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The Scuttlebutt - November, 2002          Return To Newsletters

Commodore Report

STARTING A NEW YEAR!

I wish to express a heartfelt thanks to those MCC members who agreed to serve in an office, Board member or appointed position for the coming year. Each of us is different from one another but when we come together it’s the mix of the differences that gives us the capability to successfully conduct the business of the MCC and to provide the membership with the assortment of activities that they enjoy. A little hard work mixed with a heavy dose of dedication and you have the formula for success.

We have two General Membership meetings back-to-back that you don’t want to miss. We’ll start with the Princess Reception at our November 15^th meeting. Our 2003 Princess is Ms. Laura Kaelber. She served us well as our 2002 Princess so we are delighted to have her back in the fold.

Please set aside Friday, November 15^th and come join us for an entertaining evening honoring our MCC Princess. Our social hour begins at 7:00 o’clock, dinner is served at 8:00 o’clock.

Next up will be our Christmas Party on Friday, December 20^th. This is always a most enjoyable night. We’ll have the MCC mailbox for exchanging Christmas cards. Santa Claus will show up and conduct our annual gift exchange.

RESERVATIONS ARE A MUST

Please make a reservation prior to all of our meetings. You can do so by calling First Lady Rosalie Antos at 410-828-6990. Make sure you call no later than the MONDAY prior to the Friday meeting.

Hang the flyers we send out in the SCUTTLEBUTT regarding the MCC affairs on your refrigerator as a reminder. We can plan and conduct the affairs but we need your support to have a successful affair.

- Commodore Donald Antos

Vice Commodore Report

	Cruise to Miles River Yacht Club, St. Michaels
	Cruise to Castle Harbor Marina, Kent Island
	Week’s cruise starting the end of June at Key Yacht Club’s Opening and ending the following weekend with fireworks for the 4th of July. Anyone who can’t go for the week can join at any time along the way!
	An “After the Boating Season” week’s all-inclusive trip to the Dominican Republic or Cancun!

	An evening at La Fountaine Bleu in famous downtown Glen Burnie for an all-inclusive evening of music, laughter, food and drinks.
	Bus trip to Atlantic City with assistance from Sharon Rebel—she did such a good job last year!

	Share a kind word with a friend
	Give away a smile
	Tell one secret
	Listen to what someone has to say
	Listen with your heart to what someone cannot say
	Try one new thing
	Forgive one person who has hurt you
	Forgive yourself for past mistakes
	Realize your imperfections
	Discover your possibilities
	Make a new friend
	Accept responsibility for everything you do
	Refuse responsibility for anyone else’s actions
	Dream one dream
	Watch the sunset
	Look at the Bay
	Cherish what you have
	Cherish who you are
	Love your life! Amen

	Start a humorous T-shirt collection. Exchange fun tee shirts with friends or have a party where you can wear one. Wear these T-shirts to exercise your sense of humor when you are exercising.
	Use kids' birthday toys at your adult dinner parties to bring out the playful child in everyone!
	The next time you're going on a business trip alone, leave a joke or cartoon on your spouse's pillow.
	To help your family start the day on the right side of the bed, play a particular funny tape or CD to wake them up. Music amuses and is a fun wake-up call.
	Keep joke and cartoon books in your office for others to borrow. It's a fun safety valve and helps to minimize potential isolation.
	When in the midst of an anxiety-producing moment, stop, take a step back, and say, "This could be amusing." It will remind you to see the humor in each situation.
	Read the comics every day before you read the front page, editorials and local news. Consciously try to find something that gives you an early-morning chuckle.
	Inject humor into an otherwise tense situation. Place some cartoons in a stack of work that a co-worker is tackling, or in a test that students are taking, or on the breakfast tray of someone in the hospital.

Birthdays & Anniversaries

Christmas Party

Please be sure to mark your calendars for the Annual Christmas Party to be held on Friday, December 20 at Sparrows Point Country Club! A festive time is sure to be had by all.

There will be the opportunity for a gift and card exchange. Anyone who brings a gift will be eligible to receive a gift! Please keep the gift range in a reasonable amount, we aren't expecting to get the keys to that new boat!

For those of you who have not been to our Christmas Party in the past, the gifts range from small items of giftware, to boat accessories, to a popular liquor or wine, and there is even usually a whimsical item. You are sure to go home with a special memory from the evening. And, you never know, we may be able to get a visit from the Maryland Cruisettes!

Don't forget - all dinner reservations must be called in to the Events Chairperson no later than the Monday before the Meeting.

Dinner will be:

Roast Beef or Roast Turkey

Mashed Potatoes and gravy

House Salad

Chef's vegetable

Rolls and butter

Coffee and tea

Viennese table of desserts. Christmas cookies and mini pastries

- IP/C Angela Krzystan

Member Appreciation Party

The Member Appreciation Party (previously known as the “Officer’s Cocktail Party”) is scheduled for our January meeting to be held on Friday, January 17, 2003.

This event is to toast the members of MCC and thank them for all of their continued support of the club throughout the year.

Special treats for the evening are donated by the Officers and Board Members.

Please plan on joining us for our annual Member Appreciation party to be held at Sparrows Point during the normal dinner meeting.

Details on the menu will be posted in the December Scuttlebutt!

Commodore Ball

The 2002 MCC Commodore Ball is scheduled for Saturday, November 2, 2002 at Martins Eastwind.

The Ball is to honor the incoming Commodore and the new Officers and Board Members for the 2003 Cruising Season. There is dancing, open bar, dinner and music all evening.

After a short ceremony to introduce the visiting officers as well as our new officers, the evening is spent visiting with friends who have joined us from around the Bay.

Pictures of this gala event will be available in the next issue of the Scuttlebutt!

Fleet Review

This year our Frost Bite - Fleet review in honor of Commodore Krzystan was held at the Red Eye Yacht Club. We cruised in Saturday afternoon in time to enjoy a couple of adult beverages and a few goodies on the porch at the club.

Saturday evening we descended upon the clubhouse for dinner and a couple hours of fun and laughter. In the latter part of the evening the DJ fired up his music box and we had some cheek-to-cheek dancing.

On Sunday morning, the crew was treated to breakfast in the clubhouse, compliments of the Commodore and her V/C. In the late morning, we did a Fleet Review for the Commodore on Sue Creek in front of the REYC. All in all, it was a very nice weekend.

REYC could not have been nicer. They gave us full use of their facility. Hats off to the committee who saw to the details.

Angela served in all four offices from Fleet Captain to Commodore.

That represents a lot of time and effort on behalf of MCC. I know the experience has left her with a lot of fond memories. I extend my congratulations to Commodore Krzystan for a job well done.

- Commodore Donald Antos

New Members

We have received a membership application for the following new member:

Please welcome Troy & Carla and George & Ann to the MCC Family!

Also, applying to come back to the MCC fold are the following past members:

Let’s welcome them back to MCC!

- V/C Dottie Murray

November Meeting

The MCC General Membership Meeting is scheduled for Friday, November 15,2002.

Following is the menu that is scheduled for that night’s dinner:

Don’t forget to contact First Lady Rosalie Antos on dwantos@cbyca.org no later than Monday, November 11, 2002 for reservations.

Scuttlebutt On The Web

The Scuttlebutt can now be viewed on the web. Each month, once the newsletter is complete, it is passed to the printer for printing, then mailing to our members.

At the time that the newsletter is passed to the printer, a copy is also passed to the web site for instant viewing.

If you would like to view the newsletter information on the web, follow the steps below:

If you would like to print a copy of the Scuttlebutt for reading at a different location or time, continue the steps below:

You will find that you will be able to read the fun, informative and entertaining articles in the Scuttlebutt much earlier than the mailing is sent.

I have taken everyone’s email address that is listed in the roster and I have begun sending out a message indicating that the Scuttlebutt is available for viewing on the web. If you have not received this notice, then I don’t have your most current email address.

Please send me an email indicating your new address and that you want to be added to the list.

If you have feedback for the web site, please contact P/C Pamela Hunt at the following email address:

oliviakay@cablespeed.com

Happy Reading!

- P/C Pamela Hunt

Sick & Welfare

If you know of anyone who has been ill, please contact Fleet Surgeon Sharon Rebbel on rebsraft@comcast.net so she can send a card and we can post the information in the Scuttlebutt!

Tribute To An IPC

What is an IPC? Well technically IPC means Immediate Past Commodore. It is a transition seat on the board where the out-going Commodore has a chance to slow down before reentering the ranks as a member.

The IPC is supposed to just enjoy being on the board with little responsibility other than to impart the wisdom they have gained over the past four years to the new board.

Most officers aspire to this position as it means they have completed their commitment to the club and now have a year to adjust to the less hurried, less involved pace of Past Commodore.

However, this year our IPC, Darlene Sauer was anything but less involved and she certainly was not slower.

Darlene worked untiringly for Maryland Cruising Club. She put on the Commodore’s Ball, and Crab Feast. She, with VC Don Antos, facilitated the Bull Roast and Opening Day. There would not have been a Fleet Review without her efforts.

She organized cruises and acted as Fleet Captain (Cruise Director) at many of them and she gave a helping hand to everyone else who conducted a cruise.

