North East River Yacht Club COMMODORE S REPORT. Commodore Jon Fowler. At The Peake of the Chesapeake

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1 North East River Yacht Club At The Peake of the Chesapeake Social, Power or Sail, We Have Something For Everyone Member Newsletter November COMMODORE S REPORT Greetings from your Commodore, Leaves are falling, cool weather has arrived, daylight hours are shorter and boats are heading toward winter storage. These signs of the oncoming winter are also the harbinger of great things to happen. Plenty of celebrations, by those who are moving up the Bridge ranks, by members retiring from the Board and by all members who are celebrating a successful year and the year to come. We start off the celebratory season with the upcoming Commodores Ball, to honor Commodore Roger Hughes and Lady Linda. R/C Joe Reynolds and Lady Laura have gone to great lengths to create another great Commodore s Ball, a change of watch, where the Club s leaders are honored via speeches, fine dining and dancing. Hope you all can make the event and support this great tradition. Naturally, in the yearly cycle of life (the sail race season), a great party comes forth to honor the Captain s and their crews at the Sail Awards banquet. All sailors and their mates, as well as guests, are welcome to attend and enjoy. The noble sport of yacht racing, with its camaraderie is still well and alive at NERYC. Come bask in the aura and glow of this time honored event. Not too far behind the Sail Race awards event, we have the Wassail Bowl, followed by the Christmas holidays. Tucked in around our Club events, our Officers will be busy attending other functions around the bay, spreading friendship while dining on generous amounts of I can t believe its chicken! My own calendar foretells my future, showing lots of rubber chicken, dry turkey and mystery gravies laced with what I believe to be kibble. Oh, the sacrifices our stomachs make, all for the betterment of mankind and NERYC. Thank you, to everyone on the Board of Governors, who made this a successful year for the Club. IPC Lisa Mack, Administrator Bill Dallas and Treasurer Rocco D Armiento are stepping down this year, and they deserve our thanks and gratitude for the time they spent keeping us on track. IPC Lisa Mack, who supported the BOG for seven years, putting her heart and soul into supporting the Club, started with managing the Ships Store, two years as secretary and five years of moving up through the Bridge ranks. Lisa will still be around supporting the Club, by heading up the Princess program and as editor of the Waterline. Treasurer Rocco, on the BOG for four years, will always be known for his steadfast stance toward holding to the budget and successfully renegotiating a better interest rate for the docks. Administrator Bill, on the BOG for two years, will be remembered for his well thought out guidance and suggestions regarding club administration, procedure and policy. They will all be missed. Sure, the BOG has lots more to do, but we kept knee jerk decisions at bay, which allowed for a better thought process and final decision. We welcome onto the Bridge, a new Fleet Captain, Steve Hogan, who has stepped down from his role of Dockmaster. We also welcome to the BOG, Butch Hare as Treasurer, Dan Johnson as Administrator and Frank Wile as Dockmaster. Changes have taken place on committees that reported directly to the Commodore. The positions are one year in term, but out of the goodness of their hearts, many of the committee Chair s have stayed on long enough to leave a positive legacy as to how things should and could be done. Stepping down we have our Waterline Editor - Sharlene Wilkins and Ships Store Supply Officer Renee Landan. Both have done a fantastic jobs for NERYC and have set new benchmarks for others to achieve. Thank you Sharlene and Renee, for jobs well done. I would also like to thank those who I think are staying on; Chaplin John Sergeant, Fleet Surgeon Pat Shaw, Protocol Officer Tom Herman, Yahoo Groups moderator Suzanne Braun, Marketing Sharlene Wilkins. Did I miss anyone? I always do, see next month s column loaded with profuse apologies. I had a great time this past year and thanks for believing in me. Commodore Jon Fowler

