Virtual Race Results

The pungy schooner Lady Maryland, educational flagship of the Living Classrooms Foundation, has been sailing the waters of the Chesapeake Bay for the past 40 years and has participated in nearly every Great Chesapeake Bay Schooner Race. During the Race, students aboard Lady Maryland work side by side with the crew to stand watch, navigate, steer and handle sail. This year we look forward to sailing the race with students from Baltimore City College HS.

During the school year, Lady Maryland can be found on the Patapsco River running day-sail programs with students from a variety of backgrounds and economic means. During our Maritime Environmental STEM Voyages, students work together to trawl for marine life, perform scientific experiments and explore the commerce, history, natural resources, and ecosystems of the Chesapeake Bay. During the summer, Lady Maryland takes students on extended voyages, sometimes venturing as far north as Massachusetts.

This year, Living Classrooms celebrates 40 years of disrupting the cycle of poverty and helping our communities in Baltimore and Washington, DC become safer, stronger, and healthier. Funds raised for the Living Classrooms Foundation will support Maritime Education programs for youth.

The Schooner Eleanor , launched in May 1999, was built in Kennebunkport by Captain Rich Woodman and a crew of local craftsmen to the lines of L. Francis Herreshoff’s 1935 Mobjack design. Although her hull was constructed using modern techniques, the Eleanor is in every other way a traditional gaff-rigged schooner. Spruce spars, mahogany transom, locust rails and hand carved trail boards all contribute to the beauty of this vessel. Flying four sails with a large teak cockpit and spacious cushioned cabin tops to stretch out on, the Eleanor will give you the feel of yachting in the 1930s. Captain Rich shares his grandfather’s passion for boatbuilding and carries on this tradition in the off-season by restoring and building custom wooden boats at his boat shop in Kennebunk. He has also taught wooden boat construction at the Landing School.

Schooner Eleanor is raising funds for the Landing School of Boatbuilding and Design in Arundel, Maine. The Landing School is a leader in boatbuilding and design and has prepared graduates for a wide range of positions in the marine industry since 1978. Students build skills and knowledge through a combination of innovative classroom instruction, faculty mentorship, engagement with industry leaders, and project work. The Landing School offers eight-month diplomas in Wooden Boatbuilding, Composite Boatbuilding, Marine Systems, Yacht Design, and Boatyard Management, as well as a two-year associate degree. Students from around the world come to The Landing School from diverse personal and professional backgrounds and each class includes recent high school and college graduates, career changers, veterans, and retirees.

Pride of Baltimore II is an historically-evocative reproduction of the Baltimore Clipper style vessels made famous during the War of 1812. Capturing public imagination through unique worldwide voyages of discovery, Pride II honors Maryland seafarers of all eras and, wherever she sails, shares the innovation, entrepreneurial spirit, and patriotism that forged and continues to define Maryland’s maritime identity. Since her commissioning in 1988, Pride II has sailed over 275,000 nautical miles and visited more than 200 ports in 40 countries. Her mission is to promote historical maritime education, foster economic development and tourism, and represent the people of Maryland in every port she visits.

This year, Pride of Baltimore II raced to raise funds for Spanish–English educational sails to help break down language barriers, share the Chesapeake Bay’s rich maritime history, and inspire underrepresented youth and adults to explore careers on the water.

Adventurer and Duncan Hood have been “Racing to Save the Bay” in the Great Chesapeake Bay Schooner Race (GCBSR) since 1998, and participating in the Virtual Race since its inception.

Adventurer raised funds for GCBSR educational programs designed to further our goals of encouraging preservation of the Bay’s resources and educate kids and adults regarding the importance of schooners and sailing craft in the development of our country.

Schooner Virginia serves as a vital education platform for the Nauticus Foundation, engaging the Hampton Roads community through transformative maritime and hands-on learning experiences for students of all backgrounds and ages, museum visitors, and the general public. Funds raised during the race directly support community-based sailing experiences for students, public programming, and maintenance efforts that ensure Virginia is ready to represent Norfolk and the Commonwealth at one of the largest tall ship gatherings in decades.

Virginia is currently undergoing critical maintenance in Mystic, Connecticut. Her participation in this year’s race helps support the schooner’s preservation, educational programs, and upcoming participation in Sail250, a national maritime celebration in 2026.

Schooner Woodwind was built to make sailing dreams come true back in 1993 by the Kaye family. For the past 30+ years, guests from all over the world have sailed on her and her sistership, Woodwind II, for public cruises, private events, multi-day cruises and educational cruises. Woodwind II is the “movie star” of the family – she played an important role in the movie Wedding Crashers. But it’s the classic Woodwind that sails every year in the Great Chesapeake Bay Schooner Race – and she’s known to be a fast competitor!

