Yacht Club statement: New Year's Eve plans on pause

(Nov. 18, 2020) The Ocean Pines Yacht Club announced this week that it will pause its plans for a New Year’s Eve celebration, based on the latest executive order from Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan.  

Hogan, speaking on Tuesday and citing spiking numbers related to the COVID-19 pandemic, ordered that all bars and restaurants in the state close at 10 p.m., starting this Friday.  

Ralph DeAngelus, cofounder of the Matt Ortt Companies that manages the Yacht Club, said the new mandate effectively halted plans for a New Year’s Eve event in Ocean Pines.  

“The Governors’ new guidelines as of yesterday told us that a traditional New Year’s Eve is no longer viable. Therefore, unfortunately, we will not be able to have a traditional New Year’s Eve party,” DeAngelus said. “We will, however, continue to serve Ocean Pines as best we can under the guidelines allowed. It's very important we try to keep our services to Ocean Pines as close to normal as possible while adhering to the guidelines, which we have done an excellent job of to date.” 

DeAngelus added that, if conditions change and Hogan relaxes those guidelines, the Yacht Club will reevaluate its decision on hosting a New Year’s Eve event.  

The Ocean Pines Yacht Club is currently running under winter hours, open at 11 a.m. on Thursday through Sunday, with lunch and dinner options for dining and carryout.   

For more information or to order online, visit www.opyachtclub.com.