Yacht Clubs of Maryland’s Bay Breeze July 2021 Please Distribute to Your Members Visit us at: www.yachtclubsofmaryland.com If your club is not already a member of Yacht Clubs of Maryland, we would love to have you join us. To join, please contact R/C Tom Stevens who will guide you through the process

YCM 2020-2021 Officers and Board Members

Commodore – Mike Gaff (Red Eye YC)

Vice Commodore – George Stromberg (Bodkin YC)

Rear Commodore – Tom Stevens (Crescent YC)

Legislative Affairs Officer – Scott Gundaker (Wellwood YC)

Treasurer – Faye Broseker (Riverside YC)

Secretary – Mike Bruns (Baltimore YC)

IPC Board Member – Barry Scott (Otter Point YC)

Board Member – Kate Cramblett (Miles River YC)

Board Member – Ted Wooden (Middle River YC)

Board Member – Janet Yodris- (Key YC)

Supply Officer – Joe Hellner (Belvedere)

Chaplain – Anna Davis (White Rocks)

July 28th – Virtual Board Meeting (Zoom

YCM Committees Audit Committee

- Ron Peffer (PC Eastern YC)

By-Law Committee

- Joe Hellner (PC Belvedere YC) Chairperson - Cheryl Blakey (PC Wellwood YC) - Phil Hock (PC Baltimore YC)

Finance Committee

- Faye Broseker (PC Riverside YC, YCM Treasurer) - Ryan Peters (PC Crescent YC, PC YCM) - Larry Korpanty (PC Maryland YC)

Nominating Committee

- Barry Scott (PC Otter Point YC, IPC YCM Commodore) - Janet Yodris (PC Key YC, PC YCM) - Joe Broseker (PC 3C’s)

YCM NOMINATING COMMITTEE REPORT: 2022 SLATE

COMMODORE’S REPORT Mike Gaff [email protected]

Opening are finally done and yet we still have two Balls left, Middle River Yacht Club on July 24th and Bodkin Yacht Club on August 14th. Although a little untraditional for their time of year, they are such to be a blast.

This past month we crowned a new Queen of the Chesapeake. Although there can only be one winner, all the Princesses did a fantastic job and you should all be very proud of yourself whether you competed or not. All of the young ladies represented their respective Clubs with grace and poise and were the bright and shining star of their Yacht Club.

I've seen that Boating Season is in full blast with clubs like Crescent, Baltimore, Bodkin, Galloway, etc taking their vacation cruise. I only hope to see that same enthusiasm July 30 - Aug 1 when Yacht Clubs of Maryland has their cruise to North Point Marina in Rock Hall, MD. I believe we are up above 35 boats. I'm not sure if there are any other availability, but be sure to give them a call.

I'm enjoying this time of year and the weather and hope you do the same.

Commodore Michael Gaff (443) 682-1785

Vice Commodore’s Report George Stromberg [email protected]

Hello to all out there in our Yacht Club Community. Well, the Dog days of Summer arrived early this year along with five named storms and one that just missed us as it raced up the Eastern Shore to New England. When working or boating in these hot and humid days be sure to drink plenty of water. Alcohol just dehydrates you no matter how cold the beer is and how good it tastes.

Many Thanks to Sue Haven YC for hosting our June 30th Membership Meeting. P/C Steve Reed and his hard-working crew of V/C Tony, Lady Jayn and P/C Pete made it all happen and the dinner was great. Please remember to remind your appointed YCM Delegates to attend these very informative meetings that are only held four times a year. Any input to YCM from an appointed Delegate or Member of the Yacht Club Community is always welcome.

Looking forward to the Revived YCM Summer Cruise 2021 at North Point Marina in Rock Hall Maryland Friday, July 30 – Sunday, August 1st. 40 Boat slips reserved and motel rooms are fully booked. We hope to continue this tradition in 2022. Be on the lookout for the announcement and details on the YCM Calendar of Events for 2022.

