East Coast Camano Owners

Coming Up: '12 Rondy in New Bern, NC

Plans are well underway for your 2012 Rendezvous that will be held in New Bern, NC.  The Rendezvous will be held the weekend of May 18 thru the 20th of 2012.

New Bern is located at the junction of the Neuse and Trent Rivers….approximately 20 nm from the Intracoastal Waterway, statute mile marker 184, near Oriental, NC.  New Bern offers many opportunities for sight seeing the historical landmarks that date back to 1710.

Here’s an update from ECCO VP and Rendezvous Chair Paul Martin:

Our weekend will start with registration Friday afternoon at boats on the dock with Happy Hour and Camano Crawl #1.

On Saturday and Sunday, we will have a series of speakers and tour of local interest. The marina we are using is the New Bern Grand Marina, located adjacent to the Hilton Hotel. The dock master’s name is Nancy, her telephone number is: Office--252-638-0318; Cell--252-658-0115. The dockage fee is $1.75 per boat foot, which includes electric. For those that are members of Boat US, the dockage fee will be $1.32 per boat foot, which includes electric.  The marina e-mail address is: marina@newbernhilton.com. Be sure and tell Nancy you are a part of the Camano group. She plans to get us all located in the same area together.

For those traveling by car or airplane, here is a list of hotels adjacent to or very close to the marina:

The Comfort Suites, 218 East Front Street, overlooking Neuse River, 3 blocks from Marina: room rate $99.00 plus tax for city view rooms; $109.00 plus tax for river view rooms, and, $129.00 plus tax with river view rooms with balcony. All rooms have micro wave, refrigerators, coffee makers, hair dryers, irons and ironing boards, plus free internet access: Phone numbers: 1-800-228-5150; 252-636-0022; website: comfortsuitesnewbern.com; they also have a complimentary continental breakfast.

The Hilton Hotel, 100 Middle Street, overlooking the Trent River and adjacent to the New Bern Grand Marina: rooms are $129.00, which is a discount from their regular rate; also, complimentary Wi-Fi, telephone number: 252-638-3585; website: www.newbernriverfront.hilton.com. At this location, you will be just a few steps away from boats.

The Bridgepoint Hotel located across Trent River from marina, 101 Howell Road is offering rooms at $79.95 and military discount rate of $69.95. All rooms feature free wireless internet, refrigerator, microwave, ironing board. Telephone number: 1-877-283-7713, or 252-636-3637; e-mail is bwestcott@colwenhotels.com; www.bridgepointhotel.com .

All of the above advise reservations as soon as possible.

Hope the rest of your boating season is enjoyable and (no more hurricanes). The next letter via email will include registration forms, a complete agenda including speakers and so forth.  So mark your calendars for an enjoyable cruise and rendezvous in New Bern, NC.

Paul Martin, 2012 Rendezvous Chairman
E-mail: pwmartin@embarqmail.com 
Home Phone: 252-636-3802
Cell Phone: 252-349-4916
Fax #: 252-636-6133

WARMAN OUTLINES CAMANO HISTORY AT '11 RONDY

Bob Warman

Bob Warman, the designer and original builder of what now is called the Camano 31, started out nearly a half century ago designing and building race cars. In 1970, he switched to boats.
 
Speaking at the 2011 East Coast Camano Owners (ECCO) rendezvous May 21 in Portsmouth, VA, Warman said that in the early 1980s, there seemed to be an interest in the power boating community for two types of boats -- an ocean-crossing power boat and a coastal cruiser that would go 12 knots.

He said a lot of boats would go 12 knots, but he said it was difficult to do that efficiently. One way to do that, Warman said, would be to build a long, narrow hull, but that would lack the stability desired in a cruising vessel. 

"So I started thinking, what if we inverted the concept and we put a long, narrow hull down the center under the water and put a planing surface on each side so we could get through the 12 knot speed barrier and do it efficiently."

Warman, who lives in Okotoks, Alberta, Canada, said he designed a 34-foot boat on that concept and built a 1-8 scale model that demonstrated the idea worked. He called this unusual underbody a "keel form hull." 
To be successful in the marketplace, Warman said he believed the boat needed to hold its value and be simple but of high quality. He decided on a work boat style because the design didn't age and wanted a diesel-powered boat with a single propeller, and to make a bow thruster standard to aid in maneuverability in docking. 

Another goal, Warman said, was to keep the price under $100,000 in 1989 dollars. That meant a 34-footer would be too big, so he reduced the size to 28 feet on deck (31 feet overall) and decided to build it in fiberglass.  He called the boat a "Troll" based on the rugged trollers that fished the North Pacific for salmon.

The first four Trolls had four-cylinder, 130-horsepower Volvo diesels and Warman said they would go 17 knots unloaded. Starting with the fifth Camano, Warman added a six-cylinder Volvo that produced 150 horsepower. Volvo later upgraded the engine to produce 200 horsepower.
 
Warman and his wife Dora built 72 Camanos near Vancouver before selling the company to Brad and Jaslyn Miller in 1997.

"I've always thought a boat was a success if it's not resold a lot and if they hold their value," Warman said. "From the first boat Camano built until eight years later, there was never a boat resold. So I think that means it was a success."

The Millers continued to build the boat in Delta, British Columbia until 2007. It is now being built in Anacortes, WA by Camano Yachts America.

Warman was the primary speaker at ECCO’s tenth anniversary celebration.  Thirteen Camanos attended the rendezvous at Tidewater Yacht Agency's marina in Portsmouth, along with 52 ECCO members.
 
The rendezvous was held at the same location as the 2010 gathering. The marina is located directly on the Southern Branch of the Elizabeth River at Mile Marker 1, which marks the beginning of the Atlantic Intra-Coastal Waterway.

The meeting opened May 21 wirh a seminar for first mates called ”Suddenly Alone” by veteran cruiser Terri Johnson, and a session for captains on Camano 31 maintenance and engine operation. The “Suddenly Alone” seminar focused on safe operation and navigation of the Camano if the captain becomes incapacitated.

Martha Walker, curator at the maritime museum Nauticus and the adjacent battleship Wisconsin across the Elizabeth River in Norfolk, discussed the history of Hampton Roads.

Mike Johnson, husband of Terri and a veteran boater, focused on rescue procedures if someone falls overboard and conducted an afternoon demonstration at the marina's pool. 

The special tenth ECCO anniversary celebration followed dinner. After Warman's presentation, Pat Hunt, ECCO’s organizer and first president, recounted the first 10 years of the organization.

Sunday’s program began with a talk by Robert Peek, the lock keeper at the Dismal Swamp’s northern lock at Deep Creek., VA. Peek, well known to boaters who transit the Dismal Swamp canal, spoke on the history of the swamp and construction of the 19.8 mile canal that links North Carolina’s scenic Pasquotank River with the Southern Branch of the Elizabeth River in Virginia. The canal now is an alternate route on the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway maintained by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Matt Marsiglia, with Chespeake AED Services, Essex, MD, demonstrated the “Ultimate Life Saver,” a portable automatic defibrillator that could be used aboard a boat to correct a potentially fatal irregular heartbeat. He was followed by Joe Urban, treasurer of the Marine Trawlers Owners Association, who described the MTOA.

ROSSITER, MARTIN, BLACK REELECTED ECCO OFFICERS

Lewis and Pat Hunt, who organized ECCO in 2001.

Rossiter reported that the group had 64 members representing 58 Camanos. North Carolina had the most ECCO members, with 12 boats, followed by 10 Camanos in Florida. Other states represented were Massachusetts, Virginia, Michigan, Washington, South Carolina, Rhode Island, Ohio, Texas, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Minnesota, Alabama, Georgia, New Hampshire, California, Nevada, and New York. He said ECCO also had members in Canada, the United Kingdom and Sweden. 

In her treasurer’s report, Black said that as of May 15, 2011, ECCO had a balance of $8,530.39. The organization had a balance on May 1 of $7,453.03, and annual income of $4,170 from membership dues, burgee sales and rendezvous fees. The year’s expenses totaled $3,092.64, not including 2011 rendezvous costs.

The group thanked Eleanor Semerjian for heading the 2011 Rendezvous Committee. Paul Martin was the program chairman; Max and Sally Richter  were the registrars; Dale and Donna Paquette were the entertainment chairpersons; Ray and Bernie Smith oversaw the raffle items and gifts; Pat Hunt provided the 10th Anniversary presentation; and Cynthia and David Markiewicz aided the new rendezvous attendees.
 

FIRST U.S.-BUILT CAMANO HAS BEEN DELIVERED

2010 RONDY DRAWS 38 IN PORTSMOUTH,VA

Thirty-eight Camano owners, including a few former owners, and 10 boats gathered in Portsmouth, VA, May 21-23, 2010, for the ninth annual Spring Rendezvous of the East Coast Camano Owners (ECCO) association. 

