Floatline - Chesapeake Bay News

Senator Kennedy Honors Cup Winners in Annapolis

On April 25, Senator Ted Kennedy sailed off Annapolis with the U.S. Naval Academy's Varsity Offshore Sailing Team (VOST) on their last day of spring practice and presented the Kennedy Cup trophy to the winning team from last November's Kennedy Cup Intercollegiate Regatta.

The USNA hosted the three-day regatta last fall, the team winning six of 10 races and never scoring worse than a third against eight competitors.

Navy's crew included skipper and VOST team captain Matt Recker, helmsman Cullen Shaughnessy, trimmers Will Arnest, Owen Brooks, and Alex Fletcher, pitman Kenneth Endicott, mastman Wes Jahraus, and bowman Mark Picinich. The same crew also won the McMillan Cup and their division at the Storm Trysail Intercollegiate Invitational Regatta.

By winning the Kennedy Cup, Navy earned the right to represent the U.S. at the Student Yachting World Cup in La-Trinité-sur-Mer, France October 25 - November 1, 2008.

~ M.W.

Photo courtesy of Frieda Wildey

A Friend, a Sail, and a Sunny Day...

Although it looks like a tropical scene, these two little sailors sought shelter from the sun on the Bay only last month. With all the rain, we've forgotten about that glorious glimpse of summer.

Hang in there; the sun will shine tomorrow.

Cindy Wallach--photographer, writer, and cruising sailor--wrote the article "Give Me the World, or Give Me the Bay!" in the April edition of SpinSheet and has written another article about summer solstice raft-ups coming in June. She and her husband live aboard a 44-foot catamaran in Annapolis with a four-year-old and an old dog.

~M.W.

Photo by Cindy Wallach

Hospice Regattas Championships in Annapolis

"Sailing is a metaphor for life, teamwork, dealing with the unknown, and working with each challenge, which is why it fits so beautifully with Hospice," says Jean Kluttz, President of the National Hospice Regatta Alliance.

Nineteen local J/105s filled with teams from all over the country will compete off Annapolis this weekend for the Hospice Regattas National Championships. Each team has won its hometown Hospice Cup, of which there are 24 around the country each year, increasing to 27 regattas in 2008.

Chesapeake Bay sailors from Havre de Grace, Annapolis, Rappahanock, and Hampton are competing this weekend to determine the national champion and to raise awareness for Hospice Cups. Storm Trysail Club Chesapeake Station is out there--in the rain today--managing the races.

A CBYRA-sanctioned event since 1983, the 2008 Hospice Cup Annapolis edition will be held a couple weeks later than usual this year on September 27. To learn more, visit www.hospiceregattas.com.

~M.W./SpinSheet

May Days on the Bay

PropTalk wants you to put these "May Days" on your calendar. We don’t usually post calendar items here, so why now? Because May is shaping up to be a super busy month, and we simply couldn’t wait until the June PropTalk, which hits the docks May 15. We're happy to share:

May 10-11: Jarrett Bay Grand Banks Ride & Drive, Cambridge Hyatt
www.jarrettbayyachtsales.com

May 16: USS Constellation Museum BLAST, Baltimore
www.constellation.org

May 16-17: Food and Wine Festival, National Harbor, Washington, DC
www.foodandwinenh.com

May 16-17: Kilmarnock (VA) Crab Festival
www.virginia.org

May 17: Heart of Chesapeake Country Heritage Day, Dorchester County
www.tourdorchester.org

May 17-18: Model Boat Expo at Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum, St. Michaels
www.cbmm.org

May 17-23: National Safe Boating Week
www.safeboatingcouncil.org

May 18-21: Nordic Tug Rendezvous, North East YC, North East, MD
www.nordictugs.com

May 21: Blue Angels Fly over Annapolis
www.blueangels.navy.mil

May 23-26: Chestertown Tea Party
www.chestertownteaparty.com

May 23-June 1: Riverside Marine Boat Sale, Arundel Mills Mall, Hanover, MD.
www.riversidemarine.com

