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June 2007

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2007 Chesapeake Bay Rendezvous

The 2007 Chesapeake Bay Rendezvous still has some reservation slots available.  This year's rendezvous features Saturday Morning Seminars.  Starting around 9 am, we have three presenters: a wealth management consultant who will present ideas about alternative financing opportunities for buying or re-financing a boat; an insurance seminar on ways to reduce your insurance costs and use your insurance effectively; and Walter and Barbara Davis travelogue of their Great Loop adventure.  If you would like to attend the seminars only, contact me at 800-540-2926.  If you would like to make reservations for the entire rendezvous, contact Patsy at the same number.  There will be a small fee for the seminars alone to offset the cost of the room.

 
Other Upcoming Events

On July 14, we'll have a Saturday Night Out at a new restaurant in the Baltimore area.  The Bear Creek Marina Association invited the Club to visit their marinas or anchor out in a picturesque creek off the beaten path near Baltimore.  For cruisers looking for a near-by, remote location, Bear Creek may be the place.  Anyway, the Hard Yacht Cafe at Anchor Bay East Marina is the site of our planned Saturday Night Out.  It's an easy drive or cruise.  You don't need to make reservations, unless you want a slip.  If you want a slip, call me at 800-540-2926. 

Another major event is a convoy down the ICW.  We'll leave Portsmouth, VA on November 1, 2007, weather permitting,   We will stay inside the entire trip.  This will be life in the slow lane, with an average cruising speed of about 12 miles per hour or 50 miles per day.  A couple of days will be longer or shorter, depending on local conditions.  We will not cruise in bad weather.  If you've always wanted to make the trip, but have been unsure of where to start, this is your chance.  Again, many considerations limit the number of boats that can join us, but it should be fun.

 
Favorite Cruise

Cape Charles, Virginia is a lovely place to visit, according to George and Ginger Burke.  They visited Cape Charles after being trapped by fog in Hampton for a few days.  The Town Docks have been extensively reworked and made much nicer.  A second marina, Bay Creek Marina and Resort, offers luxury spa-like amenities for guests of the hotel or marina.  It's a great weekend cruise or a great cruising vacation destination that avoids the traffic of the Tidewater Virginia area.  There is a local winery nearby that offers good local wines.  That meets Patsy's definition of a good destination.

 
Robert Janger's Article

Robert's article this month has absolutely nothing to do with me.  It's titled, "Stuff that works".  This article names specific products that Robert uses successfully on his boat.  I've used several of his recommendations and, uh, they work.

 
But I Had the Right-of-Way

Sometimes, being a sailboat just isn't enough.  The picture on the left shows the damage done to the Heron, a historic sailboat, after it turned directly into the path of a tugboat in the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal at 3:30 AM. The boat was declared a total loss, the C&D Canal was closed for two days while the boat was salvaged.  The photo on the right shows the patch that had to be installed to float the boat and the damage done to the hull from the chains on the tow.  Three people were taken to local hospitals as a result of the collision.

   

 
Getting Rid of Soot

Boaters powered with diesel fuel all want to know how to reduce the amount of soot that forms on the back of the boat.  It appears that energy companies are trying two strategies - one is by lowering the amount of sulfur in the fuel and reducing the particulate matter (see the article below) - the second is to raise the cost of fuel to the point that no one can afford to use the boat.  TechGuy has been working on some different ways of reducing the soot and we'll have more information on this in the next newsletter.

I've talked about Mr. Clean's Magic Eraser Sponge before and how effective they are in cleaning vinyl and other surfaces on the boat.  Recently, I saw detailing crews using them to wash the boat and gave them a try.  All I can say is WOW.  The eraser sponges do a great job of removing stains and hard to clean dirt.  The sponges don't last very long on rougher surfaces, but do a nice job on smoother surfaces.  Don't use them on clear vinyl, such as your curtains or Plexiglas. 

 
Low Sulfur Diesel Fuel

The EPA mandated the use of ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel in highway vehicles in 2006.  These lower emission standard fuels are now being introduced into off-highway (read boats) this year.  I guess this is the ethanol equivalent for diesel fuel.  It looks like the ultra-low diesel fuel will cost about 5 cents more per gallon, provide less fuel economy, and may damage components in older diesel engines.

Damage to the components in older (some suggest prior to 1993) engines is expected to be limited to fuel leaks and filter clogs.  I could not find an explanation for what causes the leaks or clogs as a result of reducing the sulfur levels.  I'm sure this will be a hot topic in months to come.

My thanks to Tom Trainer of McDaniel Yacht Basin for bringing this important issue to my attention.