It's a small ship, just over 50 feet long, but everything else about the Sultana is big -- its style, its story and, most of all, its presence in the Eastern Shore town that built it.

If ever a ship has held a community in its thrall, surely it is this one. Folks in historic Chestertown watched the Sultana being built, launched and, just over a year ago, commissioned at the town dock.

Now, this bewitching vessel -- a reproduction of the 1768 schooner Sultana -- is making public sails from its home port on the Chester River as well as from St. Michaels and Annapolis.

As Barry Treftz, a passenger on his inaugural outing, put it recently: "Wow. Everybody in Maryland should do this, just to appreciate where we live. You know what really surprises me? The quiet. It's just so quiet."

Treftz lives in Galena, 12 miles from the Sultana's dock. I live even closer, just a few blocks away. In the months since the Sultana tied up at the Cannon Street pier, I've had lots of visitors stop and ask about the boat. One woman even wondered if it was part of a movie set. Looking at the Sultana, you realize that's a perfectly reasonable question.

My favorite time to watch the Sultana is on damp, gray mornings when just its bones show through the mist. But to sail on it? Over the last few months, I've gone out three times -- once on a public sail from St. Michaels, once from Chestertown on an educational excursion with an energetic group of fourth-graders, and the last time, again from home port, to watch the Sultana take part in a Revolutionary War re-enactment exercise.

Like Treftz said: "Wow."

'A proper vessel'

Today, the Sultana operates primarily as the "Schoolship of the Chesapeake," an educational vessel that will serve thousands of students this year. The original ship had a far different mission. That Sultana was built in Boston in 1767 as a merchant cargo schooner but its heft and tight, seaworthy lines attracted the attention of the British Royal Navy, which bought the ship a year later to help enforce the newly enacted tea taxes on the North American coast.

"Has the Character of being a good Sailor. ... Appears well wrot & put together ... a proper vessel fit for his Majesty's service," noted the Royal Navy shipwrights who surveyed the Sultana before it was refitted, armed and provisioned.

The smallest schooner ever to serve in the Royal Navy, Sultana patrolled the Chesapeake, Delaware and Narragansett bays, among other waters, from 1768 to 1772, often coming under attack from rebellious colonists. But, because the ship was undermanned and insufficiently armed, the Sultana was relieved of duty, returned to England and sold out of the admiralty.

That might have been the end of the Sultana except that it was one of the most thoroughly documented American-built vessels from the Colonial period. Drawings, logbooks, crew lists and correspondence all survived.

More than two centuries later, drawings of the Sultana and, later, three-dimensional models, caught the eye of John Swain, an Eastern Shore boat builder.

"I don't know, she's such a pretty little ship," says Swain, who during a 36-year career has built 65 boats, though none of the Sultana's tonnage, size and historical significance. "I guess I got hooked," he says. "I wanted to build her."

A few years ago, Swain approached his friend and colleague Drew McMullen with the idea. The two had just finished a project reconstructing a Chesa-peake Bay skipjack and oyster buy boat for Echo Hill Outdoor School not far from Chestertown.

"A week before I was going to move away, John Swain pulled out a drawing of the Sultana and said, 'Let's build this.' He had seen a vessel in Holland that had been built by a small town," says McMullen, now executive director of Sultana Projects Inc., the nonprofit group that operates the Sultana and its programming. "They pulled it off in that small town," McMullen remembers Swain saying. "Why not Chestertown?"

In 1997, the two assembled a business plan and mission statement, then pitched the idea to the community. The Sultana would be a school ship -- a hands-on living classroom where students would learn about Colonial history and the natural environment of the Chesapeake Bay.

The community bit. With primary patronage coming from the community group Chester River Craft & Art, construction began at a shipyard just blocks from Chestertown's historic waterfront in late 1998. It was a huge effort, with as many as five shipwrights supervising more than 100 regular volunteers, among many others -- including 3,000 schoolchildren. In all, volunteers contributed more than 50,000 hours to the $1.25 million project.

The hull was built from original plans. What the shipwrights didn't know was re-created from logbooks and nautical practices of the era. Virtually nothing was bought off the shelf. Even the nuts and bolts were custom-made. Though power tools were used, everything was finished with traditional tools.

"It's not yacht-y feeling," McMullen says. "There's no varnish or polished brass." It's also neat to know that much of the wood used in the boat -- the Osage orange and white oak -- came from local farms.

