The Sailing Club, Inc.

Rock Hall, MD Chesapeake Bay June 26 – 28, 2010

Fifteen men on the dead man’s chest Yo-ho-ho, and a bottle of rum! Drink and the devil had done for the rest – Yo-ho-ho, and a bottle of rum! - Robert Louis Stevenson in Treasure Island         Rum, as most of you know, is a distilled beverage. It has been around in one form or another since antiquity. Modern rum, distilled from molasses, is likely to have been first created in Barbados, when some plantation slaves had some time on their hands, and tried fermenting the stuff into alcohol – no doubt to toast their wonderful lifestyle. OK, enough of the history lesson. Prepare to celebrate all things rum. It isn’t just for drinking, you know. In addition to cocktails, there are rum balls, rum cake, marinades, the ever-popular Bananas Foster, and the ubiquitous holiday fruit cake. This rumbalicious adventure will include contests with prizes in various categories, including best rum dish, best rum drink, and best general use for rum. Creativity will count a lot for that last category. Decision of the judges will be arbitrary and final. The adventure will start at Haven Charters in Rock Hall. After arriving Friday evening and stowing gear, make for one of the fine eateries in town for some excellent seafood. On Saturday, after any last minute provisioning and boat matters, we will head out in to the main part of the Chesapeake for some delightful sailing. Our destinations for Saturday and Sunday will be determined by wind and weather. The plan is to sail the bay each day and find a suitable anchorage for our two nights out. Possible venues are the Corsica River, off the Chester, the Magothy River, just north of Annapolis, or possibly even the Severn River, with views of the Naval Academy. If the weather proves less than hospitable for an enjoyable sail, Baltimore Inner Harbor is nearby. We will raft up Saturday evening and have the rum-off. In addition to the above-mentioned contest, there will also be a rum trivia contest. We’ll see how many brain cells are left after sampling all the wonderful creations everyone has shared! Sunday morning will likely see some extra large mugs filled with some extra strong coffee. Then, after a lazy breakfast, we’ll sail to our heart’s content, and pick an anchorage that suits us. After a quiet dinner with your crew, come topside for a sea shanty sing-a-long. While sea shanties were work songs sung by the crew doing chores on sailing vessels, we’ll just enjoy some of the weird lyrics they concocted. On Monday, after a full day of sailing, and maybe a few shanties as you raise and trim sails, we head back to Rock Hall, offload and head home. This will be a great trip for those seeking an active weekend focused on sailing and boat handling. The cost of the trip is $395.00 per person (Skippers - $205.00). This price covers charter fees, insurance and one night’s slip fees. Food, fuel, and other incidental expenses are additional and will be handled by each boat’s crew. A $100.00 deposit is required to hold your position. Please make your check payable to The Sailing Club, Inc. and mail it, along with your completed reservation form, to Steve Krakauer at the address below. Reservations will be processed beginning April 9, 2010 with a random draw of those received by that date. All reservations received after that date are on a first-come, first-served basis. The balance of $295.00 will be due May 12, 2010.