Despite gale force winds, driving rain, and even a little snow, Sultana Projects’ Downrigging Weekend and Tall Ship Festival on October 27-30 still proved to be a big success. Though the weather necessitated the cancellation of two of the weekend’s three Tall Ship public sails (the first time this has happened in 11 years), more than 600 people still managed to get out on the Chester River to sail during the weekend, almost 1,000 toured the visiting ships on Sunday afternoon, over 650 attended two very well received lectures and an incredible concert at the Garfield Center, and several thousand more came down to participate in a variety of events on the waterfront.
In many ways this year’s Downrigging brought out the best in both the festival and the people who work so hard to make it happen. Of the 60+ wooden boats scheduled to participate (most of which are privately owned and under no obligation to come if the weather is bad), fully 85% made the effort to bring their skiffs, yachts, buyboats, skipjacks, and schooners to Chestertown. Sultana Projects’ volunteers – a hardy bunch to begin with – proved their dedication yet again, with more than 50 volunteering during the weekend, often in miserable conditions. Even the weekend’s visitors refused to be stopped by the weather. There was dancing at the foot of High Street with the Eastport Oyster Boys in the midst of the gale on Saturday, and hundreds of people whose sails ended up being cancelled still came to Chestertown from as far away as California, New Mexico, Virginia, New York, and Pennsylvania just to see the ships!
Downrigging Weekend 2011 was only possible because of the support Sultana Projects receives from scores of businesses and organizations in the community. Chief among these are the festival’s principal patrons, the Van Dyke Family Foundation, PNC Bank, and Chestertown Marina. Both the Van Dyke Family Foundation and PNC Bank provided incredibly generous financial support that allowed Sultana Projects to make many of the weekend’s events free for visitors. The Chestertown Marina, Landon Marine, and Roy Kirby provided docking and shore support free of charge, without which Downrigging Weekend simply would not be possible.
In addition to our festival patrons, Sultana Projects was also very fortunate to have a handful of sponsors for specific events that allowed us to provide a wider variety of exhibits and presentations than ever before. Included in this group of event sponsors are Washington College’s Chemistry Department, C.V. Starr Center, and Center for Environment and Society who jointly sponsored a lecture by Ryan Lizza; the Maryland Humanities Council and the Center for Environment and Society who sponsored a lecture by Dava Sobel; Synergy Environmental who underwrote the fireworks show; the Hogans Agency who sponsored the popular Downrigging Weekend Wooden Boat Show; Shore Life Magazine sponsored the “Sultana’s Secrets” forum; the Kent County Arts Council sponsored music on the waterfront; Drs. Mel Rapelyea and Antonio Nelson sponsored the concert with Frederic Yonnet; and last, but certainly not least, George Kreshock who funded the weekend’s Family Day activities and personally helped with just about every facet of the festival.
A handful of non-profit organizations, businesses, and individuals helped enormously with Downrigging Weekend 2011, putting together events and exhibits that greatly enhanced the event. Partner organizations for Downrigging 2011 included the Horn Point Laboratory, the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum, the Classic Yacht Restoration Guild, the Prince Theatre, the Chesapeake Bay Buyboat Association, the Smith Island Crab Skiff Association, Artworks, The Mars and Neptune Society, the Buckley Family, the Chester River Association, the Eastern Shore Land Conservancy, the Fishwhistle Restaurant, the Downtown Chestertown Association, Seaworthy Small Ships, the Great Schooner Model Society, the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museums Model Guild, the Radio Controlled Laser Club of Rock Hall, and the Betterton Community Development Corporation.
The Town of Chestertown and Kent County have long been invaluable supporters of Sultana Projects and this was the case again for this year’s Downrigging Weekend. Specifically, Sultana Projects would like to thank Chestertown’s Town Manager Bill Ingersoll, the Town Roads crew, and the Chestertown Police Department for their assistance with traffic control for the weekend. The Kent County Commissioners and Board of Public Works also lent a hand by providing Sultana Projects use of the public landing at the foot of High Street for the weekend. Finally, the Kent County Fire Marshall and the Chestertown Volunteer Fire Department were invaluable for the annual Downrigging fireworks display.
From the beginning, the heart of Downrigging Weekend has been the visiting Tall Ships and historic vessels that are the centerpiece of the event. For 2011 this included the ship KALMAR NYCKEL; the schooners PRIDE OF BALTIMORE II, LADY MARYLAND, and A.J. MEERWALD; and the skipjacks ELSWORTH and SIBSBEE. For these ships and the non-profit organizations that operate them, there is no question that the weekend was a financial disappointment. All of these vessels attend the festival with no guarantee of financial compensation, only the opportunity to generate income through a series of public sails. With two of three public sails cancelled over the weekend, the hit to all the vessel’s bottom lines was significant. Sultana Projects is grateful to our “partner ships” for Downrigging Weekend and encourage friends of Downrigging to consider a tax-deductible donation to these ship’s parent organizations, The Kalmar Nyckel Foundation, Pride of Baltimore, Inc., Living Classrooms Foundation, The Bayshore Discovery Project, and Echo Hill Outdoor School.
Many people have already begun asking about Downrigging Weekend 2012. We expect to be able to announce the date for Downrigging Weekend 2012 this December, and a full schedule of events by March of 2012. Keep an eye on our website, www.sultanaprojects.org this winter for additional details.
Drew McMullen
President, Sultana Projects
Carla Massoni says
The weekend was wonderful – despite the weather. On a town business note – we had more visitors to the gallery than we have had all year! As a result we will post our best month since 2009! Sultana Projects, Inc. is one of the great economic engines of our region. Thank you to all the volunteers and contributors – the ripple effect – or the trickle down effect – was significant!