Jan 2019 Issue Features: Calendar 2. Commodore 3. Minutes 4. Cruising 5. Racing 6

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "Jan 2019 Issue Features: Calendar 2. Commodore 3. Minutes 4. Cruising 5. Racing 6"

Eleanore Rice
5 years ago
Views:

1 Jan 2019 Issue 41-1 Features: Calendar 2 Commodore 3 Minutes 4 Cruising 5 Racing 6 Start of the Big Pumpkin Pursuit Race 2018

2 At Our Helm Commodore Dennis Barry Vice Commodore Teresa Gaman Secretary Melinda Solis-Day Treasurer Susie Barry Cruise Chair Joe Day Publicity/Membership Sharon Barton Port Captain Bill Gully Race Chair Dave Cowell Sailing Education Don Hare Newsletter Editor Dave Cowell Calendar JANUARY 9 General Meeting at Trailblazer Pizza 26 Three Bridge Fiasco FEBRUARY 13 General Meeting at Trailblazer Pizza MARCH 13 General Meeting at Trailblazer Pizza 30 Trans Folsom Race -FLYC APRIL 10 General Meeting at Trailblazer Pizza 13,14 Camelia Cup FLYC 20 SFL Work party MAY 8 General Meeting at Scotts Flat Lake JUNE 1,2 GO FOR THE GOLD REGATTA JULY 10 General Meeting at Scotts Flat Lake AUGUST 14 General Meeting at Scotts Flat Lake SEPTEMBER 11 General Meeting at Scotts Flat Lake OCTOBER 9 General Meeting at Trailblazer Pizza NOVEMBER 13 General Meeting at Trailblazer Pizza * Trailblazer Craft Pizza & Brews formerly known as Alta Sierra Pizza located at the corner of Highway 49 and Alta Sierra Road N, W

3 Commodore s Corner There s a lyric from a Neil Young song that goes something like this, In the sea of opportunity, it s plowing time again. I can t help but to think back 38 years ago and what it must have been like at that first meeting of the Gold Country Yacht Club (GCYC) let alone the first Regatta. Forty-two sailboats participated in the first GCYC Regatta. I couldn t help but wonder how on Earth there must have been such a passion to get that all going. Fortunately, thanks to our most excellent webmaster, Dudley Gaman, I didn t have to dig deep at all. All that information is on our website. I just clicked on About and then GCYC History. Here is what I discovered: Ed Guinaugh was a founding father and first secretary of the GCYC and after an amazing wonderful life, sadly, he passed away last year. For those who knew him, Ed was a great source of inspiration in many aspects of the sporting world. Long time GCYC member, Joe Day, who knew him well, recently mentioned a memorable quote from Ed: Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming, Wow! What a Ride! Ed tells a little about the beginning of his ride the GCYC: Ray Woods was the founder of our club. He had a Catalina 22 and really liked to race, but in 1982 there wasn't anything that remotely resembled any type of local organization that gave him that opportunity, so he went out and started one. He put a picture of a sailboat in the Union and an invitation to everyone that had something that floated with a mast and a sail stuck to it, to join him in a regatta on Scott's Flat Lake. It must have been magic, but he was able to pull together over 40 boats to participate in that regatta, with a variety of vessels that some said hadn't been seen since the evacuation of Dunkirk! Summer and fall sailed by and Ray must have gotten a little cabin fever after the lake shut down for winter; and before we knew it there was a note in the mail that all of the participants received from Ray, inviting them to his house for a meeting regarding sailing. So, following in the footsteps and in the spirit of Ed, my hope as Commodore for this 2019 GCYC boating season, along with an outstanding Board of Directors, is to regain that passion and drive from our GCYC Founding Fathers, and pass it on to our members, members to be, and our local boating community. Our GCYC is a gift that we have inherited from GCYC members for the last 38 years who plowed ahead with passion of being on the water and having camaraderie with fellow boating and sailing enthusiast... Thank you Ed. We honor your passion, dedication, and inspiration! In memory of Ed, let s all inspire to plow forward with the goals, dreams, liveliness of our GCYC Founding Fathers! Awnahey >>>>>------> Welcome aboard to 2019! Dennis Barry GCYC Commodore

