Each year in June, members of America's Boating Club - Wilmington (both power and sail, and even folks with no boat will drive to some land-based activities) get together and cruise for one week to various destinations around the Chesapeake Bay. The cruise usually includes marina, stays along with raft-ups and on the hook nights. This caters to everyone's favorites, and makes sure we all get some shore leave! Dinners are a mix of ashore in a restaurant, or potluck style.
2025 ABC - Wilmington Annual Cruise - Saturday, June 7 to Sunday, June 15
Our 2025 Annual Cruise included nine boats making six stops, anchoring
more than at marinas. We had the best sailing on our first day out from
Rock Hall to Shaw Bay on the Wye River.
Light winds afterwards resulted in lots of motor sailing for the remainder of the cruise.
This year we added lots of extra land activities. Colleen Schleicher organized
several pre-cruise activities: Matt Melnick's singing of classic American songs
at the Mainstay and a great private reception at the Selkie Book store where we
listened to author Nancy Taylor Robson. The author shared stories about living
and working on a tug on the Chesapeake Bay and brought along books for sale.
Many of us walked away with new books for our summer reading list.
We
invited any ABCW non-cruiser to participate in the land-based activities. Those
who were able to attend were treated to interesting tours about Chesapeake Bay
history and culture as well as the health of the Bay.
We anchored in Almshouse Creek off the South River and toured the Londontown Historic Gardens, learning about early colonial history and life on the River. Elle Basset, the South River Riverkeeper, offered a presentation on how the health of these waters is measured,and on the efforts made to protect them.
We toured the Annapolis Maritime Museum and learned about the city's maritime
industry before it became the sailing capital of the east coast. Afterwards many
of us took advantage of the wide variety of dining opportunities the city
offers.
While anchored in Bodkin Creek we took our dinghys to Hancock Resolution - a plantation that began operation in the 1780's, with family members living there until 1960. Laura Hepting guided us to the small landing by greeting us on the beach. Four docents shared information about native plants, life on the plantation, residents of the nearby cemetery, and the area's role during the War of 1812. The docents, several of whom had personal relationships with the former owners, made an extra effort to help us feel welcome.
Baltimore was our last stop. We stayed two nights at the Harbor East
Marina that gave us access to many downtown attractions. The cruisers
dispersed all around town. Favorite sites included the Baltimore and
Ohio Railroad Museum, the Museum of Industry of Baltimore, the Visionary
Arts Museum, the upgraded Lexington Market, Babe Ruth's home, the play
"Mystery of Irma Vep" at the Everyman Theater and a jazz quartet in a
small venue. Dennis Wallace wrapped up our cruise with his usual humor
and warmth at the banquet held in the marina's new tent.
As always, a major highlight were the raft-ups where we can just relax
and share friendship. We are grateful to the anchor boats; Mystic Star,
Skylark and Star Reacher. Thanks to the efforts of Donna Zimmerman and
Joanie Barber we enjoyed friendly competition completing a new trivia
contest A new tradition for the club. Special thanks also go to
John Schleicher, who produced the cruise guide that not only safely
moved us safely through the week but also integrated our land-based
activities so that the cruise logistics were seamless. We appreciate the
planning efforts of the 2025 Cruise Committee and the many extra hands
it took to make it all work.
See you next year!
Members are
kept informed of activities planned by regular mailings of the
award winning newsletter
"The Lubber's Line".
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