Search Party!

Wow, it's been ages! You probably forgot about us. Last we left you it was back in late 2024 and we were going through quite a lot and decided to step away and see where the process took us. While it has been truly stressful and Brad and I have struggled at times to deal with everything - including each other, it's boating time again and we have much to look forward to. Brad's younger daughter said that it would all be worth it when we're leaving the dock, headed to the club for a glass of rosé and a dip in the pool, then back to the dock while the sun sets. She's not wrong and this is she after a bit too much of that rosé. I think we laughed over this for hours. Anyway... we have worked our way through the extensive repairs and reconfigurations, and the boat is planned to launch next week. Close friends have been our best support and shoulders to cry on. One day, it was so bad that a girlfriend came over with a bottle of wine and a 500-piece puzzle and we proceeded to finish both. I started the day distraught and inconsolable, and ended it feeling only gratitude for great friendships and how much fun we had. Which brings me to the present and the fun times we are soon to have with the new and improved CAYUGA. Sidebar: I can't help but think of the song and how it applies to our situation. We've been waiting on this boat every year (2022, 2023, part of 2024, and so far, 2025), but we need to be present; for each other, for other boating adventures, and even in the mundane like me puttering around in my gardens or enjoying typing up this log entry. Fitting that this live performance was done by the water (Gay Head, Martha's Vineyard). Looking forward to a summer without fuss (how many fingers are you crossing right now?), Brad mentioned designing a house flag for CAYUGA. It was prompted by a friend who recalled there having been plaques of house flags hung on the columns of the first deck of the club. Unfortunately, they were either discarded or returned to their owner during a renovation, and they never came back. But our friend has a brilliant idea to restore the tradition with a club event where members are given crayons, markers, paper, a few glasses of wine of course, and create new flags. That said, I'm not going to assume everyone knows what these flags are. They are also called private signals or personal flags and are of a unique design that represents a boat owner's personal identity. Really, anyone at all can have a house flag. Also, typically they are a "swallowtail" flag shape, but can be any shape. Here's an example: While waiting for friends to join us the other night for dinner, we asked the bartender to hand us paper and pen, and we got a thinkin'. Believe it or not, after all the conflagrations over the past months whenever the boat is the topic, we clicked on this. Our design criteria were reasonable and few: colors of our respective state flags, NY and PA use our initials (first, middle, or last) had to a be a swallowtail flag shape uncomplicated design easy to read, identify and understand something that incorporates CAYUGA. Let's start with the colors. I did a quick web search and found a super site for flag color specifications: Flags Color Schemes - SchemeColor.com . Awesome resource. We agreed that the background should be a blue. The initials might look best in yellow. And our graphic probably good in gray. Although we allow that these colors might switch positions once the flag is mocked up by Prestige Flag . More on colors, keep on reading! Regarding initials, Brad started the design with a C shown first and then a T. I wanted to consider the flag shape and how to incorporate the initials with the shape. The best way was to lead with the T, follow with C, and the C use the swallowtail as its open counter. Open counter? Frankly, this is what I was thinking... one order of ankimo onegaishimasu! Maybe you knew. While I didn't, my intuition was sure there had to be a name for it, and per Wikipedia and the now all too prevalent AI overview search results, it's defined as: the area of a letter that is entirely or partially enclosed by a letter form or symbol. An open counter is a counter that is not completely enclosed by the letterform. Examples of letters with open counters include "c," "e," "G," "s," and "u". This is where the idea came from, the house flag of E. Bates McKee (see ship's log Final Voyage: Xanadu II ). Now we've got to incorporate CAYUGA into the flag which given the designer, Hunt, was so obvious. Hunt uses an arrow as the crossbar in the letter "H" (I have this hat with CAYUGA embroidered on the back). We'd use an arrow to connect the T and C together! Awwww.... so cute! The only thing left is to finalize the colors and get the proof from Prestige. For argument's sake, these are the state flag colors we're working with: NY's colors are L-R - Catalina Blue, True Blue, Cyber Yellow, American Yellow, Electric Orange, and Salem. PA's colors are L-R - Resolution Blue, Tangerine Yellow, Middle Blue, La Salle Green, Venetian Red, and Arsenic (yikes!). Feeling patriotic? Resolution Blue and American Yellow are pretty good choices. But contrast wise, Catalina Blue and either Cyber or Tangerine Yellow might be better. We shall see. As for the arrow, we'd like it to be gray to match CAYUGA's colors, either Awlcraft Medium Gray or Whisper Gray, but it may be best in Insignia White. This is where having studied Interior Design in college probably gets a little bit in the way; I'm totally taking these colors way too seriously. Mercifully, the state flag colors are provided in not just RGB and CMYK but also Pantone so Prestige can get it just right. Isn't that special? Without further ado, this is a rough drawing I did in Adobe Fresco. I am still working on swapping around the colors though. Funny enough Brad's daughter's initials are TC, both daughters actually. Rosé daughter caught that. Last but not least, a little flag etiquette for everyone and let's just call it a refresher for the 2025 boating season. (a wry post I came across that says it funnier than I) Regarding a house flag, it's flown at the top of a single-masted boat (sail or power), or from a starboard spreader, or the forward (or in some cases main) mast on a multi-masted boat.  On a mastless boat, it can be flown from the bow staff, although I've read that it would not be flown at all in that case (but what would you do if you had a house flag? come on, ya gotta fly it).   A house flag is akin to a family crest (but could you this image on a flag??) not really... therefore, the design should be simple but still reflect personal interests, family traditions, initials, or hobbies as well as in good taste and avoid duplicating designs used by others or foreign ensigns (fancy nautical speak for a national flag). I was disappointed that Brad did not want a unicorn on our house flag. On another front, there's some controversy over the starboard spreader and what flies there. The Cruising Club of America (CCA) has specifics , as does Chapman's Piloting and Seamanship , and even our own club. Though, most importantly, Brad's take on flying flags from spreaders unless it is per CCA rules is clear. But grumpy old guy aside, according to what I've stumbled across on the innerwebs, starboard is more important than port for flag regarding hierarchy. It may be all in the same vein as starboard's priority when sailing or the starboard under power rules, or even that left-handed was not a thing long times ago. Anyway, if I had a sailboat, conceivably, based on the research, and all caveats ever, I could fly my Past Commander's flag on starboard spreader and the house flag on port spreader. "Pfffft" says Brad. The last word on house flags, and if you just like yachty words: The private signal is normally displayed when the ensign is hoisted. It may be displayed at the mainmast truck of schooners and power yachts and at the mizzen truck of yawls and ketches. Cutters and sloops may display the private signal sewn to the leech of the mainsail, approximately two thirds of the length of the leech above the clew, or at the truck in lieu of the burgee except when at anchor. At anchor, they may display the private signal at the jack staff. The private signal may be displayed at night. - Fleet Captain Ernie Godshalk, March 29, 2024 (CCA) In the end, CCA simply has this to say, "f lags shall be flown properly or not at all ". To sum up (by way of example): burgee at the bow, yacht ensign at stern (our staff happens to be located slightly to starboard - proper), and my U.S. Power Squadron (America's Boating Club) Past Commander's flag at the mast, which is where the house flag will fly. Do I love yachting? Sure do. I labored over a whole post just because of a house flag... but I had fun in the moment, while also anticipating!

