OK. Granted, this might not look like much, but it is the start of good things… Honest. The boat, an Optimist dinghy, is the happy byproduct of families having fun together learning new skills, like boatbuilding and sailing, and more importantly, gaining invaluable life skills and self-esteem.
The National Sailing Hall of Fame (NSHOF) and Annapolis Family BoatBuilding (AFBB) have joined together to promote opportunities for families to build boats and launch into the sport of sailing. AFBB’s 2008 BoatBuilding (and community building) Program, during which many Optimists will be born, will take place May 23-26 in Eastport. To learn more, visit exhibits by AFBB and NSHOF during the Maryland Maritime Heritage Festival in Annapolis May 3-4. To sponsor the Memorial Day weekend event, contact (410) 626-1413, www.annapolisfamilyboatbuilding.org, and www.nshof.org.
Mixed in with City Dock’s recently completed renovations is the question of where NSHOF, a museum about sailing, will live. On April 14, the optimists at the Annapolis City Council passed a resolution to support building the NSHOF on City Dock. Proponents hope the move will convince the State of Maryland to offer NSHOF a long-term lease to the onsite 1875 Capt. William H. Burtis House for “adaptive reuse.”
Photo courtesy of AFBB’s Scott Allan, Don Backe, Jay Baldwin, Joseph Cater III, Bill Donahue, Fred Hecklinger, Robert Howe, Michael Kaufman, Judy Templeton, and William Woodward
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