log canoe Archives - Talbot Spy

The Flying Cloud Log Canoe Preservation Trust has met the $75,000 challenge grant from the Paul B. Prager family of St. Michaels, Md. by raising more than $95,000 from others towards the restoration of the historic sailing log canoe.

Joanne Prager and Capt. Kenneth Reightler, Flying Cloud log canoe

Joanne Prager and Capt. Kenneth Reightler stand in front of Flying Cloud

Recognized on the National Register of Historic Places, Flying Cloud races under the No. 22, and is the second largest racing log canoe in existence today, requiring as many as 18 crew to campaign her.

Earlier this year, the new non-profit Trust began organizing and financing the critical work required to return Cloud to competitive sailing form for the 2020 racing circuit. In October, the Paul B. Prager family of St. Michaels, Md., pledged to donate $75,000 towards Flying Cloud’s renovation, once the Trust raised $75,000 from others. A USNA graduate, Paul Prager is CEO and Chairman of Beowulf Energy and principal of Bluepoint Hospitality Group. Making up the Trust are members Ned Hennighausen, Allan Noble, Hon. John C. North II, Capt. Kenneth Reightler, Alexa Seip, and Langley Shook.

“With a $20,000 donation from an anonymous donor, and very generous help from artist Marc Castelli, we have met and exceeded our fundraising obligation under the very generous Prager family challenge,” said Trust President Ned Hennighausen. “Our target of $150k provided some buffer for sails and other refit items, and with our fundraising now in excess of that, we can provide for a small endowment for Cloud.”

Hennighausen says Marc Castelli donated 25 limited-edition prints of one of his Flying Cloud paintings, which were of great help with fundraising efforts.

“We’re also pleased to announce a new Prager Family Trophy, to be awarded at the end of each sailing season to the log canoe winning the most sanctioned races on the Miles River,” continued Hennighausen. “The Prager Family Trophy, now under development, will include a unique sculpture of Flying Cloud, with the annual winners receiving a keeper trophy to commemorate their victories.”

During all races, Hennighausen says Cloud will fly a distinctive pennant of Navy blue and gold with a “Blue Peter” inset in honor of Paul Prager, a distinguished graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy. The pennant is based on an original design by Marc Castelli.

Retired astronaut, U.S. Naval Academy’s Distinguished Chair in Space Science, and log canoe sailor Capt. Kenneth Reightler, Jr. was named skipper of the log canoe this past October.

Flying Cloud was built on Tilghman Island, Md. in 1932 by the legendary John B. Harrison, who also built Flying Cloud’s sister ship, Jay Dee, a year earlier. Reightler also has an important family connection with Cloud—Harrison is his great-grandfather.

The restoration work is taking place at Campbell’s Boatyards in Oxford, Md., and is being completed in accordance with the Secretary of the Interior’s guidelines for the Restoration of Historic Vessels. Restoration is expected to be completed by June 2020, with a launch party celebrating the occasion.

The Trust continues to accept donations in support of Flying Cloud’s endowment. Donations to the Flying Cloud Log Canoe Preservation Trust can be mailed to P.O. Box 130, Oxford, Md. 21654. For more information, please follow the Flying Cloud Log Canoe on Facebook and Instagram, or contact Ken Reightler at [email protected] or Ned Hennighausen at [email protected].

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This winter, shipwrights at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum in St. Michaels, Md., will take on the restoration of a subject they’re all too familiar with — a Chesapeake Bay sailing log canoe.

Part of CBMM’s small craft collection, Glide is a three-log canoe believed to have been built c. 1864 at Town Point in Dorchester County, Md., by Washington Hammond Skinner (1823-1901). Originally called Monkey, it is believed to be the oldest existing Chesapeake Bay log canoe and was donated to CBMM in 2018 by John T. Adams, Jr.

Three-log canoe Glide

“This project is an opportunity for visitors to observe as our shipwrights conserve one of our most historic vessels,” said Associate Curator of Collections Jenifer Dolde. “Curatorial staff will document each step of the process as we uncover the mysteries of Glide’s log-hull construction, replacing decayed wood in order to preserve the canoe for years to come.”

CBMM’s Shipyard staff, led by Joe Connor, will work to restore Glide to sailable condition without doing a complete overhaul of the historic canoe’s log hull. The primary focus of their work will be resplining two primary log joints to increase their strength and water-tight capabilities while maintaining the mechanical biscuit fasteners original to the vessel. Their goal is to sail Glide by the end of summer 2020 before returning the canoe to sit on display in CBMM’s Small Boat Shed. All work will be done in adherence to the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Historic Vessel Preservation.

CBMM’s working Shipyard has previously built two log canoes—Bufflehead (2014–2015) and Caroline (2018-2019)— and completed a historic restoration of 1889 bugeye Edna Lockwood, another log-hull Chesapeake Bay-built boat, in 2018.

“There’s no other Shipyard in the world more experienced in working on Bay-built log canoes,” Connor said. “We’re always excited for an opportunity to help preserve a vital piece of Chesapeake Bay history and to teach both the public and our apprentices more about traditional wooden boatbuilding.”

Photo courtesy of John T. Adams, Jr.

For most of its history, Glide used for pleasure, but not for racing. John T. Adams Sr. acquired the boat in 1962 from Raymond Ziegler of Cambridge, who bought the boat in the early 20^th century from Earle Orem, a mayor of Cambridge. In 1943, marine architect Howard I. Chapelle restored Glide and took its lines. Unusual among surviving Chesapeake Bay log canoes, Glide’slogs are joined with wooden mortise and tenon rather than the iron drifts typical of later log canoes.

The Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum’s working Shipyard preserves traditional Chesapeake Bay wooden boatbuilding skills and techniques through living traditions, experiential archaeology, and education from youth to adults. A tangible connection to the Chesapeake’s rich history boatbuilding, shipwrights are dedicated to passing on skills and knowledge necessary to carry the wooden boat tradition forward. To learn more about CBMM’s Shipyard, its staff, and its current restoration and construction projects, visit cbmmshipyard.org.

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Prager Family Challenge Met for Flying Cloud restoration

CBMM Shipwrights to Restore Oldest Existing Log Canoe

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