Great Chesapeake Bay Schooner Race

We weighed anchor at 1030 and joined the schooners heading toward the Bay Bridge for the start of the Great Chesapeake Bay Schooner Race. The course runs from just south of the Bay Bridge (Annapolis, MD) to Old Point Comfort, Hampton, Virginia. The course distance is about 125 statute miles; however, the schooners will most most likely have to tack or alter course based on the wind. As a result, the total distance traveled ends up being more than the "as the crow flies" distance. The record run for the race was 11 hours 18 minutes which was done in heavy winds. However, most of the time it takes about 18 - 24 hours to complete the course.

Sultana (Chestertown, MD) and Liberty Clipper (Boston, MA) We had over a half hour to go among the schooner fleet taking pictures before the starting zone was cleared of spectators. The fleet was divided into two starts. The larger schooners were off in the first start and the winds died within 15 minutes of their crossing the line. The second fleet just cleared the starting line when they began to drift in the calm. The tide was heading up the Bay and it wasn't long before we heard vessels calling on the radio: "Securite, securite, securite. This is the schooner, (fill in a name), anchoring at (location). It didn't take long for the entire fleet to go to anchor to hold their position rather than drift north when they needed to sail south. It was an hour before the wind allowed the schooners to weigh anchor and be on their way toward the finish line. We headed off for our anchorage for the evening.

Big Schooners and Little Schooner