Amidst a time of great sadness, with the loss of his first-rate, first-mate, Karen Ann, our co-founder, Claiborne Young, receives one of the most treasured awards in the cruising world.

Captain John Kettlewell

Claiborne Young Presented Skipper Bob Award
By John J. Kettlewell

Claiborne first met the late Bob Reib, who most of us knew as Skipper Bob, at one of the first Trawler Fest events held on Solomon’s Island, Maryland back in the ’90s. Claiborne drove up there from North Carolina expecting to see 40 or 50 participants, but instead found himself speaking to a ballroom packed with more than 300 devoted cruisers. After his talk, Claiborne joined a roundtable discussion with other notable and knowledgeable cruising gurus, including Skipper Bob, the author of a series of guidebooks to America’s inland waterways.

Now, some speculate there must be fierce competition between Waterway writers, but in reality most of us get along just great, and we often recommend each other’s books and other products–after a customer has purchased ours! Claiborne told me that he and Bob got to share a booth at the fest, and it worked out great for both of them. Bob would sell one of his own books, and then when the customer wanted even greater detail on a particular area, he would recommend Claiborne’s guides, conveniently being sold right next to each other. Needless to say, there was some friendly back and forth between those two sharing a booth. It’s a wonder the customers could get a word in edgewise!

The reason they got along is that both shared what Claiborne describes as “a passion for getting accurate, on-sight verified information for cruisers.” They both believed in creating a quality product, based on professional research, on-location surveys, and careful writing and editing. And, these high-quality guides would sell well because they truly helped the recreational boating community.

The Skipper Bob Award is given annually to “ordinary people who make extraordinary efforts to assist the recreational boating community and who give selflessly of themselves for the good of others.” Anyone who has used one of Claiborne’s books in the past, or who now logs on to The Salty Southeast Cruisers’ Net, with its motto of “Cruisers Helping Cruisers,” knows why Claiborne received this award. The amount of information available, all for free to anyone, is incredible: marina details, up-to-date charts, the latest shoaling information, bridge schedules, fuel prices (updated every week), and now detailed and recent soundings from the Argus system. Much of this information was simply unavailable at any price just a few years ago, and now it is available to all in order to make your Waterway journey safer, more enjoyable, and less expensive.

Most of you are not aware of the work that goes on behind the scenes in order to provide all of this accurate and up-to-date information. I, myself, have been involved in helping Claiborne to vet tips and new warnings provided by cruisers, and before any of this appears on the website every effort is made to research, confirm, and then properly describe the situation. The community often provides the lead, but then Claiborne applies the professional writer’s touch to verify, clarify, and present it in a easy-to-understand format.

As many of you know, Claiborne’s “first-rate, first-mate,” Karen Ann, recently departed this world, and we must acknowledge her part in helping to create this amazing cruising resource. She not only helped create the Cruiser’s Net, but she also made Claiborne promise to carry on with it, so we will all continue to benefit from her inspiration. Unfortunately, we must take the bad with the good, and my waistline will continue to expand as Claiborne updates his restaurant recommendations! But, hopefully I’ll burn off a few of those calories pulling up the hook while exploring the new, secret anchorages he directs me to. I can’t think of a more deserving winner of the 2013 Skipper Bob Award.
I wrote this piece in order to congratulate Claiborne on his much-deserved recognition via the Skipper Bob Award, and the words and editing are solely my own. Fair winds, following seas, and don’t forget the anchor light!
John J. Kettlewell
Author/Editor of The Intracoastal Waterway Chartbook: Norfolk to Miami

Claiborne’s Acceptance Remarks E-mailed To and Read by Captain Ted Stehle of “Waterway Guide” at the AGLCA Rendezvous:

I can hardly believe that the cruising community has honored me with the Skipper Bob `Making It Better’ award, and, in fact, I’m doubly honored.
First, I had the rare privilege of knowing the late Bob Reib rather well. At one Trawlerfest, Bob, Elaine and I were lunching together when a fellow cruiser passing our table stopped dead in his tracks, did a double-take, and said, `You two must be really friendly competitors.’ Before I could get my mouth open, and those of you who know me understand that usually does not take too long to happen, Bob said, `we aren’t competitors, we’re friends.’ I have never forgotten those kind words, and I never will.
I am also honored because, as most of you know, I have just lost my first-rate, first-mate, Karen Ann, after a heroic five year battle with never smoker’s lung cancer. Karen Ann was not only my life partner, but a very integral part of the Salty Southeast Cruisers’ Net. She would be so very proud; no, she IS very proud, that you have bestowed this great honor on me, and I dedicate this award to her memory, which, for those who knew her, will NEVER die!
I got into this unusual business of cruising guides and cruising information way back in 1979, 34 years ago, and it has been as rewarding a career as anyone could ever have wished. During all these years, it has been my great privilege to be a member of the cruising community. If, in some small way, I have helped even a few cruisers stay off the bottom, find a better marina, a more beautiful anchorage, or a good place to satisfy a healthy appetite gleaned after a long day on the water, then my life’s work has been more than fulfilled.
Karen and I talked many times about what my life would be like after she was gone, and I promised her to keep the Salty Southeast Cruisers’ Net dream alive, because it was her dream as well. That is a promise I WILL keep, but right now, I just need a little time to pick up the pieces, so please pardon my not being here in person to accept this prestigious and much valued award. I will be seeing all of you more in the future.
I sincerely thank all those responsible for recommending me for this award. Really, it should be all of you who receive this award, not me, because you are the ones who keep alive that rarely wonderful avocation of living on the water, with all its beauty, joys and, yes, sometimes frustrations. It is a lifestyle understood genuinely only by those who cruise.
Thank you again for this great honor. I will treasure this award always, and use it to help keep the memory of Skipper Bob and my first-rate, first-mate alive!
So, in closing, the next time you find your vessel in a beautiful anchorage, with the sun setting, please raise a glass to the memory of Skipper Bob and Karen Ann. I have no doubt they are swapping stories and navigation tips right now.
Good luck and good cruising to all!

Hi Claiborne,
Congrats on receiving the Skipper Bob Award.
Best regards,
MikeA
Mike Ahart, News Editor, Waterway Guide

Congratulations. It’s wonderful to see you get the recognition you have so long deserved.
Chuck Baier