VOLUME 32 - NUMBER 7 - December 2002

White Lights and Water 
Braving the inevitable foul weather, contributing writer Marty LeGrand (with her mom in tow) joins the throng at the annual weekend Christmas bash in St. Michaels—where they never let a little rain or snow ruin Santa’s parade.

Navigating the Shoals of Charting 
Mapping the Bay bottom is an enormous and essentially never-ending task—though, with new high-tech methods, it is at last becoming more of a science than an educated guessing game. Peter F. Frost introduces us to the people who plumb the depths.

On a Wing and a Prescription 
Once a week, Dr. Steven Nichols and staff climb aboard a plane or helicopter and head for Tangier Island. Contributing editor Paul Clancy tags along for a day of long-distance doctoring.

Departments • WeatherEye Mail Call Channel 9 New Boat News Gear & Gadgets • Cruisers Calendar Galleys Ashore In the Galley Boat Club News Bay Business Tide Tables Advertising Sections Boat Review • Cruisers 4050 • Carver 360 Sport Sedan Advertisers’ Index • Classifieds

Nautical Know-How 
A Ditch Kit Primer—Abandoning ship is not the time to wonder where you put your flares. Jerry Renninger tells us why we should always have a ditch bag aboard, and what should be in it.

Time Tested 
Sun Queen—Jeanneau’s Sun Odyssey 32.6 is well built and easy to sail, says Tom Dove, a solid Bay cruiser for a small family or couple—“sleeps four, sails six, drinks eight.”

Marina Hopping 
Laid-back Landfall—Katherine Brown cruised into Virginia’s Perrin River to find that both Mother Nature and Domino’s deliver to Cook’s Landing Marina.

A-Dock Confidential 
It’s not Easy Being Anti-Green—Liveaboard Jerry Renninger at last tells us what drove him away from a normal life on dry land: lawns and landscapes. Whatever you do, don’t send him a poinsettia for the holidays.

Cruise of the Month 
An Unintentional Nature Preserve—When Amy Smith satisfies her curiosity about the doomed fleet lying awash in Mallows Bay, she discovers an astonishing variety of aquatic wildlife.

Trading Places 
Dr. Wood is In—Nancy Taylor Robson makes the trek to West Chester, Pa., to chat with Mike Haines of Haines Vintage Watercraft, where old wooden runabouts are the order of the day.

Angler’s Almanac 
Where the Fish Go—Boats aren’t the only things that head south when winter settles in, says John Page Williams. Fish head for warmer climes as well, and the wise angler can catch ’em as they leave.

Stern Lines 
Fish Hawk Down—Diana Prentice witnesses the rescue, by her husband and a bird-loving waterman, of a downed osprey nest in San Domingo Creek.

On the cover: The Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum takes on the colors of the holidays. Photograph by Lisa Masson.