Schooner Race

I will be aboard the Schooner Windfall II with Capt. Rob Temple as we sail out of Silver Lake harbor later this morning, on our way to Baltimore, Maryland. We will be one of almost four dozen schooners competing in the Great Chesapeake Bay Schooner Race October 12-16.

According to their web site (http://www.schoonerrace.org/) "The Great Chesapeake Bay Schooner Race (GCBSR) was founded to promote public awareness of the Chesapeake Bay's maritime heritage and to encourage the preservation and improvement of the Chesapeake's natural resources. We accomplish this goal by donating the proceeds of the race to one or more charitable organizations involved in conservation of the natural resources of the Chesapeake Bay. To date, $137,624 has been donated to support children's education programs of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation.

"The race begins in Fells Point, in Baltimore, Maryland, and ends 127 nautical miles down the Chesapeake Bay in Portsmouth, Virginia. Entry is open to all schooner-rigged vessels."

This will be one of the largest gatherings of schooners anywhere in the world.

While I am gone Jude Brown and Bill Jones will be helping to keep you up to date about daily life on Ocracoke Island.

Our latest Ocracoke Newsletter is the story of Ocracoke native Major General Ira Thomas Wyche. You can read the complete story here: http://www.villagecraftsmen.com/news092110.htm.