Portsmouth, VA to Fells Point, MD, October 10 and October 11, 2010

We boarded the Spirit of Independence early Sunday morning and left the dock by 8:45 AM. Captains J.C. and Joy waters were aboard along with myself Allen Graves, Jim Dyson, Faye Bailey, and Whitney Rayl. Joe Elder, David Cartier and Joan Gustafson came along to bid us bon voyage at the dock. Once underway we swabbed the decks and got things shipshape. The day was cool with perfectly clear skies, but little wind. Watches were divided into port and starboard with four hours on and four hours off.

Schooner 'Spirit of Independence' departs- destination Fell's Point Baltimore, Maryland.

My first watch - the starboard - I was at the the helm and it was great to be behind the wheel of the Spirit again. Traffic on the bay was light today with just a few pelicans, and oddly enough butterflies. Before eight bells Joy grilled hamburgers for the hungry crew and we dined with the incredible backdrop of the Chesapeake.

Commercial ship heading south on the Chesapeake Bay.

Joy Waters cooking lunch. Photo by Jim Dyson.

By evening all the shutter bugs came out with cameras in hand to photograph the sunset and work on silhouette pictures. Once the sun had set the crescent moon followed and an incredible celestial show began. The darkness of the bay helps with night stargazing and we were not disappointed. The Pleiades's rose and then like an incredible heavenly conveyor belt the constellation Taurus rose, then Gemini, and later the iconic Orion. Near the Great Square of Pegasus were were even able to see the Andromeda Galaxy which is the most distant object you can see with your naked eye. Jupiter was present and with binoculars most found at least one of the Galilean moons. Even shooting stars were spotted by the crew on watch.

Sunset on the Chesapeake.

Whitney Rayl honing her sextant skills for nautical navigation.

I did manage to get some sleep between midnight and 4 AM. Back on watch the wind was coming nicely out of the east and by 5:30 we decided to set sail. No sooner had we hoisted the sails, the winds shifted around to the north and died. However, as if to make up for taunting us to set sail, Mother Nature did not disappoint when it came to the sunrise.

Sunrise on the bay just south of Annapolis, MD.

Sunrise near an anchored commercial ship.

Dawn Monday morning brought us to the Bay Bridge at Annapolis. We changed watch and had a hearty breakfast of sausage and egg biscuits. From their we headed onto and entered Baltimore, toured the harbor and moored the Spirit in Fells Point.

Bay Bridge at dawn.

Allen Graves at the helm with Captain J. C. Waters in the wheelhouse.

Schooner Racing on the Bay will be reporting daily throughout the the Great Chesapeake Bay Schooner Race with Allen Graves, Captain J.C. Waters and the crew of the schooner 'Spirit of Independence'.

Great Chesapeake Bay Schooner Race 2009 - Fells Point Baltimore, Maryland to Portsmouth, VA

*Please note this is a recap of the 2009 race that has been posted in 2010.* 

Wednesday was a full day at Fells Point with over forty schooners participating in the parade of sail that ceremoniously circled the harbor. The day had deteriorated  weather wise to growing overcast skies, but spirits were not swayed by the dampened weather. Cheers of greetings rang out from numerous pockets of spectators lining the shore while the schooners hailed "huzza" echoing  in return from the multiple decks.

Parade of Sails in Baltimore Harbor, Maryland.

Later, at the heels of  the sail, the race organization held a dinner for the race participants at the Latin Palace followed by sea shanty singing at the Wharf Rat that quickly filled to a packed house and the roar of jubilant singing.  Although this unique establishment has certainly had its wooden timbers shaken in the past, it accepted the exultant sailors like a weather beaten vessel.

Wharf Rat in Fells Point, Maryland.

Captains and crew gathered Thursday morning at central square as the town criers issued forth various proclamations. I do not remember the proclamations word for word, but I due recall that the Spirit of Independence was mentioned regarded something about an exploding head on the boat. I dare not elaborate further except to state that it was one of those moments when you just had to be there to appreciate it. The race organization covered a few last details and held an appreciative prayer of safe passage. Following a short safety meeting to apprise the rules of engagement, crews returned to their vessels, and shoved off for the starting line located approximately 15 miles south of Fells Point, at the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. The weather continued to deteriorate throughout the day, and the schooners raised as much sail as they could muster in efforts to make the line with time to jockey for position to begin the race. The conditions at the start line were windy, overcast and drizzly as an eventual 35-knot Nor'easter was looming over the fleet.

