The modern Sultana represents one of the earliest examples of schooner building in North America. The original ship was the smallest schooner ever registered on the British Royal Navy Lists. As a vessel of mixed American and British heritage, Sultana has roots on both sides of the Atlantic and was on the scene when the American colonists took their first steps toward independence.

From the west:: Take Route 50 East across the Chesapeake Bay bridge to Route 301 North to Route 213. Follow Route 213 over the Chester River Bridge into Chestertown. The Sultana docks at the waterfront.

Activities on one-day colonial history programs include:

• Raising and lowering the sails


• Map studies


• Reading excerpts from Sultana’s original log books


• Using traditional 18th-century navigational tools


• Food sampling


• Examining a sailor’s personal belongings chest


• Discussing 18th-century medical practices


• Laying in crew members’ bunks


• Learning about Sultana’s armaments

Activities on one-day Chesapeake Bay ecology programs include:

• Map and chart studies


• Catching and examining plankton


• Sampling marine life caught using an "otter trawl" (fishing net)


• Examining the bottom


• Water testing for pH, salinity, and dissolved oxygen


• Determining the turbidity of the water and discussing how this measurement affects the survival rate of submerged aquatic vegetation (SAVs)


• Building an on-board aquarium

Beginning in the summer of 2002, Sultana will offer live-aboard programming. On these trips, participants will explore the history and environment of the Chesapeake by day—and sleep under the sails and stars at night. Students and adults will learn first-hand what it was like to live in the crew’s quarters, sail the vessel, and navigate using 18th-century tools. The trips—for groups as large as 12 people—will last 2-5 days.