Floatline - Chesapeake Bay News

The December issue of SpinSheet Magazine is on the docks

The December issue of SpinSheet Magazine has arrived from the printer and distribution is underway. There are currently 758 SpinSheet distribution points throughout the mid-Atlantic.

The issue checks in at 100 pages and includes plenty of holiday-related editorial, including a guide to the region's lights parades and a section highlighting holiday gift ideas for sailors.

Among the contributions from senior editor Molly Winans is an in-depth report on the Chesapeake's frostbite racing scene and an account of the weekend celestial navigation course she took with the Annapolis School of Seamanship last month.

The J/105 North Americans, J/24 East Coasts, and the IRC East Coasts are among the regatta's featured in the Ronstan Racing Beat.

Mark Hillman is the subject of the APS Profile. George Culbertson is the Bay People profile of the month. The Sea Sprite 30 is the subject of Jack Hornor's Used Boat Marketplace column. The Chesapeake Classic page is donated to Bay sailor Billy Heintz who passed away October 30 at the age of 99.   

The SpinSheet team is now focused on the January 2008 issue. This is an important one because it will be distributed in Key West during Race Week (January 21-25) and in Baltimore at the new SailFest portion of the Baltimore Boat Show (January 23-27), in addition to the "usual spots." The deadline for reserving advertising space including classified ads, is December 10. Call (410) 216-9309 or email info@spinsheet.com for more information.

Online Auction Benefits 1% For the Planet

Check out this online auction for the benefit of 1% For The Planet. Among the items is a Yamaha acoustic guitar signed by Jack Johnson and a surf session with Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard and all-around stud waterman/filmmaker Chris Malloy.  Sounds like a bit of heaven...

An item from closer to home is an Annapolis/Eastport-based package put together by Dick Franyo and the Boatyard Bar & Grill, longtime members of the 1% family. The Boatyard package includes boatrides, food, lodging, and friendly elbow-rubbing with some of Annapolis's movers and shakers.

In all, there are about 100 items which could easily be turned into truly special holiday gifts... all for the benefit of a very cool effort. Check it out.

Learn more about 1% For The Planet.

Straight to the Auction.

Fast Boats, Hot Shots, Great Gift Idea

Annapolis-based photographer John Bildahl has posted a strong collection of powerboat racing shots from Cambridge and Kent Narrows. Prints are available for purchase and would make for a perfect and unique holiday gift. 

Farrah Hall Update

In October, Farrah Hall, an Annapolis resident and a graduate of St. Mary’s College of Maryland, won the U.S. Olympic Trials in the women’s RS:X class on the water, posting a low score of 29 points after 16 races over eight days. “It was one of the greatest feelings of my life,” said Hall, who secured the title by placing first in the final two races of the trials.

However, while Hall was calling family and friends with the good news, runner-up Nancy Rios was filing a request for redress that ultimately changed the final results. Rios claimed that a collision at the start of the 16th and final race caused her to finish fourth, and a jury agreed. Rios was awarded second place for Race 16, and the two-point improvement vaulted her past Hall into overall victory.

Hall, who was unaware of the redress hearing, was pulled out of a shower and brought to the jury room to hear the final decision along with Rios. Chairman Larry White told both competitors the jury thought Rios’s performance had been significantly hampered by the collision and that redress was warranted.
“I was stunned, speechless. One minute I was waiting for the awards ceremony to start, the next I was being told I was no longer the winner,” Hall said. “It all seemed like a bad dream.”

As it turns out, Hall had the right to request redress for herself within a half hour of hearing the decision and did not do so. It wasn’t until 24 hours later, after collecting her wits and talking with several experts, that she filed a formal request with the Olympic Sailing Committee.

White, the jury chairman, rejected Hall’s request for redress on the grounds it was not filed in a timely manner and there was insufficient evidence to warrant an additional review of the incident.

Following the Trials, Hall began researching and composing a formal grievance document. She returned to St. Mary’s College and trained on her board on the St. Mary’s River and at Point Lookout State Park in the mornings and swam with the college swim team in the afternoons. Early last month, Hall filed the formal grievance document and now awaits a response from the Olympic committee. In late November, she flew to Cyprus to train with the Polish Olympic Team for four weeks. She will return home for the holidays but is off again on January 3, bound for the World Sailing Championships in New Zealand.

