Mar 2006 newsletter

Cat Tales

March 2006

	View from the Bridge
	Pete Bruzik, Commodore Can SPRING really be right around the corner? Is it really that close? Am I really thinking of waxing the boat this weekend! We are all emerging from that depressive time of the year know as winter and emerging into SPRING… Just think – the first sail of the season is close at hand! Can't wait! Some of the best sailing is in April and early May, cool fresh breezes are dependable and anchoring out over night is a delight! Where to go? Does it matter? Nope – just getting "out there" is both the destination and the reason for having the boat. I know that when I step on the boat all other pressures fall away – even if I am just there to work on her. This common feeling is what draws us together as a club, getting "out there", meeting friends and having fun, because, after all, we really are just a group of sailors looking for a party! Take a few moments and mark that master calendar at home with the CCYC events! Hang in there and think SPRING!
	Spring Brunch and Winter Sock Burning April 8th, 10:30 AM Sam's Waterfront Café
	Bob and Lucia Klimek, Vice Commodore Come join us at Sam’s Waterfront Café in Chesapeake Harbour, off Edgewood Road, across from Bert Jabin’s Yacht Yard. The elegance of Sam’s Waterfront Café overlooking the Harbour for brunch and then the winter Sock Burning in the sophisticated atmosphere of Chesapeake Harbour’s park area near the pool. Just the right ambiance for burning our winter socks. We will meet at 10:30 AM. at Sam’s. Parking is free in front of the restaurant; just stop at the gate to pick up a restaurant pass. We'll have some time to catch up on winter events and launching stories, then we'll have Brunch and listen to our speaker, Mike Meers from Chesapeake Rigging. Mike will discuss everything you are afraid to ask your own rigger because the consulting fee costs too much. Choose one starter, one entrée, and one dessert from the menu below and email your selection by April 3rd to VCommodore@SailCCYC.org to be sure it is available. No advance payment is required. You will use your own credit card or cash at the event for your own personal order, so there's no hassle with paying in advance or splitting the check. Menu Starter (Select one) Soup of the Day Mixed Field Greens with a raspberry vinaigrette, topped with toasted walnuts and goat cheese Entrée (Select one) Traditional-style Fish & Chips with malt vinegar ($17.00) Sautéed Shrimp with fresh herbs and garlic in a tomato cream sauce, tossed with angel hair pasta, topped with freshly grated parmesan cheese ($23.00) Grilled Marinated Flank Steak with green peppercorn butter, red bliss potatoes and sauteed mixed vegetables ($24.00) Lobster Mac and Cheese ($22.00) Dessert (Select one) Chocolate Ganache Cake with homemade hot fudge Cheese Cake of the Day Tea and Coffee The amount listed after each entrée is the cost of that entrée with your choice of one starter and one dessert. Insider’s tip: The cheese cakes are made fresh at Sam’s every day and are almost as good as Lucia’s secret recipe! We must provide a head count by April 3rd. The club will be charged $20.00 for every no show. Burning our winter socks will follow lunch, rain and wind permitting. Sock burning is not a widespread or long-standing nautical tradition; it seems to have originated in the Chesapeake Bay area in the last few years. The winter around the Bay area is unpleasant for many and, for CCYC, is regarded as a calamitous error on the part of Mother Nature. It means four to five months of dry-docked boats, vacant marinas and winds wasted on furled sails. A sailor wearing socks during the winter has all the symbolism of shackles to a prisoner. No one wears them in the summertime, and a sure way to herald warmer weather is to char the dreaded things to ash. Sam’s Waterfront Café 2020 Chesapeake Harbour Drive East Annapolis, MD 21403 410.263.3600 Directions: From Route 50, take exit 22 (MD-665) to Riva Road Merge into MD-665 S and continue on Aris T Allen Blvd Aris T Allen Blvd becomes Forest Drive, which becomes Bay Ridge Road Turn left at Edgewood Road Turn right at Chesapeake Harbour Drive East and continue to the entrance to Chesapeake Harbour
	February Member Meeting February 18th Amicci's, Baltimore, MD
