 Commodore's Corner
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As I recuperate and continue to progress thru the recovery period of a full knee replacement, I have had the same recurring dream of ….
It was a warm late spring day, the water sparkled on the Bay and the wind held at about 10 knots out of the south, which foretold of rain in the near future! We held a steady course enjoying the ride through the “Chesapeake Chop” in our trawler PURSUIT.
Being snug in the Pilot House enjoying another cup of morning coffee as the big diesel engine hummed with its reassuring throaty rhythm, my thought was “could life be any better than this?” I didn’t think so!
We were setting out from Rock Hall Harbor on our first journey of the season and the world around us was good!
As we pulled out of the town harbor and ran down the Bay we passed Huntingfield Pt. and kept Eastern Neck to Port, staying wide of the fish traps by steering towards the Love Point Light ruins. Once there we find C “3” and head up the Chester River. We leave the traffic of the Narrows to starboard, the river current is being strengthened by the falling tide, but we are still making good speed over ground. Now watching for C “7”, great we picked it up! From there steer a little SE until we pick up the next mark C “9”. The Chester is getting more natural with every mile we make. How pretty the land looks even knowing there are hundreds of people and cars only just over the tree line; out of sight, out of mind.
Careful here it’s easy to lapse into a dream and if I do I could find myself on the shoal off of Hail Pt. pick up C “11”. The narrow entrance channel to Queenstown is to starboard, we will not be picking our way through today; not this trip. Although, have had many a fun and secure stays in Queenstown, hiding from storms that inevitably sweep through the Bay, this trip we have a different destination in mind.
We continue up river keeping R “12” and R “14” to starboard, there’s Piney Pt. jutting out from Tilghman Neck. Tilghman Neck offers shelter and creates one side of Reed Creek on the Queen Anne side of the river. Almost due north from here is mark C “1” and can “LC”, head between these two marks and you will journey into Langford Creek. Making sure we keep the line of green marks to our port side we enter the creek. Some creek, this Langford, not the kind I remember from when I was a kid, in the country, those one could jump across! You’ll get pretty wet attempting that here!
Once inside Langford, heading up creek, we pass to port, Deep Cr. (which is not deep at all) Long Cove (which is not very long) and Lawyers Cove (no lawyers now) and straight ahead will be Drum Pt. You can spot Drum Pt. due to the large home that is prominent, head right between its chimneys about 100 yards off that beach there are red and green entrance marks noting the clear deep 6’ MLW channel. After we turn, between the marks, look ahead and steer straight into the pier. You will see a very traditional Eastern Shore white building with flags flying, that’s the destination for this trip RHYC.
Either tie up at the dock or grab the visitors mooring and head on in for a few laughs and a cold beer, after all you deserve it for making such an adventurous and not very hazardous journey.
That’s my daydream, boats, rolling water, beautiful weather and a great place to tie up, thanks for sharing!
I suggest those of you without boats, invest a couple of bucks in a nautical chart of the Chester River and join me in my dreams of great adventure! Those of you with boats make the journey. So, when next we see each other you can tell me about what you did and saw and conquered. That way, I will experience my dream travel vicariously thru you; I promise, I will be all ears.
See you at the club, soon.
Lee Urbani
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Wreath and cannon prepared for flag raising and wreath laying at the end of the YC pier on Saturday, May 2.
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Regatta Volunteers Needed!
Down River Race
Friday, June 19
Summer One-Design Regatta
Saturday, June 20 and Sunday, June 21
Join the fun for this season's slate of regattas
As many of you know RHYC hosts a rigorous schedule of regattas each year. We are blessed with one of the best on water small sailboat racing venues in the country. I have traveled all over in my career as a dinghy sailor and there are few spots as ideally suited for One-Design sailboats as our Sailing Area A. Couple that with our large lawn, ease of launching and very visitor friendly club atmosphere and we offer a great place for classes to come and race.
Accordingly, RHYC has grown in both the number and draw of attendance at our regattas. We have hosted a number of National Championship regattas which we will do again this summer. Why do we do all this? Why do we care to have so many regattas and work so hard? Because it is fun! Also it is part of our mission as a club. I think we should all be proud of our growing reputation as a “racing club”. In my travels as a sailor I love to meet people who say, “I came to a regatta at RHYC and had a great time. You guys ran a super regatta”.
Unique Opportunities
That is one of the unique things about our sport. You can be a competitor one day and an official the next. There are not too many sports that offer that opportunity. The other unique opportunity is the ability to get involved regardless of prior sailing experience especially in the race management side of things. In fact we welcome complete novices to join our race management team! There are so many aspects that go into running a successful regatta weekend. Sometimes the hardest part is staffing enough volunteers to help with the “on land” aspects. Someone new to the sport can get involved by helping on land and then maybe “graduate” to the water side if you want. We do have a core of highly experienced race officers, but as with any organization we have to be constantly bringing in new blood or we are slowly withering.
