John Smith Cruise - Part 1

Each year hundreds, probably thousands, of sailors and cruisers drift up and down the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway (ICW), sail the Caribbean, complete the Great Loop, and attempt bold ocean passages. A few continue in the spirit Joshua Slocum and Sir Robin Knox-Johnston to circumnavigate the globe.

The trip we are planning this spring to follow the path (in reverse) of Captain John Smith on Chesapeake Bay from Port Deposit to Jamestown pales in comparison. But we’re not setting out to break any records, test our limits, or satisfy a bucket list. We simply want to spend some time on the water — with a purpose — and share our experiences, observations, and reflections with those who are interested.

So where, exactly, will we be going? Well, we probably won’t really know until we begin. Clearly, we will not be following Smith’s full path. As one can see from the map (below) of his voyages, to follow his complete path would take all summer — or longer. We only have about two weeks. As a good movie can condense a 600 page novel into a two hour film, we will only experience a vignette of Smith’s explorations on the Chesapeake. And that vignette will be from our own limited and amateur perspective.

We will journal the development of our trip in this blog space. We’ll document the trip planning process on the Coastal Anthology website. It’s going to be fun!

Source: National Park Service - John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail