Rendezvous Agenda

[loubennett]

Things are shaping up for our rendezvous on June 24-26. At last count we have 18 boats that have reserved slips at the Harbour Inn, another boat that plans to anchor out, and a couple of owners who will come by car. It should be great. Below is the agenda that has been planned for the weekend.

Friday arrival – Informal – Renew acquaintances, meet new people, visit other boats, go to the pool, etc. When you are approaching the harbor call the dockmaster on channel 16 for docking instructions. Its best to call before entering the St. Michaels harbor as it's a short distance to the Harbour Inn after entering the harbor. If you are not familiar with St. Michaels, when you enter the harbor go straight. the Harbour Inn will be on your port side and the Maritime Museum and Crab Claw Restaurant will be to starboard. I will try to have the AOG banner at the entrance to the Harbour Inn Marina. I have talked to the dockmaster and he will try to put us all within the basin. Even if that doesn't work out it's a small marina and we will all be close togetner.

Friday cocktail hour – This is where the larger boats can have a chance to show off. It would be great if one of you would serve as cocktail hour host. We could have 40 to 50 people so they can probably not be accommodated on one boat, but the boat and surrounding dock will work. It can be BYOB and the alternative will be to have it on the dock.

Friday dinner – Informal groups form and dine at one of the many restaurants in St. Michaels. There is an excellent restaurant in the hotel. For less formal dining there is the Crab & Steak (one of my favorites) or the Crab Claw (a tourist trap in my opinion, but some people love it). Downtown there are several good eating establishments that range from informal to gourmet. Anywhere in town is a reasonable walk, but the hotel has a shuttle that will take you anywhere in St. Michaels and pick you up. Just ask at the front desk.

Saturday morning - The hotel serves breakfast or walk downtown to the Carpenter Street Saloon. That's where the locals go.

Saturday daytime – John has arranged for a qualified diesel mechanic to give us a talk on diesel maintenance. It is planned for before lunch on Saturday (around 10:30) and will be held in a meeting room in the hotel.

Saturday afternoon - enjoy St. Michaels. Suggestions are - shopping, a massage at the hotel's spa, the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum, the hotel pool.

Saturday evening gathering – This is our primary organized event. We will have a pot luck dinner 2 blocks from the hotel at my brother's house. There will be a grill available and I will provide hamburgers and hot dogs. Bring a dish suitable for sharing and its BYOB. I'll arrange to have some coolers with ice so you won't have to drag your cooler cown the road. We will have the use of his house and yard so there will be a full kitchen available if you need to finish preparing something. I think it would be good if everyone would post here what they plan to bring. It can be self regulating so we don't end up with all hors deourves or 50 pounds of macaroni salad. Be creative, St. Michaels is sort of up scale.

Saturday night – There are plenty of options if night life is on your list.

Sunday morning – The Harbour Inn serves a good breakfast and there are other options downtown.

Sunday mid-day – I believe the checkout time for the marina is 12N. If you ask the dockmaster nicely, he may let you extend awhile. They normally don’t have many boats coming in on Sunday and are pretty flexible on when you leave. Another option is to stay another night. Sunday evening with the locals at the Crab & Steak is one of my favorite times in St. Michaels.

Saturday/Sunday special event – The log canoes will be holding their first races of the year in St. Michaels Saturday and Sunday. If you haven’t seen these historic craft that are unique to the Chesapeake Bay, it’s a real treat to see them up close and racing. They normally have a race in the morning around 10 and another after lunch. If there is interest we can make an excursion out to the race course. We can either take one of our boats or I’m pretty sure I can borrow a center console. If we do the diesel briefing on Saturday before lunch, we should be able to make the afternoon race. The Sunday morning race is also workable. In any case, you can time your departure to see them on your way out. Please watch your wake in the vicinity of the log canoes. They are quite tender and deserve our courtesy.

Harbour Inn amenities - check their website but here is a summary
First class restaurant
Pool
Shuttle van to anywhere in St. Michaels
Bicycles
Charge anything in the hotel to your slip (discount on food charged to your slip)
Free morning paper

It should be an excellent weekend. I'm looking forward to seeing those Albin owners I know from previous rendezvous and meeting new ones. I've tried to cover things here, but please post any questions you have.

[Halcyon2]

Lou:

We will bring some tasty desserts. Looking forward to our first rendezvous with Albin owners.

