Summertime Potluck Dinner. JULY Calendar of Local Sailing Events. AUGUST Calendar of Local Sailing Events

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1 FOOT, TACK & CLEW East Coast Sailing Association P.O. Box Satellite Beach, FL BOAT/US Coop Number GA81299B July 2015 THE OFFICIAL LOG OF THE EAST COAST SAILING ASSOCIATION Board of Governors Flag Officers Commodore Page Proffitt Vice Commodore Rick Hushla Rear Commodore Tom O Shea Secretary Jennifer Clendinen Treasurer Clay Showen Elected Governors Don Theriault Dave Cordial Bob Wiley Committees Advertising OPEN Publicity Lynda Geraci Hospitality Eileen Kiesel Membership Karen Coleman Newsletter Nancy Keane Mary Ann O Shea Programs Al Pappas Directory Bob Wiley Website Bob Wiley Awards Tom O Shea Cruising Fleet Brad Stowers Next General Membership Meeting Wednesday, July 8, 2015, at 7:00 p.m. Summertime Potluck Dinner Satellite Beach Civic Center, 565 Cassia Blvd Latitude 28º 09' North, Longitude 80º 36' West JULY Calendar of Local Sailing Events 3 MYC Summer Rum Race #2 4-5 ECSA Fireworks at Cocoa Village Cruise 11 MYC Summer Dragon Point Race #3 12 MYC Small Boat Sunday 17 MYC Summer Rum Race # MYC/PLYC Ohio Shoals Ocean Race 25 MYC Summer Women s Dragon Point Race #3 26 MYC Small Boat Sunday 31 MYC Summer Rum Race #4 AUGUST Calendar of Local Sailing Events 8 MYC Fall Dragon Point Race #1 8-9 ECSA Capt. Katanna s Cruise 9 MYC Small Boat Sunday 14 MYC Summer Rum Race #5 15 MYC Fall Women s Dragon Point Race #1 22 MYC Double Handed Race 23 MYC Small Boat Sunday 28 MYC Summer Rum Race #6 29 MYC Full Moon Regatta F o o t, T a c k & C l e w i s t h e o f f i c i a l n e w s l e t t e r o f t h e E a s t C o a s t S a i l i n g A s s o c i a t i o n a n d i s m a i l e d t o t h e m e m b e r s h i p e a c h m o n t h o r a v a i l a b l e a t h t t p : / / w w w. e c s a s a i l. c o m. The opinions expressed herein are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the East Coast Sailing Association.

2 THOUGHTS FROM YOUR COMMODORE Page Proffitt Towing Services At our last general meeting we had TowBoatUS come in and talk about some of their services. I would like to expand on the benefits of a towing company, whether it is BoatUS or SeaTow. Our friends Jack and Jacki Leahy were coming back from the Abacos a few years back in their 52-foot Gulf Star center cockpit. At about 25 miles off Fort Pierce they realized they had about three feet of water in the boat and were sinking. After a Mayday call to the Coast Guard, TowBoatUS was dispatched. Most towing services carry high-volume pumps on board for just this occasion. When the towboat got there it was thought that a seacock had let go since they did not remember hitting anything. The crew from the towboat jumped in the water and started stuffing plastic bags in all the underwater thru-hulls (the boat had taken on a lot of water, making it impossible to check from inside). The leak was found in a forward head and stopped. The pumps were able to remove the water, and BoatUS towed the boat in to Fort Pierce, where it was hauled. Something here to remember is that a small plastic bag stuffed in a thru-hull can stop the incoming water. I personally learned the hard way the costs of towing services. In my 50-some years of boating I needed help due to a storm. I was in my 25-foot O Day sailboat anchored off one of the islands at the end of the Barge Canal. A storm front came through and blew the boat on to the island with 50-knot winds. I had been a BoatUS member but did not have their towing insurance. I was told they were outside the locks at the Port and it would take about two hours to get to me. Once there they took my credit information and attached to my boat. It took all of 20 seconds to pull me off the beach, and my credit card was $700 lighter. With no damage to the boat or engine I was able to continue on my journey. After that I purchased the $150 per year towing package and have put it to use a couple of times since I started carrying it. If you are going to be out on the water, the peace of mind, and the ease of getting home when a problem arises, are certainly well worth the expense of a towing service. VIEW FROM THE VICE COMMODORE Rick Hushla Sailing the Abacos Talking to some of the members about their recent Abacos trips made me nostalgic about making another trip. Susan and I went a few years ago -- my first time -- and I really hope to be able to go again soon. In anticipation of the member presentations on their Abacos trips at the August General Meeting, Susan pulled up some of her old logs to share. Enjoy! 2008 CROSSING to GREEN TURTLE: Our crossing (on the second try) was very nice and gentle. We crossed with six other ECSA boats from Lake Worth, leaving at ebb slack at 2:00 a.m. and arriving at Mangrove Cay the afternoon of the following day. On the crossing, Mahi were nearly jumping into everyone's boats. I heard at least three calls of "fish on" delivered via VHF. We started the phenomenon by landing a small female on our boat. My gaff job was less than pretty and she bled all over the cockpit. That afternoon we anchored with our crossing comrades at Mangrove. Raising our Q flag that evening was a rite of passage that we had waited two years for. Our initial crossing group splintered off into separate groups. We buddied up with Jim and Tammy & crew on Sweet Chariot. Early the next morning we headed out with Sweet Chariot for a long slog to Spanish Cay for clearing customs. Once cleared, we exchanged our yellow Q's for the Bahamian courtesy flag - another sigh of relief, and another badge of honor. At this point I finally allowed myself to say "Phew! We really made it." That evening we anchored with our buddies, Jim, Tammy and gang, right outside the marina at Spanish Cay and snorkeled around the boats in the morning. It was so cool to be able to see the anchor lying on the sea floor below. After splashing around several hours we pulled anchor and headed to Green Turtle. Our ECSA friend Walt told us in advance of our trip to Bahamas that Wednesday was the night to be in Green Turtle. Well, as luck would have it, we arrived on (Continued on page 6) Page 2

