FAIRWIND YACHT CLUB. July 2010 Editor: Ken Hoover Volume 38, No. 7. Summer Has Arrived: Go Sailing

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1 FAIRWIND YACHT CLUB marina del rey channel islands July 2010 Editor: Ken Hoover Volume 38, No. 7 Commodoreʼs Log Summer Has Arrived: Go Sailing By Ken Murray Commodore Well, here we are in summer with a new set of challenges for the Club. The weather has been remarkably mild in the last month, particularly the temperature. The Capri 22, Mea Ono, is now commissioned in MDR, and is being sailed. The Capri 22 CompanionShip is now commissioned and being sailed in CIH. Their availability should take pressure off of access issues, particularly during the week. We're several months into the all-online reservation system in MDR, and it seems to be working pretty well. Everyone remember that a boat MUST be reserved to be taken out...you can't just take a boat. We're all pleased that Susan Bonner weathered her heart attack (see her story, page 2), while on cruise, and were heartened to see her back at the dock last Tuesday. Roy Niebuhr continues to rehab from his broken ankle, and we expect to see him soon. All boats are in service, save Turning Point, which will be back soon, and in good shape. Stay off breakwaters, and don't hit anything! Lonely Boats Cruising Limits? Something About June We had more than our share of June gloom this year. But maybe this June should be remembered for something else: some unusually blustery days. Two stories in the newsletter highlight that. Colin Pullan describes the difficult time he and Tim Chan had moving CompanionShip to CIH. That s on page 3. I talk about a wild night at anchor on the club cruise to Santa Cruz Island. That s on page 4. Club Elections MDR has some very nice boats that sit at the dock too much. Page 6. It s among the issues secretary Richard Windebank discusses. Page 7. Is it time to start thinking about running for an office? Page 8.

2 Susan Bonner Bounces Back After Suffering Heart Attack At Catalina Editor s Note: Susan Bonner was back to being her old self at Tuesday crew June 29, little more than two weeks after suffering a heart attack aboard Osprey at Catalina Island. Her doctor has given her the OK to resume her normal activities. Thanks to the quick work of her crew, the lifeguards, the Coast Guard and the medical staff at Torrance Memorial Hospital, we still can enjoy Susan s wit and benefit from her extensive knowledge of boats. She tells the story in her words. By Susan Bonner Four of us were on a Women s Sailing Association cruise to Catalina. We were planning to meet up and party with the racers from Del Rey YC for the Catalina and return race. We sailed over Friday, June 11, had nice breezes most of the way, got in around 4:30 and got a mooring at D11 up by the bluff. We settled in, had dinner and then went ashore for a walk and a buffalo milk treat. We got back to the boat around 10 and everyone hit the bunks and went to sleep. But a couple of hours later, I woke up feeling discomfort, and I blamed it on heartburn from the buffalo milk. I tried to sleep, but the pain kept returning even though I was taking Tums. Around 8 a.m. Saturday, I woke up my crew, and told Coco Leigh I felt awful. She called Bob Falisey, who took one look at me and grabbed the VHF radio and called for the Harbor Patrol medics. They arrived in less than 5 minutes, came aboard and took my blood pressure and asked detailed questions about the pain, gave me aspirin to chew and then contacted the lifeguard paramedics on the Baywatch boat. They were on their way to base in Avalon and turned around and arrived in about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, the pain had become more constant, and I was sweating like a pig, and it felt like an elephant in high heels was standing on my sternum. They hooked up an EKG and concluded I was having an Event! The paramedics, led by Lifeguard Boat Captain Steve, carried me out of my bunk on Osprey, and onto a pallet on their boat, and away we went to Avalon at top speed. Things were surreal and moving in a strange time warp. I could see the individual water droplets in the Sheʼs back aboard Osprey!

