Officer of the Deck

Happy fall sailing season! October brings great sailing breezes for our last couple of cruises and races of the 2007 season. It also brings the end of our first year at our location in downtown Solomons. I hope that each of you have had an opportunity to enjoy an event or two at the new clubhouse. There have been many to select from. I have heard from many who were skeptical about the clubhouse (whether it was location, cost or utility) that they are now firm believers that it enhances our total club experience. We are currently negotiating with the owners of the property to try and acquire a new lease with terms that we as members can afford.

We have many members who are dedicating significant amounts of time to the club and its various programs. Thanks you. There are however, many opportunities for more to help, some that we as the club leaders are aware of and many that we are not. Please bring us your ideas and support to further enhance YOUR club. If you don’t have specific ideas or suggestions, contact a BOD member or program chair and offer your support. You will undoubtedly find it introduces you to new members and to the joys of socializing at the club.

Through the busy summer, the BOD met several times to discuss several items that will affect the future of the club. We have moved slowly (and some have said “not at all”) on several items on purpose. That is not to be misunderstood as change and future isn’t being talked about. However, the last year saw significant change in the club, both in location and how it operates day-to-day. We have stuck to our plan to try and forge ahead with our existing programs and not request any significant new change this first year – thus allowing ourselves to settle in and see what (if anything) needs fixing.

The program chairs and other officers report that the club is doing well. Refer to previous months Clews for how successful all our traditional races, cruises, camps, etc have been! Specifically, your treasurer, Joe Kubinec (and please thank him when you see him) has done an extraordinary job keeping track of our financial situation, monies spent and received and financial projections. This for many, if not all of us, was and still remains the largest concern. See his report from last month (in fact see them each month). We are doing well, and we have shown that we can support this! I am very pleased with how things have gone – but would love some fresh ideas! How can we as members continue to enhance the club? Bring your ideas to the clubhouse, send them in an email or pick up the phone and call any BOD member or Program Chair.

Don Berhens, Commodore

Membership

As we enter our fall season, please join me in welcoming our newest member, John R. Johnson, known to many of us in the club as simply “J.R.”.  When stationed at Patuxent River a few years back, J.R. was an active participant in our big boat racing program and often volunteered his time to lend a hand with the Junior and High School programs.  His recent return to Southern Maryland brought him to our new clubhouse and shortly thereafter, he applied for membership. 

J.R. is a former A.S.A. Instructor.  He owns a Hunter 45 named Beam Reach, which is currently kept at Calvert Marina.  In addition to racing, he is very interested in our cruising, social and junior programs.  In recent weeks, J.R. has been assisting Stovy Brown with coaching the High School teams and has spent numerous hours working on our fleet of F.J.’s.  J.R. brings with him a great deal of energy, at a time when many of our volunteers are eager to have a fresh face step up to the plate. Welcome aboard J.R., we’re happy to have you!

As you look at the calendar of events for this month and next, please join in on the fun and consider bringing a friend or neighbor with you who might be interested in the activities of our club and potentially becoming a member. 

Laura Comeau-Stanley, Membership Chair

Facilities

Lots of activities are still going on at the clubhouse!  The doors open at 12:30pm on Sundays for the Sunday Football Socials.  These events include an open bar and light snacks.  There is even an occasional half time show featuring Victorias sailing off the back pier!  The Friday Afternoon Socials continue and Max has increased the variety of beers available and we are now even carrying Mike’s!  Please let Max and I know what suggestions you have and what drink specials you would like to see as we continue to outfit the SMSA Bar.

The All-Hands Clubhouse Clean Up is scheduled to start at 1pm on Sunday, October 14th.  There are plenty of tasks that need to be done and the more help there is, the faster and better the day will go.  So please, bring the tools of your trade (rakes, brooms, tool belts) and pitch in.  There will be burgers on the grill for those who help out and the Skins vs. the Packers will be on the TV!  Please look for the task list that will be posted on the announcement board in the back room and sign up! 

As the holidays approach, keep the clubhouse in mind as a place to have your gathering.  Details are available on the SMSA Website. 

Cindi Eaton, Facilities Chair

Social

There are several important social events in the next several weeks.

October 20th - Chili Party & Oyster Scald - It's that time again to pull out your favorite chili recipes and share them with all your fellow members.  As with all socials, everyone is asked to bring a dish to share. Soft drinks and water will be provided free of charge and the grill will be the available if you wish to BBQ.  I would like to know how many will be bringing chili, so please drop me a line to let me know.  This has been a very fun event for all in the past; please mark your calendars to attend.

