Members Sail Chesapeake Bay During Annapolis Visit

With temperatures approaching 70 under clear and sunny skies, 30 Club members and guests began a trip to Annapolis on Oct. 23 by lifting sails and steering the 74-foot Schooner Woodwind into the calm waters of Chesapeake Bay.

Club members normally accustomed to computers took turns at the helm under the watchful eye of Captain Jennifer Kaye to guide the classic schooner into the Bay, where they had a close-up view of sailing races that went directly by them.

An international contingent went on the trip organized by the International Correspondents Committee, with participants including representatives of media from South Korea, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Romania and Kenya.

The trip began with a slight "scare," when the chartered bus for the trip to Annapolis was delayed a half hour in arriving at the National Press Building as the result of unexpected road closures. But the bus driver managed to get everyone to Annapolis for the 10 a.m. boarding of the schooner.

After the cruise, it was off to lunch -- everyone had a choice of a wide selection of restaurants in the city's Historic District, some riding the city's complimentary six-passenger electric-powered eCruisers to get to their destinations.

The day concluded with a 90-minute tour of the U.S. Naval Academy, home of the 4,000 brigade of midshipmen, although a number had gone to New Meadlowlands Stadium in New Jersey to see Navy beat Notre Dame 35-17.

Sue Welch, the tour guide, took the group by all the main buildings, relaying the history that went back to the establishment of the academy in 1845.

While the Chapel was closed to visitors because of weddings that afternoon, the Press Club group was able to go down to the crypt beneath the chapel and view the sarcophagus of Revolutionary War hero John Paul Jones, who uttered the words, "I have not yet begun to fight," when asked to surrender his ship by a British captain.

This was the fourth year the International Correspondents Committee organized a day trip for Press Club members. The committee visited Monticello, the residence and estate of Thomas Jefferson, in 2007 and Amish Country in Lancaster County, Pa., in 2008 and 2009.

-- Myron Belkind, [email protected]