3 huge bow waves we were throwing out, I could hear the back and forth conversations that were being relayed to the hospital staff at Avalon, and Avalon telling them to spray nitroglycerin under my tongue. When we arrived in Avalon, the LACFD paramedics and a doctor from the Avalon Hospital were there. They took one look at me and concluded I should keep going to the mainland. At this point I was referred to as Code 90, which I found out had to do with the time they figure you can last with a blocked coronary artery before the heart dies. Into the USCG helicopter and we were off for Torrance Memorial Hospital. The paramedic continued reporting the readout from the EKG and spraying nitroglycerin under my tongue. We landed at the hospital helipad, and I was rolled into the emergency room, where they were waiting for me with a plan. Without hesitation, the surgeon, Dr. Cohen, leaned over me and said "We're going to put a stent into your heart. You are having an AMI, and it will stop the pain" I was glad to hear the plan, and he was true to his word. It was now 10ish in the morning, a-two hour trip that seemed like an eternity, and yet only a flash of life. The fast action of my crew, Bob, Coco and Linda, the swift professionals of the Harbor Patrol and Baywatch and LACFD teams and the Emergency staff at Torrance Memorial Hospital saved my life. Please take a minute to visit their website, FieldOpsCatalinaParamedics.asp. I hope everyone can take a page from my book, stop to smell the roses, put down that slice of pizza and take a walk around the block for your heart. I'll see you back on the water soon. Yacht Delivery Guys Get More Than They Bargained For Moving CompanionShip By Colin Pullan Tim Chan and I volunteered to transfer the Capri 22 CompanionShip from Marina Del Rey to Channel Islands Harbor June 14. We expected the 40-mile trip to last about 10 hours. The forecast called for calm winds and seas. Don't believe every forecast you read. We departed MDR at 9 a.m. There was little or no wind, so we motored for a few hours. We saw whales! After a few hours, the wind picked up, so we raised the sails. When we were several miles south of Point Dume, the wind and seas really picked up. We were rocking and rolling, pitching, heeling at close to 45 degrees, and getting soaked. With Tim at the tiller, I sought refuge and warmth in the cabin. The boat heeled, and I was thrown head first against the opposite wall. So much for the cabin. We couldn't augment sail The Port Hueneme Lighthouse proved a valuable navigational aid to tired and battered Fairwinders.

4 power with the engine because the prop kept coming out of the water, and the engine greatly accelerated. Tim and I were becoming more than a little concerned. The conversation turned to theology. In case of a possible emergency, I wanted the Coast Guard to know our position. I tried to radio them to give our position, speed, and destination. I was unable to reach the Coast Guard due to land obstructions. I reached a lifeguard station, and the man on watch relayed the information to the Coast Guard. Back to the high wind and strong seas. Tim went to the soaking wet, pitching and rolling bow to change to the smaller jib, while I bravely took the tiller. He then reefed the mainsail. The rough seas slowed us down. The need to tack to get around Point Dume further added to our time on the water. As we approached the Ormond Beach Power Plant, the wind and seas relaxed. We could then use the engine. It was getting dark. The Port Hueneme Lighthouse was a navigational aid we sure appreciated! (More information here: We pulled into Channel Islands Harbor around 9:30 p.m. It was around 10 when we docked. We were on the water for 13 hours. I contacted the Coast Guard to let them know we arrived safely, so they could take us off of their watch list. To say that Tim and I were happy to step onto the dock would be a huge understatement. I am sure glad Tim was with me. He is a great sailor. Prior to departure, my main concern was potential boredom. That turned out not to be a problem. Lessons learned: 1. Tim should have secured himself to the boat when changing the jib. Securing ourselves to the boat in rough seas would have been prudent. 2. A throw bag would be a great item to have on How To Get a Ticket Fixed -- Legally When I went out for a Memorial Day weekend cruise out of Channel Islands Harbor, I forgot to put the overnight parking pass on my car and came back to find a $50 ticket on my windshield. I called the Harbor Patrol, and they said I could fill out a form and show proof of a parking pass. They were very pleasant and after a few days notified me the ticket had been waived. --Mark Watkins board. Rescuing a man overboard in rough seas, without a pointer, could be a huge challenge. Wearing a strobe light would have been smart. 3. If you find yourself in potential danger, radio the Coast Guard and give them your position, heading, and speed, so they know where to start looking in the event of a search and rescue. 4. The Coast Guard will call your spouse if you radio them about late arrivals, problems, etc. 5. Everyone on board should wear a PFD when on the water. 6. Remember to bring your cell phone when you go sailing. A Scary Night In Smuggler s Cove By Ken Hoover A sleep-deprived night with 30-knot winds, dragging anchors and a forecast of worse to come forced the club s June cruise to Santa Cruz Island to be cut short. It was an adventure those of us aboard won t soon forget. Three boats set out Friday morning for the island.

