April 2011
Volume 4 Issue 4
Serving Coastal Boca Raton and Highland Beach
Boca Raton
Coasting Along Cruise director Olena Markel unfurls the sails of the Palm Breeze as the catamaran heads into the Atlantic Ocean during a recent excursion cruise.
Fun, unfurled
Chef Robbin Haas and a crew of prep chefs prepare a six-course dinner for 54 guests in the garage of Robert Campbell’s Boca Raton home as part of Boca Bacchanal. Photo by Tim Stepien
Behind the scenes at Bacchanal By Deborah S. Hartz-Seeley After the guests leave their cars with the parking valets, they meander past the blue Bentley, silver Rolls-Royce and shiny red MG parked in the driveway of Robert Campbell’s home in Boca Raton. Campbell is hosting one of six Vintner Dinners at his palatial residence in the Sun & Surf community. The dinner is part of the annual Boca Bacchanal weekend (this year it ran from March 18 to 20) for the benefit of the Historic Preservation and Heritage Education programs of the Boca Raton Historical Society. Campbell is the only person to have sponsored a dinner for each of the event’s nine years. Many attendees return to Campbell’s home year after year because, “They know they’ll get an unusual dinner and be nicely entertained,” says Campbell, who is chairman and founder of BBC International that designs and sources children’s and athletic shoes. Although the Bacchanal weekend also features guest chefs preparing Saturday dinner at the Boca Raton Resort and Club and a tasting of local restaurants at Mizner Park on Sunday, it is these Friday Vintner Dinners that have become the hot ticket. For each of the six dinners hosted in a private home, a celebrity chef is paired with a winemaker. The chef creates a sixcourse menu to complement the wines. The evening of the event, the chefs finish and present their unforgettable fare to a See BACCHANAL on page 8
Inside Sea turtle nesting begins Dos and don’ts for protecting the endangered animals. Page 10
House of the Month
Highland Beach home offers luxury with an oceanfront view. Page 27
The Palm Breeze cruises past the Boca Raton Resort & Club toward Boca Raton Inlet and the Atlantic Ocean during a recent cruise. Photos by Tim Stepien
Sailing yacht takes passengers on a cruise with a view By Mary Thurwachter Capt. Charlie says the ocean is in his blood. Growing up in Fort Lauderdale, he learned to sail at 13 (from his father) and he has been at it ever since. He started on a Hobie Cat, moved up to high-performance boats and
Check these out! 10 fun things to do with the kids, beyond the beach. Page 24 even raced Olympic-class boats for a few years. These days, you can often find Capt. Charlie (aka Charles A.
Mount, president of Palm Beach Charters Inc.) at the helm of 55-foot catamaran yacht sailing guests into the Atlantic Ocean and up and down the Intracoastal Waterway to see huge mansions, historic lighthouses, and sometimes schools of bottlenose See YACHT on page 11
Highland Beach
Town inches toward clerk’s appeal review By Steve Plunkett More than 10 weeks after Town Clerk Beverly Brown appealed an unpaid one-month suspension for forwarding racist and off-color emails at work on her official computer, town commissioners told their attorney to hire someone to
review the case. Town Attorney Tom Sliney said he had spoken several times since the election with new Mayor Bernard Featherman about who should hear the appeal. “Probably a retired judge, many of whom are in mediation, probably would be an ideal person to handle
that,” Sliney said at the Town Commission’s March 29 workshop. “I think that’s the right thing to do, and we should get it done promptly rather than leaving people hanging,” Featherman added. Under Highland Beach’s See HIGHLAND on page 4
Winning cars
The Ford Fusion hybrid is rated best overall for design and fuel-efficiency. Page 14
Boca’s heroes
The Safety Council of Palm Beach County has lauded three Boca Raton employees for heroism. Page 5