She represented MCC at Balls and Openings and numerous Sister Club events. She did all this while still collating the newsletter, mentoring new board members, moving onto her boat, and holding down a very time intensive, stressful full-time job.

The truth be told she was as dynamic an IPC as she was a Commodore.

At the Change of Watch, she slipped quietly into the background and let the new Commodore, Don Antos, take the spotlight he has earned.

She gave up her year of unwinding for the love of MCC and it’s members.

She WORKED until the last minute of her term as IPC with none of the usual deceleration period. In a year that could have been a disaster due to lack of officers, she (and her not to be forgotten constant side-kick, Screwie Louie) braved the challenges without trepidation and helped navigate Maryland Cruising Club through rough seas.

We owe Darlene an extremely large vote of thanks and should recognize the extraordinary dedication to MCC she has shown.

Thank You PC Darlene, you will be a tough act to follow.

- PC Chris and Pat Brettschneider

Bull & Oyster Roast

The MCC Annual Bull & Oyster Roast will be held on April 4, 2003. I know it’s early, but we need to begin planning efforts right away in order to have a successful and profitable Bull Roast.

Remember, the Bull Roast supports the cruising events that we have scheduled for next season so it needs to turn a tidy profit.

Lacking a Rear Commodore this year, I have agreed to chair this event and I would like all of us to have the best Bull Roast ever!

We are asking every member to assist in selling Bull Roast and Raffle tickets. It is important for every member to participate in the success of the Bull roast!

With your support and participation, we can turn this event into the Bull Roast of the season!

Tickets will be available at the November meeting! Please plan on bringing a table of people to this fun event! Do your part to support our club—and have fun in the meantime!

We have lots of surprises and fun ideas planned for that night, so please put this date on your calendar now! Bring your friends and help us to make this a special night in MCC History!

- P/C Pamela Hunt

Officer Highlight - Commodore Donald Antos

Commodore Donald Antos, born and raised in Baltimore, was educated in the public school system. He graduated from the Johns Hopkins University School of Engineering, studied law at the University of Baltimore and completed the MBA program in Finance at Loyola College. He also spent two years as an enlisted man in the U.S. Army Signal Corps.

Don spent many years in the Aerospace and Electronic industry. He began as an engineer with a local company designing radar and 1FF systems. Subsequently, he joined a start up company to design and manufacture telemetry equipment for U.S. missile systems. The firm grew to 200 employees and Don to the position of Director of Operations. After the sale of the firm to a major U.S. company, Don joined the Department of Defense where he was in charge of the design of large, high-speed digital systems used for processing signals from intelligence collection systems.

Don is retired and lives with Rosalie, his wife of over 48 years, in the Dulaney Valley area. They have three children and five grandchildren. The family has been in boating for close to forty years. For the past twenty-three years, they have enjoyed the Chesapeake Bay as an owner of a waterfront home on Stoney Creek. Don's a Past Commodore of the Maryland Cruising Club. a Past Commodore of the CBYCA, a member of the Chesapeake Commodores Club and the National Boating Federation.

Don is looking forward to bringing his organization and management skills to the office of Commodore of Maryland Cruising Club.

Silent Auction, Raffles, Prize Wheel, Door Prizes

I know it’s a long time until the Bull Roast in April, but if you’re a crafter and have a job and know the holidays are in there somewhere, it’s really not that long. Before you know it you will be very busy. That’s why it’s important to start working on your contributions today.

For those of you who are new to the club we do fund raisers every year to build a budget large enough to conduct club business, put on charitable fundraisers and have FUN.

Without your support both by selling tickets and donating items and time we cannot meet our goals. Every club member needs to be involved at the highest level they can in order to reach success. The Bull Roast in April is our biggest fundraiser; the Silent Auction, prize wheel and raffle are some of our moneymakers at our Bull Roast.

For the Silent Auction, club members, businesses, etc. donate items to be auctioned off. The process is to write your name and the amount you bid on the paper beside an item (thus silent so as not to distract from the festivities). Then all evening long you get to watch your items to be sure no one has outbid you. At the appointed hour, if you are the high bidder you will get to purchase the item for your bid.

Items donated can be crafts, services, gift baskets, single items, cars, gift certificates, alcohol, trips, clothing, CD’s (either kind), electronic equipment, boating stuff, etc. Anything you want to donate is appropriate!!

The committee will decide if an item will bring the highest price by placing it in the Silent Auction, on the gift wheel, in the raffle basket, or as a door prize, so donate away. And don’t forget all those Christmas, Hanukkah, or Kwanzaa gifts from Aunt Millie you don’t know what to do with. Remember someone else may not have an Aunt Millie.