Many thanks to all the members of The Marine Trades Association for the Fireworks Display again this year. Please patronize these businesses. They are all great folks and work tirelessly for the boating community.

As of this writing there are a lot of events coming up within our YCM Member Clubs. Please make an attempt to attend and support as many of these as you can. Since becoming an Officer here at YCM I have found that the 25-minute drive from here over to the Member Clubs in Middle River is not so bad after all. Hats off to those from the Eastern Shore who cross the Bay Bridge to attend events meetings.

Wishing everyone a safe and enjoyable boating season. Be a Sober Skipper and bring them home safe.

“For whatever we lose {like a you or a me}, It’s always our self we find in the sea.”

E.F.Cummings

VC George Stromberg (410) 746-8581

Rear Commodore’s Report Tom Stevens [email protected]

Ahoy!!

I hope that everyone is enjoying this beautiful summer weather! Now that Openings are officially over, we have lots of time for more fun on our boats. Remember boating safety first, fun comes second.

The Queen of The Chesapeake Pageant was held on June 26th. All of the princesses did an amazing job and represented each of their clubs with pride and grace!

It is now time to support all of our clubs on the bay! I know that all the clubs on the bay would love to see each and everyone of you at their events. Make sure to keep an eye on the emails and Yacht Club Community Forum on Facebook, for the most up to date flyers of the happenings around the bay. Both of the communications are full of useful information.

Our next YCM event will be the Annual YCM Golf Tournament on October 11th at Rocky Point Golf Course. This is our biggest fund raiser of the year. I would ask you at this time to please consider supporting us by sponsoring a hole for the tournament, and also, signing up to play in it. There will be a lot of information going out over the next few months so please make sure to look for that.

Stay Safe and Happy Summer

R/C Tom Stevens (410) 303-8339

Legislative Affairs Officer’s Report Scott Gundaker [email protected]

2021 MARYLAND LEGISLATIVE SESSION

After a whirlwind session, Maryland's 442nd General Assembly adjourned this year with some solid wins for the Bay—and one major disappointment. CBF staff and advocates lobbied on dozens of bills this year to advance clean water legislation and to stop or amend bills that would harm the Chesapeake Bay.

Climate Change When this year’s session kicked off in January, we had a chance to put Maryland among the world’s leaders in reducing harmful emissions that are causing climate change through the introduction of the Climate Solutions Now Act of 2021. Different versions of the legislation passed both chambers with bipartisan support but, unfortunately, consensus could not be reached and the bill failed to pass.

Some of the legislation’s components were added to other bills that were approved:

• The goal to plant 5 million trees by 2030 was shifted to another bill, HB 991, and approved. This will provide funding and coordination to plant 5 million trees in eight years, including 500,000 in urban areas, starting in 2023.

• Changes to the state’s Environmental Justice Commission passed the General Assembly as a standalone bill, HB 1207.

• Legislators also approved SB 137, a bill to transition the state’s transit bus fleet to zero-emission buses.

Additionally, the Transit Safety and Investment Act passed, which mandates sufficient funding from the Transportation Trust Fund for the next six years to repair and ensure the transit system is operational as identified by the MTA. The bill also supports a Western Maryland MARC Rail extension study. Investment in transit helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions and Bay-fouling nitrous oxides and produces roughly twice the number of jobs per dollar as the same investment in roads.

Environmental Education Funding The General Assembly was able to restore critical funding to CBF’s outdoor education programs. For 40 years, Maryland has maintained a contract with CBF’s outdoor education program through the State Aided Educational Institutions Program (SAI). For the second year in a row, the Governor’s proposed budget eliminated entirely the funding for CBF’s state education contract.

This funding provides roughly 10,000 Maryland students and teachers in public, private, and charter schools each year with meaningful outdoor education experiences. Thanks to Maryland General Assembly and our advocates, students and teachers will once again be able to take part in hands-on investigations into the Chesapeake and its rivers, the issues plaguing them, and ways to help restore them.

