MBYC celebrated Monday Madness with a beautiful sunny afternoon at the Esplanade. Around thirty members were in attendance, enjoying a few cocktails and shooting the breeze. Margi and Judy ran the raffle, the winners were, Margi White $45, Brad Shaw $30 and Lynn Tuttle $15. There were a few goodbyes from some snow birds leaving for the season. And a good time was had by all. Looking for to seeing you for May Monday Madness on May 26.
The beautiful weather of Monday, March 31 was a welcome change to the cold and rainy February Madness. Things got off to a slow start, but over time the number grew to about 40 members. The 50-50 raffle winners were, 3rd place Lynn Tuttle $20, 2nd place Jeff Wilson $30 and 1st place Brent Cook $40. Looking forward to beautiful weather for the next Monday Madness on April 29, at CJ’s Star Bar. Join us – it affords the perfect venue to meet and get acquainted with other club members, old and new. See you there!!
The March First Mates outing was in full bloom with 8 avid or wanna be orchid gardeners from MBYC attending a University of Florida Extension lecture held at Lely Library. Although none of us won a raffle prize, we were all enlightened by the many do’s and don’ts of how to keep your prized plants alive and thriving or, alternatively, offer them to your best friend. The group included Becky Bunting, Kathy Stark, Linda Gagnon, Kate Lipkin, Sylvia Doolittle, Marcia Orsolini, Sally Orth, and myself, Diane Tarr. Next, Kate spontaneously invited all to a Classic Lunch, on the fairway at Lely. Can you guess who has the most prized orchids at their home? I’ll never tell.
Due to the up and down weather that resulted in cancellation of the March Beach Picnic, the decision was made to swap in a short boat / car ride to The Crabby Lady. The owners had recommended we get there early which turned out to be great advice given that the place was packed with a waiting line shortly after our arrival. Participating members enjoyed perfect Spring weather along with fast and friendly service, good food and good friendship.
The MBYC Jetski Special Interest Group made an incredible find this month. We discovered a new route where the mangrove made a complete canopy that was more than a mile long.
I talk about Rabbit Rides and Turtle on this topic, but because this was completely new and highly risky, it took about 60 minutes to travers at no wake speed. There were many mangrove branches and tentacles in the channel, but weaving and positioning the jetski around them is part of the fun and challenge of this route. We saw several birds, but no alligators. On a trip around last Thanksgiving, I did have an alligator cut in front of me on the Black Water River and he could care less that I was only 15 feet behind him in a channel that was too narrow for me to pass him.
I call the new route Canopy Lane, and it is complete Nirvana.
Here we have pixs from the trip of the route. These are not dead ends.
Eventually, I hope to post a short video of the trip. You can see other videos from the Jetski SIG on our website.
https://marcobayyachtclub.com/category/activities/boating/jetski/
The Day Fleet event for February was a trip to the Wahoo’s restaurant at Walkers Port 32 Marina in Naples. The event generated a strong response with 10 boats and 51 people registering, 21 of which were joining on another member’s boat. Unfortunately, mother nature had less than favorable plans for the weather which reduced participation to 4 boats and 43 people. The four boaters that braved the waters felt the conditions were somewhat acceptable on the way there but ran into rougher and wetter conditions on the return trip.
There was an abundance of dock space at Port 32 and both the dock hands and the restaurant staff were welcoming of our club. Although the food service was a little slow, the food was good and well-priced. All in all, the Wahoo’s event was favorable and will be given strong consideration for future events
Monday, February 24, found fourteen hardy souls huddled in CJ on the Bay escaping the pouring rain. They were determined to not let a little water dampen the party, while wondering why anyone would wimps out at a few raindrops. Here’s hoping for beautiful weather for the next Monday Madness on March 31 at CJ’s Star Bar. See you there.
February 22 found MBYC members gathered at the Marco Esplanade Marina for the annual Presentation of the Fleet where the newly installed Bridge, Commodore Paul Schneeberger, Vice Commodore Bob Gagnon, and Rear Commodore Jeff Wilson conducted the annual review of the Fleet.
Commodore Paul Schneeberger welcomed everyone and the USA National Anthem was played to open the program.
Chaplin Alan Sandlin read a History of the Marco Bay Yacht Club and followed with a prayer for the blessing of the Fleet.
Fleet Captain Brent Cook presented the fleet for review which included the vessels:
Top Shelf Captain Mike and First Mate Maria Adamson
Cookin’ Captain Brent and Susan Cook
O Sea D Captain Vern and First Mate Ann Graham
La Vie en Rose Captain Bill and First Mate Debbie Schroeder
Upon completion of the review, the vessels were berthed and the Bridge, crews and other MBYC members proceeded to CJ’s on the Bay for a celebratory luncheon.
The Fifty-first Annual Change of Watch (Commodore’s Ball) was held Friday January 31st at Hideaway Beach Club. At this beautiful venue, nearly 80 members attended and were welcomed with a glass of champagne. Linda Gagnon reflected on her 2 years as Commodore and recognized and thanked the many volunteers and board members who supported her leadership. A delicious meal was served followed by a presentation of the Bridge. 2025 Commodore Paul Schneeberger spoke as his first official duty as commodore. Kellee Kaysee wonderfully entertained us all evening. The dance floor was packed as members danced the night away.
We could not have asked for a nicer evening for the January Monday Madness. Things got off to a slow start as people straggled in at the beginning. Eventually the pace picked up and a larger crowd assembled. We were pleased to welcome new members, Tom O’Reilly and Connie London, to their first Madness. Tom and Connie are long time Marco residents who retired from the Milwaukee and Chicago areas. We encourage you to get acquainted with them and make them feel welcome. Let’s use Monday Madness as an opportunity to develop community within Marco Bay Yacht Club.
January 50/50 winners:
$15 Rudi Landwaard
$25 Dianne Kernan
$40 Lynn Tuttle
The next Madness is February 24, join us at the Star Bar at CJ’s on the Bay. See you there.
