Annapolis’ sailing community is banking on the Volvo Ocean Race’s stopover later this month to cement its status as the self-proclaimed “sailing capital of the world.”
When the race sails into Annapolis May 4 to 7, at least 50,000 visitors will flood the city, said Ocean Race Chesapeake Secretary Lee Tawney.
And city officials say those visitors will see just how Annapolis embraces the water sport.
Two highlights of the week include the Maryland Maritime Heritage Festival and the launch of the first-ever exhibit of the National Sailing Hall of Fame, which is headquartered in Annapolis.
“It’s a huge deal,” Jan Hardesty, spokeswoman for Annapolis Mayor Ellen Moyer, said of the race coming to town for the third time.
“You go anywhere in any sailing port in the world and they Annapolis and they know immediately because we are a sailing center.”
Buck Buchanan, president of the National Sailing Hall of Fame, said Annapolis is absolutely the sailing capital of the world.
“Annapolis has a long heritage of sponsoring boating of all types,” he said. “It’s a place that has always been friendly” to sailors and boaters.
But Marlieke Eaton, associate communications director for U.S. Sailing — the national governing body of sailing in the U.S. — says that while Annapolis certainly is a mecca for sailors, she wouldn’t consider it the sailing capital in the world.
“There are so many places in the U.S. that could be sailing the capital,” Eaton said, noting the many ports in California and the popularity of sailing in Rhode Island.
If not the sailing capital of the world, Annapolis may at least be the sailing capital of the state: According to a survey done by the Maryland Sea Grant, recreational boaters in Anne Arundel County spent about $400 million in 2004 — at least $150 million more than any other county in the state in the same year.
Annapolis Maritime Business Survey 2002
» Maritime businesses with Annapolis addresses — 281
» Total economic impact on the local economy — $159.5 million
» Total gross income of maritime businesses — Estimated at about $165 million
Source: Annapolis Office of Economic Developmen
