A little about this painting: One very cold February morning, I and a few other people went out on the Rebecca T. Ruark (number 29), a beautiful old Chesapeake Bay Skipjack, for a day of oyster dredging near Tilghman Islan, MD. Among the visitors that day were Artist, John Barber and friends and a Baltimore Television Crew from Channel 45.

Before we left the pier, Capt. Wade Murphy, of the Rebecca T. Ruark, asked us if we help as crew members because he was shorthanded. Of course, 4 of us agreed to work, even though we each paid $40 for the day.

During the day the weather went from frigid cold, to snow flurries and finally warmed up to where we shed our heavy coats. We all worked very hard at bringing up the dredges, culling through the oysters and filling baskets with those we kept. Captain Wade Murphy sailed us over the oyster beds while, at the same time, Channel 45 TV crew members were filming and interviewing us to record our experiences that day. Later that day a friend of Capt. Murphy came alongside so some of us could take a small boat around the skipjack, as she was dredging, to take some photos. It was then that I was able to take the photo that I would later use as reference for this and a previous painting. As you look at the painting, you can see Capt. Wade Murphy talking with Artist John Barber as his Son Wade Jr. gets the dredge ready for the next run. I am so glad that I decided to work alongside John Barber and others as the experience that I gained on that single day taught me so much about the hard life of a waterman and their harsh environment.

I later discovered that Channel 45 aired a short segment, from our trip, called “Want-to-be Watermen”, that featured that special day onboard Rebecca T. Ruark.