Graphic: GCBSR.org
For more than 30 years, participants in the Great Chesapeake Bay Schooner Race have been “racing to save the bay.” The race is intended to promote public awareness of the Chesapeake Bay’s maritime heritage and to encourage the preservation and improvement of the Chesapeake’s natural resources. Funds raised by the race help support a variety of conservation and education work on the Chesapeake Bay.
This year there will be two races — a Virtual Race and the Bay Race.
The Virtual Great Chesapeake Bay Schooner Race
The Virtual Race starts noon, September 24, lasting through September 27 at 3PM. What is a Virtual Schooner Race, you might ask? As explained by the GCBSR website:
While the traditional Schooner Race takes place on the water, the Virtual Great Chesapeake Bay Schooner Race is a totally online event. Instead of competing under sail, schooner teams race to raise money for charity in a three-day period.
Each schooner chooses a nonprofit partner – an organization working to preserve and protect the Chesapeake Bay’s history and ecology. They reach out to crew, friends, family, and the wider internet to raise funds for their cause.
The schooner that raises the most money is the winner!
The Virtual Race was conceived in 2020 as a way to keep serving our mission, even when it was impossible to run a full race on the water. Over the past two years, the Virtual Race has raised over $100,000 for conservation and education work on the Chesapeake Bay.
Click here to learn more and join in the fun.
The Bay Race
The Bay Race public events begin on Tuesday, October 4 in Baltimore, with dockside viewing of the schooner fleet continuing, with a Parade of Sail on Wednesday, October 5.
The race itself starts on Thursday at 1200 from the starting line just south of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge at Annapolis and ends in Norfolk, VA.