St. Michaels ~ video

John England in his Chesapeake Spritsail skiff

 

Finally getting back to the video from Saint Michaels. Kinda nice to have, now that the boats are put away. Wood stove season has arrived and leaves are falling off the trees.

Some of the sailing clips include Dave Gentry in his Chautaqua sailing canoe, Steve Earley in his Pathfinder Spartina, Jim Drake in his Coquina Molly Malone. I had a lovely long glide along John England in his sprit skiff as he ghosted all the way around Yankee Point and the lighthouse – a long unbroken clip,  a piece of which appears above.

The Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum staff were working on several restorations, steam bending mast hoops and splicing steel rigging.

The race on Saturday was a real nail-biter. Almost no wind, so the boats drifted in close quarters all the way to the finish line in slow motion. Captains and crews throughout were close enough to lob creative disparagements from boat to boat, along with a few cold beers.

. . .

I’ve been asked about the music. Back before the internet was really big, there were these things called bulletin boards and chat rooms organized by interest. Very low tech, and very non-commercial, homespun affairs. There were some good ones put together by amateur musicians, who shared self-made recordings for supportive critiques, tips and tricks, etc.. The music was shared freely without reservation. Some really good stuff by really talented people.  I still have some of those recordings I’ve saved all these years, and still play them.

All the music in this video comes from Tom Atwood. He’s now a professional photographer, and looks like he’s still making music. You can find him online here:

http://www.tomatwood.net/music

 

 

 

 

 

Retro Repost #1

Dan Sutherland in one of his sailing canoes

 

Thus begins a new series, likely attended with no regard for schedules or continuity, re-posting notable photos from years past.

More often than not, in a place where one fine photo can be taken, many many more are gathered at the same time. Because I’m a lousy editor I post a lot of them at once. Which means that many very fine photos get buried in the deluge.

Less is more sometimes, so now and then (especially in winter, or when weather or circumstances otherwise inhibit acquisition of new photos) I’ll pull out some favorites and give them their due.

These photos are from October 2010. It was a beautiful weekend for the Mid-Atlantic Small Craft Festival in St. Michaels, Maryland. Dan Sutherland was Boatshop Manager at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum then. He was one of the foremost experts in Rushton canoes, and the museum always had several beauties turn out for the show.

He love sailing them, a unique and challenging art form all its own.

These photos are from the middle of the race. Dan enjoying good wind and sunshine on a fine day, on one of his fine canoes.

 

On a reach with batwing sails in the Miles River