An Invitation to The Bar Sail

I have been blessed with being Chair of the Bar Sail Committee for over 10 years. As Chair of the Bar Sail Committee, I don’t do much other than promote the event. The Bar Association staff does all the work and they do an excellent job arranging this. I realized many of you may have questions about this event and therefore have never attended. So, I’ll try to answer a few questions that you might have.

The Bar Sail’s only intended purpose is to have fun. You cannot get any CLEs on Bar Sail, we are not honoring anyone and there aren’t any awards. You don’t even have to dress in courtroom attire. I have often heard other county Bar Associations are envious of the level of camaraderie the Chester County Bar Association enjoys between its members and the bench. This event is one of the reasons why.

The Bar Sail started years ago when several of the sailors in the Bar Association had the bright idea of introducing other members of the Bar to sailing. It’s no fun just sailing around in circles; you have to sail to someplace. A tradition was born and since then every year the Skippers get together over the winter and decide where the destination should be. This year we will be going back to Annapolis, Md. In years past the destination has been Inner Harbor Baltimore, St. Michaels, Kent Narrows and Great Oaks Landing. There have been other destinations but that was before my time, and I don’t know if we are allowed to go back to some of those places.

You don’t need to own a boat or know how to sail. I don’t own a boat, and it is questionable whether I know how to sail. For almost 20 years I have somehow managed to convince the charter company that I know how to sail though. Hey, I’ve never damaged a boat. Off the record, that incident at the fuel dock wasn’t my fault. Several Skippers charter boats and many of us have room for a few more people. All you have to do is sign up and the Bar staff can find you a spot on someone’s boat.

This is a two-day event on a Thursday and Friday in June. This year it will be June 15th-16th. Beware, you may have to wake up early Thursday morning to get to wherever your Skipper’s boat is leaving from. I charter out of Rock Hall, Md. which is around 2 hours from West Chester. My boat leaves the dock around 10:00. Depending on the winds it can take 2-3 hours to get to Annapolis. That’s right, you will have to sit on a boat traveling at 5-7 mph with nothing to do except: relax, talk with friends new and old from the Bar Association, help sail if you want to, or just do nothing. Look at the bright side, clients can’t get a hold of you.

Once we get to Annapolis there will be a party on the dock. Food and drink largely become communal as you visit other boats. It’s nothing short of a great time. After the party we will go to dinner at a restaurant nearby. The menu will include crabs, but for those of you who don’t like crabs or think they are too much work there are always plenty of other options. After dinner we will all enjoy a night out on the town. Annapolis has a lot of fun places to go to.

If you are not into sailing several Skippers take power boats. Spouses are welcome but check with your Skipper. Some people attend and don’t come on a boat at all. You can drive down for the party/dinner and drive home in the morning. Do you have a busy schedule? Not everyone has time to take two days off. Several people will crew one way and get a ride back from Annapolis. Life is too short; I prefer to put a sign on my office door for several days, “Gone Sailing.”

The sail back to Rock Hall is usually a little more subdued than the sail to Annapolis. The music is not as loud and there is much less banter. Sailing back on Friday, with a crew suffering from their own selfinflicted ailment, sure beats working.

See you on the water.

WE BRING WE BRING CLIENTS TO YOU! CLIENTS TO YOU!

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