Happy 250th Anniversary America!
Hi Y’all! Boating Season is in full swing, and it’s time to hit the throttle! The coal is in the furnace, and we are FULL STEAM AHEAD! You never know how many Summers we’ll all get, so make sure to make it count! This Summer is going to be WILD! The 250th birthday of our country is going to bring some amazing activities around. The Blue Angels are flying to different cities, SAIL250 is coming to Baltimore, and the Middle River Fireworks are going to be the highest in the state… and I do mean Highest! The BLUE ANGELS are flying on May 20th on the Severn River for the USNA graduation and again on the Patapsco in Baltimore Harbor on June 27th and 28th. This is in conjunction with Baltimore’s Sail 250. Thinking about Baltimore, when I was a bit younger, I would head down to the cobblestoned ship area known as Fells Point. In a great maritime bar known as the Cats Eye, while sipping Guinness Drafts (yes, years ago I still sipped) occasionally, a tap dancer would walk in. The very old, very wrinkled black gentleman with the big smile would tap out a dance or two for tips. I would always hand him a dollar or two, but looking back… I wish I had taken more time to talk to him and learn more about his life. He was a beautiful person, and his sincerity and smile were infectious.
And let me tell you something else…
This summer?
Ohhhh this summer is gonna be WILD.
Because the 250th Birthday of the United States of America is here…
And Maryland is right in the middle of the celebration where we belong.
This great state has always been a gateway of history, water, industry, grit, and freedom.
Two Presidents… One a Boating President and the other… A NON-BOATING President! Both with the same last name. Now George H W Bush was one bad ass powerboater! On his 18th birthday, he enlisted in the United States Navy as a naval aviator. After a period of training, he was commissioned as an ensign in the Naval Reserve at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi on June 9, 1943, becoming one of the youngest pilots in the Navy. 
Over the years, George H.W. Bush owned a slew of powerboats, all named Fidelity. He fished and power boated with Reggie Fountain, Don Aronow, and world leaders. H.W. is also in the Bass Fishing Hall of Fame. He fished offshore, inshore, on small boats, large boats, and even flat-bottom Bonefish Boats down in the Florida Keys! And then there is his son… George W. Bush… holding the line but not the rod. And wearing a Texas Rangers baseball jacket. He is not a boating human in the sense that he owns boats and loves boating. W lives on a ranch far from the water and prefers horses. One horse at a time. His dad’s last Fountain Powerboat had 600 Horsepower!
Then comes SAIL250 Baltimore.
Tall ships.
Naval vessels.
Flags flying.
Crowds gathering.
The kind of scene that reminds you this country was built by people willing to cross oceans, build ports, work docks, and chase something bigger than themselves.
And Baltimore?
Baltimore knows how to host history.
From Fort McHenry…
To the harbor…
To the hardworking people that built generations of commerce and culture…
Charm City has earned its place in America’s story.
So here’s my advice:
Don’t waste May. May is elite.
It’s the launch month. It’s the shake-the-rust-off month. It’s the “let’s go somewhere for no reason” month. It’s the “one drink turned into sunset and dinner” month.
Use it wisely.
- Fuel it up.
- Charge the batteries.
- Call your people.
- Check the weather.
- Pack the cooler.
And if somebody says…“Maybe next weekend…”
Tell them this: Summer belongs to the people who GO.
We waited all winter.
Now it’s here.
Life’s short…Buy the boat
