The young people we serve need support to create a good life. Many have had issues with law enforcement, some have not succeeded in school, and many may suffer from anxiety or depression. Our apprentices need a nurturing environment to learn, grow, gain confidence, and build a path toward self-sufficiency and success. Seaport’s curriculum, adult mentoring, community support, and career exploration give our Apprentices the positive environment they need.
With heartfelt thanks to all who have supported the mission of the Great Chesapeake Bay Schooner Race
The 2026 GCBSR Virtual Race Raised Over $66,450
Over $369,400 raised to date
Final totals coming soon
Norfolk Rebel supporting GCBSR Race Events - $14,065.07
The “Tugantine” Norfolk Rebel is the first designed and built Sail Assisted Tugboat. Capt. Lane Briggs had her designed and built to be a multipurpose tug for his Marine Towing/Salvage/Construction business. Launched May of 1980. Being sail assisted, she would be able to save upwards of 30% fuel savings. In addition to towing barges and salvaging, she also towed several schooners and Tall Ships up and down the east coast. Also, she would participate in Tall Ship Festivals. Capt. Lane was also the founder of The Great Chesapeake Bay Schooner Race. His dream of schooners racing down the bay started with the first race in 1990. Bringing Schooners and their crews together to share stories of their season. The race evolved into a fundraising event every year to bring awareness to the bay. Capt. Lane passed away in September 2005, but the Norfolk Rebel is still Racing to Save the Bay by racing for The Great Chesapeake Bay Schooner Race.
Jolly Dolphin supporting Magothy River Association - $11,089.77
Jolly Dolphin is a wooden sailing vessel modeled on early Chesapeake Bay oyster dredgers. Referred to as a “three sail bateau,” or “two-masted skipjack,” it is a successor to the bugeye. Jolly Dolphin was built for a Delaware family for recreational use by James B. Richardson on LeCompte Creek, Maryland in 1958. From 1964 until 2007 she passed through the hands of a half dozen owners, and was abandoned ashore in 2004. Restored with the help of the Richardson Maritime Museum from 2007 to 2010, privately owned and maintained Jolly Dolphin has provided traditional sailing experiences for community outreach. Over the years Jolly Dolphin‘s passengers have including middle school and high school STEM students, conservationists and Maryland history enthusiasts. She is currently berthed on the Magothy River.
Jolly Dolphin is proud to be sailing this year on behalf of the Magothy River Association, an organization that supports conservation and education on her home waterway. Magothy River Association works for the preservation and improvement of the water quality, plants, and wildlife of the Magothy River and its watershed. The organization’s efforts include a comprehensive oyster program that includes an oyster nursery, reef restoration, and a dive program to monitor oyster populations.
Schooner Virginia supporting Nauticus Foundation - $9,477.21
Downtown Norfolk, Schooner Virginia serves the Nauticus mission in engaging the Hampton Roads community with a focus on delivering transformative maritime experiences and hands on learning to students of all backgrounds and ages, museum visitors and the general public. The Schooner Virginia‘s programming emphasizes STEM education, maritime history, tall ship training, workforce development and the conservation of our local waterways.
Schooner Virginia is raising funds for the Nauticus Foundation, the nonprofit organization established to promote the mission and activities of Nauticus. Norfolk, Virginia’s Nauticus is an exciting interactive science and technology center that explores the naval, economic, and nautical power of the sea. It serves as home to the historic Battleship Wisconsin, the Schooner Virginia, and much more. The Nauticus Foundation’s mission is to benefit its community through education, impactful experiences and by sharing access to maritime resources.
Schooner Virginia is a loyal participant in the Great Chesapeake Bay Schooner Race. The race is something supporters and volunteers look forward to each year. Virginia‘s participation in the virtual race not only helps raise critical revenue to support the foundation, but also to promote passion for tall ships and continued education for the public.
Adventurer supporting GCBSR Education Grants - $4,835.30
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.
Pride of Baltimore II supporting Pride of Baltimore Inc. - $4,388.06
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.
Lady Maryland supporting Living Classrooms Foundation - $4,253.22
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.
Denis Sullivan for World Ocean School / Alexandria Seaport Foundation - $3,832.08
This is a unique and collaborative fundraiser by World Ocean School (WOS) and Alexandria Seaport Foundation (ASF) to cover the costs for up to 18 ASF current and graduate Apprentices to sail in the 2025 Great Chesapeake Bay Schooner Race aboard the Schooner Denis Sullivan for a an educational trip of a lifetime.
Schooner Denis Sullivan: is a three-masted wooden gaff rigged schooner originally from Milwaukee. The only existing replica of a 19th century Great Lakes schooner, she was envisioned and built by a Milwaukee-based team of professionals and volunteers.
World Ocean School: We empower students from all backgrounds to be courageous and compassionate changemakers for themselves, their communities, and our planet through transformative education aboard our iconic tall ships. World Ocean School provides immersive, hands-on education to more than 600 students from diverse backgrounds each year. Since our founding in 2002, more than 23,000 students have participated in our progams.
Alexandria Seaport Foundation: The Apprentice Program is designed for young adults aged 18-23 who are eager to find a new path. We use the crafts of woodworking and traditional boatbuilding to teach job skills and positive habits that our apprentices need for success in both their work and personal life. Apprentices work alongside carpenters, boat builders, and volunteer mentors who teach and challenge them each day.
Bonny Rover supporting Elizabeth River Project - $3,007.22
Bonny Rover is a 64-foot topsail schooner whose raked masts, long bowsprit and fore squaresail evoke the sleek privateers of the Baltimore Clipper pedigree that guarded the Chesapeake during the War of 1812. She was designed by Merritt Walter as part of his Rover family and built in 1971 in Norfolk. Walter called Bonny home for a time and local salts still recall the splendor of her grand salon, with its aft windows reminiscent of a French warship, a Franklin stove that warmed hands and a Spinet piano that warmed hearts. Built in ferrocement, Bonny is no stranger to the Great Chesapeake Bay Schooner Race, and stills carries the First Place plaques from the first two editions.
Bonny Rover sails in support the Elizabeth River Project. The Project works to restore the Elizabeth River through equitable collaboration with diverse communities, businesses and governments.
Farewell supporting Maryland Science Center - $2,778.09
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.
Luna supporting Colonial Seaport Foundation - $2,605.55
Luna is the only working replica of a colonial-era coastal trading sloop on the Chesapeake Bay. Her mission is to provide an educational and historic platform to teach visitors about the regions rich maritime history leading up to the American Revolution and serve as an environmental ambassador to help promote clean boating practices and stewardship of our natural resources.
Luna races to support the Colonial Seaport Foundation (CSF), an educational organization focused on preserving facets of America’s colonial (17th-18th century) maritime heritage by providing historically accurate information and education to the public. CSF displays and demonstrates the operation of vessel(s), equipment, tools, procedures, skills and lifestyles within the maritime community.
North Wind suppporting Gloucster City Sail - $2,341.72
The Schooner North Wind, operated by Gloucester City Sail, Inc., is dedicated to enriching the lives of local youth through hands-on learning and meaningful experiences on the Delaware River.
Through science, maritime history, and practical skills aboard the schooner, these experiences foster curiosity, personal growth, teamwork, responsibility, and a lasting connection to the region’s waterways and heritage.
A.J. Meerwald supporting Bayshore Center at Bivalve - $1,961.10
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.
Woodwind supporting GCBSR Education Program - $1,794.62
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.