The Bernice II
The Bernice II was built right here on the south end of the property where City Market Dock stands today by J. E. “Ed” Royall Jr. in 1944. She was built to replace the original Bernice, which was lost while working during World War II.
Ed Royall owned a company called Brunswick Towing and Marine Co. Right next door was Brunswick Marine, which was torn down during the war. The lumber from that building was used to build the Bernice II, along with two other boats around the same time—the Inca and a third boat whose name I can’t seem to remember. Both of those boats are gone and have been for decades.
The story goes that Ed Royall would build his boats, launch them, and if they floated, he would keep them. If they sank, he would scrap them.
The Bernice II obviously floated—and she’s still floating more than 80 years later.
In her early years, before becoming a shrimp boat, the Bernice II was used for work around Brunswick. She was involved in the construction of the original Sidney Lanier Bridge, the Jekyll Island Causeway, a ferry before the Jekyll Causeway, and work around the Brunswick shipyard around WWII.
Ed eventually sold the Bernice II to Leo Ross, who had also been his business partner at one time. Leo converted her into a shrimp boat and ran her along with his sons, Andy and Leo Ross.
In their early years, Leo Jr. and Andy would take the Bernice II down to New Smyrna Beach, following the shrimp. Back home, she became especially well known for shrimping St. Andrews Sound while most of the boats at the time fished St. Simons Sound.
Andy ran her for much of the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s. His brother Leo mostly cares for her these days, and today she is more of a show boat than a working shrimp boat.
But she is truly a piece of Brunswick history that not enough people know about. I’m trying to change that!
There isn’t a piece of fiberglass anywhere on her. She is still an old wooden boat, built from cedar and constructed right here on the Brunswick waterfront during World War II.
In 1975, there were 311 registered boats on the Brunswick waterfront.
Today, from that old fleet, there is one left.one. And it’s the Bernice II
The Dora F II
The Dora F II, originally named the Miss Jackie, was built in 1980 for Mr. Jack Brown of Darien, Georgia. For more than 40 years, she spent nearly her entire working life in Darien, unloading shrimp and becoming a familiar sight along the waterfront. The Brown family owned the Miss Jackie until the late 2010s, when she was purchased by Charlie Williamson and renamed the Sea to Sea. A cool part of her story is the fact that she is actually sunk and been brought back up! Charlie kept her docked outside his office in downtown Darien, where she was one of the few shrimp boats you could see on the left-hand side as you crossed the bridge into town. In 2024, after Johnny Bennett lost the original Dora F, a boat he had worked aboard for around 50 years, Johnny and his grandson Jonathan purchased the former Miss Jackie as a replacement. They brought her down to City Market Dock in Brunswick, renovated her, and gave her a fitting new name — Dora F II. After spending half a century on the Dora F, there probably wasn’t any question what Johnny was going to call his next boat! The Dora F II has lived up to the name well. Johnny and Jonathan continue to fish her regularly today, keeping another piece of Georgia’s shrimping history alive. You may also recognize her as the shrimp boat we take over to Sea Island for our Shrimp Boat Lowcountry Boils throughout the summer! The old Miss Jackie has found a whole new life as the Dora F II, and we hope Johnny gets another 50 years out of her!
The Flying Cloud
The Flying Cloud is an 88-foot wooden shrimp boat built in Supply, North Carolina, by renowned boatbuilder Clyde Varnum in 1969! She was way ahead of her time for her size! Built in the traditional Carolina style with heavy wooden frames and cypress planking, she docked in North Carolina and South Carolina for years before she made her way to the Georgia coast, unloading for years in Savannah. Michael Sullivan purchased the Flying Cloud in 1986 and shrimped aboard her for 27 years before she made her way to Darien, when Bubba Trutt bought her she later became part of the Bennett family’s shrimping operation in Brunswick. She has been sold a few times in the past few years and now Belongs to Bubba Crum and Jamie Souter. Today, the Flying Cloud still docks and unloads with City Market and is a great example of the wooden shrimp boats that helped shape the commercial fishing heritage of the Southeast coast!
The Joann B
She’s part time to Brunswick but one of the biggest producers! The Joann B. was built in 1967 by Yacht & Supply Company (RYSCO) for Jimmy Carmady of Beaufort, North Carolina. Nearly 60 years later, she is still working the East Coast under longtime owner and captain Joe Williams. Before the Joann B., Joe owned the Mr. Perry, which was lost after turning over and sinking in Florida with a load of scallops aboard. In 1988, Joe and his brother bought the Joann B. from an insurance company after she had been badly damaged in an explosion. Gas from bottles used for the stove had leaked into the engine room, and when the generator was cranked, the boat exploded. Tragically, Mr. Jimmy was killed. Joe and his brother rebuilt the Joann B., including a new cabin and rigging, and put her back to work. Joe later bought his brother’s share and has owned her ever since. Joe has fished the Joann B. all along the East Coast and began bringing her to Georgia shortly after buying her. In 1989, she started docking at Brent Thomas’s dock on St. Simons Island, beginning a connection with the Georgia coast that has lasted for more than 35 years. The Joann B. has had her share of close calls. In 2023, she nearly sank offshore of St. Simons, but Joe saved her and later had the entire bottom of the boat redone. And she is far from retired. After leaving Brunswick just a few weeks ago, Joe headed north and still takes the Joann B. all the way to Nantucket to flounder fish. After nearly four decades together, countless trips up and down the East Coast, an explosion, major rebuilds, and a near sinking, Joe and the Joann B. are still fishing. When asked how long he plans to keep going, Joe put it about as perfectly as anyone could: He wants him and the Joann B. to quit at the same time! Captain Joe Williams and the Joann B are legendary for sure!