This year Woodwind is sailing on behalf of GCBSR’s Education Fund. Contributions to the Woodwind team will be used to facilitate shipboard educational programming. Over the past  years, Woodwind has used funds raised in the Virtual Race to take kids and families from the Annapolis community out sailing. Many of these kids and families would not typically have easy access to this experience.  The sails are a partnership between The Great Chesapeake Bay Schooner Race, the Schooner Woodwind, and the Seafarer’s Youth Program. These programs give young people an opportunity to experience the fun of sailing and the excitement that comes with it, along with learning the science and camaraderie that sailing brings.

The schooner A.J. Meerwald is a restored oyster dredging schooner from Bivalve, New Jersey. Launched in 1928, A.J. Meerwald embodies the true spirit of the schooner, adapted to efficiently fulfill the prevailing conditions and specific demands of her native waters. A.J. Meerwald was one of nearly five hundred schooners built along the Delaware Bay before the decline of the local shipbuilding industry in the 1930s. One hundred years later, there are only a handful of converted schooners still harvesting oysters.

Today, the A.J. Meerwald is operated by the Bayshore Center at Bivalve as a traveling classroom and vehicle to enjoy the area’s waterways. Passengers can enjoy the excitement and wonder of sailing aboard a 115-foot schooner from the age of sail. If you’re feeling adventurous, you can even join the crew in hauling lines and setting sails! Enjoy the great outdoors as you breathe in the fresh air and marvel at the scenery that surrounds you.

The Bayshore Center at Bivalve is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization whose mission is to advance the understanding of the human impact on New Jersey’s aquatic environment through education, advocacy, and programming. BCB operates the authentically restored 1928 oyster schooner A.J. Meerwald, New Jersey’s official tall ship, as a hands-on sailing classroom throughout the region. It also operates the Delaware Bay Museum and offers shore-based programs at its campus and schooner’s home port of Bivalve on the scenic Maurice River in Cumberland County.

Andy Merrill built Farewell in his backyard and launched her in 1972. Her second owner started racing the schooner in the Great Chesapeake Bay Schooner Race in 1994, and often won her class. Captain Linda Gunn purchased the schooner in 1998 after surviving cancer, and she has continued the tradition. A lover of schooners, Linda has served as Captain, Mate, and Educator aboard several different vessels. She now lives aboard Farewell and is proud to be racing on behalf of the Maryland Science Center.

Now in their 50th year and as Maryland’s largest institution dedicated to informal STEM learning, the Maryland Science Center provides valuable educational experiences both at their location in Baltimore and through outreach programming across the mid-Atlantic region. Whether they’re providing free field trip admission for every student in Maryland, offering teacher’s professional development opportunities, or expanding their outreach programs in every county, the Maryland Science Center relies on generous donors to help further their mission to inspire, empower, and engage through science education. With your help, the Maryland Science Center will be able to continue to spark excitement for STEM in the next generation, especially with underserved students.

Schooner Alliance II offers the experience of setting sail, taking the helm and observing dolphins and osprey on the historic York River. Relive the golden age of sailing while cruising past the historic battlefield where our nation secured its independence.  Schooner Alliance II departs daily, April through November, from the Riverwalk Landing Pier in Yorktown, VA.  Sightseeing day cruises on the York River delve into the area’s rich history. Sunset cruises offer a romantic evening setting to conclude a day exploring the Historic Triangle. Families with children can embark on Captain Mayhem’s School of Piracy aboard the Pirate Adventure Cruise. Children participate in sailing activities, knot-tying and seamanship skills. Alliance II is a 75-foot, 2-masted, Marconi-rigged schooner.

Alliance sails to support The Waterman’s Museum. The museum focuses on the role Chesapeake Bay Watermen, from pre-colonial to modern times, played in the shaping of our nation. Historical exhibits depict military & civilian watercraft activities, crafts and methods of trade. Providing a look into the lives of the people that have worked and fought on the water. The Watermen’s Museum offers school and civic groups 11 different educational fieldtrips and conduct summer children’s programs in topics such as: archaeology, boatbuilding and environmental exploration.

Grace is… not a schooner! Metaphorically speaking, think of us as a push(yawl) boat, if you will—the small but mighty craft that supports a large engineless sailing vessel. We’re behind the schooners and their mission, giving them an extra push! Grace is a Columbia 31 sloop built in Portsmouth, VA in 1966. She’s sailed thousands of miles, instrumental in creating happy memories and adventurous tales for many. For the last 12 years, we’ve been her stewards. We sail Grace to share the wonder of sailing with others, to spread kindness and understanding, to encourage learning, and to live a simple life. We’ve restored and maintained her as a reminder that beauty and functionality can go hand-in-hand, and that hands-on work is incredibly rewarding.  If you’d like to learn more about our journey, visit Suzanne’s blog sailinggracefully.com.

The mission of the GCBSR is so all-encompassing and the hands at the helm so capable, this organization feels like the perfect vessel for sharing our community’s collective wealth. Schooners, in their modern-day ambassador roles, represent hard work, skill, artisanry, equality, leadership, and goodwill—what better qualities to promote? Dobbs and I see those giant sails going up, hear the young ones chanting through the work, watch them take the helm and feel the ship respond, and know that good shall continue in this world.