The Gathering After the Keys

[nota bene: this entry was written by Blue Stache and posted by Upwind]

The Chesapeake Brothers would not be denied!!!! On February 28th, the monthly Tip-A-Few took place back in old haunts – O’Sullivan’s Wharf. There were 14 Brothers, Sooks, Engage & partners in attendance – 9 of whom had just returned from another fabulous President’s Day Zaf in the Keys – well done down there folks!!!

Limey & Holly were still out putting miles under their keel, Boats & Tricia were ‘toasting' us from St. Martin, Piper was serving the public at the fire station, and Pilot & Francine were most likely suffering jet-lag from their recent travels – they were missed but not forgotten.

With many pitchers of the golden nectar, glasses of wine, trays of nachos, Chesapeake Bay wings, oysters Rockefeller, and warm hushpuppies, it was a great time to ‘catch-up’ with each other – and swap boat plans for the season which appears to be fast approaching. It seems that all of our vessels will be back on the Bay by early summer. When the check came, even that was a pleasant surprise – it was nice to revisit the home of some of this Table’s first Tip-A-Few gatherings. And best yet, it was just good to spend some time with our Brothers.

Our March Tip-A-Few is already scheduled and highly anticipated!!

President's Day Zaf (2008) - Part 3

I started things off well...making daily entries into the blog for the first two days of our excursion to Marathon Key. Then it ended. Perhaps I succumbed to the libations of the event and lost my focus. Maybe I was just too relaxed to care. I suspect it was somewhere in between. In any case, I wanted to return to the blog and complete the weekend before the memories fade into the din of winter memories.

The blessings of a large boat: We were all warmed up and, through the use of strategically placed name tags, refreshed on each others names. The Marathon brothers had an afternoon picnic planned for Saturday afternoon. With the exception of some of the host Table's brothers, transportation was to be by water. There was a slight problem: the Zaf was so well attended that the local brothers didn't have the necessary capacity to transport everyone. Fortunately, Orza, the exceptional power cat from the Chesapeake Table was known to be cruising in the south Florida area and had been confirmed for the weekend. With a small amount of arm twisting - and, I suspect, some libations - the Marathon brothers persuaded Cruz to press his vessel into service for the afternoon. Cruz and Ann were the perfect hosts and everyone enjoyed the ride.

An afternoon picnic (with no beer): With the majority of brothers and captives on Orza three vessels, including Golden I and Tee Time left Marathon headed southwestward to Bahia Honda State Park. When Orza gets weighted down, she can't always get up on a plane. This slows things down considerably. Golden I got out in front of everyone at +30 knots. Tee Time wasn't far behind but Orza was. The smaller boats got to the park's boat basin well ahead of Orza. It was probably better timed that way as they were able to disembark their crews who were able to explore and help set up the reserved pavilions.

Ever the reliable boat, Orza arrived about an hour later. Golden I was pressed into ferry service as the meat hit the grill. The zaf participants gathered lined up for food. Snapper King had a hard time keeping up with demand but, eventually, everyone was fed. Because of park regulations, no beer or alcoholic beverages were allowed in the park. Those of us that arrived on the smaller boats suspected that Orza's late arrival may have been planned to allow everyone aboard to get their fill before arriving. It remains a controversy.

The restriction on alcoholic beverages was about the only negative aspect of the afternoon. Those of us from the northern latitudes were thankful for the breezy summer afternoon. The water was warm and clear; and everyone took some time to enjoy doing nothing but communing with one another. Eventually, we had to leave as there was a dinner event planned for the evening.

Some of the crews changed for the return voyage. Golden I and Tee Time departed on the Gulf side of the Keys. Tee Time made and effort to outpace Golden I but as soon as Sparky caught on to Brillo's strategy, Golden I was given the spurs and cruised on by. Meanwhile, out on the Ocean side, Orza was miraculously able to plane up for the return voyage (remember that controversy I spoke of?). It was mid-Zaf and the brethren were at peace.

[To be continued and improved...]