5th Annual Marine and Maritime Career Fair

ANNAPOLIS — The 5th Annual Marine & Maritime Career Fair is scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 28, from noon to 3 p.m. at Annapolis High School.
The career fair is open to students from grades 6-12 from Maryland and the Chesapeake Bay region.
A registration link is available at eycfoundation.org.
Exhibitors and sponsors are welcome. Marine trades opportunities exist in electronics, carpentry, plumbing, engines, marina management, rigging, sailmaking, publications, boating equipment and supplies and more.
For more information, contact Pam Ray or Marty Lostrom at 2015careerfair@gmail.com or call 888-383-8777.

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.

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.

Baltimore to Host Star Spangled Sailabration June 13-19

     Baltimore, Md. -- Mariners are advised the Port of Baltimore will be hosting the Star Spangled Sailabration 2012, an international maritime festival that will launch Maryland's three-year War of 1812 bicentennial efforts, from June 13 until June 19, 2012. This event will bring dozens of Navy vessels and tall ships from the United States and international navies to the port.

     In addition to a parade of sail and fireworks, an air show featuring a demonstration from the U.S. Navy Blue Angels is planned to be held in the vicinity of Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine, which temporarily will close portions of the main navigation channels. It is anticipated the increased activity associated with this festival will result in some disruption in and potential delays to normal port operations. All entities conducting business in the port, including, but not limited to shipping lines, port operators, and vessel agents should plan accordingly.

     Specific details on Coast Guard established safety zones and other waterway closures resulting from planned festival activities will be provided in future publications. For more information concerning the schedule of planned events, visit the Star Spangled 200 website at: http://www.starspangled200.com/events_list .

     Questions concerning this announcement can be direct to Coast Guard Sector Baltimore Waterways Management Division at 410-576-2519. Charts 12278, 12281.

Museum Offering Docent Training Starting Feb. 2

     St. Michaels, Md. -- The Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum (CBMM) in St. Michaels, Maryland is offering training for new and existing docent volunteers at the museum beginning on February 2 and continuing on Tuesdays and Thursdays throughout February. The training is free and open to the public, with advanced registration needed.

     This training is offered once a year, and prepares participants to lead group tours, interpret the museum’s exhibits, and assist at special events. Anyone who enjoys interacting with people, has a curiosity about the Chesapeake Bay, and would like to help promote the Bay’s cultural heritage is encouraged to participate in CBMM’s volunteer docent training.

     The new volunteer orientation from 10 - 11am on Thursday, February 2 will provide the basic information for becoming a museum volunteer. The orientation is followed with a 6-part intensive training program led by CBMM’s Director of Education Kate Livie, with topics ranging from learning about the museum’s exhibits and collections to developing tour group management techniques. Sessions are scheduled for 10am-12:30pm in CBMM’s Van Lennep Auditorium on February 7, 9, 14, 16, 21, and 23. All sessions must be attended to qualify as a museum docent.

     CBMM docents provide invaluable support to the museum in its mission to promote a deeper understanding of the Chesapeake Bay region and its history. Docents are asked to commit to one, 4-hour weekly shift. Duties can include guiding museum visitors and providing a memorable and positive visit; staffing individual exhibitions and leading demonstrations, classes, and special events as needed; and promoting the museum and its mission to others.

     “Many docents express that volunteering at the museum is one of their most gratifying experiences,” commented CBMM’s Director of Events and Volunteer Program Melissa Spielman. “I often receive comments from volunteers who say that engaging museum visitors from across the country and around the world is inspiring and fulfilling work. That kind of feedback makes me feel the same about my work here also.”

     Pre-registration is required for the volunteer training. To enroll or to receive more information, contact Melissa Spielman at 410-745-4956 or at mspielman@cbmm.org.