Runoff Pollution Climate change has brought stronger and more frequent rainstorms to the region, but the country’s and states’ long-term precipitation models have not kept pace with higher rain totals. This has caused rainfall estimates for—and the runoff control practices that rely on them—to underestimate the realities we’re seeing year after year.

To begin to address this issue, the General Assembly passed legislation requiring the Maryland Department of the Environment to incorporate the most recent precipitation data available into their stormwater management plans and regulations. The legislation aims to ensure Maryland officials are aware of and working to control increasing stormwater runoff due to more severe storms.

Polluted stormwater runoff occurs when rainwater picks up pollutants such as oil, fertilizer, and sediment from roads, roofs, and other impervious surfaces and then the water flows into nearby streams, rivers, and ultimately the Chesapeake Bay.

Other Environmental Priorities CBF also supported efforts by our partners to reduce plastic bag usage and ban harmful chemicals known as PFAS during this year’s legislative session.

The Plastic Bag Reduction Act passed out of the House but failed to advance in the Senate. The Stop PFAS Pollution Act failed to advance out of committees in both the House and the Senate. We expect both bills to be introduced again next year and look forward to supporting our partners in their work to get them passed.

Legislative Affairs Officer, YCM Scott Gundaker (610) 247-8730

Protocol Matters Joe Hellner [email protected]

Ahoy There! The Can Man

Recently, many of the guests at the Bodkin YC 2021 Opening saw a presentation announcing the 2022 “Can Man” and may be wondering what that was all about.

The “Can Man” was developed in the late 1990’s by visiting officers seated together during Opening Day ceremonies of Baltimore area yacht clubs. Host clubs typically provide visiting officers with free beers, sodas, and other drinks. The original idea was for the visitors to pass the empties to one place so that the area would be easier to clean up after the ceremony.

Picking the place to put the empties became an opportunity for a little fun. In the tried and true practice of pointing fingers away from the guilty, the officers in the “peanut gallery” would place the empties under the chair of an unsuspecting officer to mark the culprit, clearly “guilty of excessive indulgence” by the preponderance of the “evidence”.

Starting around the 2000 season, visiting officers by some miracle of group consciousness began placing the cans under the person they felt most captured the spirit of the openings (spirit consumption also being a consideration). Rules and a name soon followed. As practiced today, the “Can Man”, which can be a man or woman, is selected by the outgoing “Can Man” at a club opening the following year. Lately, the presentation of the new “Can Man” has been done at the Bodkin YC opening ceremony, which is the last ceremony of the opening season.

Although the person can be any yacht club officer from any club, the “Can Man” will typically be chosen from among promising Vice Commodores, with lots of suggestions given to the outgoing “Can Man” by those making the rounds at club openings since the last “Can Man” was appointed.

King Neptune has decreed that all yacht club members and officers are required to pay homage to the “Can Man” by amassing an enormous pile of empties under his or her chair. The name of each “Can Man” is placed on a traveling plaque to be displayed in the home club of the current “Can Man” and a special pin is displayed on the uniform of current and past “Can Men”.

Till next time, see you around the Bay!

Joe Hellner YCM Protocol Officer

Scuttlebutt and Spindrift [email protected]

Scuttlebutt and Spindrift By Salty Sam

Arrrrghh, Ahoy there Mateys!

The 2021 Boating Season has started off with a bang as it looks like our Captains Outrageous have been making up for time lost during the pandemic. This month brings stories of nautical nonsense by two Captains who stood out from the rest.

On Friday, June 4th, after visit to both Riverwatch Restaurant and Middle River YC, a certain vessel found itself bypassing its home port of Crescent YC and arriving at Red Eye YC around the midnight hour. Could it be that the Captain mistook Sue Creek for Norman Creek? After all, it is pretty dark out there around midnight. On the other hand, why not visit a neighbor yacht club at midnight? What could go wrong?

So, somehow during the zero wind and weather docking event, which witnessing wharf rats kindly described as highly UNTECHNICAL, this Captain made a failed attempt to salvage a loose pier cap by kicking it. After a solid swing and miss, he selflessly sacrificed his own safety by taking a backwards plunge into Sue Creek.