Anyone can be Part of a Committee - No Prior Experience Needed
With just some brief basic instruction, anyone can be part of a committee of their choice. You can choose from: on the water, land based, pre-regatta, social and other areas. As a US Sailing Certified Principal Race Management Officer, I want to thank the members who have stepped up so far to volunteer for the Summer One-Design Regatta. We will host our flagship event June 19th (Down River Race) 20th and 21st (One-Design Regatta). We need more hands so please consider getting involved. Or if you are already signed up and you know another member that just needs a nudge, please do so.
Drive Your Boat
We also need support boats. If you have a powerboat, please consider driving your boat for RHYC that weekend (or any of the other regattas as the season progresses). Sailors love powerboats when they are supporting the sailing regatta! You don’t need to know anything about sailing race management. We will put an experienced race management officer on your boat with you to direct the race management aspects. You just need to operate your boat, have fun and be open to learning.
Fun, Friendly, Quality Racing
Our number one goal is to make our regattas fun for everyone! The best way to do that for the sailors is to run quality races. Then they are happy. When the sailors are happy, they shower the Race Committee with praise which makes us happy! Sometimes it’s not that simple but you get the idea. Unfortunately we can all remember some sporting events that were less than friendly. This usually does not happen in sailing but if you have kids, I bet you can recall at least some instance of ugliness. As a Regatta Chairperson and US Sailing PRO, I can promise we do not tolerate abuse of our committees. Period. So rest assured and come on out and join the team!
Last but not least, if you get involved and help out with the Summer One-Design Regatta or any of our events this year, you will be able to look at a sailboat race on the water and understand what is going on. Doesn’t that sound worthwhile?
Please email regattas@rockhallyachtclub.org to sign up. I look forward to working with as many new folks as possible.
John Macielag
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2015 RHYC Club Sailing Season Off to a Great Start
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The 2015 RHYC Club Sailing season started on a great note. Our Race Committee PRO Scott Ross and his helper Jim Georgeson held an informative Captains meeting and safety talk. Then everyone jumped in their boats and sailed 5 races on a spectacular sunny day in front of the club.
The Laser group consisted of Joe and David Manley. Their boat speed was good and they were very competitive. The 5 boat Windmill group consisted of two parents and kids: Allen and Christina Chauvenet, Jon and Max Penders, two husband and wife groups: John and Anne Danneberger, Ralph and Sandy Sponar, and Professor Lance Williams and Steven Bilinsk, a recent student of his at Washington College.
Club racing brings out the best, we're all there to help each other get better and have a great time. Listening to laughter and conversations on the water makes spending time out playing well worth the effort. After retiring from the water we enjoyed many stories, good drinks and food on the club’s veranda.
Do you have the time to come out to play? Do you want to talk to your kids - there is no time or place for cell phones on the race course. Want to learn more about your significant partner - get close helping each other tack the boat and putting on sunscreen.
The next club race is Saturday June 6 Club Race 2 and Allen Chauvenet has volunteered as PRO. Connie Ranney has club boats available or call Ralph Sponar and jump in a Windmill.
Until then Safe Journeys to All,
Sandy Sponar
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Club Racing Schedule
Saturday, June 6
Club Race 2
Saturday, June 27
Club Race 3
Saturday, July 11
Club Race 4
Saturday, August 1
Club Race 5
Saturday, August 22
Club Race 6
Sunday, September 6
Club Race 7
Saturday, September 12
Club Race 8
We need sailors of all ages, all skill levels, and in any sailboat to build club racing this season on Lankford Bay! These are low-key, fun, but skill-building races run by club members for club members.
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Sailing School Starts in June
Sign up now, classes are filling fast!
We have a great group of US Sailing certified instructors and a boatload of fun, new friends, learning sailing and seamanship, and more … all ready for this summer. Sign up now at www.rhycSailingSchool.org or contact Denise or Connie for assistance at 410-775-TACK
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From top: 1 Nate Ostrander, Head Coach; 2 Martin LeJeune; 3 James Marshall; 4 Will Sunkler; 5 Rachel Wagner.
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RHYC Windmill Fleet 82 News
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Good Day to All,
The resident Windmill sailboat class fleet has kicked off its 2015 Racing season with a big bang! In early May the Northern-Southern Regatta held at Glendale Lake, PA was won by our own RHYC Allen and Christina Chauvenet and Ralph and Matthew Sponar came in third place. As of this writing, Allen and Ralph will represent RHYC at the Windmill Midwestern Regatta hosted by Hoover Sailing Club in Westerville, OH the last weekend of May,
Racing on the home front will heat up on June 19 - 21 with the RHYC Down River Race and the Windmill Mid Atlantic District championship being determined at our One-Design Regatta.
