Approximately 20 boats, ranging from 29 to more than 40 feet in length and weighing 12,000 to 40,000 pounds, competed in the extreme docking event, captained by locals and watermen from the surrounding region. The field draws from the Chesapeake Bay competitive docking circuit, which includes such boats as Outlaw, No Smoke, Wild Child and others, as well as individual participants.

The timed event begins with the boat docked bow-first into a slip. When the starting horn blasts, the engine roars to life, blasting black diesel smoke out the exhaust ports, and the water explodes over the stern as the boat roars in reverse out of the slip. Immediately, the captain executes a sharp turn racing backward and then slams the boat into forward gear within inches of colliding with the dock perpendicular to the slip. The boat races forward at top speed parallel to an adjacent slip, and then the skipper slams the gears into reverse, sending a tsunami over the stern as the boat swings through a sharp 90-degree turn and races backward into the slip. As the boat squeezes perilously into the narrow slip at high speed, clearing the dock and pilings by inches, the competitors toss lines tied to hula-hoop-like snares over four pilings, one at each corner of the slip, then sprint back to the helm to reverse the propeller and halt the boat before it crashes into the dock. The thrilling maneuver is achieved in 20 to 30 seconds, depending on the size of the boats.

In team competition, the captain pilots the vessel while one or more teammates handle the ropes. Competitors are grouped into divisions primarily by boat size.

The camaraderie among the competitors and good-natured competition make it a festive event for all, drawing the community together for a day of family fun. The day before the event, dozens of volunteers from the community hauled bleachers into place and set up concession stands to put on the fundraiser.

Celebrating family and boating, old salts pass on their knowledge and skills to a new generation of watermen, and watergirls! The youngest competitor was 8-year-old Anna Belle Stuart of Hooper’s Island. At an age when most kids are learning to ride a bike, Anna Belle is skillfully piloting her dad’s boat, May Worm, in competition. “It’s my third time,” she says. She first competed at Hooper’s Island and last year at Taylor’s Island.

Would you hand the keys to the family car to an 8-year-old? A boat is a waterman’s livelihood. “If she tears it up, I’ll fix it up,” her dad, Boyd Stuart, says. “If she’s happy, I’m happy.” Boyd has been crabbing out of Hooper’s Island for 15 years. Anna Belle won third place in the youth category. Peyton Reiss, piloting the same boat, took first place in the youth category.

Early on, one of the pilings was ripped out in a collision, and soon a crash into another piling broke that one in half! No matter. The show went on, with competitors lassoing the pilings left standing.

Captain Jake Jacobs, a leading competitive docker from Taylor’s Island, thrilled the crowd when he leapt from the deck of his boat, Outlaw, to throw the hoop over the last of four pilings, landing in the water with a huge splash. Four men from the volunteer fire department sprang to their feet reflexively to rescue the waterman gone overboard and fend off the boat threatening to crush him against the dock. His boat crashed into the dock and ripped up two deck boards, but Jacobs seemed as at home in the water as a seal, and he was quickly back on board, soaking wet and ready to compete in the next round. Jacobs took second place in the medium-size boat category with a time of 31.28 seconds. First place in that category went to Captain Will Wilkins, piloting No Smoke, with a winning time of 26.31 seconds.

Captain Jamie Marshall, steering his boat Heather Nicole II, took first place in the small boat category with a time of 19.96 seconds.

Local favorite Sydney Hughes of Taylor’s Island took first place in the teams category, captaining Wild Child with the fastest time of the day in all categories, finishing in only 19.08 seconds.

In the large boat category, Captain Caden Jones maneuvered Ellania Scott to a first-place win in 29.96 seconds.

The thrilling day in the hot August sun ended in an after-party at Palm Beach Willie’s Tiki Bar on the marina. Boat captains, kids, dogs and old-timers celebrated with fish tacos, cold beer, orange crushes made from hand-squeezed oranges, and sodas for the kids. More than a contest, the annual Taylor’s Island Boat Docking Competition is a community festival.