Search Party!

Shortly after delivering CAYUGA across the Bay and up the Choptank River for winter storage and projects, we were caught up in the holiday festivities and did not provide you with any stories. We also owe you a guest story that we will, we promise, post up soon. Our stopover between the Bay crossing and going up the river, was none other than one of our favorite Eastern Shore places, Cambridge. We made the best of it with a stop at Holly's favorite local brewery and I got my history itch scratched with a burgee exchange. Hopefully, the holidays have been relaxing and enjoyable for you. Monday starts the New Year back at work for most and for us, it's a darn fine time to get back to sharing more I Love Yachting adventures. We wish everyone the best while navigating 2022! Cheers, Brad & Holly

Fall is in the air and the recent cold snap has turned the verdant landscape into vibrant bursts of colored foliage. It's Holly's favorite season, leaves turning bright reds and yellows, shifting summer winds into fall with some of the best sailing anywhere on the east coast, and our first voyage with CAYUGA beyond the safe harbors of our beloved Annapolis. Tomorrow morning, after an extra hour of sleep (!), we begin our transit from Whitehall Creek over to the Eastern Shore, up the Choptank River, and ultimately to the Town of Denton where CAYUGA will get some tender loving care over the winter. Given the time change and earlier sunset, we're breaking up the travel into two days, plus we need to arrive on a weekday for the haul-out. So, our trip tomorrow lands us in Cambridge for a tie-up overnight at the Cambridge Yacht Club . In addition Holly's pleased to dock locally for a visit to one of her favorite breweries... RAR . It looks to be a spectacular few days ahead, with favorable wind at our backs, a minimal current, and today was already a success with a lovely road trip over to the boatyard to drop off one car for the ride home on Monday. Fingers crossed for reasonably calm waters and decent temps as well; I think it's going to be chilly sleeping weather Sunday night aboard, but we're fearless sailors. (is there a power boater version?). We've been looking forward to the run across the Bay and up the length of the Choptank for many reasons, but one is traveling where we have not yet been. While it should be easy-peasy, even a short trip in mostly familiar waters requires a bit of forward thinking. That includes boat prep, passage planning, and provisioning. The better the prep and planning, the less likely we are to have I love yachting issues. Thanks to Holly, on the maiden voyage, we had the first aid kit when I was unfortunately sprayed by hot coolant fluid from a broken hose. That said, CAYUGA has been running well – knock on varnished wood. Boat prep will consist of the usual visual inspection including checking fluids, belts, and hoses. And making sure all safety gear is aboard and in operable condition. The rest is up to the ole gal. Holly has sailed on the Choptank for log canoe racing, out in the river off the shore of the Tred Avon Yacht Club, but never power boated further than Island Creek right around the corner (so to speak) from Oxford. Oxford is where CAYUGA began her forays into Bay waters when she was delivered from CT, on a very, very rainy, cold early May day. That inauspicious start behind us, tomorrow, we will motor through Knapps Narrows (with a pit stop for fuel), past Oxford, Island Creek, and onward up the river to our dock for the night. Monday will be the true adventure as we wind our way slowly up the remainder of the Choptank into historic Denton. The Choptank is meandering and narrowing from Cambridge to its headwaters. And probably has some wicked current too... the guidance given is stay in the middle of the markers and closer to the outside of the turns (where the water runs deepest). Oh, this is going to be interesting! The Denton folks have a little area along the river next to the Choptank River Yacht Club (a delightfully unassuming place) and there's where CAYUGA will get hauled and then towed into her own indoor space. The picture is of CAYUGA being delivered to Campbell's Boatyard in Oxford where she first arrived in MD. I can't pass up a bit of the old-school world of passage planning, which is pretty straightforward, to share with you. Holly and I are still loyal Power Squadron (now known as America’s Boating Club) members, therefore, we (mostly me) plan and plot courses in advance with nautical protractors and paper charts. For this passage, we will be using Chart 12266 to get through Knapps Narrows and to Cambridge. From there we venture to Chart 12268 to get from Cambridge up to Denton. Looking at the 12268 chart, and how that river just keeps on going, reminds me of a movie with a river and a crazy Marlon Brando character, but regardless, this is going to take some time... CAYUGA is equipped with an older version Garmin chart plotter, and we both have navigation apps on our phones, but we always have paper charts at the ready just in case. Furthermore, reviewing paper charts is still the best way to get the big picture of where we are going and the obstacles between start and finish. It’s also a way to gauge how long the various legs of the trip will take. Yep, good old course, time, speed, and distance - dead reckoning. We will leave the dock knowing where we are going – magnetic courses to steer – and about how long it should take to get to the destination at average speeds. With the hard part of navigating an unknown body of water researched, my provisioning is the easy part. It'll be the usual cooler bag with ice, Modello, some wine, and healthy snacks. No chance I'd forget the water, Holly always makes sure we have that too. With extra blankets, warm clothing, first aid kit, the usual music playlists and some jazz and Chicago (for Don), full tank of gas, and an attitude of "time to get off the dock", wish us luck. And with fingers crossed, next week we will NOT have an I love yachting story to share with you. But then, what would be the fun in that? Remember, where there's a boat, there's a story.