Lots of club racing is scheduled to help us tune up and sharpen our skills for our Windmill Nationals event that will be held at RHYC the week of July 20. This is a fun family week event that will have activities for all levels of sailors. A tactics lecture by world class sailor Ethan Bixby from North Sails St. Petersburg, FL and an America’s Cup sailor Dave Dellenbaugh video will be featured to make sure everyone understands the US Sailing 2013-2016 sailing racing rules. Thursday, July 23 the RHYC Windmill Fleet 82 will host the Windmill Junior Nationals for 18 years and under followed by a sailing debrief and Disney movie "Morning Light." Friday through Sunday the real fun begins with championship racing on the Chester River.
We hope to have close to 40 Windmills on the line and can use your help. If you are a sailor there are Windmills available for sale. Join us and you will have fun. If you can support us with a day then we would love to have your help on one of the race committee boats.
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Until the next time Safe Journeys,
Sandy Sponar
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Keels & Wheels on Display
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Commodore Lee enjoying the afternoon of Keels & Wheels at the club on Saturday, May 2.
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Members gather for the Kentucky Derby Party and Hat Contest at the club on Saturday, May 2.
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Welcome Aboard!
Mickey and Rita Applebaum - Philadelphia, PA
Alexandra Caswell - Rock Hall, MD
George and Dianna Harris - Chestertown, MD
Simon and Susan Kenyon - Rock Hall, MD
Dick Newman and Sherri Bowman - Ewing, NJ
Fred and Ruth Wehden - Chestertown, MD
Paul and Sharon Ritger - Exton, PA
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Summer Solstice Celebration
Saturday, June 20
Cocktails 6:00 pm
Buffet Dinner 7:00 pm
$25 per person ($12 for those under 12)
RSVP deadline Wednesday, June 17
Reservations are a must!
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SUP and SUP –YOGA
We are lucky to have Julie coming back to RHYCSS this season for all of you that know you want to try Stand Up Paddling or want to return for more SUP-Yoga!
Here are the SUP offerings:
Saturday, June 27
10:30 – 11:30 am SUP Lessons for Beginners
12:00 – 1:00 pm SUP & Yoga
Saturday, July 11
10:30 – 11:30 am SUP Lessons for Beginners
12:00 – 1:00 pm SUP & Yoga
Saturday, Aug 8
10:30 – 11:30am SUP Lessons for Beginners
12:00 – 1:00 pm SUP & Yoga
More dates can be arranged as needed, just give us a call.
Julie is a, ACA certified SUP Instructor as well as a Registered Yoga Teacher, and she’s a great instructor and fun to learn with! Sign up for either or both classes.
One class is $25, both for $45 + rental fee. Signup form online or call 410-775-TACK.
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Food & Drink Service Changes
How do you feed 30 or 40 or 50 people, when only 10 told you they were coming? They all want their own choice to be ordered and served between 6:45 pm and 7:30 pm. All the while enjoying a prompt bar service. This has historically been a problem and continues to be so. In order to try to improve service, Mike and his staff are implementing a new system on busy nights.
A dinner reservation steward will be located at the end of the bar nearest to the fireplace during the rush. The bar tender will devote her time to serving drinks and cashing out, not taking dinner orders. When your order is placed you will receive a number which indicates the approximate order of receiving your food. If you sit together a number 5 will still arrive before a 15, not all at the same time. If a group plans to sit together and want their food at the same time, please all order at the same time and tell the steward you are together (the tabs will be separate). Also if you have a problem with your order please do not go into the kitchen to address it, speak to the reservation steward.
Reservations are greatly appreciated so that the staff has an idea of how many they should shop, prep and staff for. Stating what you plan to order will help their planning but does not place your food order, it is necessary to place/confirm your order at the club.
We hope that this resolves some of the issues. Also remember that your ideas for improvement can be discussed with any board member, these are always welcome.
Board of Directors
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Notice to Members re: Launch Ramp
Due to the deterioration and poor condition, the Board has elected to close the launch ramp to prevent injury to anyone who attempts to use it.
We know that many would like to have a usable ramp and enough water depth to be able to use it. We would welcome members’ suggestions on how to implement and finance the necessary repairs.
Board of Directors
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SAVE THE DATE!
Down River Race - Friday, June 19
RHYC One-Design Regatta - Saturday, June 20 and Sunday, June 21
Summer Solstice Celebration - Saturday, June 20 at 6 pm
Hoedown Party - Saturday, July 25 at 6 pm
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Please watch your email for This Week at the Club to get updates and specials. And don't forget our Facebook page, website and club calendar!
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