Portsmouth to Host 'Power in the Park' April 16-17

     Portsmouth, VA -- “Power in the Park” will open the American Power Boat Association Region 4 racing season this year. The event, April 16-17, at Portsmouth City Park in Portsmouth, VA, will feature both inboard and outboard hydroplane racing.

     Portsmouth offers one of the fastest race courses in the U.S. Several world records have been set on this well protected race site situated in a park setting. Come by boat or car and enjoy a day at the races.

     Admission and parking are free to the public. Competitors will travel from all over the country to have a chance at setting the next world record. Bring your radio and tune in to the voice of Inboard Power Boat Racing on FM 107.3 for live broadcasting of the race.

     Races are scheduled to run from noon to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

     Find out more at powerinthepark.com.

Dock Your Boat in Annapolis on Maryland Day

  Annapolis, MD -- Four Rivers: The Heritage Area of Annapolis, London Town and South County is sponsoring the fourth annual Maryland Day Celebration in Anne Arundel County from Friday, March 25, 2011 through Sunday, March 27.
 Throughout the weekend, historical and cultural institutions in Annapolis and southern Anne Arundel County will open their doors to the public offering special tours, events, and programming for $1.00 or less. Maryland Day Celebration 2011 will include historic sites not usually open to the public, special programs developed for Maryland Day, costumed re-enactors, exhibits, and family activities. Events will occur throughout Annapolis and southern Anne Arundel County on a rolling basis throughout the weekend. Additionally, area businesses and restaurants are offering special packages and deals to commemorate the weekend.
  A special activity this year is the “Taste of Four Rivers” cookbook. Each participating site will distribute one or more collectible recipes to visitors for this make-your-own cookbook activity (sites that are participating are indicated by a diamond symbol, below). At least fourteen sites will have recipes, each of which reflects the site’s unique history or a special connection to local flavors.
 For the second year in a row, the entire weekend will be filled with events, activities, and special opportunities to experience our area’s heritage with an emphasis on fun for the whole family. Maryland Day Celebration 2011 is a collaborative event sponsored by Four Rivers: The Heritage Area of Annapolis, London Town & South County. Activities for this weekend-long celebration include a free “Heritage Stride” family tour of historic downtown Annapolis, sponsored by sponsored by Annapolis Tours® by Watermark®, and a free African American History Walk through Annapolis with historian Janice Hayes-Williams; both tours take place on the morning of Saturday, March 26.
  Maryland Day Celebration activities at participating historic and cultural institutions in Annapolis and Southern Anne Arundel County are offered for one dollar or FREE. A full listing of the weekend’s activities is available on the event website, http://www.marylandday.org/, and in a printed Program of Events, available at visitor centers and participating sites.

ASA Meeting to Focus on War of 1812

St. Michaels, MD -- A few seats are available for CBMM members and guests to attend the Mid-Atlantic Chapter of the American Schooner Association's annual meeting this Saturday, March 12 from 10 to noon in the Museum's Van Lennep Auditorium.
The topic for this meeting will be the anniversary of the War of 1812.
The guest speaker is Geoffrey Footner, author of Tidewater Triumph; The Development and Worldwide Success of the Chesapeake Bay Pilot Schooner and USS Constellation; From Frigate To Sloop Of War.
Cost of lunch is $5. The event is free for Museum members or with Museum admission. Pre-registration required, as space is limited. To register or for more information, contact Darlene Alexander of the Mid-Atlantic Chapter of the American Schooner's Association at darlene36507@gmail.com.

