The Captain John Smith Four Hundred Project: Retracing John Smith's Chesapeake Voyages

FAIN: BR-50008-06

Sultana Projects, Inc. (Chestertown, MD 21620-1513)
Dan Drewry McMullen (Project Director: February 2006 to February 2008)

Implementation of a traveling exhibition and a series of public programs complementing the re-enactment of a three-month boat voyage around the Chesapeake Bay led by Captain John Smith in 1608.

On June 2, 1608, only one year after the founding of Jamestown, Captain John Smith and fourteen English colonists set out in a small open boat, or “shallop” to explore the Chesapeake Bay. Their three-month voyage would have profound ramifications for the future settlement of the region and nation. On May 12, 2007, the 400th anniversary of the Jamestown settlement, a crew of twelve modern explorers will board a 28-foot reproduction of Smith’s shallop and embark on a 121-day expedition to retrace his voyage. Departing from Jamestown, the shallop and her crew will host exhibitions in ports throughout the Chesapeake region, introducing millions of people to this important episode in our nation’s history. Known as the Captain John Smith Four Hundred Project, this endeavor is being developed by Sultana Projects, Inc., a non-profit organization based in Chestertown, Maryland, in conjunction with the National Geographic Society, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation and the Conservation Fund.