To donate items or to volunteer your time, call Pat Brettschneider at patbretschneider@hotmail.com or P/C Pam Hunt at oliviakay@cablespeed.com.

- Pat Brettschneider

The Choking Gourmet

On October 12^th Betty & I were invited to attend Harbor Light Yacht Clubs closing day ceremonies in Philadelphia Pa. What’s is a yacht club closing you ask?

Basically, it’s just another reason to have a party, and party we did! Several yacht clubs from the area attended the party as did most of the Delaware River Yachtsman’s League Princesses, and Queen Casey was there.

After a brief ceremony where Harbor Light’s incoming officers were introduced and installed, awards were given out, one of which was given out to our own P/C (and V/C of C.B.Y.C.A.) Betty Stahler and Commodore of C.B.Y.C.A. Joseph Hellner for beating the pants off their Beer Pong champions.

Beer Pong is played by two teams on the opposite ends of a seven foot table. At each end of the table there are five cups of beer arranged like duck pins. The object is to throw ping pong balls into your opponents cups. Each time a ball goes into a cup, the cup of beer must be drunk by the opposing team and that cup removed from the table. The team who has eliminated the other teams cups is declared the winner (and more sober then the loser).

Talk about food, Harbor Light Yacht Club outdid themselves again. There was every imaginable picnic type food there including steamed crabs, clams and a large table of every kind of dessert you could imagine, plus an open bar all night long.

When we arrived at Harbor Light Yacht Club, they were selling 50/50 tickets. I purchased $20.00 worth (24 tickets/6 for $5.00). We left the party prior to the drawing and instructed Shelly Beers to donate the money back to the club should we win.

Monday morning we received a call from Shelly Beers advising us that we had won the drawing. The amount in the pot was $570.00 half of which was $270.00 that we donated back to Harbor Light Yacht Club. Please, nobody tell my Rabbi.

* * * * * * * * *

One evening a wise old farmer named Al decided to go down to his pond, as he hadn’t been there for a while, and look it over. As he neared the pond, he heard voices shouting and laughing with glee. As Al came closer he saw it was a bunch of young women skinny-dipping in his pond. Al made the women aware of his presence and they all went to the deep end of the pool.

One of the women shouted to him “we are not coming out ‘till you leave” Al replied, “ I didn’t come down here to watch you ladies swim or make you get out of the pond, I only came to feed my alligators.”

Old age and treachery will triumph over youth and skill every time!

- B/M Al Freedman

For The Good Of The Club

Just for the record, as Chairman of the General Membership Meetings and the MCC Board Meetings, it will be my policy to see to it that all views on a subject will be welcome and given appropriate floor time to be expressed.

I will insist, however, that when a matter is under discussion that the remarks by the presenter be pertinent to the discussion so that we do not stray from the subject. I ask your indulgence in this matter in the interest of maintaining the meetings to a reasonable length of time.

- Commodore Donald Antos

2003 Roster

We are in the process of finalizing the MCC 2003 Roster. In order to have the roster printed accurately, I will have one completed copy available at the November 15 Meeting.

Please see me to review your data so that I can have the final copy sent to the printer for distribution at the December 20 meeting.

Please plan on attending both the November and December meetings to first review, then pick up both your roster and your 2002-2003 Membership Card.

By picking these up yourself, you will save the club costly postage in addition to meeting your MCC friends for fun, festive Holiday Parties!

We look forward to seeing you at the meetings and sharing some fun boating stories.

Please mark these dates on your calendar!

- P/C Pamela Hunt

A Trip South

With the “A WEIGH of LIFE” loaded with provisions and a little sudsy and fun stuff, we (Laurie and I) left KIYC 2:20 PM, the 22nd of October for Shadyside to have engines fine tuned for trip south.

We spent the night at the Chesapeake Yacht Club on West River. Departed the CYC at 10 AM and cruised down the Chesapeake to Salt Ponds Marina Resort where a buddy, Mark Kolb and Cindy manage the resort. Arrived about 3:30 PM.

The trip down the Bay was smooth and sunny; especially between Pont Lookout and Norfolk. Here we had a delightful dinner with our friends and enjoyed our stay at beautiful Salt Ponds. If you have never been there make it a stop the next time you cruise in that area. The marina is constructed with floating docks and has a wonderful marshland setting. You contact them on Channel 16.

It is the 24th of Oct. and 10 AM as we depart Salt Ponds Marina Resort. The weather is choppy with winds out of the NE at about 20 knots.

