Blue Marsh Sailing Association

BMSA member Phil Correll has submitted another poem with pictures.  It was so well done as a PDF that we are presenting it in its original format so that viewers can enjoy the photos in their original size.  The poem is about the discovery and restoration of a beautiful daysailer name Linde.  And here is the story: Linde’s_Story.

Paloma’s “Three Hour Tour”
OR
Forget Gilligan & Popeye the Sailor.  Meet Pooped Pants the Sailors!
By Phil Correll 11/April/2010

Florida’s beautiful spring weather enticed us to cruise
Instead of watch TV or perhaps take a snooze.
Saturday was beautiful, and the wind pushed us true.
We anchored in Pelican Bay to decide what to do.
After a snack for a late lunch and a short dinghy ride
We paid our park fee and rode to the other side.
We chatted with the volunteer who drove the golf cart.
Our weekend was off to an extremely fine, happy start!
Walking on the sand, talking, and picking shells
We soaked in the sights and breathed in the smells.

Later, we had dinner aboard and each read a book.
There were thirty boats anchored if anyone cared to look.
Finally, my hopes were realized though they weren’t too grand.
We each went walking on the entrance spit of sand.
Back to Paloma for a shower on the boat.
The wind blew the whole night, but we were safely afloat.

At nine Sunday morning we hauled anchor for the day.
We heard rumors of showers, but we were early on our way.
Out over Boca Grande the sky looked quite black,
But with the time that was forecast we were sure to be back.
Eileen said, “I don’t like the color of those clouds.”
They were the shade of sad, purple, funeral shrouds!

Pressing on seemed quite logical and a safe thing to do.
Most clouds pass on by, and then the sun shines anew.
This time events were different, and what do you know?
A severe weather warning blared out of Paloma’s radio!
A water spout was reported off Gasparilla Island the voice said,
And direct to a safe harbor is where boaters should head!

We glanced over the stern and then past the bow.
Turning back to the anchorage seemed a bit futile now.
The wind hit us hard, and the rain came in a gush.
We had each donned our wet gear and PFDs in a rush.
Keep making progress and stay off Jug Creek Sand Bar.
The motor kept on churning, but we didn’t get very far.
As the waves built to five feet and then on beyond
We felt like a toy boat in a bathtub or in a fish pond!
‘The wind was just howling’ is easy to say.
Its speed went past fifty and kept blowing away!
The peak speed recorded was sixty plus two.
Faith in God and our sailboat was the best we could do.

At just that very minute a bad smell hit my nose.
I checked in my pants, but it wasn’t in my clothes!
Paloma was heeled to the side by the wave’s push and pull.
Her good cooling system was no longer being kept full.

We think that the impeller had begun to run dry,
And that little rubber spinner had started to fry!
Throttle pushed to max helped bring her bow through the wind.
The smell soon subsided, and we each carefully grinned.
The Garmin still showed us to be near the dread shoal,
And the wind stayed above forty as it made the waves roll!
With no land for reference and rain pelting our eyes
We heard radio calls for Boat US and the Coast Guard Rescue Guys!

To get turned about in a storm that is raging
Is a thought that certainly isn’t very engaging.
Off to our port side we saw Boca Grande Pass loom.
At least we had deep water and plenty of room.
As the wind settled back to thirty and just a bit more
We headed our boat toward far off Burnt Store.
At some point in the passage we thought of the dinghy towed on the cleat
It had been twisted twenty times!  Now, that is some feat!
While being pulled with its bottom facing up to the rain
It could not fill with water which would have been a great pain.
Progress was slow, and we bobbed up and down.
The looks on our faces were a serious, long frown.
We each fought off the feeling of becoming quite sick
Because “tossing our cookies” wouldn’t help us a lick!

Finally, passing marker “99” was a great milestone.
We began to see other boats, but the sun had not yet shown.
When our course put us inside the sand bar at Jug Creek
We felt we were safe, but we also felt a little bit meek.
Through wind driven rain with lightning crashing about
We relied on Paloma, in that there’s no doubt.

