Yacht Basin

ESTIMATES ON the number of years the 50-something-foot Unknown Sailboat lay at the bottom of its slip at the seedy and weedy Baltimore Yacht Basin, on the southern edge of the city by the Hanover Street bridge, run from eight to 12. All anybody saw of the craft in that time was mast and rigging. The boat sank in about 10 feet of water, perhaps during the end of the last Bush administration, and stayed there. The marina's previous management didn't seem to mind. But now a group of optimists has taken over, with money and ambitions to clean up the place and create some excitement along Middle Branch.

The Dead Eye Saloon, the embattled South Baltimore pub that fought the city for years over alleged unpaid taxes and rent, is going to court again.This time, owner Dan Davis will go to the Court of Special Appeals to try to win back his liquor license, which was revoked by the Baltimore Board of Liquor License Commissioners in July 1995 but temporarily returned by a judge pending a court date.The board claims Davis -- who leases about 3 acres from the city, including the Baltimore Yacht Basin under the Hanover Street Bridge -- defied its orders, serving alcohol on an outdoor deck and offering live entertainment after the board repeatedly ordered him not to.Davis, 56, denies he did anything wrong.

For the rich and famous, Annapolis is just a pit stop on the waterway to paradise.From September through October, 70 to 100 mega-yachts migrate from tony Newport, R.I., and Nantucket, Mass., to Boca Raton, Fla., and the Caribbean. These giant pleasure boats slip in and out of Annapolis to be refueled, repaired and have the brine washed away before continuing.Recently, Ivana Trump's 105-foot Italian Baia drew hundreds of gawkers to Yacht Basin Company, the only marina in town that can accommodate such large vessels.

If you have to die -- and there don't seem to be any viable alternatives as of yet -- you might consider going out like Capt. Daniel E. Davis.Yesterday afternoon, a flotilla of family and friends set sail from Davis' Dead Eye Saloon in the shadow of the Hanover Street bridge, intent on paying their last respects to the 58-year-old marina operator, a feisty free spirit who had proved you can fight City Hall. And the Coast Guard, and the city liquor board, and just about anyone else who tried to cross "Captain Dan" over the years.

State Prosecutor Robert A. Rohrbaugh defended Thursday the indictment he brought against Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon and asserted in court papers that a jury needs to decide if Dixon falsified ethics forms and stole gift cards intended for needy Baltimore families. In a 37-page filing that responds to the mayor's request to dismiss the charges, Rohrbaugh takes issue with what he called a "self-serving" affidavit filed by the Dixon-appointed city solicitor in support of her defense. He also argues that Dixon's interpretation of the city ethics code would render that law useless, and says it is proper to charge her with both stealing gift cards and receiving them as gifts - noting that a person can be accused of both robbing a bank and receiving the proceeds of the robbery.

AFTER 20 YEARS trying to get the ball rolling -- literally and figuratively -- the Riva Athletic Association expects to wrap up plans soon for a $2.5 million park at the corner of Riva Road and Route 214."We're excited this is finally going to happen," said Bill Autrey, president of the Riva Athletic Association.The association, founded about 35 years ago, provides about 1,000 children ages 5 to 16 with the chance to play in baseball, basketball and soccer leagues.Tentative plans for the county-funded park call for a nature trail; four baseball fields, three of which will be lighted; three multipurpose fields, one lighted; an outdoor basketball court; an outdoor roller hockey court; and an outdoor volleyball court.

It looks like a hurricane thwacked South Baltimore - at least the weedy stretch under the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Bridge. Abandoned boats rot in the tall grass, seemingly flung from the water. A cabin cruiser named Adam's Rib is now nobody's wreck. Broken glass, tubing and boat innards litter the ground. The grandly named Baltimore Yacht Basin marina, while still open to boaters, has seen better days. So has the building that housed the late Daniel "Cap'n Dan" Davis' raucous Dead Eye Saloon.

The Havre de Grace City Council may decide tomorrow night whether to award contracts to two companies to provide materials for a fuel pier at the City Yacht Basin.Frisco Co. and Wood Preservers bid $1,237 and $5,722, respectively, the lowest of three bids received. The council is also expected to vote on appointments to the tourism and planning and zoning commissions at its meeting at 8 p.m. in City Hall.The council will discuss cleanup of Lilly Run, and pilings in Frank J. Hutchins Memorial Park.

The Bridge Officers of the Wellwood Yacht Club are pleased to announce the Wedding of their Rear Commodore, Captain Eileen Law, of Kennett Square, PA, to their Secretary, Captain Stephen E. Stewart, of Port Deposit, on July 7th. The Nautical Wedding was held on the beach under an Arbor of Jasmine and Ivy at their Marina, McDaniel Yacht Basin, in North East, MD. The Bride is a Private Detective & President of CIA, Inc., a full service Detective Agency with...

BOATS BURGLARIZED AT ANNAPOLIS DOCKTwo boats docked at the Annapolis Pleasant Cove Yacht Basin were broken into last week, with valuables worth more than $4,700 taken.One boat is owned by Jon Lewis Boisclair, of the 3000 block N. Street N.W., in Washington. He reported a television and binoculars, valued at $2,850, missing.The other boat is owned by Leonard Panzitta, of the 600 block Parkwood Road, Severna Park. Panzitta reported that a pair of binoculars, tools and a radio, valued at $1,700, were taken.