The Early Years: 2002 to 2004
The First Full Year, 2002
2003
2004
History 2002
Our First Year of Fun!
- We began our first year with 44 members.
- March – All new members through November 2002 were designated as “Founding” members and would have a membership number with an “F” prefix. Subsequent members would be “Regular” members with an “R” designation.
- April – Carole Campbell submitted the winning design for the club burgee – a composite of the “Bravo” and “Charlie” (BC) signal flags.
- April – Commodore’s Champagne Reception at the Bay Ridge Club – then great viewing of the start of the Volvo Race.
- May – First on water event at Clements Creek was a big success.
- May – Memorial Day Weekend at San Domingo Creek and Tilghman Island. Dinner at Bay 100 Restaurant.
- May – BCYC discovers E-Vites as ideal way to manage event signups.
- June – First Annual Lobster Feast at Wally and Molly Stone’s
- July – Block Party and 4th of July Fireworks at the Evans’ then off to Eagle Cove on the Magothy and Rock Hall.
- July – Larry and Jeanne Kelly hosted a Luau at Knapps Narrows.
- August – Kirk McGowan planned a Wine Tasting and Star Gazing Rendezvous on Shaw Bay. Event got coverage in SpinSheet
- Club Membership surpasses 100!
- September – A Labor Day rendezvous in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor extended into a week’s Cruise Up the Chester and a Finale Dinner at Miles River Yacht Club, planned and hosted by Ed Evans. 40 members participated.
- September – BCYC welcomed all new members at a party at the Chesapeake Bay Foundation.
- October – Oyster Roast hosted by the Blews. Over 140 people in attendance!
- November – The Club’s first Annual General Membership Meeting at Mariner’s Point Club House. 2003 officers elected.
- December – Parade of Lights Party at the Eastport Democratic Club
Officers 2002
Commodore: Pat Thayer
Vice Commodore: Larry Kelly
Rear Commodore: Harriet Lytle
Fleet Captain: Jill Sawhney
Treasurer: Bruce Miller
Secretary: Claudia Evans
Board of Governors: Wally Stone, Dan Kennedy, Evan Barnett, Kirk McGowan, JoAnne Norton, Sandy Wagner
Committee Chairs:
- Nominating: Ed Evans
- By-Laws/Judge Advocate: Lee Reno
- Club Name/Burgee: Tom Coan
- Membership: Ed Evans
- Calendar: Paula Thayer
- Facilities: Jeff Wagner
- Racing: Steve Kenyon
- On-Water Rendezvous: Wally Stone
- On-the-Hard Rendezvous: Harriet Lytle
- Change of Watch: Gail Tomlinson
"I Remember 2002"
I Remember
We had a lot of fun that first year. After John Campbell did the work to set it all up -- all we had to do was run with it. The core group was, of course, our small number of old sailing buddies from Mears looking for a new "home". A great group who all worked hard to make BCYC a success -- it's no surprise to me that we attracted many other like minded boaters and grew into what it is today. Our philosophy the first year was to have everyone contribute, keep the cost low and, most of all, have fun -- and did we ever!!! The most memorable event for me was the Commodore's party out at Bay Ridge -- expertly catered by Paula Thayer and Gail Greco -- what a feast!! -- I think we had more than 60 people -- unbelievable for the first party of a newly formed group. We did lots of on-water events and picked up new members and friends along the way. Paula and I will be ever grateful for the fantastic "baby" shower BCYC threw for us to celebrate our bringing Andrew and Karina home. A fitting culmination was the first Commodore's Ball and change of watch held at AYC -- we know how to party! – Pat Thayer
History 2003
Cruising the Islands
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We began the year with 103 members.
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February – The Club’s first Commodore’s Ball was held at Annapolis Yacht Club with 85 members and guests in attendance. Gail Tomlinson and Denise Gloss planned the event.
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February – PayPal introduced to manage payments for club events.
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February – The BOG voted to join the Yachting Club of America – establishing reciprocity with other member clubs.
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March – St. Patrick’s Day Party at Mariners Point Club House, chaired by Pat Kennedy
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April – Education Event “Down Under” with America’s Cup boat designer from Farr. Planned by Paula Abernethy. Members enjoyed New Zealand and Australian wines at offices of Essex Credit, hosted by Larry HarNess.
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May – “Nuevo de Mayo” Party
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May – Wally Stone planned a Memorial Day Rendezvous in Cambridge, including dinner for 65 people at the Cambridge Yacht Club and a power boat cruise and dinner at Suicide Bridge.
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June – Summer Solstice Lobsta Feast at the Stones’. Jeff Wagner made omelets for all on Sunday morning.
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July – Fourth of July Liberty Cruise to the Sailing Emporium, Rock Hall. Members enjoyed a fine dinner at Osprey Point Inn. 20 boats cruised to Rock Hall. Wally Stone was the event chair.
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July – Wye Island Rendezvous on Dividing Creek, planned by Mary Bowie with great food from Chesapeake Chicken.
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August – Tilghman Island Rendezvous
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August – Ed Evans planned and executed a week long“Island Hopping” Cruise included stops at Tilghman Island, Solomons Island, Tangier Island, and Wallops Island (tour hosted by John Campbell). 15 boats participated.
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September – Club Cruise concluded on Labor Day weekend at Oxford. Dinner at the Tred Avon Yacht Club.
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September – Hurricane Isabel wreaked havoc on the Bay. Lawson home in Eastport was heavily damaged.
