Annapolis Maritime Museum, Located at 723 Second St, Annapolis, Md. Call 410- 295-0104, or visit www.annapolismaritimemuseum.org for more details. After the town was founded in 1868, most of the working residents, both black and white, made their living from the seafood industry, in the boatyards or at the Naval Academy. During World War II, boats were built in Eastport for the British and Russian navies. Later, world-renowned luxury yachts were built there. As the oyster business ebbed, the watermen's workboats were replaced by sailboats and powerboats used for having fun out on the Bay. Today, Annapolis is known as " America 's Sailing Capital." Major national and international sailing events take place here, including the Volvo Ocean Race. The fleet of 'round-the-world raceboats stopped here in May 2006. Tour boats and boat rentals provide opportunities for families to spend a day on the water. Water taxis are fun way to get a boat ride across the Harbor. Volunteers and staff of the Annapolis Maritime Museum are busy repairing damage caused by Hurricane Isabel in 2003. Located at the site of the former McNasby Oyster Company in Eastport, the Museum's programs, exhibits and activities are centered about the maritime heritage. The Barge House at the McNasby's museum campus is open to the public! Hours Saturdays, 12N-4pm., Sundays, 1-4pm.

Baltimore Maritime Museum, Pier 3 & 5, Pratt St., Baltimore. 301-396-3854, www.baltimoremuseum.org . Summer, 9:30am-7pm, Winter 9:30am-4:30pm. There are several museums available with the Baltimore Maritime Museum. Those include the USCGC Torsk, was one of only ten Tench Class fleet type submarines to see service in World War II. Deployed to the Pacific, TORSK operated from Pearl Harbor and made two war patrols off Japan during the spring and summer of 1945. Decommissioned on 4 March 1968, with an impressive record of over 10,600 career dives, TORSK arrived in Baltimore to serve as a museum and memorial in 1972. The USCGC Taney, Home ported in Honolulu, Hawaii beginning in 1937, TANEY was attached to Destroyer Division 80 in the summer of 1941 and was in action against Japanese planes during the Pearl Harbor Attack. By virtue of her 50 year career, she is the last surviving warship afloat today from the 7 December 1941 Japanese attack on Hawaii. Sixty years ago, two of the ships of the Baltimore Maritime Museum were involved in events that changed the history of the world. US Coast Guard Cutter Taney was an amphibious command ship for the Battle of Okinawa, one of the bloodiest battles in US Naval history. Taney was called to battle stations ninety-nine times in forty-five days and was at the center of the some of the fiercest action in this crucial campaign. On August 14th 1945, the USS Torsk fired a torpedo which hit home, sinking a Japanese coastal patrol vessel. This dramatic moment was to become the last naval action of World War II, as the Cease Fire was declared the next day. Upcoming events will include: The Taney Association will be having its reunion on October 6-8. Because the Taney served from 1936 –1986 its former crew span a wide range of ages and experiences. It is an honor to have these dedicated men and their families aboard the ship. If you are a former crewmember and want more information about the Taney Association, call Frank or Linda Tobat at 410-546-1557 for further details and the second reunion taking place in October is that of the USS Diablo, sister ship of the USS Torsk. Some of the Diablo crewmates are Torsk volunteers so it is a double pleasure to welcome the Diablo group. The Diablo was in service in the US from 1945 – 1964 and then was transferred to Pakistan and renamed Ghazi. Ghazi was lost with all hands in 1971. Their latest exhibit, "Mascots: Seagoing Dogs of the Navy and Coast Guard" onboard the Lightship 116, has been held over through September. The exhibit features photographs of over 30 seagoing dogs and the vessels on which they served. If you have not had a chance to see this delightful exhibit, make it a point. When Lightship 116 "Chesapeake" was completed in 1930, she was among the most modern and capable ships in use with the US Lighthouse Service. Part of the vessel class of Lightship No.100, Lightship 116 was constructed from a standard design and boasted the best in stability, signaling capacity, living accommodations, and engineering efficiency then available. The US Lighthouse Service first assigned Lightship 116 to the Fenwick Island Shoal (DE) Station from 1930-33; after that assignment she marked the entrance to Chesapeake Bay until the beginning of World War II . During the war most coastal lightships were withdrawn for security reasons and were often converted for wartime duties. During 1942-45 Lightship 116 was painted battleship gray, armed with two 20mm cannons, and used as a patrol/inspection vessel near the entrance to the Cape Cod Canal. In 1945, Lightship 116 returned to the waters off Cape Henry (VA) where her bright red hull, beacon light and "Chesapeake" station designation guided maritime traffic in and out of the Chesapeake Bay for the next 20 years. In 1971, Lightship 116 was acquired by the National Park Service and was open to the public on the Potomac River. Since 1982, the ship has been part of the Baltimore Maritime Museum and has continued to serve as an important link with the history of American aids to navigation.