Again sacrificing himself for the greater good, the wharf rats report this captain was unhappy upon his retrieval from the water, explaining repeatedly that he had not gotten wet enough during the 1st dismount. After stripping down to just his underwear, he entered the water AGAIN, but via a complete backflip this time. A chuckle and several pickle-shots served as immediate gratitude for his heroic and quite hilarious actions.

Salty is sure that King Neptune will soon recognize Captain Splash with an award well deserved.

From further down the Bay, Old Salty got some news about a certain Bodkin YC vessel and crew who found out the hard way that parting from the pier can leave more than sweet sorrow.

Well, this crew must love sorrow as their vessel slammed into the piers at several locations and has taken out not one but two (2) pier pedestals (so far) in the course of its illustrious career. People who know the boat including staff at several marinas now cry out in alarm when they hear it is coming in.

The most recent assault on pier and power tower took place at Maryland YC. Alas, as the boat left its slip with the crew blissfully dreaming of their next port of call, screaming and yelling were to no avail. The props never reversed and, instead, a massive yank brought the crew out of their reverie and the boat to a thundering stop as the pier shook mightily and wakes bounced boats up and down the pier, scaring the be-jesus out of the dock boys and just about everyone else nearby.

The first pier pedestal met its fate back in 2019, when, excited for the 2019 Bodkin Frostbite Cruise and perhaps dreaming of certain frosty beverages waiting later that day, this salty Bodkin crew forgot that if you want to keep the boat AC electric on, you need a generator running or a really long cord. After a smooth start from the pier, this Captain’s dreams were rudely interrupted by a sudden stop and loud crunching noises as the power pedestal did its best to join in on the cruise.

Old salts and wharf rats may remember the exploits a couple years ago of “Captain Power Tower” John Gephart at Baltimore YC. Well, courtesy of fearless but feckless fellows from Bodkin, misery now has company and our yacht club community may have new tradition. Perhaps we should have a traveling Power Tower Trophy made up that resides at the club of the most recent “winner”.

As for “Captain Power Tower II” and crew, Salty is confident that, as the sign in the Shawshank warden’s office says, “judgement cometh and that right soon” and they will be recognized among their peers with “honors” well earned.

Send Salty your Skunk Flag nominee reports and news about the latest happenings around the clubs and on the water to [email protected]

Till next Port o’ Call, always remember, “Those who don’t make mistakes must not be doing anything.”

Arrrrghhh! Salty Sam the Sea Dog

Chaplain’s Report Anna Davis YCM Chaplain, 2021

07.21 CHAPLAIN BAY BREEZE ARTICLE

A Covid restrictions were lifted, and Opening Day Ceremonies were happening, one of the comments I heard from a lot of people was how good it was to get a hug. You know Yachties are great huggers. It reminded me of a poem that I had found many years ago when my granddaughter Payje was born. It is from Winnie the Pooh in Hundred Acre Wood.

“WHAT IS A HUG?”

A hug is one of life’s sweet treasures A source of great blessings And infinite pleasures

A hug is a cozy shelter On a cold, blowy day

And a pocketful of sunshine When the clouds are dark and gray

A hug can lighten any load, Pay back any debt

But the very best thing About a hug is that it’s as Good to give as to get.

So, the next time you get a hug, remember this little poem.

Take Care and Be Safe out there on the water, Anna M Davis, 2021 YCM Chaplain Email: [email protected] or Mobile: (410) 440-2801

YACHT CLUBS OF MARYLAND

Webmaster [email protected] YCM Website http://www.yachtclubsofmaryland.com

Please visit YCM’s website for current information and news about YCM and our member clubs around the bay. You can find upcoming events, balls, opening day schedules, and more. Please remember to submit your flyers to: [email protected]

We have a wonderful webpage and I try to keep it updated with information as soon as I receive it. The big thing right now is Commodores Balls. With the current health crisis I know a lot of Clubs are still trying to make a decision on what is going to happen and how to handle things will all the restrictions. Once your Club has made a decision, if you could please contact me so that I can update the website.