5 Cruise Coordinator Mike Delaney s plan called for us to spend the first night at Smuggler s Cove on the island s east end and the second at Prisoner s Harbor on the north side. Delaney skippered Angelsea with a crew of his wife, Jan, Devin Witters, Justin Hensley, Andrew Bassis, Mi Kim and 15-month-old Jade. I skippered the Mark III with Byron Levy, Patricia Rose and Chris Woodyard. Scott Kelly headed up the Zephyr crew with Geoffrey Clarke and Mike Klein. Angelsea peacefully at anchor off Smugglerʼs famous olive grove. Zephyr set out at 9 a.m. and had the cove pretty much to herself when she tucked in at 2 p.m. At 10:30, Angelsea headed up the coast toward Ventura, then tacked for a straight shot to the island s east end. Making my first trip to Santa Cruz Island, I planned to motor west until the wind picked up, and I could make the crossing under sail. But Mark III could make no more than 2 knots straight into the wind and chop, which was already substantial by late morning. So we set sail for Anacapa Island. A few tacks later, we found Smuggler s. If I had it to do over again, I would have sailed around the back side of Anacapa. That would have been easier and more fun. The ride through Windy Lane was exhilarating with Mark III making 6-7 knots reefed. Then, once in the lee of the island, the wind abruptly died, the temperature rose and Smuggler s landmark olive grove came into view. The three boats anchored bow and stern facing the open ocean in the placid anchorage. A highlight of the trip was a late-afternoon party aboard Angelsea featuring wine, cheese and good fellowship. Patricia Rose masterminded the get-together. But it wasn t to be a restful night. Near midnight, the wind howled down from the hilltops. Zephyr s stern anchor dragged. She pivoted to face the beach. Her bow anchor held, and she was safe. A boat that was anchored near us dragged anchor, and they were doing their best to get under way and get away from the island, Kelly wrote me later. With all their lights on and the chaos on their deck, we were glad that we weren't in their predicament. Mark III s stern anchor also dragged, leaving her beam to face the wind, but also safe. How could that happen? I thought to myself. I would find out in the morning. Only Angelsea held in place. No one slept until the wind calmed close to 3 a.m. There was an upside. A million stars shown down from the moonless sky. The Milky Way stood out in glorious detail. The next morning, the forecast called for even higher winds coming from the northwest, which would make Prisoner s Harbor untenable.

6 Delaney made the decision to head back Saturday. But not before one more challenge was met. Mark III s crew had a heck of a time retrieving her stern anchor. Our anchor had caught on Angelsea s bow chain during the night, and that s the reason the boat held with her beam to the wind. Using the strength of everyone aboard, we maneuvered Mark III above the anchor, hauled it up to the transom and freed it from Angelsea s chain. Angelsea and Zephyr headed for Little Scorpion Anchorage for a few hours and then home later that day. The sail back was a dream for all involved. The Mark III crew enjoyed a pleasant downwind ride with a fair breeze back to Channel Islands Harbor. Her skipper and crew completed the trip with lessons learned and new confidence in our sailing skills. MDR s 4 Lonely Boats Beckon By Ken Murray One of the "secrets" of Fairwind is that there are boats that seem less popular, for various reasons. However, this also creates opportunities for members, since these boats are more often available. This seems more of an issue in MDR, due to the wider variety of boats. Let's talk about some of these options: G-22 (Rambaley) The G-22 is an alternative rigging of a brand of boat called a Yngling(pronounced ingling), which has been an Olympic 3-person racing event for women. It s been discontinued for future Olympics. Here s a link to a Times of London article on how it affected the current British gold metal team: article ece It was designed by the same guys who designed the Solings. It is a high-performance boat, incredibly stable. I was caught in a squall during a teaching session, with 40 knot winds, and it sailed just fine. Here is a video of a boat sailed by the Swedish team in 40 knots not reefed. Don't try this at home: watch?v=zn9fac6xrao Hunter 26.5 (Collective Effort) This boat was recently rehabbed with a roller furling and a new engine, and I've had the chance to sail it a couple of times. It is functionally a large sized Capri 22 that sails faster and is more responsive. The rail seats give it a larger capacity than the Capri 22. I particularly like that it is very fast to set up and put away. F-27 Trimaran (Sea Wing) I remember that I was initially intimidated by the boat, as it appeared that it really required a lot of set-up and take-down. The Hunter at dock C-2400 However, once you learn the system, it is pretty fast. The huge advantage of the boat is that it does not rock very much, so seasickness is rare. You can also take quite a few people out, if the conditions are not rough. The boat is fast, often moving twice as fast as other boats in the fleet. This is a boat that you would probably not singlehand, though, particularly in docking. The G22, now at dock G-2300 Sea Wing, the trimaran