Holly is typically laser-focused and a task master. But there are times she can’t seem to make up her mind. Deciding on the graphic design and font for lettering CAYUGA onto the transom is stymying her. It’s like when we sit at a bar with more than two IPA’s on tap to choose from. Me, if Stella is on tap, done. Not Holly. She will get tastes of the various IPA options and thinks about each seemingly forever. It’s not uncommon for me to have finished my first before she decides and orders. That’s how the boat name graphic design choice is going – slow, with no selection yet. She directed me to a website called MrFonts.com and to click on the Google Fonts tab. I immediately found one I liked on the page with font names that begin with the letter A. Holly wanted me to look at the font page for every letter in the alphabet. I am way too ADD for that. So, as luck would have it, I got sent a photo of the boat when she was called PUG, with a fine shot of the transom. The yachtsman, Blair Brown, who had her built, is at the helm. Anyway, I like the font he used and suggested we copy it. Holly agreed to my surprise and utter amazement, sparing me another night on the Mr. Fonts website. But we are not done and still have to make a final decision between the designs. We are using Accent Design in Annapolis for creating and applying the name. Chris has exhibited the patience of Job while being asked for just one more mockup. I swore to him that this was the last one we would ask him to do. So, here's a poll for you to vote on what you think would look the best. Holly took a quick, highly un-scientific poll at her office and it was a tie between two of the choices with an outlier picking one of them no one else did. Let's see if you can do any better! Looking forward to your choices and thanks for joining the fun.

From the beginning, I have wanted to have a particular diagram of CAYUGA. When I had the sailboat, it was much clearer and of course relatively new (1 previous owner for only a year) regarding any diagram or layout of what is what and where. The first year of owning CAYUGA, we simply used her and didn't fuss much about anything. We knew we would be taking her for service in the winter season and would have things checked out. I would get the diagram I was interested in having. That brings us full circle to the week before Christmas. We haven't shared much about the boat since back in late September. Much has transpired and we needn't talk about it with the world. We did mention we'd filed an insurance claim and to that we did get a check to get a new port gear. CAYUGA is on the Eastern Shore again with an outfit that is known for its work with Bertrams, among others - this is an example of the 31' Bertram (not their work but so you can see the very classic kind of boat it is). They do all kinds of boats, and very big boats too. Positively, we've gotten a lot of thumbs up on going there, from all kinds of folks. A working yard with marina, I was impressed. Brad too. Time will tell. So I went over for a meeting with a few of the guys and this was specifically about the electrical system. I've wanted to get a diagram of it from the beginning because I know over the years things have been installed, taken out, changed, bigger batteries, etc. The wiring is a disaster, at least to me. Apparently, they think so too. Hence the call for a meeting. We went over the main issues and possible solutions, and of course, I asked about the pie in the sky overhaul of the whole system. I'll be getting an estimate for the main issues and a small venture into an overhaul without some of the insanity. Oh boy, another $$$! I love yachting. The boat had smaller engines when first launched and whatever electrical system at that point in 1984. Much of that wiring still exists as well as a few of the instruments - which are no longer connected on one end but are the another. Madness, I tell you. Brad and I are in full agreement that the electrical system has to be taken care of. We are getting new gears (paying for the starboard ourselves) and with all the effort on that, the last thing anyone wants is the boat having an electrical short (see! I got that title in here) that leads to a sad ending because we didn't take care to fix it. This is what the wiring looked like in 2021 - both engines shown - the starboard has the bus bar just lying there with a zip tie somewhere, the port is even worse. Seriously? The battery has wires that connect with a fuse (the red squarish piece), but a wire got loose at some point and Brad fixed that. Under the deck sink there's a mess of wires that come in for the solar panels and the instruments on the mast like the radar dome, etc. That black rectangle has been a mystery (something about the batteries but maybe not). However, a couple of small improvements while over in Denton were mounted bus bars - it's a start. It was an interesting conversation with the guys, and one of them was young - he was taking copious notes - he's apprenticing. Cool. The black rectangle was solved. Separate note: Brad and I were invited aboard a boat of one of the guys when CAYUGA arrived at the marina - he has redone his entire boat under the floorboards. Yes, as they say, you could eat off the bilge floor. And wiring, OMG, seemed like everything was just where it should be. I, again, have hopes, high hopes even for getting a real electrical diagram. I've built a binder for the boat which includes as much of the information we have gathered about anything in the boat, and it has a lot of specifications on all kinds of items. Like, the serial number of an engine, model number of a carburetor, the year something was replaced or serviced, etc. And eventually, I'll have a battery consumption chart. CAYUGA doesn't need to plug in, she likes getting sunshine. A trickle charge from the solar panels does the trick. Of course, with the antiquated way the wiring is done through various connections, we lose a lot of efficiency and charge power. Goal? Fix all we can, avoid electrical mayhem, make sure the bow thruster has juice, the bilge pumps work properly, and most importantly (!), understand how long we can play the stereo at full blast.