The rendezvous, first held in the historic maritime city,  brought Camano owners together from as far away as Florida, Alabama, Rhode Island, Ohio and even England. They heard discussions on maintaining the 31-foot trawlers, the history of Portsmouth, the latest electronic gadgets for their boats, boating safety, and cruising the Great Loop.

Al Rossiter Jr. of Washington, NC, was reelected ECCO president,  Paul Martin of New Bern, NC, was elected vice president, succeeding Mike Nemeth of Chester, MD., who stepped down, and Louella Black, of Annandale, VA, was reelected treasurer. 

The gathering was held at the Tidewater Yacht Agency marina, across the Elizabeth River from the Waterside complex in Norfolk. Ten couples arrived on their boats from North Carolina, Virginia and Maryland, and nine couples went by car. 

Brian and Jean Orr traveled the farthest. They live in Ascot in England and kept their boat, Spirit of Whitby II, in Stuart, FL. They had planned to fly to the States in time to sail their boat to the rendezvous, but their departure was delayed two weeks by volcanic ash from Iceland. When they finally arrived in Florida, they only had time to cruise to Wilmington, NC, where they left their Camano and drove the rest of the way in a rental car. After the rendezvous, they resumed their boat journey north, heading to Canada. 

The rendezvous festivities began Friday, May 21, with a potluck dinner, followed by a “Name the Tune” contest. On Saturday, Dean Burgess, author and historian, opened the meeting with a talk on the history of Portsmouth, which was founded in 1752 as a shipbuilding site. Oliver Midgette of Trident Marine Electronics, Hampton, VA, followed with a report on the latest developments in marine electronics. 

The afternoon Saturday was devoted to shopping and touring the oldest section of the city and a rendezvous tradition, the Camano Crawl, where Camano owners visit the boats of others and inspect owner modifications. After a barbecue dinner, Charlie Burke of the American Great Loop Cruisers Association gave a photo presentation of cruising the Great Loop, the continuous waterway that encompasses the eastern portion of North America including the Atlantic and Gulf Intracoastal Waterways, the Great Lakes, the Canadian Heritage Canals, and the inland rivers of America's heartland.

Sunday’s program began with a 90-minute discussion led by Ray Smith, of Chester, MD, and Rossiter on Camano maintenance and modifications. The Virginia Beach Sail and Power Squadron led a safety discussion and demonstration followed by voluntary boat safety inspections.

At the afternoon ECCO business meeting, Rossiter reported that the association had 62 members, three more than at the same time last year. In her treasurer’s report, Mrs. Black said that as of May 1, the association had a balance of $7,453.03. Lewis Hunt, of Myrtle Beach, SC, and long-time ECCO member and manager of ECCO’s bulletin board, reported the group’s members-only bulletin board, which contains a wealth of information on Camano systems, had received 19,439 views since it was started in 2003.

At the conclusion of the business meeting, Jean Orr won a unique needlepoint model of the Camano 31 made and donated by Bernie Smith.

The group thanked Jean and Mel Thomason of Asheville, NC., for chairing the 2010 rendezvous committee. Also thanked were committee members Eleanor and George Semerjian of Lottsburg, VA; Sally and Max Richter, Malvern, PA; Ray and Bernie Smith, Chester, MD; Donna and Dale Paquette, Portsmouth, RI; and Shirley and Stuart Burson, Autaugaville, AL. Eleanor Sererjian volunteered to head the 2011 rendezvous committee.

Also attending the rendezvous were Rich and Mary Apple, aboard Apple Corps, of Chocowinity, NC; Bob and Lou Black; Lewis and Pat Hunt; Gene and Mary Ann Irene, aboard An Jou, of Durham, NC, Pete and Sue Jennette, aboard Vigiliant, of Cardinal, VA;  Dave and Cynthia Markiewicz, Ashburn, VA; Paul and Pat Martin, aboard Cameo, New Bern, NC; Britt and Heidi O’Gorman, Punta Gorda, FL; Brian and Jean Orr, Ascot, England; Robin Smart and Joan Jealous, aboard Sabrina G, Washington, NC;  Al and Sylvia Rossiter, aboard Rathmacknee II, Washington, NC; Dick and Janet Steelman, aboard Intrepid, Irvington, VA; and Glenn and Pamela Waggoner, Rocky River, Ohio. The Thomasons were aboard Dovekie; the Semerjians were aboard Splash Landing and the Smiths came aboard Fire Dog IV.

Dinner Sunday was catered by the marina’s Deck Restaurant. It was followed by an informal gathering to share cruising stories.