In the Chesapeake Bay area, boating is a favorite pastime, and Annapolis has long been known as America's Sailing Capital. In December 2005, Annapolis was chosen as the site for the National Sailing Hall of Fame and Museum.
"Volunteer" sailboat, Calvert Marine Museum, Solomons, Maryland, April 2018. Photo by Diane F. Evartt.
![[photo, Sailboats, Back Creek, Annapolis, Maryland]](/msa/mdmanual/37mun/annapolis/images/1198-1-3353.jpg)
The Annapolis Yacht Club hosted a Spring Race from Annapolis to Oxford on May 11, 2019 and will host an Annual Regata on July 28-29, 2019, and a Fall Race from Annapolis to Solomons on Sepember 21, 2019.
Each October, Annapolis hosts the United States Powerboat Show, and the United States Sailboat Show. They are the two oldest and largest shows of their kind in the nation. The Powerboat show will be held next October 3-6, 2019 and the Sailboat show on October 10-14, 2019.
The Annapolis Spring Sailboat Show is held each April at the City Dock. It will be held again in April 2020.
Sailboats, Back Creek, Annapolis, Maryland, October 2008. Photo by Diane F. Evartt.
![[photo, Sailboats at Inner Harbor, Baltimore, Maryland]](/msa/mdmanual/01glance/images/i006155b.jpg)
Starting in Annapolis, the Annual Governor's Cup Yacht Race is a 70-mile long overnight distance race from Annapolis to St. Mary's City. Competitors race down Chesapeake Bay, turning up the Potomac River to the St. Mary's River in southern Maryland. The 45th running of the race will be held August 2-4, 2019.
Boat races also are found on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. In Cambridge, the Choptank Heritage Skipjack Race has been held each September since 1997. It is next scheduled for September 21, 2019.
Sailboats at Inner Harbor, Baltimore, Maryland, August 2001. Photo by Diane F. Evartt.
![[photo, Sailboat, Little Round Bay, Crownsville, Maryland]](/msa/mdmanual/36loc/an/images/1198-1-08224b.jpg)
For fifty years, Deal Island off Somerset County (also on the Eastern Shore) has been home to the Annual Skipjack Race and Festival. Over Labor Day weekend, the Race next will be held August 31 - September 2, 2019.
Since 1989, the Great Chesapeake Bay Schooner Race traverses from Fells Point in Baltimore to Portsmith, Virginia each October. This year's race will be held on October 15-20, 2019.
Sailboat, Little Round Bay, Crownsville, Maryland, September 2017. Photo by Diane F. Evartt.
![[photo, Sailboat on Severn River, Annapolis, Maryland]](/msa/mdmanual/01glance/images/i006056b.jpg)
Competitive sailboat racing boasts many participants throughout the Chesapeake Bay area. Year-round, Maryland's local yacht clubs host racing series and regattas. Numerous sailing schools train future racing champions and recreational sailors.
Since 1991, St. Mary's College of Maryland, competing in the Mid-Atlantic Intercollegiate Sailing Association, has captured twelve national championship titles, including two in 2007. In 2009, the St. Mary's Seahawks from St. Mary's College of Maryland beat Yale University to win the Inter-Collegiate Sailing Association/Gill Coed Dinghy National Championship for the third time in school history.
Sailboat on Severn River, Annapolis, Maryland, April 2001. Photo by Diane F. Evartt.
![[photo, Sailboats, Back Creek, Annapolis, Maryland]](/msa/mdmanual/37mun/annapolis/images/1198-1-3355.jpg)
Located on the St. Mary's River with access to the Chesapeake Bay, St. Mary's College of Maryland locally competes against teams from the U.S. Naval Academy and the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy.
Sailboats, Back Creek, Annapolis, Maryland, October 2008. Photo by Diane F. Evartt.
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