Lady
Maryland's Heritage
The Lady Maryland represents
our historic relationship with the sea reminding us of Maryland's unique sailing
heritage on the Chesapeake Bay. Sailing is truly an ancient mode of transportation,
which has been traced to papyrus reed rafts sailed by the Egyptians over 7,000
years ago. As civilization evolved through the centuries, so did sailing ships.
The first Europeans to extensively explore the Chesapeake Bay were aboard sailing
vessels with Captain John Smith in 1608. Since then, sailing ships have played
a significant role in life on the Chesapeake Bay and have provided the vital line
between communities that grew along the Bay's shores. Many types of ships have
sailed the Bay for reasons such as exploration, transportation, commerce, war,
commercial fishing and recreation. A ship's size, shape and rigging design would
vary according to the ship's intended purpose but all shared a common dependence
on wind and power.
The talented Chesapeake shipwrights (boat builders) were ever mindful of a boat's
future function such as oystering, carrying pilots and./or cargo, or fighting
ships. They constructed each boat to serve a specific purpose. Over the years,
a unique and useful line of ships, renowned for their innovative design, evolved
on the Bay.
The Lady Maryland is a type of Chesapeake Bay schooner called a pungy.
Pungies are descended from the Chesapeake pilot schooners of the 1700's. Pilot
schooners were fast, maneuverable sailing vessels that transported bay pilot navigators
to larger boats entering the unpredictable Bay channels. To attain superior speed
and maneuverability, pilot schooners were built long and lean; light on the water
and capable of carrying a lot of sail on their raked masts (masts that are angled
back).
Pilot Schooner
The speedy design of the pilot
schooner was used and adapted in the late 1700's to make two types of fast, agile
sailing vessels. A descendant of the pilot schooner was the famous Baltimore Clipper,
built for war. The other descendant was a swift vessel built to carry perishable
cargo instead of pilots and became known as the pungy.
Baltimore Clipper
Pungy Schooner
(like Lady Maryland)
