In 2007 and 2008, we commemorate the 400th anniversary of Captain John Smith’s explorations to map and document the natural and cultural world of the Chesapeake Bay. In the early 1600s, exploration and data collection was vastly different from today. For example, Galileo invented the thermometer just one year before Smith’s first exploration of the Bay.
Today, "smart buoys"
that make up the NOAA Chesapeake Bay Interpretive Buoy System mark
significant points along the
Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail.
The smart buoys act as sentinels, providing current weather conditions to help keep boaters safe on their voyages and collecting important water-quality information on the health of the Bay. NOAA is excited to pilot this 21st century technology and be the voice for the United States' first national water trail.
Modern day explorers on the water can call the buoys at 877-BUOYBAY to hear current weather conditions, water-quality information, and historical notes about Smith’s voyages in the area. In addition, land-based explorers may use this web site as a portal to a host of historical, scientific, and meteorological information about the Chesapeake Bay region.
For more about the historic journeys of Captain John Smith, please visit our partners:
- Captain John Smith 400th Project
- National Park Service Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail
- National Geographic: Exploring the Chesapeake Then and Now
- Chesapeake Bay Foundation Expedition: The Capt. John Smith Water Trail
- Friends of the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail
Celebrating 200 Years of NOAA Science, Service, and Stewardship
2007 not only marks the 400th anniversary of Smith's voyages, but also the 200th anniversary of NOAA.
In 1807, President Thomas Jefferson founded the U.S. Coast and Geodetic
Survey (as the Survey of the Coast), the precursor to NOAA, to
provide nautical charts to the maritime community for safe passage
into American ports and along our extensive coastline. The Weather
Bureau was founded 1870, and one year later, the U.S. Commission
of Fish and Fisheries was founded. Individually, these organizations
were America's first physical science agency, America's first
agency dedicated specifically to the atmospheric sciences,
and America's first conservation agency.