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Cat TalesJune 2000 |
Pete Denholm, Commodore
In this month's newsletter you will read
about the Memorial Day cruise weekend and the pseudo-Wahine cruise. Much like
you, I do not get to read the articles before they are submitted to Mike Davis,
our perpetual newsletter editor, for print. This month I am curiously
interested in how Ray Nieves, Classie Chassie 2, will
recount the Memorial weekend events. In particular I am interested how he will
be portraying Scimitar's events from the first day.
Let's just say that knowing Ray, as we all do, I fear that he will be taking
literary license with Scimitar's preparedness for
navigation on the Bay. So if you want the TRUE story without the tall
fabrication and stretched truths, then come talk with Karen or me. All I have
to say is, "it could have happened to any of you".
As I write this
article I find my mind wondering. I am sitting at the Monterey City marina in
California. I am here for a short trip visiting family. As my eyes scan the
scenery I see many Catalinas. Since the Catalina is from California, I expected
to see a lot of them here. I have been wandering the docks looking to introduce
myself to some of the Catalina owners, but I have not been able to find any. In
fact, I was not able to find boat owners. But I did meet some very nice sea
otters and seals. I tried talking with them, but only the one seal would
respond. I think he said, "hey tourist, please feed me". Instead I just took
his picture. He looked disappointed. I was not able to get him to smile for
me.
OK, back to reality. Now that the sailing season is into full swing,
we are ready to move on to the Fourth of July cruise and then the crab feast in
August. Is it too early to be worried that the season will be more than half
over after the crab feast? Well, enough of that depressing talk. Let's go
sailing.
Pete and Karen Denholm, Scimitar
This
year the 4th of July weekend is four days long (Saturday, July 1 - Tuesday,
July 4). During the winter planning meeting, we agreed that this year the 4th
of July cruise would be to the Solomons Island area. It turns out that the
fireworks display being put on by Solomons Island will be held on Tuesday the
4th, which is the last night of the cruise. This would mean that in order to
complete the cruise anyone participating from places other than Solomons Island
would have to take Wednesday off too. Unfortunately, Karen and I are not able
to take Wednesday off from work. So we have modified the cruising plan
hopefully to accommodate both the Solomons Island and Annapolis contingents of
CCYC. We are going to try something a little different this year. We will watch
the fireworks from land on Sunday night at St. Michael's.
Our goal for
each day during the cruise is to be anchored by 3 PM. As per the CCYC standard,
we will monitor channel 72 on the hour and half-hour. And there will be happy
hour every evening so bring your munchies.
We will begin the cruise by
meeting up on Saturday at Hudson Creek, which is on the Little Choptank River.
If this creek sounds familiar, it should. It is the same creek we used for the
first night for the Memorial Day cruise. This seems to be a good middle point
that should be an easy sail for those of you coming from Solomons Island. We
will anchor just after the Green #1 day marker on the western side of the
creek.
On Sunday, we will cruise to San Domingo Creek, which is off
Broad Creek in the Choptank River. That's right, folks. We are going to attack
St. Michaels using the "backdoor". We will find a nice anchorage some point
after the Red #14 day marker. Scimitar plans to arrive
early (1-2 PM) to beat any crowd that might be planning on anchoring in the
same area. That evening after happy hour and dinner, we will all pile into the
dinghys for shore leave to watch the fireworks from land in St. Michaels.
(Don't worry Ray - this a short dinghy ride!)
I am toying with the idea
of going back to the Little Choptank River to help make life easier for the
Solomons Island folks. But I do not plan to finalize that until I see who shows
up. Keeping that in mind tentatively we will move to Fishing Creek, which is in
the Little Choptank River on Monday. We plan to anchor just after the Green #3
day marker.
If you have any questions, give us a call at
703-313-0864.
Ray and Carolyn Nieves, Classie Chassie
II
Rain, rain and more rain. A wet start on Saturday did
not keep away the hearty. While arriving at the Little Choptank from the north
from a previous day sail to St Mikes, Classie Chassie 2
heard a hail from Elizabeth IV arriving at the Little
Choptank from the south. What good timing. A little ahead, Classie Chassie 2,
with me and Carolyn and guests John and Mary (from Boston just for the weekend
cruise) waited for Elizabeth IV to catch up, with
Philip (the rain man), Elizabeth, Charles and Charlene aboard. Trying to spot
Elizabeth IV in the rain, I asked, "Are you near the
fishing boat about a mile south?" Elizabeth responds, "No, there's no fishing
boat near us. Three sets of eyes say you can't be seeing us!" Within seconds
she breaks radio silence to say "Philip says now we are passing the fishing
boat." Rain, rain and more rain.
As we near Casson Point, who should
catch up from the northwest? Ayewash, with Mike, Bev,
Jennifer (their daughter visiting from Tampa) and the best little sailor in the
Fleet, Diana. Of course, as we now near our anchorage in Hudson Creek, it
begins to rain harder. Mike agrees to use Ayewash as
the anchor vessel and we prepare to set up the raft.
