Three Sisters at Hooper Strait-Circa 1960

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=50 BGCOLOR="#996633" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B><U>THREE SISTERS IN HOOPER STRAIT–CIRCA 1960</U></B></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=165 BGCOLOR="#669999" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="132" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 35 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="id40.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Skipjacks at Cambridge"><U><B><IMG SRC="007151d0.gif" border=0 width="21" height="29" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <A HREF="id48.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="USCG Southwind at Key Shipyards 1969"><U><B><IMG SRC="008151d0.gif" border=0 width="21" height="29" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="20"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="35" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="20" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <A HREF="id6.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE=" 16 x 20 Pen Ink"><U><B><IMG SRC="00d0d1d0.gif" border=0 width="13" height="29" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="29" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" WIDTH="27"></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></B></div> <div> <A HREF="id6.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE=" 16 x 20 Pen Ink"><U><B>Return to 16" x 20" pen and ink page</B></U></A></div> </td> <td valign="top" height=430 BGCOLOR="#006699" TEXT="#080000"> <div>   <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#FFFFFF" FACE="Arial" >  </FONT>           </div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>In 1832 a retired bricklayer in Ireland, Alexander Mitchell (1780-1868), discovered that the use of a propeller like screw on the end of an iron piling enabled it to be screwed deep into unstable soil or sand making it very firm and stable.  This invention, the screw piling, became the preferred method around the world of constructing lighthouses in unstable areas and was first used for the Maplin Sands lighthouse at the mouth of the Thames River.  The screw pile soon became the standard method of constructing off shore lighthouses in the Chesapeake Bay.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>The Hooper Strait lighthouse, now part of the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum in St. Michaels, MD, guarded Hooper Strait for over 85 years.  This hexagonal structure was the second lighthouse to occupy Hooper Strait,.  The first was destroyed in 1877 when the hollow screw piles used were unable to withstand the force of winter ice flows.  The new lighthouse was built in 1879 on seven</B><B> 10" </B><B>solid iron pilings screwed 25 feet into the Bay bottom.  It was manned until 1954 when it was automated and continued to operate as an automated light until </B><B>1966 when</B><B> the U. S. Coast Guard declared it surplus and it was acquired by the Museum.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Chesapeake Bay watermen have fished these waters for over 200 years.  Oysters, crabs, as well as fin fish have been abundant since the Bay was first discovered by Captain John Smith.  The 37 foot </B><B>Three Sisters was</B><B> built in Wingate, Maryland in 1961.  She operated out of Bishops Head about a mile south of Wingate near the tip of the peninsula that runs between the Honga River and Fishing Bay in souther Dorchester County.  Hooper Strait lies at the end of this peninsula where Fishing Bay, the Honga River, and Tangier sound meet just north of Bloodsworth island.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Three Sisters</B><B> was a typical Chesapeake Bay deadrise with the a “V” bottom hull and flared bow overhang which evolved over many years to meet the very unique demands of the relatively shallow water of the Chesapeake.    The Three Sisters is shown here trot lining for crabs in the summer, however, she was also rigged for oysters in the winter and other fish as the seasons dictated.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>The lighthouse, as she now stands at St. Michaels, looks slightly different than she did in Hooper Strait.  The sheet metal roof was originally painted red but when she was moved to the Maritime Museum the restoration utilized  more durable copper for the roof which has aged to a natural green.  Also, the  iron framework around the bell was replaced with wood.  The original iron piling foundation with it’s iron rod and turnbuckle bracing could not be salvaged.</B></div> </td> </tr></table></body>