This year has been just that. Ups. Downs. Twists. Turns. And we are still riding along, white-knuckled, screaming, wondering when we can get off and get back on solid footing. Since the port gear exploded, we have endeavored to get it fixed. Of course you say, and our adventure has taken us all across the country, back in time, and for a brief moment, other countries. As such, Brad has been on fire! He's cataloged a long list of numbers for transmission shops and making sure if it's a dead end, he doesn't accidentally call twice. Thankfully Brad enjoys research, and listening to the old marine guys, but primary to the task, he's channeling his inner detective, hoping to crack the case of the elusive parts. June 26 was the fateful day for our port gear. Going into July, we were hopeful to find the parts we needed. Our gear guy was searching and contacting all the folks he knew (all the same people Brad called too and then some). Basically, the whole month was a u-joint yoke hunt and what might be alternatives, until July 30th. That's the day we reluctantly filed an insurance claim after getting nowhere with finding the parts and not getting much help from the folks who had been working on the boat, plus hearing really bad news about ostensibly never finding the parts. But we keep looking. August brought in the insurance sleuthing and trying to figure out exactly what happened. As of now, I am not convinced of any one thing, but I have my suspicions and hope they will be or have been investigated fully. I have voiced that rather firmly. But we do not have a report yet... One of the things very important for us to provide the adjuster is an estimate to get the repair done. We are between the rock and hard place. What a disaster. One other August development of note was when Brad reached GL Power and spoke to the owner, Harry Allen. We were on to something. After what we were told was a reasonably exhaustive search, including Europe, it was discovered, right at their own headquarters in Ohio, that GLP had an old Paragon, our model, on display. It was dismantled, but to no avail, there's a reason it was on display - it didn't have all the parts inside. But that's not the end. A little reminder on the history; Paragon Power was not always that, it started as Paragon Gear which was bought by Twin Disc, got its name changed somewhere along the way and then finally Great Lakes Power (now GL Power) bought Twin Disc. Parts were around, but at some point GLP discontinued Paragon and tossed parts. Our gear guy tells us he tried to get some of those parts but had no luck. And by the way, all the transmission guys know each other no matter what state they are in, and most are twice as old as our gears. So you can imagine the stories we've heard about the days of old and the transmissions of yore... Meanwhile, in pure frustration, I went so far as to say we're going to do new gears and even engines, and some boat deck reconfiguration, etc., because f-it, we're not planning to sell the boat for a long time, she is a beautiful, capable boat that has the luck of 2024, like me. Brad shuddered at the idea of the cost of that. Me too. We'll keep our engines, but new gears may be the only choice if we can't find parts. I must digress to say that each month has brought some kind of hurdle. Besides the boat having its own, I too have been enjoying a monthly escapade of setbacks. August was the death of my laptop. Luckily, I had the extended warranty and Dell came to the house and replaced the hard drive. What that it were the case for CAYUGA! But besides that favorable outcome, August hadn't gotten by without an issue. Don't believe me? July had handed me a sick dog - a bad ear infection. Only 4 more days in September, I wonder what's in store? Yesterday we had a very near collision. A car driving too fast