2022 Sailing Season Will Start in May
April 2, 2020
Preservation Efforts Continue During Covid Pandemic
October 9, 2020
The 30th annual Choptank Heritage Skipjack Race
September 26, 2026 at Long Wharf in Cambridge.
The surviving skipjacks from a once mighty fleet will complete for the 3rd jewel in the 2026 Triple Crown skipjack races
This race helps preserve these wooden skipjacks. Each participating Skipjack receives around $1500 in show-up money which gives each boat much needed funds for ongoing maintenance and preservation. Over the past 30 years, the Dorchester Skipjack Committee has raised and donated over $200,000 to help preserve our vanishing fleet of skipjacks. You can help by clicking on the donate button.
Skipjacks were always laid up when not oystering and started sailing again in September to shake out rigging and get boats and their crews ready for the upcoming oyster season. Informal races, friendly competition between local crews were once held from Havre de Grace down to Solomons Island and as many as 80 or more local skipjacks and other sail powered workboats would participate in any of the dozen or so “official” races held each year. Excursion trains from Baltimore and Washington packed with race goers discharged passengers at the Annapolis ferry dock for trips to the Eastern Shore races. Governors of Maryland and Virginia hosted dignitaries to watch races from state yachts. Prizes were practical back then; a new suit of sails and prize money for the winning boats made competition exciting.
Today fewer than 20 Skipjacks still sail, and skipjack races help keep tradition alive and the boats afloat. The Triple Crown of skipjack races starts with the Deal Island Labor Day race on September 7th which is held in out in Tangier Sound and best viewed by boat. After a 35-year absence, the second jewel in the crown is the Skipjack Heritage Days Race, held off Sandy Point, just north of Annapolis and the Bay Bridge held on September 12-13 during the Maryland Seafood Festival. This race can be seen from Sandy Point State Park or in westbound traffic stalled on the Bay Bridge! link for more information.
Our Cambridge race is the third jewel in the Triple Crown of skipjack races and provides an excellent opportunity to see most surviving traditional Skipjacks up close and under sail as they race on the Choptank River. The Choptank Heritage Skipjack Race is sponsored by the Dorchester Skipjack Committee, and the host skipjack is the Nathan of Dorchester. 
Each race is unique as these fast-disappearing sail powered oyster dredge boats; icons of the Chesapeake compete in a swift or leisurely event. It all depends on the wind! The beautiful Choptank River provides a perfect course for the race, and ideal views of the boats under full sail from Long Wharf.
Our race begins with a parade of boats at 10 am heading out of Cambridge Creek. The race itself starts around 11am. starting and finishing right by Long Wharf, depending on weather conditions. The race takes between 1 and 2 hours to complete. On shore activities and food will be available for your enjoyment. Join us for the skipjacks parade and race which are best viewed from Long Wharf Park at the end of High Street in Cambridge, MD.
Winning captains have their names engraved on the Heritage Cup Trophy, established by the Bay Venture Bank, formerly the 1880 Bank of Cambridge. The winning Captain receives a smaller version of the cup, engraved to commemorate their victory.
You can help by clicking on the donate button.
USINESS SPONSOR PACKAGES are available. contact us for more information.
Donations to the Skipjack Race may be made online using the Donate Now button below, or by downloading the donor form below and mailing to:
Dorchester Skipjack Committee, Inc.
Attn: Skipjack Racehttp://www.skipjack nathan.org
P.O. Box 1224
Cambridge, MD 21613
Want to learn more about skipjacks?
Click here for a list of past winners. link to heritage race page dorch oyster wars
