About Pax Maris Maritime

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Our vision 

We imagine a future on the Chesapeake Bay and it’s watershed where access to meaningful experiences on the water or near it are accessible aspects of everyday life. We work towards a future in which the waters of the Bay enrich people’s lives and where more people love the natural environment of the Chesapeake enough to become active citizen-stewards of the estuary’s health and wellbeing.  

Our mission

We create opportunities for more people to engage with the maritime world of the Chesapeake Bay. We remove barriers between people and their watershed and use the Bay to benefit all, while building strong families, strong environmental stewards, a well trained maritime workforce and an engaged and informed public that enjoys safe and enriching experiences on and off the water.

Our story

Pax Maris, or “the peace of the sea” began as all things do, with a strong need to connect more with those things in life that bring the most joy and the greatest benefit to the greatest amount of people. That is to say we wanted to do something that mattered to us and helped others and came naturally.  Following a conversation with a Chestertown, Maryland Vietnam veteran, our path became clear; we could use boats and the Chesapeake Bay to help people.

We began operations as an experiment. If we offered veterans and their families no-cost therapeutic experiences on the water would they turn out? They did and those families and those experiences crafted the vision and mission to come. Soon we realized that everyone could use time out on the water. So we did our homework, learned about the oppurtunities offered through becoming a 501(c)3 public charity and expanded our program set to include marine education and training and environmental goals.

Like any business (yes, a nonprofit is absolutely a true business) we developed our programs, planned for the future and even made a few mistakes along the way. Today we are working to launch our services through three primary program groups: Access Chesapeake Bay, the Delmarva Maritime Gateway, and Bay Core.

Each of these action groups has their own focus. Access Chesapeake Bay is just how it sounds— we want you, military families, everyone— to enjoy time cruising aboard our vessel “Katy.” The Delmarva Maritime Gateway houses our education and training programming. We are proud affiliates of Delaware Technical Community College with whom we are developing courses offering everything from basic boat handling to American Boat and Yacht Council (ABYC) certification courses, which support our communities through skills training for in-demand marine industry jobs. Bay Core focuses on the fundamental aspects of the Chesapeake world, the social, political (advocacy not partisan politics), economic, and environmental pillars that comprise a whole and healthy Bay.

The rest of our story has yet to be written. We are new, but not new to the Bay. We invite you to explore more about us and get involved. We are all about the transformative power of ACCESS to this incredible land and water system, the Chesapeake Bay watershed.