3 Income Statement Revenue TREASURER'S REPORT Report Month Clay Showen Year to Date May '15 Jan '15 - May '15 50/50 $ Advertising $ Banquet $ Bus Trip $1, Donations $47.00 Member Dues $1, Merchandise $87.00 Miscellaneous Total Revenue $4, Expenses Awards $68.16 Bank Svc $8.00 Banquet $2, Bus Trip $ Cruising $50.00 Insurance $ Meeting & Ofc Sup $38.75 Merchandise $ Miscellaneous $ Postage $ Printing $ Rent Sales Tax $41.66 Sunshine Total Expenses $5, Net Income ($1,102.99) Bank Balance $5, MEMBER CLASSIFIED ADS Garmin 3205 Chart Plotter with antenna. When not in use, was stored in the boat. Includes blue chip for the Bahamas. Will interface with XM weather with the CDL 30 interface which is included. Asking $400. Contact Joe Coleman FOR RENT: Deep-water dock space available for a 20- to 40-ft sailboat, including power, water and parking. Banana River near the Mathers Bridge, Merritt Island. Call Dick Tillman at Please send classified ad updates to Mary Ann at maoshea@bellsouth.net South Patrick Hardware - Lumber Your Stainless Steel Store Bolts, Nuts, Screws, Washers Sealants, Fiberglass and More 1847 South Patrick Drive, Indian Harbour Beach, FL Page 3

4 Secretary s Report Jennifer Clendinen EAST COAST SAILING ASSOCIATION General Membership Meeting June 10, 2015 Board Members and Elected Governors Present: Page Proffitt, Tom O Shea, Clay Showen, Dave Cordial, Bob Wiley, and Don Theriault CALL TO ORDER: The meeting was called to order at 7:05 p.m. by Commodore Page Proffitt. New Members: A new member application from Richard and Debra Adkins was approved. New members Noel and Marsha Bauer were introduced. Welcome! TREASURER REPORT: The April Treasurer s report as published in the Foot, Tack & Clew was approved by the membership. Previous Commodores in attendance were recognized. Commodore Page Proffitt: The Fiftieth Anniversary celebration for next year was discussed. Bob Wiley will be contacting committee members to begin planning. There are changes being made to next year s Miami Boat Show and its location. The club s bus trip may be impacted. Page will be monitoring the situation. Cruising: Rear Commodore Tom O Shea gave a report on his Bahamas cruise. He will give a future program on it. Page Proffitt has put advertising fliers in all the local marinas and clubs for the Summer Sailstice cruise. Joe Coleman confirmed that Father Todd will perform a Blessing of the Fleet at three o clock. Page will provide a skiff to take Father Todd from boat to boat during the event. The Fourth of July Cruise will be at Cocoa Village Marina clubhouse. Susan and Rick Hushla and Bob Wiley will co-host. The club will provide the grill to cook dinner on. Bring your entree for the grill, a side dish to share and whatever you want to drink. We have reserved the clubhouse from 3:00-8:00 p.m., after which we will go out onto the docks to watch the fireworks. Make your reservations if you plan to stay at the marina. Old Business: Tom O Shea asked if anyone had requested to receive the Foot, Tack & Clew by mail and weren t getting them. No-one responded. New Business: Del Wiese talked about upcoming ocean races. The Ocean Shoals race will be July There are also discussions of a possible Florida to Havana, Cuba, race next year (February). The 50/50 drawing was won by Bob Wiley. The meeting was adjourned at 7:35 p.m. Respectfully submitted by Jennifer Clendinen, Secretary (notes taken by Bob Wiley and Clay Showen) Page 4