On 11/30/23, CAYUGA went for a swim. She dipped her toes in the water, found it suitable after a minor adjustment, and enjoyed a few hours of floating next to the dock where she was put through her paces by her coach, watched by her ward, and admired by a few new fans from afar. All in all, it was not the day we had hoped for, but in retrospect, it went better than might have been expected given the time everything has been out of the water not doing anything. Why should it be an early happy birthday for me? Well, it was just a day from my birthday month of December. On 12/1/23, what hadn't gone to plan the day before was sorted out and CAYUGA performed admirably. About midday, the engine mechanic, her coach, called and said her idling was so perfect I could go crabbing. I guess if I lived on the Eastern Shore and were a fishing/crabbing person, that would make a lot more sense. So, I'll take the happy results of much work and finger-crossing as the best birthday present I could get for 2023, maybe ever in some respects. It's just a thing, I have to remind myself. It is not Holly, that is, it's not me. It is a boat. It is, though, a connection, a feeling, a desire, or even a need to connect to water and every joy water has and has had for me with family and friends. So, maybe yes, it is Holly, but I had to do the mind contortions to get to that because it's not really just a thing. Here's to CAYUGA, thanks for the present of a working pair of beautifully restored engines and transmissions. And then... it's working! Every day that passes toward the 2024 season is one less in the way of realizing the dream that CAYUGA has been for me since I first saw her, in spite of the ILY meandering journey it's been.

