Maritime Museum will be Free in February

Thanks to generous sponsor support, the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum will be offering free admission Monday through Friday during the month of February. Free admission covers access to the entire museum, including the working boatyard and 1879 Hooper Strait Lighthouse, as well as numerous permanent and changing exhibitions along CBMM’s waterfront campus in historic St. Michaels, Md.

The Free in February program includes President’s Day and is only made possible through the generous sponsor support of the Talbot Bank and Awful Arthur’s of St. Michaels, Md. February museum guests will also receive a discount card offer for 15% off all meals at Awful Arthur’s through March 15, 2016.

“Winter offers a great time to explore our 12 exhibition buildings and beautiful campus, especially while enjoying the town’s great restaurants, shops, hotels and inns,” said CBMM’s President Kristen Greenaway. “We have a great number of inside exhibitions for all ages to enjoy, the waterfowl are abundant along a quieter harbor and the Miles River, and you can see great things happening in our boatyard as education programs and the restoration of our historic fleet of Chesapeake vessels ramp up in the colder months.”

Guests can also take in CBMM 50th anniversary exhibition, A Broad Reach: 50 Years of Collecting, which features 50 significant objects that have been accessioned into the museum’s collection over the past 50 years, and is presented on both floors of the Steamboat Building. The exhibition will be closing to the public in 2016.

Admission will be free weekdays in February for all museum guests. General admission is otherwise good for two consecutive days and is $15 for adults, $12 for seniors and students with ID, $6 for children 6-17, and free for museum members and children five and under. The museum is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. seven days a week, except for Thanksgiving, Christmas Day, and New Year’s Day. Inclement weather closings are announced on the museum’s website at www.cbmm.org.

Celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2015, CBMM is the only museum in the world preserving and exploring the history, environment, and people of the entire Chesapeake Bay. For more information, call 410-745-2916 or visit www.cbmm.org.

Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum to host 25th annual Antique & Classic Boat Festival

     St. Michaels, Md. -- A collection of antique Silver Arrow Chris-Craft boats headlines the 25th anniversary celebration of the Antique & Classic Boat Festival, to be held at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum over this Father's Day weekend. The event takes place June 15-17 and is hosted by the Chesapeake Bay Chapter of the Antique & Classic Boat Society (ACBS).

     Made in limited production in the late '50s, the 19' Silver Arrow runabout is considered a collectable treasure today. Powered by a big V-8 Detroit engine, its unique design combines a wood hull with a sleek and sophisticated fiberglass exterior, distinguished by the Silver Arrow's '50s-style tail fins.

     The festival also features more than 100 antique and classic boats, as well as building demonstrations, maritime artists and craftsmen, craft vendors, and a nautical flea market featuring classic old boats, motors, and more. A selection of regional and grilled foods, beer and music will be provided throughout the festival.

     As an ACBS-judged boat show, the festival brings visitors the opportunity to enjoy some of the finest antique and classic boats from across the country, which will be displayed in the water and on land at CBMM. Wood and early fiberglass-classics are featured- from runabouts to yachts, including race boats, work boats, launches, hydroplanes, and utilities.

     Several boat models depicting unique, Chesapeake watercraft will also be on display, including Sea Skiffs, Owens cabin cruisers, and Whirlwind sport boats. The competition culminates in a Father's Day award ceremony, where boat owners will be recognized for their commitment to antique and classic boat preservation and restoration.

     The festival also features "The Arts at Navy Point," where national artists and craftsmen offer maritime-themed items for boat and home. Children's activities include boat-building craft projects, and a youth judging event that educates young girls and boys about the award-winning qualities of preserved and restored classic boats. Along the Fogg's Landing side of CBMM's campus, the festival's "Field of Dreams" features an array of restorable classic boats and motors, along with other items for sale in a nautical flea market.

     Festival hours are Friday, June 15, from 11am to 5pm; Saturday, June 16, from 10am to 5pm; and Father's Day, Sunday, June 17, from 10am to 2pm. The festival includes admission to the museum's twelve exhibit buildings, where authentic, Chesapeake boats and traditions are highlighted. The event is free for CBMM members and children under six, or $13 for adults; $10 for seniors; and $6 for children 6-17. For more information, call 410-745-2916 or visit www.cbmm.org.

Fireworks on the Miles River this Saturday near St. Michaels Harbor

     St. Michaels, Md. -- Mariners are advised that a short-duration, aerial fireworks display is scheduled to occur on the Miles River on Saturday, June 9, at approximately 9:45 p.m. Mariners are urged to transit the area with caution and to keep a sharp lookout for other watercraft in the area.
     Absent specific guidance, mariners should remain 100 yards from the fireworks discharge platform located in the vicinity of St. Michaels Harbor Entrance Light 2 (LLNR 26185), in approximate position latitude 38° 47’ 31” N, longitude 076° 13’ 05” W (Datum NAD 1983).
     For any comments or questions contact Coast Guard Sector Baltimore Waterways Management Division at (410) 576-2674 or Ronald.L.Houck@uscg.mil.  Chart 12270.

Summer Sailing Courses Offered at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum

     St. Michaels, Md. -- Kids can explore the Miles River and learn maritime skills in the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum’s (CBMM) summer sailing program, where new sailors and old salts gain the confidence to sail a small boat in a fun, safe, and encouraging environment.
     Weekly classes are available June 11 through August 3 for participants 8 years of age and older, and offer instruction for sailors at basic, intermediate and advanced sailing levels. The daily classes include limited classroom instruction and three hours of on-thewater experience.
     Participants learn sailing and teambuilding skills including water safety, rigging, boat handling and docking. The week ends with a family picnic and awards ceremony, where the students’ accomplishments are celebrated.
     Pre-registration is needed, with a museum member cost of  $200, or $225 for non-members.
     On the weekends, the museum also offers adult and teen basic sailing classes using the museum’s fleet of 15-foot boats. Hourly, private sailings lessons are also available by reservation.
     For class schedules, visit  www.cbmm.org/l_families.htm.
     Space is limited in all classes. To pre-register, contact Helen Van Fleet at 410-745-2916.

