Nautical Notes - Mariners of PGI

Nautical Notes
Vol. VII Number 12 A Publication of the Mariners of PGI DECEMBER 2015
Richard Northrup, Cruise Director
Mark MacMahon, Commodore
I want to begin by reminding everyone
we are only a few months away from our
2016 Regatta. This is the Mariners
signature event, and will be held at Burnt
Store Marina April 1 through 3. Beverly
and I joined the Mariners in 2009 and
went to the regatta that same year. We did not know
quite what to expect, but it turned out to be great fun and
a superb opportunity for us, as new members, to meet
other members and make friendships that still continue. In
subsequent years, we served on the “games committee”
and later chaired the “decorating committee”. We are
fortunate to have Susan and Russ Hills as our 2016 Regatta
Chairpersons. If you are a new member, I encourage you
to not only attend the regatta, but to contact the Hills and
volunteer to serve on one of the committees. You will
have a great time, you will get to know many more people,
and you will get a support credit. And, if you are a longerterm member, Sue and Russ need you too!
This is the last Commodore’s article I will write. It’s been a
great ride and I feel privileged to have been your
Commodore. It is almost time to turn the reins over to
Don Kidwell. First, I want to thank my board members, a
great group of people; it was a pleasure to serve with each
of them. Gail Busch handled the Membership Director
position (one of the toughest jobs around) with judgment
and tact; Debbie Jones steered us safely through the
financial rocks and shoals; Richard Northrup led a very
active cruising program; Wayne Sharp treated us to
interesting programs; Julie Black kept the Minutes,
oversaw our voting activities, and did anything else we
asked her to do; and Betsy Pohle first served behind the
scenes and then stepped forward to lead our social
activities. I could not have asked for more support than I
got from Vice Commodore Don Kidwell and Past
Commodore Dennis Cesari. Finally, I would be remiss if I
did not acknowledge how much easier my job was because
of the work of our Webmaster Don Leitch and our Nautical
Notes Editor Joyce McCandless.
Whether you are home or away for the holidays, I wish
each of you a safe and peaceful time.
November certainly will not go down
as the best month of cruising this
year. There were eight cruises on the
schedule but only one was completed.
The combination of weather and
holidays seems to contribute to the
lack of activity. However, the single cruise to the Pink
Shell Marina had 15 boats participate, which made it
one of the most successful cruises for the year. So all
was not as bad as it seemed. Congratulations to Chris
and Ginny Caldwell for leading such a successful cruise;
this is the best participation number we have seen all
year, other than the Regatta. As I write this, we have
already had three successful December cruises, so we
now stand at 38 completed cruises with 223 boats
(WOW!) taking part for the year. Excellent participation
and I am certain this year is one of the most active in
recent years. I am still hoping that we can break the 250
mark for 2015. For those of you that are looking for
Cruise Credits there is still plenty of opportunities to get
them in as there are still six cruises remaining on the
cruise calendar at this point. If you have ideas for
additional cruises, please let me know and I can get it on
the calendar.
Remaining December Cruises:
(click cruise destination below to access web sign-up)
16
17
22
27
31
31
Lunch Cruise to Laishley Park
CHYC Lunch Cruise
Lunch Cruise to Harpoon Harry’s
Last Sunday of the Month Sunset Lake Raft-Up
New Year’s Eve at Salty Sam's (Wait Listed)
New Year’s Eve at Pelican Bay
DECEMBER 2015
Page 2
Nautical Notes
Mariners of PGI Board of Directors
MARK MacMAHON, Commodore
commodore@marinersofpgi.org
DON KIDWELL, Vice Commodore
vicecommodore@marinersofpgi.org
DEBBIE JONES, Treasurer
treasurer@marinersofpgi.org
JULIE BLACK, Secretary
secretary@marinersofpgi.org
BETSY POHLE, Director of Social Activities
social@marinersofpgi.org
GAIL BUSCH, Director of Membership
membership@marinersofpgi.org
RICHARD NORTHRUP, Director of Cruises
cruise@marinersofpgi.org
WAYNE SHARP, Director of Education
education@marinersofpgi.org
DENNIS CESARI, Past Commodore
pastcommodore@marinersofpgi.org
______________________________________________
LYNNE MATTHEWS, Sunshine Committee
sunshine@marinersofpgi.org
DON LEITCH, Webmaster
webmaster@marinersofpgi.org
www.marinersofpgi.org
Meetings
General Membership
PGICA, 2001 Shreve St.
