Volume 27, No. 7 August 2003 THE HORNPIPE Commodore's Comments DEADLINE-AUGUST 19 Summer continues to give us rainy Proposed August 23 Crabless Feast weekends, for the most part. The dip in the jet stream, apparently held there by a Please email your RSVP by August Bermuda high prevents us from getting our 19 to [email protected] telling the weekend highs. Talking about highs, I am Edenses whether or not you are interested sorry to have missed the Best Cheap Wine in attending a cookout at their place on Cruise. However, I was on a 65-foot August 23. Jackie and Ted have said they sailboat cruising the Bimini reefs and will be happy to host the affair if a checking out the underwater flora and fauna. quorum is interested in attending. Now for a riddle—What is the difference between sailing in the Bahamas and on the Chesapeake Bay in late July? Answer—No rain. The similarities are heat, Labor Day Cruise- August 30- humidity, and no wind. Anyway, being on a September 1 sailboat, even with the engine and not the wind pushing it, was better than the We're starting to think about the alternatives. Labor Day Cruise. Is anyone interested? If Coming up will be our August Dog- we don't get a response, we're changing the Days Land Cruise that the Edenses have destination to San Domingo Creek Saturday offered to host at their new home. More night. We can dinghy into St. Mike's (the details will follow. back door) for dinner and/or evening The next planned cruise is the Labor entertainment. Sunday night's destination is Day Weekend Cruise, for which Hank and undecided. So far, we have three boats Jan Zerhusen will be the cruise captains. signed on for this. Let's think sunshine and wind, and make that cruise a singular success by joining Jan Zerhusan them for the last long weekend of the summer. Kent Narrows Narrower Andy Monjan FYI—Evergreen came through Kent Narrows drawbridge Sunday, July 27, at 1:30 p.m.. High tide was 4:40 p.m. We evening. Soon Evergreen appeared, and were bumping along the bottom IN THE after a brief conversation we offered Hank CHANNEL! We saw depths of 4.2', and we and Jan (and they accepted) the opportunity draw 5'. The large powerboats ahead of us to be the “official” anchor boat. In a few moved outside the channel (green side) and minutes the four boats were sitting seemed okay. Just a word to the comfortably at anchor, and some of us went wise—maybe we need to know if dredging on a “nettle sweep”—finding to our delight is being scheduled soon. that the water was not only refreshing but nettle-free. We were then pleasantly Jan Zerhusen surprised to see Jesse and Ilyse Delanoy approaching on Agapé—so we soon had a five-boat raft-up (and a couple more Best Wine Cruise, July 26-27 swimmers—at one point eight of us were in Shaw Bay/Wye River the water!). The Delanoys reported that they had enjoyed a fine night sail Friday, anchoring in the Chester River. When Ted Edens called Thursday to It soon came time to organize the ask if we would substitute for them as cruise hors d’oeuvres and wine-tasting session. captains (Jacki was not feeling well), Jutta We set up Breezing Up’s cockpit, which and I readily agreed. The weather forecast quickly filled up with eleven sailors (I was okay—not promising in terms of winds, stayed below to handle the “blind” wine and temperatures were expected to be on the tasting). As the yummy munchies were warm side, but no storms were anticipated. passed around, I poured samples of the first We were advised that the Callises and the wine, and with Ilyse keeping score, the MacDonalds were planning to take part, contest was on! There were eight wines and the Zerhusens were hoping to go as submitted (four from Breezing Up—it’s a well. long story, but it wasn’t necessarily an We invited a couple of good friends attempt to stack the odds in our favor, and it from D.C.