[C320-list] C320 Regatta 2008

[Robert Seastream]

These reports surprise, sadden, and may be enough to make us pass up 
Annapolis in the future, if the prior accounts are germane to yacht 
club attitudes in that area.

Two summers ago our minicruise was south through the Cape Cod canal, 
down to Onset, MA.  We were never snubbed at our stops, which included 
Rockport Harbor, Satuit YC (Scituate, MA), Onset Marina, and 
Provincetown Harbor.  Other than Satuit YC, none were yacht clubs.  No 
one got rich off our purchases, yet we patronized the marinas and 
towns, and felt welcome.

Last summer, our minicruise was up to Belfast, ME, bopping around Vinal 
Haven (and other islands) along the way.
Other than an overnight at Seguin Island (mooring field, no 
facilities), we again marina hopped our way up. None of the stops 
(Biddeford Pool YC, Wayfarer Marina (Camden), Belfast public docks), 
snubbed us.  Again, no one got rich off our purchases (fuel, food, 
slip/moor, etc.), yet we felt welcome.  Other than Biddeford, a club 
aimed at interesting youngsters in sailing, none were yacht clubs.  
Wayfarer catered to sail and power, with some HUGE (90-120 foot) power 
boats, both resident and transient, yet we were treated well, even 
complimented on our docking skill (I consider no dead, no damage, a 
successful docking).

We may not be the most competent or knowledgeable sailors around, but 
we've never joined a yacht club because we often find them to be full 
of people that are better at looking good in uniforms at meetings than 
at boating competently.  Since they represent their area, they should 
also remember to treat their visitors kindly.  The prior accounts seem 
to support my opinion.

Bob Seastream
'Intuition' # 906


On Dec 9, 2007, at 11:43 AM, Allan Field wrote:

> Warren - My story re: Annapolis Yacht Basin.  My boss keeps his boat 
> there.
> Several years ago we were on a mooring and took the dingy in to see if 
> he
> was there.  We could not get past the Nazi's at the fuel dock; they 
> actually
> ran us off despite assurances we were trying to visit my boss.  
> Definitely
> small boat unfriendly.
>
> As you come up Spa Creek, there is a marina to port just before the 
> bridge.
> We stopped in there last year to take on water and fuel.  They charged 
> us $5
> for water.  When I got the receipt, only the fuel charge was on the 
> receipt.
> Gee, I wonder where the $5 went?!
>
> The attitude I find in Annapolis goes something like this:  You 
> (boaters)
> have it, I don't, therefore you must have stolen it from me therefore 
> I can
> steal it from you.  I have a good 20 years of Annapolis unfriendly 
> stories
> that I could tell!
>
> I tried to get an electrician to install something for me several 
> years ago.
> His price was something like $75 per hour if I had purchased the 
> electronics
> from him and $100 if purchased elsewhere.  That guy did not get my 
> business.
>
> The buzz from the dock workers in Annapolis is that power boaters are 
> good
> tippers and sail boats are lousy tippers with most giving nothing.  I
> generally fall into the nothing category in Annapolis as I always wind 
> up
> pumping my own fuel, filling the water tanks, and holding the pump-out 
> hose
> and nozzle.  It's like they want a tip just for being there.  With the
> prices marinas charge for everything, my attitude is let the dock 
> workers
> get it from their employer UNLESS I get good service without an 
> attitude -
> rare on most docks I visit.
>
> So there!  And now let's see what can of worms this thread opens!
>
>
> Allan S. Field
> Sea Shadow - #808
> Columbia, MD
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: c320-list-bounces at catalina320.com
> [mailto:c320-list-bounces at catalina320.com] On Behalf Of Warren Updike
> Sent: Sunday, December 09, 2007 11:21 AM
> To: c320-list at catalina320.com
> Subject: Re: [C320-list] C320 Regatta 2008
>
> Here's a story about Annapolis Yacht Basin from my early sailing days. 
>  In
> the late '80s, we were new to the Chesapeake Bay and were chartering a 
> boat
> on a July weekend.  We had taken a spin around the harbor which is a 
> zoo of
> boats in the summer; and, needed to take on some ice and water.  As we
> approached AYB, a dock hand came to the edge and asked what we needed. 
>  We
> told him, "Ice and water."  "How many bags?" he said.  We told him 
> "two,"
> whereupon he retrieved two bags and threw them to us as we approached 
> the
> dock.  We paid him and he pushed us off: no water, no docking.  They 
> wanted
> the space for the big-buck boaters.
>
> Can't say as I blame them.  Why should we tie up a fuel dock for $40 of
> diesel when the (power) boat behind us will take on 500 Gal. and pay 
> over
> $1,500.  Why, indeed?  What happened to first-come, first-served?
>
> Warren & Pattie Updike
> C320, #62, 1994, "Warr De Mar"
> Frog Mortar Creek, Middle River
> Chesapeake Bay
>
>
>