4 Minutes GENERAL MEETING JANUARY 9,2019 Commodore Dennis Barry rang the bell promptly at He introduced his cousin, Jean, and her husband. He quotes a sailing poem and reminds everyone the club is 38 years going. Special thanks to Dudley Gaman for our awesome web site. He does a great job and you can scroll back through races and regattas. He also thanks Stephanie Perry for her work as Treasurer, Stewart Perry for his job as Commodore and Jerry Grant for being the Race Chair. He states we have the calendar ready for NIDs approval. He explains there is a new Mussel Certificate necessary for all boats. Mary will be retiring from her position at NID in May. The mooring balls have been reanchored and there are new ones for back up.`he reminds everyone to check their mooring balls. He hands out information on the "boating card". Vice Commodore Teresa Gamam would like a new logo for the 2019 GFTG Regatta. She will work closely with Dennis and Susie on this event. Treasurer Susie Barry says she is working with former treasurer Stephanie Perry on the pass over of this position. She is opened to club members ideas as she develops the budget. Membership Chair Sharon Barton has membership forms and informs the members that they are able to join on using Pay Pal. Port Captain Bill Gulley has changed the lock on the shed, contact him for the number. He plans to change it annually. Secretary Melinda Solis-Day brought the mail and shared a picture from the Union newspaper of the 2019 B.O.D. She will step down as event coordinator of the NO MOTOR DAY after 10 years. Race Chair Dave Cowell has received the first interest concerning the GFTG Regatta. The Wabbit Fleet has approached Dave about the regatta and is adding the GFTG to their National Series. He ihas proposed to the Board to ask NID about setting a permanent race buoy close to the dam. He is signed up for the Race Official classes at the Tahoe Yacht Club and welcomes anyone to join him. Education Chair Don Hare announces June for his Youth Sailing classes. He is contacting interested parties and has openings. He is willing to help adults with race tactics and general sailing instruction too. However, he does suggest Natomis Adult Sailing Center or the Delta Sailing school for classes as an option. Cruise Director Joe Day has set dates for raft ups and has changed Tahoe Mojo cruise to late July. Newsletter Editor Dave Cowell would like to know when the best time to send out the Lil Dingy. It is suggested to do so following the BOD and General meeting.

5 New Business: Dudley Gaman has been working with US Sailing. He is currently testing the webiste and holding back until Pay Pal is completely updated. He thinks it could work for the regatta too. Joe Day thinks the online sign up is fine although in the past it was necessary to have a hard copy of membership forms. The signature was required by our insurance company. Susie Barry suggests bringing a master sheet to the meetings for members signatures. The Capri 22 is still available to club members for $1,000. It will be advertised in the spring to the public for sale. Don Hare makes a motion to adjourn the meeting at 19:38. Joe Day seconds it. Respectfully submitted by: Melinda Solis-Day GCYC Secretary

6 Membership All members are reminded that all club memberships need to be renewed. The new online membership forms and dues payment options will soon be available. If you don t want to renew on line the standard forms will be available and cash or checks will still be accepted. Cruising The cruising calendar is available and has some exciting dates planned. Watch for stories from our Cruisers in Baha as well. Is anyone planning to make a local trip, either by trailer or on the ocean? Racing I've often expounded on the benefits of racing your sailboat. It sharpens your skills in boat handling, improves your observation of conditions, builds teamwork, and gives you the smugness of one-upping your buddies. It also relieves stress! Sure, there're times when you find yourself in a race situation where you have to make a quick decision but that's the power of it. Racing is an opportunity to experience difficult situations under controlled circumstances; it's a learning process. Your ability to anticipate a situation is far greater because you've probably had that experience while racing. (You just hope the other guy has had the experience too.) So you're new to the sailing race scene. What do you do? To begin with you need to know some simple basic terms of sailing and boats. That way you will understand the other guy in discussions and also impress your friends when you drop some phrases in your daily chat. All boats have a bow, stern, starboard and port. But they also have an "ahead", "astern", "windward", and "leeward" (pronounced loo-werd). Depending on conditions these may change from moment to moment. To conform to simplicity for racing the rules defines these conditions as: Clear Astern, Clear Ahead, and Overlap: Take that boat over there going the same direction as you. Draw a line from his stern perpendicular to his course and project it off across the lake. Any boat

7 behind that line is "clear astern" of him and he is "clear ahead" of them. Draw that line from your boat and see who's "clear astern" of you. Aren't you "clear ahead" of them? But... if NEITHER of you are "clear astern" then you're said to be "overlapped". If your bow is across that magic line then you've overlapped him. He may be a hundred yards off but if you're ahead of that line then you're overlapped. You can now sail around all day and whenever you see another boat you'll mentally note whether your "clear astern", "clear ahead" or "overlapped". Windward and Leeward: This is usually a simple thing. Whichever direction the wind blows FROM is windward and 180 degrees opposite is leeward. But then we're not just describing the weather, we're sailing, so we use those terms to describe the other boats. Any boat that's on the windward side of you is "to windward" and is a "windward boat". If you change course it doesn't matter, the wind direction didn't change and so that other boat's still the "windward boat". If the Scotts Flat Lake wind shift occurs or you sail higher to the wind than him then you can become his "windward boat". Obviously, if he's the "windward boat" then you're "leeward boat". So, what's all this good for. If you're out there sailing to Tahiti, nada. But, if you're in close to other boats in tight maneuvering space it can make a lot of difference on what to expect the others to do and what they expect you to do. Be it Scotts Flat Lake, the Sacramento River, Oakland Estuary, or under the Golden Gate Bridge the expectations are the same. Stress time! We create those intimate boatsmeeting situations by using a race course with marks. Racers expect to have those situations and anticipate them - with relish! California Law prescribes that all vessels operating on state waters must follow the USCG Rules of the Road for Inland Waterways. There's a lot of stuff there but a lot of it has to do with power boats and commercial vessels. The California ABC pamphlet gives a couple of paragraphs to sailing vessels. Rules for Sailing Vessels When two sailing vessels are approaching one another, one of them shall keep out of the way of the other so as to avoid the risk of collision, as follows: When each has the wind on a different side, the vessel with the wind on the port side shall keep out of the way of the other. When both have the wind on the same side, the vessel that is to windward shall keep out of the way of the vessel that is to leeward. If a vessel with the wind on the port side sees a vessel to windward and cannot determine with certainty whether the other vessel has the wind on the port or the starboard side, she shall keep out of the way of the other. The windward side shall be deemed to be the side opposite to that on which the mainsail is carried or, in the case of a square-rigged vessel, the side opposite to that on which the largest fore-and-aft sail is carried. Anyone come across a square rigger lately? It doesn't matter. Those terms are close to what we've been talking about. They're a little loose for a legal description, but then they're from a pamphlet. Racing has a rulebook. It's the "Racing Rules of Sailing " (RRS ) which is put out by the US Sailing organization in conjunction with the World Sailing organization. These rules are for

