The Ida May: Chesapeake Skipjack

The story goes there are only two truly happy days in a sailboat owner's life, the day he buys the boat and the day he sells it. That may work for most sailors, but there are exceptions. I found one today. This one isn't about the joy of sailing as a recreation. You could say the sailboat here is a piece of work. She is the Ida May, built in 1906 as a work boat called a skipjack. At one time there were thousands of skipjacks working the Chesapeake Bay oyster beds. Now the fleet is down to about thirty.

Two brothers have been working over the last four years to restore the Ida May, their father's last boat. It is a labor of love. Your link to the story is here.