DEAL ISLAND — Local skipjack captains hoisted their sails and headed into Tangier Sound on Monday, the first day of the oyster season for the century-old boats.
While tongers have been working since Oct. 1, the season for power dredging and for sail-powered skipjacks, which also use dredges, traditionally opens a month later.
This year, there are three working skipjacks in Somerset County — one docked in Deal Island and two at Wenona — but most watermen in this "home of the skipjacks" favor workboats powered by engines instead of wind.
One of them, Danny Webster of Deal Island, said he saw a lot of spat — baby oysters — while working in Fishing Bay, a sign that the population is healthy.
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