Antique and Classic Boat Society - Chesapeake Bay Chapter

A VIEW FROM THE HELM
by Rick Sharpe

Hello fellow members of the CBC/ ACBS I hope this writing finds you all in full swing of the boating season and everything is functioning as it should be on your classic vessel, realizing they're always a work in progress.

Just a quick note to keep everyone abreast of all the events both past and present. Of course, unless you have been on Mars last month we had our 17th Annual Antique Boat Festival at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum in St. Michaels, MD. The show was a great success in many ways but I'd like to highlight a few.

This year we had limited cruiser space available due to construction on Navy Point, this reduced the overall boat registrations about 15-20 boats, all primarily big boats. This issue had the planning committee very concerned but it turned out to be a non-issue. Many previous attendees took notice of the letter published in the last "Stuffing Box" where we expressed the situation and asked some of the "veteran" attendees to stand down and allow newer members to attend. Overall the cruiser space went off without a hitch and I would like to personally thank those who made the sacrifice not to bring their cruiser this year. The museum thinks the project will be concluded by next year's show that will again be on Father's Day weekend, so mark your 2005 calendars now!

Another highlight of this year's show was parking. This year every participant who displayed their boat in the water stored their trailer at the St. Michaels High School. This was well received and freed up a tremendous amount of space at the museum. The Sea Scouts who were highly vigilant in manning the gates further enhanced any other parking lot issues. Also on Saturday, the museum sponsored a shuttle bus that carried patrons from the elementary school to the museum grounds. This alleviated some of the congestion downtown and overflow into The Inn at Perry Cabin.

Another triumph was the loudspeaker system engineered by Dominic Fiaschetti. We increased and re-positioned speakers so as to maximize the effect and played old time music on a continuous basis. I overheard many patrons and participants comment on how much they enjoyed the music and its relevance to the show.

Overall the club's marquee event was a resounding success and that can only be a result of the people who devote their time and efforts to pull an event of this off. We are not done this season. There are upcoming events on the schedule and you should try to make some of these events. It's your right as a member of the CBC to take advantage of club sponsored programs and to get out and enjoy your boat because isn't that why we all joined to begin with? See you on the water!

Rick

Summer 2004 Stuffing Box

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