We know Andrea “Artista” Torrens of the New York Table is a very talented painter. Andrea and her husband Lory have decorated many illustrious homes with trompe l’oeil and landscapes.
Few of us knew that Lori is a very accomplished artist, painter and active in the movie industry in his own right. We invite you to know him better through his own movie introduction.
Lory Smith: Self Portrait by an unknown Artist Read More »
Click on any of the images to access the specific details of the 2026 Mundial OR the “Notable” option.
New in TTP: a specific focus on NOTABLE Brothers. Check it out HERE or in the “About / Notable” menu or on the image.
Chile 2026 is All On Deck! Read More »
Brother “Upwind” Peter Dennant has created a great First Watch issue. It is uploaded on BOCUS.ORG in the “Publications” treasure chest! Thank you.
It is with great sadness that I must share the news of the passing of our dear Brother Jerry Gumbeaux Jones, who swung off his mooring for the last time on September 13. Brother Gumbeaux was a cherished pillar of our fraternity. He and Jill graced many Zafarranchos around the world in their younger years.
Brother Jerry Jones “Gumbeaux” passed away in Little Rock, Arkansas on September 13, 2024. Jerry is survived by his wife Jill.
Jerry joined the Brotherhood of the Coast with the Houston table in the mid 90s while living at Waterford Harbor Marina, League City, Texas. In the late 90s Jerry and Jill sailed their boat to Florida, settling in Sarasota where he transferred his flag to the new Sun Coast Table. Jerry was very active with the table and credited with being instrumental with its early success. Seeking a cooler climate, Jerry and Jill later moved to Black Mountain, North Carolina. Once established, Jerry sought out the nearest Brotherhood table and transferred his flag to the Savannah Table. Over the years Jerry helped to make Black Mountain a significant outlier of the Savannah Table helping to recruit new Brothers, and with Jill’s considerable help, offered many boucans and mini-zafs to the Savannah Table and many Brothers who gladly diverted through North Carolina in their travels. After many years in Black Mountain, Jerry and Jill relocated to Little Rock, Arkansas to be closer to family and added benefit of being able to spend spend more time with close and dear friends Brother Mark and Jill Brown.
Jerry was known for his hospitality and his considerable expertise at the grill and in the kitchen. He wrote and published several cookbooks. He will missed by his many friends, Brothers, and family.
Jerry Jones – “Gumbeaux” Read More »
Our Irish Mate brings us two new features.
-The US Roster ( in the “About” menu) is a password protected spreadsheet .
– Additionally, a list of the Captain Assembly Meetings Minutes is now available in the “Publications” menu.
Last updated roster. If you see any anomaly, please contact us asap.
This is a google drive document that everyone with the link can open and read after you enter the usual password used for most BOC documents.
USA Roster January 2024 Read More »
Annapolis 10/15/2023
One of the decisions was to publish all minutes on the website. This is the first one to be posted.
Minutes of the Assembly of Table Captains March 15, 2023 Read More »
Dave “Chief” Trawick (Scribe of the Annapolis Sailing Capital Table) and his wife & Kristy just emailed new material to be posted in. the page. We also amended the recipe page. Please email us news and relevant info regarding your table. These additions are spectacular. Thank you!
Send Email to Big Hopper.
Celebration: Oct 13-15, 2023
We are grateful to our mentors Pete Chabot, John Craighill and Past National Table Captain, Charles Hankins in Investing the Sailing Capital Table and ushering us into establishment – 23 August 2013.
Since then, we have grown from six with Bob Howe Inducted posthumously to twelve and two Engages today.
Our Table has evolved into an active, yet informal, low-key Table with no distinct schedule outside of our monthly TAF get-togethers. We began and remained humble which humility comes directly from all the contacts the Sailing Capital Brothers have developed with other Tables, the true nexus of the Brotherhood. We strive to meet or exceed activities common with other Tables and intend to keep meeting and growing our size and bonds.
Annapolis Sailing Capital – 10 year Anniversary Read More »
Adding to the many recipes I had been asked to post on the website, this is one of my favorite. It is a recipe from the city of Liège in Belgium. Actually the capital city of the province of Liege at the Northeast of the Belgian country. How was it founded? Charlemagne- Carolus Magnus or Charles the Great – yes, the greatest conquerer of the Middle Ages marched north and united most of Western Europe for the first time since the classical era of the Roman Empire,. He “stopped” at a line traced by “Lille” in France, Brussels in the Flanders, Liege and Aachen in todays’s Germany. He had stopped established the oldest European university in Leuven/Louvain.