November 3rd - Annual Membership Meeting and Brunch - After the annual membership meeting a brunch social is the event of the day.  Please bring your favorite brunch dish to share.  Soft drinks and water will be provided and as always, the grill will be at your disposable to use. 

December 8th - Christmas Gathering - Christmas is right around the corner and just to kick off the season and to watch the parade of lights, we will be gathering at the clubhouse for an evening of holiday cheer.  The Solomon's Christmas Walk is also happening that weekend.  I am looking for volunteers to help out with decorating, bartending and general assistance with setup and cleanup.  Please contact me if you are interested in helping out.  Look for more information on this in the November issue of the Clew. 

If you are interested in helping out for any of these events, please contact me at csmith@dtiweb.net or 301-863-8285 or 301-672-5874..

Carol Smith, Social Chair

Race

Now that we’ve finished up the Wednesday Night Race Series, I guess the summer racing season is officially over.  It’s a bit of a sad note.  But the good news is that there is still plenty of good racing yet to be had… and with the traditionally great winds and fine weather of the Chesapeake autumn. 

In fact, we just experienced such a day on Saturday the 8th for the Smith Point Race.  It could not have been better!  Ten boats raced the 59/42 miles down and back under beautiful sunny skies in 80-degree temperatures and with 12-20 knots of wind.  Of course, it couldn’t be totally perfect in that we had a current on the nose for most of the race.  But, what a great day!  Hopefully, we can get more boats out there on the start line for the Hooper/Pt-No-Pt Race on October 13.

We had three SMSA crews and our Screwpile Race Committee represent us at CBYRA/Annapolis Race Week Labor Day weekend.  Our race committee folks led by Principle Race Officer Don Behrens did another acclaimed job running the course with Etchells and Melges 24s.  And, all three of our SMSA boats brought home silver.  Rhumb Punch won a 4th place trophy in a very tough 18-boat PHRF-3 Fleet.  Pursuit was 3rd in the always-competitive 11-boat PHRF A-1 Fleet, and Foxtrot Corpen earned a 2nd place trophy in the 7-boat Beneteau 36.7 One-Design Class.  Congratulations to all who represented our club so well at Annapolis Race Week!

We had two excellent Wednesday Night Race Series this summer.  In all, 34 boats participated in the regular 14-race series and the 6-race PRO series.  Thank you to all who participated and to the crews who so admirably took their turn performing Race Committee duties.  On the last Wednesday of the season, Z’s Pool Bar once again hosted our end-of-series mini-awards party.  Thanks to Skip and Fred for the great spread of food, and to Bob Prine, TV Vandenberg for cooking and to Shannon Walters for helping to set up.

Congratulations to those crews winning silver in the two very competitive Wednesday Night series. 

Trophy winners are shown below.

Green Fleet

Blue Fleet

White Fleet

Jim Keen, Race Chair

Cruise

Fall weather seems to be creeping up on us and soon the leaves will start changing. It has been a great summer and I’ve really enjoyed serving as Cruise Program Chair with the opportunity to meet and get to know so many new and long-time SMSA members.  I’d like to thank all the volunteers that have helped make my first year go smoothly by helping with cruise leadership, bartending at the club, making sure everyone knew who I was, and helping with opinions and ideas for the future for this great program.

We are working on several things to improve the program over the winter. We will be offering more in-depth seminars on topics that are of greater interest to cruisers. There will be more opportunities to socialize in the off-season at the Friday night Membership Socials and sporting events. We will have better reciprocity with more sailing clubs, and hopefully another successful planning meeting for the 2008 cruising season.  With that in mind, I’d like to ask for a couple of volunteers to help as I put together a committee to help keep the Cruising program active and healthy.  If you would be interested in volunteering at any level, please contact me at cruise@smsa.com.

I’d also like to thank the SMSA membership for being very receptive to working towards being more involved and supportive of all the programs at SMSA.  I saw several members who don’t race at racing functions (after race awards, Screwpile, etc…), and several racing boats join us in our cruises!  Let’s keep that spirit growing as we finish up a great 2007 season and start looking to 2008.

Upcoming events/cruises for Oct. are:

• Annapolis Sailboat Show is Oct 4-7, we’ll see you there!
• Crisfield Cruise to the Waterman’s Festival is Oct 11-14
• SMSA Chili Cook & Oyster Scald is Oct 20th… (I’ve been working on my chili J)
• The Halloween Cruises are the weekend of Oct 26, 27-28.  I need a volunteer to lead the local Pax River version of this one the 27th & 28th… Kate and I will be leading the other one 26th-28th.

