Thank you, Annapolis!

Our Renaissance Party to celebrate our rebirth and Schooners on the Chesapeake Bay on October 3rd was a great success. The tent at Eastport Yacht Club rocked as Them Eastport Oyster Boys set the mood for a very fun time. And even better news is that we raised badly needed funds to get your museum back on its feet.

More than a dozen items were sold as part of a silent auction--from boat trips to fabulous pieces of art to restaurant dinners to a Bio Bidet USPA 6800... and even a hand-made flute. Thank you so much to our generous sponsors who donated the auction items.

The captains and crews of many of the schooners set to sail in The Great Chesapeake Schooner Race joined us as our special guests, and the 300 or so people who attended showed us that this community supports the Annapolis Maritime Museum.

It takes a community... to celebrate and preserve our maritime heritage.

Thank you, Annapolis!

We're Taking Our Show on the Road!

We have rescheduled several events related to our exhibit, Schooners on the Chesapeake Bay, which were slated to be held at the McNasby Oyster Company building. Since the McNasby building suffered critical damage during hurricane Isabel, several community organizations have offered alternative locations for Museum activities.

"Schooners Art," photography show by Christine Diehlmann
October 1 - November 1, Maryland State Teachers Association lobby

Lecture by Underwater archaeologist Stephen R. Bilicki of the Maryland Historical Trust: "Clip Along: The Quest for Speed in Chesapeake Boat Design"
October 28, 7 - 8:30 p.m., Historic Annapolis Foundation’s Paca House Conference Center

Book Signing by Quentin Snediker and Ann Jensen, co-authors of Chesapeake Bay Schooners
November 2, 2 - 4 p.m., Hardbean Booksellers

Read more...

Annapolis Maritime Museum to Rise Again from Hurricane Damage

Though its main facility, the McNasby Oyster Company building, was severely damaged by hurricane Isabel, the Annapolis Maritime Museum will pick up the pieces and come back to life bigger and better, according to Museum Board Chairman Buck Buchanan.

"We had a large crew of volunteers help remove all the important artifacts, exhibits and resource materials to the second floor before the storm," Buchanan reports. "These articles survived high and dry and are now in temporary storage."

The front section of the McNasby building was the worst hit, with three gaping holes in the north facing wall and another large hole in the wall facing Back Creek. "It looks like a 74-gun man o’ war fired a couple of broadsides at us," says Museum Director Jeff Holland. Officials from the City of Annapolis, which owns the property and leases it to the museum, have made an initial assessment that while the building sustains an estimated $1.5 million in damage, the building can be rebuilt.

"The McNasby building is the last vestige of our once thriving seafood packing industry," says Annapolis Mayor Ellen O. Moyer. "It is not just part of our history, it represents our maritime heritage and how our citizens earned their living. We need to preserve this building. It provides an important link to our past and our future."

The record 7.5-foot tidal surge and six-foot wave action caused by the estimated 65-mph winds tore the entire dock from its pilings and washed up on the end of Second Street. The 600-square-foot Barge House was flooded about knee deep, and the total damage is currently under assessment.

"The board of directors had already been planning to remodel the McNasby building and the Barge House, as well as establish a display kiosk on City Dock," Buchanan explained. "Our goal is and always was to build community pride and respect for the Bay’s ecology. We will provide a focal point for the visitors’ experience as well as a resource for educating young and old residents about their exciting maritime heritage. This is just a temporary setback in achieving these goals."

Volunteer crews worked throughout the weekend to clear the museum campus of debris with help from the City of Annapolis Department of Public Works and the National Guard.

The Museum Board of Directors is now charting a course for restoring the McNasby building and the rest of the museum campus, and are meanwhile finding alternative sites to hold events, lectures and other activities scheduled for the upcoming weeks.

"We’re going to need a lot of help with this project," Buchanan says. "We’re looking for temporary office space, office equipment, volunteers, and, of course, donations. But more than that, we need the support of the citizens of Annapolis and Anne Arundel County, because this museum belongs to us all."

Donations can be mailed to the Annapolis Maritime Museum, PO Box 4488, Annapolis, MD 203. For more information, call 0 295-0104.

See the exhibit at Weems & Plath, 214 Eastern Avenue

Before the invention of the Global Positioning System, or GPS, Captain Philip Van Horn Weems modernized the art of celestial navigation by simplifying techniques and inventing time saving methods.

The genius of this 1912 graduate of the Naval Academy has touched all types of navigation -- from maritime to aviation, from underwater to outer space.

Delve into the world of this renowned Annapolitan and see how he paved the way for 21st century modern navigation, letting us take knowing exactly where we are… for granted.