The Colonial Seaport Foundation Exhibiting Our Maritime Heritage at Schooner Days

Schooner Days is a celebration of the world’s largest gathering of schooners along the waterfront of Olde Towne Portsmouth, Virginia. It's held this year in conjunction with the 21st Annual Great Chesapeake Bay Schooner Race from Baltimore to Portsmouth- racing to save the bay!

Schooners gathered in Olde Towne Portsmouth, Virginia for Schooner Days

This three day celebration offers numerous maritime-related activities, many are free to the general public.

The Portsmouth waterfront from North Landing to beyond the High Street Landing will showcase  around 40 schooners from local and distant ports and is considered the largest gathering of schooners in the world.

2010 Schooner Days at Portsmouth, Virginia

Schooner Days was created to commemorate Portsmouth Virginia's rich maritime history with a variety of scheduled historical recreation events including demonstrations by shipwright artisans, maritime related musicians, costumed actors and even a hands-on building of skiffs! Other exhibits will be on hand to bring awareness for the need to preserve and improve the natural resources of the Chesapeake Bay.

The Colonial Seaport Foundation will be on hand Saturday, October 16 at Portsmouth Virginia's Schooner Days.

The Colonial Seaport Foundation will be on hand Saturday, October 16 with a tented display to help educate the public about not only the Chesapeake Bay itself but the important role the bay and rivers in the area played in colonial America's maritime past. The CSF will have on display a selection of maritime sailing specialties including navigation, seamanship, shipbuilding, knot tying and more. Of course they were also more than happy to discuss the Luna project and collect donations and new foundation members. Of course they were also more than happy to discuss the Luna project and collect donations and new foundation members.

Maritime exhibits at the Colonial Seaport Foundation tent.

Members of the Colonial Seaport Foundation. Come and meet them during Schooner Days.

The Colonial Seaport Foundation (CSF) is a maritime educational organization. The purpose of the CSF is to preserve facets of America's colonial (17th-18th Century) maritime heritage by providing historically accurate information and education to the public including, but not limited to life in coastal and maritime communities, life aboard a vessel of the period, common trades within the maritime community, and coastal transportation along the Atlantic Seaboard. Working either alone or in cooperation with other organizations or local communities, the CSF intends to display and demonstrate the operation of vessel(s), equipment, tools, procedures, skills and lifestyles used or experienced within the maritime community. Depending on the type of event conducted or supported, historically authentic equipment, dress and speech will be used as much as possible.

The education will take place on shore and aboard a replica of an early 18th Century coastal trading sloop, which the CSF is currently rebuilding from a bare hull. A curriculum will be established to provide pierside education, classroom lectures and possibly underway field trips for students and interested citizens or organizations. Parts of the curriculum will cover selected topics from the Standards of Learning published by the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Model of Colonial Seaport Foundation's 'LUNA'.

From a geographic perspective, the primary focus of the CSF's efforts will normally be within the Middle Atlantic States.

Members of the organization are volunteers who have self-funded their efforts to date. You can read more about the Colonial Seaport Foundation by visiting their website @ http://www.colonialseaport.org