THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, January 28, 1996 TAG: 9601260234
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 10 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Cover Story
SOURCE: Lee Tolliver
LENGTH: Long : 134 lines
The old wooden skiff sits partially submerged, its faded green paint barely visible through the algae and grime that covers it.
It's seen better days.
When the boat was first launched into the waters of Back Bay some 40 years ago, it brought opportunities of marvelous bass fishing or duck hunting trips.
On countless mornings this once-sturdy craft ferried bleary-eyed outdoorsmen, out to beat the sunrise, to their secret spots before others got there.
As those anglers and hunters piled in their day's gear, the hull never gave way. But as the years went by, a permanent fixture in the boat became a piece of plastic milk carton used to bail water that seeped through cracks that had started to form as the skiff began showing its years.
And when the bay started to die and much of the wildfowl and water life went away in the early 1980s, so did the skiff's usefulness. Like so many similar boats, rentals from the docks of places like Bay Haven Farms, Davis Marina and Lovitt's Landing, the skiff died a slow death.
That end was painfully obvious during a recent trip past what were once some of the hottest fishing and hunting launching spots on the East Coast.
``It's like an end to an era,'' said Tom Snider, an avid Back Bay outdoorsman who lives near Munden Point Park.
If anybody would know about how Back Bay used to be, Snider, 61, would. He's been hunting and fishing the sn of hunters and fishmen who had plied those waters for decades before his arrival.
He remembers when fishing and hunting camps on the bay were all hustle and bustle - attracting thousands of his peers from all over the country.
``The late 1960s through the 1970s were probably the best days that I remember,'' said the now retired Snider, who started fishing and hunting the fertile waters in 1958. ``It's sad to see how things have gone down over the years. It was such a productive place in those days.''
Snider rented dock space at Bay Haven Farms in 1958 and rented a cabin on the grounds the following year. He still rents them, even though the place isn't what it once was.
But it is the only operating fishing and hunting camp left on the shores of Back Bay.
Harrell Grimstead, who took over the business from his father - who had taken it over from his father before him - changed the name to Bay Haven Farms in 1948. Now, at 67 with his health failing, he no longer runs the quaint little shop where so many were welcomed every morning for coffee, conversation and a bucket or two of minnows.
``People still launch boats here and the hunting has been the best it's been in a long, long time,'' Grimstead said. ``But the shop's closed and I don't sell no bait anymore.''
Grimstead, like other bay watchers, is seeing a resurgence in the life of the bay's waters - natural grasses like duckweed and milfoil are starting to make a comeback. Waterfowl feed on these grasses and that's a reason for the recent improvement in hunting conditions. Fish also use these plants as habitat and a place to find smaller fish for food.
It's all happening for a number of reasons. A combination of more careful land management has slowed pollution, there have been more educational programs about how what happens elsewhere affects the whole ecosystem and more land in the area has been protected from development.
The return of the plants and subsequent wildfowl and waterlife could mean the same for the bay's popularity.
But some people doubt it will ever be like it was and say the old launching locations will surely never be the same.
Many of the marinas, boat launches and impressive hunt clubs of old are gone. Lovitt's and Davis' landings closed their doors several years ago and Lovitt's is all but falling into the waters of Muddy Creek, a small stream that feeds into the bay.
All that is left of boat docks at Davis' are the corroded pilings. The small building is boarded up and fenced in - big KEEP OUT signs warning intruders that the business is closed.
Even the little skiff's home at Bay Haven is in bad shape compared to the old days.
Ah, the old days.
Richard Crabtree - or Pappa Rich as he was called - was largely responsible for introducing a number of youngsters - among them Rob Phillips, Fred DeZouche and Crabtree's own son Harvey Caldwell - to the riches of a day on Back Bay.
When some of the young anglers became old enough to drive, they would carry an old motor and fishing tackle to places like Bay Haven as soon as school was out for the day.
``That was the best way to grow up in my opinion,'' said Caldwell, now 38. ``Mr. Grimstead and Bay Haven and all the people around those places were classics. Growing up in those times was something kids today don't have and it's too bad.
``I'm glad to say I was lucky enough to experience it.''
Driving by all the old haunts stirs memories of what once took place in those spots - the youthful jaunts, quality time spent with friends, early morning hours out on the bay and the adventures people of all ages had in that now submerged skiff.
But it's exciting to see what changes have taken place lately - the grasses growing again, little baitfish swimming about in water that is much clearer than it had been in years.
And thoughts change from sorrow to joy at the notion that maybe the bay will be coming back to life and some of the good old days will return.
And maybe, someone will buy that old skiff from Mr. Grimstead and return it to the look of its glory days. MEMO: Beacon Sports Editor Lee Tolliver is a lifelong fisherman and
outdoorsman who has spent much of his life out on Back Bay and its
surrounding waters.
ILLUSTRATION: Staff photos, including color cover, by DAVID B. HOLLINGSWORTH
This 40-year-old wooden skiff is symbolic of Back Bay itself. Like
so many similar boats, rentals from the docks of places like Bay
Haven Farms, Davis Marina and Lovitt's Landing, the skiff died a
slow death.
ABOVE: A very old bait sign marks Bay Haven Farms, the only
operating fishing and hunting camp left on the shores of Back Bay.
RIGHT: All that is left of boat docks at Davis Marina are the
corroded pilings. The small building is boarded up and fenced in -
big keep-out signs warning intruders that the business is closed.
Inside Lovitt's Landing, a rotting fish net leans against a broken
window that overlooks the water. Lovitt's closed several years ago.
An old boat house - also pictured on the cover - has collapsed into
Back Bay across from Muddy Creek Road at Lovitt's Landing. Muddy
Creek is a small streak that feeds into the bay.
VP Graphic/Map
Revisting Old Marinas
by CNB