About the Film
In 1965, on the Eastern Shore of the Chesapeake Bay, the last operating fleet of sailing workboats in the United States was still active. Over forty "skipjacks" were used by Maryland watermen to dredge oysters from the Bay. This fleet survived largely due to a Maryland conservation law that prohibited the use of motor power for oyster dredging. Each oystering season began with a traditional skipjack race, an event embraced by the Maryland State Tourist Board as part of its annual "Chesapeake Bay Appreciation Day."
Filmmakers Slezas and Fisher capture the fading traditions of Deal Island’s small-town life during the 1960s cultural shift toward modernization and commercialism.
The original negative of Watermen was lost, but a new negative was created with a grant from the National Film Preservation Foundation. This new negative, along with a proof print, is preserved in the Folkstreams archive in Chapel Hill, NC.