We realized that Seamanship depends very much on one’s ship.
If anyone “disses” Paloma we’ll give them a fat lip!
Our O’Day has passed thirty; some say, “Long in the tooth.”
We say she is a trusty girl, and that is the truth!

On Friday, July 15 eleven members of the BMSA Marsh Rats swarmed the beach at the Church Road launch at Blue Marsh Lake.  A wonderful picnic dinner of brats, burgers, corn on the cob, salad, watermelon, snacks, and a delicious dessert were followed by a lovely paddle up the lake into the beautiful sunset.  On the way back a bright yellow, full moon lit the way home. 

Oops!  We haven’t been telling our story to the world like we should if we want them to know we still exist! BMSA actually has been pretty busy this spring and summer.  We have had non-sailing social events- GPS Rally, Water Safety Festival, off season dinner, and picnics but I want to briefly address our sailing activities here.   We started the season with a race on May 29.   Memorial Day weekend and light winds held participation down to five boats.  We managed to get in two short races in three hours! Our next sailing event was our Spring Cruise June 11-13.  Four trailerable sailboats put in at the Turner Creek ramp on the Sassafras River and sailed down to Still Pond.  Fortunately it was a short distance as winds were light.  We were joined by three cruisers and the cocktail hour erased our thoughts of the poor sailing day!  The second day winds came up and the trip to our next anchorage Warton Creek was a quick one.  We even did a little daysailing after lunch.  Sunday’s return trip to Turner was made under a following wind which didn’t set any records but kept us moving.  Our second race was our annual Regatta on June 26.  We had a good turnout of seven boats.  Winds started light but built over the day and we got in four races.  The Regatta party was held poolside at the home of Conrad and Barb Vanino. This was followed by a vagabond to the Elk River July 17-18.  Thirteen members made the trip.  While they did get in some sailing their paramount interest was trying to keep cool in the temps that were in the high 90′s.  Our race on July 31 finished a poor second to the many other summer activities as only three boats showed up to race.  The winds were very dicey as they shifted, dropped off, teased us by freshening only to drop off again.  We did manage to get in four races and were able to practice our starts from a new direction as the winds were generally from the east instead of the normal west.  Future sailing happenings include three races all on the last Saturday of August thru October, a vagabond on August 14-15 to the Tred Avon to sail among the log canoes, and the Fall Cruise on September 10-12 which will feature a fun race from the Annapolis Bay Bridge to the Francis Scott Key bridge.  We also meet when possible during the week (usually Wednesdays) for a little fun sailing on Blue Marsh with dinner after at Ganly’s.  Come join us!

Commodore Tony Stajkowski was interviewed for a May 26, 2009 Reading Eagle article. Click below to read the article:
Berks boaters don’t have to travel far to pursue passion

The Blue Marsh Sailing Association has be promoting sailing activities on Blue Marsh and surrounding lakes for almost 30 years.

On April 18, six members of BMSA Team River Rats made a trip to Edgewater, MD and took a kayak tour of the West River, just south of Annapolis, courtesy of the Smithsonian Research Center. The Adairs slept over Friday and Saturday nights with the Vanino’s on Conrad and Barb’s boat, while the Rutolo’s opted to make the round trip drive all in one day.

The weather was absolutely perfect and the scenery was gorgeous. We paddled for about two hours and then had box lunches on the gazebo overlooking the Bay. We saw all sorts of wildlife, including: blue herons, osprey, kingfishers, lion-mantled jellyfish, and a water snake that Barb-the-Snake-Charmer lifted up with her paddle for all to see.

After lunch we drove over the Bay Bridge to check out a launch area for the Spring Cruise and then drove to the Vanino’s boat for happy hour. Conrad entertained us for some time with his amazing sailing stories, including the one about Barb playing Peter Pan while hiking out on Conrad’s catamaran, many years ago.

It was a fun day and a great way to warm up to the new sailing season.

Joe R – Team River Rat