Annapolis Yacht Club to Host Foundation Cup

  Annapolis, MD -- The Coast Guard Foundation, a non-profit organization committed to the education, welfare and morale of all Coast Guard members and their families, has announced its first annual sailboat race, the Coast Guard Foundation Cup. Established to raise funds for foundation programs for enlisted Coast Guard members, provide financial support for college to families of Coast Guard members lost in the line of duty, and offer relief for Coast Guard families who have lost possessions in natural disasters, the first annual Coast Guard Foundation Cup will be hosted by the Annapolis Yacht Club (AYC) in Annapolis, Maryland on Saturday, May 14.
  The Coast Guard Foundation Cup is an overnight distance race, highlighted by a fun-filled weekend of events that will increase awareness and raise funds to support the foundation’s important projects and programs that benefit the Coast Guard. The race will start and finish outside of Annapolis Harbor; with additional events scheduled for participants Friday, May 13 and Sunday, May 15.
  “The Coast Guard Foundation Cup is a perfect mix of two of my core passions -- the Coast Guard Foundation and sailing,” said Jim Muldoon, noted sailor, Coast Guard Foundation board member and chairman of the Coast Guard Foundation Cup. “It is a great opportunity for sailors to take part in a competitive race and the community to learn more about the foundation and the tremendous work it does for our maritime guardians.”
  Sponsorships of the Cup are available to individuals and businesses with proceeds benefiting the Coast Guard Foundation and its support of the men and women of the Coast Guard and their families. Available sponsorships are Presenting Sponsorship with Exclusivity; as well as Title, Captain, First Mate, and Shipmate sponsorships ranging from $15,000 to $1,000. Details on sponsorship opportunities and benefits are available at coastguardfoundation.org.
  “This race is a natural fit for the Coast Guard Foundation,” said Anne Brengle, president of the Coast Guard Foundation. “The men and women of the Coast Guard serve our country by protecting sailors and other mariners. By sponsoring this Cup, people and businesses are able to give back to those who give so selflessly of themselves to protect everyone at sea.”
 The Coast Guard Foundation Cup is open to sailboats with valid PHRF/Chesapeake 4P ratings; J/30, J/35 and J/105 one design classes; and boats with valid CBYRA Multihull ratings. Boats with IRC ratings will sail in their PHRF class and will be scored for both PHRF and IRC. The race will be governed by the rules as defined in The Racing Rules of Sailing 2009-2012 (RRS). Scoring will be in compliance with the Low Point System as defined in Appendix A of the RRS. A Coast Guard Foundation Cup skipper’s social will be held at the AYC on Friday, May 13, 2011. Awards will be presented at the AYC on Sunday, May 15. The race is a CYBRA sanctioned event.
  Entries for the race must be submitted by 7:00 PM, Tuesday, May 10. An online entry form and race details will be available starting late February on the Annapolis Yacht Club’s racing website, www.race.annapolisyc.org. For more information on the first annual Foundation Cup including sponsorship opportunities, the Coast Guard Foundation or to help support its work, please visit the Coast Guard Foundation website http://www.coastguardfoundation.org/.

KI West Marine Doubles Size

Weekend of Free Family-Friendly Events Scheduled for Grand Opening Celebration March 18-20

  Chester, MD -- To better serve the needs of Kent Island boaters, West Marine has doubled the size of its store at 2122 DiDinato Drive in the Red Apple Plaza Shopping Center. The grand opening celebration will include three days of special events starting Friday, March 18 through Sunday, March 20 from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Family friendly activities include kids casting competitions, high tech electronic demonstrations, raffle prizes, special deals and free hot dogs (while supplies last). The Maryland Saltwater Sportfishermen's Association (MSSA) will be on hand with tips and tricks for fishing in the Chesapeake Bay.
  Responding to the needs of Kent Island boaters, the store has been expanded to 12,500 square feet and now includes a huge selection of salt water fishing gear and tackle, specifically selected for the region. There is also a full engine parts department and an increased selection of inflatable boats, motors and kayaks. Product selections throughout the Store have been improved, plus a large selection of technical clothing and foul weather gear, designed by boaters for boaters are now on deck.
 The Kent Island West Marine will have a crew of 16 associates. Store Manager Drew Watts has been a powerboater for over 15 years. He is a native of Annapolis and currently keeps a 24-foot cuddy cabin Wellcraft on the South River.
 Other members of Kent Island team include: Michael Bassler who is a sailing and electronics specialist and Debbie Dilkes, a five-year veteran of West Marine with plumbing and electrical expertise. Also on staff will be two fishing experts, Ryan Dutsler and S.P. Sheehan, who can assist customers with any questions about bay and offshore fishing.
  “The Kent Island West Marine was designed to meet the needs of the island boating community,” said Watts. “Our staff consists of a diverse group of sailors, boaters and anglers who are eager to meet the needs of Chesapeake area boaters.

Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum to Host History Talks



Adam Goodheart is one in a series of four speakers in CBMM’s Spring Lecture Series, which begins this month and covers a variety of Civil War topics and historical figures.

