Nauti Nell, aka Raynell Smith, started her sailing career with her dad on a 32’ Alden daysailer in Atlantic Highlands, N.J. Sailing mostly consisted of pumping the bilge, and Nell decided she liked horses better than sailboats. It wasn’t until 1973, when she reconnected with her childhood friend Steve Smith, aka Kaptain Krunch, that she fully embraced the sailing life. She moved aboard Jolly Roger, Krunch’s 42’ schooner-rigged skipjack, and never looked back. For the next 12 years, she and Krunch lived aboard Jolly, sailing up and down the East Coast.
Krunch was a graphic artist and made a living by boat lettering, creating hand-carved signs, and gilding. Nell learned all about sanding, varnishing, and painting while keeping the 35-year-old wooden skipjack in Bristol fashion. Summers were spent cruising the East Coast; winters were spent either in the Bahamas or crewing on other boats. Voyages included trips from Ft. Lauderdale through the Bahamas to Haiti, Jamaica, Mexico, and the Caymans, as well as a journey through the Panama Canal to the Galapagos and Hawaii aboard a Cal 2-46 ketch.
Perhaps because they lived aboard a Bay craft, the Krunches were captivated by the Chesapeake Bay, and Deltaville in particular. Although they wintered elsewhere, they continued to return to Deltaville. One fall, Nell was offered an opportunity she had dreamed of for years: to own her own restaurant. A friend in Marathon, FL, had a resort with an 85-seat restaurant that wasn’t doing well. He offered to turn it over to Nell, lock, stock, and barrel, if she agreed to revive the business. For four years, Nell worked year-round in Marathon while Krunch worked summers in Deltaville and winters in Marathon. Jolly Roger was sold to a friend, and that winter Krunch moved ashore to Marathon.
Pancho’s Steak and Seafood Restaurant at the Faro Blanco Resort was a tremendous success. In 1986, Nell found herself with a thriving business and, unexpectedly, pregnant with her first child. Lily was born in September, and the Krunches decided they missed the cruising life. The restaurant was sold, and they became the proud owners of a 53’ Sparkman & Stephens motorsailer, Sequoia II. The boat was in storage on Deer Isle, Maine. That summer was spent refurbishing the boat and cruising Maine with Lily. When the weather turned cold, the Krunches headed south, stopping on Block Island, in New Jersey, and finally in Deltaville. They settled at a lot they had purchased on Broad Creek and loved being tied up at their own dock, away from the hubbub of marina life. When it got cold in Deltaville, the Krunches headed for warmer climes, staying at Nell’s mother’s dock in Ft. Lauderdale before crossing over to the Bahamas. Their rhythm resumed: winters in the Bahamas, summers in Deltaville.
Baby number two came along three years later. With a new baby on the way, they decided it was time to have a home ashore. Krunch designed a house modeled after a small cottage he remembered on the grounds of the New York Yacht Club. The house, named the Broad Creek Yacht & Aero Squadron, was completed over the winter of 1989-90—just in time for the arrival of Stephens Calhoun Smith V.
Life settled into a routine of babies and work. Before Lily started school, the Krunches planned one last Bahamian cruise. In the winter of 1994-95, the family—with Nell’s mother, Camcy, aboard—set off for Staniel Cay in the Exumas. A huge birthday party was planned for Krunch’s 50th at the, then relatively unknown, Pig Beach. The whole cruise went remarkably well, even with two small children on board, one of whom couldn’t yet swim.
As the kids started school, Nell had no desire to return to boat restorations or restaurant life. While in Ft. Lauderdale, she met Cliff Hunt, founder of Sailor Man—a used boating equipment store—and realized Deltaville needed something similar. In 1994, Nell opened Nauti Nell’s in a building Krunch rented for his sign shop. The store gradually filled with consignment items, and Nell expanded the offerings to include nautical gifts. The business thrived, but the building was old and in disrepair.
Just down the road, a large tract with a small shop came up for sale. Though the existing shop was too small for both the consignment store and the sign shop, there was room to build. Krunch completed the new shop with custom shelving, a varnished wood sales counter, and wooden floors. Over the next few years, the shop grew with the addition of an enclosed side porch and a new rear room that doubled its size. Krunch also added a 70’ Quonset hut behind Nauti Nell’s for his sign business.
Though the business was busy during the season, winters slowed down, allowing the Krunches one more Bahamas cruise in the winter of 2003. The family joined Krunch in Nassau aboard Sequoia and cruised the Exumas for three weeks. Due to school schedules, summer cruising was limited to the Chesapeake Bay.
In 2002, the Deltaville Maritime Museum was established on Mill Creek. The Krunches were founding members. Raynell served as the first vice president and later as the second president. Krunch led the boat shop, and together they launched Family Boatbuilding Week in 2003. In addition to running Nauti Nell’s, Raynell curated the Museum, designing and building all exhibits with Krunch up through 2012.
Family Boatbuilding Week remained a favorite, but the Krunches also led the fundraising and construction of a replica of Captain John Smith’s Explorer, the vessel he used to map the Bay in 1607-08. For the 400th anniversary of the founding of Jamestown, they toured Explorer across the Chesapeake. In 2008, Nell wrote a reenactment of Smith’s landing at Stingray Point, performed on the exact anniversary date, drawing a crowd of about 500.
In 2012, a catastrophic fire destroyed the Museum and all of its contents. While insurance claims were processed, a single exhibit—Middlesex in the Civil War—was housed in a trailer. The timeline highlighted local maritime actions and included a reenactment written by Raynell, performed on the anniversaries of the actual events.
The insurance settlement funded a much larger Museum building, two event pavilions, and a covered stage. Throughout the rebuild, Nell and Krunch continued to run their businesses and guide the Museum’s expansion.
As the children grew and the Museum flourished, tragedy struck. In 2015, Krunch was diagnosed with PSP, a form of Parkinson’s. That year, he lettered the Family Boatbuilding skiffs for the last time. His health declined, and in 2020, he passed away.
Nell carried on, running Nauti Nell’s for five more years. After three decades, she decided it was time to retire. The good news? Nauti Nell’s will continue under the care of Wes Summerfield and Travis Tartaglino. As for Nell, she’s back doing what she loves most—sailing her Yankee Dolphin MORC racer.
