Landfall Along the Chesapeake: In the Wake of Captain John Smith

In this heartfelt celebration of Schmidt's childhood home on the Chesapeake Bay, the author invokes John Smith's 1607 exploration as she sails his original path, hoping that ""storying"" the land will help conserve it. Schmidt's effort, however, to compare her journey to Smith's is not entirely successful: she starts the journey after sticking her finger with a rusty fishhook, and her fears of getting skin cancer and being delayed by a broken boat are less than convincing parallels to the hardships of Smith's exploration. Schmidt presents a comprehensive look at Smith and his voyage of the Chesapeake Bay, though the tale of her own voyage does not measure up to her historic inspiration.