Annapolis Yacht

Thea Almen, 88, reader, theatergoer, secretary, teacherThea Almen, a homemaker who was an avid reader and theatergoer, died of pneumonia Wednesday at the Greater Baltimore Medical Center. She was 88.She had spent most of her adult life in Annapolis, where she was a member of the Annapolis Yacht Club, but in recent years lived in Delray Beach, Fla.The former Thea Nelson was born in the Bronx and attended the New York City Teachers Training School.She was a secretary for the Interborough Mutual Insurance Co. and later taught grade school in the New York City school system.

Naked man charged in Annapolis yacht break-in A naked man was arrested and charged with burglary and theft after he was suspected of breaking into a yacht early Friday and stealing alcohol, Annapolis police said. Employees on a boat docked at the Annapolis Yacht Basin in the first block of Compromise St. were awakened about 2 a.m. by sounds of an intruder, police said. The boat's engineer awoke to see a man clothed in a black V-neck T-shirt and dark jeans in his bedroom and chased him off the yacht.

Just in time for Chesapeake Bay boating season, and maybe in time toboost a struggling industry, two boat shows will debut this spring in Annapolis.Shows of new and used boats come courtesy of the sameproducer of the prestigious Annapolis boat shows that dominate City Dock and Harbor each fall.And they come at a time when many in the maritime industry can barely keep their heads above water."In any situation when the market's down, that's never the time to give up on promotion," said Jeffrey Holland, the shows' spokesman.

Despite the heat and periods of light air, a fleet of 51 boats in six classes sailed the 117.8-mile course from Annapolis to Hampton, Va., late last week in the annual running of the Hampton Yacht Club's Virginia Cruising Cup race.Alternately known as the Down The Bay Race or simply as the Hampton Race, the Virginia Cruising Cup dates back dozens of years, and its fleet includes sailors who have competed since their early teens.Virginia-based boats dominated the fleet and took most of the trophies, but in the largest class, PHRF A-1 with 13 starters, Marylanders took three of the top four spots.

Louis Nicholas "Buster" Phipps Jr., an Annapolis businessman who was once the state's director of Chesapeake Bay Affairs, died of complications from Alzheimer's disease Sunday at La Casa Assisted Living. He was 78. Born on Prince George Street in Annapolis, the son of a state senator and Anne Arundel County political leader who had been mayor of the state capital, Mr. Phipps served in the Army at the end of World War II. He graduated from the University of Maryland in 1950, where he was an All-American lacrosse player, and played football under coach Paul Bryant.

If warm, sunny weather and a new wave of economic optimism aren't enough to tempt sailors back onto the water and into the marketplace, local boat shows over the next three weekends will add other tantalizing inducements to start them thinking about it again.From the starting lineup, it looks like there's at least one show for every sailor's general or special interests.First, over April 19-21 at Bert Jabin's Yacht Yard at 7310 Edgewood Road on the south side of Back Creek in Annapolis, comes the 15th annual Chesapeake Bay version of Yankee Boat Peddlers' Used Boat Show.

R. Edwin Disharoon Sr., a retired bank president and former chairman of the old Baltimore & Annapolis Railroad -- as well as an avid yachtsman -- died April 12 of a heart attack at his home at Heron Point in Chestertown. He was 93 and previously had lived in Annapolis for 67 years. Born in Nanticoke, Mr. Disharoon attended the University of Maryland and then went to work for Roberts Construction Co., building Ritchie Highway in the 1930s. By then in his 30s, Mr. Disharoon joined the military at the outset of World War II and served with the Army Corps of Engineers, heading the map room in planning the Normandy invasion, said his son, Robert E. Disharoon Jr. of Annapolis.

Man's body found floating near Annapolis Yacht Club An autopsy was to be performed today on the body of an unidentified man found floating yesterday in the Annapolis harbor, said an Annapolis police spokeswoman. Shortly before 11 a.m., police received a call that the fully clothed body of a man was floating near the Annapolis Yacht Club, said police spokeswoman Jane Schlegel. An initial report did not indicate any signs of foul play, police said. The body was taken to the state medical examiner's office in Baltimore.

Thomas H. Closs, an accomplished Annapolis yachtsman who raced sailboats on the Chesapeake Bay and along the East Coast for more than 70 years, died Wednesday of lung failure at Spa Creek Eldercare in Annapolis. He was 87.A longtime Annapolis resident, Mr. Closs also owned Closs Volkswagen, a successful car dealership on Belair Road in the Putty Hill section of Baltimore County that he operated from 1970 until he retired in 1977.Since 1937, Mr. Closs owned a string of offshore cruising and racing yachts -- all named FUN after the boat his father built for him in 1922 -- that he sailed from Canada to the Caribbean Islands and in the Great Lakes.

ANNAPOLIS -- For many years, the Annapolis in-the-water boat shows have been a staple attraction each fall. Last year, in an attempt to bolster a sagging boating industry, area dealers ZTC and brokers added spring shows of new and used boats specifically directed toward local and regional customers.This spring, the powerboat and sailboat shows have been combined into the Annapolis Spring Boat Show, which opens tomorrow at the Annapolis Yacht Basin and Harbor."We are tickled about the show we have put together," said Jeffrey Holland, an organizer for the show, which is sponsored by the Marine Trades Association of Maryland and the Yacht Architects and Brokers Association.