Tall Ship Sailing on the Chester River

1 November 2008

Just a few days before our trip to Churchill, we took a quickie trip to Chestertown, Maryland. The trip was a last minute decision, primarily to take advantage of spring-like weather that was being forecasted for the weekend. With Churchill's frigid temperatures looming ever-closer, we figured it would be smart to enjoy warm temperatures while we could.

Thus, on All Hallows Eve, we packed our bags and headed to the Eastern Shore of Maryland. Our plan was to overnight in Chestertown, spend the next morning at the Eastern Neck National Wildlife Refuge, have crab cakes for lunch in Rock Hall, and return home late that evening. We did all of that — except that instead of going bird watching at the refuge, we went sailing on the Chester River.

The change in plans came about when we went to dinner at the Fish Whistle overlooking the Chestertown Marina and found a fleet of tall ships docked nearby. We had apparently stumbled upon the downrigging festivities (fireworks and all) for the schooner Sultana, homeported in Chestertown. Long story short, we changed our plans, managed to snag a couple of tickets to sail the schooner Virginia, and the rest is history.

We had truly spectacular weather for our sail on the Chester River. The ships even managed to find enough wind to unfurl their sails for at least part of the time, completing the ambiance of tall ship sailing. I imagine the flotilla — which consisted of the Sultana, the Virginia, the Pride of Baltimore, the Lady Maryland, the Kalmar Nyckel, the A.J. Meerwald, the Amistad, and a number of small vessels, including some Chesapeake Bay buyboats — made an impressive sight for those watching from ashore.

The Amistad — a replica of La Amistad — is a square topsail schooner.

If the photo of the Amistad has whet your appetite to see more, see my pictorial journal.