"We were these two guys with a drawing and a dream. No one has built a boat exactly like this in over 200 years," adds McMullen. "You can look at every little piece of boat and programming and remember when it was just a concept on a piece of paper. Some days, it's pretty amazing to think it actually sails."

Educating the public

But sail it does -- and when it is under all six sails, the Sultana is breathtakingly beautiful.

I like the way Swain puts it: "When she's got a good breeze in her and heeling down and really rolling along, it's so wonderful just to feel the motion of her. She's just a wonderful thing to be on."

Seasoned sailors love the maneuverability and the responsiveness of the ship -- a double-square topsail schooner that Sultana officials believe is the only one like it in the United States today.

Jamie Trost, the schooner's 27-year-old captain, handles the Sultana with the grace of a longtime sailor. Trost, who grew up on the banks of Lake Erie, took over in February after serving as chief mate of the Amistad, a reproduction of the slave ship made famous by the Steven Spielberg film.

"The things you can do with this boat are pretty phenomenal. There are so many different options because there are so many different sails," says Trost, who oversees a crew of six sailor / educators. "I know I try not to use the engine. I happen to believe we can sail our way out of just about anything."

Oh, yes, unlike the original, the Sultana does have an engine and a bathroom, or head -- a concession to modern-day health and safety standards. There's also a mile of electrical wiring, none visible. The sails look like canvas but they are actually made of Dacron. And the shrouds -- the lines that hold up the masts -- aren't hemp but galvanized wire rope.

Sailing on the Sultana, it's easy to feel transported to a quieter, slower time. Once, I shut my eyes and all I could hear were the excited cries of an osprey. That same sunny afternoon we had a few, nice puffs of air and Trost -- with four sails up -- steered the ship along the Chester at about 4 knots.

With 20-knot winds, the Sultana can do about twice that speed. What I find most pleasing about the ship are its magnificent, one-of-a-kind looks and the history it brings alive. This is no cheap dockside attraction.

Part of what makes the Sultana feel so authentic is its home port setting. Chestertown, population around 4,000, dates back to 1706, when it served as a thriving mid-Atlantic port of entry for colonists moving into Maryland. Many of the stately houses near the waterfront were built in the 1700s, making it easy to imagine a time when schooners plied Maryland waters.

(While exploring the historic district, visitors should be sure to stop by the Sultana shipyard, in the 300 block of Cannon St., where Swain is now building a 16-foot tender -- or 18th-century "ship's boat" -- much of it from wood left over from the Sultana project.)

Every time the Sultana goes out, it does so with a mission -- to educate. Even the public sails, launched just four months ago, involve some light education -- to include allowing visitors to help set the sails and steer.

The Sultana, which can accommodate 32 passengers, currently serves 7,000 students a year from the states of the Chesapeake Bay watershed. With dockside "open houses" and public sails, that figure more than doubles.

After three sails, I've come away with some interesting factlets: 69 of the 101 crew members who served in North American waters on the original Sultana deserted ship. Of the more than 800 shipboard searches the Sultana conducted looking for contraband, there was only one successful prosecution.

Sultana means "harem girl," a name that predates its involvement with the Royal Navy. And the phrase, "letting the cat out of the bag"? That refers to the cat o' nine tails that was kept in a bag and used for whipping errant crew members.

The real and quite wonderful educating takes place during the "schoolship" sails. When I joined the 18 fourth-graders from Kent School for their sail in late May, it was the culmination of a yearlong learning project involving Colonial history and the bay's ecology.

As third-graders, the kids had done a dockside visit. Now, as fourth-graders, they steered and sailed and studied everything from navigation to the diet of the Colonial period. They even caught a few fish.

The last time I sailed, Trost and crew were outfitted in Revolutionary War garb. Except for their sneakers and the sunglasses, they looked like the real deal. That day, as part of a private charter sponsored by the nearby Shrewsbury Institute, we "engaged" a band of colonists -- re-enactors called Ship's Company -- in a firefight.

For 15 minutes, the Sultana and the Resolution, the colonists' schooner, chased one another around the river. We fired off our two half-pound swivel guns -- little cannons -- 12 times. Trost fired his Brown Bess, a replica of a late-18th-century British military musket, nine times.

We're not sure, but we think we won.

When you go

Getting there: From Baltimore, follow Interstate 97 south to Route 50 east toward Annapolis and over the Bay Bridge. At the Ocean City split, continue north on Route 301 toward Wilmington. Exit north toward Centreville on Route 213, and follow it to Chestertown. The trip is about 75 miles.

