totally shameless plug for nonprofit club

Last night, the Classic Yacht Club of America, of which I am proud to be a member, held its' annual "Change Of Watch" meeting and banquet in Chestertown, MD, to honorably retire this year's slate of officers, and install the slate for the coming season. I will be starting my third season as a member this March. I would like to post a few words about this organization, because I feel that many here may be interested.

The CYCA is a "floating" yacht club. We have no actual home port, although many of the boats are kept at Piney Narrows Yacht Haven in Kent Island, MD. So, for us to get together, we have to meet at other venues, which is the whole purpose of the club- to get us out on our boats and go cruising. We hold four rendevous a year; this years' meetings were as far North as Chesapeake City, MD, on the C&D canal, and as far South as Solomons, MD. Members come from all over the Bay to participate.

We are fans of older boats- a classic is a boat 25 years or older, by our arbitrary definition. There are, I believe, four Hatteras Yachts in the club, most of which have won honors at our end-of-the-year judging meeting which is usually held in St Michaels, MD, in September. Many of the boats that belong to forum members whould be eligible to apply for membership, and we also have an associate category for those folks who are fans of classic yachts but whose boat is not yet 25 years old.

I've had a lot of fun as a member of this organization and recommend it highly. We get out and go places on our boats, and that's what this is all about. Last night, we heard from a member and his wife who are in their eighties, and were awarded their sixth Cruising Award for covering at least a thousand miles in the season on their boat- a wooden CC Constellation that they bought new and have run for forty years. Several members got the thousand-mile plaque last night- maybe I will one of these years.

We use our boats, work on our boats, commiserate with each other when our boats occasionally misbehave, and help each other out. And, as a group, we are keeping a large flotilla of our beautiful vintage yachts alive and well for our generation and the next to enjoy and appreciate. If you are interested, look at our web site at www.classicyachtclub.org; you can also PM me, or "seaeric", who is one of our distinguished past Commodores.

Full disclosure: there is an incentive for bringing new members in. I believe it is a CYCA baseball cap or something like that. So you can see why I am out here banging the drum :D

Hi Jim, boy looking at the website brings back a lot of memories. I grew up on a 72' Chris Craft and spent a lot of time at the club. Yes there were some very stuffy people, but there were also some very knowledgeable people who took seamanship and being a yachtsman very seriously, and a very good time could be had on the water as well. I remember the Bergers, Trumpies, and Egg Harbors, But one day a Hatteras showed up! I was ruined from that day forward. I had my eye on the new Hatterases coming out of North Carolina. Years later I wound up with a 42 sportfish convertible, great sea boat, but not enough usable space. Didn't have another boat until I retired from the Army. I will come for a visit in the spring.