Visitors and participants arrived by land and sea, drawn by the boat building heritage of Chesapeake Bay. They came for the 35th Mid-Atlantic Small Craft Festival held at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum(CBMM) in St. Michaels, Maryland the weekend of October 6 & 7.
The annual fall event is one of the nation’s largest gatherings of restored and new-build small wooden watercraft. Boat building workshops, maritime demonstrations, as well as rowing, sailboat, and cardboard boat competitions added to the excitement of the day. Scenic river cruises were offered aboard the 1920 buyboat Winnie Estelle. And, for maritime antique lovers, a nautical swap meet was held on Sunday.
On the grounds and at the docks was an array of traditional watercraft like kayaks, sailboats, wood canoes, and small workboats. Tracy Johns, president of communications with CBMM noted there were 125 boats entered, from twelve states including Florida, Massachusetts, and Vermont. The earliest boat dated back to 1909. These wooden vessels, painstakingly built or restored, are truly things of beauty. Undeterred by tons of woodwork, sanding, painting, and varnishing, their owners are moved to keep the past alive. Yet, many note having no prior woodworking experience and it’s common to hear statements like “I couldn’t hit a nail straight before tackling my first project.”
Among the entries: the 1965 “Five Quid”, a 13-foot Enterprise two-person sloop, a variety often used for racing and at sailing schools. There were several dinghies, which are small sailboats often used as lifeboats on larger vessels. From New Jersey came a 1974 catboat with its iconic single mast and sail set forward towards the bow. There were also plenty of hand-powered boats. Among them, from Massachusetts, a Ruston pulling boat, that features a sliding seat to facilitate rowing and a West Greenland Kayak made of skin over wood frame. There was even a hand-built wood teardrop camper, inspired by boatbuilding techniques, which caught landlubbers’ attention.
Visitors could enjoy all of the museum’s exhibits while at the show. Established in 1965, the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum is dedicated to preserving the history, environment, and culture of the Chesapeake Bay region. Over 75,000 visitors each year are drawn to the 18 waterfront acres along the Miles River on the edge of St. Michaels. The campus contains a dozen historic buildings including several 18th-century houses; the Tolchester Beach Bandstand built in 1880; and, the prize - the Hooper Strait Lighthouse, built in 1879 which once lit the way for boats passing through the dangerous shoals of Hooper Strait in the lower Chesapeake Bay.
Teardrop camper inspired by boat-building techniques at the Festival. [Photo: William Flood]
Several buildings celebrate the area’s seafood harvesting history including a recreated crabbers shanty and crab picking plant. The oystering building contains an iconic Chesapeake Bay skipjack that visitors can board. Also displayed are several hundred oyster cans from long-gone packing houses which used to supply the needs of restaurants along the east coast.
The museum has the largest collection of historic Chesapeake Bay watercraft in existence. Their fleet includes a 1912 wooden tugboat built in Bethel, Delaware, the 1934 Dovetail Dorothy Lee which served as a crabbing and oystering vessel, and a 1931 Potomac River Dory also used for tonging oysters. Yet another Chesapeake Bay Skipjack is part of the flotilla. Only a handful of skipjacks still work the Bay, and those which remain have been designated by the National Trust for Historic Preservation as one of America’s Most Endangered Places.
The CBMM also has a working shipyard where visitors can watch shipwrights and apprentices preserve Chesapeake Bay watercraft using generations-old boat building traditions. Among the current projects is the restoration of the log-bottomed bugeye, Edna E. Lockwood. Built in 1889 at nearby Tilghman Island, it’s the last of its type still sailing the Chesapeake and has been designated a National Historic Landmark. Pete Lesher, chief curator at the museum said of the restoration efforts, “Today’s generations are unlikely to see Chesapeake Bay log boat building on this scale, ever again.”
St. Michaels is a picturesque harbor town named by the USA Today as one of the Top 10 Best Small Coastal Towns in America. It was a colonial harbor and a handful of homes dating back to the mid-1600's. Today, streets are lined with quaint shops and boutiques housed in historic buildings. Restaurants dot the town as the waterfront offers fresh seafood and famous Maryland crab cakes. For those who need a break from sleeping in their RVs, there are a dozen historic inns nearby.
A handful of RV camping options are located within an hour’s drive of St Michaels.
During the festival, a limited amount of space is available on the grounds adjacent to the museum’s parking area. There are no hookups but showers are available. Space is tight and only smaller trailers and rigs can be accommodated; plus, most spots will be snagged by those bringing boats. Still, it’s worth inquiring about availability.
Located in Rock Hall, Maryland, Bayshore Campground is about 20-minutes from St. Michaels. Park Manager Meagan Wick says, “The park is directly on the Chesapeake and offers amazing sunsets.” Many of the sites are direct bayfront. Full hookups are available. There is a boat ramp and fishing and crabbing are allowed. The park is pet-friendly.
Sitting along Tuckahoe Creek in Queen Anne, Maryland, Tuckahoe State Park is approximately 30-minutes from St. Michaels. The park borders a 60-acre lake for fishing and non-motorized boating. There are 54 sites, 33 with electric hookups. No water hook-ups are available but potable water is conveniently located to the sites.
About an hour’s drive from St. Michaels, Duck Neck Campground is located along the Chester River in Chestertown, Maryland - another Eastern Shore harbor town well worth exploring. There are 356 back-in full hookup sites, many with 50-amp service. Nearly 20 sites are waterfront or water view. The park has a pool, marina, and boat launch. Daily and seasonal rates are available and the park is pet-friendly.
Forty-five minutes from St. Michaels in Greensboro, Maryland is Holiday Park Campground. It’s a gated park situated on 200 wooded acres along the headwaters of the Choptank River. There are 200 sites including pull-throughs and river sites. Full hookups including cable TV and Wi-Fi are available. Amenities include a swimming pool, tennis court, shuffleboard, and four playgrounds. A gospel concert series is part of the weekend lineup of activities. Holiday Park is also pet-friendly.
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