Boat

Most Chesapeake Bay sailors probably would rather not think about the potential consequences of a poor maintenance program for the rigging of their sailboats, but it's a fact that a small problem suddenly can become a large and expensive -- not to mention dangerous -- one.To help area sailors prevent big problems, Chesapeake Rigging/Annapolis Spars' Tom Wohlgemuth recently shared his insights on winterization tasks that can prolong a sailboat's rigging longevity...

The smiles were bigger than the fish. But that's the way it usually is at the annual Wish-A-Fish event at Sandy Point State Park. Sure, the kids had ear-to-ear grins painted on their faces yesterday. But so did their parents and the scads of volunteers who handed out the fishing gear and life jackets, drove boats, took pictures and served food. So did I. You've got to try really hard to have a lousy time. Consult the Grinch. Sit your snow cone in the sun. Stick your hand in a hornets' nest.

AN ARTIST NORMALLY does his thing in a chilly garret, alone with his muse and a blank canvas. Cindy Fletcher Holden did her most recent work on a busy public street in Annapolis in front of a parade of sidewalk superintendents, critics and kibitzers.Her canvas was a cinder-block wall at Fourth Street and Chesapeake Avenue, 1,530 square feet on the side of a furniture warehouse."Cindy's Mural," as it's being called, depicts about 30 boats that were designed, built or made prominent in Eastport.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- Kiny Parade was lying on the mesh netting of her berth, coughing uncontrollably and vomiting. Her bronchitis was threatening to turn to pneumonia, and the antibiotics were making her stomach hurt. Although she needed rest and a warm drink, the boat was pitching too violently for sleep and there was not enough gas on board to produce but one cup of tea for her every 24 hours.In a feverish daze, she thought only a few days had passed like this. Her shipmates later told her it was almost a week.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- Chessie Racing held onto fourth place overall in the Whitbread Round the World Race yesterday, crossing the finish line of Leg 6 with a school of flying fish by its side and rival U.S. team Toshiba in its wake.After 4,750 miles at sea, the competition for Chessie came down to a match race with Toshiba, a boat run by America's Cup big shot Dennis Conner. Chessie, the first Maryland boat to take part in the 31,600-mile international race, finished only three minutes ahead of its rival in the indigo waters off Florida.

After almost nine months of competition, the Whitbread Round the World Race is coming to an end, and over the past few days the e-mails from the nine boats racing across the Atlantic Ocean to France on the penultimate leg show relief, disappointment and absolute foolishness."

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - From the 100-plus temperatures below deck to the "gunwale bum" rash inflicted on many racers to the fluky winds and absent Doldrums, the latest leg in the Whitbread Round the World Race was one of frustration for pretty much every team but the winner.Most sailors emerged from the 4,750-nautical-mile Leg 6 covered in the red "bum" sores, the irritations caused by sitting in saltwater-soaked shorts in the heat and humidity - aptly named for the part of the body they target with a vengeance.

I've heard it's now possible to get around Paris by a sort of boat shuttle. Is this true?Yes, it is. The so-called Batobus (as in Bateau Bus, or boat bus), is a relatively new way to get around central Paris. The service, advertised by large red and blue signs along the banks of the Seine River, became well-known in 1995 during the huge strike that froze local transportation, including subway service, stranding Parisians and tourists alike.Batobus, a private company, stepped in, and, despite the necessary walk to various departure points along the Seine, proved to be both a convenient and enjoyable transportation alternative.

In the end, the power of youth overcame wit, agility and sheer trickery to win the anything-goes second Build-a-Boat Challenge in Annapolis yesterday.Removing Eastport Yacht Club from its throne of victory, the inexperienced Bay Ridge Nursery crew in its light-green Mulchin Mohicans creation took home the coveted title of Fastest Boat at Sea Trial.This meant neither of the city's two esteemed yachting establishments -- the Eastport and Annapolis yacht clubs -- could defeat a team sponsored by a decidedly earthbound business.

CAPE TOWN, South Africa -- With its fifth-place finish in Leg 1 of the Whitbread Round the World yacht race, Chessie Racing has established itself as a competitive and reliable boat in one of the toughest high-seas challenges."

When a squall flipped the Lady D water taxi in 2004, killing five people and injuring many more, the pontoon boat had 25 people aboard - 10 more than there should have been - because of a Coast Guard mistake. The agency overestimated the capacity the boat could safely carry. But it can't be held responsible. A federal appeals court ruled Thursday that the Coast Guard cannot be sued in the Inner Harbor tragedy because the inspection process it used fell under certain discretionary duties that are immune from legal blame.

