Holiday Greetings from your Commodore. As we wind up a very eventful and BCYC-event-filled 2019, here is quick look back on highlights of the year. Two weeks into the year, Mary Bowie had to step down as Treasurer and, thankfully, Westbrook Murphy stepped up to be our new Treasurer, a grateful BCYC thanks you again for taking on this complex task. On to the Commodore’s Ball where 24 hours prior to the start we were told that because of a heightened military alert we could not drive our cars onto the Naval Academy. With a BCYC team effort this problem was solved and a great time was had by all. Our Fleet Captain, Tim Feldmann, put together a fun-filled Spring Cruise. The annual Lobster Feast was a great feed! John Yates came up with the biggest lobsters we have ever had. The Fourth of July fireworks with overhead bursts at Westbrook and Cindy Murphy’s were r-e-a-l exciting.  “Wally Day”, to honor the passing one of our founders, Wally Stone, was a special occasion attended by a packed crowd with many voices attesting to fond memories of a great family man and contributor to the boating community. The Fall Cruise and Members Meeting followed up by our new annual Goose Cruise wound up our renowned boating water events for 2019.

Some administrative additions included approval of an Operating Procedural Document. This documentation will formally record all past and present items voted and approved by the BOG. This now provides a quick reference for these items for any future needs.

Thanks go out to Tom Bernhart for all his efforts over the years as our Webmaster and to Bob Higginbotham for stepping up as our new Webmaster.

Our Vice Commodore, Chuck Kahle, had to step down and the Flag had to be reconfigured. This is on the website. Terry Bidnick stepped up to complete our Flag going into 2020. Our thanks again to Terry.

Our membership continues to grow with more members in the queue.

As I prepare to leave the Bridge as your Commodore for 2019, our ship continues to run steady as she goes. My heartfelt thanks to the great BCYC Crew for stepping up when asked and for your continued ongoing crew effort to make this club the Best Yacht Club on the Bay.  As we all move along in years, many of us look upon BCYC as our extended family sharing the many fun events and the camaraderie we share.  Just check the attendance and distances traveled to be at our events and this is confirmed!

It was my great pleasure to be your Commodore for 2019. I wish the great BCYC Crew and our new Commodore, Tom Bernhart, all the best for 2020.

Ben Wilson, Commodore 2019

The October 20, 2019 “Special BOG” voted approval of changes to our 2020 Flag Officers slate, necessitated by the resignation of Chuck Kahle as Vice Commodore. Chuck has been tasked to attend to intense family matters due to the loss of his brother. Chuck and Ann will continue to be active members of our BCYC family. Our thoughts and prayers are with them.

I have spoken with each Flag Officer affected by these changes and am pleased to report all are in full agreement with these changes and will execute their respective duties. I believe BCYC will continue to maintain a solid Bridge of officers and be in full readiness as we navigate this ship into the 2020 New Year.

The 2020 flag officers revised slate is as follows:
Commodore:  Tom Bernhart
Vice Commodore:  Tim Feldmann
Rear Commodore:  Terry Bidnick
Fleet Captain:  Justin Tindale

Terry Bidnick has stepped up to fill in as Rear Commodore for the year 2020 only. 

Ben Wilson, BCYC Commodore

We have really been busy this boating season! The July fireworks at Westbrook’s water estate was a loud success. Most of us were at ground zero and it got a little scary at times but we all toughed it out and got our full fireworks fix. Good times at Maryland Yacht Club, then on to “PIRATES WEEKEND” at Rock Hall. Enjoyed the late night boardwalk promenade; some very interesting costumes.  Court & Tim’s Crab Feast was outstanding; one of the best in recent years.

Tim put together another great cruise over Labor Day to wind up our extended cruises for 2019. The cruise started as hurricane Dorian hit the Florida coast. In spite of this, the Yakker’s buckled up and pressed on. Thankfully, Dorian decided to swing NE into the Atlantic and only brushed the east coast.   Just completed the “Food Fest” at Cattail Creek at Court & Laura’s waterfront estate. It was a true “Feast”. Shrimp as big as lobster tails and full half chicken portions. Most everyone went home with doggie bags.

 We have the members meeting in a few days. Please make a special effort to welcome and engage all members who have joined our ranks over the past two years. Tim has again put together another great cruise the “Goose Cruise”.  Can’t wait to try “Duckfat Popcorn”.

As we wind up the BCYC’s  2019 boating year, the powers to be are working feverishly to make the 2020 boating year even better. We have a full new slate of officers. The Flag officers have all committed to moving up in rank and our BOG is in full complement. Before we get depressed about the Yakker’s events winding down at year’s  end, remember that the powers to be are also in full swing putting together great events both north and south. They have a full set of events filling the gap into 2020 with a powerful event-packed January 2020. Enjoy!!

