The Island Blossom is a three-log Chesapeake Bay log canoe, built between 1892 and 1895 by William Sidney Covington in Tilghman, Maryland for William H. Myers, Jr. of Oxford, Maryland. She is a 32 ft 7.5 in (9.944 m) sailing log canoe with a beam of 6 feet 7.5 inches (2.019 m). Double-ended, her bow is sharp with a straight, slightly raking stem and a longhead, and she has a sharp stern. The canoe is privately owned by the family John C. North II, descendants of Mr. Covington, and races under No. 9. She is one of the last 22 surviving traditional Chesapeake Bay log canoes, carrying on a tradition of racing on the Eastern Shore of Maryland that has existed since the 1840s. Island Blossom followed two of Covington's slightly larger canoes, Island Bride and Island Belle, both of which were raced for Baltimore athletic clubs and were well documented champions on the Chesapeake. Steered in her early years by John Gibson and Buck Richardson, Blossom was built to race and has had an illustrious career that continues to this day.
ISLAND BLOSSOM (log canoe) | |
   | |
| Nearest city | St. Michaels, Maryland |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 38°48′0″N 76°13′10″W / 38.80000°N 76.21944°W |
| Built | 1892 |
| Architect | Covington, William S. |
| Architectural style | Tilghman |
| MPS | Chesapeake Bay Sailing Log Canoe Fleet TR |
| NRHP reference No. | 85002255 [1] |
| Added to NRHP | September 18, 1985 |
Skippered since 1999 by Corbin Penwell of St. Michaels, Maryland, with a crew that includes several members from his first three campaigns, Island Blossom has won a record 14 consecutive High Point trophies for the fleet's overall season winner, finishing first overall from 2009–2023 (the fleet skipped the 2020 season due to COVID-19). This streak topped the previous mark of six in a row originally set by Doug Hanks Sr., also aboard Blossom, between 1981-1986 and matched by Tyler Johnson on Persistence from 1998-2003 and Blossom under Penwell from 2009-2014. Island Blossom has won 28 High Point trophies overall since the award was established in 1969, including 17 under Penwell. She is located at St. Michaels, Talbot County, Maryland.[2][3]
She was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.[1]
[4]==References==
- ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. April 15, 2008.
- ^ "Maryland Historical Trust". ISLAND BLOSSOM (log canoe). Maryland Historical Trust. 2008-06-14.
- ^ "Island Blossom #9 – CBLCSA". Island Blossom. Chesapeake Bay Log Sailing Canoe Association. 2010-07-24. Archived from the original on 2011-07-08. Retrieved 2010-07-29.
- ^ North, II, John C. (2018). Tradition, Speed and Grace. St. Michaels, Maryland: Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum. ISBN 978-0-922249-15-2.
External links edit
- ISLAND BLOSSOM (log canoe), Talbot County, including photo in 1984, at Maryland Historical Trust