Terrence W. ‘Cuddy’ Kane
Baltimore native was competitive sailor, Inner Harbor boating business figure who ‘never had a negative thought in his brain’
Terrence W. “Cuddy” Kane, a competitive sailor who worked for Harbor Boating and Water Taxi, the Inner Harbor water taxi service and paddleboat concession established by his father, died of kidney disease March 8 at the Johns Hopkins Hospital. The Hamilton resident was 63.
“Cuddy had an infectious personality that when you met him for the first time, you fell in love with him,” said Wim Cassard, a longtime close friend. “He never had a negative thought in his brain and everyone always felt good when he was around, and that never waned in his later years.”
Terrence William Kane, son of Edward Michael “Ed” Kane, a businessman, and Mary Jane McCarthy “Huff ” Kane, a registered nurse at the old Mercy Hospital, now Mercy Medical Center, was born in Baltimore and raised in Govans.
Mr. Kane, who was given the nickname “Cuddy” by his family, attended the now-closed St. Mary of the Assumption parochial school in Govans and graduated from the since-shuttered Towson Catholic High School, where he played lacrosse.
While a student at St. Mary’s College of Maryland he was a standout goalie, often making more than 25 saves in a game..
“Cuddy had the unique ability to make his teammates want to play hard for him,” said Jay Martin, a teammate. “He was no rah-rah guy. He was just beloved on the field. We all wanted to play hard for him.”
At the conclusion of the 1982 season, Mr.
Kane was nominated for a Rhodes scholarship by Gavin Kerr, head coach, on behalf of the college.
“He had the grades, the athletic ability and personality,” Mr. Martin recalled. “He just had no desire to go to England to study.”
In 1975, his father, a Navy veteran and a former public affairs executive with Baltimore Gas and Electric, began renting out sailboats and paddleboats and operating a sailing school where the National Aquarium is located today, on Pratt Street, and later next to the World Trade Center.
Two years later, at the urging of thenMayor William Donald Schaefer, the elder Mr. Kane established the Water Taxi, an Inner Harbor business that took passengers from Pratt and Light streets to Fells Point, Canton and Fort McHenry.
Rather than pursue higher education, Mr. Kane joined his father and sisters in expanding and operating Harbor Boating and Water Taxi, which grew into one of the “most popular and successful concessions in the Baltimore Inner Harbor during the most prosperous years of the legendary Harborplace,” according to a biographical profile of Mr. Kane.
The business was later sold to MedStar Health founding CEO John McDaniel and his son Mike McDaniel in 2010. Mr. Kane’s father died in 2003 and his mother in 2018.
“Everyone knew Cuddy at the Inner Harbor. The paddle boats. The water taxi. If you went to the Inner Harbor, you said, ‘Hey Cuddy!’ ” recalled Mr. Cassard in his eulogy for Mr. Kane.
“He WAS Harbor Boating. His sisters ran the books and human resources, and with his sisters, pulled Harbor Boating out of financial failure,” Mr. Cassard said. During the 1980s and 1990s, Mr. Kane’s reputation as a premier captain and competitive sailor went well beyond the Chesapeake Bay and spread along the East Coast.
He was particularly successful as a tactician, as he had been on the lacrosse field, in wrenching victories in sailing competitions against much larger boats.
Mr. Kane was an avid Eastern Shore waterfowl hunter and also hunted in the mountains of Western Maryland.
A lifelong Roman Catholic, Mr. Kane attended daily noon Mass at Saints Philip and James Roman Catholic Church in Charles Village.
But in recent years, he endured mental health challenges, said a sister, Mary Anne Kane-Breschi of Roland Park.
“He maintained friendships and was supported by family, friends, nieces, and nephews, and was really loved, and continued to be a good friend,” Ms. Kane-Breschi said. “He had such a strong faith, and even though during his last few decades he struggled with mental health challenges, he persevered.”
Ms. Kane-Breschi and her sister, Barbara Daily, of Hunt Valley, cared for Mr. Kane.
“My sister and I were able to support our brother for the last 30 years, and for the last two years, Barb provided the majority of his care because I had to step back a bit,” Ms. Kane-Breschi said. “She did an amazing job.”
Mr. Kane was respected by those who knew him for his keen mind, sharp wit and wry personality.
“College friends who came to his funeral mentioned how kind, generous, available and how much he cared,” his sister said. “This speaks to the quality of the person he was.”
A funeral Mass was offered March 16 at Saints Philip and James Roman Catholic Church.
“Cuddy, the battle is over, Brother. You won on your terms,” Mr. Cassard said in his eulogy. “We love you and we will miss you here and thank you for sailing into our lives with love, laughter, courage and faith.”
Mr. Cassard concluded: “Godspeed, Cuddy Kane. The wind is now at your back.”
In addition to Ms. Kane-Breschi, he is survived by his sister Barbara Daily of Hunt Valley, two nieces and four nephews. Two brothers, Thomas Kane and Michael Kane, died in 1978 and 1980, respectively.