Additionally, any events or flyers that you would like posted for other Clubs to see, please email them to me at [email protected]. I am trying to keep the Calendar and flyers up to date as much as possible.

If you have any pictures you would like to share from some of your cruises, raft-ups, or events please feel free to share and I will create an album to post them in.

Looking to the future, please take an opportunity to check out the Opening schedule. If your date looks wrong, please let me know and I will make the necessary adjustment.

If there are any suggestions you have about the webpage, maybe something you'd like to see, please feel free to contact me and I will do my best to accommodate you.

Stephanie Gaff (443) 682-1541 [email protected]

Classified Ads

Place your classified ads in the Baybreeze and reach all of our member clubs.

The cost is $2.00 per month for personal ads, and $3.00 per month for business- and business- related ads (4 lines or less) $10.00 if you include pictures. We will soon have pricing for quarter page, half page and full-page ads.

Send you ads to: [email protected]

Show some YCM pride!

Available now, YCM Member Burgees and YCM Delegates Flags for only $20. Please contact Joe Hellner at [email protected].

YCM Delegates Flag: Can be flown by any Current Club Delegate to YCM. Flown as a club YCM Burgee: Can be flown by any member office on the Starboard side or on the port side of a club that belongs to YCM. It is not to fly in under the club burgee for which the person is a place of the club burgee at the bow but may be delegate. As a current office, is flown above the flown on a portside hoist or attachment point or P/C Flag and below any higher-ranking current a separate rail mount flag post aft of the bow club office. post.

What Yacht Clubs of Maryland provides for its member Clubs;

Below is a summary: 1. Legislative and Regulatory Representation: Because we are focused only on Maryland and rely on directly affected local volunteers, we are usually ahead of other organizations in knowing and acting on issues of concern to Maryland yacht clubs and their members. If you have been following our publications or getting meeting reports from your representatives, you know that the 2015 legislation session held no significant problems for clubs and boaters. Other years have been a different story. Recent efforts have included, YCM submitting written testimony in opposition to the Boating Fees Bill (HB 1307) and the Luxury Tax Bill (HB 1345), contacted legislators, and had YCM reps attend the hearings on behalf of the clubs. At one of the hearings, with Cheryl Blakey and Joe Hellner (attending on behalf of YCM) noted committee members hitting points right off our written testimony. We worked collaboratively with CBYCA and kept them in the loop. We also investigated and then contacted officials and other organizations on the large gathering permit bill, which, once amended in response to feedback from the marine trades, YCM, and boating groups, had no effect on normal yacht club activities. Throughout the year, coordinated by our Legislative Director, volunteers looked into waterway and boating issues brought to us by our members. We also dug to find useful Maryland boating and waterway information so our members wouldn't have to. In 2015, YCM P/C Joe Hellner was appointed by the DNR Secretary to the Maryland Boat Act Advisory Committee as a representative from the yacht club community.

2. Support of Maryland yacht club interaction, communication, and promotion of activities of mutual interest. a. Hold the Annual Fleet Captains Meeting to allow these (usually new ) officers to meet and discuss plans for the upcoming season, collect information about club activities, and collect and publish that information back to the Fleet Captains and member clubs. These folks form the foundation for our clubs futures and will be working with each other for the next four years. This is the venue that the Rear Commodore uses to introduce the Fleet Captains to the Ship's Log and passes out prior year information that will need to be updated.

b. Maintain the YCM web site, which serves as the Maryland yacht club community bulletin board and is full of information and event news and links. By working with the webmaster, all clubs are welcome to use the website. The past three YCM Monthly Newsletters are always available by link from the website.

c. Publish a Monthly Newsletter covering news of interest, protocol tips, and upcoming activities. By working with the Newsletter Editor, this forum is open to all members. The newsletter is emailed to member club representatives and commodores to pass on to members and a paper copy sent the club address. Those who would like to get the newsletter directly are welcome to contact the Editor.