4th Monday at 7 p.m. (except December)
Board
PGICA, 2001 Shreve Street
4th Monday at 9 a.m. All members are welcome.
Newsletter
DON KIDWELL, Supervising Board Member
vicecommodore@marinersofpgi.org
JOYCE McCANDLESS, Editor
nneditor@marinersofpgi.org
Editor’s Note: I will confirm, via e-mail, receipt of each
NN submission. If you do not receive
confirmation, PLEASE contact me.
PEGGY NORTHRUP, Proofreader
DIANE MABEY, Circulation and Labels
Editor’s Note: direct contact information for all Mariners
is located on the website.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Click here to view the Cruise Schedule and
Sign-Up!
Click here to view the Social Calendar and
Sign-Up!
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
January Birthdays
2 Dorothy Strunk
7 Michael Strunk
9 Keith Feather
13 Arthur Bruning
15 Rosie Rissel
15 Kate Carney
15 Ed Benson
23 Jim Dutcher
23 Chuck Pohle
24 Carlo San Giorgio
25 Bob Bartell
25 Cyndee Grifo
29 Judi Whitcher
31 Wayne Pettipas
DECEMBER
2015
JANUARY 2013
Page
Page33
Nautical Notes
Tidbits from Social
Betsy Pohle
Winding up the year does not mean winding down! ‘Had a wonderful Breakfast with the Gals
hosted by gimpy Ginny Caldwell, who had very recent foot surgery (see Ginny’s BwG article below).
And, as I write this part a bit before 11:00 p.m. December 14, close to 150 “Merry Mariners”
enjoyed our Christmas in the Caribbean holiday party hosted by Patty Feather and Barb Kinney.
Excellent appetizers and dinner, lively conversations, and lots of craziness on the dance floor kept
the party lively past Punta Gorda midnight.
Many thanks to Ginny, Patty, and Barb (and their hard working committee) for stepping up to the
plate and organizing these fun gatherings!
‘Still to come this month are Sunset at Ponce Park December 17, and Punta Gorda’s New Year’s Eve
Get Together at Gilchrest Park. We’ve traditionally had a large gathering of Mariners there with
their conch horns to “blow down” the last sunset of 2015 before scattering to further reveling elsewhere.
Thanks to our NEW Social Director, Shirla Cesari, January has a really fun variety of activities already in place. There’s a
Pickleball “lesson” from Peter Guille and Wayne Sharp at Gilchrist Park, followed by Pizza and Beer at Fat Point
Brewery January 7, Breakfast with the Gals January 13, Kayaking Among the Manatees January 14, and our Change
of Watch (honoring our 2015 Board, and welcoming our 2016 Board) January 23. All these events are listed on the
Mariner website with additional details.
Finally, I’ve really enjoyed my very brief but fun adventure on the board. Many, many thanks to all of you who have
volunteered your time to host (and attend) our social activities throughout the year. You all will have some really fun
new and different social adventures to look forward to in 2016. Cheerio!
Social Sign-Up; Just click on the event below to access the Sign-Up page
December
17 Sunset at Ponce Park
Holiday Breakfast with the Gals
January
7
Pickleball at Gilchrist followed by
Pizza/Beer at Fat Point Brewery
13 Breakfast with the Gals
14 Kayaking among the Manatees
23 Change of Watch
Ginny Caldwell
Fourteen Mariners gathered for Gals' Breakfast with a holiday flair December 9 and fourteen White Elephants, aka
rescued gifts, found new homes. Such treasures as a ceramic eggplant, red wine denture wipes and corkcicle,
bouncing snail, Spode nightlight, and "Christmas with SouthernLiving" circa 1994 were exchanged at the PGI Grill.
The monthly breakfasts are such a great way for Mariner women from associates to new members to get to know each
other. New members Julie Scharpf and Charlie Popp were
welcomed by Patty Feather, Carol Hertz, Peg Carter, Mary
Fleenor, Audrey Bruning, Ann Gordon, Berna Goldberg,
Diana Breland, Penny Shattuck, Diana Miller, Betsy Pohle,
and Ginny Caldwell.
Come enjoy the next BwG January 13 at Nino's Italian
Bakery, 3151 Cooper Street, hosted by Audrey Bruning.
Sign up on the Mariner website.
Editor’s Note: click here to view more photos and click here to
reach Nino’s website.
DECEMBER 2015
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Nautical Notes
New Members
Gail Busch
During the last quarter of 2015, we welcomed several new couples in to the Mariners.