lost control around the dead man's curve in our community as we were heading home. Had it not recovered, Brad and I would probably have been at the emergency room. Let's continue. Sometime around the beginning of September, GLP was considering machining the parts we needed. I was thrilled and shared that with friends who have of course been following along and asking about the status. And then... Yesterday, we got the disappointing news that GLP will not be able to help us. Reason? Attorneys. I leave it at that. Brad sent him the September PropTalk and the Ray Hunt Design summer 2024 quarterly articles about me (Brad very lovingly combined them) and while not helpful, Mr. Allen had very kind words and was supportive besides his attorneys, so at least he knows of our CAYUGA and wishes us well in our endeavors. Unfortunately, that does not fix the problem. But my fame is not limited to these two publications, no! The Antique & Classic Boat Society's quarterly magazine, ACBS Rudder, will have an upcoming article written by me. As of now, we are still hunting down proper estimates to do whatever repair we will need to do. You see the difficulty. Without finding the parts, how can anyone give a real estimate? Chickens. Eggs. Horses. Carts. Getting an estimate to put in new gears should be easier but that too have proved unusually difficult. If I worked in the industry, you can be sure I'd take this challenge on. It's a bit complicated but the outcome would be serious glory. But yesterday. And I need to go back to the one entity, Marty Brown Racing, who refurbished the engine - of which has worked flawlessly. Brad called Marty yesterday to ask about engine rotation. Shall we dive in? CAYUGA is equipped with two engines, one rotating as it would "normally" and one counter-rotating. This is to work with the way the props rotate. They spin outward - the starboard prop is a right-hand and pushes clockwise. The port, the opposite. Our engines function by the way the camshaft is set up. Our Paragons have zero to do with how the props spin, however, they are right and left working because of the engines and props. If I've got this wrong, please contact me - don't just laugh at the girl and her boat. What we are finding is that most gears today do not work that way. There is only one manufacturer, that we know of so far, Velvet-drive, where the v-drive itself can be reversed. That would be our solution if we go with new gears. Back to Brad's call with Marty. The question was what it would take to change the cams on an engine. Marty answered but then asked what were we trying to do? Brad explained the issue with the u-joints and to Brad's surprise Marty said he had a guy who might be able to machine what we need. While this seems to be exciting news, there is so much left to sort out for that to happen, but we may actually for the first time in 3 months, see a faint, very faint, glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel. Hope , again? Here's what needs to happen: insurance still needs estimates to wrap up we still need estimates for a refit - this scenario is outfitting new gears both port and starboard if this is the path, then the rest is moot, and the boat goes to that shop we still need estimates to fix the broken gear which involves the gear guy Marty Brown a mechanic who takes things out and puts them back in we have a space lined up at a yard where she could be hauled and stored for the fix we need would need an estimate from a shrink-wrap person to build an enclosure so the mechanic can work on the boat over the winter we will have the boat towed by BoatUS to wherever the boat needs to go While this may sound not all that hard, our insurance person said he'd never seen such a complicated ordeal for what is otherwise a simple claim. Cue the Rube Goldberg machine: I love yachting!

