chesapeake bay Archives - Small Boats Magazine

Charity Boat Auction CBMM

CBMM will host its annual Charity Boat Auction on Saturday, Aug. 31, inviting guests to its waterfront campus to bid on donated vessels of all shapes and sizes in support of its mission.

Dozens of boats and watercraft, ranging in size and performance, will be auctioned off to the highest bidders. New this year, there will be reserves on several top-quality vessels, while the rest will be offered with no minimum.

The doors open at 8am, providing an opportunity to browse the inventory before the auction begins at 11am. The official rules and absentee bidding protocols are available here. Check back here for the full inventory list closer to the auction date.

A Labor Day weekend staple for more than two decades, the Charity Boat Auction is the flagship event of CBMM’s Charity Boat Donation Program, which accepts and sells gently used boats year-round. Every sale directly supports CBMM’s mission to explore and preserve the history, environment, and culture of the entire Chesapeake Bay region and make this resource available to all.

This year’s featured vessels include a Century 27 with like-new twin Yamaha engines, a Carolina Skiff 19 well-equipped for Bay adventures, a turnkey O’Day 31 sailboat, a Jarvis Newman 46 with liveaboard potential, and a 2014 Sea-Doo personal watercraft with less than 40 hours of runtime.

Beginning at 8:30am, guests can also shop a flea market-style tag sale that features a variety of used boating gear, including ground tackle, electrical equipment, hardware, rope, chain, oars, life jackets, motors, and more. Adding to the festive atmosphere, there will be a variety of local food trucks on hand and beer available for purchase.

Prospective buyers have several different ways to check out the inventory, starting with a preview exclusively for CBMM members on Thursday, Aug. 29, from 5–7pm.

The auction boats will be listed online and available for public view at CBMM on Friday, Aug. 30, from 10am–6pm. Regular admission rates will apply until 3pm that day, and gates will open for free from 3–6pm.

All registration for in-person bidding is handled on the day of the event. Registered bidders pay a $5 paddle fee and receive free admission.

CBMM members receive free admission into the Charity Boat Auction. Otherwise, general admission rates apply.

For safety reasons, non-service dogs are prohibited during CBMM festivals and special events, including the Charity Boat Auction.

CBMM Model Guild Sailing Races

CBMM’s Model Guild invites general-admission guests to watch model skipjack races on select dates from May-November.

These radio-controlled (RC) sailing races take place on CBMM’s Fogg’s Cove waterfront from 11am–1pm. After the races are over, the course buoys will be left in place for CBMM members and guests to sail their own RC boats. All races are dependent on marine conditions. Learn more here.

For more information about the Model Guild or its races, contact Model Guild President and CBMM Lead Volunteer Gary Nylander at [email protected].

Sights from the Mid-Atlantic Small Craft Festival XXXIV

Posted on October 25, 2017April 21, 2020 by Anne Bryant

by Anne Bryant

After a full, nutty day at the Annapolis Sailboat Show, I headed over to the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum in St. Michael’s, Maryland, for the Mid-Atlantic Small Craft Festival. I pulled into the entrance, lined with a tent city full of small boat enthusiasts; I felt right away that compared with the bustle of Annapolis, the change of energy suited my needs.

Here are some photos from my visit there. It was Sunday, the day after the big race and regatta, and so things were packing up, slowing down, and moving on due to a lightly threatening forecast.

Our Fearless Editor, Chris Cunningham, has traveled to this gathering in the past, and we plan to re-establish our connection with this fantastic gathering in 2018. A workshop? A beer social? We’re not sure yet, but get excited.

The campsites at Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum.

A relative of the Pumpkinseed design, packed to go home.

A very lovely Delaware Ducker built by the Lewes Historical Society.

WoodenBoat Forum enthusiast Steven Bauer rigs his family’s nutshell pram for a friend to use one last time before cartopping. His daughter Holly built it.

A thick rope gunwale guard looks good and protects both tender and mothership.

Wonderful handmade detail: a smart-looking disc fender.

This is an Oru Kayak, which folds down to suitcase-size. It’s made of rigid, strong corrugated plastic and is easier to assemble than other folding kayaks we’ve seen.

Carol Knickman’s FISH, a lovely standup paddle board.

The boxy nesting tender to CARLITA, B&B Yacht Design’s Core Sound 17.

This Herreshoff Coquina just needs her mizzen and she’s ready to sail. The rudder is controlled by a long line that loops around the inside perimeter of the boat.

Graham of B&B Yacht Designs gets CARLITA, his Core Sound 17, ready for the road. He’s been everywhere with her this summer, and figures he’s done about 17,000 miles zigzagging across the country.

I also happened by the relaunching and re-christening of BELLE, a Herreshoff 12 1/2-inspired small sailing boat designed and built by Daniel Gonneau. With her more open layout inboard and with no internal ballast, she’s quite different from the design of her keelboat cousin, but no less gorgeous. Her new owner first saw her in the Calendar of Wooden Boats and thought she’d be just the boat for him. When she came up for sale, it was a dream come true for him.