Chesapeake Light Craft

Page 2: Chesapeake Light Craft's OkoumeFest at Matapeake State Park, Kent Island, Maryland

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At 0700 on Saturday, the entire CLC staff and generous volunteers "stood to" and carried more than 60 boats down to the beach at Matapeake. By the end of the day, there'd be more than a 100 boats at the event!

Jay rigs an Annapolis Wherry.

CLC alone brought something like 15 sailboats.

Everything staged and ready for the hordes.

Last year it occurred to us that CLC staff should wear bright, easy-to-see T-shirts. But it poured rain and our Great Idea didn't help much. Saturday dawned clear and cool, and the neon-green staff shirts were a big help this year.

Sailboats begin to arrive.

Kayaks begin to swarm the waters.

Some of the sailboats on the beach, ready for crew. There was a sailing breeze most of the day, though it was shifty and sometimes light. That, combined with the shallow approaches to the beach, made departure and return tricky for many sailors. We're giving this a lot of thought and hope to make it easier next year.

John gives an on-the-beach small boat rigging seminar.

The Matunuck Surf Kayak, in search of actual surf...

The Io kid's kayak saw plenty of use all day.

The Southwester Dory and Lighthouse Tender Peapod head out for the first of innumerable sailing trips.

A 14-foot Great Auk.

Looking out across the placid Chesapeake Bay towards Annapolis.

A Wood Duck Double.

Dan Thaler's Nymph 10 canoe.

Everyone loves the Eastport Ultralight Dinghy. Trim's a little off here, though...

An Eastport Pram.

Joey Schott and his sleek black Petrel Play SG.

Nearest the camera, the original Guillemot kayak, and behind it a Night Heron Hybrid.

At the kids' table, you could build and launch your own model boat!

Laszlo in his Wood Duck 12, one of the first ever built, in fact. Behind it, a Petrel kayak.

The Wood Duck Double.

The Southwester Dory is a great family boat, accommodating four adults easily.

The Southwester Dory slices along in 6-8 knots of breeze.

One of CLC's two Tenderly Dinghies. These versatile and fun sailing-rowing boats popular all day, rarely touching shore for long.

Another of our Tenderly Dinghies.

The Jimmy Skiff II, which we began shipping in Fall 2018, sped around all day.

Small boats of all shapes and sizes...

CLC's new Lighthouse Tender Peapod, now nearing production, made its first major public appearance at OkoumeFest. This boat is 13'5" long and designed for sailing and rowing.

The Lighthouse Tender Peapod.

The Lighthouse Tender Peapod is available with two rigs: a cat-yawl, like this one...

...And a single lug sail, as with this one.

The Lighthouse Tender Peapod.

John Harris's Nesting Expedition Dinghy is an idiosyncratic 10-foot-long camp-cruiser that sleeps one, and disassembles into three pieces for transport or storage.

Sailing over the shallows to get clear of the beach...

CLC Northeaster Dory Hull #1

Northeaster Dory built by Scott Hudson.

The colorful Night Heron SG kayak.

Someone brought a nifty remote-controlled Chesapeake Skipjack model. It was fast and fun to watch!

Not all boats! Two participants camped in their CLC Teardrop Campers overnight.

Panorama of small craft, Saturday afternoon.

CLC's Peeler Skiff served as a ferry and chase boat all day.

Sailors boarding PocketShip #1 for rides.

PocketShip under full sail, the old ULF Navy antennas in the distance.

Pascal Laigle brought his PocketShip, "Naoned."

Lighthouse Tender Peapod and Tenderly Dinghy.

The Petrel Play SG.

Our own Nick Stimpson giving rowing lessons in the Annapolis Wherry Tandem. (She's available for private lessons!)

The Annapolis Wherry.

Awards! (Click to the next page for results and photos.)

The end of the day on Saturday.

NOW...to get all of those boats back up the hill! CLC's Russ Jacobsen is ready.

Load out, late Saturday evening ...

...And then a much-deserved seafood feast for the CLC staff!

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Were you at OkoumeFest 2019? Please let us know what you thought.