2 2 FROM THE VICE This time of the year is always bittersweet at the Hughes household. We had a great summer with many memories from our club, but now is the time to put away our summer toys and prepare for a little cooler weather which is a little sad. As we prepare for cold weather, we also are dreaming about the upcoming seasons of Thanksgiving, Christmas and a new year. Our dreams for next year are especially exciting as we plan to spend time with our friends. Planning for a new season of cruising with the club and the possibility of joining with other boats in a cruise up the Potomac to DC will carry me through the long winter. Getting back to reality, Linda and I just finished the North East River Power Squadrons ABC Safety Course and Piloting classes a Course for Skippers. What a great experience it was for us. We had 20 attendees, one couple from Western Virginia, at the NERYC House. The courses allowed us to review and find out about what we knew, thought we knew and were just plain wrong about. We want to thank Bill Cooper, NERYC Fleet Captain Russ Zehnacker and June Cooper for a great two days and for sharing their experiences and the quality training they provided. It also allowed us to make sure our U.S. Power Squadrons safety cards were current. It is a class that I would recommend to any boater that has not taken the course in a few years. The class reviewed navigation rules and aids, government regulations, course plotting, calculating a course, GPS, knots and much more. The Power Squadron also offers other classes on boating such as engine maintenance, winterizing, and marine electronics. If anyone is interested in any of these courses contact Russ Zehnacker or Bill Cooper for more information. Also, thanks to the membership for creating another memorable season at NERYC FROM THE REAR This is my final opportunity to thank all of the NERYC members for supporting the events at the club. Thanks to the volunteers who organized and were there to make sure everyone had a good time. The Commodore s Ball is fast approaching on Saturday, November 7 th at 18:00 hrs. We are planning and hosting the Ball to Honor Commodore Elect Roger Hughes and Lady Linda. This event marks the Changing of the Watch of all officers and an opportunity to thank our outgoing Commodore, Jon Fowler. Following the ceremony, we will be entertained by Pure Pleasure, a great band for dancing and listening pleasure. Special thanks to Lady Laura for her efforts in preparing invitations and following up on making sure everyone was properly notified of our Ball. I also want thank Lady Laura and her volunteers for spending many hours in planning, flower arrangements and decorations. Irene Landon was kind enough to use her superb talents in arranging the flowers and other décor for the evening. Our in-house artist, Jerry Becker, painted a mural which you must see even if you don t attend the ball. Make sure to attend the only formal NERYC event of the year! Dress to the nines, kick up your heels and enjoy the evening. See everyone at the Ball. R/C Joe Reynolds V/C Roger Hughes

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5 5 Commodore s Ball Menu ~Appetizers~ Prosciutto wrapped Asparagus Marinated Eggplant & Shrimp Crostini ~Mixed Garden Salad~ ~ Biscuits & Butter~ ~Entrees~ Roast Beef Carving Station Southern Style Grouper Ham with Raisin Pecan sauce ~Sides~ Savannah Red Rice Sunshine Vegetable Mix ~Desserts~ Pecan Pie Key Lime Pie

