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October 13-19, 2014  From Baltimore, Maryland, to Portsmouth, Virginia Schooners underway at the beginning of the Great Chesapeake Bay Schooner Race. There are schooners here, there and just about everywhere participating in the Great Chesapeake Bay Schooner Race (GCBSR). The 25th annual race begins Thursday, October 16th on the south side of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge near Annapolis, Maryland. The schooners race throughout the afternoon and night into the next day to their designated finish line. For classes A and AA, the finish is an east-west line at Thimble Shoal Light and classes B and C finish at Windmill Point. Then they proceed on to docking in Portsmouth, Virginia along the quaint historic seaport's basins and seawall. Schooners rafted together at the High Street Landing at the end of the Great Chesapeake Bay Schooner Race. Photo by Joe Elder. With 34 entries in this year's race represented from all around the Chesapeake Bay and as far away as Key West, Florida, they...

America 2.0 at the beginning of the Great Chesapeake Bay Schooner Race, 2011. Photo by Joe Elder aboard the Schooner Spirit of Independence.      Olde Towne Portsmouth once again hosted the finale of the 23rd Annual Great Chesapeake Bay Schooner Race  from Baltimore Mayland with 37 participating schooners. Here is a photographic study of these exceptional sailing vessels docked along Olde Towne's waterside. Enjoy! An 18th century cannon stands sentinal  in front of the schooner "Mystic Whaler" docked along side the High Street basin. Photo by Joe Elder. HISTORY Schooner "Adventurer" figurehead. Photo by Joe Elder. Schooner racing on the Chesapeake Bay is rooted in the trade rivalry between Baltimore, Maryland, at the northern end of the Bay, and Portsmouth/Norfolk, Virginia, at the southern end. The fastest sailing vessels delivered goods and people to their destinations and often garnered the best price for their cargo by beating slower schooners into port. Ov...

Schooner Days 2010,  Portsmouth, Virginia October 15-16, 2010   Schooner Days is a celebration of the world’s largest gathering of schooners along the waterfront of Olde Towne Portsmouth, Virginia. It's held this year in conjunction with the 21st Annual Great Chesapeake Bay Schooner Race from Baltimore to Portsmouth- racing to save the bay !   Schooners LADY MARYLAND  and LIBERTY CLIPPER at Portsmouth, Virginia's Schooner Days. This two-day celebration offers numerous maritime-related activities along the seawall and at the High Street Landing; many are free to the general public. Schooners line the seawall at Portsmouth, Virginia's High Street Landing The Portsmouth waterfront from North Landing to beyond the High Street Landing will showcase over 40 schooners from local and distant ports and is considered the largest gathering of schooners in the world. A gathering of  great vintage wooden schooners are clustered together in Olde Towne Portsmouth for Sc...