Thomas Point Lighthouse, the last screwpile lighthouse still in it’s original location on the Bay. Thomas Point was built in 1875.

The cruise we had today was the re-named Blue Angels Cruise.  After the Blue Angels were canceled due to sequestration, we had many people signed up for this cruise. We changed the theme to a Lighthouse Cruise and asked them what they wanted to do, and many wanted to stay on the cruise. So, we asked our favorite lighthouse historian aboard to treat guests with her local and lighthouse knowledge. We had about 25 people aboard.

Meg Govan, from the Annapolis Maritime Museum, came prepared with historical stories, old photographs, insight into Thomas Point Lighthouse from the inside and much more.

The day started a little dreary with overcast, gray skies and a nice breeze blowing from the southwest. We sailed down to Thomas Point Light within the first hour. After getting real close we motored to the Bay Bridge to see Sandy Point Lighthouse.

As we reached Sandy Point Lighthouse, the sun came out and it became the most delightful day out. Clear blue skies with a nice breeze. I must say, Sandy Point Lighthouse looks pretty shabby.

Sailing under the Chesapeake Bay Bridge.

We headed back into the breeze and sailed under the Bay Bridge and most of the way back to Annapolis Harbor. A beautiful day was had by all. It was great having one of the parents of a midshipman helm the boat back from the Bridge. He grew up sailing on Buzzard Bay and we had fun trading sailing stories the whole way back.

Our second trip, a private event, had the best sailing of the day. We made it under the bridge and back completely under sail in 70 degree temperatures.

The Hannon Family aboard the Schooner Woodwind

And it turned into a wonderful sailing day. I think the forecast scared everyone away. But it didn’t stop the Hannon family from Manassas.

It turned into a private cruise. They were all gathered to celebrate Tim’s graduation from Virginia Tech. What a great way to spend the morning. We sailed out into the bay and toward the Bay Bridge with the breeze blowing at 8-10 knots the boat was moving along at 7 knots and heeling over nicely.

Dick used to be and avid Aqua Finn sailor and enjoyed having having some helm time. He did have a bad case of tilleritis though and kept trying to steer us in the wrong direction. We did somehow manage to make it safely home(haha!).Thanks Dick we enjoyed having you all out this morning.

Our next 2 trips did not go out but we took the opportunity to go out and do some emergency drills with some of the newer staff so they could learn and it also served as a refresher for the seasoned crew. We are required by the USCG to conduct regular drills to keep all the crew ready and trained to respond to an emergency if necessary.

Monday night is always our History Monday cruise and we welcomed Janet Williman from Historic Annapolis aboard for the evening. Janet filled us with historical information about the naval Academy and the town of Annapolis. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the wonderful sunset sail and and all the fun facts. Thank you Janet!

Sunset over the Naval Academy

Silent Maid and the Bear

This morning, while motoring up around Horn Point, we were treated to the start of 3rd Annual Elf Classic Yacht Regatta.  This race is organized by the Classic Yacht Restoration Guild, honoring the racing style of the 1880′s.  The race begins ashore in Annapolis, suggesting rowing to the boat at anchor or on a mooring, then setting sail.  The race finishes ashore at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum. The race featured some local favorites as well as competitors from around the bay.

Pictured to the left is the Catboat Silent Maid of the Independence Seaport Museum of Philadelphia and the Sandbagger Bear of Annapolis’ National Sailing Hall of Fame.  Silent Maid finished 1st in the cruising class, while the Bear finished 2nd in the dayboat class.

All day I was hoping to spot the departure of the Ocean Research Project’s R/V Ault, but alas she escaped my boatspotting radar.  This vessel departed Annapolis today under the command of local hero Matt Rutherford and the scientist and self proclaimed schooner girl Nicole Trenholm.  They are headed to the Sargasso Sea to conduct data collection for important research regarding marine pollution, marine life, and climate.  Check out their webpage oceanresearchproject.org  Maybe I’ll spot them on their return to Annapolis!

Beautiful sail with the Pride of Baltimore II in background.

That’s Ben in the foreground with the gray hat.  Behind him to the right is Colleen and her significant other, Ryan at the helm.  Mary and Jeff are on the left.

The unexpected treat was seeing the Pride of Baltimore II.  The Pride is at least twice our size, but her rig is the same.  We are both schooners.  Pride’s design replicates the fast vessels that were built between 1812 and 1830.  Our design was popular between 1920 and 1940.  Mary took the helm as we pass the skipjack Stanley Norman which was built in 1902.  She is actually a working vessel built to dredge for oysters.  She is now owned by Save the Bay Foundation, but still is dredging, but releases what she catches and her captain and crew teach their guests about the environment of the Chesapeake Bay.

Mary at the helm. Stanley Norman in background.

Stanley Norman built in 1902.

Pride of Baltimore II

30+ knots of breeze on the Woodwind

So there we were getting ready to do maintenance on the boat because we had no people signed up when up walked Bob and his brother Jim.” I’d Rather Be Sailing”, I think I’ve seen that bumper sticker somewhere. Well that was our attitude and off we went with just the 2 brothers. The winds were brisk and from the West so we headed out toward the Thomas point lighthouse.

The winds picked up and we saw gusts in the 30′s and the boat was flying along at 10+ knots, WOW.

Sailing along at 10 knots toward Thomas Point Light house

We had a wonderful sail all the way past the lighthouse and back. This was Bob’s 1st trip on our boat but Jim had been out with us before on one of our sunset sails and Boat and Breakfast packages. It was a pleasure to have you both aboard!!

Our next sail we headed toward the bay bridge and Captain Corbin took a turn at the wheel. He was fantastic and kept us in front of all the other boats on the bay and we won the race back to Annapolis. Good Job Corbin!!