These pictures are shortly after the complete destruction of the port U-joint Wednesday afternoon and the morning after cleanup of the transmission oil and small debris. Bottom line, Brad, me, and our mechanic are all safe as is the boat. She may be trailered back to Denton. Or, we stay in the water, and figure what's next. Someone remarked that we could remove the port prop and limp around on one engine nearby not far from the marina until a solution presents itself. I don't think that sounds like fun, but moreover, we need to get to the bottom of this first. So, I ask you dear readers and fellow yachters, do you use your old boat or old car such that you expect it to perform as it should? Or do you baby the heck out of it and fear a failure at any moment if you should use in a normal way? We had the belief based on the restoration and rebuild and all the marine industry folks we'd worked with that we would be able to have the boat perform. However, only 3/4 of it performed as it should, 2 engines and 1 transmission/v-drive, while 1/4 decided to fall to pieces. I'd pushed her up to 3600 RPMs on our return from St. Michaels, which is only about 800 or so less RPMs than when disaster struck. Was failure imminent at some point in the future and we just hurried it along? Who knows, at least not at this time, but having our mechanic (note - he is not a transmission person) aboard was, if anything, comforting. Remember this picture from this previous post ? Basically, the "neck" between broke. The Paragon died. Right now, all the experts are conjecturing and tasked to figure out how to fix this. What exactly happened is now a figure pointing exercise. Frankly, if someone would just step up and say, you know, I think I fucked up, I'd respect that and think a turning point had been reached where my shaken confidence would be renewed in the folks involved. It's a possibility that we will fully ditch the remaining Paragon and go with new (or new to us) gears. If that is the direction - there'll be stories a-plenty. If I loved yachting before, now I'm married to it. I can't sell a broken boat, so I've got to see this through. I don't want to sell the boat, but you can't blame me for thinking about it. 2024 keeps landing punches when I was getting hopeful that things were turning around. Silly me. So, all I can say is bring it on - and as someone suggested yesterday, "get a second mortgage, redo it all new and then refi when rates go down - you only go around once".

Known to anyone paying attention to any news, in particular those reading about events in the State of Maryland, a ship hit a bridge and the bridge collapsed. Tragic for the loss of life and after that, all of the other mess the M/V Dali created. A good friend said in a text yesterday, "good riddance". Agreed. Brad and I signed up for bridge updates so we know when traffic is messed up in general or there's an accident (traffic is messed up) or some other event that causes... traffic to be messed up. But I digress... See, we live at the end of a peninsula and at the foot of the Bay Bridge so it's both convenient and not so. Overall, our community is a small slice of heaven, surrounded by state forest and the Bay at our feet.. Part of what makes the community so great is that there's a small marina, and it affords us fantastic views of the Bay. Going back a few years, we had a front row seat for the Everforward grounding. But yesterday, after a bridge update, we decided to walk out to the marina and watch the departure. Here's the email: Yesterday was very windy, gusting upwards of 25 knots. There were more than 4 tugs involved - we could see two on the starboard side alone, plus one behind and we assume another two on the port side, maybe more. There was a marine police escort and a CG boat following. Of course the local media had a helicopter buzzing overhead once the ship got closer to the Bay Bridge. Frankly, it was a bit nerve-wracking to think of the worst-case scenario but the "out of an abundance of caution" shutting down the bridge was smart. I tried to do some narration, but the wind was louder than me. Another person out watching had binoculars and he said to look at the bow where I could see wreckage of the bridge. That was eerie. So here's what we saw in pictures and video: And that's a wrap on the M/V Dali. She's currently moored in Norfolk, VA. It was a good I love yachting day for Dali, having it made it past the Bay Bridge and out of MD. Good riddance.

We want to recognize those who we have relied on to maintain and enhance CAYUGA. To keep even a smaller boat running well and looking good requires building a team of marine specialists, such as engine and electrical professionals, varnish specialists, and other parts and accessories suppliers. logo from cobe website From the outset, when CAYUGA first got splashed in the waters of the Chesapeake at Campbell’s in Oxford, we have come to rely upon Cobe Marine in Pasadena (headwaters of the Magothy River) for advice and parts for our two Marine Power gas engines. Not only does Cobe seem to stock the parts for our thirty-year-old engines, but they order and quickly get what we need if they don't have it. Just this week, we wanted to replace the engine thermostats on both engines (more on that I love yatchting issue later). I called Cobe and was informed there was one and could get the other the next day. The next morning, I had an email proactively letting me know that the completed order was waiting for me to pick up. To back up, two years ago, it was Cobe who recommended that Marty Brown Racing rebuild the engines for us. As those of you who have read prior posts about the refit of engines and gears, our experience with Marty Brown was excellent. So, here is a massive shout-out to Cobe Marine – a local marine business – that is integral to our ability to be good stewards of CAYUGA.