6 6 FROM THE FLEET Well, this year s cruising season is officially over. Our last cruise to the Sassafras Harbor Marina was a great ending to a fantastic line up of cruises. Hot chili and cold beverages were enjoyed by all and a bit of karaoke to end the evening. This will be my last message to you as your Fleet Captain as you have seen fit to honor me by electing me as Rear Commodore for the as you have seen fit to honor me by electing me as Rear Commodore for the coming year. I want to thank the entire membership for your support, participation, and assistance, over the past year. Serving as Fleet Captain was a privilege, and all in all, a lot of fun. As your Rear Commodore, my job will now focus on the club calendar, and events. As usual, we will attempt to keep you all busy throughout the year with numerous, high quality, club sponsored activities. Volunteers to assist with the planning and execution of these activities are welcome and appreciated. If you see something that strikes your fancy and want to get involved, just let me know and we'll find a place to utilize your talents. I hope to see many of you at the Commodores Ball, on November 7th. This promises to be a fun filled, exciting evening as we celebrate the Change of Watch of our clubs officers. As always, please contact me if you have any questions, comments or suggestions. F/C Russ Zehnaker FROM THE DOCKS We plan to pull the mooring balls the on the 14 th of November. In addition, we ll set ice eaters, make sure the faucets have been drained, and winterize the barge. Any volunteers will be appreciated. Please make sure all boats are off the mooring balls by Saturday, November 14 th. All slips should be cleared by that day as well unless you plan to stay in the marina for the winter. We sent 4-5 ice eaters to Providence Marine in Annapolis to assess the possibility for repair. Best Regards, FROM YOUR PRINCESS October was a wonderful month. I had my sweet sixteen birthday bonfire party on the picnic grounds, I attended my first ball of the season, and I've been hanging out with some great friends. Steve Hogan - Dockmaster School has been keeping me busy with loads of homework. But one thing I did enjoy these past few months at school was Spirit Week and Homecoming. It was a great night and I had so much fun. Our first marking period ends this week meaning I am a quarter of the way there to summer! Ball season is also going well. I met a lot of new girls and have already started making some great memories with them. One thing I m looking forward to this ball season is our own wonderful ball honoring our Commodore-Elect Roger Hughes. I already have the feeling that we are going to have an astonishing night. My friends and I have been enjoying the fall season. Halloween is coming soon and I plan on going trick or treating with my best friend Kayla and her two year old brother. I am looking forward to see his cute little face dressed up as a monkey this year. Other than that, I am enjoying the good life as a young teen going through a rough world. Princess Gabriella

7 7 FROM THE GROUNDSKEEPER Fall Work Day Fall Work Day was held on Saturday, October 17 th. The weather did not cooperate, but that didn t keep about 20 members showing up prepared to work. The men were willing to work in a light drizzle and spread the load of stones across the driveway in the picnic ground, but they drew the line at working outside in a downpour a few minutes later. An hour later, the rain stopped as the mulch was delivered and the men were happy to transport and spread the mulch around the flower beds. By being forced to work inside, the entire list of inside jobs was completed. All windows were washed inside and those under the awning were washed on the outside. The Burgee Lounge had its brass polished and chairs and tables detailed. The trophies were polished. Our Commodore-elect detailed the entry way, and found the windows so dirty that he needed to wash them several times to get them clean. The tile floor leading from the entrance to the Burgee Lounge was scrubbed by hand. The air conditioners were either removed, or covered for winter. A breakfast of coffee, juice, muffins and bagels was served. Afterwards, the workers enjoyed a lunch of pizza and beer. All in all, a lot of work got done and a good time was had by all. I want to say thank you to all who donated their time to the club for work day. Buildings and Grounds is a big chair to sit in. The club couldn t afford to keep things under control if members didn t unselfishly donate their time and talents. I want to give a special thank you to my wife Susan, who baked all the muffins that everybody enjoyed. According to the sign-in sheet, the following members worked on Saturday: Joe Reynolds Lynn Fowler Roger Hughes Rick Hanson Nigel Veator Karen Hogan Jeff Allen John Osborne Susan Woron Thank you. Frank Wile Jon Fowler Sue Hanson Mike Wagner Dobbs Fryberger Steve Hogan Cliff Robinson Dave Uhrin 11 th Annual Predicted Log Race The annual NERYC Predicted Log Race Party was held on Saturday October 24 th. About 25 people (sailors and power boaters) attended. According to Dwain Watkins and April Conway, it was the largest turnout ever for the Predicted Log Race Party. Appetizers and beverages were served on the patio until the blowing rain forced everything inside. The Predicted Log Race is the only race for power boaters in the club. It originated in the late 90 s when Dwain Watkins and 2 other power boaters were boasting about how fast their boats were. Over a few drinks, one brag lead to another until a wager was made. Dwain s boat, Fancy Free, was a large boat and obviously not the fastest boat on the Bay. To level the playing field the captains agreed that it would be a predicted log race on the way home from the Labor Day cruise to their home slips. The captain predicted how long it would take to return home without ever touching their throttles after they got underway. Dwain won the first race, but only after the other two competitors decided to stop in Rock Hall for lunch. The next year, the losers presented Dwain with the largest (and some say ugliest) trophy at NERYC. From those inauspicious beginnings came the annual Predicted Log Race and party. The entry fee is $20. The entry fees go to pay for a party afterwards. The winner gets the honor of having his boat s name inscribed on the trophy for posterity and being the organizer of the next year s race and the host of the next party. All forms of transportation are welcome to enter (sail, bicycle, car, plane, etc), but only a power boat can win the trophy. The party is open to all members, power, sail, or no boat. At this year s party, a good time was had by all, judging by the staying power of the partiers. The party started before 4:00. There were still a few hearty souls there when I left at 6:30. As usual, the power boaters took friendly abuse about how much they pay for gasoline and the sailors took a beating about how long it took them to get to Turkey Point. As for the Trophy, I say beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Judge for yourself, you can t miss it sitting at the end of the bar in the Burgee Lounge. John Beardsley B&G Chair Scott and Susanne Miller 2009 Predicted Log winners

