Thank you to everyone who participated in Mid-Atlantic Small Craft Festival XL! This festival is one of the nation’s largest gatherings of amateur and professional boatbuilders and enthusiasts who come from all over the region to display their one-of-a-kind kayaks, canoes, and other traditional small craft.
MASCF includes a variety of workshops, seminars, and demos, all tailored to small craft enthusiasts & boatbuilders. The weekend will also include paddling and sailing races, kids’ activities, opportunities to enter your boat for judging, and more. Most importantly, this is a chance for small craft enthusiasts to enjoy the water together.
STAY TUNED FOR INFORMATION ABOUT MASCF XLI!
REGISTRATION FEES
Adult Registration (NON-MEMBER) – $170*
Adult Registration (MEMBER) – $145* – Learn how to become a CBMM member today!
Youth Registration Ages 6-17 (Members & Non-Members) – $35
Children 5 & Under – FREE
*You have the option to include an event t-shirt as part of your participant registration fee.
WHAT DOES MY REGISTRATION INCLUDE?
MASCF Participants receive the following:
- Daily complimentary admission to the CBMM’s 18 acre museum, and waterfront access to the Miles River
- Access to a full schedule of activities & programs specifically designed for MASCF registrants, including demos/workshops, guest speakers, sailing and rowing races, boat judging competitions, kid’s activities, and much more!
- Continental breakfast on Saturday & Sunday
- Dinner on Saturday
- Complimentary overnight camping & access to CBMM’s marina shower facilities
Additional t-shirts & tickets to the Saturday night dinner can be purchased at the registration booth throughout the weekend.
CAMPING
Camping will be available in and around the wooded areas along CBMM’s driving path. We ask everyone to be mindful of the space in which they are utilizing.
There are no assigned spots, and hook-ups including power & water cannot be provided. There are various areas on campus to access water & power, however. Bathroom/shower facilities are also available. There is no additional fee for camping at MASCF.
BOAT RAMPS
CBMM will have two walk-down launch ramps available dockside for boats that can be lifted off their trailer or car top and carried down the ramp (even if it takes several hands, there are always plenty of folks around to help). If your vessel is too heavy for those ramps, there is a free ramp across the harbor (Click Here for directions). Docking at CBMM for MASCF participants is without reservations—use a slip that’s available, and share it when you are out on the water. There will be designated parking for boat trailers.
SCHEDULE OF 2023 EVENTS
Thursday, October 5
Overnight Gunkholing Trip to Wye Island
A pre-festival camp-cruise in small boats has been a fixture at MASCF for years. The colorful fleet of small-craft sail about nine miles to a campground/anchorage on Wye Island for an overnight, then returns to the CBMM waterfront on Friday, Oct. 6. Contact Pete Lesher for more information at plesher@cbmm.org or 410-745-4971. Pre-registration with Pete is required. Skipper’s meeting will take place at noon along CBMM’s boardwalk. Departure at approximately 1pm.
Friday, October 6
Arrive anytime; registration available after 2pm. Spend the day getting reacquainted, setting up your campsite, and messin’ about.
2pm – Registration Booth opens at 2 pm (Fogg’s Landing)
5:30pm – Informal Cookout (Fogg’s Landing / Rain Location: Under the tent by the bandstand)
BYOE (Bring Your Own Everything) – Bring your own delicacies to grill, CBMM provides soft drinks and will be offering freshly shucked oysters.
6pm – Music by the Hard Times Band
Comprised of CBMM’s talented staff!
10pm – Quiet time for campers
Late-nighters should remain in the cookout area.
Saturday, October 7
Messin’ about starts anytime you want!
7am – Coffee, pastries, and lite fare available (Van Lennep Auditorium – Steamboat Building)
Served until about 9am.
8:30am – Registration booth reopens (Fogg’s Landing)
8:30am – Cardboard boat construction (Fogg’s Landing / Rain Location: Under the tent by the bandstand)
Design and build a sturdy, or not-so-sturdy, cardboard racer for the rowing/paddling races to be held later in the afternoon. If you’ve outgrown the model boat building activity but still can’t legally drive a car, this is for you. All materials provided. Boats will launch at noon.