Tall Ships, Visiting Vessels Coming to the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum

     St. Michaels, Md. -- The St. Michaels harbor will transform to an image of days gone by with several tall ships and visiting vessels docking at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum (CBMM) beginning this May and continuing throughout the month of June.

      From May 5-12, the schooner Sultana will be dockside at the museum, and open for boarding to all CBMM visitors from 2:30 to 4:30 pm on Tuesday, May 8. The schooner Sultana is a replica of a Boston-built merchant vessel that served for four years as the smallest schooner ever in the British Royal Navy. Using the British Admiralty’s documentation of the original Sultana, she has been recreated to offer a glimpse of 18th-century seafaring life. Launched in 2001 at her base port of Chestertown, MD, Sultana provides educational programs for more than 5,000 students each year.

     From June 4-7, the schooner Wolf comes to the CBMM, with free dockside tours offered from 1 to 3pm each day. The Wolf is a classic 74' topsail schooner built in the early 1980s in Panama City, FL and now home ported in Key West, FL. The Wolf sails the seven seas representing Key West and the Conch Republic, and is available for charters in Florida, Bahamas, Jamaica and other ports in the Caribbean and US.

     From June 15-17, the replica tall ship HMS Bounty will be harbor side at CBMM, offering tours to CBMM and Antique & Classic Boat Festival visitors at $10 for adults, $5 for children, and free for children five and under. A replica of the tall ship known for the infamous 1789 mutiny in Tahiti, the current HMS Bounty was built in 1960 for the movie, “Mutiny on the Bounty,” and was later featured in “Treasure Island” and “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest.” Now touring the U.S. East Coast after a European tour, the tall ship offers dockside tours, sail training and youth educational programs.

     On June 22 and 23, the Pride of Baltimore II will be dockside at CBMM, with tours available to museum visitors. An 1812-era topsail schooner privateer reproduction, Pride of Baltimore II is Maryland’s working symbol of the great natural resources and spectacular beauty of the Chesapeake Bay region. Pride of Baltimore II was commissioned in 1988 as a sailing memorial to her immediate predecessor, the original Pride of Baltimore, which was sunk by a white squall off Puerto Rico in 1986. Both ships were built in the Inner Harbor as reproductions of 1812-era topsail schooners, the type of vessels, called Baltimore Clippers, which helped America win the War of 1812 and finally secure its freedom.

     From June 22-24, the Viking ship Norseman will be at the museum offering a real-life look at a Viking ship and the type of people who sailed them more than 1,000 years ago. Norseman is a 40-foot half-scale replica of the famous Gokstad ship that represents one of the many types of sailing vessels built and designed by Vikings. The Norseman's crew will wear authentic Viking attire at a small encampment, which will be complete with iron and woodworking tools, and period music. The ship is based in Wilmington, DE at the Kalmar Nyckel Shipyard.

      For more information about other upcoming events at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum, visit www.cbmm.org, or call 410-745-2916.

Museum Sets Date for Antique Boat Festival in St. Michaels

     St. Michaels, Md. -- A collection of antique Silver Arrow Chris-Craft boats headlines the 25th anniversary celebration of the Antique & Classic Boat Festival, to be held at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum (CBMM) in St. Michaels, Maryland over Father’s Day weekend. The event takes place June 15-17 and is hosted by the Chesapeake Bay Chapter of the Antique & Classic Boat Society (ACBS).

     Made in limited production in the late ‘50s, the 19′ Silver Arrow runabout is considered a collectable treasure today. Powered by a big V-8 Detroit engine, its unique design combines a wood hull with a sleek and sophisticated fiberglass exterior, distinguished by the Silver Arrow’s ‘50s-style tail fins.

     The festival also features more than 100 antique and classic boats, as well as building demonstrations, maritime artists and craftsmen, craft vendors, and a nautical flea market featuring classic old boats, motors, and more. A selection of regional and grilled foods, beer and music will be provided throughout the festival.

     As an ACBS-judged boat show, the festival brings visitors the opportunity to enjoy some of the finest antique and classic boats from across the country, which will be displayed in the water and on land at CBMM. Wood and early fiberglass-classics are featured— from runabouts to yachts, including race boats, work boats, launches, hydroplanes, and utilities.

     Several boat models depicting unique, Chesapeake watercraft will also be on display, including Sea Skiffs, Owens cabin cruisers, and Whirlwind sport boats. The competition culminates in a Father’s Day award ceremony, where boat owners will be recognized for their commitment to antique and classic boat preservation and restoration.

     The festival also features “The Arts at Navy Point,” where national artists and craftsmen offer maritime-themed items for boat and home. Children’s activities include boat-building craft projects, and a youth judging event that educates young girls and boys about the award-winning qualities of preserved and restored classic boats. Along the Fogg’s Landing side of CBMM’s campus, the festival’s “Field of Dreams” features an array of restorable classic boats and motors, along with other items for sale in a nautical flea market.

     Festival hours are Friday, June 15, from 11am to 5pm; Saturday, June 16, from 10am to 5pm; and Father’s Day, Sunday, June 17, from 10am to 2pm. The festival includes admission to the museum’s twelve exhibit buildings, where authentic Chesapeake boats and traditions are highlighted. The event is free for CBMM members and children under six, or $13 for adults; $10 for seniors; and $6 for children 6-17. For more information, call 410-745-2916 or visit www.cbmm.org.