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9 FROM THE RACE COURSE There is definitely a sense of emptiness in the air as the season winds down and the fleet vacates the marina in preparation for winter. Fortunately, we still have one other special event on the racing calendar that is sure to lift our spirits before we put 2009 racing to rest. I hope you are all planning to attend the annual Sail Race Awards Dinner on November 21st. This is our time to acknowledge achievements and celebrate with our fellow racers, crew members and supporters. Skippers please make reservations for your teams. We need to know who you would prefer to be seated with, and also your choice of entrée ASAP. Junior sailors who participated in any keelboat racing events are strongly encouraged to attend Trish Whittington Corinthian Spirit Award ~The Hanson Family Hard to believe but we are already working on the racing calendar for 2010 and this is your opportunity to put forward for consideration any ideas for changes or new events. We are definitely going to be moving the date of the Invitational Race next year. Other options are to include an inter-fleet race, a distance point to point, additional series races and running the Fall Series later etc. Let us know your thoughts. We are also looking for non racers to provide race committee vessels for our series races, and it would be great if we could have a few boats committed to cover all our racing events. If you are interested in participating, please us at info@neryc.com. Looking forward to seeing you all on November 21st. Sharlene Wilkins & Gill Louw Sail Race Co Chairs 2008 Sail Awards 2008 Series Champions Greg Eckman, Bill Roos, Dave Uhrin & A Fleet Runner up - Joe Reynolds 2008 Junior Sailing Award Winners Shannon & Brendon Wilkins 9

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11 *Crossword puzzle created by Mike Wagner 11

