All Blog Posts (104)

The Ida May is back home in Deal Island Harbor.  Keith Whitelock and Gordon Gladden brought her back home from Cambridge, fresh from her victory at the Choptank Heritage Skipjack Race.  The Double Crown of skipjack racing belongs to the Ida May in 2017.  This was a sure our year!

The Ida May has pulled off the double crown of Skipjack racing by winning the 2017 Choptank Heritage Skipjack Race today, having already won the Labor Day race off Deal Island.  Wow! We are ecstatic and so proud of the Captain, Shawn Ridgley, and his first mate, Michael Oh.  The race was tight from the start with boats jockeying for prime position.  We were sandwiched between the Rosie Parks on our starboard and the Lady Katie on our port.  These boats were so close to us that I could've…

The Ida May came in first place in the 2017 Deal Island Labor Day Skipjack Race!!!!

Thanks to Capt. Shawn Ridgley for sailing a great race!!! Amazing!!! What a great day.  Elbert and Gordon Gladden are very proud.  

We blew away the competition, stealing the other boats' wind and passing the fleet on the way to the first buoy.  We then kept our lead the entire race and put much distance in between us and our nearest competitor.  It was a perfect day to sail,…

Whew!  We had lots of wind and two reef points in our sails for the Choptank Heritage Race 2016 in Cambridge MD.  It was a day for the big boats and the Rosie Parks won by a long margin.  The Ida May was in the middle of the pack.  We finished the race with a 6th place finish.  Great job, Shawn Ridgely!!!

http://www.delmarvanow.com/story/news/local/maryland/2016/09/05/murphy-skipjack-race-2016/89883448/

Congratulations to new captain, Sean Ridgely, who did an admirable job at the helm of the Ida May.  It was a great race and a perfect day.  The Hurricane blew by and left us with brisk but manageable winds.

The Ida May is back home to Deal Island Harbor.  Thanks Keith Whitelock for helping out!!!

The Ida May is in Salisbury, docked on the Wicomico River, for the Winter 2015.

Congratulations to the captain and crew of the Rosie Parks who won the 2015 Choptank Heritage Skipjack Race!!! It was a windy day and perfect for those big boats to fly.  The Ida May didn't have a chance.  The Rosie was faster with her jib down than the Ida May with full sail.  We had a wonderful time and Capt. Jimmy Murphy did an admirable job in the rough conditions of the Chotank River.  Thanks Jimmy!!!…

Thanks Jimmy Murphy, Frank Antes, and Keith Whitelock for bringing the boat up to Cambridge MD from her home harbor in Deal Island MD.  The Choptank Heritage Race will be on 9/26/15.  We didn't make it up last year, and the year before, well, let's not talk about the year before.

The Ida May remembers Capt. John Price, who died just one month ago.  We miss you John!!!

Dickie Webster stepped up in our time of need and took the helm of the Ida May in this year's Deal Island Races.  Thank you Dickie!  

There was no wind at all.  It reminded me of those years in the 70's and 80's when we'd bake under the sun and drift in the tide.  There was such little wind that the finish line became the first buoy, and only half the boats could even make…

With a heavy heart, we inform you that the Ida May's Captain John P. Price, Jr., passed away on Thursday, July 30, 2015, at Peninsula Regional Medical Center in Salisbury, Md. 

We love you, John, and we will miss you dearly!!!

http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/delmarvanow/obituary.aspx?n=john-price&pid=175414874

For four decades, William W. Warner's Pulitzer Prize-winning best-seller, Beautiful Swimmers, has delighted readers everywhere. Now, in a riveting new film, award-winning writer Tom Horton picks up where Warner left off with the story of Callinectes sapidus, the Atlantic blue crab.

The documentary film Beautiful Swimmers is an initiative of the Bay Journal, a publication of Chesapeake Media Service, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit.

The Bay Journal has been delivering exceptional coverage…

Unfortunately the Ida May was unable to race at the 2014 Choptank Heritage Races in Cambridge MD.  Our yawl boat's engine died on us on the trip up and we were unable to make it in time for the race.  Congratulations to Captain Wadie Murphy of the Rebecca Ruark for winning the race two years in a row.  

Video about the Races. Really a comedy video:

http://www.delmarvanow.com/story/news/local/maryland/2014/09/02/skipjack-race-female-crew-deal-island/14981975/

Photos about the Races:…

The link to the news story about the 55th Annual Deal Island Skipjack Races on Delmarva Public Radio:

http://delmarvapublicradio.net/post/first-all-female-crew-wins-deal-island-skipjack-race#.VAX1bOlF8h8.facebook

The Ida May won 2nd Place at the Deal Island Skipjack Races.  Captain John Price did an outstanding job and we congratulate the Helen Virginia, Captain Katarina Ennerfelt, and her all woman crew for capturing the 1st place trophy!  I thought that the Ida May was the fastest boat on the Chesapeake Bay, but I think that distinction might belong to the Helen Virginia now.  We will see what happens in the Cambridge Race in a few weeks.  

I have heard that as many as twelve boats might participate in the annual skipjack races this year.  The list includes: Hilda M. Willing, Helen Virginia, Rosie Parks, H. M. Krentz, Ida May, Lady Helen, Lady Katie, Nathan of Dorchester,Rebecca T. Ruark, Dee of St. Marys, and Thomas Clyde.  Wish the Kathryn could be there too!

The Ida May has been hauled, painted, and caulked.  She is getting ready to race and defend her crown from last year's Deal Island Skipjack Races.  The Ida May just might be the fastest skipjack on the Chesapeake Bay and we look forward to sailing.  We have a new mast and boom from Cropper Brother's Lumber and we hope for fair wind on Labor Day!

Video on the Repair to the Ida May's yawl boat on Delmarva Now:

http://www.delmarvanow.com/videos/life/2014/05/04/8696861/

We're working on getting the Ida May and her yawl boat in good repair and working order for this coming sailing and racing season.  The yawl boat's engine didn't appreciate submersion in the Choptank River when we capsized in the 2013 Skipjack Heritage Race in Cambridge and it's been giving us trouble getting repaired.  We look forward to seeing everyone on the water in 2014!!!