Prelaunch

Governor Ehrlich and other visiting dignitaries and culminated with the Governor sawing the shallop in half

The Launch

Afloat

Contacts:   
Drew McMullen, 410-778-5954
dmcmullen@schoonersultana.org

Chestertown— Maryland Governor Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., a fleet of tall ships and a long list of VIPs were in Chestertown on Friday, Nov. 4 to take part in Sultana Projects' launch of its historic reproduction of Captain John Smith's “barge of discovery.”

Scheduled for 1 p.m. at the Chestertown Waterfront, the public launch of the 30-foot shallop will marks a milestone of the Captain John Smith Four Hundred Project, a multi-year educational effort commemorating the 400th anniversary of Smith's groundbreaking exploration of the Chesapeake Bay in 1608.

Joining the Governor in the launching ceremonies were William Baker, President of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Patrick Noonan, Chairman Emeritus of The Conservation Fund, W. Tayloe Murphy Jr., Virginia's Secretary of Natural Resources, and Drew McMullen, President of Sultana Projects, Inc.

The Captain John Smith Four-Hundred Project is an undertaking of Sultana Projects, a non-profit educational organization based in Chestertown, Maryland, best known for providing educational programs on board its reproduction of the 1768 schooner Sultana. The Captain John Smith Four Hundred Project is being developed as a signature product for the Friends of the Chesapeake National Water Trail, a group whose founders include Gilbert Grosvenor, Chairman of the National Geographic Society, Baker and Noonan.

The mission of the Friends of the Chesapeake National Water Trail is to celebrate the unique history and environment of the Chesapeake Bay by creating a lasting legacy for future generations through the establishment of America 's first National Water Trail. Legislation authorizing a feasibility study of the proposed trail by the National Park Service was approved earlier this year by Congress and signed by President Bush.

The launch of the replica shallop took place at the foot of High Street marking the start of Sultana's Downrigging Weekend, Nov. 4-6. A fleet of historic sailing vessels, including Delaware's official “tall ship” Kalmar Nyckel, the newly launched schooner Virginia, the Living Classrooms Foundation schooner Lady Maryland, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation skipjack Stanley Norman, and Echo Hill Outdoor Schools' skipjack Elsworth and buyboat the Anne D. participated in three days of festivities, marking the end of the school ship Sultana's sailing season.

The ceremonies included remarks by Governor Ehrlich and other visiting dignitaries and culminated with the Governor sawing the shallop in half and launching it into the waters of the Chester River. This unusual aspect of the launch ceremony echoes the unique design of Smith's original 1608 vessel, which was built in England and then broken down into two pieces so that it could be transported to the New World colony at Jamestown.


The launch of the shallop will marks the start of an amazing two-year odyssey for this little vessel. Beginning in January, Sultana Projects will exhibit the John Smith shallop at the Maryland State House in Annapolis before it travels to museums around the Chesapeake Region. Over the next year, the vessel and an accompanying educational exhibit will travel to the Maryland Science Center, The Science Museum of Virginia, the National Maritime Center at NAUTICUS, the National Geographic Museum at Explorers Hall, the Mariners' Museum, the Calvert Marine Museum and the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum.

In 2007 the shallop and a crew of 14 modern-day explorers will embark on a 127-day, 1,500-mile reenactment of Smith's original expedition, the culmination of Sultana's Captain John Smith Four Hundred Project. Propelled by oar and sail alone, the shallop and her crew will visit communities around the Chesapeake while their progress is followed by students throughout the region through an innovative website and planned video documentary. Sultana Projects is also working with the Maryland State Department of Education on developing a John Smith 400 curriculum to be introduced next year in elementary schools throughout the state.

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