This has been a terrible summer weather wise, with heat, rain, and hurricane, to say nothing of the high northern currents and debris. However we have survived and have had some wonderful events! The fall cruise was moved to the Chester river because of the currents and debris, but it was still enjoyed by 8 boats! We had a great time cruising in the Chester with some very nice people ( who all happened to be members of our fleet! ) We even gained a new member in Mary Jo Harris who single hands her Santana 30. We all enjoyed her company and her food!

Then we had another great crab cake raft up at the Sailing Emporium in Rock Hall. We all love to sail around but the best part is when we can socialize with one another. We have a great group and another opportunity to get together is coming up October 15 at a restaurant in the West River. After that we can look forward to our holiday get together at Donna and Jim Forces' house December 3rd. Please see our Vice Commodores comments about these events.

At the Rock Hall get to gether we bade farewell to Mal and Anne Marie Singerman who are leaving to cruise to Florida this winter. We wish them good sailing and a speedy return as Mal is our new Commodore and we need him back! Meanwhile good sailing to you all!

Vice Commodore's Report
Joe Powers, Aquavit

The crab cake dinner at the Sailing Emporium was a success despite the unplayable field. Glenn has more detailed coverage in his posting. I would like to thank Dave Nance for securing a covered location in the Gazebo and Bill Stine for providing and cooking the chicken.

The next get together on the calendar (as revised) will be on the fifteenth of October in Galesville. It will be held at Thursday's Steak and Crab House. We should plan on gathering at five o'clock. I have no idea how crowded it might be. It's after peak season but it's during the powerboat show.

This will be either a sailing or driving event. The restaurant does have free slips for dinner, first come, first served. However they are not for overnight stays; you would have to leave the slip and anchor out for the night. Sunset that day will be about 6:30. If you are coming by boat you can either anchor out and dinghy in or take a slip (if available) and anchor in the twilight or darkness.

I will be putting out a specific call for attendance at this event in about a week.

Fleet Captain's Report
Dave Nance, Ariel

September saw the end of the planned cruises and weekend raft ups for the year, and the weather continued to make it interesting and challenging.

I leave it to Glenn to provide his usual entertaining narration of the good times that everyone had on the Labor Day cruise and on the Fall cruise. This year's fall cruise avoided the customary problem of dodging the effects of a hurricane, but instead we had to alter the route to avoid the debris from the floods in Pennsylvania and New York. The Chester River proved to be a beautiful substitute for the upper bay.

It has been fun for me, planning the cruises this year and sailing with all of you this year. I will have a new plan for next year in January. In the mean time, everyone that lives close to the bay, enjoy the beautiful fall sailing. There are still many days left.

Cruise Reports-

The Salubrious Saga of a Sailing Sojourn -
The CSC Fall Cruise
Glenn Whaley, Bay GyPSy

Herewith the tale of a really grand time on the Bay. If you weren't able to make it this year, you missed a great time on the water with lots of fun, food, and fellowship. Not everyone cares for a day-by-day, blow-by-blow account of the cruise, I know, but for those who do, here 'tis:

Day 1 (Saturday, September 10): Got underway on a nice enough day from our various homeports, and slowly picked our way through the really, really massive debris field that was floating down the bay from the recent Susquehanna River flooding. See the photos page for a dramatic picture of the debri. At some points, it almost seemed like a sizable chunk of Pennsylvania was drifting slowly down the Bay! For Bay Gypsy, coming from the Magothy, it was pretty intense all the way out and under the bridge into Whitehall Bay. Once there, though, it was great. Four boats anchored in Ridout Creek and enjoyed happy hour hosted by Aquavit (V/C Joe and Margie Powers): Ariel (Dave Nance and Lois Carey), Bay Gypsy (Glenn and Susan Whaley), and Circe (Mary Jo Harris, friend of the Nances from Rock Hall and new CSC member). It was a beautiful evening with a glorious sunset and an almost-full moon - altogether a wonderful start to the Fall Cruise.

Day 2 (Sunday, September 11 - Tenth anniversary of 911): Sunday dawned foggy and still. Very peaceful and pretty, though. After a nice, leisurely morning we all got underway and three of us motored up under the bridge to the Magothy to Broad Creek, carefully threading our way through the heavy floating stuff that was still out there. Aquavit had to leave for the South River for an early-week appointment so wasn't able to join us on the journey north. Even so, though, the fleet grew as Tieve Owna (Mal and Anne Marie Singerman) and Southern Lady (Frank and Liz Cingel) joined the fun. Happy hour that night was a pot luck supper on board Tieve Owna. We had to move below deck, since a pretty decent - but mercifully short - thunderstorm paid a visit. We had to button up against the rain, of course, but Tieve Owna has a generator and air conditioning, so all was well. Better than that, actually, given all the great food. There was roast beef, a very tasty turkey/pasta salad, fruit salad, some really great okra (thanks, Lois!), and cous cous with "stuff" (you'll have to ask Mary Jo about what that was - but it sure was good!). Then Host Mal topped it off with the best glass of port you've ever flopped a lip over. It was an all-around great day and, especially, a wonderful evening!