9am – Judging begins
9am – Coffee & Wood Chips (CBMM Shipyard)
Bring your cup of coffee and join the CBMM Shipyard staff as they take you on a behind-the-scenes tour of the latest happenings in the yard. The completion of the Chesapeake Bay Buyboat, Mr. Dickie, is on the horizon, with a launch date slated for the end of October. The restoration of CBMM’s 1920 Buyboat, Winnie Estelle, is well underway. And skipjack Rosie Parks is up on the railway receiving beam shelf and plank repairs. Additionally, we’re busy outfitting Choptank with staterooms, crew quarters, and a galley down below. In the main shop, Douglas Brooks’ Japanese riverboat will be nearing completion. Come explore the exciting developments taking place at our shipyard!
9-10:30am – Craft workshop (Small Boat Shed)
Make a bottle bag out of upcycled sailcloth!
9:30am – Kids’ model building and sailing (Deck of Steamboat Building)
All ages are welcome! Build, decorate, then sail your boat in the model pond. Assorted kits to choose from. (Free for MASCF youth registrants)
10am-Noon – Shinto Launch Ceremony (Fogg’s Landing)
A weeklong workshop on traditional Japanese boatbuilding, led by author, boatbuilder, and educator Douglas Brooks, concludes with a traditional Shinto launching ceremony to celebrate the completion of a 21-foot Japanese riverboat. (Launch time may shift depending on the completion time of the vessel.)
10am-4pm – On-going Demonstrations (Fogg’s Landing)
The Wooden Boat Builders School will be on-site to demo a variety of woodworking and maritime skills.
10:30am – In-depth Boat Discussion (New Welcome Center)
Join Pete Lesher and Richard Scofield in a discussion on this year’s boat of choice along with a behind-the-scenes tour of CBMM’s new Welcome Center, slated to open late fall. This year we will feature Ava, a 12-foot sailing skiff by Ed Leatherbury.
10:30am – Marine Watercolors (Location TBD)
Karen Rutherford brings back her very popular workshop for the aspiring, or established, artists among us.
Noon – Kid’s Cardboard Boat Races (In front of the Steamboat Building)
The boats have been built, now it’s time to test their seaworthiness!
Noon – Sailing Race Skipper’s Meeting – mandatory for racing skippers (Oystering Deck)
Followed by the sailing races at 1:00 pm.
3pm – Rowing Races Skipper’s Meeting – mandatory for rowers (Oystering Deck)
Followed by the rowing races and cardboard boat races at 3:30 pm.
4:30pm – Shanty Sing (Under the Lighthouse)
Sing along, or just listen, as these folks strike up a nautical tune and demonstrate how the music lightened the workload on a working boat.
5:30pm – Dinner & Awards (Under the tent by the bandstand)
7pm – Guest Speaker (Van Lennep Auditorium – Steamboat Building)
Keynote Speaker: Douglas Brooks will share a presentation titled “Ways of Learning: Apprenticeship and Japanese Wooden Boatbuilding.”
All Day – Chesapeake Light Craft (Fogg’s Landing)
CLC will be on site all day with some of their fleet of sailing craft on hand, including the exciting new Gislinge wood-epoxy replica Viking boat. Plus more familiar boats including the Jimmy Skiff II and Tenderly 10 Dinghy. Sailors will want to see The Guider and PocketShip. Rowing and paddling craft on hand will include the Sassafras 12 canoe, Annapolis Wherry, Oxford Shell II, Wood Duck 12 Hybrid kayak, and the Kaholo 14 Hybrid stand-up paddleboard. They’ll even have the Peeler Skiff and the Teardrop Camper with them!
Sunday, October 8
Messin’ about starts anytime you want!
7:00 am – Coffee, pastries, and lite fare available (Van Lennep Auditorium – Steamboat Building)
Served in the until about 9am.
10am – Swap meet (Fogg’s Landing)
Bring nautical items to swap or sell. There will be a general-use “For Sale” bulletin board set up for any marine items participants may want to sell.