Schooner Sultana:

Sultana Projects Inc., P.O. 524, Chestertown, MD 21620

410-778-5954

www.schoonerSultana.com

* Sailing schedule for public sails from Chestertown: Sept. 1 and Sept. 7, 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.; Sept. 28, 10 a.m. to noon and 2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.; Oct. 5 and Oct. 12, 10 a.m. to noon and 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. There is also a Nov. 2 sailing from St. Michaels, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.

* Cost: $25 for adults, $15 for children under 12; those under age 5 are not permitted. The Sultana is also available for private charter -- $1,000 for a two-hour minimum, $500 for each hour after.

* The sailing season lasts April 1 through the second week in November.

Attractions:

* Chestertown Historic District. The second largest district of restored 18th-century homes in Maryland offers a fine sampling of Georgian, Italianate, Queen Anne and Victorian architecture. Most of the shops in town have brochures with a map and walking tour. Or print one out from www.chestertown.com.

* The Geddes-Piper House, 101 Church Alley; 410-778-3499. Home of the Historical Society of Kent County, the 18th-century Philadelphia-style townhouse is open for tours Satur-days and Sundays from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Admission: $3; children, free.

* The Farmer's Market. Located at Fountain Park, the popular open-air market operates Saturdays from 8 a.m. until noon, through Christmas. Produce, flowers, breads, soaps, candles and more -- all locally grown or made.

Lodging:

Imperial Hotel, 208 High St., Chestertown, MD 21620

800-295-0014

www.imperialchestertown. com

* A local landmark, the stately hotel, two blocks from the Chester River, has 11 deluxe guest rooms decorated with period furnishings. There are also two suites. The popular Imperial restaurant serves classic regional cuisine. Open for dinner Wednesday through Saturday, and Sunday lunch. Hotel rates range from $95 to $225.

White Swan Tavern, 231 High St., Chestertown

410-778-2300

* Historic bed and breakfast inn has six charming rooms, impeccably furnished. Each room has a full bath. Complimentary continental breakfast and afternoon tea served daily. Rates range from $120 to $200.

Comfort Suites, 160 Scheeler Road, Chestertown

410-810-0555

* In-room refrigerator and microwave in all 53 rooms. Complimentary continental breakfast. Whirlpool suites available. Heated indoor pool. Rates range from $89 to $149.

Coming events:

* At the Prince Theatre in downtown Chestertown: Sept.14 at 8 p.m., Felicia Carter and the New Legacy Jazz Band; tickets, $15. Oct. 20 at 8 p.m., Preservation Hall Jazz Band; tickets, $30. For more information about the theater, call 410-810-2060.

* University of Pittsburgh professor Marcus Rediker presents "The Pirate and the Gallows, or a Tale of Two Terrors" as part of the C.V. Starr Center / Sultana Maritime History Lecture Series. Sept. 19, 7:30 p.m., Hynson Lounge, Washington College.

* Sept. 21: The 33rd Annual Candlelight Walking Tour,

5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Thirteen houses and buildings in the Chestertown Historic District open for tours. Tickets are $20. Call 410-778-3499

* Chestertown Wildlife Exhibition. Annual exhibition and sale featuring more than 50 carvers, painters and other artisans throughout Chestertown. Oct. 18-19. Call 410-778-0416.

For more information about recreation, lodging, restaurants and events, call Kent County Tourism at 410-778-0416 or visit online sites: www.chestertown.com or www.kentcounty.com.

An ideal day

10 a.m.: No point in arriving earlier because the town

doesn't really wake up till mid-morning. Enjoy a breakfast beverage at Play It Again Sam or Dunkin' Donuts -- both are hangouts in the town center.

10:30 a.m.: Walk the historic district, particularly along the waterfront. Tons of curb appeal here. Don't miss the brick sidewalk at the town dock and Wilmer Park.

Noon: Joy's, Feast of Reason or the Old Wharf, Chester-town's only waterfront eatery, are quick and easy choices for a simple midday meal.

1 p.m.: Explore the shops, all within a few blocks of one another -- Twigs & Teacups, Home Gallery, Kerns Collection and Dockside Emporium are local favorites.

3 p.m.: Sail, Sultana, sail.

6 p.m.: Stow away at the Imperial Hotel or White Swan.

7:30 p.m.: Enjoy dinner at the Imperial, or just a few blocks away, the Blue Heron.

-- Ellen Uzelac