Oh, the joy of fixing things... After a nice run from Annapolis and back at the dock last Sunday, I began to fuss with the wheel because it's still loose, turning it all the way starboard and then port. And then while turning to port, the wheel started to unscrew. Yes, it just kept on spinning. Oh s***! What if that had been while underway? A true I love yachting moment that thankfully did not come to pass. Our friend Berke George, AKA the Cannon Man, is in town, he arrived last Wednesday. Given that we still have a bit of boating to do before CAYUGA gets hauled for the season, the Edson wheel needed to be fixed. Berke has a wealth of knowledge regarding boats and how things work on boats so who better to dig into this problem. As you know, we tried this once, then again, and now here we are doing it one more time. We'd thought our love of yachting moments with this wheel were behind us but not quite yet. So on a beautiful Thursday last week, Berke and Brad went to town on the wheel. The culprit was discovered to be a set screw on the shaft that had been worn and was sliding on the shaft but also scoring it. That's not a pretty picture. Berke filed the shaft to both repair and smooth it out. Then the hunt was on for a new set screw and a threading tap. For those of you who may not know what that is, because I certainly did not, it is used to create threads a screw can go into. I had to look it up on the google, so here's a picture for ya in the middle. We surmise that this was going on all along to some degree, we can't be sure but there's no doubt in our mind that the instructions we followed the second time around got this situation to mayday status. The "turn the wheel all the way and then turn hard again" directions - we don't plan to repeat unless totally necessary. I'm not saying anything we were instructed to do in any way was wrong or bad - what happened was a mechanical deficiency. Berke discovered that the old set screw couldn't fully and properly situate itself against the shaft because of the hub hole threads. Basically, no screw would until the threads were all the way through the hub hole, so this was bound to happen. As an aside, technically, the boat could be maneuvered with throttle alone but that would be only at low speeds, I would not want to try steering that way going at a cruising speed. I don't use the wheel to dock, it's all gear shifting and bow thruster. My comfort level with steering CAYUGA around is growing with more and more scenarios we get her into. However, it's nice to have confidence in your basic boat operating machinery! So Brad and Berke went to Fawcett after not being able to find the right screw or tap at the marina boatyard we are docked at. Two folks at Fawcett were struggling to find what we needed, a longer 5/16th set screw and the same size tap. In was called a wisened old salt who descended into the basement from where he emerged victorious in his quest with just the right screw and tap. Berke remarked that "now we're in business". Once back at the boat, the tap was used to completely thread the whole way through the hub hole. And while Berke was at it, he took some time to Flitz the wheel and get it looking like new. If you don't know about this stuff, you are missing out! This wheel is shiny - I like shiny metal stuff. It's so nice to have a working wheel. We were out today bringing the boat home and it was night and day steering ability. And it looks great too. Look at that set screw doing its job like it's supposed to. Thanks to the always awesome Fawcett folks. And way to go Berke! I learned so much listening to you just to do this post with how you explained exactly what you did and what was needed to be done. I am a much better yacht girl today than I was yesterday.

Today I got a call, about 1530, and it was a funeral home calling to tell me that my very dear friend Don McBride had passed away. I met Don on E dock in the Piney Narrows Yacht Haven marina in the Kent Narrows where I lived on my sailboat CALIX and he had is sailboat COLEMAR. This was 2008. He was an avid sailor. He loved his wife and his Maine Coon cat named Misha. For whatever stars aligned we became friends and enjoyed more than a few gin and tonic/sodas together, a love of jazz and big band, as well as Chicago and a band we saw together with Brad at Ramshead back in 2019, Leonid & Friends. Getting a call like that at work is difficult like you'd imagine, and thanks to the good people there, I made it through the rest of the day and came home to Brad who had a gin and soda ready for me. We sat by the firepit and recalled many a moment with Don. Besides our sailing and music loves, by the way he led a big band way back in the day whereupon he met his wife who was a singer, we remembered his presence for our wedding day, the times he visited down from NJ where he lived, to hang with his boating club, but always stopped by to visit us for at least an overnight so we could gin it into the wee hours. Covid put a damper on in person visits but we all took up Zoom and it ended up being such a beautiful thing. We talked most every weekend with sometimes extended chats when we would put up jazz music videos on YouTube and just listen and comment and have fun. We last did a Zoom this past Sunday 9/27. One of the funniest, best moments, not on the water, but of recent note, was last fall, when Covid had calmed down and Don came for a short visit. His timing was scheduled so he would be here while our good friend Berke - The Cannon Man - was visiting. I will never forget that day, that Sunday, when I asked both gentlemen to assist me with hanging a large flat screen TV. Brad decided this was not his gig and went off to research the history of... something yachty... Hilarity ensued. Berke, being with an engineering background, and Don, have worked with engineers at the fusion lab in Princeton, pretty much had this thing figured out. However, I, being me, had to delve into making sure the mounting was PERFECT. The right spacing above the front speaker, the right height from the viewing chairs, blah blah blah. Between me and Berke, we took one measurement, then re-checked it a 100 times. Don deferred to me and Berke, but he kept us from devolving into chaos. Centimeters, fractions of inches. We shared so many funny moments that day, I feel sometimes like it was yesterday. One of the interesting things about that day was that I made the conscious decision to NOT take any pictures but to remember everything about it in my head, not to make it a post to Twitter, or Instagram, etc. It was too precious, too sincere, just real people together being the best of who they are in a great moment. Berke is visiting during the Annapolis boat shows and arrives in less than a week. Don had reserved a room locally to be here. With heavy heart, Brad called Berke with the news. But Don is remembered for so much fun and joy he brought to the table, mostly the gin. No, just kidding, he also taught me much about music in a classic jazz way - he played horn. I can only imagine his big band days. He did share some pictures during our many Zoom calls, of him water skiing or playing in the band or whatever. He was family to us, Brad and I (and Becket). I could go on but, I miss you already Don, I was so excited you were coming to visit and it may have been your zest for living you wanted to do it but your physical being just wasn't going to agree. Don (and to your family) you will live on with every jazz CD you ever shared, the Chicago and Leonid concerts we planned to go to (tonight Chicago played at the Bloomsburg Fair which we wanted to get to but Covid and tickets messed it up), the Star Clippers sail we were planning on, the visit to the Deer's Head Inn to see Eric Mintel, and so much more. Since no post can be without the theme, I give to you a most uproarious moment... so Don, you remember that "I love yachting" moment when Brad nearly lost his mind because he couldn't get that damn dinghy motor started? He nearly pulled the cord out, almost fell in the water (while in the Kent Narrows - not a place to go swimming), swore enough in those few minutes for most people's lifetime, and entertained us for a good 20 minutes with one simple, frustrating act of dinghy motor non-compliance. I think we laughed for days and well, it's been years and we're still laughing, together...