	Pete Bruzik, Commodore Great food! Great crowd! Great speaker! Oh well, I guess that some "particulars" would be helpful! Thirty three CCYC members practiced close quarters docking (seating) at Amicci's AND we did not have to start a second raft! The food was WONDERFUL and the shrimp pane rotundo received rave reviews! Our speaker was from the "Project Liberty Ship" was entertaining and informative. If you have the inclination, a membership to the organization is inexpensive and goes to a great cause. Club business was discussed – mostly as to where we will have parties (sorry I meant raft-ups)...
	Cruising Suggestions
	Jim Bergeron, Cruising Director Well gang , as cruise director, I can report that we have nearly all of our raft captains set for the season, except for Memorial Day at Fairlee Creek. Everything else is covered. Do we have someone from Baltimore, north of Annapolis who would volunteer for Raft Captain at Fairlee Creek? The Raft Captain does not have to be the one we tie on to, just be there early and help the others set up the rafts.
	Food Glorious Food!
	Lucia Casale, Lucia With all these eating events planned, we can't forget increasing our repertoire of galley friendly recipes. Here's one for those cool early season nights from Lois Zonderman's galley aboard Walkabout: Mushroom Chicken 4 skinless boneless chicken breasts (cut into cutlets if desired) 1/4 cup margarine or olive oil 1 medium onion, chopped 1 10-3/4 oz. can Golden Mushroom soup undiluted (you can substitute cream of mushroom, cream of chicken, cream of asparagus or cream of celery) 2/3 cup dry white wine (whatever one is around the house or boat) 1 Tbsp. chopped parsley 1 tsp. paprika Pepper to taste 1 Tbsp. soy sauce 1 Tbsp. lemon juice Lightly brown chicken in margarine or oil in a covered skillet. Move chicken to a baking dish. Add onions to margarine in skillet and cook until tender but not brown. Add the soup, wine, seasonings, soy sauce and lemon juice to onions. Blend thoroughly and pour over chicken. Bake at 350o for about 45 minutes. Serve with rice, couscous, pasta, etc. Serves 4. Makes a lot of gravy so for 2 more people just add 2 more chicken breasts. Enjoy!! Lois Zonderman, Walkabout For the April Newsletter - Martha Bliss' famously fabulous and low-cal Dilly Beans. Remember to submit recipes by the 10th of the month to recipes@sailccyc.org.
	Hardware Adventures With the Vice Commodore
	Bob Klimek, Vice Commodore …and to work up an Italian Size appetite for these food goodies, Dan Bliss' hardware project - the Maggie Wash Down. Let's have a big round of ApPaws for a great way to wash down the transom, dingy and doggy without getting wet A Home For A Self-Coiling Hose From Dan Bliss, Brunelle If you are one of the few who hasn't bought a self-coiling hose, congratulations and just keep thinking about it. If you are like most of us and have one taking up space in the bottom of a locker and you run into it every once and a while and think, "this would be useful if it wasn't such a pain in the (*) to get out and put away" -- maybe there is another solution. To me, the solution was not to spend another $120 to $160 at West Marine for one of their enclosures (pg. 484 of the 2005 Catalog). I get in enough trouble with Martha already. I went to Lowe's and bought a 10 foot length of 4" plastic drain pipe for about $16 (be sure it is the lightest weight they have and be sure it has the bell end on it that allows it to be joined to the next pipe without additional fittings). The self-coiling hose fits into this and with the bell end it is reasonably easy to feed it back in after using the hose. Cut the pipe to the length you need to store the hose you have. I installed mine "temporarily" but I think it may be in the same spot when you see us at raft-ups for the next several years. I mounted it to the stern rail with tasteful white tie-wraps. I used a couple of tie-wraps to keep the coil from falling out the bottom. I replaced the water regulator/inlet on the stern of my boat with a quick disconnect system (pg. 484 again…yes, Martha wasn't happy...$$). I have heard too many tales of piping coming apart when the boat is hooked up to "shore water" so I wasn't going to use the inlet anyway. The hose is now handy to wash dog hair, peanut shells, red wine, etc. out of the cockpit and sand and mud out of the dingy after we hoist it with the davits. I helped my nephew install his in a lazarette (one of those bottomless ones in an older boat). He teed into a fresh water line down in the bilges.