Floatline - Chesapeake Bay News

Floatline Redux

The Floatline site is undergoing a renovation.

We have some ideas (reviews of pirate books for kids?, videos from our supercool orange Flip video camera ?, A Jimmy Buffett shrine with links to appropriate sections in iTunes?) We're not too sure yet.

Stay tuned!

Greening up the Holidays

Some Thoughtful Holiday Hints from Annapolis Green:

Gifts:

• Give a gift that discourages waste, such as a reusable water bottle to “take back the tap” and stop the waste of plastic bottles filled with filtered water.
• Give gifts that can either be eaten or otherwise used up (like food, wine, theatre tickets or even carbon offsets).
• Buy local! We’ve got a number of local chandleries and boat stores, including those that sell used gear. Support them!
• Support a local non-profit in your recipient’s name. Buy a plank at the Annapolis Maritime Museum or a membership in the Spa Creek Conservancy, the South River Federation, the Severn Riverkeeper, the South River Association, the West and Rhode Riverkeeper, etc. This is a prime example of think globally, act locally.
• Select gifts that have minimal packaging or recycled or recyclable packaging.
• Take reusable bags with you! Tell the store clerks you don’t want their plastic bags.
• Make a Gift
• Put together a basket or bag of environmentally friendly boat cleaning products or personal care products to introduce your unaware friends to living sustainably.

Wrap your gifts:

• in old sail cloth
• in old, outdated charts
• in boat-themed or holiday fabric; even the fabric from flannel pajamas bought at a thrift store,
• tie with real fabric ribbon or small stuff
• in the comics pages from the newspaper – especially good for kids
• in a 99-cent grocery store reusable bag
• turn the brown paper bags from the grocery store inside out and decorate them with rubber stamps, paint, or cut-outs from last year’s holiday cards

Decorating your boat

• Buy LED holiday lights. Use a timer so they don’t burn all night.
• Recycle old holiday lights at holidayleds.com by mailing to HolidayLEDs.com, Attn: Recycling Program, 120 W. Michigan Ave., Suite 1403, Jackson, MI 49201.
• Yes there are solar holiday lights. Amazon sells them.
• Use nature for decoration, not man-made imitations. For example:
  Pinecones or branches from evergreens for decorations. Friendly Christmas tree salespeople may give you branches cut from trees for free.
• Donate unwanted or unused ornaments and other decorations to the local thrift store or nursing home.

Annapolis Green is selling stainless steel water bottles, organic cotton sweatshirts, and plantable ornaments at www.annapolisgreen.com/shop.html

 

Want To Go to Ireland with SpinSheet?

The Volvo Ocean Race trans-Atlantic leg ends with a stopover in Galway, Ireland May 23 - June 6, 2009. A SpinSheet-sponsored group will be there for the festivities.

If you would like to come with us, please come to our first informational happy hour:

Time: 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, November 12 (not on Nov. 5 as previously published)

Place: Galway Bay 63 Maryland Avenue, Annapolis

What to Expect:

Guiness (cash bar)
Hors d'Oeuvres
Proposed Itinerary
Estimated Costs
Sailing Chatter...

See you there! ~ M.W.

It’s Showtime! The November PropTalk Is Here

This issue gives you everything you’ll need to survive the U.S. Powerboat Show October 16-19. Here’s what else is inside:

The Force Be With You: The Pull of Powerboats

The Woodworking Wonders of Howard Rogers

When a Dream Boat Is a Local Beauty: The Eastport 32

Which Boats Are Getting Work Done

Chesapeake Club Notes: More Photos and Stories than Ever Before!

National Champs of Offshore Racing

Fall Fishing Hot Spots

Tucking Your Boat in for Winter

Other Cool Stuff

PropTalk was on the scene for AquaPalooza 2008 on the Potomac and for the Leukemia Cup Poker Run. Check out the hot shots we got at proptalk.com/photogallery. We’ll load more photos from all over the Bay each week.

Stop by our booth (F6) during the Show and say “Hi.”

For advertising information, call us at (410) 216-9309.

To reach the editor, send an e-mail to joe@proptalk.com.

Cover photo by John Bildahl/johnbildahlphotography.com

Mini Monsters at the VOR

The latest from Alicante, Spain, where the Volvo Ocean Race (VOR) is scheduled to start on October 11...

