News Release

Annapolis Maritime Museum / 723 Second St / Annapolis, MD 21403
Contact: Jeff Holland / 410-295-0104

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – Jan. 16, 2012

What: 2nd annual Ready Set Cruise! Seminar
When: March 10 & 11, 2012
Time: Saturday, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. / Sunday, 11 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Admission: $120/person ($200/couple) per day / ($200/person both days)
(includes four training segments daily, including lunch and a wine & cheese wrap up)
Where: Annapolis Maritime Museum,723 Second Street,Annapolis, Md. 21403
More info: www.amaritime.org

Ready Set Cruise! Seminar jump-starts cruising season at Annapolis Maritime Museum

The Annapolis Maritime Museum, along with West Marine, Weems & Plath, Annapolis School of Seamanship and Chesapeake Bay Magazine, presents an innovative two-day learning program for boaters interested in cruising the Chesapeake Bay.

The Chesapeake Bay offers a vast array of spectacular cruising opportunities for recreational boaters, but for many boat owners new to the Bay (or new to boating), deciding where to go and figuring out how to get there can be a daunting prospect. With these novice Bay boaters in mind, the Annapolis Maritime Museum will be hosting two one-day “cruising readiness” seminars on Saturday and Sunday, March 10 – 11 at the museum.  Attendees may sign up for one or both days, which are separate but sequential.

Saturday’s program is entitled “Cruising Chesapeake Bay: Tips and Hands-On Training for Novice Bay Cruisers.” The all-day event (9 a.m.–5 p.m.) will give boaters the low down on how, when and where to cruise the Bay this season, whether you’re traveling with kids in a small cuddy cruiser or heading out as a couple aboard a more commodious trawler or sailboat. Led by experts Captain Robin Allison of West Marine, Peter and Cathie Trogdon of Weems & Plath, Captain John Martino of Annapolis School of Seamanship and Janie Meneely of Chesapeake Bay Magazine, the seminars will focus on making sure your boat is cruising ready, reviewing navigation and seamanship as it relates to Bay-wide situations, step-by-step planning for a weekend and a week-long cruise, plus provisioning and first aid afloat as well as a virtual tour of some of the harbors you may want to visit.

Sunday’s program (11 a.m.–4 p.m.), called “Now You’re Underway: Getting There and Back Again, Safely and Securely,” provides an in-depth look at embarking on a multi-day voyage. Whether you’re headed out for a weekend romp or your first trip around the world, attendees will review basic anchoring and docking techniques, rules of the road (and how they apply to Bay shipping channels) and general troubleshooting for your boat’s operating systems. This session also includes a whirlwind tour of Chesapeake Bay proper—places to go and things to do from Norfolk to Chesapeake City.

The attendance fee of $120/person ($200/couples) per day ($200/person both days) includes four training segments daily, plus lunch and a wine-and-cheese wrap up. Proceeds benefit the Annapolis Maritime Museum.

Log onto the Annapolis Maritime Museum website at amaritime.org for a full outline and description of the seminar topics. To register, contact the Annapolis Maritime Museum at 410-295-0104 or go on-line amaritime.org.

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Schedule

Day #1:   Saturday, March 10,  9 a.m.–5 p.m.

Cruising Basics: Tips and Hands-On Training for Novice Bay Cruisers

From safety gear to swimming holes, get the skinny on how, when and where to go cruising on the Bay. Go down that Coast Guard checklist to make sure your boat is cruising ready. Review the elements of basic navigation, including the vagaries of finding your way to a place you’ve never been and cruising after dark. Discuss provisioning and review the care and feeding of essential safety gear (we’ll even demonstrate how it works). Take a set of virtual cruises—three-day and eight-day scenarios—and follow step-by-step in the planning process. You bring the questions; we’ll provide the answers in a final round-table Q & A session.

Seminar Schedule

9:00-9:30              Coffee and bagels; meet and greet

9:30-10:45              Session #1   Start Cruising: Make Sure your Boat is Cruising Ready
Review the kinds of basic equipment you’ll need, and get provisioning tips from seasoned cruisers. Session includes basic checklists for engine prep, systems and safety equipment.

11:00-11:45            Session #2    Navigating the Bay: The Basics
From basic chart reading to going through bridges, traveling on the water isn’t always self-explanatory. Charts aren’t road maps. Review the essentials of “dead-reckoning”, plus how to read a chart and match it to the corresponding landscape using channel markers and other visual clues. Charts and other publications are full of other information as well; learn how to find bridge clearance, opening schedules and other info valuable to boaters.

12:00-12:30            Lunch:  Safety equipment demonstration(s)

12:30-1:45             Session #3    Planning the Cruise
Chart your course with an eye to provisioning, entertainment and confidence level. Walk through the planning process for a typical weekend cruise and a second, longer cruise. Includes sample itineraries. There’s a knack to knowing how to plan ahead for a weekend with the grandkids or a ten-day odyssey for two.
                       Session #4   Small Group Rotations

2:00–2:25                    a. safety equipment
2:30–2:55                    b. anchor science
3:00–3:25                    c. provisioning & first aid
3:30-3:55                     d. hands-on navigation

4:00-4:30              Session #5   Favorite Destinations
Take a virtual tour of some of the harbors discussed in Session #3. Get a feel for the entrances, the amenities, the anchorages, etc.

4:30–5:00              Wine and cheese wrap-up; Q&A

Day #2:   Sunday, March 11,  11 a.m.–4 p.m.

Now You’re Underway: Getting There and Back Again, Safely and Securely
 
Your boat’s ready to go, but you aren’t quite sure about embarking on a multi-day voyage. Join other seasoned boaters for an in-depth look at getting there and back again, whether you’re headed out for a weekend romp or your first trip around the world. From anchoring and docking to a more detailed summary of basic equipment, rules of the road and general troubleshooting, review techniques for ensuring the safety of your boat and your crew. This session also includes a quickie tour of Chesapeake Bay proper—places to go and things to do from Norfolk to Chesapeake City. Plus play with some of the new toys on the market today, from the latest hand-held GPS to full-blown chart plotters.

Seminar Schedule

11:00-11:15            Meet & Greet

11:15-12:00            Session #1: Know Before you Go
Review the information a captain needs to have prior to leaving the slip, from weather to refueling to filing a cruise plan, and being aware of options—all from a Chesapeake Bay perspective. Includes a review of Rules of the Road and radio etiquette.

12:00-1:00              Session #2:  Docking and Anchoring Strategies
Review the basics of docking, whether it be a T-head or slip. Get tips on anchoring on Bay bottoms, whether for an overnight (multi-day) holding, an afternoon swim, or preparing for a storm.

1:00-1:30                Lunch

1:30-2:30                Session #3:  Docking demos
Attendees will watch from the sidelines as a pair of operators maneuver their boat down a fairway and into a slip. Learn to use hand signals to communicate the various operations involved in these maneuvers. Review the ways in which wind direction, tide/current and forecast effect decision-making. (Attendees should dress for the weather; in the event of really nasty weather, we will have a back-up presentation on traveling the ICW.)

2:30-3:30                Session #4: Cruise the Bay: Go There, Do That
Get an overview of some of the most popular destinations and events on the Bay, including how to get there and what to expect when you arrive.  Get the where and when on family-friendly (and some not-so-family-friendly) activities all over the Middle Bay area, including a 2012 calendar and tips for the best way to participate.

3:30-4:00                 Wine and cheese wrap-up; Q&A

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