The
pungy is a type of
schooner developed in and peculiar to the
Chesapeake Bay region.
The name is believed
to derive from the Pungoteague region of Accomack County,
Virginia
, where the design was developed in the 1840s and
50s.
In form, the pungy is a two-masted
gaff-rigged schooner with a main
topsail but no
square-rigged sails (as found on the related
Baltimore clipper). The
mast are tall and raked, and there is a
bowsprit on the
clipper
bow. The deck is flush, with a log rail. The hull is framed and
has a vee profile. One peculiar detail of the pungy is its
traditional paint scheme of green and pink, the origin of which is
unknown.
The pungy, like the Baltimore clipper, evolved from the
pilot schooner. Its principal usage was to haul
freight, particularly perishables.
It was capable of ocean travel and was
used, for instance, to ship pineapples to
Baltimore from Bermuda
. It
was also used for a time to
dredge for
oysters, but its excessive
draft and large crew complement led to it being
replaced by the
bugeye. The last
pungies were built in the 1880s, and its use died out in the first
half of the twentieth century.
A replica, the
Lady Maryland, was built in 1985-1986 and
continues to serve as a floating classroom for The Living
Classrooms Foundation.
References