ida may's Page

Unfortunately, the Tangier Sound was too rough and the winds were too strong for the Ida May to sail today.  Capt. Shawn Ridgley and mates, Lee Daniels and Keith Whitelock, were at the helm today.  We had already put one reef in both main and jib before we left the harbor because the wind was so strong.  After raising the sail, we realized one reef was not going to do it. It was still too much wind for us!  So we lowered sail and put a second reef in.  We raised the sail again and…

The Ida May and her push boat are back in the water! Eldon Willing of Scott's Cove Marina in Chance, MD took care of us.…

Today, September 24, 2023, Captain Shawn Ridgley and the Ida May once again won the Choptank Heritage Race in Cambridge MD.  We had an able crew of Charles, Lee, and Claire, from the Chesapeake Bay Foundation/the Sigsbee, as well as first mate, Keith Whitelock, Megan on the jib sail, and David, Tara, and Missy as ballast.  

Because of Tropical Storm Ophelia, only four skipjacks entered the race, and remarkably, three of them sailed into Cambridge from Deal Island: the Ida May, the Han…

The skipjack Ida May, captained by Shawn Ridgley and owned by Gordon Gladden, won the 64th Annual Deal Island-Chance Lion's Club Labor Day Skipjack Race again for the second year in a row and the 6th time in 7 years.  We had the able crew of Lee, Jenny, Meghan, Ella, Robert, Keith, Bill, David, Tara, Mike, and Tom helping out.

The day was perfect for sailing! There was a light breeze, and on the water, it wasn't too hot.   Twelve skipjacks came to Deal Island for the race.…