Congratulations to our new Queen of the Chesapeake, Queen Caitlin Campbell of Middle River Yacht Club. This year’s pageant, as usual, was tough on the judges as all the Princesses did an excellent job. Please see the attached announcement.

The openings are moving along with only a hand full to go and as mentioned before they have been a great time to enjoy the hospitality of our fellow clubs. With that said there has been much discussion lately on better coordination between the member club opening dates & start-times so that they can be enjoyed in a much more relaxed and safer manner. Some clubs have agreed to consider some adjustment for next season and hopefully others will join in to make this a win-win campaign. If there is more time to get to your opening then it means more guests will attend your opening. More time to get to the next opening mean more guests will stay a little longer to enjoy your hospitality. It is that simple.

Our "four by five hundred" raffle is off to a great start. A couple of clubs have already turned in their tickets. The drawing will be held at our annual Christmas Party at Laurel Park Race Track. Galloway Yacht Club was the first to return their share of tickets followed by Riverside Yacht Club. This year we have a gift for the club that returns the most tickets. In case of a tie, the first club to return the most tickets will win the honor and the prize. Just like the Discovery Channel TV series "Deadliest Catch" please see the attached official "YCM Crab 4 x 500 Ticket Count". If you wish to take part in this raffle please contact your Commodore or contact a YCM officer. If more tickets are needed please contact me. Thank you for your support and good luck.

An upcoming YCM event needs your consideration so don’t wait for the "club" over the head to get started on gathering your "FOUR"-some. That’s right, the 6th annual YCM golf outing is around the corner, so let’s get together and start swinging away at lining up for the August 30, 2010 YCM Golf Outing. This will be the second YCM golf outing for me as Commodore because this season we are playing in August instead of October. Maybe this year I can swing a club once with each group and call it the "Commodore handicap". Believe me; I can swing a camera much better than a club.

Yacht Clubs of Maryland is looking for a few good P/Cs. That’s right, we need your help and this is the time of the year that we ask those that wish to join our ranks and become YCM officers and/or Board Members for the good of the club. Our nominating committee is actively seeking volunteers. Our club, is your club, times the number of member clubs. We are the means for interaction and we need you to help us carry on that mission.

There is an update on the Eastern Yacht Club 2009 "Parrot-Napping" later in this newsletter. Please review and if you know anything that will help in the investigation or return of Polly the Parrot, please contact the proper authorities.

Don’t forget to check out the other articles in this newsletter and our website to find out what else is going on in our club and the member clubs around our bay. I will see you soon at one of the upcoming event or an upcoming meeting.

Stay safe.

P.S. Please note our email address has changed to danandbonnie2@verizon.net