d. Meet Monthly with alternating Board and General Membership Meetings as a "Local Community Association" to discuss and work on issues of interests to the members. Each club designates a Representative and Alternate to attend the meetings and provide communication between their club, the YCM, and fellow member clubs around the Bay. These meetings are open to all and lively frank discussion is the norm.

e. Annual SHIP'S LOG: Published each year at the start of boating season contains information provided by each member club intended to be useful to the average club member who wants to know more about other yacht clubs, what they have, and how to visit them. This publication also serves as the annual yearbook capturing people and events of our local yachting community. This is not an ad book as it is intended to and be an informational Service to the Member Clubs. Due to funding limits, printed copies given to each club are limited. The pdf file of SHIP's LOG is available to any member who would like to download the file for club or personal use.

f. Skunk Flag of the Bay Award: Recognizes at least one, sometimes several, members of the yacht club community each year for getting out there and doing something with their boats or with their clubs, leading to outstanding humorous and amusing mishaps and adventures. The Awards are given by YCM's own Salty Sam the Sea Dog, who always notes that "Those who don't make mistakes must not be doing anything". Salty also serves as gossip columnist.

g. Regular Email Notification: Each year the YCM Vice Commodore maintains an email distribution list to provide breaking news or information of immediate interest to the members. Examples include “All Hands” notices, flyers from member clubs, Opening and Ball schedules and updates, Sick and Welfare Notices, and Funeral Information. Chances are your officers or club first “heard about it” from us.

h. Protocol Guidance: Each year, YCM receives and responds numerous questions about why and how we do things in the traditional ways followed by yacht clubs, especially the local practices that evolved in Maryland over many generations. YCM appoints a qualified volunteer called “Captain Protocol” to do the research, be the keeper of the knowledge, and find ways to help the member clubs. Often questions become the genesis for regular articles in the newsletter. Recently, “Captain Protocol” provided Pleasant YC with the details of conducting an Opening Day Ceremony as practiced by Maryland clubs around the Northern Chesapeake Bay and distributed a one page guide to placement of buttons, pins, and nameplates on yacht club uniforms.

3. Organize and Lead the Annual Yacht Club Golf Tournament to get together in a different type of activity that is popular among many club members in addition to their boating hobby. This event is darn hard to do so great credit goes to the Chairpersons and army of volunteers who create this special opportunity for the golfers and would be golfers in our clubs.

4. Organize and Lead the Annual Christmas and Holiday Party open to members and friends of all Maryland Clubs. This event is held at Laurel Park as a unique event, different from regular club activities, which celebrates Maryland's proud heritage of Thoroughbred Horse Racing while providing a centrally located venue where a large number of folks from all the clubs together can gather to celebrate the holiday season.

5. General Support of Member Clubs: a. Our goal is be there when Clubs are stuck on something. One area that has been well received has been our pursuit and stocking of hard-to-find silver buttons for club Past Commodores, especially since local tailors and on line companies willing to carry these items are few. We were able to find the company that makes buttons, which provides us with wholesale bulk orders of all the types. We also keep a stock of silver hat braids and hat buttons. b. Harnessing the power of many: YCM is the place to come if a member club has an idea or a problem that can be acted upon by finding and pulling together people of like mind and who have the passion and interest to pursue it.

Not bad for only a $60.00 annual membership fee and a group of volunteers trying to help their fellow Maryland yacht club friends

YCM Meeting Schedule

July 28th – Virtual Board Meeting (Zoom)

August 25th – Virtual Board Meeting (Zoom)

September 22nd – Election and Installation of Officers & Membership Meeting – location TBD

October 27th – Virtual Board Meeting (Zoom)

November 24th – Virtual Board Meeting (Zoom)

December 18th - YCM Holiday Party – Noon to 5pm at Laurel Park (Details to follow in later issues of the Bay Breeze)