Vol. XII Number 10 A Publication of the Mariners of PGI October 2020

Murr Goldenberg, Commodore

The fall months are upon us. However, the weather still feels like summer. No matter, if you are from the Atlanta area like I am the weather is still perfect. Hot and humid! Speaking of hot and humid, the first day of the month was just that. No problem, we headed to Burnt Store for lunch anyway. We had three

boats and nine Mariners. Commodore Murr Goldenberg and bride Carol were there aboard Single Malt. They brought Vice Commodore Northrup and his bride Peggy. Social Director Dennis Barkow and his bride Carol were there aboard Salt Shaker. Cary and Lyn Liphart came by land yacht and of course, yours truly your humble Cruise Director aboard Crystal Blue. I was solo this day as Crystal’s schedule was full. The weather was gorgeous, sunny with a light breeze. I got there early and was drifting just outside the outer marker enjoying a pre-lunch cigar when Salt Shaker appeared on the horizon. We chatted for a moment and Dennis headed on in while I finished my cigar. I spoke to Murr on the VHF to find he was going to be a few minutes behind, so I headed into the marina as well. Anyway, Murr and company arrived, and we got seated. The fans were blowing, and the drinks were a flowing. The food was of course excellent as usual. I really enjoy boating and getting together with fellow Mariners. The Tiki Hut lunch cruise was next. You guessed it, another gorgeous day in paradise. Your humble Cruise Director was the cruise leader for this event. Crystal and I were of course aboard Crystal Blue. Carlos San Giorgio was aboard Sea Breeze and Rob and Toni Gibbs were aboard Lil G&T. We sat in the shade under the ceiling fans and enjoyed adult beverages, lunch, and great laughs. Gary Burgess was a little late to the party aboard Lucky G but got there in time to have a drink with us. It was another great day on the water. Laishley Lunch Cruise was next. Yes, it was another great day on the water! Crystal Blue was there as well Carlo San Giorgio aboard Sea Breeze, Dave and Phyliss were aboard Grasea and Murr and Carol made the trip via land yacht. It was a warm day, so we sat inside in the back corner social distancing from everyone in the place. Yes, another great day for lunch and beverages. A good time was had by all. Coming up next month we have the following planned. Pink Shell overnight, Riviera, Tiki Hut and Boca Grande lunch cruises and an Aqua Marina overnight. I am looking forward to seeing you on the water.

Michael Mankin, Cruise Director

Nautical Notes

(see page 4 Commodore)

Now that we are cleared to open, we held our first General Membership meeting in seven months. Approximately 30 Mariners attended and the meeting lasted 27 minutes. We did get pertinent information out to all and we will have a meeting in October. Our guest writer is an original charter member. Introducing Jon Shattuck, Commodore 2010 BEING A PGI MARINER I love being a Mariner and I have loved all Mariners since its inception 20 years ago. Actually it's hard not to love the Mariners because it all starts with the purpose of the Mariners as stated in the bylaws, "The purpose of the Club is to create COMARADERIE among PGI Mariners through the FUN and ENJOYMENT of BOATING. The Club will sponsor overnight cruises, day cruises, boating education and related SOCIAL activities." I had my first boat when I was seven; 75 years ago. Boating has always been an important part of my life. Shucks, I even met Penny in a boatyard! We retired early to live on our first Magic Penny, a 44' Hylas sloop. While driving through PGI and seeing hundreds of masts, we decided to move there. We, in PGI, enjoy the use of perhaps the only large Florida harbor, too shallow for commercial traffic, therefore used exclusively for pleasure boating. The people in the Mariners are special. And now that we are in the winter of our lives, we feel so fortunate to have the Mariners as our friends. Past careers are unimportant, and our friendships are not guided by business interests. This is the first time in our lives when friendships go uninterrupted by extraneous situations. We are bound together by the love of the sea and of each other. We watch out for each other and for each other's boats. We are a Club that never gets discouraged. Even Hurricane Charley failed to stop us. We met at the Pohle’s home right after Charley passed through. How great is that! I am very proud to be a Mariner. In the 20-year life of the Mariners, Mariners have made huge contributions to Punta Gorda. Did you realize that seven Mariners have served as Presidents of the PGICA and two of them, Bill Albers and Carol Freeland, served as