PUMA Sailing has partnered with Bladerider International to showcase a duo of PUMA-branded foiling Moths at all 11 Volvo Ocean Race Stopover cities. Crewed by world class Moth sailors, the mini il mostros will provide entertainment for spectators as they blast around the harbour each day.

Lifting out of the water in just five knots of wind and achieving boat speeds of over 25 knots in 20 knots of breeze, Bladerider Moths dart around on their hydrofoils just like their namesakes, moths in the night. The PUMA Moths will be quite a spectacle for each of the Volvo race villages around the world. PUMA and Bladerider will also enter the PUMA Moths in local Moth regattas where they coincide with VOR Stopovers.

Chesapeake Bay sailors interested in joining a SpinSheet group traveling to Galway, Ireland for the May 23, 2009 VOR Stopover should e-mail galway@spinsheet.com.

Forty-Five Hours Until Show Time

They're co-ming... Anyone who's walked along the City Dock in downtown Annapolis knows that "the city" they call a temporary marina for two weeks each fall is starting to be created before our very eyes.

It's an exciting time, always the most exiting season for sailors and boaters on the Chesapeake Bay.

Take your eyes off the stock market for a few days, and walk the docks, dare to dream, check out the new boats and stuff, and join in the fun at the 2008 U.S. Sailboat Show October 9-13 and Powerboat Show October 16-19.

Please visit the SpinSheet and PropTalk booths at F6 along Ego Alley. ~ M.W.

Photos taken on City Dock this morning by Al Schreitmueller

Foul Weather Friends

Despite the unfortunate combination of driving rains and light air, the 27th annual Hospice Cup Regatta raised more than $350,000 towards area participating hospices September 27.

More than 80 sailboats braved two hours of motoring around in hard rain and deteriorating visibility waiting for race committees to start or cancel the race. After it was finally called off at 12:30 p.m., the boats headed home, and the sailors moved on to the Shore Party at the Atria Manresa overlooking the Severn River and the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis.

The sunshine peaked through the clouds in time for the Shore Party, which was attended by more than 350 donors, caregivers, Hospice volunteers, and sailors--proof that support of Hospice care was the important mission of the day. The turn to fair weather also gave the annual live auction a lift, which raised over $21,000.

The Hank Lawton Trophy for Top Crew Fundraising, sponsored by Hospice of the Chesapeake, was presented to Angelo Guarino of Severna Park, MD, skipper of Bella Donna, who raised over $6,000. For the second year in a row, the Club Fundraising Trophy, sponsored by Chuck and Cecelia Thompson, in honor of Charlette Jeunette, was presented to the Chesapeake Bay Sabre Association, which raised over $4700.

Hospice Cup funds help to pay the expenses not covered by Medicare or private insurance. These dollars enable the Hospices to provide skilled compassionate care, comfort, and dignity to the terminally ill, their families and friends, regardless of their ability to pay. Hospice enables patients to carry on alert, pain-controlled lives so their last days may be spent in comfort, at home or in home-like settings. Hospice care concentrates on care, not cure. Bereavement counseling and support groups are part of Hospice services after the loss of a loved one.

The Hospice Cup race is sanctioned by the Chesapeake Bay Yacht Racing Association (CBYRA) and counts for High Point competition.

Brave J/105 photo by race committee member Al Schreitmueller

Giving Back: It's All About the Bay

Now that the school year has begun, the Annapolis Maritime Museum (AMM) needs kid-friendly, Bay-loving, history buffs for several volunteer opportunities:

History Detectives: an after school program at Eastport Elementary School in which students will become detectives looking for clues in historical documents and sites to decipher the history of their maritime community. Wednesdays (3 six-week sessions) 2:30-4:30 p.m.

Chesapeake Champions: an after-school program at Annapolis Elementary School in which students are "Caring, Conserving, and Campaigning for the Chesapeake" through hands-on activities with the Bay and its critters. Tuesdays (3 six-week sessions) 3:30-5:30 p.m.

Treasure Our Water: a field trip program in partnership with Watermark Cruises. Students explore the ecological and cultural history that has led to the decline of the Bay, including the importance of water and local marine life, the role of wetlands, and the natural history of the oyster. An hour-long boat ride is part of this program. Scheduled as needed, primarily mornings.