Kate and Bill Carney moved to PGI from Maine about a year ago and are full time residents. Bill
is a pilot for Delta Airlines and Kate is happily retired (at least for now) from her most recent career
in banking. They have two daughters, Maureen, age 24 who lives in Annapolis, MD; and Carolyn,
age 22, who is in grad school at the University of Vermont. They are looking forward to exploring
new places on their boat.
Julie and Mike Scharpf have been married 30 years and have two sons, one of whom was just
married in September. Although Julie is originally from Kentucky, they have resided in NJ (Mike’s
home state) for the past 22 years. Mike is the Chief Legal Officer of the Group Life and Disability Division of Prudential
Insurance and Julie is in Office Management for Ivy Educational Services. They bought their home in PGI in April 2013
and just moved down permanently Nov. 22. Hobbies include camping, hiking, kayaking, sailing, biking, playing cards
and other games, and photography. They are looking forward to expanding their day sailing adventures into serious
cruising with the Mariners and to extensive traveling.
Susan and Clint Stoddard grew up on Long Island. Clint has been boating most of his life and
Susan started when they met on a Hobie 16. They have a 38 ft Morgan Catalina now and sailed
her down the ICW to Punta Gorda four years ago and now live here full time. They have owned
their home here since 2001 and visited every chance they could. Both Clint and Susan were
psychotherapists in private practice when they retired in 2011. Susan returned to work at
Riverside Behavioral in town after being retired for a year as a pool nurse. They like to cruise
and enjoy the company of other boaters.
Renee and Greg Wolf were both born and raised in the Chicagoland area and still have a home and business
there. They have worked together in their own business for over 30 years. They have been
in the building industry and currently own and manage a Senior Living Community in a
Chicago suburb. They have two married daughters and two
grandsons. They moved to PGI two years ago and have made it their permanent
address. Their 34 ft. Sea Ray is their first boat and they are
anxious to learn all they can and do some extensive boat
traveling. The boat is now Greg’s hobby and Renee loves to cook
and garden and they both love to travel, dine out and just get
together with friends.
We also welcomed Judi and Mark Whitcher into the Mariners. They were not available for
the November meeting so they will be introduced at a later date. But welcome all the same!!
Continued on p. 6
DECEMBER 2015
Nautical Notes
Page 5
Welcome Beach Cleanup
Marilyn Thorndycraft
On the beautiful morning of November 18, 22 Mariners showed up at
Gilchrist Park to clean up the city’s Welcome Beach, maintained by Mariners
of PGI. With that many, it took less than an hour to get the beach spiffed up
for the holiday season. Participating members, who each earned a
participation credit, were: Nancy Bartell, John and Gail Petrillo, Bill Albers,
Denny Brown, Mark MacMahon, Joyce McCandless, Anne and Allen Taylor,
Bill Rissel, Bill and Nancy Eggert, Chris Caldwell, Dick Davidson, Deb and Jim
McCarty, Ruth Sines and Jim Dutcher, Eby and Bigna Schulze, Betsy Pohle,
and Marilyn and Murray Thorndycraft. Thanks to all for a job well done – and
much appreciated by city staff and visiting strollers.
Editor’s Note: click here for more photos.
Pink Shell Sand Sculpture Cruise
Ginny Caldwell
Add 15 tons of sand, 80 gallons of water and glue, seven Mariner vessels, 20+ folks, a dozen
apple fritters, a capricious trolley, and fabulous friends and you have a glimpse of the Pink
Shell cruise. Saturday, November 21, was overcast but that was actually perfect for the
artists and viewers at the Sand Sculpting Championship on Fort Myers Beach. How a mound
of beach sand could be transformed into such beautifully detailed pieces of art was best
appreciated by watching the process.
Sunday dawned with heavy rain and dark skies, but we found solace in a mountain of 7/11
apple fritters. And, just like Camelot, the rains of the night disappeared by 9 a.m. and a
perfect day for the resort's Hobies, paddle boards, pools, lounges and Margaritas followed.
Spirited and surprisingly skilled ping pong, poolside lounging, sandcastle judging,
shopping, naps, shelling, and sipping were all allowed.
Mariner cruisers were Debby and Eric Dehmel, Marlene and Jim Musselman,
Susan and Russ Hills with Sue's sisters Ruby and Marilyn, Gail and Chuck Busch,
Debbie and Travis Jones, Joyce McCandless and Peter Guille, and Ginny and Chris
Caldwell with crew Betsy and Chuck Pohle.