Mariners of PGI Board of DirectorsE

MURR GOLDENBURG, Commodore commodore@marinersofpgi.org RICHARD NORTHRUP, Vice Commodore vicecommodore@marinersofpgi.org BRAD BETTING, Treasurer treasurer@marinersofpgi.org SHARON GORDON, Secretary secretary@marinersofpgi.org DENNIS BARKOW, Director of Social Activities social@marinersofpgi.org PATTI CONNER, Director of Membership membership@marinersofpgi.org MICHAEL MANKIN, Director of Cruises cruise@marinersofpgi.org HUGH BASS, Director of Education education@marinersofpgi.org WAYNE SHARP, Past Commodore pastcommodore@marinersofpgi.org ______________________________________________ LYNNE MATTHEWS, Sunshine Committee sunshine@marinersofpgi.org

DON LEITCH, Webmaster webmaster@marinersofpgi.org RICHARD FRANCIOSE, Ship Stores store@marinersofpgi.org

FACEBOOK Page Mariners of PGI Meetings General Membership PGICA, 2001 Shreve St. 4th Monday at 7 p.m. (except December) Board PGICA, 2001 Shreve Street

Newsletter

RUTH SINES-DUTCHER, Editor nneditor@marinersofpgi.org

Editor’s Note: I will confirm, via e-mail, receipt of each NN submission. If you do not receive confirmation, PLEASE contact me.

BETH GULER, Proofreader

Editor’s Note: direct contact information for all Mariners is located on the website : www.marinersofpgi.org _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Click here to view the Social Calendar and Sign-Up! ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Nautical Notes October 2020 Page 2

If you or anyone you know is ill

or in need of some Sunshine,

please contact Lynne Matthews

sunshine@marinersofpgi.org

October Birthdays

10/4 Russ Brown

10/4 Mike Peters

10/2 Tammy Gerringer

10/5 Tom Freeland

10/6 Marilyn Thorndycraft

10/9 Carol Dewire

10/9 Candy Cheetham

10/14 Peggy Northrup

10/15 Alan Singleton

10/15 Debra Kalitan

10/20 Jim Hebeisen

10/24 Patti Conner

10/26 Betsy Pohle

10/26 Debbie Jones

10/27 Don Gordon

Nautical Notes October 2020

Page 3

Education Director Hugh Bass

Check out the Tropical Storm Risk website for information

BOAT U.S. PROVIDES DISCOUNTS TO

THE MARINERS OF PGI Since our beginning, the Mariners of PGI have been a cooperative group within Boat U.S.; this provides our

members with discounted membership and towing rates. 50% off the annual dues of $30. and 10% discount for

the towing package.

As an example I just renewed with unlimited towing and the total bill was $127 for the year. As a comparison I

believe Sea Tow is $179. per year.

Our cooperative member number is GA84641B

If you have any questions call Bill Albers 941/505-1811

. Be sure to vote in the general election on November 3. If you are a registered voter here in Punta Gorda, I would recommend the website www.charlottevotes.com for all the information about voting. If you are at home in Punta Gorda or out of town, you can vote by mail in the general election. The ballots cannot be forwarded so request the ballot be sent to wherever you are now. From the site scan the application for a mail in ballot, print, sign, and mail to the supervisor of elections. They will verify your eligibility and send you a bal-lot. When you vote, follow the directions in the package, sign just as you did in the request for the ballot and mail back first class paid by the election office. If

you are in Punta Gorda, you can mail or deposit in the Drop Box at the old Court House on Taylor Street. From the web site you can track your request, ballot sent, received, and voted. If you wish to vote in person, there is early voting at the old Court House on Taylor Street starting Monday October 19 and is open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. until November 1. To vote on election day, you will vote in your precinct. It is listed for you at the website if you do not know where your precinct is. You must take your ID or driver’s license for verification. Other information at the site: check your registration, announced candidates, find your voting location, change your party affiliation, sample ballot and other information. As of October 1, when I wrote this 2,966 Democrats, 2,323 Republicans and 1,220 no party affiliation had voted. You can check the site to see how we are doing in this election. Be sure to vote in this general election.