Eighth-grade education program committee: AMM has provided a day-long program for 8th graders at Bates Middle School for the last two years, but this program needs to be revised and expanded. Monthly meetings, time and dates to be determined by committee members.

To learn more, e-mail Heather at volunteer@amaritime.org.

Also check out the Weems & Plath Tent Sale (October 9-17) at 214 Eastern Avenue in the Eastport section of Annapolis. Ten percent of the proceeds from items sold on Saturday, October 11 will benefit AMM.

October SpinSheet Is on the Docks

Did you ever wonder how much Pussers Rum goes into the vats at Boat Show time in Annapolis? How many nutty buddies does the Annapolis Optimist Club sell each year outside the show gates? Who cooks up all that bit beef at the Fleet Reserve?

These and many other questions are answered in the new SpinSheet--our biggest issue ever--so set aside some reading time before the U.S. Sailboat Show (October 9-13). We have put together a Show guide: new boats, tips, seminars, and the Show peeps who make it all happen.

It's an exciting season at SpinSheet. As well as planning for fall regattas, parties, and The Great Chesapeake Bay Schooner Race, we're putting together a little adventure for SpinSheet readers for a group trip to Galway, Ireland for the Volvo Ocean Race Stopover May 23-June 6. Read all about it, and let us know if you'd like to come to our first informational meeting after Boat Shows: galway@spinsheet.com.

The SpinSheet team will be at booth F6 at the Show. See you there! ~ M.W.

Cover photo by Dan Phelps/SpinSheet. Check out more photos from the Etchells Regatta, Fall Oxford, and more at our online photo gallery.

Unlock the Future of the Captain John Smith Trail

The National Park Service (NPS) wants your ideas about the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail. Share your thoughts at one of NPS’s evening open houses this fall. Learn about the trail and help NPS tackle questions as it develops the trail's management for 2009 and 2010. Planners say, “Public involvement is the key to the trail’s successful future.”

Open Houses: When and Where?

September 23—Historic Jamestowne Visitor Center, VA

September 24—Deltaville Community Center, VA

September 25—Indigo Landing Restaurant, Alexandria, VA

September 30—Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine Visitor Center, Baltimore

October 1—Seaford City Hall, DE

October 2—Havre de Grace Maritime Museum

October 7—Anheuser-Busch Coastal Research Center, University of Virginia, Cape Charles, VA

October 8—Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum, St. Michaels

Now, About that Trail…
Established in 2006, the national historic trail is a series of smart buoys on the Bay and its tributaries that retrace Captain John Smith’s voyages of discovery in 1607-1609. Linking the waters of Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia, the trail commemorates Smith's voyages, shares knowledge about Chesapeake Indians, and interprets the Bay’s natural history. So far, the trail includes buoys off Stingray Point and Jamestown and on the Potomac, Patapsco, and Susquehanna Rivers. A buoy near Norfolk will come online soon. nps.gov/cajo

by Ruth Christie/SpinSheet and PropTalk Magazines

Above, the Patapsco River Smart Buoy right after it was launced in 2007. Photo by Molly Winans/SpinSheet

Festive Ribbon Cutting at 222 Severn Ave. Tuesday

A public ribbon cutting and dedication will officially open an extensive photo and document exhibit tracing the remarkable maritime history of 222 Severn Avenue in Eastport on Tuesday, September 23 at 9:30 a.m. The owners of the historic waterfront property at have installed the exhibit, which covers the 86-year maritime history of this iconic property.

Mayor Moyer, property co-owner Cardie Templeton Hannon, Annapolis and Anne Arundel Chamber of Commerce President Bob Burdon, and Annapolis Maritime Museum Executive Director Jeff Holland will make remarks at the ceremony.

The exhibit's permanent timeline begins in the first floor South Lobby and occupies all three lobbies of the well-known "Big Shed" building, recently renovated into office space. While the multi-acre property was first occupied by the Annapolis Glass Company in 1855, the centerpiece of the exhibit is its 86-year maritime history, when the property was occupied by and thrived under Chance Boat Yard, Annapolis Yacht Yard, and then, John Trumpy & Sons, Inc.

In 1999, the property was added to the National Register of Historic Places, the only such designation in Eastport. All kinds of watercraft were built at the property, including warships for four different conflicts (beginning in 1917 with World War I wooden submarine chasers), and the famous luxury motor yachts built by Trumpy & Sons, Inc., 1947 to 1973.

