The Chesapeake Bay has always been a place for boats, especially in the Annapolis area, where a small group of like-minded people happened to meet. In 1976, when almost all new boats were made of fiberglass, this group shared a common love for boats made of wood. They also shared their knowledge and skills, essential to the restoration of “woodies”.
Among this group were Chuck Warner, Paul Warner and Herb Zorn, the two later of whom were members of an association called The Antique & Classic Boat Society (ACBS), organized that same year in Lake George, New York, by other like-minded people who were dedicated to the preservation of historic antique and classic boats.
This small, but dedicated Chesapeake contingent, traveled North to early ACBS shows which further inspired them and their desire to share their love for wooden boats in the Chesapeake region. They sought out thirteen other enthusiasts in order to qualify for a charter from the ACBS. in 1981 a petition to form a new chapter was submitted to ACBS by this group and subsequently approved at the November ACBS annual meeting. Upon approval the Chesapeake Bay Chapter was established in January of 1982 with 65 members registered by the end of the year
With Herb Zorn at the helm as the first president, planning began for boat shows that would bring together others to learn, share and enjoy the love of wooden floating art. Chris-Craft, Garwood, Century, Hacker and other classic wooden boats had a home where like-minded enthusiasts could come together.
In the early 1980s Chesapeake Bay Chapter members worked hard to increase awareness and interest. Public exhibits included a display of one boat in Annapolis, then an “in water” display in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor, followed by a display in the Baltimore Convention Center. Chapter members towed several boats from the Chesapeake Bay to show at the Antique Boat Museum in Clayton, New York on the St. Lawrence Seaway. A fine start for a new chapter.
What is unique about the Chesapeake Bay Chapter is our diversity in the type of boats ranging from the classic mahogany woodies to Chris-Craft Sea Skiffs, Owens and Whirlwinds built in Maryland to the classic Chesapeake Bay Skiffs, Buy Boats and Deadrise Boats unique to the region. In addition to wooden boats, early fiberglass boats, as different from the fiberglass of today as they are of their wooden predecessors, have become a popular part of the show. Today members hail from multiple states including Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Virginia.
In 1984, with the help of ACBCS Treasurer Jim Holler, the Chesapeake Bay Chapter hosted the annual meeting of ACBS International at the Mainers Museum and Park in Williamsburg, Virginia. This meeting was instrumental in the Chris-Craft Corporations agreement to donate their archives, including sales records and drawings to the Mariner’s Museum, which made it possible for Chris-Craft boats to be restored exactly to the original conditions in which they left the factory. The availability of “The Chris-Craft Collection” set new standards for the quality of classic boat restoration.
In 1986, Bill and Ginny Firth, of Easton, set up the first meeting between The Chesapeake Bay Chapter and The Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum (CBMM). The first Antique & Classic Boat Show in St. Michael’s took place in 1987 with 25 boats. It was the beginning of what has become a tradition that occurs for three days every Father’s Day Weekend. With continued support of CBMM and membership our show ha grown to include about 100 boats on land and in the water, classic cars along with a fleet of CBMM historically preserved workboats unique to our area.
In the mid 1990s the boat “show” became a “festival” with the addition of vendors and other activities. Among the first twenty or so vendors were boat restorers, boat builders, antique boat parts specialists, and other marine vendors. There were also a significant number of artists, including painters, sculptors and others. At the time, the festival began to be recognized as the largest show of its type in the Mid-Atlantic region. The Arts at Navy Point, became part of the show’s name in 2010 when it was realized how many artists and artisans were among the vendors and that some among them were locally, regionally and even nationally recognized for their work. Other features of the Antique & Classic Boat Festival are: The Nautical Flea Market, where people can come to sell and find “hard to find boat parts”, and other nautical goods. The Field of Dreams, where classic boats can be bought; Kid’s Programs, Youth Judging, Seminars on a wide range of related topics and much more. The boats at the core of the show represent history. They represent a sequence of designs, some very successful, others not so successful. They represent things that we remember from summer days of our youth. They represent style, which changed significantly from decade to decade. They represent craftsmanship of a kind that was once all around us, but is rarely seen today. They are beautiful and the passion around them is easy to understand.
Among the milestones for the Club include the establishment of it’s periodical, The Stuffing Box, first published in 1992 under the direction of Editors Jeff Beard and Howard Johnson. While this publication has been out of print in recent years, we hope to renew the effort in the near future to expand our educational programs and communication within the chapter.
As we review our history, we must take special note of one of our members, Ginger Martus. Ginger’s passion was to save old boat and her publication Bone Yard Boats first published in 1996 connected many abandoned and derelict boats to members wishing to bring them back to life. Upon her passing Ginger left a significant endowment to the Chesapeake Chapter which enables us to expand our charitable and educational programs.
A number of Chesapeake Bay Chapter members have gone on to become Board Members and Presidents of the ACBS International. Chapter leader Tab Miller became ACBS President in 1997, and with his expertise in publishing, revamped the national ACBS Membership Directory and encouraged further development of the (Rusty) Rudder. The Chapter hosted the national ACBS Meeting in Maryland in the late 1990s, enjoying a “Baltimore by the Bay” banquet and activities as directed by Past President Linda Nagle Warner.
As we look to the future our greatest challenge is to leverage the diversity of our members and variety of boats along with the expansive region within our chapter to the benefit of all members and objective to promote, further and encourage a love and enjoyment of antique and classic boating at its highest level in all its aspects.
All of this started because of an interest shared by a few like-minded people who pursued what they love doing.