The 2026 Summer mini-rendezvous happened July 17, 18, and 19. Mother Nature threw a number of curve balls at us with extreme heat, heavy wildfire smoke and impressive wind and rain, but we still had a successful gathering and had much fun. Our group gathered on St. Mary’s River and anchored just off St. Mary’s College. We had four Selenes and four other guests.
- Moonstone (Brad and Marya Budinger),
- Leizu (Corey and Tracy Chamness),
- Waitinonawoman (previously Shanri-La) (Mike and Angie Gilliam),
- Ritual (Jeff and Courtney Seed), and
- Wasabi (Jack and Terry Burgess, waiting on the new Shangrila-La)
anchored in the cove just off St. Mary’s College. We had three last minute cancellations due to medical situations, so our group was a little smaller than planned.
It was fun to see Ritual there. Ritual, which is Selene 4021, is actually an old Archer, Howard Chen’s first foray into yacht building. First owned by Howard Brooks she was called Lunar Lady and was the first Selene predecessor to be featured in Passagemaker Magazine.
Unfortunately the smoke from the Canadian wildfires spread far enough to engulf us in an unpleasant haze. The concert was cancelled due to poor air quality. We moved our planned picnic from the college on to Moonstone where we fired up the generator and turned on all three air conditioning units. As expected with good boaters, the impromptu pot luck was amazing and the company was fantastic.
Saturday we cruised across the Potomac into Virginia waters and the Yeocomico River and then into Lodge Creek. We tied up at Olverson’s Marina to continue the party. Due to the heavy wind and rain predicted we had three more boats (John, Charlie, and Chris) join us as “land-cruisers”. This marina has a nice covered patio where we had another pot luck dinner and then a concert by Peter and Tess of Peter Brice and the New American Irish Arts Company. We had great music and fascinating conversation about the history of Irish music and dance.
Saturday night was stormy, but Sunday dawned bright and clear. The rain did an amazing job of clearing the smoky haze out of the air.
Oh what a difference a day makes!
Thanks to Jack Burgess for instigating and coordinating this fun event.