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Last fall, thousands of people gathered on the banks of the Odet River in western France to see something unique: seven chocolate [yes, we said chocolate] boats competing in the sweetest regatta ever. Georges Larnicol first made headlines last year, when he managed to sail in a 1.2-ton-heavy chocolate

In honor of Liberace's birthday, who would have been 93 today, we present something that has nothing to do with that. After a fruitless Web search for "piano boat," which led us down a tangential journey to a boat that Billy Joel had designed, we happened upon this website when we keyed in "unique

Flying Dog decided to brew its Pearl Necklace Oyster Stout all year long. A dry stout brewed with local Rappahannock River Oysters, Pearl Necklace was initially released as a limited edition brew last November. In addition to enjoying a

What does a sliver of a guitar played by Jimi Hendrix, a rolling pin, a discarded tennis racket, a Masai warrior's club, and a crate used to carry all of Britain's wealth off to Canada during World War II have in common? Answer: They have all been used to create an incredible living archive of memories

Cuban artist Yoan Capote uses all kinds of unusual materials to create beautiful art installations. For one of his latest projects ("Isla"), he used around 500,000 fishhooks to build a photo-like seascape mural. The Cuban artist is famous for taking common household objects and creating beautiful

Friday features an open house at Chesapeake Light Craft at 1805 George Avenue in Annapolis, starting at 2 p.m. The afternoon will be packed with shop tours and boatbuilding demos and seminars, with free burgers, beer, and more starting at 5 p.m. Don't miss out on discounts of 20 percent off most items

The Eastport Yacht Club Foundation will honor Outstanding Marine Wizards at the Spring Cotillion. The Spring Cotillion is the kickoff event for one of the Chesapeake's most notable ocean races, the Annapolis to St. George

The Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is accepting entries for its annual Maryland Natural Resource Photo Contest, which highlights Maryland’s great outdoors. Last year, Allen Sklar of Bishopville topped more than 300 other photographers with his winning image of an eagle swooping down

When Illusion Mixes with Reality Tomorrow night, our moon will reach its closest point to our globe at 11:34 p.m. EST. With Cinco de Mayo and the Kentucky Derby, that's one more good reason to cruise the Chesapeake this weekend and anchor out. The supermoon (aka perigee moon) will appear

KaBoom!, a Washington-based nonprofit organization dedicated to bringing play back into children's lives, recognized 213 Playful City USA communities in 2012, including five in Maryland and four in Virginia. In the sixth year of the annual program, 19 communities received recognition for the sixth

Folks looking for a unique way to introduce themselves or celebrate the Fourth of July may be in luck. For a mere $81.29 plus shipping, you can now blast a custom fireworks display of your mug shot into the sky. Firebox, a British company, says all it needs is a picture of a person's favorite profile

Help a teenager discover the many joys of boating by voting in the BoatUS Foundation’s Teen’s Afloat Program. The initiative helps keep teens safe by offering discounted vest-style life jackets (for a mere $5) to non-profit organizations providing on-the-water educational programming for young adults.

Volunteers who have been growing underwater grass sprouts at home for the last three months are set to plant them in the James River. The Chesapeake Bay Foundation says dozens of volunteers have been cultivating the grasses in small tubs as part of its “Grasses for the Masses” restoration program.

Just in time for summer raft-up fun. After you've beaten your opponents by being the first boat to the dock bar, sailed into first place, or caught the biggest fish, here's yet another opportunity for oneupmanship on the water. BoatFun Sports has taken the basketball game out of the court and

Wyatt Hanks of the Marine Mechanics Institute in Orlando, FL, has some good tips for captains to ensure maximum fuel efficiency this season and beyond. Is Your Engine in Good Running Order? Just like dark chocolate, today’s marine engines are solid and dependable, But, they still require

The Alliance for Safe Navigation (ASN) wants recreational boat owners to update their charts as part of their regular spring commissioning to-do lists. ASN's survey in 2011 found that more than 25 percent of respondents experienced a grounding within the last five years, with some damage as high

Last week I helped a friend move a large monohull from Spa Creek to Back Creek. We were to back it into an especially narrow slip, the kind that makes you feel like you are in a can of sardines rather than on a boat. And of course, there was a strong crosswind. Our plan was to spin the boat around