DockTALK
‘Tis the Season for Lighted Boat Parades! Middle River Parade of Lighted Boats: November 26. Public viewing at Wilson Point Park and at local waterfront restaurants.
##The infamous leg lamp from ”A Christmas Story.” Photo by Julianne Degraw Fettus
Baltimore’s Parade of Lighted Boats: December 3. Presented by Fells Point Yacht Club.
Solomons Lighted Boat Parade: December 3 at 6:15 p.m. Best viewing will be along the Patuxent River Boardwalk or from one of the many restaurants on Back Creek.
Alexandria Holiday Boat Parade of Lights: December 3. Santa arrives by boat at 4:15 p.m. Parade starts at 5:30 p.m. at the Alexandria waterfront (behind the Torpedo Factory Art Center). Parade at Washington Channel in Washington, DC from 6-7 p.m. Hampton Lighted Boat Parade: December 9 at 7 p.m. Visible from most locations along the Hampton River, however spectators wanting to hear the narration will want to find a spot near the Hampton Maritime Center.
Eastport Yacht Club Lights Parade: December 10. 6 to 8 p.m. out of Eastport Yacht Club, Annapolis. Two fleets: one circling in front of Eastport, City Dock, and the Naval Academy seawall, the other circling the length of Spa Creek, inside the bridge. USA Today has nominated the Eastport Yacht Club Lights Parade as one of the top 10 holiday events in the USA! To help the club win top honors, go to 10best.com/awards/travel/best-holiday-parade. You can vote once a day until December 5. At print time, the Eastport Yacht Club Lights Parade was in first place but the Calistoga, CA, Lighted Tractor Parade was at a close second… Help spread the word and start voting!
Sandbagger Downrigging
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wenty-two volunteers showed up at the Gibson Island Yacht Squadron (GIYS) on Saturday, November 12 to put the classic Sandbaggers, Bull and Bear, away for the winter after a very active 2016 sailing season. In fair weather, the classic wooden boats reside at the National Sailing Hall of Fame (NSHOF) in Annapolis, where they provide an array
16 December 2016 spinsheet.com
by Jerry McCann of services. On alternating Tuesday and Wednesday evenings the boats provide free rides to groups of sailors who want to experience what sailing a 19th century wooden oystering boat is like. The program is open to non-profit groups and supporters of the NSHOF. The boats also act as on-the-water laboratories for teaching young STEM students about the physics and fun of sailing during the ##Volunteers begin summer. During the the process of winter, the boats are downrigging the Bull for winter hosted by the GIYS. storage and Gibson Island Boat maintenance. Works also provides technical expertise and services to support the volunteers that take care of the boats. Most of the volunteers arrived around 9 a.m. on a sparkling day. Tom
Gahs, sailing coordinator for the Sandbagger program, started everyone off with donuts and instructions. Tom Price, boat-keeper, had the first of the two boats on the way into the slip under the crane. Under directions from both Gahs and Price, the volunteers methodically removed the sails, rigging, bowsprits, and masts. As the rigging and spars came off, everything was inspected for wear and labeled carefully so re-assembly in the spring will go as well as the downrigging. Most of the work was done by 11:30, a record according to both the “Toms.” All the volunteers then enjoyed crab soup and coffee courtesy of the GIYS. They all promised to assemble again in the spring to re-rig the boats for another successful season. If you’d like to sail the Sandbaggers in 2017 or volunteer to learn how to care for them, go to the National Sailing Hall of Fame website at nshof.org and click on the “Get On Our List” link at the top of the page.