Day 3 (Monday, September 12): Due to the extensive debris field out on the Bay, the assembled multitude made the decision to shift the direction of the cruise from heading north (to Swan Creek, the Sassafras River, Baltimore, etc.) and, instead, head for the Eastern Shore since the wind was blowing most of the flotsam to the western side of the Bay. With that in mind, the next fleet destination became Langford Creek off the Chester River. So, around 9 or 10:00, we all weighed anchor and headed east. But only after a morning of fishing and kayaking for some ☺. With not so much breeze, it was a motoring day up the Chester to Langford Creek where we were all anchored by around 3:00. By now, there were seven boats as we were joined by Cherette (Commodore Dave and Janet Ewing) and Whistwind (Bill and Sandy Stine). It was an excellent anchorage, just down the creek from the cemetery where Tallulah Bankhead is at rest ("If I had to live my life again, I'd make the same mistakes, only sooner."). We all enjoyed a great happy hour hosted by Southern Lady. It was a beautiful, still evening with a glorious full moon. Boating just doesn't get any better than this.

Day 4 (Tuesday, September 13): The morning dawned beautiful with mirror calm water and very comfortable temps. It was a day that underscored the Virtue of Flexibility in Sailing Club Schedules. The new plan was to head on up the Chester River and spend the day (and night) in Chestertown. Howsomever, upon checking slip availability - couldn't have done it in advance, since it was only yesterday that the CSC flotilla had made the decision to come east - Fleet Captain Dave found that there wasn't any. Slip availability, that is. So we made the decision to just hang in beautiful Langford Creek for the day. And with that, Glenn and Skittles went fishing. Caught some nice perch, too. Frank went fishing as well and caught a huge catfish.
    But then the plan changed again.
    The word got out that, it being Tuesday, the Bay Wolf Restaurant in Rock Hall had a lobster dinner special that night. But with no wheels, that was a problem as we were all anchored on the wrong side of Eastern Neck. But wait! The Langford Bay Marina, right around the corner, has plenty of slips and a 14-seat van that they run as a free shuttle. How cool is that?!
    You can probably guess the new plan. All seven boats sashayed out of the anchorage eventually - Glenn and Skittles had to finish their exploration of Cacaway Island, after all - and were tucked safely in slips or at the face dock by 3:00. A couple hours later, eight of us (Cingels, Ewings, Singermans, Whaleys) took the van into town for a great seafood dinner at Bay Wolf. The other five (Nances, Stines, and Mary Jo) ordered in a bunch of steamed crabs and just hung out at the marina. We all enjoyed another beautiful evening, a very high tide - almost topped the wharf - and a glorious full moon. The 5 kt S. breeze kept it very cool and made for fantastic sleeping weather.

Day 5 (Wednesday, September 14): Another nice morning. Glenn and Skittles went fishing and caught supper (white perch). The fleet had been intending to head over to the Corsica River that day but changed plans due to an iffy weather forecast. So, instead, we decided to head on over to well-protected Queenstown Creek, a couple hours back down the Chester. Happy hour that evening was hosted by Ariel, but now there were only ten of us as Mary Jo and Circe had departed for Bodkin Creek and the Singermans and Tieve Owna returned to Rock Hall to prepare for their pending trip down the ICW. But, even so, a good time was had by all.

Day 6 (Thursday, September 15): A calm morning with a beautiful sunrise, but with the promise of a cold front approaching. The Ewings (Cherette) and Nances (Ariel) left for home, but Bay Gypsy, Southern Lady, and Whistwind relaxed in Queenstown Creek for the day. The Stines and Whaleys dinghied into town and explored. Actually, they were looking for breakfast but Queenstown apparently doesn't do breakfast. They did find Queenstown Pizza, though, and had an early lunch. And, along the way, found the old and historic Queenstown Courthouse (closed). But then city elder / facilities superintendent / councilman / all-around good guy Lane noticed us checking it out from the outside and offered a tour. Don't you just love small town America?!
Frank and Liz went into town later on, but they weren't motivated by breakfast. (Good thing, that.) They just enjoyed a walk around town. All in all, the bunch of us just enjoyed a totally relaxing, laid-back day. At one point, Glenn lost his glasses over the side of his kayak while fishing. (The big ol' perch got away, but enjoyed his revenge for that nasty hook!) Frank, who was also fishing nearby, came to the rescue and puppysat Skittles and the kayak while Glenn went looking for his glasses. Fortunately, the water wasn't deep so he found them pretty quickly.
That evening, we all enjoyed another pot luck supper on Bay Gypsy. It was truly pot luck, too - folks brought whatever they could whip up that was still in the pantry. It was all really good, with an enchilada casserole, quinoa dish with sausage, and 3-bean salad. It rained and blew a bit as a front moved through, but we were all cozy and dry below deck. After the front, we were treated to an absolutely glorious sunset. What a life!