In an attempt to keep upbeat while winter drearily slogs along, and looking back at better times before Covid, I couldn't help but think of a short story by the late Dave Moss, a.k.a. The Moss-man, which still makes me laugh. A few years ago, during a passage from Annapolis to Bermuda aboard Mark Myers' Swan 51, TONIC, Dave was in (usual) rare form regaling us with his sailing tales. Bear with me, it won't be the same as hearing it from Dave but I'll do my best and here it goes. Years ago, Moss was sailing his boat back to Annapolis from a Block Island Race Week with a young woman as crew, just her and him. They were enjoying a lovely afternoon sail down the Jersey Coast. There were plenty of boat drinks consumed and sunscreen was said to have been required over their entire bodies... Anyway, they make it to the mouth of the Delaware Bay in the early evening, just before sunset, and Moss gets the boat through the entrance of the joyous body of water most sailors love to hate. He puts the boat on a proper course up the channel and by that point it is dark and Dave is pretty spent (from what you can only imagine) so he decides to get some much-needed sleep. Before he heads to bed, the young lady, not an experienced sailor and somewhat unsure of herself, asked Dave what to do. Moss thinks for a minute and then instructs, "It's easy. Just keep the red lights on the right and the greens on the left, and wake me up if you need to" and with that Moss disappeared below. A few hours later, a panicked cry comes from on deck. The young gal hollered, "Dave, I think you better get up here!" Dave cleared the fog from his brain and rushed up to see what the urgency was all about. He looked ahead through the darkness to see that, yep, she had done as instructed and kept the reds on the right and greens on the left. The problem was, the lights weren't the channel lights, but rather the bow lights of a massive outbound container ship bearing rapidly down on them. Moss exclaimed, "Oh shit!"; then grabbed the helm, altered course as quickly as possible, and narrowly averted disaster. After changing his shorts, I'm guessing he cracked a beer and stayed up and on deck for the rest of the night. So when I hear someone giving piloting advice by saying, keep the reds on the right and greens on the left, when inbound, I can't help but think of Good Ole Moss-man. We Miss that guy!

