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Cat TalesOctober 2004 |
Rich Miller, Commodore
Well, another summer has slipped by, and
autumn is now upon us. Some folks will tell you that September and October are
the best months to sail on the Chesapeake Bay. The wind is blowing much more
consistently, and the air has a certain snappiness to it. The trees are
shedding their green coats for their more diverse fall wardrobe, and the
humidity has moved south for the season. If it sounds to you like fall is my
favorite time of the year, you are right!
I can't help but think we've
been especially lucky here this year after watching what our friends in Florida
have been going through. If you have friends and/or relatives living down
south, I hope that everyone came through this trying time safely and that their
homes and possessions are still intact. Our best wishes to everyone who has had
to face these weather challenges this year and our hopes for a quick
recovery.
We have certainly had a great season as a club this year. The
turnout for our events has been strong, and I hope everyone had an opportunity
to get out to at least one of the club's raft ups. If you have not, or if
you're like me and you're not ready for this to end yet, please consider coming
out to join us for the Halloween Cruise to Purdy Point. Check out the details
inside and on the web site. We had a great turnout last year at this event, so
let's send the year out with a full raft.
Autumn also is important for
CCYC as we begin making preparations for turning over the reins to a newly
elected group of officers. While we don't have anything as complex as the
Electoral College or red states and blue states, we do have a process that
guarantees a peaceful and transition of shore power. So we're currently
accepting nominations for next year's club officers, with the voting to be held
at the next member meeting on November 13th. Whatever your political leanings,
if you know of someone you believe would make a good candidate for Commodore,
Vice Commodore, Secretary or Treasurer, please feel free to forward your
nominations to a current club officer for inclusion on the ballot. Look for
more information on the meeting time and location, the nominees and the
election as the member meeting weekend draws closer. Be sure to attend to cast
your vote, have a good time, hear our speaker and share your opinions on the
club's direction for next year.
We've had a suggestion to add a section
to the web site where members could contribute information about their favorite
cruising destinations on the bay. Other members could then take advantage of
this information when looking for new places to try or when suggesting cruising
locations for club events. Send us some feedback to let us know what you think
of this idea. If you agree that this would be useful we will get something put
together.
To catch up on some other news, we held our drawing at the
Crab Feast for the winners of the Mexico raft up. Congratulations go out to
Mike and Lynn Steer and Don and Mary Anne McBride. We'll see you in Puerto
Vallarta! We've also held a number of events since our last newsletter. Be sure
to catch up on some of the recaps inside this newsletter, or navigate on over
to the club web site to look at some of the fun as captured through the lens of
our intrepid club shutterbug.
That's all for now. Smooth sailing!
Walt and Sue Dennison, Foxfire
Autumn, our most beautiful
time of the year is here. Foxfire and Purdy Point await your arrival for
the last CCYC raft-up for the season.
Purdy Point is at the top of
Sillery Bay, off the Magothy River. Enter the Magothy through the channel
marked by a green beacon on a large set of wooden pilings and once inside the
river past red "4", turn to starboard. Head roughly northward, keeping to the
western side of Sillery Bay, with Dutchman's Island (aka Dobbin's Island) to
your port. At the top of Sillery Bay, follow green "3" and red "4" through the
Magothy Narrows, past Holland Point on your starboard side. The next point to
starboard is Purdy Point. Our anchor will be down by 3:00 pm and we will
monitor Channel 72 on the hour and half hour. If you have any questions, send
an email to: RaftCaptain@SailCCYC.org.
We will greet you with hot Apple
Cider (with a shot of rum, if you like). Bring hors d'oeuvres to share at Happy
Hour.
This is to be our Tall Tales Halloween raft-up, so be prepared to
top any story told!
Pete and Kathy Bruzik, Pekabu III
What if you had a crab
feast and no boats came? Disaster you say? Not for the CCYC! Hurricane /
Tropical Storm Charley had something to do with a ZERO boat count and if we had
planned better we could have had a car raft in the parking lot! But the raft
captain forgot his bumpers so all the cars settled securely into their parking
spots - no one reported dragging!