Day 7 (Friday, September16): The last day of the Fall Cruise began with a cool (high 50's), cloudy morning, and not much breeze. Southern Lady and Whistwind weighed anchor and got underway around noon. Bay Gypsy left a bit later, and all sailed with an 8-10 kt N. wind back home, at least as far as the eastern approach to Love Point. Turning north into the wind, though, all had to resort to a diesel assist into the wind and then motor sailed into the Bay and back to their various home ports. Actually, truth be told, Bay Gypsy wasn't quite ready to go home yet so instead of heading for the barn found a great, peaceful anchorage for the night in Cornfield Creek in the Magothy. The sunset that night was a spectacular end to a wonderful cruise - see the attached photo. After such a great cruise, it was still hard to go home for good. But all good things must come to an end. And so it did, as Glenn and Sue tucked Bay Gypsy into her nice, comfortable slip.

And so endeth a wonderful week on the water. But there will be another cruise next spring. Could it be as grand as this one was? We'll just have to see. You'll have to be there to know, though!

A Splendid Labor-less Weekend
Glenn Whaley

The CSC set the tone for the Fall Cruise with a test run over the Labor Day weekend, and a very fine sailing weekend it was, too. After a not-so-sailing-oriented spring cruise, highlighted by rampant warmth, just plain hotness, lots of humidity, and no wind (but also by great camaraderie, wonderful happy hours, great fun, and lots of peaceful motoring), it was a true joy.

We got underway Saturday morning in a mild, but useful, south breeze. Once in the Bay, it was pretty much a broad reach all the way across and well into the Chester River, with wind that got us right to the mouth of Gray's Inn Creek. With a projected 10-15 kt S. wind in the marine forecast for the night, most of us opted to continue on around the point to starboard into Herringtown Creek, just off Skinners Neck. "Us" would be Captain Queez (Paul and Shirley Berman), Southern Lady (Frank Cingel - Liz missed the first night tending to a tree casualty caused by Hurricane Irene), Evergreen (John and Judi MacDonald) and Bay GyPSy (Glenn, Susan, and Skittles Whaley). For happy hour that night on board Captain Queez we were joined by Allen and Jane Slator, friends of the Bersons who had sailed down separately from the Philadelphia area. It was a wonderful evening all around, with a gentle breeze leading to a very nice sunset. We had such a great time together, including a piano solo by Paul (large power boats do have some amenities sailors don't :-), that it was dark by the time we all dinghied (is that a word?) back to our bunkies for the night.

Sunday, Sept 4th, dawned to the same south breeze. After a leisurely morning, we got underway around ten for the trip back to the Western Shore. Captain Queez left us to return home, but the rest of us motored out to the Chester and then tacked our way almost to Love Point before succumbing to the iron jenny to get us out into the Bay due to the fading morning breeze in the river. Once there, the breeze found us again and it was a great sail across to the Magothy and past Dobbins Island into Red House Cove for another pleasant night at anchor. Unfortunately, others who had planned to make it there that evening had to scratch, so it was just the three sailboats - Bay GyPSy, Evergreen, and Southern Lady - for happy hour that night, hosted by the Whaleys. But what a great time it was!

Monday, Labor Day, came too soon and accompanied by the threat of heavy rain later in the day. So after a nice and relaxed morning, which included a short but pretty intense introductory rain shower, we made our various ways home by mid-morning. I think we all made it home before the heavens let loose for real that afternoon, so we were all tucked all nice and cozy into our slips for the week - in readiness for the Fall Cruise starting the next weekend☺

Member's Corner-
Remembering the Millers

Wes and Marian Miller were one one of very early members of the Ericson Sailing Club, which later became the Chesapeake Sailing Club. Wes passed away in 2008 and last week Marian passed away. They were both avid sailors. They sailed a 32-foot Ericson "Nifty" from Middle River and had sailed the Inland Waterway down to Florida. Wes was an early Commodore (1983) of the Chesapeake Sailing Club. They regularly attended meetings and functions of CSC until 2008.

Marian and Wes lived in Reisterstown. Wes was a Civil Engineer who designed a major Falls Road Expressway complicated 3-level interchange. In l951 Wes built a Sailfish for his first boat and sailed the Bay all his life. Their granddaughters often sailed with them on "Nifty". In 1997 Wes and Marian received the "Broken Spreader" award for attacking the Knapps Narrows Bridge!

Some of the CSC "older" members may remember their granddaughter Meaghan who frequently sailed with Wes and Marian. "Little" Meaghan was married in June 2011 and Marian was well enough to attend her wedding in West Virginia.

We say Bon Voyage to our oldest CSC members.

Fondly, Fred Weinfeld

Webmaster and Editor
Frank Cingel

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