Ben Wilson,  Commodore BCYC

          COMMODORE’S SUMMER 2019 NEWSLETTER

June 27, 2019

Just back from a phenomenally successful Lobster Feast! Set a high bar for next year. Biggest turnout ever, at over 80 people. Did not hear any complaints as folks could hardly fit the 2 pounders on the plate. Some felt they were too big and several of us offered to take a claw or a tail to help lighten their load. The Flip, Flop and Droppers were almost flawless. However, on close inspection the remains of an omelet was spotted shoved under a pole. When questioned, no one fessed up. Tradition dictates the dropper would have been designated to wear the dropper apron next year. Ernie would have ameliorated this problem, however he was napping at the time.

 BCYC had a fun-filled Change of Watch Ball. After receiving a 48 hour notice that we could not drive into the Academy, a clandestine breach onto the Academy grounds was plotted and executed by BCYC seal team leader Ted Edmunds and his lovely Frog Woman, Pat. The mission went flawlessly. Our M/C, Vern Penner, smoothly sailed through the evening with a few jokes and his usual stories of bravado. The new flag officers and flag presentations went reasonably well with just a few minor snags such as incorrect flags and line- up problems…in spite of Jo  Rys’s efforts in writing the officers name on each flag, we still screwed it up. However, in true YAKKER fashion, we got the job done. The evening ended with great food and dancing.

 Our Spring cruise orchestrated by Fleet Captain Tim Feldman was a blast. Eight days of fun sailing in good weather and evenings at good restaurants. We were up to 14 boats at one point and a hardy turn-out of land yachts, bringing us to over 24 to 30 people at each event.

 Next up is our annual BCYC July fireworks event which will be held on July 6^th at Cindy and Westbrook’s water estate. There will be a BOG meeting at 2:00pm, Saturday July 6^th,  at Westbrook’s. BOG members: please get up-to-date on recent website entries. A BOG agenda will be forthcoming.

Have a great Summer boating season.

Ben Wilson, Commodore BCYC  

SPRING 2019 NEWS LETTER
As “Friendship” tied up to her dock, the Northern Yakker Snow Birds migration was complete. The past four months were packed with events both North and South. BCYC South was on the move with events crisscrossing Florida. We had many fun time events, one that stands out was Ginny Browning leading the Yakkers chorus in singing the ballad of the great “Honky Donkey” (little choppy on the start but we soon swung into a smooth harmony and nailed it!!). Up North the St Patty’s day event was graced by Mary Bowie attending (way to go Mary!!).

Our fleet captain Tim, has us launching with an aggressive fun filled Spring cruise in a couple of weeks!!! I have not even gotten my freezer running or thought about launching my dingy.

The next BOG meeting is May  26^th at Brewers marina in Oxford MD. Please go to the website and have a look at the new Operating Procedure document format and the outline of  BCYC flag officers responsibilities.

Time to hit the rail and buckle up for an event packed next half of our 2019 boating season. BTW, how about the COW at the Naval Academy just days away!

It’s great to have the Yakker family back together again.

Welcome to the Spring boating season!

Ben Wilson, Commodore BCYC

HAPPY NEW YEAR BCYC!!
As we navigate into 2019 our ship is running strong and steady as she goes. I thank Commodore Colin Soucy and all those who contributed and participated in BCYC in 2018 to make this happen. It would take too much verbiage to recognize the major efforts some Yakkers continually make and I do not want to leave anyone out. Just go to the BCYC web site and take time to look back over the years at the happy faces year after year and know we are truly part of something very special. The BCYC new year really starts in July when we begin lining up our staff and getting people and events in place for the coming year. The only way to fully appreciate the TEAM effort and hours required that brings us to this point is to serve on the BOG, a staff position or host an event, so pony up folks because we need you to help keep BCYC the best yacht club on the Bay. Our BCYC web site has it all. The who, what, why, where and when is at you finger tips and it is also a work in progress so we need your continued input, comments, suggestions and photos to keep it sharp. Don’t hesitate to ask how to post something on the BCYC site; if all else fails Tom Bernhart is our go to. At last count, we have over 42 events planned for 2019, that’s not far from weekly but BCYC North and South overlap. Suffice it to say we have a great year planned. One of our upscale kickoff events is the change of watch at the Naval Academy (let’s make it black tie optional and boat shoes are allowed, thank you WF).
As we all move along in years, the bond between BCYC members becomes even stronger. As your new commodore I am very proud to be a Yakker and I will do my best to keep this ship running steady as she goes into 2019.
Benjamin Wilson, Commodore BCYC