Thank you all again for a great summer- I’m looking forward to a very fun fall!

Chris Miller, Cruise Chair

Crisfield Waterman's Festival Cruise (October 18 - 21)

The Second Annual Crisfield Waterman's Festival on Friday 19 will serve all you can eat steamed crabs, fried oysters, fried clams, oyster & clams on the half shell, fried fish, grilled chicken and more for $35.00. The event will be held on the Somers Cove Marina grounds. Call  (410) 968-2501 for more details or download the form.

We plan to sail down on Thursday and have a lay day at the marina on Friday. Saturday we will move to Deal Island and anchor for the night to make the return trip easier. Make your marina reservations at Somers Cove Marina for Thursday and Friday night. Call (410) 968-0925 or go to the web site http://www.dnr.state.md.us/publiclands/eastern/somerscove.html.

Please let us know as soon as possible if you intend to attend the cruise. Wavedancer will monitor VHF 9 and 16, and switch to 72.

Mark and Carrie Brownhill, Wavedancer
Tel: 434 975-2784 Email: wavedancer@brownhill-usa.com

Halloween "Travel" Cruise (October 26 - 28)

Please join Kate and I with Sequoia for our “Halloween” cruise to Cambridge.  We have changed the destination due to depth issues near Tilghman Island.  The schedule will be:

• Oct 26th – Solomons-Cambridge.  Staying at the Cambridge Municipal Yacht Basin (410-228-4031) so that we have access to power for heat.
• Oct 27th – Lay Day.
• Oct 28th – Return

We plan on having a group dinner in town Friday or Saturday night (or both, if you wish).  We also enjoy some boat decoration, if you wish.  Sequoia’s resident deceased pirate will be making his yearly attendance. Also, bring the fixings for your favorite warm beverage.

We hope you will be able to join this cruise or the local one in the Pax River for this fun weekend.
Sequoia will monitor VHF 9, 16, 72.

Kate and Chris Miller, Sequoia
cruise@smsa.com

Halloween Patuxent Cruise (October 27- 28)

Please join SMSA for the annual Pax Halloween Cruise in the usual anchor spot in St. Leonard’s Creek.  We are still looking for a cruise leader for this cruise, so please contact Chris Miller if you are planning to attend.  Traditional activities include “Best Costume Contest” and Happy Hour with Trick or Treats for young and old!

SMSA cruise leaders monitor VHF 16, 72.

Chris Miller
cruise@smsa.com

"Where the Wind Blew Us" Cruise Report - August 31-September 3

Wavedancer (Mark and Carrie Brownhill) left the Solomons area early on Friday with a NOAA forecast of 5-knots from the North, heading for the Annapolis area. We sailed most of the way out to the eastern side of the bay, but were anticipating a long motor-sail into light winds. By the 10:00am check-in time, winds had strengthened. Swan (Ken and Ellie Mobray) were a little ahead of us, and Reflections (Patty Kimmel and Rich Freeman) were a little behind us, both motor-sailing on the western shore.

The wind and waves kept building from the North and Wavedancer was having difficulty steering a straight course and we were only making 2-knots COG. It was very uncomfortable by the time we reached the Choptank river, and we started to consider if there was anywhere to tuck into for the night, without abandoning our plans to reach Annapolis by noon the following day.

Swan and Reflections were facing the same difficulties, recording gusts of 20-knots in 3-4 ft. waves on the nose. At close to 1:00pm, Swan was also considering alternatives, as it was obvious we were not going to reach the Annapolis area until close to dark. Though we hated giving up the visit to Annapolis, nobody was having fun, and so we changed our plans and headed for Plaindealing Creek, just opposite Oxford on the Tred Avon.

This put everyone on a beam reach or a reasonable tack into the Choptank, and it was very pleasant to turn off the motor and sail. Since Wavedancer was already on the eastern side, Swan thought we would make it to the Tred Avon first, but those experienced racer-types were north of us, and they purred by at a converging angle with just a headsail. We called Lickety Split (Donna and Les) on the cell phone to inform them of the change of destination, since they were planning on making an overnight passage direct to Annapolis.

We all made Plaindealing Creek in time for happy hour aboard Swan. Wavedancer rafted while Reflections anchored and broke out their dinghy. After a hard day on the water and lots of good drinks and company, we made it an early night, planning to have a lay day in Oxford. Lickety Spit motored overnight in the same heavy winds and 3-4 ft waves, but they arrived intact in the early hours of the morning, counted the anchor lights in Plaindealing Creak and settled down right next to the other SMSA cruisers.

