Pungy

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. [cite web|title=Chesapeake Bay Workboats: The Pungy|url=http://www.mariner.org/chesapeakebay/waterman/wat003.html|publisher=The Mariner's Museum, Newport News, Virginia|accessdate=2007-03-19]

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 masts 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. [cite web|title=Chesapeake Bay Workboats: Pungy|url=http://www.baygateways.net/bayworkboats.cfm?id=6|publisher= [http://www.baygateways.net/ Chesapeake Bay Gateway Network] |accessdate=2007-03-19] 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. [cite web|title=Lady Maryland Facts|url=http://www.livingclassrooms.org/shipboard/lmfacts.html|publisher=Living Classrooms Foundation|accessdate=2007-03-19]

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