Town Criers Fells Point, Maryland.

The start time for the Great Chesapeake Bay Schooner Race was 13:30 hours and we very close to the start line quickly setting all canvas. The Pride of Baltimore, Schooner Virginia and Mystic Whaler were soon past us, but hey, they are in the AA class so surely they would breeze by an A class boat. We didn't see them again until our arrival in Portsmouth, Virginia. Now I appreciate racing, the speed, competition,and the history of the race as schooners once competed for business, but if you enjoy sailing as much as I do then being on the water is far superior  to being moored to a jetty? Savor the moment! Carpe Diem.

Pride of Baltimore at the start of GCBSR

The schooners were spread out far and wide across the Chesapeake into the evening and by dusk we were by ourselves with no others in sight, with the exception of a spotted commercial tanker in the distance as we sailed towards the Thimble Shoals and the finish line. Frequent radio chatter was heard throughout the night between sailboats and commercial container ships discussing position, but fortunately there were no incidents and the fleet of schooners sailed safely through the pitch-black night.

The Nor'easter continued to build during the night creating inclement weather and frigid conditions during deck watch and frequent tacking.  Dawn brought a gray bay and continued rough conditions with white capped seas. We crossed the finish line just north of Willoughby Spit with a total race time of 23:45-hours. Log entries were kept every hour on the hour, throughout the night and we eventually learned that we had finished last in our class.

In Portsmouth the town rolled out the red carpet to the boaters for the first annual Schooner Days, a celebration of the arrival of the Great Chesapeake Bay Race schooners. Olde Towne was abuzz with activity and Starboards Coffee Kiosk made enough coffee to keep everyone content in the windy and drizzly frigid weather. We had a breakfast at Roger Browns Saturday morning and a great cookout that  afternoon and evening at the North Landing with sing along sea shanties with the Tanners Creek Whalers. Many folks came around and toured the boats (even in the record breaking cold weather) with great enthusiasm.

A cluster of schooners at Portsmouth, Virginia's High Street Landing.

So that concludes the prelude to this years 21st running of the GCBSR. Please check our blog Schooner Racing on the Chesapeake often for ongoing updates and pictures of this years events and race and we look forward to seeing you again in Olde Towne Portsmouth, Virginia during Schooner Days, October 15-17, 2010. See you there!

Tanners Creek Whalers perform during the GCBSR  finale celebration  in Portsmouth, Virginia.

*Sadly noted that the Schooner Virginia will not be a participant in the 21st running of the GCBSR due to ongoing budgetary shortfalls. The Schooner Virginia holds the record time of 11 hours, 18 minutes and 53 seconds in the 2007 Great Chesapeake Bay Schooner Race. Hats off you and a stout salute for your time. Please contribute to the Schooner Virginia and help her get back under sail! You can visit her website at: http://www.schoonervirginia.org/.  The Schooner Virginia needs your support! You can also contribute by buying Schooner Virginia merchandise. Go to the Schooner Virginia ships store @ Schooner Virginia Ships Store.

Recounting last years Schooner Race- Portsmouth to Fells Point Baltimore, Maryland

*Please note this is a recap of the 2009 race that has been posted in 2010.*

This story began one day in September, 2009, with a phone call from my friend Joe Elder, the owner, with his wife Alison, of Skipjack Nautical Wares and Marine Gallery in Portsmouth, Virginia. Joe wanted to know if I would be interested in participating in the Great Chesapeake Bay Schooner Race aboard the schooner Spirit of Independence as a photographer, reporter and member of the crew. The purpose was to document the event from the time the Spirit left Portsmouth until the time it returned. Then photograph the Schooner Days events throughout the following weekend. "What a great opportunity this would be," Joe expressed. "You'll have a great time and what an adventure!"

Schooner Spirit of Independence under way.

I thought about the offer for a few days with a little apprehension since I'm by no means a seasoned sailor and this assignment sounded like it potentially required skills that I may lack. My boating experience has been limited to smaller crafts-- canoeing/kayaking whitewater rivers, motor boating on the Rappahannock River and years of live-aboard dive boat trips scuba diving around the globe. I had had the opportunity to sail aboard the Spirit for the first time a few months earlier. We sailed from Portsmouth, VA to Yorktown as an overnight sail. Crewing on board a 65 foot schooner as part of the Great Chesapeake Bay Schooner Race is a whole different story?  This is not like an amusement park ride that you can simply get off after a short time. Once you've committed to participate and the boat leaves the dock, you're there. If the weather gets rough, you ride it out. You get seasick, you tough it out. And who knows what kind of conditions you might run into on the bay.

