Memorial Day Raft-up - 2009

It wasn't an official event. The Memorial Day Raft-up was just an ad-hoc group of Brothers from the Table that wanted to get away on their boats for the holiday weekend. We discussed the location on Friday night, after appropriate libations, and determined that Schoolhouse Point, in the Severn River, off of Mobjack Bay, would be the best bet for a weekend.

Saturday turned out to be as good as the weathermen had said it would: deep blue skies, some high clouds with lower clouds appearing over land. The wind swung from the SW to the SE in the early afternoon and filled in nicely, propelling the sailboats to their northern destination. Cat Nap had left the day before and called down the Bay when the rest of the Brotherhood fleet got within radio range. He was in Mobjack's East River and requested our company in his own unique way. Word was passed down the line so everyone knew of the new location.

As Talisman arrived, Tardis was rafted with Orza. Blue Moon was a mile behind us and Bumboo a mile further. Soon the raft was formed, along with Mortar Offer, a friend of Cruz and Floater. Libations flowed while friends got reacquainted and the evening meal was prepared. Dancing and singing started to an "oldies" playlist Upwind had created. At one point, the ladies formed a chorus line for a rousing accompanyment of Johnny River's, The Poor Side of Town. The summer cruising season was underway.

We stayed rafted all day on Sunday with many dinghy trips to various parts of the river. The ladies kept everyone fed and the second day of the holiday weekend was declared a success. The exuberance of the previous evening couldn't be matched as everyone retired early. On Monday, the raft disbanded just before noon. With no appreciable wind, the sailboats motored south across Mobjack Bay. Later in the day, a breeze established itself from the southeast. The motors were turned off and the sailboats made their way home via wind power.

Once back at Rebel Marina, the raft up continued as most of the Chesapeake Brothers keep their boats there now. El Maestro and AJ, who couldn't make the trip, were on their boat when the fleet came in. They were able to join their Brothers on the final day of the holiday weekend.

They're Back!

A call came in late Sunday as June and I were getting ready to leave our boat and head for the (land based) home. It was Brother Limey. They were in Virginia - Pungo to be precise. They would be in Great Bridge on Monday. With no second thoughts, we invited Limey and Holly to our house (about two miles from the Great Bridge Locks) for dinner that night.

I picked the cruising couple up from the "Locks" around 4 PM. We shared a bottle of wine and some nuts while we waited for June's arrival. A quick and delicious dinner was prepared and subsequently enjoyed as our friends told of their winter in the Bahamas.

Limey and Holly will take up temporary residence at Bay Point Marina. Hampshire Rose is scheduled for some time on the hard at Cobb's Marina. They will be in the Bay at least until the Summer Solstice Raft-up in late June. If Holly is not scheduled to work this (Memorial Day) weekend, they will join us in Mobjack Bay.

Bon Voyage

We came together for three reasons:

First - the departure of Brother Brise-Galets: Despite the loss of his First Mate to a broken leg, Brise-Galets had a cruising schedule to meet if he was going to make Sydney by March 2010. He managed to scare up a crew so that he could leave port on his departure date - May 15th. So, for our Brother, we assembled to say Bon Voyage!



Second, was to decide which Brother would lead our Table in June of 2011.

Third - we enjoy each others company.

We met on the rickety piers of Portsmouth Boating Center where Papy Jovial stood ready for her voyage. Brise-Galets welcomed us with cold drinks and open arms. Pizza magically appeared via a uniformed messenger. The Brothers relaxed together, allowing the camaraderie to wash over them. Somewhere in between the last piece of pizza and the rhum, Captain Rocket Boy distributed the ballots and collected them when marked. The resultant tally revealed that Country Boy will Captain the table from June 2011 through June 2013.

Many of the Brothers discussed activities for the Memorial Day weekend. A loose plan to proceed to some destination in the rivers of Mobjack Bay was discussed. Some will leave on Friday, others on Saturday. The first night's location will be determined by Cruz, Captain of the anchor boat.

With the business of the Table concluded, the Brothers disbanded as the shadows of the late afternoon grew along the mudflats of the creek. We bid adieu to Brise-Galets, knowing that the gods of the seas will care for him. We will miss his company.

Break a leg!

"Breaking one's leg is not a good thing to hope for - therefore - by some superstition - if 'good luck' causes bad luck, then the perceived bad luck of breaking one's leg causes good."

The planning had been long and meticulous. They were going cruising at last! Two Brothers and one Sook (a.k.a. Captive) on a two+ year cruise around the globe with the half-way mark in Sydney for the next International Zaf. They were hoping for good luck and while no one said "break a leg" that is what happened.

Brother Blue Stache had just put his home and boat Casual Class up on the hard as he and Diana had been making plans to retire and take up their around-the-world-cruise with Brother Brise-Galets in mid-May. But a fall on Casual Class badly fractured the tibia of Blue Stache's right leg in late April.

With their boat recently in storage and his inability to live on it even if it were not, Brother Boats came to the rescue and, in the true spirit of the Brotherhood, has offered living quarters to Blue Stache and Diana. Shortly after his release from Hospital, Boats and Tricia invited the rest of the Table to their house for an Emergency Tip-a-Few where everyone could gather to check on our founding Captain's health and welfare.

With obvious disappointment, Blue Stache has taken the setback in stride as he allows his wound to heal. The reformulated plan includes travelling to Australia in early 2010 for the Zap and, if he is physically able, picking up the cruise with Brise-Galets from that point on.

Consolidation

Many of the Brothers in the Chesapeake Bay Table have boats on which we frequently gather. Before 2009, the boats were kept at various marinas in the area. At one time, Bay Point Marina in Little Creek claimed the largest number of brotherhood boats at four. But our boats were dispersed over six different marinas: One brother was way down the Elizabeth River - it took him two hours to get up the river to the Chesapeake Bay. For the Brothers at Bay Point Marina with access only to the Bay, it was messy when the Bay was rough with weather coming out of the north. And, frequently, activities were to the west of Fort Wool - whether the event was in Willoughby Bay, down the Elizabeth River (in between the downtown areas of Norfolk and Portsmouth) or up the James River. So, as is always the case, things changed.

What really set the relocation off where changes going on at Rebel Marina. One of the last family owned and operated marinas, "Rebel" - at the tip of Willoughby Spit, just off I-64 and already the home of two Brotherhood boats - installed floating docks. The new configuration of the docks would give Brother Cruz the kind of room he needed for Orza so he made the move. That got the two Brothers left at Bay Point Marina thinking: there were the location issues; prices there continued to climb while services were diminishing; and parking had become an issue with patrons of the new marina restaurant filling up the parking lot with proximity to the boats. Brothers El Maestro and Upwind contacted Rebel Marina's Dock Master and made arrangements to move.

Meanwhile, Country Boy decided he wanted to come up from the Elizabeth River to be closer to the Bay. There was a flurry of activity in the late part of the winter and by April, everyone had made the move. With the three Brothers already resident there, Rebel Marina is now home to half of the Table's Brothers and their boats. Other boat owners at the Marina are left wondering about the frequently heard "Fuego!" and "Orza!" that emanate from gatherings aboard the seven boats of the Chesapeake Bay Table.