The Schooners are Coming!

 The Great Chesapeake Bay Schooner Race start off Annapolis 2012. Photo by Mark Talbott

How lucky we are to be in a place where some of the loveliest schooners in the world race down our "backyard" every year in mid-October! Here they come again...

The Great Chesapeake Bay Schooner Race (GCBSR) festivities are underway in Baltimore with a schooner salute, open docks, and a sail around the square today, Tuesday, October 15.

Tomorrow's Baltimore program includes open docks, the parade of sail, and an all hands party... and THEN

On Thursday, Oct 17, they are off for a 127-nautical-mile race down the Bay! The official race start unfolds at 13:30 just south of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. Annapolis sailors will hitch rides on vessels of all sizes to cheer on the 33 participating schooners (the Pride of Baltimore II and the Virginia among them) as they begin their tightly contested journey to Portsmouth, VA.

Find the full schedule here.

SpinSheet's Mark Talbott will race down on the Woodwind and take awesome photos along the way.

Schooner on!