At the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum, 101-year-old buyboat Winnie Estelle is run by an all-volunteer crew and tasked with taking guests on tours of the Miles River and hosting private charters. General cruises of the Miles River are available Friday–Sunday, and specialty cruises to dive deeper into the ecology of the Bay or watch sailboat and log canoe races are offered on select dates throughout the summer and fall.
The Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum invites you to its St. Michaels, Md., campus this summer to meet Winnie Estelle, a 101-year-old buyboat that has had more life experiences than many people, let alone boats.
Winnie Estelle Then
Winnie Estelle was built in Crisfield, Md., by Noah T. Evans in 1920 and named for his two daughters. For more than 50 years, Winnie Estelle was used as a workboat on the lower Chesapeake Bay, carrying seafood and produce to market across the Chesapeake Bay. The boat changed hands between six or seven different watermen during that time, with its last owners on the Chesapeake being Smith Islanders Watson Marie Marshall, or “Shug,” and his son Eugene “Gene” Marshall. They bought Winnie Estelle in 1960 and frequently took it across the Bay to pick up fish scraps for rendering, to sell oysters, or to travel to the waterfront fish market in Washington, D.C.
In the 1970s, Winnie Estelle was taken to the Caribbean for use as an island trader, carrying lumber from Honduras to Belize. Eventually the boat was used for charters, offering island cruises with comforts like excursions to snorkel the barrier reef and sip rum punch.
Winnie Estelle is pictured with a deckload of oysters in Annapolis, Md., c. 1968. Photograph by Ernest Tucker, 1968. Gift of Jane Tucker. Collection of the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum.
Winnie Estelle Now
Winnie Estelle returned to the Chesapeake Bay in 2012 and in 2014 was given yet another lease on life, as the buyboat was purchased for the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum. At CBMM, Winnie is run by a volunteer crew and tasked with taking guests on tours of the Miles River, serving as an on-the-water classroom for educational programs, and once again hosting private charters. General cruises of the Miles River are available Friday–Sundays, and specialty cruises to dive deeper into the ecology of the Bay or watch sailboat and log canoe races are offered on select dates throughout the summer and fall. To find one that interests you, visit cbmm.org/onthewater.
Winnie Estelle can also be booked for special occasions like birthday parties, sunset cocktail cruises and day charters for up to 20 guests. To learn more about booking Winnie Estelle for your next event, visit cbmm.org/rentwinnie.
