Hansen, who attended last year’s appreciation day, and crewmate Anderson will be available for autographs throughout the day, and Hansen plans to be a passenger aboard one of the boats in the docking contest again this year.

“It was the total acceptance and hospitality from the people of Talbot County that made us feel so welcome and wanting to return. Also the sheer drive these people have to save and protect a resource. There were hundreds if not over a thousand that stayed in the pouring rain to support this cause,” said Hansen.

Activities begin at noon, with professionals competing in a spirited “Watermen’s Rodeo” boat docking contest in Fogg’s Cove. Following the boat docking contest — which is slated to end around 3 p.m. — the Pot Pie skiff rowing contest will begin followed by a small jigger throwing contest.

“The rowing competition is new this year. We have $100 prize for the children’s 10 to 15-year-old group and $500 for the adult 16 and older group,” said Gowe.

Live music will also start at noon, featuring the classic rock, country and blues of Bird Dog and Road Kings as they perform from the historic Tolchester Beach Bandstand.

Also beginning at noon, the day’s catch of steamed crabs will be served by Talbot watermen and volunteers in a traditional Maryland crab feast. Other food items include hot dogs, hamburgers and ice cream.

“My favorite part of the day is the crab feast, I mean where else can you sit and eat crabs with hundreds of other people who love crabs as much as me?” said Hansen.

Kids and families can enjoy games and activities throughout the day, including model boat building and more.

Free boat rides on the museum’s replica buy boat, Mister Jim, will be available every half hour from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Bids can be placed on a number of silent auction items including artwork by Mark Castelli, alongside the museum’s Small Boat Shed.

Silent auction bids can be placed until 4 p.m. with proceeds supporting oyster restoration projects on the Bay.

“We are still looking for silent auction items,” said Gowe, “All the proceeds go to Talbot Water Association and to the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum. This is a great cause and the community is always very supportive.”

The Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum has many features for guests including an up-close view of the museum’s floating fleet of historic Chesapeake vessels, along with a selection of working watermen’s boat.

Also on display are the museum’s exhibits of the 1879 Hooper Strait Lighthouse and the new “Push and Pull: Life on Chesapeake Bay Tugboats” exhibit, which are included with festival admission.

Admission will be collected at the gate for the day. Admission prices are adults $25, $16 for kids aged 6-17, and children under six are admitted free. Museum members get discounted admission of $15 per adult, $6 for kids.

The 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. event is hosted by the Talbot County Watermen’s Association in cooperation with the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum.

Proceeds go to the Talbot County Watermen’s Association and the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum. For more information, visit http://www.talbotwatermen.org/ or to make silent auction donations call Gowe at 410-745-5011.

Chance, who is working with Captain John Hamilton of Bozman on the buy boat Myrtle Virginia, hosed slightly more than 5,000 bushels of shells on Peanut Bar off Neavitt last week. All shells need to be planted well before June for the best chance of spat growth, Chance said.

“We are leaving dock at midnight or 1 a.m., go to Sixfoot Knoll to dredge oysters and then go plant the shells in designated areas; in this case Neavitt,” he said. “When we get back to the dock, a lot of the time it is after dark, almost 24-hour runs.”

Oyster shells are evenly hosed off both sides of the boats to assure the distribution to the bar is equal. Chance said it can take up to three hours to unload all oyster shells off the boat.

“This program is a necessity for those of us who want to continue to oyster and see our Bay grow again,” he said.

Captain Guy Spurry of the Challenger and his mate Joe Spurry are working the same rotations. Spurry’s boat will hold roughly 4,000 bushel of shells at a time.

“I do this to make a living,” Guy Spurry, who has participated in the program for 19 years, said. “It is a great program. We still need to rely on Mother Nature, but this program really helps.”

Years ago, more watermen could lay shell, but over the years the numbers have diminished, he added.

“I hope this program lasts. We all have to adapt to change,” Guy Spurry said.

Watermen are adding oyster shells to public oyster bars in Talbot, Dorchester, Queen Anne’s, Wicomico, Somerset, Anne Arundel and Baltimore counties.

Each site location will receive oyster shells on a three-day rotation. Once each county receives shells, the rotations will begin again.

These shells are dredged from Sixfoot Knoll, an area where the DNR previously placed 200,000 bushels of recycled shell in Anne Arundel County, not from the historic oyster bar. The area also is known for a high oyster mortality rate because of fresh water kills.

“Only 200,000 bushel of shell that was previously planted can be removed,” Michael Naylor, shellfish program director for DNR.

“It is our hope that sending these shells to the lower Bay will help spat growth,” said Naylor, who also is on the DNR’s Oyster Advisory Committee. “In turn, this could potentially be a beginning for spat growth at other locations throughout the Bay.”