If there’s one thing that the town of Annapolis is known for, it’s sailing. That may be why the National Sailing Hall of Fame has made a home at the docks for the last 10 years. Among its many events promoting sailing and sailboats each year, for the last 9, the Hall of Fame has sponsored a Wooden Sailboat Race around the Harbor and the Naval Academy. Boats of all designs and sizes take part in the race and in the weekend’s events.
The event has been increasing in size each year. Participating boats have ranged in size from 8 feet to 65 feet with some sailors coming from as far as Canada to participate. In 2017, a fleet of vessels of the Sydney Flying Squadron, out of Australia also arrived to join in the fun.
This year, the sailboats originally began docking in port in front of the National Sailing Hall of Fame at Annapolis City Dock on Friday. Throughout the day on Saturday, visitors stopped by to see the sailboats on display. Sailors and boat-lovers alike visited and chatted with the captains about the unique vessels. In addition to the public display, for little captains, a remote-control sailboat race was held on Saturday afternoon.
Sunday morning, the race began from the Triton Light at the Naval Academy. The plan was for boats to complete an approximate 5.4 nautical mile course consisting of 3 laps around Annapolis Harbor. The boats would start at the Naval Academy. From there, the boats would head out towards the dock, and then out onto the bay, then loop back towards the Academy. Once back at the start, they were to complete the loop two more times, using fair winds and following sails to their advantage.
However, the weather, which had been beautiful all weekend, didn’t cooperate Sunday morning. The rains, winds and fog that came in overnight forced the race committee to amend the plans for the day. Since hardcore sailors will sail in almost any weather, the committee decided to go on with the race, though they cut the number of laps down to one.
The sailboats began the race using a jackrabbit start. Each boat was handicapped with a different time so that faster boats started later than slower boats. Most attendees were able to catch the best views from the Naval Academy Sea Wall and Horn Point Park in Eastport. Though from the vantage point of City Dock, had the weather cooperated, the view would have been pretty perfect too.
The gray skies and fog made it difficult to see the white-sailed boats. Though no one at the dock knew who was winning the race, we were still able to see the boats head out into the harbor before making the turn back home.
While I’m sure the members of the Hall of Fame and those participating in the race would have preferred better weather to cap off the weekend, the event still seemed a good way to show off the boats and the captains who sail them. Those captains received one last bit of recognition on Monday at the closing awards dinner. It was there that participants shared a meal with other wooden boat enthusiasts and winners in each category were announced. Congratulations to all!
Cruising Division
1st Place – Myrtea
2nd Place – Howard Blackburn
3rd Place – Winsome
Dayboat Division
1st Place – Bull
2nd Place – Trout
Spirit of Tradition Division
1st Place – Woodwind I
2nd Place – Woodwind II
Dinghy Division
1st Place – Comet
2nd Place – Snipe
3rd Place – Wind Shadow
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