But the adventure did sound quite amazing...imagine the thrill of being under sail on a sleek schooner chasing the wind as a participant in the Great Chesapeake Bay Schooner Race!

I arrived in Portsmouth on a Friday afternoon after an uneventful drive from my home town, Charlottesville, Virginia, and met up with Captain J. C. Waters and the crew of the Spirit. We worked the next day provisioning the schooner and getting her ready for the trip up the bay.  We set sail bright and early Sunday morning for Baltimore, Maryland, with a small gathering of friends waving us off as we headed away from her slip at Tidewater Yacht Marina, north up the Elizabeth River, and then into the Chesapeake Bay. The sail up the bay was a lot of fun with clear skies, light winds and calm seas. Two watches, port and starboard divided two of our three captains, Joy Waters and Peter Youngblood, with several crew members each to sail the boat non-stop on four hour watches. During each watch our duties were to take the helm for at least an hour, keep a careful lookout for any hazards, trim the sails, and navigate the boat using electronic GPS. At dusk we dined on a scrumptious meal prepared by our competent cook while the darkness falling over the bay allowed an incredible panoramic view of the night sky and the glow of the brightening Milky Way. Later in the evening the moon appeared orange and bold above the shimmering bay and suggested an omen of good things to come. Not that mariners have ever been a superstitious kind!

After a non-stop thirty hour trip up the bay, we finally reached our destination, Fells Point, Baltimore, Maryland. We moored - rafted to the Schooner Pirates Lady - along a wharf and headed into the historic district that featured a wide variety of pubs and restaurants in search of fellow schooner-folk. We nestled into a eatery called Shuckers, a sports bar on Thames Street with views of Baltimore's Inner Harbor, and used their free WiFi to report back and check emails. Gotta have WiFi! Thanks Shuckers!

Waterfront view from Shucker's.

Schooner Spirit of Independence moored next to Schooner Pirates Lady at Fells Point Baltimore, Maryland

The rest of Monday and Tuesday everyone scattered in a variety of directions: meeting sailors, exploring the city, shops, restaurants and showers available to the boaters a short walk away from the dock. Fells Point it's cobble stone streets and quaint shops has the feel of an old time shipping town at the height of the age of sail. If you like burgers, check out Kooper's Tavern, sit at the table upstairs by the window and look out into the harbor while you dine. You won't be disappointed and I'm definitely going back this year for sure!  

Kooper's Tavern with awesome burgers and harbor view.

Racing on the Bay Aboard the Schooner 'Spirit of Independence'

Schooner 'Spirit of Independence' (center with green hull) jockeying for position at the beginning of the 2008 Great Chesapeake Bay Schooner Race.

 Introductory

 Have you ever desired to sail aboard a tall ship or crew aboard a vessel during a major sailing race? Imagine a fleet of schooners racing head to head in the Chesapeake Bay and you're part of the crew- pulling the sheets, port and starboard tacks with brisk winds and the spray of salt water stinging your face. Captivating. Exhilarating. Memories not soon forgotten.

Racing the 'Spirit of Independence' in the 2009 Great Chesapeake Bay Schooner Race. Photo by Allen Graves.

 I believe most of us would love to participate in such an exciting and momentous event! And who knows, there's plenty of chances to actually partake in it. Many of the schooners offer a berth and an opportunity to participate. But for those of us who cannot participate in this years race, let's sit back and enjoy the adventure through the writing and photography of Allen Graves with Captain J.C. Waters and the rest of the crew aboard the Schooner Spirit of Independence.

Experience the excitement and adventure from the deck of the 'Spirit' during the 2010 Great Chesapeake Bay Schooner Race- Racing to Save the Bay. Venture along as she sets sail from her home port of Portsmouth, Virginia to Fells Point, Maryland. Participate in the GCBSR events and activities through daily reports and photos on this blog site as they prepare to race and the adventure begins!

Schooner 'Spirit of Independence' with home port Portsmouth, Virginia in background.

You can also visit the World's largest gathering of schooners during Schooner Days as the finale event of the Great Chesapeake Bay Schooner Race, October 15 & 16, right here in Olde Towne Portsmouth, Virginia.  Check out all of the activities by clicking on the link to the Schooner Days logo located on the blog sidebar. Hope to see you here!

Joe Elder
Skipjack