This past Monday night was the third "I love yachting" free outing in a row with the mighty CAYUGA. Thankfully that made for a happy Happy Birthday for me with Holly on the water. As far as the Birthday part, they get treated without huge fanfare at this stage of the game. The thought of having to sign up for Medicare next year only dulls any possible excitement or enjoyment of aging. This year the party was boating with Holly and a stop at the Annapolis Yacht Club, a place that is home away from home for us, for an early dinner. The night was a perfect, humidity-free one here in the Land of Pleasant Living. So, I iced down a few Modelos, fired up the engines, and off we went. We tied up, with Holly getting more comfortable by the day with how the boat handles, and met our longtime friend Gerard at the Club’s Burgee Bar. There we enjoyed a relaxing, casual dinner and before sunset, we departed to head back to Whitehall Creek. On the way out of the Annapolis Harbor, we spotted a friend and fellow Club member, Rick, in his classic Whaler. I hailed him and asked if he’d take a photo of CAYUGA. He did and emailed them over for which I am grateful. This is my favorite of the bunch. I love that proud ensign flying so beautifully - future post about flags... We got back to the dock and poured a glass of wine to have with my birthday cake which was a take-out blackberry cobbler (sans candles). Delicious! It was a perfect end to a wonderful birthday with Holly and CAYUGA.

A moment to reflect on the passing of a yacht. Xanadu II has made her Final Voyage. Above, Xanadu II is captured while participating in the Centenary series of regattas and festivities of the Royal Danish Yacht Club in Copenhagen. (photo above from Motor Boating, December 1966) I got a call this past Friday morning from Holly on her way to the office. She shared that Xanadu II was gone from where she’d been stored along the south side of Route 50, just west of the Severn River Bridge, at Philip McKee’s storage yard for the past decade. And she noticed two big roll-off dumpsters with what looked like pieces of a boat protruding out. Later that afternoon, I swung by to check it out for myself. The dumpsters weren't there, presumably taken away rather efficiently, but what I witnessed gave me pause – a few remaining pieces of the legendary Xanadu II. A reflective and solemn I love yachting moment, and to me, personally, an ignominious ending. I have not yet been able to speak with Philip about it (and will report if I do), but I might only imagine and of course assume, how painfully difficult it may have been for him to demolish his grandfather’s boat – a boat that he'd sailed on from the time he was a young boy. For many years, Xanadu II was the pride and joy of the late yachtsman, E. Bates McKee. She was a 47-foot yawl constructed out of mahogany and was designed by William H. “Bill” Tripp. Built in Bremen, Germany, in 1964 at the yacht yard of Johann de Dood, she was coming up on her 60th birthday. Xanadu II made her debut around the time of the 1964 Annapolis Yacht Club Fall Series. Her first Annapolis to Newport Race was in 1965. She finished 12th out of 22 boats in Class II. According to what I have researched, her first Newport to Bermuda Race was in 1966. She went on from Bermuda that year to race across the Atlantic to Denmark. Of note, she was one of only three American boats to race in the very first Cape Town to Rio race, from South Africa to Brazil in 1971. The other two boats were Ed Hartman Sr.’s, Ma’m’selle, and Dick Zantzinger’s, Molly Brown. From the race brochure of the 1971 inaugural Cape to Rio Race, more on Cape2Rio2025. I would not want to try to guess how many thousands of miles the old gal had under her keel. Xanadu II crossed the Atlantic five times, according to Bates McKee's obituary, and sailed many Annapolis to Newport and Newport to Bermuda Races with Bates as her proud owner/skipper. Another bit of Xanadu II historical trivia is that late, longtime Annapolis Yacht Club member and excellent racing sailor Theo Petersen served as a captain on the boat for Bates from around 1967 to 1972. I suppose, as the saying goes, nothing lasts forever, but the memories do live on. Thank you to those who have contributed with stories and photos. If anyone has any additional information or stories, please be in touch, I would enjoy expanding my research on Xanadu II. In Xanadu did Kubla Khan A stately pleasure-dome decree: Where Alph, the sacred river, ran Through caverns measureless to man Down to a sunless sea. So twice five miles of fertile ground With walls and towers were girdled round; And there were gardens bright with sinuous rills, Where blossomed many an incense-bearing tree; And here were forests ancient as the hills, Enfolding sunny spots of greenery. - SAMUEL TAYLOR COLERIDGE

It's a bit goofy and totally not perfect but unleashing the incredible powers of AI via Adobe for a silly Beckect and turkey go I love yachting cartoon style. Enjoy the day with family and friends.