Captain Corbin steering the Schooner Woodwind

Our last sail of the day was a group charter and again we headed toward the bay bridge and had and encounter with Woodwind II on there sail. We made it under the bridge and back. The sunset was again fantastic over the city of Annapolis.

Woodwind II at the Bay Bridge

Sailing the Woodwind II alongside Woodwind

You’ve heard people say, “I never explore what’s in my own backyard”. Tonight, we took out many local, downtown businesses through the Annapolis Business Association and Bricks and Clicks organization for them to explore their own backyard.

We had about 30 people join us for a two hour sunset sail to the Bay Bridge and back. The winds were blowing around 20-25 knots, so we put up a reefed main and the jib. The sky was beautiful and the day a little chilly. Woodwind was also out sailing around with a fully catered, private event.

Many folks took a turn at the helm, and were amazed how fun it was to sail the Woodwind II.  And the buzz around the boat was, why don’t we do things that are right here in Annapolis?  This is beautiful, relaxing and rejuvenating.

Sunset on the Annapolis Skyline

The best part of the cruise? Sailing together with Woodwind under the bridge, and the magnificent sunset right on the city skyline. It reminds us all why we love Annapolis and chose to work here in this wonderful city!

Mother’s Day on the Woodwind

What a great way to spend the day. Bring your mom out for sailing and a nice brunch to boot. That is what everyone did yesterday.

We had awesome sailing all day with winds from 15 to gusts of 30 knots.

We sailed with only a reefed main and jib all day but the sailing  was still exciting.

Our 1st sail of the day was our Mother’s Day Brunch sail and we were completely sold out. We sailed over to Kent Island under jib only till everyone was stuffed and then we hoisted the main and sailed up to the Bay Bridge. We had several frequent sailors out for the day. One was celebrating her birthday. Martina comes out several times a year and has a turn steering the boat each time.

Martina’s Bday Trip on Woodwind

Happy Birthday Martina!!!

Our last 2 sails of the day were also exciting. We shook out one reef on the main and sailed with main and jib alone and were able to get under the bay bridge and back on both our 4:00 and 6: 30 sails.

Chesapeake Bay Bridge… on The Woodwind

We were treated to another spectacular Annapolis sunset on our way in from our last sail. My 1st of the season and looking forward to many more!!

Sunset over Annapolis from the Schooner Woodwind

Going through the buffet line on the Schooner Woodwind II for Mother’s Day Brunch.

What a terrific Mother’s Day. The wind was howling and the sky was absolutely clear. Terrific day for sailing! Having Mother’s Day Brunch? Maybe the conditions were not ideal due to the high winds, but all of the guests had a terrific time and raved about the food. The salmon and beef were amazing, were the most noted comments.

We sailed both the 10:00 Brunch and the 1:30 Sail with a reefed main and just the jib. Many folks took the turn at the wheel, including a bunch of younger, super interested kids.

Enjoying the Day with Thomas Point Lighthouse in the Background

On the Brunch we managed to sail past Thomas Point Lighthouse and still make it back to the dock on time. We saw this big sloop sailing by, it must have been a 100-footer.

It was great having all the moms aboard and making their day extra special. Thanks for taking the helm and telling me the stories! I loved it!

Big sloop sails by

Tony Lucca singing on the Schooner Woodwind

It has been over two and a half years that we have had Tony Lucca sing and perform on the Schooner Woodwind. A lot has happened since then, like he became the finalist on “The Voice” representing team Adam.  He also has a new CD coming out in June or July. Then he will get ready for his big tour with Maroon 5 and Kelly Clarkson.

When I got the call that he wanted to come for 2 back-to-back shows, I was ecstatic! We decided upon a sunset sail on Friday night and a brunch cruise on Saturday.

Friday’s and Saturday’s show started with his soon to be released single. He then played favorites and requests from the small, intimate audience. He also talked about “The Voice” and shared some very interesting insight into the show and the process. He played only a few covers and really stuck to his originals, which was what the crowd enjoyed.

Tony Lucca jammin’ on the Woodwind!

There were three things that amazed me… one was how far people came from to be on the Woodwind for these performances. We had folks from Alabama, Tennessee,  Virginia, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania. Many folks made an entire weekend in Annapolis  including attending the  Pat McGee/Matt Duke show at Ram’s Head.

Captain Jen and Tony Lucca

The second thing that amazed me was how great the music sounded. This was a totally acoustic show. The creek that we chose was nice and quiet, so the sound echoed beautifully. One couple commented to me that they felt so privileged to experience such a lovely 3 hours.

The other thing was how gracious and sincere Tony is. He is one of the most genuine people I have met. A truly wonderful person.

Both shows ended with a terrific, hour long sail back into the harbor under full sail. Tony sailed the boat in on the sunset sail, and help raised sails on the morning sail.

Keep a look out, we may be announcing more terrific talent coming soon. In the meantime, join us for Local Musician Night every Thursday on the Schooner Woodwind.

Photos from the cruises

Andy shout’s “Fire in the hole!”

Firing a cannon (with blanks) is a traditional way to welcome ships into a harbor.  In fact before phones, firing a cannon when a ship came into the harbor, alerted the citizens that they had visitors, or packages.   Important visitors became known as big shots.

The Pride of Baltimore II is a replica of the fast vessels that were often referred to as  Baltimore Clippers.  They were built in the early 1800′s and some saw service during the War of 1812.  Her website is http://www.pride2.org/.

Andy checks main trim as our guest takes the helm.  Meanwhile, Ken checks the cannon.

It was a lovely evening and everyone had a great time.