Historic St. Mary’s City (HSMC) has revealed that the Maryland Dove will set sail to different ports around the Chesapeake Bay in 2023, thanks to a grant from the Maryland Heritage Areas Authority. Commissioned in August 2022, the state-funded ship was built in partnership with the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum on Maryland’s eastern shore.
As part of the Bay Tour, the Maryland Dove will be open to the public for free deck tours at each of the heritage areas for one to three days at a time. HSMC Director of Education, Peter Friesen, said, “We look forward to partnering with fellow heritage areas to help connect the traveling exhibit with communities further away than our typical audience.”
Maryland Dove’s dockside exhibits showcase the waterways of the region, pre-colonial heritage, and interactions between different cultures. The ship and its exhibits encourage conversation and highlight the history represented in the area and the interactions between Native peoples and European colonists. Maryland Dove is a unique representative of the complicated history, representing colonization and the effects on those that called the land home.
Maryland Dove will begin its Bay Tour in Baltimore, docked in Fells Point, and will be there for three days from June 20 to June 22. The hours of operation will be June 20, 10 a.m.—4 p.m.; June 21, 10 a.m.—5 p.m.; and June 22, 10 a.m.—1 p.m. Docking will be Broadway Pier, 920 South Broadway, Baltimore, Maryland. Street parking and parking garages are available.
The ship will then sail to Havre de Grace and be open to the public on June 24 and 25 from 10 a.m.—5 p.m. on both days. Docking will be at Hutchins Memorial Park, 100 Congress Avenue, Havre De Grace, Maryland.
On June 30 and July 1, the ship will dock in Cambridge, open to the public from 10 a.m.—5 p.m. both days. Docking will be at Long Wharf, 2 Yacht Club Drive, Cambridge, Maryland.
Finally, the ship will be docked in Crisfield from September 1 to September 3 as part of their National Hard Crab Derby. Maryland Dove will be at Somers Cove Marina, 715 Broadway, Crisfield, Maryland, open to the public from 10 a.m.—5 p.m. all three days.
Maryland Dove sails as a steward of Historic St. Mary’s City and a representation of a cargo vessel that arrived, along with the passenger ship Ark, in 1634. When not traveling, the ship can be found docked in southern Tidewater Maryland at the living history museum.
This project has been financed in part with State funds from the Maryland Heritage Areas Authority, an instrumentality of the State of Maryland. However, the project contents or opinions do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the Maryland Heritage Areas Authority.
Historic St. Mary’s City encourages visitors to take advantage of this unique opportunity to learn about the history and culture of Maryland and the Chesapeake Bay region through the lens of the Maryland Dove. With its interactive exhibits, the ship provides a one-of-a-kind experience that is sure to delight and educate visitors of all ages.