NARRATOR
Every autumn and winter, for a hundred years and more, they harvested this Chesapeake -- watermen by the tens of thousands on workboats by the hundreds.

Watermen haul up a dredge full of oysters.

NARRATOR
(continuing)
On huge double-masted schooners and bugeyes and pungys, and on smaller, dirty-white sloops they called skipjacks.
NARRATOR
(continuing)
In Maryland they called this work drudgin' -- and they still do.

A slow tour around the skipjack under sail.

NARRATOR
(continuing)
With single masts and shallow drafts and iron dredges, skipjacks are still hauling up a harvest of oysters --