   St. Michaels, MD -- The Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum (CBMM) in St. Michaels, Maryland has announced a lecture series beginning this month and continuing through June. Held in the museum’s Van Lennep Auditorium, the 90-minute lectures cover a variety of Civil War topics and historical figures.
  At 2pm on March 28, historian Dr. Kate Clifford Larson brings to life Civil War spy, abolitionist, humanitarian, and Underground Railroad conductor Harriet Tubman. Dr. Larson’s 2003 biography of Harriet Tubman, Bound for the Promised Land: Harriet Tubman, Portrait of an American Hero, was one of the first non-juvenile Tubman biographies published in six decades. Larson is the consultant for the Harriet Tubman Special Resource Study of the National Park Service and serves on the advisory board of the Historic Context on the Underground Railroad in Delaware, Underground Railroad Coalition of Delaware.
 On April 6 at 2pm, USS Monitor Center Curator Anna Gibson Holloway of the Mariners’ Museum in Newport News, Virginia, shares the untold stories of the USS Monitor, with So Ends This Day: The Life and Times of the USS Monitor from 1861 to Yesterday. The lecture recounts the 1862 Cape Hatteras gale that ended USS Monitor’s career along with NOAA’s 1973 recovery operations of the “cheesebox on a raft.” Holloway also serves as vice president of museum collections and programs at the Mariners’ Museum.
  At 2pm on April 8, Charles Mitchell brings to life the voices of the Civil War by using a collection of first-hand accounts, letters, diaries, journals and newspaper stories which focus on the divided loyalties of the Civil War in Maryland. Mitchell, a native Marylander and author of Maryland Voices of the Civil War, is an editor and travel writer in Baltimore. Mitchell earned a bachelor’s degree in history and political science from Pennsylvania State University, and a master’s degree in international relations with an emphasis on Soviet politics from the University of Maryland.
  The last session in the lecture series, beginning at 6pm on June 3, features Adam Goodheart, author, teacher, and master historian, as he shares the dramatic and little-known story of how a courageous group of slaves at the beginning of the Civil War launched a revolution by the shores of the Chesapeake––a revolution that would ultimately lead to Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation. The story unfolded 150 years ago, in May and June of 1861. Goodheart is the author of 1861: The Civil War Awakening, to be published in April 2011. He is a regular online columnist for the New York Times Civil War series, “Disunion” and teaches American studies and history at Washington College.
  Space is limited with pre-registration required. The cost is $8 for Museum members, $10 for non-members. To register or for more information, call 410-745-4941 or email Helen Van Fleet at hvanfleet@cbmm.org.

Cruising the Chesapeake Seminar at AMM

Janie Meneely at the Baltimore Boat Show.

 Annapolis, MD -- Annapolis Maritime Museum, along with West Marine, Weems & Plath, Annapolis School of Seamanship and Chesapeake Bay Magazine, presents an innovative one-day learning program for boaters interested in cruising the Chesapeake Bay.
  The Chesapeake Bay offers a vast array of spectacular cruising opportunities for recreational boaters, but for many boat owners new to the Bay (or new to boating), deciding where to go and figuring out how to get there can be a daunting prospect. With these novice Bay boaters in mind, the Annapolis Maritime Museum will be hosting a "cruising readiness" seminar on Sunday, April 3, from 9 a.m. - 5 p.m., at the museum campus in Eastport.
  Entitled "Cruising Chesapeake Bay: Tips and Hands-On Training for Bay Cruisers" the all-day event will give boaters the low down on how, when and where to cruise the Bay this season, whether you're traveling with kids in a small cuddy cruiser or heading out as a couple aboard a more commodious trawler or sailboat.
  Led by experts Captain Robin Allison of West Marine, Peter and Cathie Trogdon of Weems & Plath, Captain John Martino of Annapolis School of Seamanship and Janie Meneely of Chesapeake Bay Magazine, the seminars will focus on making sure your boat is cruising ready, reviewing navigation and seamanship as it relates to Bay-wide situations, and providing a virtual tour of the Chesapeake, including not-to-miss calendar events. In addition, special small-group hands-on training segments will review basic chart reading, dead reckoning, rules of the road, provisioning and safety equipment.
  Attendance fee is $60/person, which includes four seminars, product demonstrations, several hands-on sessions, lunch and a wine-and-cheese wrap up, plus door prizes and take-aways. Proceeds benefit the Annapolis Maritime Museum.
  To register, contact the Annapolis Maritime Museum at 410-295-0104 or http://www.amaritime.org/.