May 24-26: Memorial Day Pig Roast, Tim’s Rivershore Restaurant and Crabhouse, Dumfries, VA
www.timsrivershore.com

May 25: Big Bands on the Bay, Norfolk
www.festeventsva.org

May 25: Soft Shell Spring Fair, Somers Cover Marina, Crisfield, MD
(800) 782-3913

May 30-June 1: Kadey Krogen Open House, Port Annapolis Marina
casey@kadeykrogen.com

May 30-June 1: Virginia Beach Patriotic Festival
www.patrioticfestival.com

May 31: Coconut Ball, Annapolis Maritime Museum
www.savethecoconuts.org

Data and dates courtesy of Rachel Engle
Photo of the 2008 Bay Bridge Boat Show in April by Mark Talbott
For more fun, visit www.proptalk.com.

Back Creek CRAB Party

From 5 to 9 p.m. on Saturday, May 10, Chesapeake Region Accessible Boating (CRAB) will hold its annual party at Port Annapolis Marina Overlook Pavilion with great food, live music with The Eastport Oyster Boys, Calico Jack, and Caryl P. Weiss, and a silent auction and raffle.

CRAB is a 17-year-old non-profit dedicated to making the thrill of sailing a reality for physically or developmentally challenged individuals. In the above photo, Don Backe, CRAB's Executive Director, steers Doubler, the group's weekend cruiser, on her maiden voyage off Annapolis City Dock in 2006.

All proceeds from the Back Creek CRAB Party benefit the organization. SpinSheet is among many sponsors.

~M.W.

Photo by Mark Talbott/SpinSheet

SpinSheet Gallery Hot Shots

SpinSheet has launched an online photo gallery where sailors and their friends may view and purchase Chesapeake Bay sailing photos ($10 each for personal use only). SpinSheet photographers will be out and about on the Bay in full force this season, so smile on deck!

Photos from the Sperry Top-Sider National Offshore One-Design Regatta (NOOD) and last weekend's USODA Optimist Team trials can be downloaded now. Check it out!

~M.W.

Photo by Mark Talbott/SpinSheet

Did Someone Say Free Party?

On Friday, May 2 at 5 p.m., the MD Maritime Heritage Festival Block Party kicks off with Doug Segree playing from 5-7 p.m. and Virgil Cane playing from 7-9 p.m. in the parking lot of Fawcett Boat Supplies next to the Fleet Reserve Club on Compromise Street in Annapolis.

Annapolis Radio WRNR will be broadcasting live for happy hour. SpinSheet and PropTalk are among the party sponsors.

Free entry if you have an ID and a Verizon phone; $5 otherwise. Beer and wine will be for sale.

A number of upbeat local groups will be in attendance: the SpinSheet/PropTalk team, the "Green Drinks" gang, the Chesapeake Outdoor Group, the Jaycees, and the Friends of the Annapolis Maritime Museum (who will be testing your nautical knowledge for prizes in between beer-pouring shifts and songs).

There is a bridge built across Ego Alley for easy access to the Festival on the newly renovated Susan B. Campbell park on City Dock, where the MMH Festival will go on through Sunday at 5 p.m. The program is in the center of the May SpinSheet at the gate, or you can find the event schedule on line.

Come out and play!  ~ M.W.

195 Optimists on the Severn River

Nearly 200 kids from around the country sailed Optis out of Annapolis YC at the foot of the Easptort Bridge this morning.

The US Optimist Dinghy Association (USODA) 2008 Team Trials, the most competitive junior regatta in the country, is taking place May 1-4 out of host club AYC.

Junior sailors aged eight to 15 have flocked to the Sailing Capital for this international qualifying event, which is the first major USODA regatta AYC has hosted for 10 years.

The Optimist sailors on the Severn River and Chesapeake Bay this weekend have qualified for this event at National or Regional Championship events. Top finishers this weekend will qualify to represent the U.S. at the World, European, and North American Championships, as well as international regattas in Belgium and the U.K.

This is not just a bunch of kids on boats. These are serious sailors, who are the future of our sport. Go check them out!  ~M.W.