12 FROM THE PRINCESS PROGRAM Since 1953, North East River Yacht Club, like many other clubs on the bay, has had its own resident royalty who holds the title of club princess. Our 2009/2010 princess is Gabriella Cosette Mack, who also represented NERYC as Jr. Princess under Princess Kelly s reign in the 2007/2008 seasons. Each year, Chesapeake bay area yacht clubs princesses act as official ambassadors for their home clubs by attending other yacht club s balls and opening day ceremonies, escorted by one of the club s bridge officers. Each year, for the past 51 years, on the first Sunday in June, the princesses from the many Chesapeake bay clubs, participate in the Queen of the Bay pageant held at the Maryland Yacht Club. During that time, NERYC has had 2 of our own princesses win this title, and represent all clubs on the bay as a goodwill ambassador, championing Chesapeake Bay issues and concerns. The first NERYC princess to hold the title of Queen of the Bay, was Diana Maxa back in 1953 and the second was Bridget Smith in The princess must be 16 years of age by the pageant date to compete in the pageant. This upcoming year, Princess Gabriella will compete for the first time, having just reached the age of 16 last month. The girls are judged on a variety of areas, from a personal interview by official pageant judges hired by the Maryland Yacht Club, to an essay about the bay, their presentation of that essay at the pageant, poise, attendance at other club s openings, extra curricular and volunteer activities and how well they answer 3 randomly chosen questions at the actual competition. NERYC chooses its princess from interested teenaged young ladies who are either daughters, granddaughters, or nieces of its members and who are willing to represent our club on most weekends from October through June by attending other Chesapeake Bay Yacht Club Association (CBYCA) club s balls and opening ceremonies. It is a large commitment on the young woman s part, and an energetic and outgoing personality is a plus in holding this role. There have been several times when we have also had a junior princess or princess in waiting at the club who has filled in for the current princess when she was unable to fulfill her duties secondary to a personal or school commitment. The past two junior princesses have gone on to become princess, and this is usually encouraged. Each year, at our own ball and opening day ceremony, the princess dons her white formal gown, gives her own written speech to our members, and is seated at the head table with the ranking officers. She is given a rhinestone tiara, sash and a small gift and monetary award to defray the cost of ball gowns and cocktail dresses. The Men s D Lo Beer and Ladies A Hi Time parties have subsidized this program in the last 3 years, so that general funds are not used to cover pageant expenses, her ball tickets, as well as her officer s escort tickets as well as the princess meals in our own club dining room. Any interested young lady, who has her eyes on the crown, and would like to represent NERYC as junior princess for 2010, should contact me for more information about the program. I would like to thank all NERYC members for their continued and generous support for this program over the last 57 years. PC Lisa Mack - Princess Program Coordinator 12

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15 15 FROM MEMBERSHIP 2010 BIRTHDAY CARD PHOTO CONTEST WINNER! submitted by Bob Brechter Hello Fellow Members: We welcome two new memberships this month. David and Hannelore Hamme have joined NERYC. They have a 33 Soverel, Fireworks, which will be in D2. They are competitive sailors and are very interested in participating in our sail program. Sharlene Wilkins was their sponsor. Welcome David and Hannelore! JR and Patricia May have come to NERYC because of the BRAC program. The own a 27 Carver cabin Cruiser and Dave plans to spend lots of time on his boat in our marina. He is a defense contractor whose business has come to the Cecil/ Hartford County area. Patricia found our club by driving around and coming into the vestibule to pick up one of the prospective member folders. Their boat, yet unnamed, will be on C dock. Welcome JR and Patricia! 1st Runner up in the NERYC Photo contest submitted by Tom Talling Many of you took time to vote for the photo for the 2010 birthday cards. Thank you to those who voted and to those folks who submitted photos. Our birthday card program begun by Regina Leigh last year has been well received so we have decided to continue it this year and into The number #1 picture was submitted by Bob Brechter and the #2 pick was submitted by Tom Talling. Bob Brechter submitted #3 and Stephanie Wagner submitted #4 and #5 picks. Some of you requested that we use more than one of the photos for the cards so we will rotate the pictures throughout the year. Also, please thank Laura Reynolds for addressing and mailing the cards. The membership committee is expanding. We have many jobs to do so many hands have been recruited but we could use some more folks. We need someone to continue the birthday cards, put together the new member and prospective member packets, write welcome notes to new members, mentor new members, write profiles of members for the Waterline, work on the photo member directory and lastly but very important to plan the Members Picnic which will be held next July 24 th. If any of you are interested in working with fellow members and getting to know fellow members, please call or me. We will have a meeting the weekend of November 14 th to plan for Keep up the good work of recruiting members. Remember to invite your friends, co-workers, acquaintances, neighbors and family members to come to the club for dinner, sunset drink, a boat ride or an event. Show them what a great group we are! bigyellowhouse@comcast.net Thanks. Don t forget to send in a photo of yourself for the new member directory! Jeff Allen: jzallen@comcast.net Peg Brown Membership Chair

