The Bernice J. is a Chesapeake Bay

Chesapeake Bay

The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States. It lies off the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by Maryland and Virginia. The Chesapeake Bay's drainage basin covers in the District of Columbia and parts of six states: New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West...

 skipjack, built in 1904 in Young's Creek, Virginia, by W. Thomas Young of Parksley, who also built the Claude W. Somers

Claude W. Somers (skipjack)

The Claude W. Somers is a Chesapeake Bay skipjack, built in 1911 in Young's Creek, Virginia, by W. Thomas Young of Parksley, who also built the Bernice J.. She is presently ported at Claiborne, Maryland. In 1977 the Somers was struck by a squall near Hooper Strait Light, leaving six drowned,...

. She is a 42 feet (12.8 m) two-sail bateau, or "V"-bottomed deadrise type of centerboard sloop, commonly referred to as a skipjack. She worked dredging oysters through the 1970s. She is located at Chestertown

Chestertown, Maryland

Chestertown is a town in Kent County, Maryland, United States. The population was 4,746 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Kent County. The ZIP code is 21620 and the area codes are 410 and 443...

, Kent County, Maryland

Kent County, Maryland

Kent County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland, on its Eastern Shore. It was named for the county of Kent in England. Its county seat is Chestertown. In 2010, the county population was 20,197...

.

She was listed on the National Register of Historic Places

National Register of Historic Places

The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...

in 1985.

External links

• BERNICE J. (skipjack), Kent County, including photo in 1983, at Maryland Historical Trust