Hudgins Horn Harbor Marina will be filled with buyboats as it hosts the 2021 Chesapeake Bay Buyboat Reunion on Aug 6 through 8.

Jeannie Hudgins of Hudgins Horn Harbor Marina said she expects about a dozen boats to be docked at the marina. Some of the boats such as the Peggy were made in the area by the Smith family.

The event at Hudgins Horn Harbor Marina is the last leg for the Chesapeake Bay Buyboat Association’s 17th annual reunion which kicks off this Friday in Urbanna. The ships will visit other stops around the bay before reaching Horn Harbor for the celebration.

Hudgins said these boats are a part of Mathews County’s history. Boats like the Mobjack were instrumental to the way of life on the bay. These vessels circulated among the fishing grounds to buy oysters, crabs and fish from independent commercial fishermen and deliver the loads to a wholesaler or oyster processing house. Now these historical ships are fewer in numbers but can still be found in the waters of the...