We all know how hard it is to find that just-right holiday gift for a loved one who doesn’t “need” anything. As the gift-giver, you want to achieve a personal touch that shows you gave their present some special thought. For loved ones who spend time on the Chesapeake Bay, a book that fits their pasttime can be the perfect solution.
We’ve rounded up a collection of recently-released Bay-region books that someone on your list would love to dig into this winter. They’re all available on Amazon, some at independent shops, and two even have book signing events going on this week!
For the Bay-Curious Adventurer: Campfire Stories Chesapeake Bay
Are you looking to share the magic of the Chesapeake Bay with someone who’s just discovering it? Many of us feel it’s our duty to bring others in on this special place. Campfire Stories Chesapeake Bay Tales & Travel Companion is a neat little volume that gives a sprinkling of Bay heritage. Part guidebook, part storytelling, it includes “literature and lore” from Michener, Wisner, Native American storyteller RagghiRain, and poetry from Gilbert Byron, among others. You’ll also see key organizations like Chesapeake Conservancy, museums, and oyster restoration groups featured.
Oysters, watermen, the Mallows Bay ghost fleet, Harriet Tubman, and some skipjacks you’d recognize are all covered in this paperback. It also offers community and travel resources with sections like “Towns to Visit”, “Where to Camp”, and “How to Visit Well” (which encourages volunteering with a Bay nonprofit while in town. It’s all those new-to-the-Bay friends need to get inspired and hit the ground (or water) running. It’s available here.
For the Sports History Buff: Battles at Annapolis
In the military-proud Bay region, the football rivalry between the Naval Academy in Annapolis and West Point is a big deal. Just in time for the 126th Army-Navy Game, Annapolis author David Gendell has released his nonfiction book, Battles at Annapolis.
While there are stories behind any Army-Navy matchup, the book focuses on two historic games, in 1893 and 1942. They were the two most recent games to be played in Annapolis, and are somewhat forgotten in the narrative of this patriotic rivalry. They were also among the hardest-fought and roughest games ever played. For the sports fan in your life, Battles at Annapolis sheds light on the fleeting moments right at home on the Bay. It’s available here.
Gendell will also be signing books at another Annapolis December tradition, Midnight Madness, on Thursday, Dec. 11 from 6-8 p.m. Find him at HERE. A Pop-Up Shop (6 Fleet Street) along with respected Bay photojournalist Jay Fleming, who will be signing his books on Chesapeake watermen life.
For the Young Animal Lover: The Adventures of Captain Marco series
We’ve seen a lot of Chesapeake Bay-based children’s storybooks cross our desk, but this series, with its furry protagonist and vivid graphic art, is irresistible. The Adventures of Captain Marco, now in its second installment, follows a street cat-turned-sailboat “captain” who refers to his liveaboard sailing family as his “crew”. From falling overboard to formidable storms and encounters with aquatic life, Captain Marco’s escapades are fur-raising, but leave us with a happily ever after.
Best of all, there is a real-life Marco! The stories are based on author Lesley O’Brien’s rescue kitty, who she sails with. O’Brien is a neuroscientist based in Richmond, and her science background shines through in the glossary found at the end of each book. It’s both fun and a handy way to educate the kids on your shopping list about sailing and the Bay.
The Adventures of Captain Marco books Unfurmiliar Territory and An Impawsible Predicament are available here or at indepedent shops around the Bay, including Waves of Tory, Frederick, Maryland; Beach Paws Boutique, Colonial Beach, Virginia; Deltaville Maritime Museum, Deltaville; Steamboat ERA Museum, Irvington; The Bookshelf on Church, Kilmarnock. The next installment is due out next year.
For the Seafood & Cocktail Enthusiast: Crab Decks & Tiki Bars of the Chesapeake Bay
Let’s be honest, isn’t the most fun part about the Bay eating a fabulous fresh catch or sipping a drink by the water? Introduce your loved ones to a new waterfront spot with the help of this guidebook by Bill Wade and Susan Elnicki Wade.
The newly updated 2025 Maryland edition is a lovingly curated guide to 200 crab decks, dock bars, and tiki lounges, scattered from the Upper Bay to the Potomac and up and down the Eastern Shore. You’ll find everything from rustic crab shacks to waterfront cocktail spots.
The Wades are a longtime Maryland boating couple who spent months doing the enviable “research” for this book with their two sons in tow. They sampled freshly steamed crabs, oysters, crabcakes, mussels and more before deciding which spots belonged in the guide. The book is available here or at independent shops from Bethany Beach to D.C.
For the Chesapeake Bay Bookworm: Bay to Ocean Journal 2024
It only takes a single sunset to see why the Eastern Shore provides endless inspiration for writers. Its natural beauty, rich farm and seafood heritage, and a slower pace of life, are the backdrop for the Eastern Shore Writers Association, a community of local writers. They release annually a literary collection called the Bay To Ocean Journal, featuring the year’s best fiction, poetry, and nonfiction written by members of the writers association.
Because of the Eastern Shore’s small-town feel, a lot of those in the writing community knows each other. That’s why it’s important that the journal’s editor, Emily Rich, sends submissions to her staff without the authors’ names on them, to be judged blindly and fairly.
The compilation is available here. There’s also an opportunity for book signings Saturday, Dec. 13, 11am-4pm, at the first ESWA Holiday Book Festival in partnership with Kent Island’s Cult Classic Brewery. More information here.
For the Sailing Heritage Admirer: On the Chesapeake Bay: History of the Seafarers Yacht Club, Inc.
In 1959, right in the midst of the fight to end segregation, the Seafarers Yacht Club was founded in Eastport. 66 years later, it survives as one of Maryland’s oldest African American yacht clubs. To tell its remarkable story, the club’s History Book Committee has amassed archives, member stories, and historic photographs, restoring and curating for a full year. The result is a self-published chronicle of the Club’s journey from the 1950s to the 2020s.
The Seafarers Yacht Club has evolved from a gathering place for Black sailors to a strong player in local community service, promoting boating and youth programs. The sailor or history lover in your life will appreciate this account of a maritime legacy. On the Chesapeake Bay is available here.
