Meet Photographer John Rock

Log Canoes are believed to have evolved from Native American and African dugouts. Early European explorers of the Chesapeake Bay drew pictures of the canoes being made and used. Later, the settlers adapted the dugout design, and the canoes became the first workboars of the Chesapeake Bay.

The Miles River hosted the first organized Log Canoe Races in 1859. Within two decades, Log Canoes were built solely for racing. They may be the oldest class of racing sailboats in the world.

As Log Canoe design evolved, the tall masks were rigged for speed, making them famously unstable. Skippers counter the wind pressure with stringboards where baring crew members climb out on the ends to act as mobile ballast. There is the ever-present danger of capsizing.

John Rock's photographs capture the tradition of elegance and teamwork in the fierce compeitions.