Annual DRYL Queens’s Pageant….
WE HAVE A NEW QUEEN!
Yet again weathermen and weatherwomen predicted rain and
thunder storms for Saturday morning and Saturday afternoon during the week
heading into the weekend, and yet again, luckily for us they were wrong as it
was a GREAT weekend. We got some drops
late Saturday night but the pageant was well over and the party / celebrations
were winding down.
Most of our fleet arrived on Friday night due to the low tide
that was going to happen on Saturday morning at 9:00AM – the time we usually
start bringing boats in.
Come early Saturday morning we had everyone (close to 100 boats)
tied up and secure in the basin….. thanks to the hard work of JR Pyffer and Paul
Richardson who headed the docking committee this year – it was a hard task and
they made it look easy. It was now time
to let the good times ROLL !
The Princesses (from the DRYL as well as the CBYCA Bay Princesses)
enjoyed a nice lunch on The Ter-Barb from F.S.A. Afterwards – a new twist was added to this year’s
event – which was themed “Beach Party Bash “ – the DRYL Princesses were
introduced to a song of their choice and walked down the main pier with custom
made / custom designed flip flops! Yes,
it was a Flip Flop Contest and it was well accepted as the crowd that gathered
to watch emitted loud hoots and cheers as everything from pizza pie flip flops
to octopus flip flops made their way down the docks ….. truly the crowd enjoyed the entertainment,
the music, and it looked like the Princesses enjoyed putting on the show for us
to boot ( no pun intended ). After they were
introduced the Princesses made their way back to their clubs where the Boat
Judges would judge not only the decorated boats but the girls flip flops as
well. As the judges made their way
around the basin admiring the decorated boats and getting a close up of the
girls flip flops, 2 clubs stood out as they not only decorated their boats but
put on a little show too. These 2 clubs,
National Park B.C. and River Winds YC turned this pageant into a HUGE DOCK
PARTY !! River Winds YC with their musical
waterfalls, Elvis impersonator, and great drinks to National Park Boat Club’s
huge ferris wheel, Mr. P-Nut, and snow cones and peanuts awed everyone
including the judges!!! These 2 clubs truly
gave this event a party atmosphere with colorful decorations, music, good eats
and drinks and deserve so much more credit than a trophy / award. Mucho Kudos to these two clubs !!! We can only hope that they continue their
festive and ingenious ideas at future Pageants – and hopefully their efforts
will spread to other clubs and decorations will flow on all the piers next
years.
The judges made their decisions and voted Summer Recess (Harbor
Light YC) for Best Decorated Power Boat. The Best Decorated Sail Boat went to
Endeavor from Anchor YC. Best of Fleet
was awarded to Sherrie Lee from River Winds YC and the Best Decorated Club went
to River Winds YC - and a couple Honorable Mentions went to the National Park
BC. Again – GREAT JOB by National Park BC,
River Winds YC and the other boats who decorated!!!
At 4:30 it was time for the Commodores / Officers and
Princesses to make their way to the Air Conditioned Yellow School Bus that was
the transportation vehicle for the evening ( what a GREAT IDEA ). Pictures were taken of the Princesses and
Officers outside the ISPM with the Battleship New Jersey in the background. (Thanks to Tom Politica from Neshaminy Harbor
YC who has been our un-official league photographer for this event the last two
years and he does a superb job for us) The group then made their way into the
auditorium for a quick rehearsal and after only 2 practice runs they were ready
for the event!
The crowds entered and the seats quickly filled … the pageant
was started and a NEW MC – Past DRYL
Queen Astra Haldeman took the stage with an OLD MC - LOL - Past DRYL President Bob Bocock. They worked soo well together and Astra’s warm
smile and beautiful looks made the Princesses feel so at ease not to mention –
Bob never looked so GOOD with her by his side !!! LOL – (jus kiddin’ Bob)
On a serious note - Bob & Astra ( The DRYL version of
Regis & Kathy ) made a big hit and everyone I spoke to said they worked
really well together.