7 Catalina 38 (Happy Ours) With a new engine to enhance reliability, and a new high-performance genoa sail, this is probably the best pure sailing boat in the fleet. It is a Sparkman/Stephens designed raceboat, which is particularly robust in strong conditions. While designed for racing, it is quite commodious down below for cruising. Also a boat that most would want experienced crew, it is also a fast sailing boat. Each of these boats is relatively underused, which means that they are also more available. Also, during the summer months, the Hobie Waves are an option (other times, too, but you'd want a wetsuit). The Hobies are really fun boats, simple to sail, and you can comfortably put several people on one. Happy Hours, the Cat 38 at dock C-3800 Clean Boats, Paying Dues And How Much Cruising Is Too Much? By Richard Windebank Secretary There are a few items I need to update you on. I will comment on the June 12 board and membership meetings, accessibility to the docks in Marina Del Rey and some thoughts on making it easier to pay your dues. The board and membership meetings were well attended. The venue in Thousand Oaks was about mid way between our two harbors, and attendance was fairly evenly split between MDR and CIH. The membership approved the purchase of the Capri 22 Mea Ono for MDR, which enabled us to release CompanionShip back to CIH, a win-win for both harbors. More on that later. The other two proposals were defeated, but the open discussion was helpful to everyone. So, for the time being, the length of time you can take a boat cruising remains at 12 days (with only one weekend) and we will not be implementing fines and assessments for boats that are returned in less than ideal condition. A task force has been established under the leadership of Mike Fuller to look into cruises in more detail and provide feedback to the board. The concern is that when boats get heavily booked for cruising, they get concentrated use by a handful of members, but are unavailable to the rest of the membership. That can be a problem in the prime summer months when all of us want to be out there on the water, and demand for boats is at it s highest. The goal is to get a happy balance where the interests of the membership can be served most effectively. The condition in which boats are returned is always a challenge. We all have different standards of cleanliness, but we ask members to always return a boat cleaner than when you found it. It is incumbent on all of us to take pride in the great fleet of boats we all enjoy and not to leave others to clean up after us. Now a word on accessibility to our docks in MDR. The lock box at the entry gate to our main dock at C 2400 has recently been replaced. It had been missing for some months, due to persistent vandalism. We believe the perpetrator has moved away from the marina, so we are hopeful this problem will now go away.

8 At Pier 44, where we keep Rambaley, the Hobies and the Kayaks, we have done some renovation work on the sail locker that sits on the trailer in the dry dock. The keys are kept on the back of the locker door and provide access to both docks G-2300 for Rambaley in G-2313 and G2500 for the Hobie and Kayaks. Please use the key to access the dock, but then return the key to the sail locker before you go sailing. Otherwise, other members will not be able to access the other boats while you are gone. Turning now to payment of quarterly dues, a number of members have asked if we could offer automated billing to credit cards, etc. The club has considered this, but there are security issues associated with holding credit card information that we have chosen to steer away from. However, most banks now offer an automated Bill Pay system which is how I pay my own dues. It s really convenient, easy to set up and places your dues on an automated payment cycle. I use this system for as many of my bills as possible. It makes life easy, and I seldom have to write checks anymore. A quick word of thanks to all of the gallant volunteers that help out on work days and in all functions of the Club. As a volunteer organization it s your contribution that makes all of this possible and I want you to know how much we all appreciate the efforts you put in. Please keep up the good work and enjoy the sailing season. Welcome Aboard To 4 New Members: Vicki Redlin Nicole Slayton Mark Boykin and associate member Sandy Castle All joined in Channel Islands Harbor. Club Elections Coming Folks, that fun time of the year is coming up again! Club elections!! As we did last year, any regular member can run simply by expressing an interest to the nominating committee, which I shall shortly appoint. The job of the nominating committee will be to identify people willing to run for office and obtain their consent to be on the ballot. The offices that will be filled are: --Commodore (CEO) --Vice Commodore (Membership Chair, accounts for incoming money) --Rear Commodore (Maintenance Chair) --Fleet Captain (Director of Sailing School) --Treasurer (keeps books and accounts for outgoing money) --Secretary (Communications Chair) The Junior Staff Commodore (Immediate Past Commodore) is not elected, but automatically appointed. We encourage members to become involved. I believe that a couple of board members plan to run to continue in their current offices, and I know that several will not. ( I will not be running for another term as commodore). I strongly recommend that you take a look at the information that Jenson Crawford and I posted a couple of years ago on the discussion forum on each position. It may clarify the duties: viewforum.php?f=44. --Ken Murray q

