Charlie Paparella Sails at the Deal Island Skipjack Festival

DEAL ISLAND, Md. – In this week’s edition of Back on the Road with Charlie Paparella, brought to you by Furniture & More Gone Coastal, Charlie went sailing during the Annual Deal Island Skipjack Race & Festival.

Those sailing in this year’s race opened the event with a prayer, asking for protection from boat damage and for calm hearts during rough seas.

“May we enjoy the thrill of the race, honor one another and return safely ashore when the day is done,” one sailor chanted. 

Captain Stony Whitelock is known by many watermen as a longtime sea captain, one with a strong voice. His grandson, however, Harvey William David Whitelock, is a quiet spoken young man. Harvey told Charlie he’s been sailing his whole life, and at the ripe age of 14-years-old, he clearly understands the growing pressures facing Chesapeake bay watermen today.

“We get hurt by South Carolina a lot, and Texas and Louisiana because they also have blue crabs. They have a lot more, but they’re not as good,” Harvey said to Charlie. “Our limit by law is down to 100 bushels a day.”

Charlie says a skipjack is more than a sailboat to Delmarva people; it’s a shared history of ingenuity, hard work and bountiful seasons. If you ever get an opportunity to travel even a short distance “under sail”, it can be a beautiful, and very peaceful experience. Just take it from Charlie!

To learn more about this year’s Skipjack Festival, check out WMDT’s coverage here. And, if you have a story idea that you’d like to see Charlie tackle, email them to papa@wmdt.com.