The Schooner Lady Maryland: Visit Her at Schooner Days

The Schooner Lady Maryland sailing the Chesapeake Bay

The Lady Maryland is a replica of a Chesapeake Bay pungy schooner, a boat which sailed the Bay in the 1800's. The name "pungy" may originate from the place where some of the first pungies were built - the Pungoteague Creek on Maryland's Eastern Shore. Pungies, which were considered fast sailing vessels in the 1800s, were primarily used as workboats which carried perishable cargo such as oysters, watermelons, tomatoes, fish, peaches, and grain.

Lady Maryland was built by the Living Classrooms Foundation in 1985. The Lady Maryland is made out of wood, principally from the trees of Maryland, such as White Oak and Pine. All the wood used to build this ship was donated by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. 

The Schooner Lady Maryland demonstrating to students how to pull on a line during Schooner Days in Olde Towne Portsmouth, Virginia

Lady Maryland is pink and green because these are the traditional colors for pungy schooners. Some say pink was used because the oxides and pigments needed for pure white were not readily available in the early 1800's. Others say that when the builders poured the white hull paint into the same buckets they used for the red bottom paint, the result was "pungy pink".

The decorative trailboard of the Lady Maryland  moored at the High Street Landing, Olde Towne Portsmouth, Virginia.

Today, the Lady Maryland sails as part of the Living Classrooms Foundation's educational fleet, providing hands-on, multidisciplinary educational programs for students of all ages.

Vital Statistics:

 LENGTH:           104 feet overall

BEAM:     22 ft.
HEIGHT:     85 feet with topmast
DRAFT:     7 feet
SAIL AREA:     2,994 square feet
SAILS:     Jib, Foresail, Mainsail, Topsail
BERTHS:     20
WEIGHT:     82 tons
BALLAST:     18 tons
POWER:     Two 85 horsepower Cummins diesel engines