About 10 miles of sloppy seas and then around the tip of Ft Monroe and into the protection of the James river and then a turn South into the Elizabeth River. Now we are passing Willoughby Harbor to the left and by the Great Norfolk Fleet of Aircraft carriers and cruisers of our mighty Navy. Very impressive!

As we near Waterside Marina and the Lafayette River and the Norfolk Yacht Club we see a big sign on a small sail boat telling us that the Portsmouth boating Center is selling fuel at a very good price of $1.02 per gallon, so we make a right turn into Scott's Creek and fueled up. The fueling crew was three ladies that pumped the fuel, held absorbing cloths to catch any spilled fuel and even squirted the salt from the boat. What a treat and friendly service with smiles and good looks. Wow! This is a must stop in the future.

Back into the Elizabeth river and Pass Tidewater Marina on the right (zero mile marker of the ICW to Miami) and Norfolk City Dock/Waterside Marina to the left.

A short distance and the waterfront development of Portside on the right—and now on to the terrible 12 miles of bridges that only open during non peak hours and 6 Knot speed limits through the Navy shipyard. You must get there after 9AM and before 3PM or you don't get through until after 6PM!

The other option would be to take the ocean route from Rudee Inlet to Oregon Inlet, but it was not an option this time because of high winds. Being refurbished on the right was the mighty A/C Carrier, the Enterprise and a sister carrier with no name.

On the right, after the Gilmerton Bridge is the entrance to the Great Dismal Swamp route to Elizabeth City. We took the Albemarle and Chesapeake canal route that is always open. Sometimes the Dismal route is closed. Finally, after several hours of waiting, we arrived at the Great Bridge Lock and passed through the Lock and Centerville and North Landing bridges (open on the hour and half hour) in about anther hour. . With this all behind us we set our course for Coinjock. We passed over the Currituck Sound that was a bit choppy due to strong NE winds. But the Ferry boat from Currituck to Knots Island was still running in spite of the 20 - 25 knot winds. Now we are entering the great town of Coinjock that built it's reputation from selling the cheapest Fuel on the ICW. No longer true! Fuel was a staggering $1.11 a gal. We are spending the night at Coinjock Marina along with every kind of boat you could imagine. Sail and power and mega yachts to fishing boats, all heading for warm weather. The weather for Friday the 25th promises to be worse than today, with rain and high winds for the crossing of the Albemarle Sound. What is new? It is normally rough but passable for a strong fast boat like ours. I hear it raining out side as I sign off for the night. More next month!

Boating Tip Of The Month

We learned this boating "problem solver" tip from P/C John Terzigni (VYC/CCC) who says he first learned it from friends at BRYC. Thank You, John!

Sea nettles, especially farther south, can be a bothersome lot. It is not unusual for them to clog the seawater intakes of onboard air conditioners. The effect of this is to cause the air conditioners to shut down while heating up, uh, otherwise cool boaters. (Hee, Hee...Sorry, I just couldn't resist!)

John's solution is to obtain a submersible water pump, mount it inside a bucket that has holes punched all around the bottom and run a hose from the pump to the intake side of the air conditioner (s) seawater strainer. Secure the bucket overboard so that it is only partially submerged, plug the pump in, turn on the air conditioners and be happy.

A permanently installed T or Y fitting between the sea cock and sea strainer will eliminate a lot of hassle when you have need for this system. If you figure out a way to prime the hose without the overboard pump you can save yourself the cost of the pump.

John offers two ways to do this, but he cautions that without the overboard pump, the hose should be at least 3/4" size and sturdy enough so as not to collapse under suction from the air conditioner pump.

The first (and simplest) method is to connect the overboard hose to a freshwater hose (e.g. dockside water), turn on the water long enough for all air to be purged from the system and disconnect the hoses underwater and inside the bucket. (This might be a little difficult if you have no swim platform and your deck is ten feet above the water line.)

The second method is to install a standard y hose shut-off valve somewhere in your overboard hose that will allow you to hook-up the freshwater supply hose at a place more convenient than inside the bucket overboard.

Hope this helps you during your summer boating!

- P/C Brian Hunt

December General Membership Meeting

Sliced Roast Beef

OR

Sliced Roast Turkey

Mashed potatoes and gravy

House Salad and Chef's vegetable

Rolls and butter

Coffee and tea

Viennese table of desserts

Christmas cookies and mini pastries

$20

Contact IP/C Angela Krzystan - ack@sber.com

NO LATER THAN

MONDAY, DECEMBER 16, 2002

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Best wishes to all of the 2003 MCC Officers for a successful year ahead!

This page was last updated on 06/05/03.

Answer To "Whose Boat Is This"

"Screwie Louie Too"

P/C Darlene Sauer & Captain Louie Sauer