Downrigging Weekend in Chestertown

We made one more trip to the Eastern Shore to enjoy a wonderful Fall day on the Chester River and in Chestertown during Downrigging Weekend.  This event is a tall ship and wooden boat festival organized by the Sultana Education Foundation.  The Sultana is a replica of a vessel built in Chestertown in 1768 and used by the British Navy to enforce the tea tax laws and monitor trade on the Chesapeake Bay.  Chestertown is one of the best preserved early colonial seaports and a major trade center during the colonial period.  George Washington was instrumental to the founding of Washington College which was chartered in 1782 making it the tenth oldest college in the USA. Many colonial homes exist in Chestertown with several lining the banks of the Chester River.  Six tall ships and two skipjacks provided an opportunity to sail on the Chester River for the afternoon.  We enjoyed the spectacle from the deck of the skipjack, Sigsbee which was built in 1901.  The Sigsbee is one of less than 20 skipjacks still sailing the Chesapeake Bay.  About a dozen others are on exhibit in museums.  We felt there was no better way to say goodbye to the Bay than by sailing on a skipjack.

The Skipjack Elsworth - Built 1901

Aboard the Skipjack Sigsbee - Built 1901