October 14-19, 2025
For the Love of the Bay
The Great Chesapeake Bay Schooner Race works year-round to fulfill its mission to promote public awareness of the Bay’s maritime heritage and encourage preservation and improvement of the Chesapeake’s natural resources—with a special eye toward the next generation.
“It’s impossible to describe the feeling of camaraderie and fellowship that emanates from the wonderful schooner sailors, truly a group belonging to another age. It’s a celebration of why we sail, a reminder that sailing is an art form, valuable simply for the sake of its enjoyment.”
Andy Schell, Spin Sheet
A Little History
In 1988, when the City of Baltimore launched her flagship modeled on those earlier vessels, Captain Lane Briggs of the Tugantine Norfolk Rebel—the world’s only sail-powered schooner-rigged tugboat—challenged Pride of Baltimore II to a race from Baltimore to Norfolk, reviving an historic rivalry between schooners, captains and cities on the Bay. With the challenge accepted, the Great Chesapeake Bay Schooner Race (GCBSR) was born.
In 1990, a weekend in October was set aside for what had become an annual event, and yacht clubs at the northern and southern ends of the race volunteered to support the schooners and crews in their efforts. Read more about our mission and history.