9 Carole Walsh Wins Some Races Women at the Helm, the June Cup 2010, Redondo Beach Yacht Club Fairwind's Carole Walsh won 1st Place in Mariner series - cruiser non-spin on MeimiII, a Columbia challenger with Carole at the helm. Pictured L-R, owner Mike, trimmers Bill and Woody (Ken) foredeck not pictured and Carole. The series ran for the month of June. Carole is also a member of Women's Sailing Association of Santa Monica Bay. WSA was well represented in the month-long series. Second Quarter Boat Use: We Sure Love Those Capri 22s. The following charts summarize boat use in the quarter ended June 30. It s easy to see members love the Capri 22s. And Osprey is becoming a cruising machine. The data were compiled by counting online reservations. If two members reserved a boat in the same day, that was counted as two day sails. Boy s and Girl s Club activities were counted as day sails. Club cruises were included, but work days were not. A few quirks skew the data. First, some boats were out of service for extended periods. In CIH, Turning Point was down 42 days and Desert Wind was unavailable 10 days. In MDR, Happy Ours was out of action 39 days. Mea Ono was only commissioned in late June. CompanionShip statistics include only her time in CIH, which began in the second half of June. --Ken Hoover

10 MDR G BBU 1 15 Seaweed 4 13 Mea Ono 03 Sundance Hunter 8 18 Seawing 4 12 Island Side Osprey Happy Hrs Training Day Sails Cruises CIH Capri Turning Point 1 6 Desert Wind 5 45 Sweet Deal 8 25 Freedom Too 1 16 Zephyr Mark III Angelsea The Capri 22 Mea Ono Joins The MDR Fleet By Richard Windebank On June 21, we took delivery of the 2005 Capri 22 Mea Ono, and she is now living in slip C2415 in Marina Del Rey, right next to her sister ship Sundance. The two boats look almost identical and we will continue to make them as similar as possible for ease of sailing and training. Initial feedback from members who have sailed her is very positive and we are hopeful that she will become as popular as Sundance. A special word of thanks to the Boat Selection Committee for making this a smooth and painless transaction. We were very fortunate to get this boat because another party wanted to buy her, but we pipped them at the post.

11 The more we looked into this boat, the better we found her to be. She had one meticulous owner from new who really looked after her, liked to sail her single handed and added numerous features to make that task even easier. The suite of sails turned out to be much better than we expected. The original sails are virtually unused and consist of a main sail and a 135 genoa in almost new condition. The racing sails consist of a Pentax Main and a 155 Mylar Genoa which are also in excellent condition and an absolute joy to sail with. And, it was not until after we had agreed to the purchase that we learned the bottom paint was renewed as recently as April this year, an $800 benefit we did not even know about. Like Sundance, this is an easy boat to sail and absolutely ideal for a club like ours in the conditions of Southern California. The name Mea Ono comes from Hawaii and means A piece of Cake which typifies what this boat is all about. I cannot think of a better entry level boat that s great to learn on and to sail in Santa Monica Bay and I think she will be a great asset to our Club for many years to come. Mea Ono in her new home, ready for you to sail. Membership Guide: Where to go for What Updates to Membership Roster - Vice Commodore, Carole Walsh Change Address for newsletter - Mike Strossman Pay Dues - Vice Commodore, Carole Walsh Change Skipper levels - Fleet Captain, Gilbert Tseng Change Membership Status - Vice Commodore, Carole Walsh Submit Articles for Newsletter Editor, Ken Hoover Help with training and checkout - Fleet Captain, Gilbert Tseng Report an Accident - Safety Officer, Marv Brown plus Rear Commodore, Mark Zierten Gear broken on boat - Specific Boat Chief (from Fairwind Website) plus Mark Zierten FYC Officers - Minutes of Board Meetings - FYC Treasurers Reports - Coast Guard - Channel 16 or Key to "D" Basin - Bar Harbor Anchorage, 4242 Via Marina, Marina Del Rey (310) announcements to the Membership Richard Windebank or Ken Murray

12 Honey Pot Day at Marina del Rey Got a holding tank? Get emptied for FREE! Mobile Pumpout Service June - September 2010 The Santa Monica Bay Restoration Foundation, in cooperation with Cal Boating, is providing free pumpout service for boaters in Marina del Rey. Boaters must register in advance for a short, free informational seminar to receive a clean boating kit and a free mobile pumpout. The 30 minute seminars will be held weekday evenings and weekends. Refreshments will be served. We re raising awareness about mobile pumpout services as a viable and convenient option for sewage disposal and educating boaters about the adverse effects of sewage discharge. To register, contact Michelle Kearney at (213) / mkearney@waterboards.ca.gov Funding provided by the California Department of Boating and Waterways Presented by the Santa Monica Bay Restoration Foundation foundation