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The Scuttlebutt - January, 2003 Return To Newsletters Volume XLIX, Issue 3
Commodore Report
December, 2002 I hope you and your family had a splendid Christmas and a very enjoyable New Years. Rosalie and I had a wonderful holiday season. The MCC Christmas party, planned and coordinated by IP/C Angela Krzystan, was very nice. She had made up favors and placed one at each place setting. On behalf of the members, I thank you Angela. The dining room was beautifully decorated. SPCC had wreaths on the walls and windows, a Christmas tree of 20 to 25 foot tall and a cozy fire burning in the fireplace. All I could think was this sure isn’t Commodores Hall. Do you remember the unheated bathrooms and the toilet seats that felt like you were sitting on a block of ice? Are you ready to return to the good old days. Getting back to the MCC Christmas Party, I would like to mention a few of the people responsible for making the party a success. Thanks go to our E/C P/C Chairman Brian Hunt for his efforts at getting the crowd out, First Lady Rosalie and P/C Pam Hunt for handling the door, music maker B/M P/C Chris Brettschneider for his piano playing, Jim Carr for taking pictures and V/C Dotty Murray for donating a dozen colorful poinsettias that were given to the members. I just can’t express how grateful I am to all the members who have made a personal effort since November to support the MCC this year. I think the teamwork shows in our results to date. January 2003 Just a reminder, our next general membership meeting will be held on January 24th. Please note this is the fourth Friday of the month vice the usual third Friday of the month. This will be the Members Appreciation night and will be highlighted by a mystery dinner. As is traditional, the officers will serve the meal that night. Also, there will be music and dancing for your pleasure that evening. Please call E/C P/C Brian Hunt at 410-255-3120 to make your reservations. April 2003 April will be a busy month for the MCC membership. We have the annual Bull Roast/Oyster scheduled for Friday, April 4th at the Columbus Gardens. We will have the usual menu and all the beer you can drink. Robin and the Rhythmix will supply the music. A number of people now have tickets and will be making sales calls. Tickets are also being distributed with this issue of the Scuttlebutt. If you need additional tickets, call Pam at 410-255-3120. On Sunday, April, 13th we will hold our annual Walk-A-Thon to raise funds for the Johns Hopkins Parkinson Research Center. MCC began the Walk-A-Thon in 1997 and has raised about $45,000 through the generosity of its supporters. I will provide more details later but for the moment, reserve the 13th for the walk. Elsewhere in this Scuttlebutt, you will find information on the “land cruises” F/C Joan Skinner has planned for us. These are always a lot of fun. I encourage you to join in. - Como Donald Antos Vice Commodore Report
Angela prepared the table favors and special gifts and coordinated the gift exchange. In fact, we had so much fun pulling raffle prizes and exchanging gifts that the Cruisettes didn’t even get a chance to sing. This may have been intentional. Thanks to P/C Brian Hunt who took the dinner reservation calls and called the membership to personally invite them to attend. P/C Chris Brettschneider tickled the ivories and entertained us with his piano playing during the social hour and after dinner. P/C Chris is always willing to pitch in when needed. Maryland Cruising Club is fortunate to have so much talent who are always ready and willing to step up to the challenge. In fact I have personally heard a time or two certain people beg to be allowed to do something. Now that is special. I don’t want to forget our Santa who honored us with a visit that evening, thank you Duane Skinner for your help. Our next event is the Membership Appreciation Party so be sure to see the enclosed flier for details and mark your calendar. We are planning a great evening. On behalf of P/Q Katie, P/C Mike and myself, we want to wish you the very best holiday season ever. To coin the phrases of two of my favorite ladies: “Don’t Sweat The Small Stuff” and “LET’S PARTY”!!! - V/C Dottie Murray January Calendar Schedule of Events 01/17 —Board Meeting to be held at F/C Joanie Ridnour’s home—1631 Concordia Dr, Pasadena, MD 2112201/20—Deadline to call for Dinner Meeting Reservations. Contact E/C P/C Brian Hunt For dinner reservations (bhunt@cablespeed.com) 01/24—January General Membership Meeting-Member Appreciation Mystery Dinner!—7:00 PM. Contact E/C P/C Brian Hunt For dinner reservations (410-255-3120, bhunt@cablespeed.com) January, 2003
Access The CBYCA Web Site for Sister Club Activities: http://www.cbyca.org Fleet Captain Report
Come one, come all to our first land cruise in 2003—Maryland Yacht Club’s ISLAND PARTY being held on Saturday, 8 February 2003 at 7 p.m. till midnight. Dress for a Caribbean night: Pit Beef – Pit Ham – Pit Turkey Oysters on the half Shell Jerk Chicken BEER ON TAP MARGARITA FOUNTAIN Music by Pfrog and Ches DJ’s $22.50 For Reservations E-mail or call: Joanie at jridnour@comdt.uscg.mil or Duane at duane_skinner@hotmail.com By 20 January 2003. If you make reservations and do not cancel by 31 January, you are responsible for selling your ticket or losing your money. Your checks should be written to MCC. MCC will pay for the tickets ahead of time. There are only 160 tickets, so please make your reservations early! Captain Duane and I went to this party last year, and we had a wonderful evening. SHAKEDOWN CRUISE (4/26-27) The shakedown cruise will be a little different this year, but promises to be lots of fun. How does rafting up with Pat and Chris Brettschneider sound? Marley Boat Club’s Opening is on Saturday, 26 April. They are also having a shrimp feast that night ($25 per person). I have a hold on 2 tables and they seat 10 people each. That means 20 MCC members can attend. You don’t have to be part of the raft-up to go to the opening or the shrimp feast, but if you decide to raft-up, Chris promises to dinghy us back and forth. You would be wise to let me know ASAP if you want to attend the shrimp feast. Your checks should be written to MCC. JOANIE’S GREAT TRAVEL DEALS Cruise on the Royal Caribbean’s Nordic Empress, 7 days departing February 1, 2003. Inside cabin starting at $469 – Oceanview starting at $599. Sat Feb 1—Tampa, FL Sun Feb 2—At Sea Mon Feb 3—Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands Tue Feb 4—At Sea Wed Feb 5—Belize City, Belize Thu Feb 6—Cozumel, Mexico Fri Feb 7—At Sea Sat Feb 8—Tampa, FL Cruise on the Norwegian’s Norway, 7 days departing February 2, 2003. Inside cabin starting at $299 - Oceanview starting at $399. Sun Feb 2—Miami, FL Mon Feb 3—At Sea Tue Feb 4—At Sea Wed Feb 5—St. Maarten, Netherlands Antilles Thu Feb 6—St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands Fri Feb 7—At Sea Sat Feb 8—Great Stirrup Cay, Bahamas Sun Feb 9—Miami, FL The prices shown are US dollars per person, based on double occupancy, and subject to availability. They include port charges but do not include airfare or (where applicable) airport or government taxes or fees. Call 800-338-4962 for reservations. All Inclusive Puerto Vallarta – includes roundtrip air from Newark, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Cleveland, 7 night resort accommodations, meals, drinks and transfers. Travel dates—January 3, 10, 17 and 31. Hacienda – moderate resort from $487 Club Viva – superior resort from $587 (add $100 for January 17 and 31) All Inclusive Cancun - includes roundtrip air from Baltimore and Washington, 7 night resort accommodations and transfers. Travel dates—January 4 – 25. Blue Bay Club—from $749 Blue Bay Getaway—from $849 Copacabana on the Mayan Riviera—from $949 All Inclusive Costa Rica—includes roundtrip air from Baltimore and Washington, resort accommodations, all meals, drinks, activities and transfers. Travel dates—January 4–25 El Nakuti Resort—from $779 Call 800-347-7006 for reservations. These deals go fast so if you are interested I suggest you call now! I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year! - Fleet Captain Joanie Fleet Chaplain Report As this new year starts, many of us may like to give some thought to the friends we have made through Maryland Cruising Club. Many of our members have made and become friends, of each other. New friends have become old friends. Good friends do not come easily. There has to be a personality connection, along with the ability to be able to laugh together, have fun together, and occasionally to cry together and still continue to enjoy each others’ company. When this happens, you have truly been blessed. Many times with friends, there are disagreements on issues, opinions and the way things should be handled. Mature friends realize that you can’t let these differences become personal, because when that happens, not only can you damage your friendship, but you can also cause division between significant others, other friends, and the club membership. When this happens, there are many casualties, not just one or two. In this new year, let us all reasses the value, the worth and the wonder of Maryland Cruising Club friendships and of how very, very positively they have touched our lives. - Fleet Chaplain Fred Levitan Fleet Surgeon Report The Screening Tests You Need When it comes to preventing disease, knowing when to get tested is key. And don't leave it up to your doctor to tell you when—arm yourself with the knowledge you need to stay on top of your health. This realization has more recently hit home because it has touched our own membership. If some of what you have heard from our members or if you are prompted by the following information to have a check up and it helps to save a life then this space has been well used. Breast Cancer Breast Cancer is the most common cancer among women—and the second deadliest cancer among women, behind lung cancer. Breast cancer definitely deserves a great deal of attention from women and their doctors. Both the American Cancer Society (ACS) and the CDC recommend that women get regular mammograms starting at age 40—yearly according to the ACS but the CDC says every one to two years is OK. And although some experts are not convinced that women in their 40s need mammograms, most experts agree that all women 50 and over should get regular mammograms—either yearly or at least every other year. There is a lot of controversy about mammograms. Some experts feel that especially for women in their 40s, the risk of breast cancer is not great enough to outweigh the risks of mammogram— namely the chance that a woman may be put through unnecessary tests, such as a biopsy. But the decision on when to start mammograms is a personal decision that you and your doctor should decide. In addition to mammograms, experts say that breast exams -- both self-exams and by your doctor -- are helpful for finding breast cancer early and making treatment more effective. Prostate Cancer Prostate Cancer is the most common cancer among men but there are still many questions about finding prostate cancer early. Screening usually involves a combination of the PSA blood test and the prostate exam—called the digital rectal exam—but experts disagree on what should be done—and when. Cancers found early by using the PSA blood test or the digital rectal exam are often smaller and have spread less than cancers found because of the symptoms they cause, according to the American Cancer Society (ACS). But prostate cancer is different from many other cancers in that it often grows very slowly. If the cancer has not spread beyond the prostate, the five-year survival rate is nearly 100%, whether or not the cancer is treated. Therefore, it is not clear whether treatment will help all men with prostate cancer live longer. Beginning at age 50, all men who have at least a 10-year life expectancy should be offered both the PSA blood test and a digital rectal exam annually. Men in high-risk groups (African Americans, men with close family members who have had prostate cancer) should begin testing at 45. Men should receive information regarding possible risks and benefits of finding and treating prostate cancer early. Men who ask their doctor to make the decision on their behalf should be tested. Men should not be discouraged from testing. But based on the uncertainty with prostate cancer tests, experts at the American College of Physicians/American Society of Internal Medicine say that rather than screening all men for prostate cancer as a matter of routine, physicians should describe the potential benefits and known harms of screening, diagnosis, and treatment; listen to the patient's concerns; and then individualize the decision to screen. - V/C Dottie Murray Birthdays & Anniversaries Congratulations to Everyone who is celebrating a special day this month! Birthdays 01/16—Troy Brooks 01/26—P/C George Broscoe 01/26—Sandi Gerstung 01/31—Carla Brooks 02/04—Susan Mannel 02/05—Princess Laura Kaelber Anniversaries 01/15—V/C Dottie Murray & P/C Mike 01/31—B/M Wayne Cope & Cathy 02/02—P/C Darlene Sauer & Louie 02/03—P/C George Broscoe & Ivy 02/03—Larry Summers & Sheila 02/14—Carlton Chenoweth & Shirley How to build participation in a club environment? C2 = ME2 Cooperation & Communication = More Energy & Excitement! Member Appreciation Party
New Members
Christmas Cards The following people have Christmas Cards waiting for them from the December Meeting: Alpaugh Amass Arms Brown Calvert Greaver Guthrie Janes Sporer Yeakle Zullo They will be available for you to pick up at the January Meeting (see P/C Angela Krzystan). If you left cards for any of these people and they are not picked up at the meeting, please plan on picking them up. After the January Meeting, they will be destroyed. Scuttlebutt On The Web Once again, last month, I took the Scuttlebutt to the post office to mail. We were able to hand deliver 17 copies of the Scuttlebutt at the December Board Meeting. This reduced the mailing requirements, however there was an insert in the middle of the Scuttlebutt—boosting the cost from $.60/copy in November to $.83/copy in December. I also mailed 2 copies to our Club Historian P/C Bob Grepps as well as doubled up on the Princess and her parents. These 2 mailings with 2 copies of the Scuttlebutt cost the club $1.06 each. Therefore, the cost to mail the December Scuttlebutt ended up being: 50 @ $.83 ea 2 @ $1.06 ea Total = $43.62 We can track the Scuttlebutt mailing costs each month and show you that we spend well over $400 annually. In an effort to reduce these costs, we are asking people with access to the web to obtain their copies of the Scuttlebutt online to eliminate the mailing. The savings that the club can realize will provide us with additional funds to spend on cruises and other events. I caught many of you at the December General Membership Meeting and, between us, we were able to reduce the mailed copies even further. If you would like to assist in reducing these costs, please email me at oliviakay@cablespeed.com and let me know that you no longer need a mailed copy of the Scuttlebutt. Your efforts will go a long way to reducing the mailing expenses. PLEASE, NO VERBALS—ONLY WRITTEN REQUESTS WILL BE HONORED! 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. Monthly, I send out an email 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 so she can send a card and we can post the information in the Scuttlebutt!
The final roster and membership cards will be available at the January 24, 2003 General Membership Meeting! Bull & Oyster Roast
Remember, the Bull Roast supports the cruising events that we have scheduled for next season so it needs to turn a tidy profit. 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! 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 - Fleet Captain Joanie Ridnour Editor's Note: In an effort to familiarize members with each other, each month, the Scuttlebutt will highlight and profile either a member or an officer of the club. Be sure to say hello to them when you see them on a cruise! Joan Marie Ridnour (Mitchell) grew up in Falls Church, VA where she graduated from George C. Marshall High School. Being a responsible and ambitious child and realizing the value of a dollar, at 11, Joanie was babysitting and earning 50 cents an hour. She loved school and enjoyed classes in business, typing, shorthand and English grammar. At 16, Joanie worked as a secretary for a lawyer after school and on Saturdays, typed for her teachers and helped in the school office. She enjoyed office work and enrolled in a program called Vocational Office Training, attending school half a day and work the other half until graduation, at which time she went to work for the United States Coast Guard as a secretary (typist). Joanie is now an Administrative Specialist for the Director of Resources at Coast Guard Headquarters in Washington, DC. Joanie has always enjoyed traveling and has been to Europe, Mexico and all around the United States including Hawaii and Alaska and on cruises to the Bahamas, the Caribbean and Mexico. Being the adventurous type, twice she joined three friends and traveled from Jupiter, FL, to the Abaco Islands—once aboard a 25’ Grady White fishing boat where she slept in a pup tent on back of the boat and they cooked on a propane grill, and once aboard a 26’ Bayliner. This time they had beds, air conditioning, a galley, and a bathroom. To say it was a little crowded is an understatement. She has camped her way across the United States including Alaska in a tent as well as in a trailer. She always enjoyed crabbing and fishing. Her biggest catch was a 47 lb halibut caught while vacationing in Kodiak, AK (she says her biggest catch was Duane). Her dream vacation includes Australia and New Zealand. Because of her love of the water, Joanie kept a mobile home for 10 years at Rehoboth Beach, DE. Deciding she wanted something larger, she bought a house in Millsboro, DE, which was 12 miles from the beach. She owned that for 14 years for her weekend getaways. She has settled down to one house on Cornfield Creek in Pasadena, MD. She lives in a home that she helped design and build. This is where she and Captain Duane dock their 28’ Rinker. She and Duane love to grow a vegetable garden in the summer and cook together using their fresh produce. Joanie and Duane joined Maryland Cruising Club in 2000 because they wanted to meet new friends with whom they could enjoy boating and many social events. Joanie was the 2002 Secretary for MCC and is now the 2003 Fleet Captain. Their plan for the future is to buy a larger boat and a 27’ trailer and spend a few months south in the winter, boating in Florida and the Bahamas and in the summer go boating with the club members and spend some time camping in the U.S. and maybe even in Mexico. They are planning on their first camping trip to be across country to Alaska. Duane also has ideas of taking the boat to Bermuda and Mexico, not to mention the Great Loop. Good Of The Club
Thanks Elaine for your call. We also want to wish you the very best in the new year. It was also very nice to see a couple of other people at our recent Christmas Party that we haven't see for a while, 1982 First Mates P/P Mary Gunther and 1985 First Mates P/P Pat Gnau. Thanks for showing your support and we hope to see you again real soon. For those of you who are not familiar with the First Mates, this was the Women’s Auxiliary that assisted the Captains when MCC was strictly a “men's-only” organization. They prepared the dinners on the nights that we had the General Membership Meeting at Commodore's Hall. The cost of the dinner was $4.50 and then it went to a whopping $6.00. This was normally an all you can eat dinner and may I add we had some very good cooks. The auxiliary also took care of the Christmas Party and Opening Day hors d’oeuvres and helped out whenever needed. This was until 1994 when the MCC First Mates dissolved their auxiliary organization and became full MCC members. It was at this time that the club was converted to a family based organization. - V/C Dottie Murray Parkinson's Disease Walk-A-Thon
- V/C Dottie Murray Silent Auction! Raffles! Prize Wheel! Door Prizes!
We are stocking the shelves with donations for the Prize Wheel, Door Prizes, and Silent Auction, but we still need your help. If you have items to donate that will be given as prizes, please contact any of the following people to arrange pick up or drop off: Pat Brettschneider - patbretschneider@hotmail.com P/C Pamela Hunt - oliviakay@cablespeed.com Duane Skinner - duane_skinner@hotmail.com Or plan on bringing your donations to the January General Membership Meeting. We will be sure someone is available to take them off your hands! We are also selling chances for our raffle that will be drawn the night of the Bull Roast. We are raffling a “Winner’s Choice” ticket with the winner to select from one of the following 4 items:
Tickets are attached to this newsletter. Please sell all the tickets you can and submit your entry forms and money to: P/C Pamela Hunt We are still looking for assistance at several of the events that are taking place on the evening of the Bull Roast. Your assistance is requested! To donate items, obtain more tickets or to volunteer your time, please contact one of us immediately! We’re waiting to hear from you!! Many thanks for all of your assistance in advance! - P/C Pamela Hunt
The Choking Gourmet Wednesday evening, December 11th, very good friends of ours (who’s name’s will not be mentioned because they are club members) called us and said, “Wanna go out for supper tonight? Lightning Jacks on Mountain Road has a prime rib special, $9.95 or a smaller prime rib and a half lb. of steamed shrimp for $9.95.” “Sure” we said, “we’ll meet you there at 7:30. Betty and I are ALWAYS on time, these friends of ours are ALWAYS fashionably late. Anyway, at about 7:45 we walk in to Lightning Jacks, and the music is so loud you couldn’t hear yourself think, nor were there any tables to eat on. All the tables were little round things meant for two people and two drinks, and nobody was eating. The place was full of people drinking and trying to talk. Lightning Jacks does have a dress code posted next to the door as you come in. It says, “no baseball hats turned backwards, or shirt tails hanging out” (You know right away you were in a classy place). This friend then said, “lets go over to Cheers, I had a great lunch there once.” So we stopped at Cheers which was down the street a block or two, and it was deserted. If the food there is so great why isn’t any one eating there? Betty & I do love these people, they just don’t know any good places to eat. We did end up at The Pampered Palate on Ft. Smallwood Road just as they were closing, but they agreed to stay open for us, and we all enjoyed our meal there, very much! Another friend of ours at Maryland Yacht Club (who’s name will also go unmentioned) kept telling us how great the Woodfire Restaurant in Severna Park was. I’m not going to give you their address or phone number because it was one of the worst experiences we’ve had (in a restaurant) and I don’t want you to waste your time or money. After a 45 minute wait we were seated by young lady who sat us in the very back of the place next to the rest rooms/kitchen door. Our waiter who had an aloof attitude took our appetizer and drink order. Shortly thereafter our wine and Calamari arrived. The calamari looked like little IUD’s, and tasted like rubber bands. We sent the calamari back as being un-eatable, but the manager refused to take it off our bill that came to almost $80.00. Nuf said about the Woodfire. * * * * * * * * * Sign on a septic truck: “ We’re #1 in the # 2 business.” Sign over a gynecologist’s office: “ Dr. Jones at your cervix.” Sign on a Proctologist’s door: “To expedite your visit please back in.” Sign on a plumber’s truck: “Don’t sleep with a drip, call your plumber.” Sign on a plastic surgeon’s door: “Hello, Can we pick your nose?” Sign on a electricians truck: Let us remove your shorts.” Sign on a taxidermist’s window: “We really know our stuff.” Sign in a podiatrist’s office: “Time wounds all heels.” Sign at a propane filling station: “Tank heaven for little grills.” Sign at a Chicago radiator shop: “Best place in town to take a leak.” Sign in the front yard of a funeral home: “Drive carefully, we’ll wait.” - B/M Al Freedman
