2006 Fall Rendezvous - September 27 - October 1, 2006
Twenty-five plus Grand Banks yachts gathered again this year in Oxford at OYA under sunny skies. Bob Taylor and his talented dock crew packed the marina to accommodate us all, with no room to spare. Pepper Holmes greeted every boat with a wonderful gift bag and a gorgeous mum plant. Lynn Hendershot got the partying started with plenty of wine, beer, and lots of great hors devours. Can you say "it doesn't get any better"?
Thursday morning we departed Oxford for Cambridge and took slips in the Cambridge Municipal Docks near the Cambridge Yacht Club. The city and neighborhoods provided for fun exploring, and Geoff Holmes had arranged with the Coast Guard to demonstrate how they rescue folks from the water. An impressive helo and a very impressive water recovery performance by the Coasties.
Dinner Thursday evening was at the Cambridge Yacht Club following a Happy Hour overlooking the Choptank. CYC is a very comfortable club with good food and great views.
Friday the fleet got underway with most of us participating in the "modified" predicted log, with special techniques, special rules, and hints explained by John Shanahan himself. As we departed the wind picked up from the northwest, and an otherwise vanilla cruise to the Solomons became a very sporty adventure - particularly rounding Castle Haven Pt.
Solomins Yachting Center, shown at the right, was our final destination, and the location, convenience, and beauty of this area is hard to match. While some of us took the opportunity to visit Trawler Fest further up the creek, others enjoyed a magnificent cruise and lunch aboard the Wm B. Tennison. A big thanks to Joan Jordan for coordinating the cruise as well as much of the other Solomons activities and support.
Saturday morning we had the annual business meeting, elected officers for the next year, and started discussing the Spring Lawn Party and weekend mini cruises. Dick Seed, supported by Jim Kenney and Geoff Holmes, led a boat problem solving session which could easily have gone on for another hour or two.
The Saturday banquet was great, as usual (nice table decorations, Joan), and as usual John Shanahan presented the results and trophies for the Predicted Log Race: first place to Buz & Gina Buzby; Runners-Up were Bob & Stacey Taylor, Garland & Jean Hagen, and Rocky & Anita Lowe.
We want to say a special thanks to our great sponsors: to Oxford Yacht Agency and John Shannahan who sponsored the Wednesday night social and provided complimentary dockage at Oxford; to Jarett Bay Yachts, our new local area Grand Banks sponsor who hosted the Friday evening buffett; and to Grand Banks, Ltd, who sponsored our banquet. We appreciate your support, and we enjoyed having you join us for our festivities: John Shannahan of OYA, Rob Miltz of Jarrett Bay Yachts, and David Hensel and Tucker West from Grand Banks.
Archived Information
All the details from past rendezvous' are still online. If you missed it, be sure to check out this as it will give you an idea of the sort of things you can expect from this year's event.