Above: Farrah Hall at the Olympic Trials. Photo by Rich Roberts

Grand Ole Osprey, December 1 in Annapolis

The Annapolis Maritime Museum (AMM) will host its first Grand Ole Osprey event at Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts, in Annapolis, December 1. The evening will kick off with a VIP reception and auction (5 to 6:30 p.m.), followed by a musical program (7 to 9 p.m.).

AMM has assembled a wide variety of local musicians, from folk to gospel, to perform songs such as Tom Wisner’s “Chesapeake Born” and Randy Nelson’s “Thomas Point Suite” against a backdrop of award-winning photography by David Harp. Actors from Annapolis I Remember will interpret oral histories from the McNasby Oyster Company, the last oyster-packing plant in the city. All proceeds will benefit the restoration of the historic McNasby’s structure on Back Creek into a world-class, waterfront educational facility, which will be called the "Bay Experience Center."

Along with a silent auction for gift baskets for “holiday shopping” at the VIP reception, there will be a live auction for items such as a stocked wine refrigerator, a signature piece of jewelry depicting an osprey, and packages for kayaking, small boat rental, and “romance” with hotel stays and dinner.

For more information or to purchase event tickets, visit www.annapolismaritimemuseum.org  or call (410) 295-0104. To preview or bid on auction items, visit www.cmarket.com.

Lights Parade Season Is Underway

What do we have to thank/blame for this? Gore-Tex? Global Warming? The reality of modern scheduling is that the on-the-water season now extends well into November. As anglers are still pulling big stripers from the Bay and sailboat racers are still drying out from some major regattas, another bunch of boaters are preparing  for upcoming lights parades.

The boaters at Middle River kicked off the season this past Saturday night.

This coming Saturday (December 1) brings events in Alexandria, VA and Washington, DC, Baltimore, Colonial; Beach, VA, Hampton, Rock Hall and Yorktown. Sunday (December 2) sees parades in Georgetown (DC) and on the James River in the Richmond area.

The following Saturday (December 8) is the date for the Annapolis/Eastport Parade and the Solomons event.

There are full details, including contact information, in the current issues of SpinSheet and PropTalk Magazine 

Happy Thanksgiving

We'll crank it up again after the holiday with previews of holiday events along the Bay, including lighted boat parades, a look-ahead to the winter season down south, and much more.

In the meantime, have a safe and warm Thanksgiving. And thank you for supporting SpinSheet, PropTalk, and Floatline...

Chestertown Downrigging 2006 photo by Mark Talbott / SpinSheet

Raising a Soling

Interesting perspective from an industry professional deeply involved in last month's salvage effort of a Soling sunk in 30-feet of water off Annapolis at the Red Right Returning Blog.

Photo by Cory Deere

"The Rolex" in Texas

For the third straight time, Old Dominion University alum Sally Barkow won the Rolex International Women's Keelboat Championship. The first two wins ('03 and '05) were in Annapolis. The '07 win came in La Porte, TX, where the Houston YC hosted the event November 14 though 18.

Several Bay-based teams were on hand and sailing well. Georgetown alum Derby Anderson (Annapolis) won the regatta's first race and sailed to fourth overall in a tough 39-boat fleet. Anderson's team, pictured above, included Jacqueline Schmitz (Washington, DC), Katherine Wade (Washington, DC), and Lucy Kupersmith (Alexandria, VA)
Photo by ROLEX/Dan Nerney

Also cranked up and sailing well were Jo Ann Fisher and her all-Annapolis-based team. Fisher and company finished seventh overall. The team, pictured above, included Lynda Hiller, Lesley Cook, Phebe King, and Margaret McChesney. Shoreside, this crew is responsible for 10 kids under seven years old!
Photo by ROLEX/Dan Nerney

Kathy Parks (Shady Side, MD) and her Maryland-based crew finished a solid 11th overall.

Event Website

Direct Link to Results Page

Bad News in Eastport

Fans of coffee, smiling faces, regatta lunches, and locally-owned businesses suffered a loss today as Cafe Gurus, a much-loved coffee shop on the corner of Second and Chester in Eastport, closed its doors for good.

Shop owner Marie Dall'Acqua said in an email to customers, "After five very fun years in Eastport, Cafe Guru's will be closing for good. Last day will be November 18, noon. Lots of memories, lots of fun, and lots of thanks. Each of you are a piece of our history and your kindness and support will always be remembered."

Friends of the program (and who isn't one, really?) are invited to drop by Gurus beginning at 5:30 Monday evening (November 18) for a farewell party.

Ocuh! This one really stings.