April 1997 - Volume 27 Number 4
Last updated: April 12, 1997 @ 23:23 CDT
Details in 26 Fleet News
April 15, 1997 - 7:30 p.m.
COMMODORE'S REPORT - Dave Taylor
VICE COMMODORE'S REPORT - Ray Pryor
CRUISING REPORT - Don and Martha O'Grady
SOCIAL NEWS - Lora Featherston
26 FLEET NEWS - Steve Hanes
RACING - Al Barboza
PROGRAMS - Margie & Jim Hutchison
17/21/22/23/24 FLEET REPORT
TWENTY-FIVE JIVE - Wilma Liggett
EDITORS' NOTES - Marshall & Carol McKenzie
CALORIES THAT DON'T COUNT
ICEBERG - Gus Gusler
1997 OFFICERS and BOARD OF DIRECTORS
1997 CALENDAR OF EVENTS
DOOR PRIZE!
THE SALE MAKER (Classified Ads)
COMMODORE'S LOG
I am beginning this month's article on a quiet Easter Sunday Morning. Yesterday I spent the day working on the yard, trees and bushes for the first time this season. But this was one of the few weekends without scheduled time on the water. For the rest of the year I will mow on Thursday and Friday night, so the weekend will be free for the important stuff, like cruising and racing.
The April calendar is full of fun things to do. By the time you read this, we will have completed another of our famous sailing classes. Imagine, classroom instruction followed by two days of on-the-water, hands-on experience to learn the basics. Many of you know someone, or may be someone who got a boat and launched it without any experience, training, or help. Probably awkward, I hope not harmful. We are able to offer as an alternative, a sound introduction to safe sailing. We are gaining in popularity (or we have really good salespeople) because we had a full class of students registered by mid-March, the time when we normally begin calling to fill in the schedule. Of course we manage to slip in a race day among the lessons.
The membership meeting on the 15th is a Pot Luck Supper. With all the good cooks in the club, this is a popular meeting. Bring your favorite dish and let's eat. Then there are the three days of the Texoma Lakefest Regatta starting on the 18th.
The new skippers' class in March was very successful. Al Barboza's fine instruction on rules and procedures on Friday night was put into practice on Saturday. Starting sequences, buoy roundings, setting up the course and right-of-way. The students put it all into practice in four mini-races. Al followed this with a class for everybody at the monthly membership meeting on how to perform the duties of committee boat. With the procedures we started last Fall, every racer will serve as committee boat, so training, especially for new skippers, was a very good idea.
The Spring Race Series got off the starting line in March. Looks like we've got a good turnout in both fleets, and changing committee boats between races went flawlessly, as planned.
Enough racing. Have you begun packing for the Memorial Day Cruise? It's only a few weeks away. I've started pre-cruise planning.
Steve Hanes
and others have put together a cruise to Lake Waco on the 26th and 27th of April. Should be a fun weekend, a chance to try another lake and meet some new people. Give it a try if you are free that weekend. Contact Steve for information.VICE COMMODORE'S REPORT
Last month I left Kay and John Vaughan off the list of volunteers who worked the club booth at Dallas Boat Show. Thanks Kay and John.