Two Baltimore County teenagers drowned while on a Gunpowder River boating trip to celebrate a friend's graduation, authorities said Sunday. On Saturday afternoon, the teens, ages 17 and 18, were guests of their male teenage friend, his uncle and his adult female cousin on the uncle's boat, said Debi Horne, a public affairs specialist at Aberdeen Proving Ground. The bodies of the two teens, whom authorities did not identify, were found in federal waters off APG. The young people were celebrating the high school graduation of the friend whose uncle owned the boat, a 19-foot Boston whaler, when the three young men decided about 5 p.m. to go swimming in the river, about 300 yards to 400 yards from Hammerman Beach, Horne said.

Baltimore's inspector general is investigating whether a top city Transportation Department official improperly purchased a 15-foot motorboat through a city auction. The boat, an Eagle 164 matching the description of one advertised for sale in a city auction this summer, was sitting yesterday on a trailer in the backyard of Anthony P. Wallnofer, a Transportation Department executive in charge of maintenance. Department policies bar officials in the chain of command at the city surplus yard from purchasing vehicles or vessels at auction, said Sterling Clifford, a city spokesman.

A contender in one of the state's best-known yacht races has an unlikely ringer on its crew of 19: a blind Special Olympian with finely tuned hearing and other senses. Ben Collins is a three-time gold medalist in the tri-state Special Olympics, and he has steered the boat across the finish line for the two years he has been with the crew of the Donnybrook. The 72-footer holds the record for the fastest finish in the history of the St. Mary's College of Maryland Governor's Cup. "It's a lot of fun," Collins said as he prepped the boat at Annapolis City Dock yesterday afternoon.

For Ralph Friedgen's birthday this summer, his two brothers-in-law and cousin paid for a deep-sea fishing trip. It was canceled because of the weather, but they decided to go out anyway. One brother-in-law drove the boat onto an oyster bed. Friedgen was in the back of the boat. The tide was going down quickly. Friedgen realized that if they were going to get off the oyster bed, he had to jump off the boat. They pushed it off, but Friedgen got stuck about waist-deep in something akin to quicksand.

The smiles were bigger than the fish. But that's the way it usually is at the annual Wish-A-Fish event at Sandy Point State Park. Sure, the kids had ear-to-ear grins painted on their faces yesterday. But so did their parents and the scads of volunteers who handed out the fishing gear and life jackets, drove boats, took pictures and served food. So did I. You've got to try really hard to have a lousy time. Consult the Grinch. Sit your snow cone in the sun. Stick your hand in a hornets' nest.

On some days, John Kircher counted $3,000 in sales. But the expenses of running a 160-foot sailboat out of Baltimore's harbor - with the $9,500 monthly mortgage, the $18,000 weekly payroll, the $26,000 in insurance, the $600 liquor deliveries - became too costly over the years. The first year in business, he said he lost about $220,000. Next, it was about $30,000 - a definite improvement, but still a loss. This year, he said, business was on track for a turnaround. But Kircher, owner of Clipper City Tall Ship LLC, was already too far in debt.

EARLVILLE -- In its prime, it cut an impressive figure. A racing yacht with a hull of wrist-thick timbers and a half-acre of taut sail overhead. Some sailors called its type "man killers" for their ability to turn on unsuspecting captains and crews and capsize. Elf was quite striking when it was launched in early 1888 and during regattas along the New England coast. But it wasn't so striking in 1970, when Rick Carrion, a 19-year-old college student, saw the boat at the Granary docks on the Sassafras River.

If there is such a thing as an unpretentious 64-foot yacht, the two-masted vessel owned by Walter Cronkite is it. While some owners turn their boats into floating jewel boxes, Cronkite's Wyntje is the kind of boat on which you could spill your lemonade and not worry about being thrown overboard. "He has [the boat] to sail. Not sit in the harbor," said J. Holt, the yacht's smiley 28-year-old captain. "It is very family-friendly." The upholstery is faded, and the wood panels gleam but don't overwhelm.

If there is such a thing as an unpretentious 64-foot yacht, the two-masted vessel owned by Walter Cronkite is it. While some owners turn their boats into floating jewel boxes, Cronkite's Wyntje is the kind of boat where you could spill your lemonade and not worry about being thrown overboard. "He has [the boat] to sail. Not sit in the harbor," said J. Holt, the yacht's smiley 28-year-old captain. "It is very family-friendly." The upholstery is faded, and the wood panels gleam but don't overwhelm.