sometimes it IS the destination

Cruising, at least for me, is about the journey, not the destination.  Getting from one place to another in a small, open boat.  Dealing with the wind, the weather.  Trying to find the geography, marked so clearly on the chart, in that faint tree line along the shore.  Holding the course, getting the most out of the sails, coping with the the always changing wind and water.  I do enjoy the towns we visit along the way.  Oriental, New Bern, Bath, Tangier and Engelhard.  They are all great places and I enjoy them, but just for the night.  Then it is back on the water before dawn to continue the journey.

But the ChesBay 150 will be a little different.  It won't be just about the journey.  It will be about the destination too.  We'll be sailing in to the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum's Mid-Atlantic Small Craft Festival.  Lots of people, lots of boats. (I have to wonder how that will feel.  When I see lots people I typically head in the opposite direction.)

The festival will be at St. Michaels, Md on the Miles River.  It is a nice little waterfront town.  I visited there about 20 years ago and the museum is the dominant attraction there.  There is a nice restaurant too, the Crab Claw, with a patio that looks out over the river.

It has been harder than expected to get information about the festival.  There is no separate web site, it is just a notation on the museum's schedule of events.  So I've been talking to Kevin, builder of the Navigator Slip Jig, and my neighbor Jim (who is in mid-build on a Navigator himself).  They both have attended the event several times.  I also found a schedule somewhere on the web for last year's event and I'm sure this year it will be very similar.
From what I've read and what I've seen on youtube (here's a typical video, there are plenty of them on youtube about the festival) there will be all kinds of boats.  Sailboats, power boats, old and new boats, wooden boats, fiberglass boats and canvas boats.  Classics, built by skilled craftsmen, and new homebuilts made by amateurs like me.  Kayaks, canoes and who knows what else.  

Bruce and I intend to meet up with the annual gunkholing overnight trip to the nearby Wye River on Thursday.  Friday we'll sail in to St. Michaels, get cleaned up and join in the informal cookout and listen to some bluegrass music from the band Bitter Creek.

Saturday is the big day with all sort of demonstrations, lectures, tours, etc.  The schedule says "judging" starts at 9 a.m.  I'm not sure what that is about.  Who needs to be judged?  (Hey, can't we all just get along??)  I think we'll slip our lines instead and spend the day on the water enjoying all the boats in the harbor.

This should be a great trip - an adventure sailing up the bay to St. Michaels and then a weekend of admiring some really great boats.  I can't wait.

Steve