Tom Dove is a writer and photographer based in Annapolis, Maryland.
Annapolis calls itself "America's Sailing Capital" and that's about right. It is connected to recreational sailing like no other place in North America and you can find any sailboat dealer, supplier, event or craftsman you want here. Naturally, there are lots of powerboats in this city on the Chesapeake Bay, too.
Tom plays 12-string guitar and his wife, Kathy, plays Dobro. They sing traditional and modern folk music in local jams and song circles.
Tom's primary career was teaching physical science, biology, photography, graphics and computers, most of it at Bowie High School in Bowie, Maryland from 1967 to 1993. Retirement from that did not mean he stopped working.
Tom has been a professional journalist for SAIL Magazine, Chesapeake Bay Magazine and many other boating publications for more than 25 years, with a total of more than 1000 published articles. He has written and edited travel guides, cruising guides and two books and also worked on a PBS television show. Assignments have taken him over much of the United States and Europe.
Check the Categories to the left to share interests.
Hello,
My name is Robyn Hawkins and I am the Editor of a brand-new newsletter that has been created for sailing families.
It’s called ‘Families Afloat’ and will be emailed out on a weekly basis to subscribers.
Its purpose is to provide inspiration, stories and invaluable information for sailing families to help them while they are out cruising, and, provide an insight into the lifestyle for those that want to get out sailing with their families. It will point them in the direction of really helpful resources that have been produced by fellow sailors.
Each week I will be sharing various tips, stories, articles, YouTube videos and useful websites with my subscribers.
The fourth instalment of our newsletter was sent out today and your website was featured in the ‘Really Useful Website’ section of the newsletter!
If you’d like to have a look at the newsletter and see the review we have given you, you can find it here: https://familiesafloat.ck.page/posts/sailing-with-young-children-special-thinking-about-sailing-with-your-children-aged-0-4-don-t-miss-this-week
Keep up the good work!
Best wishes,
Robyn Hawkins
Editor of Families Afloat
https://familiesafloat.co.uk
@families.afloat (IG)
Carol,
Yes, Indeed. I sailed at Indian Landing Boat Club in my youth and was racing actively there when Bill Sands designed and built the first We-Sort. He meant the boat to be a less expensive, more forgiving dinghy for beginners than the Penguin, which the club was then using. The sloop rig gave the crew more to do than in the cat-rigged Penguin, although it carried the same sail area.
Sands said he took the boat name from a local clan who claimed descendancy from a Native American tribe (perhaps Algonquin?), as I recall. A close-knit group, they referred to themselves as the “We-Sort” and everybody else as the “They-Sort”. The beloved longtime groundskeeper at the club, Willy Jacobs, was a We-Sort.
I had a We-Sort (but have forgotten the number) in the early ’60s and still have a silver bowl from the annual regatta, which became the “We-Sort World Championships” in a declaration of overachievement.
They were cheap to build with standard dimension lumber and plywood and they sailed rather well, though not as fast as the Penguins. They’re certainly a quantum step better boats than the ubiquitous little Optimist prams that have taken over the youth beginner sailing program in the past two decades.
The current repository of We-Sort material is my son, Alan Dove. Write him at alan.dove@gmail.com and see his website at alandove.com to get more than anybody would ever want to know about these neat little boats.
And keep in touch.
I understand that you know the history of the Wesort sailboat. Can you direct me to any information you have written or know of where I can find out the history of this boat. My dad and I had been part of a group that had built Wesorts in the community of Ben Oaks on the Severn River. Thanks in advance for any information that you can provide.
Hello Cousin Tom, trust all is well with you and yours. If you will send me you email I can email you some of my family gravestone photos. This is Herbert Paul Dove Jr. peedeejr41@gmail.com
Hope to hear from you
Hello Tom,
Do you do photography for a private Christmas Party? Please contact me, I ued to teach with you at BSH many years ago and thought of you when we were looking for a photagrapher. Please email me back ASAP and we can meet at were the party is being held on Dec. 7th.
Looking forward to hearing from you soon!
Tom,
Thank you for maintaining Carl’s Sail Calculator. I use it to compare my Nonsuch 26 to other boats. The contents on the site say to contact you if we see information that is not correct.
The sail area for the Nonsuch 324 is given as 690 square feet. The manufacturer’s brochure gives the sail area as 576 square feet. The racing rules of the International Nonsuch Association give the LP at the clew as 24’ and the hoist as 48’. This gives triangle of 576 square feet. The sail bigger if you take into account the roach and extra sail area on the foot. For the other Nonsuch models the basic triangle is used for the sail area.
The 324 broucher gives a displacement of 11,500 not 11,643 as used in the calculator.
Hope this makes sense and is of some value.
Mark Powers
Hi Mr. Dove,
It was so fun to find your page. I was one of your students wayyyy back in 1977-78. I changed careers over 10 years ago, and have been teaching High School Digital Photography for 10+ years. Never found anything so fun and rewarding. Hoping I leave a legacy like you did. Thank you for being a part of my story. Hope you’re well.
-Vickie
Great to hear from you, Ralph, and thanks for the kudos. We just bought a nicely renovated 1977 Grand Banks 32 in Florida and expect to bring it back to the Bay (Kent Narrows) after next winter. It would be fun to get together.
— Tom
Tom, wife Lynn and I have sort of kept up with you through your magazine articles. We now live on the Eastern Shore just above Rock Hall. Getting ready to purchase yet another old boat and agree and enjoyed your Chesapeake Bay magazine article. We would love to see you sometime in the near future.
Ralph and Lynn Dolinger
It’s my pleasure — really!
Thank you Tom for maintaining Carl’s sail calculator! Thank you thank you thank you!! <3
Mr Dove:
“I can see your house from here!”
Hope you are well..
Leah Reid
Bowie High School Class of 1981
Hello Mr. Dove!
I have been googling your name regularly, but for some reason I have not been able to connect until now.
I hope you remember me, and hope we can meet up sometime- as I am regularly in the US/ Maryland (my oldest daughter Emma (14) lives in Severna Park).
School night, and I need to put my two younger kids (Sanna 6, Carsten 8) to bed, but hope to hear back from you!
Best wishes,
Gode ønsker
Jørund
Afs student at Bowie High 84/85
Hello Mr. Dove – just wanted to thank you. I was in your photography class a lifetime ago – 1973. Photography and journalist became my profession. I have you to thank for that. I hope life has been good to you. Looks like you have continued to pursue your passions.
Hello Tom,
I just read an old post from Oct 2012 about liveaboards. Thank you for sharing I enjoyed it and I will be sure to read more of your posts. I’ve been a liveaboard in Marina Del Rey, CA for 8 yrs. And looking for my next adventure.
Cheers!
Felicia