CRAB to Host Knot-Tying Class

 Annapolis, MD -- Chesapeake Region Assessible Boating has scheduled a knot-tying workshop for sailors, skippers, volunteers and friends for four upcoming Saturdays. Participants will learn the basic knots that every capable sailor uses for safety, ease and quickness. Increase your skills and use the right knot for the need. You’ll have fun and leave knowing how and what to knot … and what not!
  Allen Faurot, who teaches knot-tying at the Naval Academy, will lead the class with Don Backe’s assistance.
  Faurot moved to Annapolis from NYC in 1994 and has, since then, volunteered as a Sailing Coach at the Naval Academy. He retired after a fourteen year career with the Ford Foundation as a money manager, and, before that, practicing law for twelve years in the Big Apple.
  Faurot has served CRAB as a coach in the CRAB Cup and the Boatyard Bar & Grill Regatta to Benefit CRAB for many years. He owned and raced his Tartan 30 and C&C 35 Mk III, mostly in Long Island Sound. He has cruised the East Coast extensively as well as four of the Great Lakes. Faurot competed in the Chicago Mackinaw and the Huron Mackinaw races with Midshipmen as crew. With his Navy crew, he sailed a donated C&C 49 from the Great Lakes to the Naval Academy in Annapolis.
  The same knot-tying workshop will be offered on four Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
  The workshop will be limited to 6 persons each session. The classes will last approximately 1 1/2 hours and will be held in the Chesapeake Bay Yacht Racing Assoc. (CBYRA) office, 612 Third Street, Annapolis, MD 21403, Suite A, 4th floor (just above the CRAB office).
  The workshop’s tuition is $15, including the cost of class materials. Reserve your space by sending your check, made out to CRAB, to: Don Backe, Executive Director, CRAB, P.O. Box 6564, Annapolis MD 21401-0564. Note on the check the date of the knot-tying workshop you will attend. Include your phone number, postal address and email address.
  Sign up early as space is limited. Contact Backe with any questions: 410-693-1878, cell; or 410-626-0273, office; donbacke@aol.com.

Open House Scheduled for Chesapeake Ranger Tugs

A Ranger Tug 27-footer under way.

     Annapolis, MD -- Chesapeake Ranger Tugs will host their spring open house April 2-3 at the Bert Jabin Yacht Yard located at 7310 Edgewood Road, Annapolis. The Open House will feature all Ranger Tugs models—the R21, R25, R27 and R29—all of which embody the Ranger Tugs core value of being efficient diesel cruising vessels. Chesapeake Ranger Tugs is the dealer for the popular trailerable vessels and has a special Chesapeake Edition of the R29 and R27 outfitted with the Bay cruiser in mind.
  Attendees are invited to spend time aboard each boat comparing features, exploring the engine room and asking questions of sales representatives. Boaters are also invited to participate in scheduled sea trials throughout the day to see first hand the features of the Ranger Tugs line that make them ideal for enjoying the scenes of the Chesapeake Bay, and beyond. Ranger Tugs owners have done the Great Loop, the ICW, the Canadian canals, Lake Champlain, New England and even the inside passage to Alaska.
  Closer to home, they are great for fishing or relaxing at anchor. All models can be fitted out with popular features that include a generator, air conditioning, Garmin touch-screen chart plotter, radar, and sonar, Garmin autopilot, as well as many other options. Learn more about the trailerable Ranger Tugs at http://www.chesranger.com./
  The Chesapeake Ranger Tugs’ Open House will run from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. The event is free and open to the public and the media. Anyone interested in the ease and comfort of trailerable cruising vessels will appreciate the chance to go aboard Ranger Tugs ranging from 21 to 29 feet with knowledgeable and qualified sales representatives from Chesapeake Ranger Tugs. For a sea trial, pre-registration is required; please email the time and date that works best for you to chuck@chesranger.com.
  The Spring Open House is an opportunity for both the local community as well as the larger boating audience to spend quality time on board boats equally capable of local gunkholing and costal cruising.
  Ranger Tugs are built in Kent, Washington; the company was founded in 1958 based on a philosophy of quality and "doing things right." The company continuously incorporates the ideas and experiences of customers into the structure, design, and quality of Ranger Tugs. http://www.rangertugs.com/