This clearly explain the “division” that exists today in Belgium as the “Latins” occupied the territories south of the line and the “Franks” continued to speak “Flemish” North of it… 🙁
Oopps – Yes I am Belgian and I tried to oversimplify History”. Anyway, why is this recipe “Liégeoise” or from the city of Liège”? I have no clue and I would love some feedback. All I can tell is that both my Wallonian side of the family and the Dutch ( Read from Flanders ) side family used to prepare the same dish.
Many a sailor couple asked me to describe it. It can be heavy and greasy. It can be very comforting at 2am amidst a night watch. It can be a great friends reunion’s appetizer. It can be enjoyed warm or cold. Bur really, it is better after having marinated overnight.
The main ingredient are “Princesses” – or in real American language “French Beans”. I guess “The Princess and the Pea” from literary fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen had no place in culinary prose. These are the ingredients:
This whole recipe can be processed on a galley’s one burner range! It does not need heavy refrigeration because of the vinegar’s acidity.
Chop the onions and cook them in a bit of butter until transparent ( Pan 1) . set on the side.
Cook the bacon SLOWLY to extract the fat- drop hem on paper towel to absorb the fat ( keep the paper towel to start the barbecue ! ) (Pan 1)
Blanch the French beans (Casserole 2) – Set aside
Cook the potatoes – not fully! Pour the water off and add butter ( to the bacon fat if you kept it in a bowl. “Caramelize “them in butter.
Add all the other ingredients
Add good wine vinegar. Put in fridge or serve
Best to eat with a heavy Belgian beer: Kriek Lambiek or Gueuze or Trappist!
The Brotherhood of the Coast is a global fraternal organization whose members have sworn to each other their friendship and loyalty, anchored by their common love of the sea. Started in Chile in 1951 as the Hermandad de la Costa, it has steadily grown to over 3,000 members (Brothers) in over 200 local chapters (Tables) across the world.
We do not discuss religion, politics or business and we are not a yacht club, secret society, charitable or service organization.
The guiding principles of the Brotherhood are codified in the Octolog. They are based on the camaraderie which existed amongst the Buccaneers who gathered in the second half of the seventeenth century to establish an organized community with rules observing a strict respect for the “customs of the coast”. They formed a very close knit society, which they named FrËres de la CÙte (“Brothers of the Coast”), on the islands of Tortuga and Jamaica.
The eight principles of the Octolog is sworn to by all Brothers worldwide and must be respected – disregard of them could lead to expulsion. Brothers must treat all Brothers equally with respect. A Brother’s economic, religious, ethnic, social status or nationality is of no importance among Brothers. Visiting Brothers may stay with another Brother even though they have never met. The bonds among Brothers are very strong – many develop deep, long lasting friendships that are life-changing, not only within the Brother’s Table but among Tables worldwide.
The Founding Brothers of the US Brotherhood were inspired by the closeness of this fraternity, which led them in 1959 to choose the name Brotherhood of the Coast.
Similar to sailors who depended on each other for survival during long journeys at sea, it embodies fraternity, commitment, and lifelong friendship among Brothers worldwide.
As the Brotherhood is based on a common love of the sea, boating raft-ups and regattas are a major activity in home waters and abroad. Tables are free to support any causes they wish. When the earthquakes hit Haiti and Chile, Brothers worldwide contributed to help Brothers impacted by these devastating events. There is no typical Brotherhood Table; they are largely autonomous, free to decide amongst themselves how often to meet and the format of their meetings.
Aside from regular meetings, some Tables hold events to which all Brothers are invited. Many Tables will celebrate founding anniversaries or national holidays – New York, for example, invited Brothers worldwide to join in celebrating Op Sail and the Chilean Brotherhood will celebrate their 75th Anniversary in 2026. Many Tables invite Brothers worldwide to participate in their local and national meetings. Traveling Brothers will find a welcome berth in any Brotherhood location.
