What to take along to make enhance your experience:
Venturing out in the field, whether you are in a boat with a cabin or an open kayak, require some preparation to make your “exploration” of the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail more meaningful.
Suggestions for items to bring in the field:
- A map or chart of the Chesapeake Bay, specifically the location where you are boating. Marking buoy locations before you leave to help you find the site
- A GPS unit to aid in finding the buoy sites
- Binoculars to observe the native plants and animals (see field guide section)
- Water resistant or laminated field guides to identify birds, plants and other animals
- A cell phone for calling to buoy toll-free information line
- A camera to document your experience
- Waterproof notebook and pen or pencil
- Don’t forget to dress for the weather, whether hot or cold. Hats, sunscreen, light clothing for warm weather and water-resistant layers for cooler days.
Buoy Locations and descriptions:
- James River (buoy located just offshore from historic Jamestown)
- www.Jamestown2007.org
- www.Jamestown.org
- www.apva.org
- www.virtualjamestown.org
- Potomac River (buoy located near the mouth of the river where it flows into the Chesapeake Bay)
- www.potomacriver.org
- www.dnr.state.md.us/publiclands/ptlookouthistory.html
- www.baygateways.net
- www.potomac.org
- Patapsco (buoy located at mouth of the river, near Baltimore)
The James River is Virginia’s largest river (340 miles long), flowing across the entire state from its beginning at the headwaters of the Cowpasture and Jackson Rivers in Bath and Highland Counties, to its mouth at the Chesapeake Bay in Hampton Roads. The James is Virginia's largest tributary to the Chesapeake Bay.
Sometimes called "America's Founding River", the James and its tributaries are rich in historical significance and is the center of America's 400th Commemoration and the starting point of Captain John Smith's first exploration of Chesapeake Bay.
For more information on the history of Jamestown and areas surrounding the James River buoy please visit:
The Potomac River Watershed stretches across parts of four states (Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia) as well as the District of Columbia. The Potomac travels over 383 miles from Fairfax Stone, West Virginia to Point Lookout, Maryland (buoy located in this area). The Potomac River has nurtured trade, cultures, migration, and living resources for more than 10,000 years. Captain John Smith visited the Potomac during his Bay exploration of 1608. The Potomac was the lifeblood of many Native American and colonial cultures, and the major route for trade and commerce.
For more information on the history of the Potomac and areas surrounding the buoy please visit:
The Patapsco is a river in central Maryland which flows into the Chesapeake Bay in Baltimore, Maryland (buoy located in this area). The Patapsco is one of the shortest rivers in the Chesapeake Bay, extending only 52 miles from it's headwaters to the mouth, draining approximately 650 square miles of land including all of Baltimore City and portions of Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Carroll, and Howard Counties in Maryland.
The Patapsco River was part of Captain John Smith's early exploration and was called the "Bolus River" on his 1612 map. While Smith did not elaborate on the Patapsco River, it’s mouth confluence of commerce and industry through American history.
For more information on the history of the Patapsco and areas surrounding the buoy please visit: