|
|
The Scuttlebutt - February, 2003 Return To Newsletters Volume XLIX, Issue 3
Commodore Report
If you want to play on a winning team, come speak to me and volunteer to assist one of our committee chairpersons. You could actively support a land cruise (Sharon Rebbel), the Bull/Oyster Roast (P/C Pam Hunt), the Walk-A-Thon (V/C Dottie Murray) or the Events Committee (P/C Brian Hunt). Take your pick. The old story is still true: “The pleasure one receives from being a member of the Maryland Cruising Club is in proportion to the effort one puts forward.” The Friday, April 4th Bull/Oyster Roast is our primary fund raising event. The key to success is the size of the turn out. We can get the turn out we need if we bring along guests. So, talk to your brother-in-law, your sister-in-law, friends, etc and get your group together. We’ll party from 7:00 pm to 1:00 am. Once we get through the busy month of April, we have our Opening Day coming up on Saturday, May 10th. This is always a fun affair. It will begin at 10:30 am so I urge you to set aside that morning so you can come out and support the club. You will hear more a little later on. Finally, let’s talk about new membership. If you have a friend who you think would be interested in the MCC, bring them to one of our meetings and give them an opportunity to meet us. Likewise, later on during our cruising season invite them to join us on a cruise. - Como Donald Antos Vice Commodore Report
Thanks to the servers, the unsung heroes of the evening. Better keep your day jobs. A big thanks to P/C Pam Hunt who, when I approached her, saw this event as another “Party Opportunity” and said yes without batting an eye. A special thanks to our guest singers, P/C Pam (like you really could stop her), P/C Mike Murray and our friend John Rolek. John and his wife Donna came at my request so, thanks Donna for letting John come out and play. Just one more note of thanks to Board Member Al Freedman who took the Officers picture just before the meeting. The picture will be used in the ad that MCC will place in the C.B.Y.C.A Yearbook. Al is always willing to step up to the job when he is asked. Thanks again to all and I hope to see you all at the next General Membership Meeting. February, 2003
Schedule of Events 02/05 —Board Meeting, 7:30 PM to be held at Maryland Yacht Club02/08—Island Party at Maryland Yacht Club. Contact F/C Joanie Ridnour for reservations. 02/17—Deadline to call for Dinner Meeting Reservations. Contact E/C P/C Brian Hunt For dinner reservations (bhunt@cablespeed.com) 02/21—February General Membership Meeting-Member Appreciation Mystery Dinner!—7:00 PM. Contact E/C P/C Brian Hunt For dinner reservations (bhunt@cablespeed.com)
Access The CBYCA Web Site for Sister Club Activities: http://www.cbyca.org Fleet Captain Report
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. TILGHMAN ISLAND MARINA Cruise to Tilghman Island with Ventnor Yacht Club on July 11-13. You can stay one or two nights. The cost is $1.50 per foot and the electric cost is $5 for 30 amp and $10 for 50 amp. Friday night you are on your own for dinner. Saturday night you can participate in a crab feast and barbecue if you would like. I understand the crabs will be sold at cost. CASTLE HARBOR MARINA Cruise to beautiful Kent Island on 9-10 August (note date changed from 2-3 August). The cost is $1.50 a foot and the electric cost is $6 a plug. We can check in any time on Saturday and leave any time on Sunday. I am reserving the pavilion so we can have a brunch on Sunday. We can take a ferry to a restaurant for dinner for a cost of approximately $6 per person round trip on Saturday night or maybe we can all pile on someone’s boat and go out to dinner. Who wants to volunteer to be the captain for the evening? MILES RIVER YACHT CLUB Cruise to beautiful St. Michaels on August 30-September 1. Info will follow in a future Scuttlebutt. OPENINGS 2003 Plan on joining us for the openings this coming spring. See the CBYCA Events Page that is enclosed in the Scuttlebutt for the details. Hope to see you there! - Fleet Captain Joanie Click Here for information on an MCC Trip to Atlantic City Fleet Chaplain Report Promise Yourself Promise yourself to be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind; To talk health, happiness and prosperity to every person you meet; To make all your friends feel that there is something in them; To look at the sunny side of everything and make your optimism come true; To think only of the best to work only for the best and expect only the best; To be just as enthusiastic about the success of others as you are about your own; To forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the greater achievements of the future; To wear a cheerful countenance at all times and give every living creature you meet a smile; To give so much time to the improvement of yourself that you have no time to criticize others; To be too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear and too happy to permit the presence of trouble. Amen - F/Chaplain Fred Levitan 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! Good to hear that Ed & Adele Bruette are felling better. Darlene Sauer tells us that Adele's back is feeling better and that Ed has had a change in medication and is doing much better. Diana Guthrie is undergoing surgery in the near future. Our best wishes go with her and we wish her a speedy recovery. Continued speedy recovery to Lou Karageorge, Kent Alpaugh, Warren Eastburn and Libbie Easturn. Please keep all our members in your thoughts and prayers. - V/C Dottie Murray Birthdays & Anniversaries Congratulations to Everyone who is celebrating a special day this month! Birthdays 02/15—Barbara Bishop 02/26—Carol Greaver 03/04—Walter Brown 03/05—Pat Brettschneider 03/09—Scott Alexander 03/10—P/C George Rosch 03/12—V/C Dottie Murray 03/14—Pamela Kaelber Anniversaries 02/21—Dick & Martha Sulcer New Members The following people were voted on during the last Board Meeting: Heidi & Kay Heiden - heidi@heiden.com, kay@heiden.com Donald & Joyce Filius - rfill@aol.com The following person has submitted an application: Elizabeth Higdon Let’s give them all a warm MCC Welcome! World's Easiest Quiz Well, it worked!! It looks as though people really do read their Scuttlebutt, and we were caught! In last month’s issue, we had an article on the world’s easiest quiz. In it, was a question about the Canary Islands. The quiz stated that the Canary Islands were islands in the Pacific Ocean. That’s not true at all—the Canary’s are off the coast of Africa in the Atlantic. Many thanks to Shirley Chenoweth who passed the test with flying colors. Evidently, Shirley reads the Scuttlebutt pretty thoroughly or she wouldn’t have caught us! - P/C Pamela Hunt Scuttlebutt On The Web This month, we will begin our reduction of Scuttlebutt mailings out to the club members. We had to mail out Bull Roast Tickets with the January Scuttlebutt so we ended up sending a mailed copy to members anyway in order to enclose their tickets. It did give us an opportunity, however, to confirm to those people who didn’t need a mailed copy any longer so all was not lost. Surprisingly, including tickets with the mailed copy did not increase the cost of the mailing since the tickets didn’t put us over the cost of the Scuttlebutt alone. Here is the breakdown for the January mailing: Historian Grepps Copy: $1.29 54 Copies @ $.80 per copy: $43.20 Total Mailing: $46.11 I will continue to track the mailing costs for upcoming months so that you can see how much money the Club is saving. Remember, the money we save on mailing costs is money we can spend on you, our members, and the fun activities that we enjoy at MCC. Now I have another topic I would like to discuss with the members regarding the Scuttlebutt on the Web. As many of you know, Brian and I are both retired now. We have been planning on a boat trip south (my idea is south of the freeze line to get out of this cold weather) for many years. Well, come this November, 2003, Brian & I will be living our dream and heading south on our boat for the winter. That means that I will no longer be available for little tasks like maintaining the web site, typesetting the newsletter, and maintaining the roster. The officers and I are looking for someone to take over these tasks and would hope that one of our members can step up to the plate to help out. Yes, these jobs are time consuming—however, they do not require a rocket scientist to perform—after all, I taught myself to do all of them so I know there’s someone else out there who is interested in learning the ins and outs of web site maintenance, newsletter typesetting, and roster maintenance. It’s important to get someone before the November issues are due so that a smooth and seamless transition can be made. Please help out the club so that we can continue our wonderful club communications. Your assistance is needed. If you are interested in the job, please contact V/C Dottie Murray via email on dmurrayqm@hotmail.com. - P/C Pamela Hunt Bull & Oyster Roast
Remember, we want a full house this year—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! Need more information to pass around to your family and friends?? Click Here For Flyer - P/C Pamela Hunt Sell those Bull Roast Tickets and get them paid for prior to the event on April 4! Officer Highlight - Treasurer Pat Alpaugh 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! When I was born in Washington, D. C., the "middle child" of three I grew up in Manassas, Virginia when it was a sleepy town of 5,000 As a young, struggling family, I got a job in a bank (mostly because we liked to eat). That job turned into a 30+ year career in the banking industry. It was Kent who introduced me to boating and we have spent the last 30+ years
with one sort of boat or another (and sometimes two to our Our more interesting boating trips include a trip to Elizabeth City, NC via the dismal swamp canal (a trip you only need to do once!) and a stay at a commercial marina in Cape Charles, VA where we cooked crabs in a turkey roaster on the gas dock! We are currently boat-less for the first time in 25 years, so our A perfect summer day is any day I can spend on the water. Retirement cannot get here fast enough so I can indulge my love of travel, boating, and sewing! OOPS and I almost forgot -- spending time with our three wonderful grandchildren. - Treasurer Pat Alpaugh Good Of The Club - A Blast From The Past!
- From the archives of V/C Dottie Murray Parkinson's Disease Walk-A-Thon
At the present there is no specific test for Parkinson. However, the typical symptoms and a physical exam are almost always enough to make a diagnosis. The first signs of the disease are mild tremors of a hand, arm or leg, in that order (Janet Reno). The tremors are aggravated by stress or fatigue and are pronounced when your body is at rest. There is less tremor when you are reaching for something or moving about and almost none while sleeping (Michael J. Fox). Over time, you develop rigidity and tenseness of the muscles, which leaves them stiff and you are able to move only slowly and with difficulty. Your face may become expressionless, the voice low and monotonous, with halting speech or slur ( Muhammad Ali). Parkinson‘s sufferers also tend to shuffle; their steps are short; they keep their arms flexed at the waist and don’t swing them. Their balance is so bad that they often run when starting to walk so as not to fall. Their handwriting is small and hard to read. They may have trouble speaking, swallowing or sleeping. Many become seriously depressed, and about half end up demented in much the same way as one with Alzheimer’s. In the end, many are totally dependent on a caregiver. You can help with the ongoing research. Please fill out the Pledge Form that is enclosed in this month’s SCUTTLEBUTT and make out a check to “Parkinson Disease Center.” Mail your contribution to V/C Dottie Murray, 36 Cartwright Ct, Baltimore, MD. Need A Pledge Form to Begin Collecting Your Pledges? Click Here - Como Donald Antos
Time is moving quickly toward our Bull Roast scheduled for April 4, 2003. 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 February 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 enclosed with 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 Now that we are starting a new year, I thought it would be a good idea to review a few of the restaurants we’ve visited. Rapidly becoming one of our favorite restaurants in Pasadena is the Pampered Palette on Ft. Smallwood Road. This place is out of place, it should be in Chevy Chase or Towson. Where can you find a restaurant anywhere that serves on real linen table cloths, and has sterling silver utensils? The chef is a graduate of the C.I.A., (Culinary Institute Of America) and his mother Claire, and waitress Bridgett are a special treat. I’m sure when those $500,000. homes that are being built on Ft. Smallwood Road, and the golf club are completed you are going to need reservations. For breakfast, Johnny’s on Mountain Road is very good. There are some who think Cookies Kitchen is better, and there are some who like Double T Diner. However, in my opinion, for the most food, at very reasonable prices, for breakfast, lunch or supper, Double T is my personal choice. If you like black bean soup, Lista’s is the place to go, and they still have their $10.00 Tuesday night steak night. For those of you who like smoked salmon, Costco has a 24 oz (1 ½ lb) package from Finland for $10.69. We’ll visit some other places next month. In the mean time, practice safe eating----always use condiments. And remember, a successful diet is the triumph of mind over platter. * * * * * * * * * * A young boy goes off to college, but about 1/3 way through the semester he has foolishly squandered what money his parents had given him. “Hmmm,” he wonders, “how am going to get more dough?” Then he gets an idea. He calls his father “Dad”, he says, “You won’t believe the wonders that modern education has come up with! Why, they actually have a program here that will teach Fido how to talk!” “That’s absolutely amazing!” his father says. How can I get Fido in the program?” “Just send Fido down here with $1000.” The boy says, and I’ll get him in the course.” So, the father sends the dog and $1000. About 2/3 way through the semester, the money runs out. The boy calls his father again. “So how’s Fido doing, son?” his father asks. “Awesome, dad., He’s talking up a storm,” he say’s, “but you just won’t believe this - they’ve had such good results with this program, that they’ve implemented a new one to teach the animals how to READ!” “READ!?” say’s his father. “no kidding! What do I have to do to get him in that program?” “Just send $2500. And I’ll get him in the program.” And his father sends the money. At the end of the semester, the boy has a problem When he gets home his father will find out that Fido can neither talk nor read. So he shoots the dog. When he gets home, his father is all excited. “Where’s Fido? I just can’t wait to hear him talk and listen to him read something!” “Dad,” the boy says, “I have some grim news. This morning, when I got out of the shower, Fido was in the living room kicking back in the recliner, reading the morning paper, like he usually does. Then he turned to me and asked, “So, is your daddy still messin’ around with that little red head who lives on Mountain Road?” The father says “Oh no, I hope you shot that lyin’ dog!” “I sure did dad!” “That’s my boy” - B/M Al Freedman 2003 Roster & Membership Cards The rosters & membership cards are complete and were available at the January General Membership meeting. If you need a roster, please plan to attend the February meeting scheduled for February 21. We will continue to have them available for you to pick up. Just stop by and say hello to V/C Dottie Murray for a copy! If you did not get your membership card, it is included in this issue of the Scuttlebutt. Plan on joining us for the February meeting to socialize with your fellow club members! - P/C Pamela Hunt
Boating Tip Of The Month - Drip-Less Shaft Shields 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 Most new yachts are now coming equipped with the new "drip-less" shaft seals instead of the older, conventional stuffing boxes which dripped like a leaky faucet. While these newer versions are much better than the stuffing boxes, they are not always "drip-less", they just drip less. There are some simple steps you can take to keep these seals from spraying salt water in the engine room thereby reducing damage from the salt water around the machinery and tanks. A shield can be installed over both the conventional and drip-less seals, deflecting any salt spray to the bilge where it can be easily rinsed away. This shield can be a simple piece of thin, flexible plastic about 12-18" by 8-10". Using hose clamps, bend the plastic over the seals and clamp to the neck of the shaft log where it emerges through the hull. Place the hose clamps a couple of inches apart for better support. Before installing this shield, it would be a good exercise to make sure the running gear is rotating properly, without excessive vibration. If the shaft is wobbling due to bad couplings, damaged props, worn bearings or some other problem, it will make the seals job virtually impossible. To do this, have the first mate steer the boat while you can observe the shafts rotating underway. DO NOT GET NEAR THE ROTATING SHAFT WITH LOOSE CLOTHING OR TOOLS Use a light to look for any wobble or excessive water spray. If all is well, you can install your shield once you have shut your engines down. You can also take this opportunity to wipe a little lubricant protection on the shaft and couplings only, NOT on the seals. Petroleum products will cause erosion and failure of the drip-less seals since most of them contain a carbon face seal. Use Dawn or Joy to keep them clean and rinse well. - Credit to Marlow Marine Click On Picture For Answer! The February Meeting will be held on February 21, 2003 at Sparrows Point Country Club The menu will consist of House Salad Sparrows Point Buffet including: Lasagna Orange Roughy Chef’s Vegetable & Starch Rolls & Butter Coffee, Tea Chef’s Choice Dessert Price: $20 Don’t forget to contact E/C P/C Brian Hunt bhunt@cablespeed.com no later than Monday February 17, 2003 for reservations
Member Pictures
Thanks to Captain Jim Carr & Pat Brettschneider who provided the photographs for this issue! This page was last updated on 05/03/03.
Answer To "Whose Boat Is This" "Getting Bald" Commodore Donald Antos & First Lady Rosalie |
I am delighted
to report that your Board of Governors and Committee people are doing a
wonderful job on behalf of the MCC membership. So far this year, we have had a
top notch Commodore’s Ball in early November, a very enjoyable Christmas party
in December and a delightful Member’s Appreciation party in January. For the
past three months we have had an average attendance of 55 people at our General
Membership meetings.
“Oh
What a Night” sounds like a song doesn’t it. Well if you missed the
Membership Appreciation Party that’s what you missed. Music, Dancing, Singers,
Dinner, Laughs and a whole lot of fun. The thank-yous are endless but let me
begin by thanking our Food Event Chairman, P/C Brian Hunt for his persistence.
He called and they came. We had over 60 in attendance who were served their
dinner by the MCC Officers and Board Members. Thank you all for your patience
and the spirit in which you accepted the way dinner was served.
SHAKEDOWN
CRUISE
The
MCC Annual Bull & Oyster Roast will be held on April 4, 2003. Tickets
were mailed to you in the January Scuttlebutt but we are still selling more.
This picture was taken at
Maryland Cruising Club's Opening Day Ceremonies May 1985. Pictured is 1985
Princess Terry Gnau, Flower Girl - Katie Murray (future 1997 MCC Princess and
1997 Queen of the Chesapeake), Crown Bearer - David Schulte (Grandson of Mary
Gunther and son of Debbie Gunther Schulte - 1970 MCC Past Princess), in the
background on the right are 1958 P/C Bob Grepps and 1985 P/C Jerry Troy.
Last
month I provided some brief comments about Parkinson sufferers and appealed to
you to support the Sunday, April 13th Walk-A-Thon” fund raising
event for the Parkinson Research Center at Johns Hopkins. Some of you may have a
family member or a friend with this disease and know something about it. I
suspect most of you have seen Michael J. Fox, Janet Reno or Muhammad Ali on
television and noticed the impact of this “neurodegenerative” affliction. It
affects about one in every 1000 people over 40, and 1% of everyone over 65. The
average age of onset is about 57.
Silent Auction! Raffles! Prize Wheel! Door Prizes!
