Down East Yacht Club | Boothbay Registry

Opening night

The launch party was a huge success with a large turnout and excellent food. Frank and Nora Luke were incredibly kind. Commodore Ron Richards addressed the crowd with several important reminders about the highly anticipated summer season. Among the members present were several new members and 10 former commodores. Everyone was happy to present a visual display of genuine “welcome hello”. After the June 12 party and despite all the restrictions and concerns related to Covid, members of the Down East Yacht Club enjoyed several events in July and August.

Annual summer cruise

On July 9, we returned to Luke’s shipyard for pre-cruise departure. Everyone enjoyed the great food, fun conversations and pleasures of the Woody Wagon. After a day of delay due to bad weather, 43 ships set out for eight days of fun on the water. Designated port hosts were responsible for group activities and reservations required at each stopover.

The first port was Dix Island where P / C George and Theresa Hamilton hosted a delicious and fun “Hamburger in Paradise” barbecue. They say the fries were delicious.

The next day we sailed to Belfast, where hosts Chet and Carol Clarridge hosted a ‘pizza night’, with several host boats serving as dining venues.

Buck’s Harbor was the next destination. Harbor hosts P / C George and Theresa Hamilton hosted a wonderful lobster cook on the beach. The next morning the Clarridge’s served their now famous pancake breakfast.

The next day, direction Seal Bay. That evening Jay Hackett and Helene Rush organized an exciting “Pirate Dinghy Parade”. After the parade, everyone was invited on board Headquarter, a 65-foot Flemming luxury yacht owned by new DEYC members Chris and Maren Boothby. The hosts offered “pop-up desserts” to everyone.

P / C Steve and Debbie Arkley hosted awards events for the final port, Camden Harbor. The prices of traditional cruises were presented by Fleet Captain Aaron Rugh at the Camden Yacht Club. The majority of the cruise spent a second night in Camden where they enjoyed a post cruise reunion at Lyman-Morse Marina.

All reports pointed to a very special and well organized week on the beautiful coast of Maine. This year several teens added to the excitement while having fun, playing cards, participating in the backgammon tournament, swinging Dolphins pulpit on the halyard of the mainmast and jumping off the side of the boat.

Mini Cruise

The DEYC took advantage of a three-day mini-cruise August 12-15 to southern port destinations. The first stop was The Dolphin Marina which was busy as usual. The Dolphin Restaurant Manager has made special arrangements for two layouts for up to 25 DEYC people each. That night, a hilarious “Joke Night” ensured the entertainment.

The second stop was the Goslings, a small group of islands west of the Dolphin with good protection. After a captain’s choice dinner, the group enjoyed a fun Mexico-themed raft. On Saturday, the regatta sailed for the last night in the basin, where the regatta participated in a Wildflower rafting hosted by Commodore Ron and Lorrie Richardson.

Roast pork

New to this year’s calendar was a DEYC roast pork. on August 22, hosted by P / C Joe and Brenda Blake at their home in Trevett and co-hosted by Commodore Ron and Lorrie Richardson. Inclement weather forced a change to an indoor location. Nonetheless, over 100 DEYC members and guests enjoyed the great food and camaraderie at American Legion Hall in Boothbay.

Annual meeting

On August 28, the DEYC Annual Meeting was held at our head office at Tugboat Inn in Boothbay Harbor. After the presentation and discussion of many items on the agenda, the most important discussion was a motion to increase annual dues. There were enough members present to obtain a quorum and the motion was carried.

Then two major announcements were made. First, the new Bridge and board members were sworn in to the chairman of the nominating committee, P / C Steve Arkley. The new bridge is Commodore Jeanne Koenig, Vice-Comodore Brent Pope, Counter-Comodore Aaron Rugh, Fleet Captain Kristen King and Treasurer Jack Brennan. The new board members are Carole McCarthy, P / C George Hamilton, John Ridlon and P / C Ron Richardson (one year). Richardson is also chairman of the nominating committee.

The second big announcement was the retirement of longtime administrative assistant Jane Mulholland and the introduction of a new, highly skilled replacement, Kate Winslow. Jane’s retirement is seen as a huge loss for the DEYC. She is commonly recognized as the “face and glue of DEYC”. She received two very significant farewell gifts. True to form, Jane was embarrassed to be the center of attention. Nonetheless, she accepted the recognition with grace and the usual lack of self-braces.