NEWS
By Tricia Bishop | June 27, 2009
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.
NEWS
By Gus G. Sentementes | June 8, 2009
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.
NEWS
By Annie Linskey | August 26, 2008
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.
NEWS
By Karen Shih | August 2, 2008
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.
NEWS
By HEATHER A. DINICH | July 25, 2007
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.
NEWS
By CANDUS THOMSON | July 22, 2007
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.
NEWS
By Nicole Fuller | July 9, 2007
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.
NEWS
By Candus Thomson | June 26, 2007
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.
NEWS
By Annie Linskey | September 24, 2006
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.
NEWS
By Annie Linskey | September 24, 2006
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.