Maryland’s historic skipjacks will return to Cambridge on Saturday, September 26, for the 30th annual Choptank Heritage Skipjack Race at Long Wharf.
The skipjacks will be moored at Long Wharf and along the bulkhead near the county building before and after the race, giving visitors a close-up look at Maryland’s remaining fleet of traditional wooden oyster boats.
Activities begin at 10 a.m. with a boat parade led by the skipjack Nathan of Dorchester. The race will begin at 11 a.m. near the lighthouse at Long Wharf. The floating dock and Long Wharf parking lot will provide excellent views of the skipjacks as they cross the starting and finishing lines.
The Choptank Heritage Skipjack Race is the third event in Maryland’s unofficial “triple crown” of skipjack racing. Participating boats will have previously competed in the Deal Island Labor Day Skipjack Race and the race held during the Maryland Seafood Festival at Sandy Point.
Food trucks and other shoreside activities will be available throughout the day. The event is free and open to the public.
Sponsored by the Dorchester Skipjack Committee, the race helps support the preservation of Maryland’s small and increasingly rare fleet of wooden skipjacks. Each participating boat receives approximately $1,500 to assist with ongoing maintenance and preservation costs.
During the past 30 years, the Dorchester Skipjack Committee has raised and donated more than $200,000 to help preserve Maryland’s vanishing skipjack fleet.