The Northern Adventures of Virginia Dare (July, 2007)

Editor's note: The following are more edited excerpts from the various logs of Virginia Dare’ s trip from the Chesapeake to the Canadian border. Wayne has emailed many cruisers the original logs and has posted them on the SMSA Cruising Destinations forum for all members to read.  

When reading the excerpts, you may get the idea that the trip was one challenge after another. This is a distortion of the truth. The original logs include many days of great sailing, good food and charming locations. The excepts I selected document situations and conditions that are very different to sailing the Bay. It appears that Wayne deals with difficult situations with his best sense of humor, so these are the sections I enjoyed the most. If you enjoy this article, I encourage you to read the full prose first hand and look over the numerous photographs of far away places..

Excerpts from Northern Cruise Post #3

July 16, 2007 – Onset Bay to Plymouth Harbor

At 0445, the cell phone, “alarm clock” utility waked us to prepare for the slack water before flood at the western entrance of the Cape Cod Canal. The morning was overcast and had patchy fog. We raised the dinghy to the deck and got it secured, brewed a pot of coffee and wound our way out the channel to the canal entrance. The “patchy” fog looked pretty consistent out there! I was determined to transit that canal that a.m. so we pressed on. About 1/4-nm from the railroad bridge – it closed! That was a nice surprise in the fog! Fortunately, the Army Corps of Engineers mans a boat in those conditions and used a loudhailer to let the three approaching boats know that the bridge would be closing. We “treaded water” alongside the canal for a half an hour waiting for the fog to dissipate. One of the s/v did go through, so I waited 15-20-min and hailed him to ask the visibility. He reported, “100-ft, if you’re lucky”. I was feeling none: we returned to Onset Bay and dropped the anchor.

At 7:40, we decided to try it again. The fog had dissipated and except for the gloomy overcast, it looked like perfectly good conditions for our 1st transit. Out to the canal entrance we went, again. This time the “slack” had given way to the flood, so the transition from the Onset Bay channel to the canal entrance required the 45 degree crabbing” motion around the two greens marking the rushing water at end of he channel.

The tug Amberjack, pushing a barge loaded with tons of petroleum had just passed by us as we entered the stream and she seemed like a perfect lead: we fell in 1/4-mn behind her. The Army Corps enforces a 10-nm maximum speed limit within the canal. Within seconds of entering the stream we were going 11.4 with less than 2000-RPM, and maximum flood was still an hour and a half away! I was tempted to give it full RPM just to get warned to slow down. It’s not often that a sailboat gets chastised for speeding. Discretion the better part of valor and all… and no passing allowed in the canal - I came to my senses. We stayed behind Amberjack and her environmentally sensitive cargo for the full ride.

Behind us, the tug Ivory Coast was moving her barge from “on the hip” to “a push” in preparation for a transit, but so far back that only the channel 13 VHF chatter gave us any notice. The canal is not unlike the C&D in appearance. Houses dotted the banks, people fished from the riprap walls and joggers were getting in a morning run before going to work. In the canal, there were very obvious swirls and counter currents at the bends which required attention at the helm, but the ride was interesting and happily, uneventful. Bonnie, of s/v Smidge had told us of “the waves” that are encountered near the eastern end. Sure enough there was a set of 6-7 standing waves of maybe a foot and a half to remind us of our friends back on the Chesapeake.

Wayne and Sally Wilson, Virginia Dare

Classified

VANGUARD 15 SAILBOAT - One of the boats from Kings Point Merchant Marine academy. (#19) Good condition. Includes new trailer and beach dolly. $3300. Marc DeLaVergne 410 586 8763 or vergne40@yahoo.com

LOWRANCE iFINDER EXPEDITION C - mapping GPS & MP3 player with black plastic mount, anodized aluminum bracket, and power cord - $200. Navionics Gold US Southeast - Bahamas SD906 Jun 2006 -- $100. Navionics Gold US Mid Atlantic & Canyons SD905G Jun 2006 -- $150. Both charts for $225, or $400 for the total package. Call (410) 394-6972 or email sykoel@verizon.net,

SMSA LOGO SPORTSWEAR - Shirts and Baseball Hats are available with the SMSA logo. Proceeds to support the SMSA Junior Program, so help the team and look sharp too! Polo Shirts (S/M/L/XL) are $45 and are only Hats $25. Available at SMSA Club House or via email tmoulds@dtiweb.net.

Calendar