THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, July 7, 1995 TAG: 9507070341
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY KAREN JOLLY DAVIS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: ONANCOCK LENGTH: Medium: 63 lines
The Annie C found a permanent berth Thursday as the Eastern Shore of Virginia Historical Society brought her to Kerr Place in Onancock. As the crane crew eased her onto a concrete cradle, 80-year-old Don Corbin watched with quiet satisfaction.
``I remember the boat in sail,'' said Corbin, who spent 21 years on police boats with the Virginia Marine Resources Commission. ``I think this is wonderful.''
The Annie C was built in 1904 by Horace Bundick of Sanford. Corbin's father, Capt. James C. Corbin, owned and worked her until 1915. The ship was named for Don Corbin's grandmother.
Annie C is one of the last surviving log canoe sailboats. Hundreds were built on the Eastern Shore in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Their design evolved from Native American canoes that were carved from a pine log.
Annie C was made from five logs held together with wooden pegs. Old pictures show the boat with a raked mast. Corbin said his father would scrape the mast with broken window glass, then oil it to slow weathering.
The boat had one big problem. When empty, it didn't have enough ballast. So Capt. Corbin carried sandbags to keep the stern from lifting.
``It was such a fast sailing boat that the rudder would come out of the water,'' said Corbin.
Don Corbin's eyes light up when he tells stories about the Annie C's speed. Capt. James Corbin's uncle was a steamboat captain, he said. One day, while in Baltimore, the two captains got word of a death in the family.
The steamboat captain told his nephew to get on board so they could go to the funeral. The wind was blowing too hard to sail, he said. But Capt. Corbin hoisted anchor anyway. The Annie C passed the steamer in Tangier sound and won the race home to Saxis.
``They really blew the sails off her, they said,'' remembered Corbin.
Annie C got an engine by 1910, and was used to harvest clams, oysters, crabs, fish and turtles. Sometimes, said Corbin, his father hauled Eastern Shore potatoes to Baltimore.
The boat was abandoned in the 1960s and sank in a creek near Sanford. Frank Young of Eastville, Corbin's stepson, made it a personal project to resurrect the boat and donate it to the historical society. To get Annie C to Onancock, movers first had to cut some old-growth pines to get her out to the road.
The historical society hopes to build a shelter for the boat, and to restore her. That way, future generations can catch a glimpse of a way of life once common on the Chesapeake, but gone forever. Even the language watermen used to describe their life is fast disappearing.
``They said she used her sail from sun to sun,'' said Corbin of the Annie C. ``That's how they said how they said they sailed, from sun to sun.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo
KAREN JOLLY DAVIS
The Annie C is hauled to her resting place in Onancock. Built in
1904 by Horace Bundick of Sanford, the ship was owned and worked by
Capt. James C. Corbin until 1915. His son, 80-year-old Don Corbin,
remembers the ship in sail. The Annie C was named for Don Corbin's
grandmother.
by CNB