Commissioning Party

The Commissioning was held Saturday, April 23, from 5:30pm to 7:30pm. The Committee chaired by Ann and Woody Bergendahl did an exceptional job with the hors d’oeuvres including oysters, shrimp, beef tenderloin, and chicken not to mention mint juleps and spiced nuts to lend a southern theme. The timing of the party was moved up by one half hour by the Trustees on an experimental basis to hopefully improve the parties for both the attendees and the committee. As would be expected, there were diverse opinions which will be evaluated by the Trustees.

The shuckers were very busy as were the rest of the committee. Ann, Woody and their committee including Greg and Shelly Erb, Linda and Bruce Lockwood, Deb and Hughie O’Brien, and Tim Porter certainly worked hard and did a great job to help initiate the start of the season.

We were honored with the presence of Frank Kappeler, a Doolittle Raider, the group that attacked military and industrial targets in several Japanese cities just four months after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. It was the United States’ first major strike back. Mark Turner’s introduction of this extraordinary man was compelling as he relayed some of the stories of Mr. Kappeler’s military experiences in World War II.

Commodore Lew Foster led us in a toast to our guest in true Ram Island style and then we turned to the business of commissioning. Danny Spear manned the cannon as John Read, Chris Lane and David Page raised the colors. Despite the rainy weather, the turnout approached 140 and everyone had a good time. It was great to see so many people after such a long winter and stories of boat preparedness abounded.

Next party: Kentucky Derby Party, May 7, 5-7pm. Post time is 6: 04pm EDT. See you there.

Thanks to Joan Sienkiewicz for this report.