Yacht Basin

Kathy and James Galli have made some modest upgrades to their no-frills marina and boat-repair business in the decade that they've owned the property along the Severn River, mostly replacing outdated rigging and fixing broken equipment. They might want to do more with the waterfront location someday — perhaps a restaurant or bar would be a draw — but such an addition seems out of reach for now. Like many of Anne Arundel County's marinas, Severna Park Yacht Basin is in a residential area, and it is allowed to operate there only because it dates to the 1930s, two decades before county zoning laws went into effect.

A Florida man was killed and his brother from Severna Park critically injured yesterday when their experimental seaplane crashed into the South River near Mayo.Richard McIntire, a spokesman for the Department of Natural Resources, said John R. Sellors Jr., 74, of Sarasota, Fla., the passenger, was killed in the crash.Sellors' brother, James H. Sellors, 70, of Severna Park was the pilot, McIntire said.The spokesman said John Sellors was in town for a reunion at the Johns Hopkins University.

A state tax law that went into effect last week has boat lovers smiling all the way down to their deck shoes.Just ask Brent Cohn, who had been eyeing a 35-foot Avanti cabin cruiser -- equipped with two staterooms, teak steps, a full galley and sprawling lounge -- and was waiting for the right moment.The moment came Wednesday, when the new trade-in law gave Cohn an extra incentive to swap his old 27-foot Bayliner for the new yacht: a savings of more than $1,100.Across the state, many boat owners are taking advantage of the barely week-old law that gives buyers a tax break when they trade old boats for bigger, better and more expensive models.

With three major rivers and the headwaters of the Chesapeake Bay, Harford County runs the gamut of fishing opportunities. For those who know these waters, there is no better place to live. Abingdon resident Tom Todd, treasurer of one of the local bass fishing clubs, stopped short of saying he lives here primarily because of the great fishing. "I'll put it this way," he said, "I wouldn't want to go real far because the Chesapeake Bay area has such good fishing habitat and it provides fishing for all types of anglers.

A team of wildlife specialists set out yesterday to track down a misguided manatee, perhaps the first spotted north of the Potomac River, that has been swimming around the upper Chesapeake Bay for at least seven weeks.An effort to capture and return the docile animal to its warm Florida home could come as early as today, a federal official said.Wildlife specialists are concerned that recent heavy rains may have lowered the Chesapeake's water temperature to the point where it threatens the manatee's health.

Frank Thorp III, a former Annapolis civic leader and businessman whose World War II combat experiences included the D-Day invasion of Normandy, died Monday from complications of Alzheimer's disease at a nursing home in Peoria, Ill. He was 79.For nearly two decades, until selling the business in 1973, he was owner and president of Thorp Chevrolet in Annapolis. Active in Republican politics, he ran unsuccessfully for mayor in 1973.Mr. Thorp was born at Fort Knox, Ky., and raised at several military installations where his father, an Army colonel, was assigned.

Marina operator will pay back rentWe, at Baltimore Yacht Basin, are somewhat surprised at the information that The Sun has collected from its sources. In the April 23 editorial ("S.O.S. on managing city real estate"), you have alluded to us, although not by name, as getting a ''sweetheart deal -- an eight-year lease with no rent due the first two years, to settle a court fight over back taxes and rent . . . owed''We wish that we didn't have to pay rent for two years. In fact, the ''sweetheart deal'' involves payment of more than $1 million for the eight years, with monthly payments due in 1996 and 1997 totaling $116,000 and $212,000, respectively.

Tomorrow evening, the sailboat show will move off the city docks in Annapolis and the U.S. Powerboat Show will start moving onto them for its four-day run next weekend.Again this year, the powerboat show will reach out to cruisers, racers and fishermen, with as many as 375 new boats on display in the water and ashore and a schedule of free seminars on fishing, catch-and-release, electronics and ecology.Among the larger boat displays in the show will be Viking Yachts' line from New Jersey and Bayliner, which will have 21 boats on display, ranging from day boats to the Bayliner 57 motor yacht.

Police Blotter is a sampling of crimes in Baltimore City and Baltimore County.Central DistrictRobbery: A man was in the 2100 block of Bolton St. about 5 p.m. Wednesday when a gunman robbed him of his wallet and a small amount of cash.Theft from vehicle: Property valued at $200 was stolen Wednesday from a Ford Taurus in the 200 block of W. Read St.Theft: Someone entered Service America in the first block of W. Pratt St. on Wednesday and stole more than $1,000. Entry was gained with a key.Southern DistrictBurglary: Hand and power tools valued at nearly $200 were stolen Wednesday from a repair shop at Baltimore Yacht Basin by someone who entered through a rear door.

Nearly 200,000 people are expected to descend on Annapolis this weekend when the Whitbread Round the World Race, the Spring Boat Show and the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Walk converge on the 18th-century city.That means restaurants and shops will be jammed, parking spaces will be all but unavailable and traffic jams will dwarf those caused by the fall U.S. Sail and Power Boat Shows and homecoming weekend at the Naval Academy.Here is a short schedule of events and parking suggestions: The Annapolis Salutes Its Maritime Heritage Festival has opened at City Dock, and the Volvo Race Village, with Whitbread yacht displays, open-air exhibits, antique boat exhibits and story-tellers, will open there today.