Ron Lambert
Halcyon II
North, VA

[DougSea]

Nicely done Lou! Wish we could make it down there, sounds like a great time. We'll be wrapping up our weeklong cruise to Martha's Vineyard that weekend. Maybe next year!

[jcollins]

C'mon down Doug. It will only take 2-3 days. You'll get the prize for furthest distance.

[Carl]

Lou, I will be tuna fishing the weekend before, if successful I will be serving some tuna ordervies!

[crowra]

Lou,

Sounds like a great schedule! Thanks for all the hard work. We'll be glad to host (or help host) cocktail hour. That's one thing we excel at! The FM said she'll make Sangria along with some light hours devours. Hopefully we'll be on B Dock and close to the restrooms so we don't have to have the 'honey pot' pump-out boat visit every hour. As for Saturday, we'll definitely provide something 'upscale'. We're looking forward to meeting everyone.

Rob & Sharon

[jumpjet231]

Unfortunately we will be out of town for this one. I return Sunday so I might drive over to catch the tail end. I've got some suggestions for non-locals. All the places on this list are within walking distance.

Dining
Upscale- The Bistro (if the Bistro has soft crabs on the menu, GO!). Also it is small and popular so advance reservations are definitely required. 208 Talbot is also a very nice restaurant and they used to have a great soft crab dish as well.
Sushi- Akai Really good sushi.
Crab Claw- basic seafood at high prices. It used to be cash only. I haven't been for years so my info might be dated. The view is great and if you keep it simple (soft crab sandwich, crab cake) you should be happy.
Evas- This is a gourmet type pizza place. They also have other dishes.

Nightlife/bars
Carpenter St Saloon- A mix of all types from watermen to tourists. Ususally has live music Sat night. Pool table upstairs. My liver usually hurts after a night at C Street.
Foxy's- This is a dock bar right downtown.

[nfiggins]

I am looking forward to my first Rendezvous! I will bring Cole Slaw and Baked Beans.
Nancy Figgins, Albin 28TE "Sea Glass"

[jcollins]

This menu is starting to sound great!
Jumpjet - Thanks for the advice. Sorry you can't make it.
Carl - looking forward to tuna.

[abellch]

The Blu Bay Ewe plans on bringing bruschetta for the Saturday do!! Chuck & Deb

[Mike]

We will be on Baycation the entire week prior but have no problem hitting the grocery store in town- since I will have access to a kitchen! Put me down for a pound of that pasta salad!

Beth

[jcollins]

We will be on Baycation the entire week prior but have no problem hitting the grocery store in town- since I will have access to a kitchen! Put me down for a pound of that pasta salad!

Beth

What did Skip say? I've had better...

[loubennett]

There is one small change to the agenda. Chris Oliver will give his diesel talk from 9 to 11 AM on Saturday. I have reserved a meeting room in the hotel. Chris races power boats and they are racing at Kent Narrows that afternoon.

[ChesapkLady]

We would like to add to the possible agenda. . . Hans and I are in the Coast Guard Auxiliary, and our boat "Aqua Vitae" is an Operational Facility. Hans is a Vessel Examiner, which means that he can do courtesy safety checks on your boat, checking to make sure you're as safe as you think you are when you're "out there" with the well-being of your family at stake. As cruisers, we're all concerned about making sure that we've done everything we can do to make it safe. He has offered to do Vessel Exams on Friday afternoon after our early to mid afternoon arrival, or Saturday "sometime" between activities, or even (MAYBE!) Sunday morning before our departure. The exam is a Coast Guard mandated check that is required by law, of safety items on your boat. If Hans examines your boat, he will give you a "pass" and a 2011 sticker for your window, or he will tell you what you need to do to get the sticker. If your boat "fails" the exam, you'll get a list of stuff to do, but there's no penalty, you'll just know how to make the boat safer.
If you're interested in a courtesy exam, e-mail Hans at Danskviking@comcast.net It's first-come, first served.

Peggy and Hans Bjarno
"Aqua Vitae" 1986 Albin 43' Classic Trawler

[ChesapkLady]

We will bring our favorite tuna, hard boiled egg and pasta salad, for those who would rather avoid meat. . . or not. . . this is an awesome side dish, always a favorite!!

Peggy and Hans Bjarno
"Aqua Vitae.