Guests of Honor were then introducced …. CBYCA Past Commodore
Coles Marsh, Yacht Clubs of Maryland Commodore Joe Helner, Chesapeake
Commodores Club Commodore Dennis Bergbauer and The Queen of The Chesapeake and
Princess Court. Gifts were exchanged by
the girls and it was time to meet the Princesses!
One by one the Princesses were randomly called up and asked a
question from their essay …. You can
really see that the public speaking session and mock interviews that Pageant
Committee Head Toni Nespola has the girls go thru a few weeks before the
pageant works as all the girls looked so relaxed and well spoken. Even the girls who spoke of being nervous
before the doors opened went up on stage and spoke clearly, looked poised and
answered their questions very intelligently.
These girls should all be very proud of themselves and the family members
and clubs should be much much more proud of what these girls have done during
this past summer.
It was then time to sadly say farewell to Queen Siobhan – Siobhan
was well spoken, (as always) and looking marvelous as she gave her farewell
speech. Her kind words to family
members, club members, and Mary & I, had eyes swelling with tears. There is no doubt she will do well in any
path she decides to take in life. She is
yet another Great Queen who has entered the small DRYL Family of Queens.
The judges left to calculate their numbers and come up with our
new Queen and while they were gone we were entertained by The Avalon String Band. The bright colors of the costumes, the great
philly sounds of string band music and the mummers strut made for a packed
stage as Queen and Princesses, (DRYL & CBYCA), Officers, as well as Toni
Nespola and myself attempted to mimic Avalon Captain Jack with doing the
mummers strut. Clapping hands and
stumping feet made for another great intermission.
The stage was cleared when the judges came back in and the
judges handed the envelopes to Bob and Astra …. The girls all tensed up and nerves
were twitching ….. one by one the winners were announced….
Miss Congeniality – Miss Harbor Light YC Brigette McGinn
2nd Runner Up – Miss Wissinoming YC Kristina Ignasiak
1st Runner Up – Miss Bristol YC Sommer
Hefflefinger
And the 2009 Queen of The DRYL ……..Miss Anchor YC Carla
Cefalone.
Saturday August 8th will be a date that Miss
Anchor YC Carla Cefalone will remember for the rest of her life. That is the
date Carla will remember as the day she was crowned DRYL Queen. The 1st Queen in Anchor YC history!
All in all it was a GREAT week-end – however there was one issue,
a pitfall, a sad moment, one that made me feel like I lost a limb. After I walked around the judges I made my way
to my drink machine – filled to the brim with the infamous Blue Woos. I started at River Winds and gave out glasses,
then made it to the Neshaminy Harbor YC crew and up to the group from The
CBYCA, and then to Harbor Light YC. As I
was making my way to the Wissinoming YC crew the machine hit a spot in the dock
that caused the machine to tip over and fall over – as I tried to quickly lift
it back up, I watched the Blue Tidal Wave of drink and ice make its departure
out of the cooler and onto the dock and into the water … is it too late to ask
for a moment of silence?? To those that
got to taste my elixir - I hope you enjoyed it … to those that never got a drop
– I apologize. The thought of it – the site
that is burned into my memory - It still
hurts oh so much … LOL
This was just another great week-end where I was surrounded
by great people, great friends, and beautiful Princesses. I hope everyone enjoyed it! I know Mary & I did.
Thank you very much Toni Nespola for another wonderful Pageant! - Juice
Enjoy The
Pictures …. More will follow
shortly…
President Jusino, Queen Siobhan and 2009 Princesses President Jusino and 2009 Club Officers Queen Siobhan with Princess Court
President Jusino, 2009 DRYL Queen Carla, AYC Dan Cefalone Brigette McGinn, Kristina Ignasiak,
President Jusino, Queen Carla and Sommer Hefflefinger