Captain John Beebe-Center and his crew will sail the Schooner Amistad from Baltimore, Maryland, to Portsmouth, Virginia participating in the Great Chesapeake Bay Schooner Race (GCBSR) in October 2008.

The Race 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. The GCBSR, organized to benefit Chesapeake Bay Foundation, has a long history and has become one of most important sailing events for the traditional sailing vessels in the East Coast. The 2008 GCBSR is already the nineteenth annual edition!

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. The organizers expect more than 40 schooners to participate this year. View the list of vessels that have entered to date.

The competition will be tough and it may be difficult to beat the best time yet. Schooner Amistad and her crew are excited to join the Race after seven years of absence from the starting line, and obviously hoping to win.  

Come to Maryland to watch the start to the Race on Thursday, October 16 at 1 p.m., just south of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge near Annapolis. 

Check the Schedule of the 2008 Race and associated events - Come and cheer for your favorite schooner (... I mean for Amistad!) 

Light air start of the 2006 race. Photo by Jack Hardway, www.hardwayphotos.com

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