Membership Update
Below is a list of club members with their boats in slips that I compiled from the 1997 membership forms. This should take care of several requests and suggestions:
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Lake & Marina Boat Name
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Texoma 26 Jerry Lindbloom
Summerville H280 Mike & Michele Kinney
Ray Hubbard 26 Albert & Gale Luiz
Ray Hubbard 25 Malcolm & Ginger Gish
Lewisville, Pier 121 25 Bobby & Janelle Schmidt
Lewisville, 25 Alan & Jean Cook
Dallas Corinthian Yacht Club
Lavon 25 Alex & Luba Mittelman
Lavon 26 Daryl & Michelle Motsenbocker
Lavon 25 Jim & Sandra Wallace
Lavon 26 Kathy & Bruce Peele
Lavon 26 Lee & Dale Howard
Lavon 26X Lee & Ruth White
Lavon 24 Royce & Paula Jensen
Waco 26X Doug & Linda Totten
Conroe 26 Dan & Mary Hebert
Joe Pool 26 Al & Gina Grikis
Grapevine 24 Ray & Charlotte Pryor
Scott's Landing, slip 236
Grapevine 26X Charles Morse
Grapevine 25 Dennis & Michelle Starkey
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Odds and Ends
Bobby Allen
and I crewed on a C&C30 for a friend (Carroll Davis) who was short on crew for the first race of Grapevine Sailing Club's Spring PHRF Series. This race was downwind for about 4 miles and then back to the starting line. It is an easy way to perfect your spinnaker handling. We had just raised the spinnaker and were leading the pack (mostly Catalina 30's) when the spinnaker ripped in half horizontally and then ripped along both edge seams. After we carefully pulled the sail back into the boat, we raised the genoa and slowly fought out the wind shadows from the boats that were overtaking us. After rounding the leeward mark, we finally pulled ahead and finished first, and most likely finished first after the corrected time. While Bobby and I didn't get a lesson in spinnaker handling, we did get an excellent lesson remaining calm from the skipper. Right after we pulled down the ruined (probably no way to patch it) $2000 spinnaker. the only thing Carroll said was that he should have changed course immediately after the rip to prevent the boats behind us from giving us the bad air.Web Stuff
The NOAA National Weather Service provides weather info from buoys stationed along the coast. The information incised wind speed and direction, steady and gusts, wave height and period. If you are going to the gulf coast they actually have buoys out in the gulf as well. The following URL http://www.nws.fsu.edu/cgi-bin/buoy.cgi?station=42035 will bring up the Galveston buoy.
This a sample from a different buoy (Galveston wind speed is on the blink)
Time of Observation:
7:00 PM CST, Sun, Mar 30, 1997 ( 73 minutes ago) The current time: 8:13 PM CST, Sun, Mar 30, 1997This stuff goes back for 10 years at hourly intervals!
CRUISING REPORT
The following story was written by Erin O'Grady. Any resemblance to actual events is "coincidental." The names should have been changed to protect the innocent.
"Just five more minutes," I thought as I listened to the music of the waves gently brushing up against the boat in the soft morning breeze. Swoosh, swish, swoosh, CRASH! "What was that?" cried Mom. Dad looked out and saw the boom lying in the cockpit. "Looks like the topping lift broke. I'm glad I wasn't sleeping out there!"
As Dad got up to fix the topping lift, Mom and I got up to fix breakfast and Nathan went to take care of the dogs. Just as we were through frying the bacon, Nathan came back with the dogs. "Dog! Come back with our breakfast!" I said, shaking my spatula at him. But it was too late. He swallowed it in three bites. We were quite hungry and didn't have any food to spare, so we headed off to a marina to eat. The winds were very strong, and I went up on the bow to help Dad untangle the jib that had wrapped around the forestay. A big gust shook the boat and I felt myself flying. My foot got caught in the lifeline and I managed to grab onto a stanchion. I was shaken but otherwise alright.
We managed to get underway and were almost there when the storm got stronger and blew us off course. Dad didn't know at all where we were and decided to head back to the island. He tried to use the motor, but it wouldn't start. Then we realized a line hanging over the side had gotten tangled around the propeller. We were going to have to sail.
We finally made it back to the island, but because we couldn't use the motor and the wind was coming straight off the island, we had to tack back and forth in shallow water to get to shore. We could not maneuver around a sand bar and got stuck. We couldn't get off until Dave Taylor came up on a jet ski and towed us off. How humiliating!
We got back just in time for the "Anything That Floats" race. I got out my raft. I was in the lead when a stick punctured my air mattress. I soared into the air like a deflating balloon. I suddenly work up and realized it was just a dream. As I lay listening to the waves, I started remembering the great day before.
It had started with a beautiful morning and delicious breakfast on the bow with a gentle morning breeze. I had spent the morning swimming with my brother and friends in the warm water.
After lunch we had entered and won the balloon race with Dave Taylor on his boat. We had won because Mike Kmita had come up with a way to use noodles tied by the ends to pick up the balloons. The weather was so nice that Dave took the long way around to get back to the island. Nathan and I had also had fun in the Sand Castle Building Contest. Then we had entered in the Watermelon Decorating Contest, Seed Spitting Contest, Egg Toss, and other games.
For dinner we had the Skippers' Cook-off. I got to join the ladies and other kids in judging the entries. After dinner we had gone and watched fireworks from the other side of the island. Afterwards we had eaten s'mores and played with sparklers around the campfire. Then just sat around talking until we got tired and went to sleep. What a wonderful day.