But off in the
distance, the call, the hail, the fear of missing a meal, who could it be?
Could it be a lost vessel? Could it be - no, it can't be - yes, it is the voice
from CCYC Commodore Pete, with Karen. Pete says they have no chart and no depth
sounder. Could we guide him in? Now we've heard it all - he brought charts
without the right pages.
More rain. Ayewash set
the hook by 1400 and we were ready. Being the CCYC people we are, we set off in
our dinghys to put out breadcrumbs for Scimitar. Soaked
to the bone, chilled and worried, we returned to the raft to await the fate of
Scimitar. Dried and hungry, we began the difficult task
of preparing the Happy Hour and drinks, while we continued to anticipate
Scimitar's arrival. Soon a sighting;
Scimitar following the breadcrumbs and the smell of the
Happy Hour and drinks. Of course, the captain of
Scimitar would not miss the raft-up, the food, the
drinks, the company and the laughter. Here they come, Karen on the bow - soaked
but smiling. More rain.
Everyone joined on board Classie
Chassie 2 for a "wine-down" happy hour. "Okay, break out the
wine", says Bev "The good wine." Enough to make people happy on our new boat.
Bev is given only the best wine. Everyone is enjoying wine, cheese, food, wine,
food, wine. Bev requests "More wine." What kind says I. "Red this time," says
Bev. Jennifer says only light zin for me please. The food makes a hit, the
stories begin to flow, the laughter grows, the stories do too. Now Bev says any
wine will do. More rain.
After a few hours of the wine down, I mean wind
down, I suggest a pot luck dinner. The idea goes over well. We all cook up
dinner and join on Ayewash an hour later for a
wonderful evening of good food, more wine, more laughs and fun. Jennifer was
kind enough to sit everyone down and serve us and even do all the dishes at the
end of the evening. Bravo! More rain.
Full of food, liquid refreshment
and sore from laughter, everyone returned to their boats, settled in for the
evening and one by one each boat went dark. Now as I sit here writing this
report, I ask will this continue without the rain, I hope.
Much to our
surprise, we woke up Sunday morning to something new for this area - a clearing
sky! With a slight easterly breeze, by noon we weigh anchor and head north to
Dun Cove. Fleet CCYC Classie Chassie 2,
Elizabeth IV, Scimitar and
"Anchor Boat" Ayewash off we go.
What? Can you
believe more H20? As we arrive at the Choptank-Dun Cove area it begins again,
more rain! Ayewash in the lead, pulls deep into the Dun
Cove creek and sets the hook. Of course, we are back to normal; it is
raining.
Why would one think about the dink? Well, after last night's
wine down, food and party time, Sassie Chassie (our
dink) had five bags of trash, 13 bottles of various sizes, shapes and colors
and an inch of water. After Sunday night we added more trash, more bottles, and
of course more H20. Oh, how we love our wine. Right, Bev, Carolyn, John and
Jennifer? The rest of us "hearty souls" watched in amazement as we lighten our
vessels of liquid refreshment and food and filled the dinks with bottles, trash
and H20.
As we settled in for the Happy Hour - oops - Happy Hours, the
stories flowed as the wine disappeared. Jennifer Davis told the lovely story
about her engagement during a ski trip in Colorado (her Christmas gift), taken
on a romantic horse-drawn sleigh ride in the snow and received a beautiful
diamond ring from boyfriend. She tells of joy and phone calls to mom and dad to
break the news. She was sharing some of the sunshine and joy of her life with
all of us. The rain could not dampen her spirit or take away her smile this
weekend. Thank you for sharing with us, Jennifer.
The more senior
members of this wet crew of sailors could not be dampened in spirit either. Bev
and Carolyn led the charge, off and running, to reduce the stock of food and
liquid, followed by Philip, Elizabeth, Charles and John. No food, no wine would
go to the dogs; poor Copper didn't stand a chance, no scraps left. Diana and
Charlene had to ignore the "old people"; they stayed aboard
Ayewash watching TV.
The food, fun, wine, rain
and stories continued. Carolyn tells of frightening fun skydiving; Pete and
Karen join with their experiences. Ray, John and Pete take a dink ride - trash,
bottles and three men in a dink. We might sink but all we manage to do is
splash poor Pete. Folks, if you haven't guessed by now, this group won't let
rain or wine or food get in the way of fun and laughs.
We break for
dinner and move from Classie Chassie 2 to
Scimitar for after-dinner board games. By now some
people can't tell the difference in numbers or colors of the board game items.
But the spirit of competition begins and the laughter turns to tense
competition. Teams of players plan, confer and laugh as each player struggles
to figure out what to do and whom to help. Everyone is a winner in the end.
More rain.
Believe it or not, we are running out of liquids and it's
bedtime, folks. The games begin to break up but the rain won't.
It is
now Monday morning at 5 AM and I wonder why I am up writing. And I am wondering
who would want to have all this fun in the rain? No, I wonder if you know how
much fun you could have with four CCYC sailboats full of great friends and
families on a Memorial Day weekend filled with rain. We will be preparing to
leave Dun Cove. The wind is howling, it is raining and we will get wet. But it
has been a good weekend. Thank you to those who came and shared food, liquid
refreshment, stories and friendship. And thank you to anyone who made it this
far in our story telling. Oh, thank you too, Lord, for the rain and the ability
to have so much fun.