There is a National Assembly of Captains which offers guidelines to Tables and deals with international matters and subjects of common interest. Every four years there is an international gathering, a World Zafarrancho. lasting about a week. They have been held in Chile (where Brothers rounded Cape Horn, courtesy of the Chilean Navy), Argentina, Australia, Belgium, France, Italy, UK, Uruguay and the USA. These meetings give Brothers the opportunity to meet old friends and develop new ones.
Even though The Brotherhood of the Coast is a loosely organized fraternity, there are features common to all. There is a dress code referred to as Brotherhood Formal Dress, which includes a blue blazer with a distinctive pocket patch and a tricorn hat. At other events designated for Battle Dress, Brothers will wear traditional seventeenth century regalia, some complete with bandanas, cutlasses and mock flintlock pistols. At events, appreciation is shown with a traditional toast recognized worldwide and known as the Broadside.
Any Brother may sponsor a potential Brother
(Engage) to join a Table. The Table’s Brothers will spend a lot of time with Engages to ensure that they understand the commitment required and will respect and adhere to the guiding principles of the Octolog. After some time during which the Engage attends meetings and outings with other Brothers, if all the Table’s Brothers concur, the Engage will become a Brother for life.
In short, the Brotherhood of the Coast is a fraternal organization of lovers of the sea but is not for everyone.
our aim is not to increase our numbers but to maintain our viability worldwide. We hope that this brochure has given you some insight as to what we are all about.
A trifold pamphlet was created to present the organization. Click to download.
After we had decided over some Rums and Cokes who would stand watch to the Commited Pork, we followed the recipes and prayed for less rain…
Click on the above image to visit the directory.
Audrey and Monty have the photos and slideshows on their SmugMug account. There are many of our Brothers and Captives who took the time and effort to send photos to make this great memory journey happen. Many expressed their appreciation for everyone’s efforts. The photos are to share with all Brothers worldwide. The photos are right click protected.
After clicking on a link you will see a page with multiple photos. You can page through the photos one at a time with the arrow on the right side of the individual photo. Below the group of photos are the page numbers. Use this to go to an individual page.
ALL WORLD ZAFS – 1ST THROUGH 10TH 1,055 PHOTOS https://www.smugmug.com/gallery/n-jsBHTh
TABLES BY YEAR – 1,443 PHOTOS https://www.smugmug.com/gallery/n-39KTzv
10TH WORLD ZAF – GALVESTON 2023 335 PHOTOS https://www.smugmug.com/gallery/n-mSLXd9
She is currently adding photos to the 10th World Zaf and is just about done. She can add more at any time if anyone wants to share the photos they took during the event. Many have been snagged off of Facebook…with permission mostly! ?
If anyone wants a copy of a photo or some photos “suitable for framing”, ? they can contact Audrey via email at [email protected].
Ce n’est qu’un Au-Revoir, mes Frères… Read More »
Brothers and Mates,
After discussion with our Captain Jungle Jane. I decided to revive our News Letter “Lookout”. Its purpose is to convey to our Brothers stories and report that may be of interest. It is open to all New York Brothers. So if you have something interesting for our Table let Jane or me know and we can share your story with others. The advantage is that “Lookout” can be archived and not buried like emails.
ORZA!
Tony Olmer – Rascal
This might well interest all of us involved with the sea and its history, even if not directly related to the BOC. At our weekly Zoom meeting, the topic of the Evergreen ship stuck in the Suez was much discussed. For the past week, I have tried to get a full picture of the event. I gather that the ship ran aground and became lodged sideways across the waterway at about 07:40 local time (EET) (05:40 GMT) on Tuesday March 23. That morning, the tide was high at 06:42, of a medium amplitude, and 1.56 meters high. Some news sources reveal that attempts to dislodge the "monster" happened this morning (US time) with a tide at 10:58 with 2.02 meters. Luckily the tides are still going towards a greater coefficient on Tuesday March 30 at 12:08 with 2.12 meters.
My own extrapolations result in about 20,000 containers (TEU's) onboard representing some 24 columns of containers, at 23 rows abreast and about 16 containers high, for a total estimated height of 50 meters, making possible removal of containers a challenge, to say the least. More info given on CNN : https://www.cnn.com/2021/03/28/africa/suez-canal-ship-blockage-intl/index.html
Some interesting links are on USA-Today, and the New York Times. Please send us other facts and your comments, especially from the brothers who lived and worked aboard as pilot or in the shipping industry.
Ever Never again … Read More »
BOCUS.ORG Happenings Read More »