"Just five more minutes, " I thought as I listened to the music of the waves gently brushing up against the boat in the soft morning breeze. Swoosh, swish, swoosh, CRASH! --- Oh No!
Float races and sand castles, lunch at the marina and pot luck dinners, campfires with story telling, s'mores and more
........ It's almost here!
SOCIAL NEWS
Thanks to Beth Hardin, Wilma Liggett and Debbie Miller for bringing refreshments to the March meeting. Wilma has come up with a great idea! We will have birthday cake once each quarter to celebrate birthdays during that time period. She also volunteered to bring the cake each time. Thanks, Wilma!
April brings our first Potluck Supper of the year. The club will furnish plates, napkins, eating utensils, cups and drinks. Each family needs to bring a dish to share. Please remember you are feeding about 20-30 people. What's that, John? Taco salad. We'll see.
Please feel free to come and enjoy the fellowship even if you don't participate in the Potluck Supper.
See you there!
26 FLEET NEWS
Look out Waco! Here we come!
The first "local lake adventure" to Lake Waco is shaping up for this month on the 26th and 27th. Plans are to meet for breakfast at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday morning to begin the adventure. (Details of location will be available at the April meeting, or call me after April 13.) Following breakfast, the caravan will proceed to Airport Park Marina on Lake Waco for launching at about noon. The launch fee is $2.00 for those who do not have an annual Corps sticker.
The afternoon activities call for a relaxing sail to explore the lake and have a late lunch (early dinner?) about 2:30 p.m. at the Airport Park Marina floating restaurant. Eat hardy to gather energy for an evening race schedule hosted by the Lake Waco Sailing Club with the first of two short races being planned for 5:00 or 5:30. They will be running two fleets, and those of us who wish to participate will be racing in the "B" Fleet. Following the races, we will be rafting up for the evening, where everyone is welcome to relax and share a wine and cheese "light supper" while trading sailing stories with members of the Waco Sailing Club. (The restaurant is open for dinner and cocktails until 10:00 p.m. as an option for those interested.)
After the race results have been calculated, and the victors appropriately toasted, members are welcome to stay rafted up for the evening, or choose separate anchorage. "Barge" slips (18' X 40') are available at Airport Park but make sure to bring your fenders since they do not have dock bumpers. The marina has a new sailboat dock under construction that may be complete in time for our outing, but its pretty "iffy".
Sunday's activities are unplanned to allow for individual preference of cruising, exploring, relaxing, more partying or whatever. The restaurant opens again at 11:00 a.m. for those interested in avoiding meal preparation.
If you are planning to attend this event, and are unable to sign-up at the April club meeting, please call me at 972-517-5104 to let me know you are going. Knowing who to expect will help me to plan for the number of slips if they become available.
"Waterways of The Americas"
Captain Mike Dunn
of Carson City, Nevada, set sail in March on a two year expedition on Zeno's Arrow, a well equipped MacGregor 26X. Via an onboard computer, he is maintaining an interactive website intended to provide participants around the world the opportunity to experience the journey as part of his "Cybercrew" as he covers many of the lakes, rivers, and coasts of North and South America. Capt. Mike is asking for help in promoting this expedition to educators and schools around the world who wish to utilize this interesting method for students to learn history and geography. He is currently at Port Ludlow, Washington, sailing to San Juan Islands then up the Alaskan coast to the Arctic Circle. From there he will begin his journey South, crisscrossing two continents until he eventually sails up the Amazon in 1998 and then on to Cape Horn off the tip of South America. Come along for the ride by visiting the link from our website at http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/vmyc.Until next month...
Smooth Sailing!
RACING
March 22nd started our Spring racing season, and like always it has not been boring. Seems that we have a certain young helmsperson that took the opportunity to practice the man (dad) overboard drill. I'll bet the water was cold! Ain't that right, George? I am never in the right place at the right time with my video camera.
Listed below is the remainder of the Committee Boat duties for the Spring Series:
April 5 - Race 3: Jordan and Hardin
Race 4: Chilcote and Blake
May 3 - Race 5: O'Grady and Barboza
Race 6: Featherston and Hanes
May 17 - Race 7: Howard, Liggett and Motsenbocker
Race 8: Taylor, McKenzie and White
If there is a problem, please let me know.
