Jean DePlacido
For the first time ever, Palmer's Cove Yacht Club has been named the Yacht Club of the Year by the Massachusetts Bay Sailing Association.
The prestigious honor came as a big surprise to members, who found out shortly before the awards dinner at Cottage Park Yacht Club two weeks ago. The club, which has been in existence since 1934, received the Leonard B. Fowle plaque in recognition of their hard work.
Cynthia Smiszek, Palmer's Cove secretary, said the award was based on the quality of the club's annual Bowditch Race, Lucy Houde Memorial Lady's Skippers Race, Capri Racing program and regatta parties.
Regatta committee principal race officer John Devine accepted the award along with commodore Dan Tsoutsouris, vice commodore Rich Morneau and rear commodore Larry Robertie with other committee members in attendance.
"All events at the club are managed by volunteers," said Tom Tetrault, one of the owners of Bernard Jewelers in Salem, who is regatta committee co-chairman along with Bill Kuszmar. "We are proud of our roots as a working person's club, and we do all the duties from construction to cooking.
"Thanks to the dedication of our principal race officer John Devine, the Bowditch Regatta (named for Salem's Nathaniel Bowditch and held in August) has become an important event in the offshore handicap racing schedule of Mass Bay — after only four years' existence."
Tetrault pointed to other handicap events, including the single-handed and ladies skipper race, along with the club's recent addition of an evening one-design racing program, as reasons for the honor being bestowed.
"These sailing activities are the result of a very enthusiastic committee of volunteers," Tetrault said. "We have been in the shadow of the more historical yacht clubs for so long, so it's very special to have earned their (Mass Bay's) respect."
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St. John's Prep football captain Griffin Cardew didn't plan on spending Thanksgiving morning at Norwood Hospital instead of playing his final game in an Eagles' uniform.
The Ipswich resident had to undergo extreme measures to even see the field this year after suffering a stress fracture in his back. After consulting seven different doctors, having X-rays and two MRIs along with a bone scan, the problem was finally diagnosed.
"It happened because of overuse," Cardew said. "I play three sports and am active during the summer, so I don't take any time off. It really started to bother me during lacrosse season (last spring), and turned out to be difficult to diagnose.
"At first, doctors thought I would miss at least half the football season, but I went to Boston to see a spinal cord specialist for a second opinion after being told if I did play and anything further happened, there was a chance I would never play again. The specialist said that wasn't likely so I decided to take the chance and was fitted for a back brace. I was told to stop playing if I had any pain."
The brace, which weighed about 2 pounds, went from under his pectoral muscles to lower waist from front to back. It was similar to the brace former Prep stars Jon Loyte and Kevin Dwan had to wear in their senior seasons.
Cardew missed the Prep's season opener vs. Masconomet but was able to return to the field soon thereafter. However, his season ended with just one play on Thanksgiving.
"I spent three hours at the hospital and got back to St. John's just when the bus was pulling back in," said Cardew.
"On the very first play of the (Xaverian) game, I got hit and all of a sudden felt like something heavy was pressing on my chest and was spitting up a lot of blood. I was checked out and released, but it was disappointing because I was all psyched up to play against Xaverian.
"Now I'm going to take the winter off from hockey and rest until after Christmas before getting ready for lacrosse."
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Anyone looking for an inexpensive night out — and at the same time supporting a worthy cause — should head for The Landing in Marblehead this coming Tuesday (6-10 p.m.) for a buffet. Attendees are also asked to ring an unwrapped toy for Community of Friends, a local Marblehead charity, that helps make Christmas special for families in need.
Maureen McKinnon-Tucker will be there with the gold medal she won in sailing at the Paralympic Games in Beijing last September. The Landing is donating 20 percent of the cost of food and drinks to Sail, Challenge, Inspire for McKinnon-Tucker's next project, which is conducting developmental clinics to get more disabled people involved in racing. She is never one to rest on her laurels, and is seeking funding and grants to buy equipment to make this new venture possible.
McKinnon-Tucker will run two clinics at the new Sail Salem program on Winter Island, along with others at her work place at Piers Park Sailing Center in Boston. She hopes to go from the tip of Maine to Baltimore if the grants and funding come through. Checks will be presented to her at The Landing event, which marks the conclusion of the Golden Glass Initiative.
For every glass of Marblehead sailor Ed Barker's ranga.ranga Sauvignon Blanc or Arona wine purchased at The Landing, Jubilee Yacht Club or Dolphin Yacht Club, a donation was made to Sail, Challenge, Inspire. Coastal Care, which provides services for disabled people, matched every dollar.
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Peabody Little League lost a true friend when Ed Chmiel passed away this week at age 88. He was one of the founding fathers of Peabody Little League, a longtime manager of the Yankees and held several offices, including president.
But it was behind the scenes where Chmiel did much of his hard work, taking charge of the equipment to keep James Street Field in tip top shape.
Chmiel's American League Yankees and Charlie Heil's National League Dodgers had some great battles over the years.
"The Dodgers vs. the Yankees — Eddie and I had some great times," said Heil, who is 90 years young. "He would do anything for you, and his garage was full of equipment. I'd run most of the dances, and whatever money we made I'd give to Eddie, who was the treasurer. He'd put it in the bank, and always knew exactly what was there. I used to kid him that he had 36 years in, but I had two more. Those days were a lot of fun."
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Jean DePlacido is a part-time writer for The Salem News. She can be reached at jmdeplacido @aol.com.