Departing from the movie script motif, today's entry is simply: It takes time. Apparently a lot of time. Too much time. The same day forever. But seems like only... Yesterday.

Friday evening we visited one of the Chesapeake Bay's historic sailing clubs. Our friend, neighbor, fellow AYC member, and consummate boater, Geremy, called around 1500 to ask if we wanted to go for a boat ride. Of course, the answer was yes. Geremy keeps his center console outboard at our very local marina, now called Safe Harbor Podickory Point. We strolled through our community, chatting about our week's adventures, into the marina and by the putrid fishy trash bins, then down the dock to the boat, fired up the Yamaha, tossed the lines, and headed out into the Bay. I asked Geremy where he wanted to go, and he replied, “I don’t know. Where do you want to go?” I thought briefly and suggested we head to Blackhole Creek on the Magothy River to see the Potapskut Sailing Association (PSA). I have to admit, this was yes, off the cuff given the non-planning aspect, but truly I've been wanting to check PSA out for some time as a dear friend, and also neighbor, gave me a burgee and sent some wonderful old pictures of her memories there. Funny enough, I spent the latter part of my youth living and boating on the Magothy and had never been to PSA – even though it is sort of across from the community where I'd lived. I can only think it was probably because in the mid-1970s my focus was more on water skiing than sailboat racing. Anyway, off we went to check it out. So you have some idea of where in the world this is, here's a little overview of the Magothy and zoom-in of Blackhole Creek on the chart sections above. For reference, we were traveling from right to left on the chart. The entrance is a bit tricky and narrow and would not make for safe waterskiing, so that is my excuse for never venturing there while living in Ulmstead. A short, breezy ride up the river from Podickory to Blackhole Creek, passing a small Friday night racing fleet, we spotted PSA immediately upon entering the little creek. You really can't miss it, there is a large area full of moored sailboats. But, mind you the tiny island in the middle and spit of land going to it, mostly underwater, means you can't cut through, just follow the markers. Anyway, the club, up the hill behind the mooring field, has a small but well-kept complement of regular and floating docks that were completely full with mostly sailboats. As we approached, a man walking the dock returned our wave, so we stopped and said hello. We told him we were exploring, decided to visit Blackhole this particular evening, and wanted to see PSA. Without hesitation, he offered us to tie up and come look around. Of course, we were already aimed at the dock, wasted no time, and were off the boat and shaking our host's hand. The unofficial tour guide was a longtime member, and past commodore, Andy Gillis. Andy could not have been more welcoming and happy to tell us about the club he has been a part of for almost his entire life. PSA has seemingly changed little since its inception. Holly, Geremy, and I all felt like we had been transported to a slightly warmer, more humid Maine. The grounds are neat, and the clubhouse is quaint and exceptionally well-maintained. I digress to share some PSA history. Potapskut Sailing Association was founded in 1938 and was initially located in Rock Creek on Wall Cove, an entirely different river, the Patapsco, north of the Magothy. The first commodore was Marshall Duer. He was a successful business executive from Baltimore. In addition to being a founding member of PSA, Mr. Duer founded the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. He was a well-known competitive sailor, campaigning his boats named Marcarle, and a longtime member of the Annapolis Yacht Club. When established, the membership in PSA was limited to forty-five, and today one hundred. Andy said that there are memberships available for interested sailors. Other well-known racing sailors affiliated with PSA were Ron Ward, far left, and Harold “Buzz” White, center. Both men served as commodores, Buzz White twice in the 1950s and Ron Ward in 1961 (many thanks to John White for insight on the who's who). They were also Annapolis Yacht Club members. After talking about PSA and swapping some sailing stories with Andy, we thanked him for showing us around and shoved off to head back to Podickory Point. For an impromptu visit, it turned out to be a fantastic I love yachting history story for a small but renowned sailing club with a deep past.

Happy July 4th everyone! You may be wondering... is CAYUGA in the water yet? Well, no. How many days is that? Who knows. At least we can celebrate a big number for our country! Music by The Crystal Method. "The American Way" on the album Legion of Boom.