"The local involvement in putting together this exhibit has been very rewarding," said Cardie Templeton Hannon. "It was installed to honor the extensive maritime tradition of the property, but it has ended up being so much more. We hope everyone who visits the exhibit enjoys it as much as my family and I do."

The wide-range of photographs was provided by local historians, family members of former boat yard workers, as well as the Trumpy and Templeton families. Included with the timeline are two special exhibits, "How to Build a Trumpy" and "Yacht Schooner America."

Photos by George Stewart/Stewart Brothers Photography

Olin Stephens Passes Away at 100

Legendary yacht designer Olin J. Stephens, II passed away last weekend, only a few months following is 100th birthday celebration last summer. John Rousmaniere's profile of Stephens, who was member #1 in seniority at the New York YC, is available on the club's website.

The NYT obituary

Photo of Stephens at his birthday party in July (where he reportedly said "I don't know what all the fuss is about.") courtesy of the National Sailing Hall of Fame

PropTalk's October Issue Is Here!

Come celebrate Chesapeake boatbuilders with us. Take a peek inside the October issue:

PropTalk's Exclusive Guide to Bay Boatbuilders

Lose Your Shoes at the U.S. Powerboat Show

Rock-Tober's Fishing Forecast Fun

Cruising with Canines Doesn't Have To Be Ruff

The Tug Bug Bites Baltimore Big Time!

Dream Boat: Honey Do

Goin' to Gwynn's Island

Which Boat Bottoms Are Getting Work Done

and, last but not least...

Remembering Maynard Lowery

Send ads for the November PropTalk by September 25. For more details, call us at (410) 216-9309.

See you in Annapolis at the U.S. Powerboat Show October 16-19!

Photo by John Bildahl/johnbildahlphotography.com

Shipping Grapes Via Skipjack

The Chesapeake Heritage Conservancy, St. Michaels Winery, Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum, and Mount Felix Manor and Vineyards are partnering to rejuvenate the historic tradition of transporting goods on the Chesapeake via the classic skipjack.
 
On Thursday, September 18, the Martha Lewis, will be loaded with 2000 pounds of Chambourcin grapes from Havre de Grace's Mount Felix Manor and Vineyard, a historic Georgian Estate encompassing 15 acres, to deliver to CBMM for St. Michaels Winery pick up.

"We named the wine 'Martha,' in honor of the Skipjack Martha Lewis that delivered our chambourcin grapes last year,"  said Mark Emon, winery president. The award-winning "Martha" wine will be featured for VIP tasting at The Maryland Wine Festival's 25th annual event, in Westminster, MD, the weekend following the annual grape voyage.
 
Once at the winery, Mount Felix's red grapes will be crushed and destemmed, fermented, and aged in oak barrels to be bottled and released next year. 

Most who are familiar with the Chesapeake Bay also know about the famous oyster-dredging skipjacks, which have declined from ~2000 in the early 1900s to about 30 today. When it was not oyster season, many captains carried goods from farming communities to the large cities surrounding the Bay.

"Skipjacks and other sailing vessels carried manufactured goods, oyster shells for paving county roads, bricks, fertilizers, and other bulk materials to Denton and other small rural towns. In return, they carried watermelons, tomatoes, other produce, and grains from farms to city markets," according to the Choptank River Heritage Center.

Photo courtesy of the Skipjack Martha Lewis

Tropical Storm Party

The Boatyard Bar & Grill CRAB Regatta has been cancelled, but a "Tropical Storm" party with live music by Misspent Youth will carry on inside Eastport YC from 5 - 8 p.m.

Entry $10; Rum drinks & beer; $3; Food $5

All proceeds benefit the Chesapeake Region Accessible Boating (CRAB) program. Your entry ticket is also your raffle ticket. Raffle items include foulies from Atlantis Weathergear, a two-night stay at the Westin hotel, gift certificates, high-end backbacks, and more.

Skipper bags, with red hats and other give-aways, will be available for pick-up Friday September 5 from 5:30 - 7:30 p.m. and during the party only. $5 crew tickets will be available for registered skippers when they pick up their skipper bags.

If you can't make the party but would like to make a donation to CRAB, please send it to:

CRAB, PO Box 6564, Annapolis, MD 21401