Sept 12-13 Tangier Island

September 12 - 13

We pulled into Tangier Island during high tide and Mr. Parks met us and helped us with our lines.
Captain John Smith, during his summer-long 1608 exploration, happened upon this group of islands in the middle of the bay.  Today Tangier Island, roughly 18 miles southeast of the mouth of the Potomac River, retains its connection to the water as home port to a large fishing fleet.  The island is about two miles long and we explored it on foot.  We were greeted by locals riding the narrow streets on golf carts.  No cars are allowed here.



 

Mr. Parks was ready to help us with our lines. 

                                 


 

Tangier Island is a true fisherman town where every dock has a crab shack, working boats and walls of crab pots.
There are about 50 watermen who work here.  We were told that the watermen are becoming extinct!

 

 

 Crab chairs in front of Tangier's Museum which provides  a  history of their main industry, crabbing. 

 

We ran across the gravestones in the front yard of this house and were told this was unique to the
Eastern Shore of Virginia especially on this small island.

                                      

 

 

We had to try some fresh crab cakes!  We placed our order and we were  greeted with a British accent that assured us she had the best crab cakes in town. We walked back to the dock to enjoy a beautiful sunset and delicious crab cakes.  The Watermen truly earned our respect today.  What a hard way to make a living.