A great time was had by all! A total
of 20 came and consumed a CCYC amount of food! Those in attendance were Pete
Bruzik (Pekabu III), Mike and Bev Davis with Diana and friend Mahalia
(Ayewash), Wayne and Joan Savage with Joan's Dad Mr Smith
(Jubilee), Rich and Claire Miller (Exploring the Blue), Ray and
Lynn VanHorn (Scimitar), Diane Benyus and Richard Schatz
(Scimitar), Brian and Hsaio Smith with Grant and Julia (Chili
Breeze), and Dan and Martha Bliss (Brunelle).
An exciting
climax to the dinner was the drawing for the MEXICO Rendevous! The winners were
Don and Mary Ann McBride(Coelumar) and Michael and Lynn Steer
(Whodathunkit).
If any of the above attendees had GPS in their
car I can guarantee they did not get lost like me on the way out!
In
summary - Great Place! Great Food! Great Fun! Next time we will have to bring
our boats!
Rich and Claire Miller, Exploring The Blue
Labor Day
weekend on the Chesapeake was transformed into summertime in the Caribbean as
our group of salty seafarers and nefarious pirates gathered for two nights of
merriment. Exploring the Blue and "Charlie the Parrot" formed the raft in
Plaindealing Creek on Saturday afternoon, and we were soon joined by a lively
group including Jeanne and Gerry Helldorfer on Ragtime, Pete and Kathy Bruzik
on Pekabu III, club Secretary Mike and Bev Davis on Ayewash, Vice Commodore Al
and Vicky Lohman on Rhiannon, Rich and Tecla Murphy aboard Semper Fi, Lois and
Dave Zonderman from Walkabout, and Marilyn and Jon Van Tassel aboard Resolve.
Gerry was soon appointed chief recruiting officer, and he was off to invite
Dave and Pat to join us from Illumination, which was anchored not far
away.
Rich Schatz and Diane Benyus sailed up aboard the pirate ship,
Scimitar, wielding weapons, wearing head scarves and eye patches, dressed for a
fight in "Surrender the Booty!" tee shirts. Rich yelled "Aaargh, Matey!" and
threatened to board us by swinging over on his jib halyard, but with appetizers
and drinks that proved tough even for an experienced ex-Commodore (ok, maybe
that last part didn't really happen). Once the initial terror had subsided, the
party started to get into full swing with tropical tasting treats and drinks of
all kinds. Al Lohman took a break to don his dive tank and wet suit to look for
sunken treasure and check out props and hulls for everyone. Thanks for the
assist, Al! The party continued into the night as the air got cool and the
stars took over the sky.
Saturday morning brought with it all of the
pleasing aromas of brunch on the water. With all of the wonderful contributions
of quiche, eggs, scrapple, sausage and mimosas, it was hard to go away hungry.
Any lingering hunger problems were quickly erased when Pete and Kathy Bruzik
brought out what must have been the largest sheet of crumb cake seen in these
parts. No further explanation needed for why Pekabu III was riding so low in
the water on the way into the creek. Thanks for the wonderful contribution to
the brunch!
After loosening belts and pulling up anchors, the raft moved
out of the Tred Avon and down the Choptank for night two in Dun Cove. The wind
had picked up considerably, making for an easy genoa-only sail down the river.
Ayewash established the anchorage, and was joined by Ragtime and your squeamish
raft captain (after some prodding and cajoling - what can I say, my keel gets
deeper as the anchorage gets more shallow). Rhiannon anchored slightly aft of
the main raft, and Resolve not far away. Tucked away aboard Ayewash behind a
protective piece of land, we enjoyed another round of appetizers and watched
the other boats as they jockeyed for position in the crowded anchorage. Jon Van
Tassel demonstrated excellent form in the dinghy version of the man overboard
drill as he recovered a getaway life jacket. Who says these events can't be
educational?
Thanks to everyone for their contributions to a wonderful
weekend! Special thanks to Al and Vicky Lohman for helping with the hosting
activities and to Mike and Bev Davis for anchoring duties as usual.