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October – Clements Creek raftup drew nine boats when Isabel aftermath forced cancellation of Oyster Roast
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November – General Membership meeting at Topside Inn in Galesville.
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December - Parade of Lights Party was held at Essex Credit, overlooking Spa Creek, hosted by Larry HarNess.
Officers 2003
Commodore: Larry Kelly
Vice Commodore: Harriet Lytle
Rear Commodore: Darrell Abernethy
Fleet Captain: Mary Bowie
Treasurer: L.C. Heim
Secretary: Ella Bassett
Board of Governors: Wally Stone, Dan Kennedy, Evan Barnett, Kirk McGowan, Mike Lawson, Claudia Evans
Committee Chairs:
"I Remember 2003"
"I Remember"
Jeanne and I attended every single event in 2003. I think we still haven’t recovered! The highlight of the year for us was the Club Cruise – on our new Sabre 38, Cantabile. We bought her and sailed down from Barnegat Bay, NJ just in time to go on the cruise. The club was growing – both in numbers and in the enthusiasm of our great members. It takes a lot of hard work by a lot of people to make the club successful – and we sure had the support in 2003! – Larry Kelly
History 2004
2004 Highlights
We began the year with 89 members.
January – Pat Bernhart chaired the Annual Commodore’s Ball, held at the Loew’s Hotel. It featured a Silent Auction. The auction, organized by Mary Bowie and Rosie Gollehon, produced approximately $2,000 in revenue.
February – Valentine’s Day Party was hosted by Rachel Bianco at Essex Credit with 41 members and guests in attendance.
March – Pat Bernhart put on a great Saint Patrick’s Day party at the Eastport Fire Department.
March – The club introduced a new newsletter to supplement the Web site. It was praised as “good refrigerator copy.”
April – Betsy Schulz planned a Spring Kickoff party at Yellowfin Restaurant, featuring a speaker Jim Cheevers, Curator of the Naval Academy Museum.
April – The Tepper and Cowie residences on Whitehall Creek were the site of a weekend Land or Sea Rendezvous.
May – The New Members Party was at the home of Sigrid Seymour, “The Irresistible Gourmet.”
May – The club cruised to Rock Hall Sailing Emporium for Memorial Day Weekend.
June – 26 boats and over 100 people gathered at the Stones’ for the Annual Lobster Feast.
June – Angus Ballard developed a promotional brochure for the club. Raft Captain Mike Lange had his hands full squeezing all those boats into Crab Creek.
July – Fireworks and Independence Day festivities at the Hinckley Boat Yard in Oxford. Michelle Sanger and Pam Bostic arranged a fine progressive dinner.
July – Members cruised to Saint Michaels and had dinner at the Town Dock Restaurant, thanks to the planning efforts of Bill and Karen Kranzer.
August – Wally Stone distributed supplies of Back Creek Yacht Club cards for members to hand out in their travels to prospective members.
August – The Pontano’s hosted an on water rendezvous at their home on Dun Cove. Hurricane Charley kept all but Mike Lawson from coming by boat – everyone else drove.
August – The Club Cruise participants “Poked Around the Potomac”, then cruised back up to Oxford for the Labor Day Weekend. 13 boats went on the week long cruise. Highlights included a tour of Saint Mary’s City, the Ingleside Winery, and the Robert E. Lee homestead.
September – Members celebrated Labor Day at the Hinckley Boat Yard in Oxford.
September – The Annual Oyster Roast in Epping Forest was a big success, with more people in attendance than had signed up. Harriet Lytle and John Oberright hosted this event.
October – Wally Stone arranged for production of nametags for all the members.
October – Cynthia Ballard got some welcome publicity for the club by hanging the club banner on a fence at the Boat Show.
October – Nine boats joined the “Wild Goose Chase” on Shaw Bay
November – The Annual General Membership Meeting was held at Phillips Seafood Restaurant in Annapolis. The members approved changes to the by-laws and elected the 2005 Officers and BOG.
December – The Annual Parade of Lights Party was held at Essex Credit in Eastport, hosted by Larry HarNess.
Officers 2004
Commodore: Harriet Lytle
Vice Commodore: Ed Evans
Rear Commodore: L.C. Heim
Fleet Captain: Mike Lawson
Treasurer: Ella Bassett
Secretary: Jan Cort
Board of Governors: Richard Sanger, Fred Gill (replaced by Angus Ballard in July), Jeff Wagner, Claudia Evans, Evan Barnett, Wally Stone
Committee Chairs:
- Communications: Claudia Evans
- Calendar: Cynthia Ballard
- E-Vites: Paul Thayer
- Membership: Larry HarNess, Angus Ballard
- Nominating: Bob Kelly
- House/Facilities: Jeff Wagner
- Social: Pat Bernhart
- Education: Paula Abernethy
- On-Water Rendezvous: Wally & Molly Stone
- Annual Cruise: Ron Goldstein
"I Remember 2004"
"I Remember"
I’m grateful to have had the opportunity to give back to BCYC. I’ve enjoyed many years of sailing on the Chesapeake Bay and forming BCYC was an important part of that experience. We tried a quarterly newsletter but now rely totally on the internet for club communications. Even though I’ve retired and moved away from the Annapolis area, I still look forward to seeing friends and meeting new members when I’m back in the area and can attend an event. I enjoy keeping in touch via the website and the many communications by J.J. Sullivan.
Thank You BCYC!!!! – Harriet Lytle