Waterfront Golf Means Never Leaving the Bay
Arnold Palmer Course, Bay Creek Resort & Club: Replica of the Old Plantation Flats Light that marked the channel to Cape Charles, VA
By Jeff Hardy
The Chesapeake Bay area offers inland boaters abundant opportunities to integrate their love of the water and their passion for golf.
From Havre de Grace, MD, where the Susquehanna River empties into the northern end of the bay, 200 miles south to where the bay meets the Atlantic Ocean in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia, some of the best views in the region exist where the bay or one of its many tributaries border a golf course.
Highland Beach. Charles Douglass (inset photo) founded the beach. He was the son of abolitionist Frederick Douglass. (Chesapeake’s Western Shore—Vintage Vacationland by Lara L. Lutz. Available from the publisher online at http://www.arcadiapublishing.com or by calling 888-313-2665)
A Look At America’s Former “Black Beaches”
By Marion Porter
Inland Boater Magazine
It’s a typical summer weekend on the Chesapeake Bay – bright sun, calm breezes and a temperature hot enough to give you heat stroke if you’re not careful.
A small flotilla of boats is anchored just off the Chesapeake Bay inlet at Oyster Creek, about five miles south of Annapolis, and the sound of smooth jazz and smell of food grilling dance across the water from Highland and Venice beaches.
A trip to buy a sexy new sports car leads to the purchase of something much larger, and a lot more fun to drive
By Marion Porter
My family’s introduction to boat ownership was purely accidental.
I was in my early 40s at the time and my wife patiently indulged me as I descended into the throes of an apparent mid-life crisis.
It was a beautiful August Saturday and we were out looking for sports cars. I wanted something low-slung, fast and sexy.
As we walked around one particular model, our conversation veered toward boating. We talked about how much we liked the lifestyle and hated the fact that our boat-owning friends had the audacity to not invite us to join them more often.
It was at that moment that I turned to my wife and said, “Honey, let’s buy a boat.”
The author on a shark dive off of Grand Bahama Island (photo by Jimmie Mack)
By Michael H. Cottman
For Francine Whittington, a black scuba diver from Phoenix, swimming with sharks in the deep waters of the Bahamas was thrilling – and it was also therapeutic.
“The shark dive was a more than just a dive for me - it was a way for me to conquer my fear of sharks,” said Whittington, a procurement manager for the State of Arizona. “This experience was very positive and gave me a new understanding of sharks.”
Whittington was among a group of adventurous African American scuba divers who came face-to-face with about 20 sharks—the ocean’s most feared predators – 50 feet beneath the sea. Read the full story.
By Lynne Porter
IB Lifestyle Editor
We wait, with baited breath it seems, for winter to end and spring to peak with flowers and buds on the trees.
In wintertime, when we’re stuck inside – cabin fever raging – our thoughts often turn to boating. Typically, this is the time when we begin planning our cruising itinerary for the summer boating season.
The excitement builds as we decide what the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries have in store for us. Countless hours are spent compiling waypoints on the GPS, making note of water depths and tidal changes, the availability of slips and fuel, water, electric hookups, cable and the like. And then the real search begins. read the full story
Cap Cana, Dominican Republic – The Cap Cana Championship is auctioning a golf getaway package for the upcoming event on the PGA Champions Tour, with the proceeds designated for earthquake relief efforts in Haiti.
The package features playing slots in the tournament’s two-day pro-am. It also comes with airfare and accommodations for the PGA Champions Tour event March 26-28.
“When we first heard of the devastation in Haiti, we came to the conclusion that the Cap Cana Championship needed to assist our neighbors,” said Efren Garcia-Estrada, tournament director. “Our hope is that through the generosity of all the participating companies and organizations, we can maximize the potential donation to this cause.”
The bidding for the golf package began on eBay at 7 p.m. on Feb. 11 and ends at 7 p.m. on Feb. 21. The package, valued at more than $50,000, includes the following:
For many us of this time of year, the sugar plums must make way for visions of salt spray that are dancing in our heads. When it’s Christmas time in the city, it’s time to decorate the boat and head to the Intracoastal.
Boat parades are a great way to conjure up a dose of holiday cheer. These Free Christmas events take place in hundreds of communities across the nation.
Each municipality infuses its Christmas parade with local character. The tradition is believed to have begun in the 1920s, when citizens outfitted their vessels with candles and sang Christmas carols.
In a nod to the holiday season, here are some of our favorites.
Visitors say they’ve seen the light; no one knows how… or why
By Alvin Hayes
Photos Courtesy and Copyright Terry Pepper
Like other destinations along Michigan’s 3,100-mile coastline, Presque Isle offers a wide variety of outdoor amenities, dining and tourist attractions that draw recreational boaters from locations near and far to its pristine shores.
The town features a harbor that’s ideal for recreational boating, with ample options for recreation and entertainment, including fun-filled summer festivals.
But that’s not what sets this destination apart from other locations along the Great Lakes’ shores. Presque Isle is host to a phenomenon that brings weekend tourists and curiosity seekers to this serene northern Michigan harbor town. It’s the place where visitors come to learn about the mystery of the Presque Isle harbor lighthouse caretaker who, according to local legend, beckons travelers into the harbor from the lighthouse he loved, nearly 20 years after his death. more...
By Kai Beasley
Inland Boater Staff
Some of the summer’s hottest days come right before fall. Taking a dip in the cool water at your nearest beach, river or lake is a perfect solution for the heat. But wherever you cool off, it’s important to make sure you do it safely. That’s why educating yourself on water safety is one of the most important things you can do to protect yourself against the dangers of the deep (or shallow).
By Kai Beasley
Hispanics are, and have always been, an important part of the U.S. boating community, or have they?
Pura Vida is the Spanish phrase for “pure life.” Life can’t get much more pure than it is on the water. Perhaps that’s why it came in at number five on the BoatU.S. list of the Top 10 most popular boat names of 2005. It was the first time a Spanish name had appeared on the list in 14 years, leading to numerous questions about what this new development means.