16 16 Thanksgiving Catering How busy is your holidays? I know just like everyone else, you re just too busy. Well the North East River Yacht Club would like to help with this. We are, for the 1 st year, offering to cook your family Thanksgiving dinner and all you have to do is pick it up! Below you will see a list of choices available for you to pickup on Wednesday, November 25, The price list will be at the end based on your size and meat choices. Please choose 1 meat: Whole Turkey-feeds 6-8 adults Turkey Breast- feeds 4-6 adults Ham- feeds 6-8 adults Roast Beef- feeds 6-8 adults Please choose 3 starches: Candied sweet potatoes Mashed potatoes Mashed sweet potatoes Stuffing Macaroni and cheese Turnips Please choose 2 vegetables: Corn Pickled cucumbers & onions Broccoli casserole Succotash Buttered limas Brussel sprouts Beets Please choose 1 dessert: (10 in. homemade on premises) Pumpkin pie Pecan pie Coconut custard pie Boston crème pie Watergate salad Sweet potato pie All dinners come with gravy, cranberry sauce and baked loaf bread.

17 17 Price list Dinner Whole turkey dinner- $ Turkey breast dinner- $ Ham dinner- $ Roast Beef dinner- $ Sides only By the quart only $6.00 each Dessert only All pies are $10.00 each Watergate salad is $8.00 each Additional meat Any additional meat would by sold the pound Whole Turkey $1.75 lb Turkey breast $2.50 lb Ham $3.25 lb Roast Beef $2.50 lb If you need a meal that will feed more than we are offering we can do it. Call for & ask for April. All orders must be in by 11/15/09, for pickup on 11/25/09, between 5pm and 7pm that evening. Call in you orders or bring it in when you come to eat, please see April. Reheating instructions will be provided. Submit order with payment. Name Pickup time Thank You, North East River Yacht Club Restaurant

18 18 NOVEMBER 2009 MEMBER NOTES If November is your birthday, or anniversary month, or you are a new member, we d like to celebrate with you! Please come and enjoy a cocktail compliments of the Club. You must be present on FRIDAY 13Th, to receive your free drink. Featuring Entertainment by DJ Bob Cross Birthdays Ann Osborne 1 Jessica Tipton 3 Nancy DeHaan 5 Jodi Guild 5 Sandra Cummings 5 Juergen Braun 6 Lisa Mack 7 Catherine Smagala 7 Marie Starr Black 7 Peggy Brown 7 James E. Daughton 8 Jennifer Lotter 8 Deborah Light 10 Nancy Tuttle 10 Margaret Feathers 11 Long Audrey Edwards 11 Kay Brawley 15 Russ Zehnacker 16 Cecilia Keenan 17 Jeffrey Allen 18 Albert Fuchs 18 Selina Trainer III 18 Judith Burr 22 Stephanie Wagner 24 Gerald Sauder 26 Robert E. Leigh 26 Betty Sprague 26 Eileen Black 28 Stephen Dougherty 29 Reid B. Cameron 29 Miriam Davis 30 Joan Austin 30 Wedding Anniversaries David & Hannelore Hamme 13 Frank & Wendy Luxl 22 Kevin & Deborah McGrath 7 James & Teresa Land Jon & Lynn Fowler Jacque- & Donald Hol Mark & Teresa Lord Roger & Linda Hughes Neil & Mary Campbell

19 19 Don t Miss! Commodore's Ball Birthday Night Sail Awards NERYC Club Events Come on down to the club and join the fun at all of the November events, or enjoy a meal any evening the club is open. Bring your friends along to share our hospitality, food and enjoy beautiful waterfront view. Bar& Restaurant Hours of Operation Thursday hrs Friday & Saturday hrs Sunday hrs 80 Bayside Drive, North East, MD 21901(410)

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21 Full calendar of events Available at Coming in December 21 6 Wassail Bowl 7 Birthday Night 18 BOG meeting 25 Christmas 31 New Year s eve Gala November 2009 SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT Commodore s Ball 1800h 8 BOG Meeting 1300h Birthday/ 14 Anniversary/New Members Night Sail Awards Dinner