—Matt and Solveig didn’t work anyway). The six whites and McCullough—to join us, and the four of us two reds were quickly tasted and rated amid headed out from Hammock Island on lively comments. The scores were added, Breezing Up about 10:30 a.m. Saturday and there was a clear winner—a 2000 morning. The Zerhusens left at about the vintage Wyndham Estates Bin 222 same time on Evergreen. We motored out (Australian) Chardonnay, the entry into the Patapsco and turned right to head submitted by Dick and Barbara Callis. for Love Point and Kent Narrows, pleased [Interestingly, yours truly had submitted a that the breezes were much better than we’d vintage 2002 version of the same wine, and expected, and we sailed most of the way to it got mediocre scores]. There was also a the Kent Narrows channel. clear winner in the “worst wine” After passing under the drawbridge category—a nice-looking red (Shiraz), we motor-sailed to the mouth of the Wye, submitters to remain anonymous (but they rounding the corner into the always- were guests on our boat). In a personal beautiful Shaw Bay by 3:30 p.m. We found experiment, I had also submitted Jutta’s the Callises, on Windsong, and the favorite (cheap) wine, a Glen Ellen MacDonalds, on Heather II, already in Chardonnay—I was planning to convince place and comfortably swinging on Heather her how bad it is. It actually came in second II’s famous Danforth. We rafted up and best! Prizes were awarded—a copy of the monitored the VHF as we set up for the 2003 Pocket Guide to Wines to the Callises, 2 and a copy of “How to Choose a Wine” to common, so the intrepid three, Nan, Debbie the “anonymous” last-place finishers. and Bird (your humble storyteller), secured We adjourned to (light) dinners and a parental permission to plan a trip. (Really, swim or two, then enjoyed a comfortable (if we HAD permission for THIS adventure…) breezy) night’s sleep. The next morning the After surveying the vessel options raft leisurely came to life, a few swimmers available to us, we decided we needed to checked out the water one more time, then borrow a boat from another friend. Nan’s the Delanoys headed home, followed boat was a frisky 14-foot one-design, and I closely by the MacDonalds and the shared an 18-foot Cape Cod Knockabout Callises. We headed out ourselves, at about with my older brother, both open cockpit 10 a.m., as Hank went forward to weigh day sailers, so the friend’s boat, a 16-foot anchor on Evergreen. It was another French-built Marauder, with a hard chine pleasant surprise to find solid breezes out of hull and a cuddy cabin, seemed the height of the south and southwest that provided most luxury. No motor, no lights, no galley, no of us with a nice sail home. We decided to head, no berths; just a cooler, a box of take Breezing Up back the long way, around miscellaneous dry goods and utensils, a tarp Kent Island, and were treated to a nice view to throw over the boom, sleeping bags in of a three-master anchored off of Annapolis, waterproof stuff, sacks and camaraderie. so-so to good breezes, and warm We had ‘packed’ little more than temperatures. We arrived at Hammock toothbrushes and towels, since we expected Island shortly after the Zerhusens, and we to wear nothing except our standard summer agreed it had been a fine weekend, with garb of swimsuit, tee shirt, sandals and bug much more spirited sailing than we’d repellant (we don’t need no stinkin’ expected. The low tide, by the way, was sunscreen… I TOLD you it was a simpler evident in Kent Narrows. Jan told me that time). We set off Saturday morning in high they encountered some four and one-half spirits from the Bellport Yacht Club, headed foot depths on their return. But overall, it for Watch Hill on Fire Island, about 6 miles was a terrific sailing weekend. Sometimes as the herring gull flies. It was summer on you win. the bay, the reliable southwest wind keeping the sails full and endless blue skies George and Jutta Alberts stretching overhead as we tacked around Howell’s Point into Patchogue Bay to the west. Cruising Tales The day passed as so many others had: a fine sail, a well-executed landing, It was a simpler time, the summer of hours spent body-surfing or beach-combing ’71. Three inseparable friends had finished with the inevitable give and take of flirting their junior year of high school on the south with members of the opposite sex — mostly shore of Long Island. At 16, they had spent landlubbers who had come over on the ferry summers messing about in boats for years: and had to leave by 5:30 p.m., the last sailing across Bellport Bay, the extreme scheduled run. Dinner was cooked over eastern extension of the Great South Bay, to charcoal and eaten hurriedly, as the sky was Fire Island almost daily with no more ill clouding up and the wind had backed to the effects than sunburn and the occasional knot east and freshened. We stowed everything on the head from an unexpected jibe.