Calvert County Maritime Museum, Solomons, Md. Take I97 South to Rt. 3 & 301 South to Rt. 4. Continue on Rt. 2-4 southeast to Solomons. The Museum is past the bridge on the left. Call 410-326-2042 or visit www.calvertmarinemuseum.com for additional details.. Located in Solomons, Maryland, the Calvert Marine Museum is a regionally oriented museum displaying the collection, the preservation, and the research of the culture and natural history of Southern Maryland. Explore the history, culture, and lighthouses of the Chesapeake Bay and Patuxent River all in one place! A "hands-on" Discovery Room available for children of all ages located on the lower level of the Exhibition Building is where visitors are encouraged to explore the three themes of the museum by touching and doing. It features a touch tank housing creatures from the Chesapeake Bay. The plumbing and systems required to operate the tank and keep the creatures alive are in plain view, allowing interpreters to explain how they work to mimic the natural environment. One exciting features is a model of the Cove Point Lighthouse. Visitors can climb inside to activate the light, dress as lighthouse keepers and enter the keeper’s cottage. A boat, constructed by the museum’s small craft guild, is there for small children to practice their voyaging skills as they climb aboard, raise and lower the sail, or steer the tiller. In the paleontology zone, a mural decorates the entire wall highlighting a segment of the Calvert Cliffs. At the foot of the cliff visitors can search for fossils in the beach box, and then take their treasures to a fossil identification station to learn about the creature it came from eight to 20 million years ago. The outdoor exhibit features two live otters and introduces you to these playful, seldom seen mammals. You can view the otters both below and above the water. See the museum’s collection of traditional Chesapeake Bay wooden vessels while walking along the boat basin. See floating exhibits of vessels that once were part of an abundant fleet on the bay. The outdoor exhibit is a living study of the plant and animal communities that inhabit saltwater, freshwater, and upland marshes. While you are watching for crabs, fish and water birds, smelling bay leaves and petting cattails, you will understand the importance and beauty of the wetlands. Near the parking lot is the woodworking shop where you can look into the exhibit fabrication shop and see the museum's resident master woodcarver and model maker at work. The Southern Maryland Shipcarvers' Guild and the Solomons Island Model Boat Club ddemonstrate their skills. Half models, scale boat models, figureheads, and trailboards are examples of their craft.
Upcoming Activities Include: Cradle of Invasion Weekend, Aug. 4-6. This event has traditionally been a tribute to the Soldiers, Sailors, and Marines that trained at the United States Naval Amphibious Training Base at Solomons, Maryland. This year, it is expanding to include not only the past, but the present and future impact of the military on Southern Maryland. The cost of the event is $3.
Maryland Lighthouse Challenge, Sept. 16-17, 8am–6pm. Nine lighthouses, one lightship, two days! Visit some of the most scenic spots in the state during this educational and fun filled event showcasing Maryland's land accessible lighthouses. Visit one of more of the Challenge lights and receive a souvenir at each. Visit all ten challenge stops and receive a special commemorative souvenir to mark your accomplishment. Fees vary by site.

The Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum, St. Michaels, Md. Take I97 to Rt. 2 South to Rt 50 East, cross over Bay Bridge, after passing Easton Airport exit Right on Easton bypass/Rt 322S. Follow signs to museum. Call 410-745-2916 or visit www.cbmm.org for further details. The Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum was founded in 1965 on Navy Point in St. Michaels, a Talbot County riverfront village on Maryland's Eastern Shore. The 18-acre waterfront campus includes Navy Point, which was once was the site of a busy complex of seafood packing houses, docks, and workboats. On permanent display at the campus is the nation's most complete collection of Chesapeake Bay artifacts, visual arts, and indigenous water craft. Interpretive exhibitions and public programs cover the range of Chesapeake Bay maritime history and culture-including Native-American life, Anglo-American settlement, seventeenth- and eighteenth-century trans-Atlantic trade, naval history, the Bay's unique watercraft and boat building traditions, navigation, waterfowling, boating, seafood harvesting, and recreation. Now a St. Michaels landmark, the Hooper Strait Lighthouse has not always resided in its current location. In 1965 it had been condemned by the United States government and was slated to be demolished. The Museum purchased it from the demolition contractor for $1,000 and through the generosity of the Arundel Corporation, barged it sixty miles north to its new home on Navy Point in 1966. There are many living people part of the museum, and not just displays. You talk with watermen and other local people and find out what they are like. You can hear the stories of the of the Chesapeake, stories of communities making a living in the "water business," harvesting and packing crabs, oysters, rock fish, and clams from the Bay. You can hear stories of urban residents of Baltimore and Norfolk, on opposite ends of the 180-mile-long Bay, who built and operated the shipyards, and imported and exported the goods, building those cities into world-class ports, linking the region and the nation to global markets. You can hear about vacationers and tourist-those who come to sail and fish and sit and watch the sunsets over the Bay. The Museum is open daily year-round. Hours vary by season. March 1-May 31,10am-5pm, June 1-Sept. 30, 10am-6pm, Oct. 1-Nov. 13, 10am-5 pm, Nov. 14-Feb. 28, 10am-4 pm. |
Other activities include :
Apprentice for a Day, Ever Build a Boat? Drop in and spend a day doing just that. No extended time commitment. No expensive deposit. Just hands-on learning under the guidance of an experienced Museum shipwright. That's the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum's Apprentice for a Day program. Let the experts tell you how it's really done. The Chesapeake People program features skipjack captains and crew members, boat builders, hunters and decoy carvers, dipnet makers, crab pickers and oyster shuckers. There is also the Introduction, which is situated on the waterfront in historic St. Michaels, the Chesapeake Bay Museum tells the stories of the Bay and the people who have lived, worked, and played here. On permanent display is the nation's most complete collection of Chesapeake Bay artifacts, visual arts, and indigenous water craft. Interpretive exhibitions and public programs cover the range of Chesapeake Bay maritime history and culture-including Native-American life, seventeenth- and eighteenth-century trans-Atlantic trade, naval history, the Bay's unique watercraft and boat building traditions, navigation, waterfowling, boating, seafood harvesting, and recreation. Unlike most museums which must depend upon tour guides or costumed re-enacters to bring life to the history they celebrate, the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum offers you the real thing: people who actually live the story we tell. Some days, depending on the season and the weather, you could find a master decoy carver sitting on the porch of the Waterfowling building, carving decoys and telling stories of his life in Dorchester County. On others, a retired crab picker might be sitting at one of the picnic tables sharing historic photographs, talking with visitors about working on Navy Point; pointing out where different buildings stood, and sharing her memories of a picker's life. In the Museum's working Boat Yard, you can watch the restoration of the Bay's traditional vessels and go talk with the shipwrights, apprentices, or a visiting captain or boat builder.
Additional Activities Include:
Family Concert, Aug. 19, 7:30pm. With summer nearing its end, don’t miss our last family concert of the season under the stars! Featuring live music from the Museum’s Tolchester Beach Bandstand. Pack a picnic supper, blanket, and lawn chairs to fully enjoy our waterfront park-like setting. No charge.
