Tidewater Triumph

The fast, famous pilot schooners of Chesapeake Bay -- employed not only for piloting but for cargo-carrying -- began to build their legend in the eighteenth century, becoming blockade runners during the American Revolution, privateering vessels during the War of 1812, armed dispatch and policing vessels for European navies, and a favored type for the activities of pirates, smugglers and slavers. Variations of the final "clipper" model of the Baltimore schooner continued the vessel's reputation through the nineteenth century as both great yachts and humble "pungy" schooners carrying produce.