Greetings ILY fans! Many of you know that one of the things I have wanted to do with CAYUGA is to take her to St. Michaels for the annual Chesapeake Chapter's Antique & Classic Boat Show. This was its 36th year and running. I had done a previous post about it " Boat Show Time " and the ongoing frustrations with getting the boat in the water. 2024 has been a challenge and too often anything but good. Specifically, as an example, on January 1st I woke up after a lovely dinner party the evening prior, and while sitting at the dining room table enjoying my espresso, I happened to look at my ring finger and oh no! one of the sapphires was missing from my new ring! I could not believe it and was fighting the idea that it was a bad omen. Well, from there, things went downhill. The boat was having issue after issue. There were two unexpected and tragic deaths of past coworkers. Work problems. Identity theft. Landscaping mishaps. And a bizarre family development. Even minor everyday things have taken the difficulty scale to new heights. If normally it takes one time to do something or should be a short process, it's been anything but. 2024 is the year of persistence, patience, perseverance, and a big pain in the ass. But, perhaps my string of bad experiences may be winding down, or at least on vacation? I picked up my ring last Wednesday! A good start to hopefully a string of positives. So on to the main story. A good one. On Thursday afternoon of last week, June 13, we departed the marina at approximately 1pm and arrived at St. Michaels around 3:30pm. CAYUGA ran well. Her port engine started with some barking but fortunately, that went away and our ride down the bay was into a 12 knot breeze that she handled admirably. I juiced up her RPMs while we turned into Eastern Bay to run over the quartering waves and once around the point and headed south through Prospect Bay into the Miles River, we slowed down and cruised along enjoying the scenery (12 knots in video). The weekend was fantastic. The weather was great. I slept on the boat while Brad drove back and forth to take care of the dog (she does not like the boat - it's too loud). I made a beautiful arrangement with flowers from my gardens, set up a pitcher of iced cold hibiscus tea on a serving tray (a wedding gift with the island of Bermuda carved into it - our favorite place), and displayed the CAYUGA engraved glasses. We looked great. Folks stopped and asked about her - we were all too happy to oblige offering many to come aboard. I had signed up on a whim to be judged to find out what folks thought of her and learn what we would need to do to make her competitive next year. That judging took place Saturday morning. The awards ceremony was a Sunday luncheon. I'll just get to it. CAYUGA won a Gold Level award in her class - Late Classic. I had not expected that. I never even considered it. Not in my wildest dreams. Not even a little bit. The only award higher is Platinum. I was so surprised and stunned and speechless, except to say to the audience while holding back tears, "Thanks Dad". Not my usual calm, collected self when handed a microphone. In past stories, I've shared how Dad is the reason I was introduced to boating and found I loved it, so being Father's Day, the tears just flowed both sad and happy. CAYUGA motored home with her first, of what I hope to be many, awards and accolades. We have much work to do! I'll tell you all about how I prepped her in an upcoming story. But for now, I am on the lookout for more good things to come. Time for some bubbly to celebrate the accomplishment and a huge thank you to all of you who have supported us, in every way. I'm exhausted but it's all been worth it.

A few weeks back, a viewer of the CAYUGA YouTube playlist commented that my video " Fired up! " did not show what they were expecting. I was of course crushed that I had not delivered on my title, however, for those of you who know our friend Mr. Eney it makes total sense. Fired up is already fired up and getting more so. But to make it right, I responded that I would record a new video of CAYUGA starting up. I believe what I've created sorts out the difference. One small thing... I love yachting as you know, and the moments have been plenty with getting the boat back in working order - the kind of order that lets you relax (a little) while taking her out for a spin. So, for all the good ILY times, and our delivery was fantastic, it was about a week and a half later, when we started up to go out and watch Wednesday Night Racing, that the port engine was grumbly and barky. It was not right, the idle was off, and there's some visible exhaust. HOW IN THE WORLD.... could that be. What happened, what changed, what the *heck? Take a listen: Thus ensued many emails to engine guy with videos so he could watch, listen, analyze, and provide his initial thoughts on what was going on. In the meantime, I took to watching more YouTube videos about engines and carburetors. Since there was an idle issue, that was my first guess. This guy might be my hero with an awesome Holley carb how-to. Even so, I was not about to try it myself, but called in our local expert. Yesterday, Portside Marine visited, and went through the port engine checks and then the tuning, but I learned a lot watching and listening. I get it - and it's such a simple mechanical device in general but the right settings are somewhat fussy to get dialed in just right. In the end, here are the results of the carb fix (and I'm feeling pretty good about my burgeoning engine skills that my hunch on the carburetor being the culprit was correct).