There is also a small racing event at Lake Waco and a cruise on May 26 and 27. Let's go down there and have a great weekend and give these people some friendly competition. The family and I are looking forward to it.
Sea ya on the water.
PROGRAMS
Don't miss the Pot Luck Dinner
at the April 15th Membership Meeting.
For details, see the Social News.
The program on May 20th will be on
Cruising and Preparation for the Memorial Day Cruise.
17/21/22/23/24 FLEET REPORT
First of all, I would like to thank you for the very nice comments I received on my March fleet article. It's greatly appreciated. I just write whatever pops into my head while I'm typing and it just sort of rambles on and on!
This month's Birthday Wishes go out to Royce Jensen 4/7! Royce is not always able to make our meetings because of job related classes he is attending, but he did make the March meeting. He stated that he will be visiting the San Francisco area the end of June. Who knows, maybe he will get to sail S.F. Bay with the 'big boys'! I will get more details from Royce on what he will be doing and let you all know. Call and talk to me Royce! Beth Hardin celebrated her 75th birthday with family at a local Dallas restaurant. Then they all returned to the Hardin's home to continue the celebration!
The fleet started the year off with 17 boats. Due to non-renewals we are down to 9 boats: (1) 17, (1) 21, (2) 22's and (5) 24's. Every effort was made to contact those that have not renewed with a second notice mailed to them and a follow up phone call made. Hopefully we will acquire new fleet members during the year! Question: Where is brew master Jeff Tucker's renewal?
Please make one change in your new directory: Robert and Sharon Schneider's phone number is 903-739-8314 and the street should be 34th. Bob's 4's on his renewal form looked like 9's!
Ray
is still on the prowl for a used boat lift. He thought he had found one a few weeks ago on Lake Grapevine that was being used by a 25'. But it turned out that it was a power boat lift and the guy had to raise the keel each time. We figured it was being sold because he probably forgot to raise the keel once too often! If anyone should hear of or know of a lift for sale, please contact either Ray or me.Bobby Allen
and Ray are planning on taking Bobby's 26' "Dream Boat" to Lake Waco April 26 - April 27 for the cruising and racing. I am planning on having a quiet weekend for myself to read, sleep, shop and not answer the phone!Has everyone been Hale-Bopp Comet watching? We have! We found a good viewing place next to the dam on Lake Grapevine. I think some of the airplanes have a much better view though. We saw one plane pass right in front of the comet.
WOMAN STUFF:
Membership in the National Women's Sailing Association is also available at $35 for an individual membership. Member Benefits include seminars, courses and training programs, networking, events, annual membership directory, special NWSA products and discounts from corporate members. You will also receive their quarterly newsletter Take The Helm and a calendar of nationwide events. Also included is The Women's Sailing Resource on where to get started, keep sailing, buying products and services.
BITS AND PIECES:
Valiant Yachts
will be showcasing their new Valiant 39CE and Valiant 42CE boats at the Pacific Sail Expo on April 24 - 28 at the Jack London Square in Oakland, Ca. For info and tickets call 800-817-SAIL.2nd Annual Wooden Keels and Classic Wheels at the Lakewood Yacht Club, Seabrook, Tx on May 3 - 4. Entry forms and info are available from Lakewood Yacht Club (281) 474-2511. On display last year were 110 cars and 40 wooden boats, the largest a 58ft John Alden design.
USCG AUXILIARY COURSE:
This course is primarily designed for beginning to intermediate sailors and those completing the course will receive USCG Auxiliary Course Completion Certificate as well as a certificate from the State of Texas. It will cover a variety of topics including navigational rules, marlinspike, rigging and boat handling, tuning and heavy weather, trailering, etc.
Mike Hammett is the Public Education Staff Officer of USCG Auxiliary Flotilla 59 D8 and is a certified Texas Boater Educator. His goal is to provide boaters with the correct resources to promote safe boating. Safe boating is something that we all need to be constantly aware of, no matter what our experience level is.
TWENTY-FIVE JIVE
The 25 Fleet is up and running. Kris Nic owner Brad Chilcote is back in the water and is racing in the Silver Fleet. Also Don O'Grady is racing Irish Rose. Good Luck to both. Altogether, we have 5 boats in the Spring Race Series. In the Gold Fleet is Al Barboza in Hummer, Les Liggett in Willy Deally and Marshall McKenzie in Big Mac. I feel our fleet is well represented.