The ride home? That's another story.
Editor’s Note: click here to view more sand sculpture and cruise photos.
DECEMBER 2015
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Nautical Notes
New Year’s Eve Sunset Conch Blow at Welcome Beach-Gilchrist Park
Marilyn Thorndycraft
To start your New Year's Eve celebration, be sure to join the many folks who turn out to "blow the sun down" by
blowing conch horns, rattling any kind of rattler, banging on drums, or just making a joyful noise to bring good luck to
Punta Gorda in 2016. This sunset celebration, started by a few Mariners, has developed over the years into a large
celebration that is open and free to anyone who wants to join in. It is a happy way to end 2015 and begin 2016.
Plan to be there!
Welcome Beach
December 31, 2014
Membership Notes from Gail Busch
continued from p. 4
As 2015 draws to a close I would like to thank my Membership Committee for helping me this year. Ann Gordon,
Marlene Jones, Sandy Franzino, Al Shuhart, Lynne Matthews…THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU! The Mariners
don’t run without members helping out. The “1 support credit” requirement can be met by doing very little. YOU
GUYS ROCKED by going above and beyond and I appreciate it! Don Leitch thank you for putting up with me.
And as I leave the Membership Director position I would like to make life a little easier for my incoming Membership
Director. PEOPLE, get your meetings in early in the year and DO sign in at the meetings under your own name. You
would be amazed at the number of folks who don’t sign in or sign in other someone else’s name. Along that same line,
get your cruises in early in the year. Please don’t wait until the last raft up of December to make your second cruise…it
could rain. Believe it or not, board members take their jobs and the participation requirements seriously and it does
interfere with their holiday plans when you forget to go on a cruise and we have to hold a last minute board meeting
on December 31.
Happy Holidays and I’m out….microphone drops….
Membership dues of $25 per household are due before the January 25, 2016 meeting. Please see form on p. 7.
DECEMBER 2015
Nautical Notes
Page 7
Education
Wayne Sharp
I have enjoyed the last two years as your Director of Education, and I want to recognize and thank
the Education Committee members for 2015. They are Peter Guille, Bert Jones, Jeff Peltier, and Joe
Wienecke. We hope you enjoyed the programs that the committee came up with during the year.
Merry Christmas (Happy Hanukkah or Happy Holidays!) to all our good Mariner friends.
Have safe travels if you are spending time elsewhere.
Let’s have fun and be safe on the water.
Mariners Membership Dues Notice and Form
Names_________________________________________________________________
TO UPDATE OUR ROSTER, ARE THERE ANY CHANGES IN YOUR:
Address_________________________ Phone_______________________
Email___________________________ Boat Info_____________________
CHECK ANY COMMITTEES THAT YOU ARE WILLING TO SERVE ON:
Cruise_____ Social_____ Education_____ Newsletter_____ Membership_____
Please return this notice along with your check for $25 per household (payable to ‘Mariners of PGI’) before the
January 25 meeting to:
Gail Busch, 2435 Flora Lane, Punta Gorda, FL 33950
Also, be sure to renew your membership with the Punta Gorda Isles Civic Association for 2016!
Elk’s Club Lunch Cruise
Tom Little
Ten Mariners cruised to the Punta Gorda Elks Club for lunch December 9. This club is located in a 125 year old hunting
lodge complex used by celebrities in the 1890s and early 1900s. President Teddy Roosevelt came up to the lodge by
riverboat for hunting and fishing adventures (click here to access the local club’s website). When we arrived, we did
not realize the Peace River current sweeps in this bend of the river and the incoming tidal current opposing the
northerly eight knot wind made docking a challenge. The wind driven ultra-low tides brought the draft at the docks
down to two feet, but we were all able to manage. Lunch centered around delicious sandwiches, great clam chowder,
and wings. All agreed that a return cruise was a good idea. Cruising were Denny and Mary Brown, Hank and Linda
Bauman, Scrib and Janeann Dailey, John and Nancy Dauster, and Tom and Dee Little.
DECEMBER 2015
Page 8
Nautical Notes
If you or anyone
you know is ill
or in need of some
Sunshine,
please contact
Lynne Matthews
sunshine@marinersofpgi.org
Nautical Notes, Mariners of PGI
c/o Diane Mabey
3317 Grenada Court
Punta Gorda, FL 33950
Members can have items
personalized at
Hamilton's Uniforms
3762H Tamiami Trail
Port Charlotte — 629.6868