2003 Roster Many thanks to everyone who attended the December meeting and helped me finalize the roster. I am printing out the roster and forwarding it to the printer so that you will have copies available for the January 24 meeting. Please plan to attend the meeting to pick up your roster and membership cards! By picking the copy up yourself, you eliminate the need to mail a copy, saving the club hundreds of $$$ in mailing costs. Remember, the costs that we save will allow us to spend more money on fun events for you and your family. - P/C Pamela Hunt A Trip South Frank Donaldson is a 2000 P/C from Kent Island Yacht Club. We thought you would enjoy hearing about his journey south to his Florida home. The story continues next month! OCTOBER 27, 2002 The promise came to be true. 10/27 turned out to be sunny and warm - tee shirt, shorts and barefoot. We left Town Creek at about 10 AM, had to wait for a bridge opening by the Bueafort docks and then out the channel to the quiet Atlantic Ocean for our trip to Masonboro Inlet near Wrightsville Beach. By making this 65 mile ocean trip we missed 3 or 4 bridges that open only once and hour and we always get to them just after they close. They are Surf City Highway, Onslow, Figure Eight Island Highway Bridge and Wrightsville Beach Highway Bridge. In addition, you miss the Camp Lejeune firing range that can often close the ICW when the marines are training. After re entering the ICW just south of Wrightsville, we cruised by Carolina Beach into Snow cut that leads to the Cape Fear River. Just as we entered the Cape Fear River, we turned a hard left into the Carolina Beach State Park Marina to fuel up, since they have the best prices in the area: $1.10 per gallon and if you desire you can rent a nice floating dock slip for a terrible price of $16 per night. Great facilities! Tomorrow promises to be an interesting day weather wise - one report is 20 Knot winds off shore and the other 15 knots? If the weather cooperates we will go outside and on to Charleston (about 150 miles). If not down the ICW and on to Charleston a day longer because of many boat passing and speed zones. OCTOBER 28, 2002 We left Carolina Beach about 9AM and headed down the not so friendly Cape Fear river. We passed by Southport and the ICW on our right and Baldhead Island on our left as we ventured out into the Atlantic south of Cape Fear and Frying Pan Shoals. In contrast to the previous day weather forecast report, the Ocean was calm with the sun trying to break through. We set our course for Charleston, put on the autopilot and relaxed for the five hour or so trip. After an hour or so when we were about 15 to 20 miles east of Myrtle Beach the Southwest winds started to pick up and the going got a little rough, so we changed course to Winyah Bay Inlet, which leads to the ICW and Georgetown. After an hour on this course, the winds slacked some and we decided to continue on to Charleston. As we neared Charleston, the sun came out in full force, in fact we put up some of the curtains to cool down. Before we could make our approach to Charleston we had to round Cape Romaine Shoal that juts out about 15 miles off shore, and then the Radar picked up the markers of the entrance to Charleston Inlet about 10 miles or so away. We passed through the jetties and on past Fort Sumter. The flag at Fort Sumter was at half mast, so we knew then that we must check the news to find out what famous person had passed on to the hereafter. We turned about 45 degrees into the Ashley River channel and on to the City Marina where we had called ahead for a slip. Fuel cost was $1.14 per gallon for diesel. Not bad! The last time we stayed here it was a bit shabby but now the place is quite nice, like a water world. Individual shower rooms way out on the far docks. Quite a nice place now, compared to what it used to be. This place is now putting a hurt on Ashley Marina just up the river where we used to stay. Got a ride in the courtesy van to our favorite eatery downtown, called Bocci's and then to the Harris Teeter for some provisions. The dinner at Bocci's was wonderful. After finishing our business downtown we called the Marina and they came and picked us up and back to the boat. A great day; especially when you can wear tees and shorts and go barefoot. One thing I forgot: while at Carolina Beach, a boat with a couple pulled in, and while docking, the young lady when attempting to tie the spring line, lost her balance as the boat moved away from under her. She grabbed and hung on to the piling until her captain could maneuver the boat back to her. It all turned out to be a laughing matter, when looking back at it. But one must be careful when boating. You never know what unexpected thing might happen. Tomorrow, on to Savannah.