Commodore (continued from page 1) Murr Goldenberg

Nautical Notes October 2020

Page 4

Presidents of the PGICA and two of them, Bill Albers and Carol Freeland, served as Mayors of Punta Gorda? Countless members have served on various City Boards, and committees. Did you realize that the Thorndycrafts were responsible for starting or creating the Thursday night Harbor Walk, the New Year's Eve conch blowing, both the bandstand and the hurricane monument in Laishley Park and the de-velopment of Welcome Beach? Buckley Pass is named after a Mariner. Mariners did more than any other organization in the development of the Civic Center on Shreve. Carol Freeland headed up the successful fundraising program. I enjoyed being the Project Director with Don Kidwell who also served on the five member Project Team. Mariners painted almost 90% of the building both inside and out. Several Mariners had input into the floor plan of the building. Mariners have raised large sums of money for charity, Toys for Tots, Backpack Kids, the Homeless Coali-tion, and many more local nonprofit organizations. Oh, yes; we all have reason to be proud of being a part of this remarkable organization. And the Mariners, in its first 20 years have left a meaningful and positive legacy for those that follow. Jon Shattuck, Past Commodore. We are a cruising club; this is what we do. Splice the Main Brace.

Nautical Notes October 2020

Page 5

Membership Director Patti Connor

As our restrictions are relaxing, more and more of our members are rejoining our fun events. Although we are certainly not back to normal, we can see glimpses that remind us of what an awesome club we are now and have been in the past. Our general membership meeting was held face to face for the first time since February with 24 members present and safely distanced. Happy hours at Village Fish Market have resumed Wed eve-nings at 5:30. Additionally, a gathering at Ponce de Leon Park continues but is now on Thursday evenings.

Membership remains steady, almost at capacity. Prospective members are welcome to join us at our Wed hap-py hours, general membership meetings, or Ponce de Leon Park.

For our current members, please look at the “view the crew” section on our website to update or add missing photos. Photos can be sent digitally to our webmaster at webmaster@marinersofpgi.org.

Stay safe and healthy everyone!

Does your “View the Crew” photo need updating?

Let us know, and at the next general meeting we will have a club photographer available before the

2021 Nominations Wayne Sharp -- Past Commodore

It gives me great pleasure to announce the following nominations for the Mariners 2021 Board of Directors: Commodore Richard Northrup Vice Commodore Michael Mankin Secretary Patti Connor Treasurer Brad Betting Membership Director Ruth Sines-Dutcher Cruise Director Gary Burgess Social Director Bobby Conte Education Director Jim Griffo Murray Goldenberg will serve as Past Commodore

I also want to give a special thanks to the Nomination Committee for their time and diligence. The members were: Sandy Franzino Susan Fraley Mary Brown

October 2020 Social Gathering Pictures Page 6

October 2020 Social Gathering Pictures Page 7

Nautical Notes October 2020

Page 8

Mariners Cruising

Upcoming Cruises

Pink Shell Overnight Cruise, Monday, Oct. 5-7, 2020

Riviera Lunch Cruise, Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2020 ***

Tiki Hut Lunch Cruise, Thursday, Oct. 15, 2020

Boca Grande Lunch Cruise, Friday, Oct. 16, 2020 ***

Aqua Marina Palm Harbor Overnight Cruise, Friday, Oct. 16-18, 2020 ***

Village Fish Market Lunch Cruise, Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2020

Tarpon Lodge Lunch Cruise, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2020

Hurricane Charley's Lunch Cruise, Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2020

Mariner's Welcome Back Destination Cruise to South Seas, Thursday, Nov. 5-8, 2020

Nautical Notes October 2020

Page 9

Social Director Dennis Barkow

The Welcome Back Picnic planning is in full swing, please sign up on the website by October 15. The event is October 22 at the Ponce Park pavilion. Bobby Contee is hosting, volunteers are always appreciated. Call Bobby at 703-609-7111.

The Mariners happy hour returns to the Village Fish Market Wednesday Septem-ber 30. With the reopening of restaurants to 100% capacity, Mike our favorite bar-tender, welcomed about 20 Mariners to Happy Hour. Great weather, outdoor at-

mosphere, and pleasant conversation was everywhere.

The gathering at Ponce Park has moved to Thursday at 6 p.m., so it will not interfere with the Wednesday Happy Hour. Casual gathering with great sunsets and good conversation. This week a

giant bird footprint, fun stuff.