Hi-Tech Sytem Provides Chesapeake Interpretation

As the first English settler to fully explore the Chesapeake Bay, Captain John Smith traveled more than 2,000 miles during the summer of 1608 in an open "shallop" boat with nothing but the wind in his sail and the strength of his men behind to oars to move him.  Four hundred years later, you too can travel these same waters, but with a few modern conveniences to help you along the way.   I’m sure Captain Smith would have saved some time if he had your set of maps along, and a cell phone to call for help when things didn’t always go according to plan would have been nice.  Today, you can use both maps and your cell phone to tap into the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail - the first water trail in the National Park Service's National Trail System - giving you many advantages that the early explorers didn't have.

In particular, you have access to the Chesapeake Bay Interpretive Buoy System (CBIBS), a newly installed trail guide and observing system being developed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). CBIBS consists of six buoys placed along portions of the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail. Buoys are located at Patapsco, Potomac, Jamestown, Stingray Point, Susquehanna, and Norfolk, and merge the modern technologies of cellular communications and internet-based information sharing. Simply by dialing up the interpretive buoy closest to you on your cell phone, you can receive real-time weather and environmental information like wind speed, temperature, and wave height. So unlike Captain Smith, you know if there is trouble ahead and decide on an alternative route.  The system provides a safety measure for traveling the Bay, protecting you from the elements and potential disaster.

In addition to providing environmental conditions, the system will also provide you with historic facts about John Smith's expedition through the Chesapeake. Even information about water quality conditions in the Bay during his exploration can be obtained using the CBIBS website to query any of the buoys to compare current water quality conditions and those that Smith would likely have encountered. Right from your own boat, the system provides cell phone based voice narration of natural and cultural history for the area you're traveling through on the trail.  Similar to podcasts, the system can be used by trail users as well as in the classroom to learn about the history of the Chesapeake and its tributaries.  No textbook is ever as effective in teaching as is actually living the experience, and the CBIBS provides a unique and revolutionary way of living history while learning.