As the winds began to pick up, we departed Dun Cove
one by one. Ayewash, last to leave at approximatley
1100. Classie Chassie 2 and Elizabeth
IV sailing together, picked up a noreasterly, following wind all
day, blowing from 16 to 27 knots by the time each arrived home. What great
sails we had, Classie Chassie 2 arriving at Flag
Harbour by noon, Elizabeth IV arriving Solomans around
1500 and Scimitar and Ayewash
taking the trip via Knapps Narrows to Herrington Harbour - all safe and sound.
And wet. Yes, Memorial Weekend 2000 will be remembered for rain, rain and more
rain.
Ken and Joyce Stoppelbein,
Windtyme
Several people asked for this recipe at
the April 29th Ice Breaker.
Cook bacon until crispy, drain on paper towel. Brown gr. beef and onion, drain off fat. Combine last 6 ingredients. Mix all together and bake at 350* for 1 1/2 hours. ENJOY!
Max Munger, Shermax
Boat/US has been a
long time partner of the Fleet#11/CCYC in offering half price memberships as
part of their Cooperating Group Program. With more than 500,000 members,
Boat/US is the world's largest organization of recreational boaters. Many of
you may not be familiar with Boat/US or some new benefits being offered to the
CCYC. I also want to advise you of other new Boat/US programs in which our
members can participate - Boating Safety Incentives, availability of Grassroots
Boating Safety Grants and a Online Boating Safety Challenge.
We are
happy to announce that we've made it easier for our members to join Boat/US and
enjoy the 50% savings on their regular membership dues. Now you can enjoy
online application and renewal of your Boat/US Membership. This is available to
all members of the CCYC. If you are not now a member of Boat/US, then you
should be! Just set your browser to the following address
http://www.boatus.com/join/GA80542S.htm or go to the CCYC web site links and
click on the Boat/US icon.
Boat/US is helping its long-time boating
safety partners, the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary and the U.S. Power squadrons,
enhance their new safety inspection program, the Vessel Safety Check (VSC)
(formerly the Courtesy Marine Examination), with special offers for members who
get this free safety check for their boats. Boat owners who get a courtesy
Vessel Safety Check will receive a 10% discount off the price of certain safety
gear at any Boat/US Marine Center or through the Boat/US Annual Equipment
Catalog. All members need to do to receive this discount is bring in their
completed VSC checklist to their Boat/US Marine Center. If they are ordering
through the Boat/US catalog, all they need to do is fax a copy of the completed
checklist to Boat/US at 800-825-8692.
In addition, Boat/US is continuing
its long-term policy of providing a complimentary year of Boat/US membership to
every boater who successfully completes a U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary or U.S.
Power Squadrons boating safety course. Boat/US also gives a discount on safety
equipment and a one-year subscription to its loss prevention newsletter,
Seaworthy, for everyone who participates in the classes, whether they pass or
not. Boaters can find the nearest boating safety course or Vessel Safety Check
examiner in their areas by going online too and clicking on
"foundation."
The Boat/US Foundation for Boating Safety is offering
grants of up to $5,000 for local boating safety projects. Over the last eleven
years, the Foundation's Grassroots Grants Program has awarded $500,000 to
nearly 300 volunteer boating groups and other non-profit organizations
throughout the United States. The grant application, including guidelines and
instructions, is available by calling Vanessa Pert at (703) 823-9550, ext. 3016
or visiting the Web site www.BoatUS.com/foundation. All application packets
must be postmarked and all on-line applications must be submitted to the
Foundation by Wednesday, November 1, 2000.
Boaters who want to improve
their boating safety knowledge now have the chance to win a hand-held Garmin
GPS, by taking part in the online "Boating Safety Challenge" contest at
www.BoatUS.com/onlinecourse. There will be monthly prize drawings through
December. At the end of the year, all names will also be entered in a grand
prize drawing for a Garmin GPSMAP 185, a combination GPS receiver, chartplotter
and depthsounder, valued at $780.
The Boating Safety Challenge is a
self-paced, interactive course that contains hundreds of pages of information,
and culminates with a 55-question test.
I hope that CCYC members will
take advantage of these programs and in doing so promote your local club.
Boating education and safety should be primary objectives of every sailing
fleet. You can get started with half-price memberships, free boat inspections,
a convenient course in boating safety and an insurance discount and possibly, a
new GPS!
To whom it may concern,
I am looking to purchase a 30' Catalina
with a wing keel, wheel steering, 25 or so horsepower diesel in good to above
average condition from the early to mid 1980's. There are many boats here in NJ
but not too many with the wing keel for sailing in Barnegat Bay. If you could
help me find such a boat it would be much appreciated.
Thanks in
advance,
Mike Cocuzza
MIKE332382@aol.com
732-892-0030