Annual Boat Auction, Sept. 2, 1–3pm, Boating experts and novices alike have the same opportunity to bid on the boat of their dreams! Offerings include everything from wooden rowing skiffs to classic sailboats and modern power cruisers. Included with Museum admission.
Maryland Lighthouse Challenge, Sept. 16-17, 8am–6pm. Nine lighthouses, one lightship, two days! Visit some of the most scenic spots in the state during this educational and fun filled event showcasing Maryland's land accessible lighthouses. Visit one of more of the Challenge lights and receive a souvenir at each. Visit all ten challenge stops and receive a special commemorative souvenir to mark your accomplishment. Fees vary by site.

Fells Point Maritime Museum, 1724 Thames Street, Baltimore. 410-732-0278, www.mdhs.org/explore/maritime . A landmark on the water since the mid-19th century, the block-long building housing the Fells Point Maritime Museum was originally a barn for the horse-drawn trolley service and later became a warehouse for paper stock, metals, iron, and rope. The original features of the building contribute to the historic environment as visitors explore the rich history of the port through the museum's thematic areas. While there you can meet the Point's well-known historic figures, such as privateer Thomas Boyle and shipbuilder Thomas Kemp, as well as the everyday residents who made Fells Point famous, follow the design, technology, and skill involved in building and operating the famous Baltimore clipper schooner. Fells Point's Fast Trades will help you discover how the fast clipper schooners impacted international trade- carrying fruit, exotic spices, and tobacco. Not all trades needing the fast ships were legal, however. Fells Point produced slave ships and played a role in the opium trades. Learn how the legacy of the clipper schooner design endured into the early 20th century as changes in the shipbuilding industry and world events caused shipbuilding to move off the Point. Hours are Thursday-Monday, 10am-5pm.

Havre de Grace Maritime Museum, 100 Lafayette Street, Havre de Grace, Md. 410-939-4800, www.hdgmaritimemuseum.org . The Havre de Grace Maritime Museum, situated where the Susquehanna River meets the Chesapeake Bay, tells the story of this region’s rich maritime heritage. Together with numerous species of flora and fauna and having highly navigable waters, this unique environmental setting is the perfect backdrop for generations of inhabitants- from the earliest Native Americans over 10,000 years ago, to the first European colonists in the 1600’s, to today’s thriving community of the 21st century. This museum is dedicated to the collection, documentation, preservation, and interpretation of the maritime skills and heritage of the Lower Susquehanna River and Upper Chesapeake Bay. June-Aug. Open 7 days 11am-5pm., Sept.-May, Mon, Wed, Fri, Sat, Sun 11am-5pm, Tues evenings 6-9:30pm. During summer, Maritime Museum staff members are often invited to provide museum outreach educational programs for summer camp groups. They provide hands-on programs on Archaeology, Native Americans, Fishing, and Boat Building. In the past few months, they have also given lectures on maritime history to several community organizations. Susquehanna Flats Environmental Center: the flats are the shallow waters along the Chesapeake Bay shoreline that support the lush grass beds that provide food and habitat to fish, crabs, oysters, and waterfowl. The Museum, with its participants, explores the historical background and natural diversity of the Chesapeake as well as the responsibilities and challenges of living by and using its rich environmental resources. There is also the Chesapeake Wooden Boat Builders School which offers Basic Wooden Boat Building, Antique Canoe Repair & Restoration, Model Ship Building, Wooden Boat Repair & Restoration. The school preserves the tradition of wooden boat building by teaching this essential maritime skill to apprentices in weekly class sessions. The cooperative agreement between Harford Community College, the Havre de Grace Maritime Museum, and the Chesapeake Wooden Boat Builders supports this goal. The school is for both young and old. A special Teen Boatbuilding School, held in the summer, tutors twelve teens through building their own canoes in one week! Other students are all very interested amateurs who are looking for building instruction, so they can build their own craft. Generally, there are about 40 men and women working on building and repairing wooden boats and models every Tuesday evening from 7-9 p.m.