Coordinator Announcement and locations

[jcollins]

Lou Bennett has accepted the job of coordinating the Chesapeake rendezvous. Lou has some great ideas for locations and activities for 2011.
Look for more information from Lou.



I'm trying to think of a location that will attract more members. Herrington Harbour and Rock Hall are high on the list for next year.
I've also been thinking about Annapolis since we have many members located in that area. I checked out the website for Port Annapolis marina on Back Creek. Naturally the website looks good but I wondering if anyone has thoughts about this place? They have all the amenities and seem to cater towards groups our size. My biggest concern is keeping everyone together. Herrington Harbor was great for us. Rock Hall had us all over the place.

How about some suggestions for a location and anyone's thought on Annapolis?



Thanks,

John

P.S. - Lou will take over from here. Thanks Lou!

[loubennett]

Thank you for allowing me to be the coordinator for the 2011 rendezvous. My goal is to attract the most boats. Give me your ideas and I'll try to come up with something that will suite the majority. Please suggest locations, but also suggest other desirables such as close to town, restaraunts nearby,etc. There are a lot of choices on the bay and they are all different. John has made some excellent suggestions, but there may be other opportunities. Let's make this the largest Chesapeake Rendezvous ever. We can't let those New England guys top us again.

[Butch]

Lou, If it is in Annapolis, you can come visit Mary and I , than return to Annapolis for the rendezvous. That way you can put some hours on your boat and feel part of the group.I will be glad to help any way I can!!

[loubennett]

Thanks Butch. That is one downside of Annapolis for me. To get to the candidate marinas I don't have to leave Back Creek. But seriously, Annapolis is a great venue if we can find the right marina. Mears comes to mind. Nice facilities and walking distance to the whole Annapolis scene. I wish I was well connected politically and could reserve Ego Alley for the event. Maybe we could call it the First Annual Albin Boat Show.

[jcollins]

Thanks Butch. That is one downside of Annapolis for me. To get to the candidate marinas I don't have to leave Back Creek. But seriously, Annapolis is a great venue if we can find the right marina. Mears comes to mind. Nice facilities and walking distance to the whole Annapolis scene. I wish I was well connected politically and could reserve Ego Alley for the event. Maybe we could call it the First Annual Albin Boat Show.

Where is the Chandler Dock? (Fawcett's) Any good?
http://marinas.com/view/marina/5031_The ... napolis_MD

http://www.annapolis.gov/Government/Dep ... aster.aspx


But Lou, you "know" people at St. Michaels.

[RobS]

We can't let those New England guys top us again.

We should just all do one big Rendezvous at the Jersey Shore.

[loubennett]

John, Chandler Dock is the space at City Dock that belongs to the property where Fawcett's was located before they moved. It is now managed by the Harbormaster and can be reserved. However there is only space for a few boats. Probably about five Albin 28's would fit.

[loubennett]

My sense is that most people would like a venue with an accessible town. John has suggested Annapolis. I would like to add St. Michaels and Baltimore to the list.

Annapolis - Annapolis is a great venue for the rendezvous if we can find a marina with good access to downtown. The marinas on the south side of Back Creek are too far to walk making us dependent on the water taxi or land taxi. The water taxi service to Back Creek is limited. It typically makes one trip to Back Creek each hour if there is traffic. They also have a three fare minimum for Back Creek. On the north side of the creek is Mears Marina. It is walking distance to downtown and even closer to locations in Eastport. Another possible location is Annapolis City Marina on the Eastport side of Spa Creek. It's an excellent location for access to downtown and Eastport. I will make some calls next week to see if either of these marinas could accommodate our group.

St. Michaels - The St. Michaels Harbor Inn can easily accomodate our group. There is a pool, bar and restaurant on the premises and it's about a fifteen minute walk or less to most things in St. Michaels. If you don't want to walk the hotel has a shuttle that will take you a pick you up. There is also a water taxi. The only downside is there is no good place on the property for a cook out type event for the group. I have however tentatively arranged for a place less than two blocks away for the Saturday evening get together.

Baltimore - In Baltimore the Inner Harbor East Marina is probably the best location. They should have no problem accomodating a group our size. It is close to both the attractions of the Inner Harbor and to Fells Point and there are many restaurants and shops right up the street. I believe they have an area on the dock that would work for the Saturday evening gathering but I'll have to get the details.

Well, there's a large town, a medium town, and a small town. They all have good restaurants, bars, and other attractions. Please give some feedback and suggest some other locations.

The other thing that we will have to select soon is the date. Please make some suggestions.

[Bluey]

How about Vera's or Knapps Narrows? Downside to Knapps is not much to do unless someone plays taxidriver and the restaurant on that side of the narrows changed hands and the menu has "changed", but the place is gorgeous, can accomodate around 20 boats, and there is space for a cookout. Pls not the weekend of 7/16.

[loubennett]

Here's the list of suggestions so far (in order of them being suggested).

Herrington Harbor South
Rock Hall
Annapolis
St. Michaels
Baltimore
Knapp's Narrows
Vera's White Sands (St. Leonard Creek off the Patuxent)

And here's the list of desirable attributes mentioned.

Reasonable distance for majority of attendees.
A marina that can dock us close together.
A town that is easily accessible for sightseeing, shopping, etc.
A restaurant or restaurants nearby.
Pool.
A bar or bars nearby (including one at the pool).
A suitable space for our Saturday evening event.

Please review these and suggest other locations you think would work. Also suggest other attributes that are important to you. It's unlikely we will find a place that has everything, so give some indication which things are most important to you.

I also will start a new topic to begin a list of those who think they will attend. I'll assume that those who have posted in this topic are interested and start with them.