If you simply read the club's copy of the rule book then you'll be missing out on all the fun. Unlike Facebook, in racing, people actually physically meet and interact. At least their boats do.

8 the world's racers and are a lot more detailed than what the ABC gives you. But where does that take us. Learn the racing rules and you won't have any issues with meeting other boats in restricted spaces. Less stress! If you simply read the club's copy of the rule book then you'll be missing out on all the fun. Unlike Facebook, in racing, people actually physically meet and interact. At least their boats do. And that's the initial section of the RRS , WHEN SAILBOATS MEET. Advertisements Club donation boat available to club member for purchase Capri 22, Hull #53. Boat and trailer are in fair condition and in need of some TLC. Main sail (stained) but usable. Jib in fair condition. 2 Spinnakers in good condition. Complete rigging, no motor. $1, of best offer available to club members. If no one purchases the boat it will be put on the market in the spring at a higher price. This boat has a lot of potential!! Contact: Jeremy Gicker Example Photo Only - Not the boat itself.

The YRA Presents: A Race Committee Workshop When Saturday, February 23, 2019 from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM PST Add to Calendar Where Encinal Yacht Club 1251 Pacific Marina Alameda, CA 94501 Driving

9 The YRA Presents: A Race Committee Workshop When Saturday, February 23, 2019 from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM PST Add to Calendar Where Encinal Yacht Club 1251 Pacific Marina Alameda, CA Driving Directions Have you been thinking about getting more involved in race management? Ever wondered what it takes to volunteer on a committee boat or be on a race committee? If so, the YRA has the perfect opportunity for you!

10 Join us for a 2-part, hands-on workshop covering all the different aspects of race committee work. This workshop is an excellent opportunity for anyone looking to get more involved in race management and working on race committees. Part 1, held on February 23rd at Encinal Yacht Club, offers both classroom instruction as well as on-the-water instruction (weather permitting) while Part 2, held on April 27th on the StFYC Race Deck, will give participants a chance to put their new skills to work during an actual race. Topics for February's session will include: an overview of race committee positons creating SIs and NORs

11 Staffing a race committee Radio Etiquette Setting a start line Running Starting Sequences February's Workshop will start at 10 am with approximately 2.5 hours of classroom instruction. We'll then break for lunch then pick up again in the afternoon with on-the water instruction. Lunch will be available for purchase at Encinal Yacht Club. After completing February's workshop, join us again starting at 8:00 am on Saturday April 27th to put your Race Committee skills to the test during the the OYRA Lightship race. You'll be part of the team running the race from the StFYC Race Deck and will have the opportunity to participate in all aspects of running a successful race! Jeff Zarwell, a US Sailing National Race Officer, and the Area G ARO will be leading the class. The fee for the workshop is only $20, which covers both days of the workshop. Get more information Register Now! I can't make it Race Committee volunteers are always in high demand. We hope you'll join us for this informative, hands-on workshop and become part of the team that makes racing happen on San Francisco Bay! Sincerely, Laura Munoz Yacht Racing Association of San Francisco Bay info@yra.org

Mar 2018 Issue Features: Calendar. Commodore. Minutes. Cruising. Racing. Classifieds. Bill Personeni enjoying a day in the Sea of Cortez

Mar 2018 Issue Features: Calendar. Commodore. Minutes. Cruising. Racing. Classifieds. Bill Personeni enjoying a day in the Sea of Cortez Mar 2018 Issue 40-2 Features: Calendar 2 Commodore 3 Minutes 4 Cruising 5 Racing 6 Classifieds 7 Bill Personeni enjoying a day in the Sea of Cortez At Our Helm Commodore Stewart Perry 530-887-9522 commodore@gcyc.net