January General Membership Meeting Member Appreciation Party !!ALERT!! MEETING DATE CHANGED TO 4TH FRIDAY JANUARY 24, 2003 Mystery Dinner Dancing Music Fun!! $20 per person Contact E/C P/C Brian Hunt NO LATER THAN MONDAY, JANUARY 20, 2003 Boating Tip Of The Month Editor’s Note: If you have a great boating tip that you would like to share with the rest of the club, please submit it for publication to V/C Dottie Murray at dmurrayqm@hotmail.com We at Marlow Marine have had many years of experience with batteries. We have taken the time and made the effort to actually test and compare the various types and brands. We compared the premium wet cell batteries with Gel Cels and AGM (Absorbed Glass Mat) batteries. We were surprised to find that the highly rated Gel Cel batteries did not last any longer than the common wet cell batteries which are about one third their cost. We also found them lacking in starting "oomph" and very sensitive to overcharging. After testing in a variety of yachts under a variety of conditions, one battery emerged as superior in terms of longevity and tolerance to extreme heat and wayward voltage regulators. The Concorde Lifeline Absorbed Glass Mat battery is about as maintenance free a battery as you will find. They do not leak, nor do they sit in the bilge and slowly dissipate as is the case with common batteries. They are expensive but definitely worth the investment. - Credit To Marlow Marine Click On Picture For Answer!
Member Pictures
Thanks to Captain Jim Carr who provided the photographs for this issue! This page was last updated on 05/03/03.
Answer To "Whose Boat Is This" "Reel Nauti II" Captain Steve Wurst & Lady Sheila Return To "Whose Boat Is This"
Answer to "World's Easiest Quiz"
What, do you mean you failed??? :) Me too! |
What a great Christmas Party.
Thanks so much to all Santa’s elves who made the party a great success.
Special thanks to P/C Angela Kryzstan for chairing the evenings events.
I hope everyone had a
wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year!
The MCC Annual Bull &
Oyster Roast will be held on April 4, 2003. Tickets were made available
at the December General Membership Meeting. If you didn’t pick up your tickets
there, we have attached your tickets to this copy of your newsletter.
I received a call from one of
MCC’s senior members, Elaine Valentini, 1978 Past President of the Maryland
Cruising Club's First Mates. Elaine wanted to extend her well wishes to MCC
for the coming year and wanted us to know that she really enjoys reading the
Scuttlebutt every month. She is happy to see that the club has so many fun
activities planned.
The 7th annual MCC Walk-A-Thon
charity event for the John Hopkins Parkinson Disease Research Center is still in
planning stages. We are coordinating the date of April 13 with our sister clubs,
Eastern Yacht Club, Sue Haven Yacht Club and Crescent Yacht Club. We are
counting on you to either volunteer for a committee, solicit pledges or
both. It's always a fun day and it is very gratifying when MCC turns
over the pledges. In the past 6 years, through the guidance of Maryland
Cruising Club and the cooperation of the other clubs around the bay, a total
contribution of over $50,000 has been made to this worthy cause. Please
start early soliciting pledges, you won't be sorry.
Time is moving quickly toward
our Bull Roast scheduled for April 4, 2003.
