island. This beauty finally left me alone after following me around for an hour.

Sitting on the boat that night, we contemplated the fate facing the islanders. When would they move? Where would they go? How much would they leave behind? It is a fascinating problem to ponder and one I’m glad doesn’t impact me directly.

The next morning we wanted to explore a bit more before heading out. We walked thru town and crossed over a few walking bridges covering flooded areas (previous to the bridges being built, they had to take a boat to get to different parts of the island). The museum finally opened up and we got to see artifacts islanders donated to the cause and watch a movie about the life and future of the island. The islanders seem discouraged that no one has built a sea wall around the island to protect it from complete devastation, and as far as we are aware, nothing like that is even in the works. Sure seems like time is running out to keep the island a safe place to live.

It was an interesting place and I’m so glad we checked it out. After picking up some souvenirs, we headed back to the boat to get ready to head out. We did stop to buy a slice of the famous Smith Island cake to try before we left. Smith Island Cake originates from a nearby island where the women would send these cakes with many small layers of cake mix and fudge out with their watermen when they left home for the harvest season. The cakes would last a long time and were used to celebrate all kinds of occasions. Yum!

Thanks for reading and following our adventures!!