A while back, a friend of mine coined the term 'Perfect Thursday' for a day so uniquely right in all aspects that it was obligatory to get together and celebrate. Perfect ingredients are 70-80 degrees, low humidity, a soft breeze, sunny skies which may have a few puffy clouds, and a location on the water. The last being the easiest of them all of course in the Annapolis area, however the temperature and humidity often collude against such a day. This week, it was the ultimate Perfect Thursday. Cool morning temps, light breeze from the SSW, sunny skies forever, and CAYUGA plying the waters of the Bay. Yes, CAYUGA is in the water. She performed. I cried. The engine man smiled when he got off the boat. The day in pictures: The day in video: For all of the I love yachting moments of the past few months, and years... this day was absolutely, perfect.

A friend called and said, "I have an I love yachting story for you". A little background, he's been restoring, to perfection, a late classic catboat. What's a catboat? It's not this but click the picture to find out what it really is. He decided to have a professional paint the bottom in preparation for the usual summer of barnacle-infested waters of the Northern Chesapeake. So happens he has an old friend who owns a boatyard in a nearby state. The hope was not to get a better price on the work but to get the job done well. You can see where this is going, right? After a successful splash of the boat for the first sail of the season, the centerboard was stuck and he was unable to lower it. After several attempts to get the centerboard down, the decision was made to take the boat to a local service yard and get it hauled out for inspection and repair. Once out of the water, and after the stuck board was unstuck, it was blatantly obvious the yard that performed the professional paint job was also the culprit for the board having been stuck. To make this perfectly clear, here's a model of a catboat as an example for what the centerboard looks like when it is in the retracted (up) position. And the punchline is... the painter painted the centerboard in the up position. The paint had caused the sticking board. However, most egregiously, the painter had left about half of the centerboard without a fresh coat of paint. Seems the painter just didn't know that the centerboard needed to come down to do the job right. Ya just can’t make this stuff up. Examples like this are the reasons why there is seemingly no end to the I love yachting stories shared amongst fellow boaters everywhere.

It's that time of year to start planning to attend the annual Chesapeake Bay Chapter of the Antique & Classic Boat Society's show in St. Michael's. Every year over the same weekend as Father's Day, by water or land, beautifully restored old boats and some works in progress descend upon the small historic town to delight yet another year of attendees. In its 36th year, it will be June 14-16. I've made the trek many times, the majority to see my father and his boats but also to be there for the big day all Dads deserve. Last year I attended as a speaker at a small seminar about the boats we love. I also had done a "Boats of James Bond" powerpoint but was unable to be present for its showing. That powerpoint was probably more fun to put together than anyone watching would have guessed. Pix of Dad and Mom with me back in the early '90s... with Ol' Smoothie and then later in the '10s with Dad's furniture piece AKA the Penn Yann. Sign up to bring your boat. Even though there's a theme for fishing boats, any qualifying old boat can be a part of the fun (join ACBS !). Register for any part of the weekend below by clicking the image OR if you just want to come see all the boats, get your tickets through the museum: link here . I hope that CAYUGA will make the show this year. The ongoing issues with the port transmission have yet to be resolved, but maybe we'll have a light shed on it this week. I #@(*$& love yachting.