VOLUME 32 - NUMBER 11 - March 2003

Where’s the Wharf? 
When editor-at-large Constance Bond put into Leonardtown at the head of the Potomac River’s Breton Bay, she was dismayed to discover a dearth of boating facilities. While the town itself is charming, its once bustling docks have fallen into disuse. There may yet be a welcome mat for visiting boaters, she says, but don’t hold your breath.




Grrrrl Power 
More women than ever are learning how to operate
powerboats, either by enrolling in a bona fide
training program or getting by with a little help from
salty friends. Offshore Magazine editor Betsy Frawley Haggerty
completed a Seasense women-only course here on the Bay
and writes about it in “Fast Times at Powerboat High.”
Meanwhile, CBM managing editor Jane Meneely recounts her
home-schooling adventures in “Beating the Inner Bimbo.”



Great Blues 
You can see them everywhere you look
along the water, their long legs stalking
through the shallows. But great blue herons
haven’t always been so easy to find, according to Jim Duffy.
Once hunted nearly to extinction, they’ve managed to
stage a comeback and look ready to hold their own
—at least that’s what the experts say.

Departments • WeatherEye Mail Call Channel 9 New Boat News Gear & Gadgets • Cruisers Calendar Galleys Ashore Boat Club News Bay Business Tide Tables Advertising Sections • Insurance & Finance Showcase • Trawler Showcase Boat Review • Menorquin 110 • Vicem 64 Advertisers’ Index • Classifieds • 2003 Chartering Showcase

Good Boatkeeping Sound Advice—Finding and installing the right sound system for your boat will bring endless hours of pleasure, says Tom Dove.

Time Tested Party Animal—Jack Hornor tells us about the Rinker 300 Fiesta Vee, a 30-foot mid-cabin sportcruiser with an aptitude for fun.

Tech Support Sure it’s Waterproof . . . I Think—Frank Lanier gives us the inside track on how to read a manufacturer’s spec sheet to determine whether or not a piece of gear is waterproof.

Marina Hopping So Near Yet So Far—Spring Cove Marina in Solomons, Md., offers a pleasant oasis in a crowded harbor. By executive editor Wendy Mitman Clarke

A-Dock The Trouble with Alison—Nothing strikes terror in Jerry Renninger’s heart like children. But when he actually has to confront his demon, he finds her as willing a sailor as anyone could hope for.

Cruise of the Month Aquariums and More—A tour of the Virginia Institute of Marine Science across the river from Yorktown, Va., gave Katherine Brown and her family plenty to do and see on their York River cruise.

Me & My Boat Grand Old Boat, Brand New Mission—Virginia W, part of the original skipjack fleet, undergoes a face-lift at the hands of the Port Kinsale Foundation on the Yeocomico River in Virginia. By Martin Miller

Angler’s Almanac Bounty Hunters—Begun in 1958, the Virginia Saltwater Fishing Tournament is one of the grandfather tourneys on the Bay. John Page Williams says it’s still going strong.

Stern Lines Hearing Voices—Sound travels across the water, and never so clearly as when we think no one’s listening. Katherine Brown does a bit of accidental eavesdropping one quiet night at anchor.

On the cover: A 1997 Chaparral rides off Chesapeake beach. Photograph by Jack Mills.