We have one boat that is going to Lake Texoma for Lake- fest, and that is my own Les Liggett in Willy Deally. Les is taking Marshall and Carol's crew because they are going to Tortola. BVI, to see Scott, their son who is the true adventurous sailor in our club.
Did you know that April thru July is "Sun Safety Awareness Months" with Mary Kay Cosmetics, and our dear friend and member had a skin cancer last year that had to be removed. My daughter Michelle Karlin works for Texas Cancer Center and wants us to remember to wear sunscreen daily. It is critical to healthy skin. As your fleet captain, I am also representative for Sun Essentials and would be glad to answer any questions that I can about your skin protection.
Lake Lavon Report:
Jive, and keep the 25's alive.
EDITORS' NOTES
Your editors are worn out! We need a break! There is only one thing to do---how about a week in Tortola, B.V.I.! We're going to visit Scott, our son who you read about in the January Venturing and who we haven't seen for 14 months. We decided IT'S TIME!! We have chartered a Beneteau 37' for a week, Marshall's parents will be going also, and as you can imagine, we are really looking forward to it!
Brad Chilcote
and Marshall McKenzie have just completed a 7-week USPS Boating Course with the Dallas Power Squadron.Gus Gusler
called to tell us that he has left the Associate Fleet, as he is now the owner of a MacGregor 21! Gus is looking forward to day-sailing again in a boat that is easy for him to handle without having a lot of crew. Be sure to congratulate him on his "new" Junior Wings or Wings Jr.---We are waiting to hear the official name!Planning a trip to Florida?
CALORIES THAT DON'T COUNT
1. Food on Foot: All food eaten while standing has no calories. Exactly why is not clear, but the current theory relates to gravity. The calories apparently bypass the stomach flowing directly down the legs, and through the soles of the feet into the floor, like electricity. Walking appears to accelerate this process, so that an ice cream bar or hot dog eaten at the state fair actually has a calorie deficit.
2. Balanced Food: If you drink a diet soda with a candy bar, they cancel each other out.
3. Food on Toothpicks: Sausage, mini-franks, cheese, and crackers are all fattening UNLESS impaled with frilled toothpicks. The insertion of a sharp object allows the calories to leak out the bottom.
4. Uneven Edges: Pies and cakes should be cut neatly, in even wedges or slices. If not, the responsibility falls on the person putting them away to "straighten up the edges" by slicing away the offending irregularities, which have no calories when eaten.
5. Charitable Foods: Girl Scout cookies, bake-sale cakes, ice-cream socials, and church events or sailing club pot luck suppers held at a church all have a religious dispensation from calories.
ICEBERG
Yachtsmen had best keep the autopilot off and the radar on in the South Atlantic Ocean where Rhode Island-sized iceberg is beginning to break up.
The iceberg, 54 miles long and 27 miles wide, covered more than 1400 square miles when it separated from the eastern Antarctica in May, according to the Antarctica Cooperative Research Center in Australia.
After drifting north and west at a speed of about three miles an hour towards the Falkland Islands, a 535-square-mile piece (51 miles long and 10.5 miles wide) has grounded off the eastern coast of the continent, the center says. Located near the Weddell Sea, the iceberg has sheer sides rising as high as 160 feet from the water and is estimated to extend about 1000 feet below the ocean's surface.
It could take 10 years for the original iceberg to completely melt or fragment, the center says.
Other tid-bits at some time in the future.
.... GUS
DOOR PRIZE!!!
$40.00
How would you like to have an extra
$10.00 or MORE???!!!
At each membership meeting,
all members' names will be placed in a hat,
and one will be selected to win the prize.
But, You must be present to win!!!
If the member drawn is not present, $10.00 will be added to
the pot and left to accumulate meeting after meeting
until we have a winner!!!
Jim & Sandra Wallace
were the Lucky (?) Couple drawn at the March meeting
and WERE NOT present to collect their $30.00 prize!
Classified Ads are FREE to members. To place an ad, call the Venturing Editors. (972) 271-5073
FOR SALE:
1976 Venture 222FOR SALE:
1972 Venture 222ADS WANTED:
Do you have sailing related products for sale or trade? Do you have a sail to sell? Do you need crew? Do you want to crew? Are you a member? If so, you can advertise right here for free!
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© Copyright 1997 Steven J. Hanes, All Rights Reserved