5 Cruising News July 4 th Cocoa Village Fireworks Cruise Bob Wiley Join us for the annual cruise to Cocoa Village to observe the fireworks display over the Indian River. You can anchor out, rent a slip at Cocoa Village Marina or come by car. Your co-hosts are Rick and Susan Hushla and Bob Wiley. We will be providing hot coals and a grill for you to demonstrate your culinary skill at a pot luck dinner in the marina clubhouse. Bring your main entree to grill, and drinks and a side dish to share with the group. We have the clubhouse reserved from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. for our relaxation and dining pleasure. At dusk, we will adjourn to the main dock to set up our chairs to watch the fireworks. If you come by car, please park in the large lot in front of the clubhouse and not in the covered parking area. Try to make your slip reservations as early as possible (phone # ) and let them know you are with ECSA to get the 'club' rates. Please Rick (rhushla@hotmail.com) or Bob (rwiley1@cfl.rr.com) that you are planning to attend so there are sufficient supplies for everyone. Come join us to watch the fireworks! Labor Day Cruise September 5-7 John & Lynda Geraci As Labor Day weekend is usually packed with boaters and cruisers, we re asking members to make their reservations now. Saturday night will be at Harbortown Marina in Fort Pierce, and Sunday night will be in Vero Beach Municipal Marina. John and Lynda will be arriving on Friday into Harbortown. There s a fantastic farmers market in the town square on Saturday morning, where we usually meet for breakfast. But more on that in next month s newsletter! Not Just Your Ordinary Katanna Cruise August 8-9 Cherie & Robert Baird It s August and it s going to be hot, so come anchor/dock your boat at Captain Katanna s Restaurant, 4263 U.S. 1, between Pineda and Eau Gallie Causeway, for some splish-splashing fun. Bring your inner tubes, rafts, floats, noodles, kayaks, and join us at our home base, a floating island oasis. Saturday Schedule of Events Kayak Races 1pm Watermelon Party 3pm Restaurant Dinner 5pm Bingo for Boat Prizes 6pm Sunday Schedule of Events Potluck Breakfast on Katanna s Deck 8am Bring your own drinks. RSVP for Dinner by Thursday, Aug.6th fmtxcvharp@yahoo.com or (6 slips available at the dock, with room for two on the outside in deeper water. Check your charts, maps, and gauges for depths.) Page 5

6 VICE COMMODORE VIEW Continued from page 2 Tuesday and stayed there through Thursday. Wednesday evening found us loaded up in our dinghies, headed for the Green Turtle Club for a little dancing under the tree. The Gully Roosters entertained us with their unique blend of island music - something between hillbilly and reggae - and made it impossible to keep our feet still. After a night of dancing like we were on hot coals, we enjoyed a day of snorkeling and beach combing. On our snorkel adventure we saw a lionfish and many nice-sized lobsters. The spiny creatures taunted us, obviously well aware of the fact they were out of season. After our underwater adventure, we combed the white sugar sand of the nearby beach. Ahhh, I think I am going to like this vacation HOPE TOWN: The guidebooks made mention of the quaintness of Hopetown, but "quaint" does not do Hopetown justice. Hopetown is a small island with a lighthouse as its claim to fame. The lighthouse still operates on kerosene, and the weights that spin the lens are hand-cranked up to the top every night. It rises from the shoreline like a peppermint stick and can be seen for quite some distance. If you have read Jimmy Buffett's "A Salty Piece of Land" you are already familiar with this lighthouse. And yes, it really does have a Fresnel lens. The town that surrounds the lighthouse is postcard perfect. There is a thriving population of full-time residents on this island. The pastel colored houses are neatly maintained and most have white wedding-cake-like roofs. There is a slight variation in elevation throughout the island which provides some interest while strolling the streets. The narrow streets are trimmed with lush tropical plants and vines bearing an array of brightly colored flowers. The anchorage is tucked back inside a cut in the land and is only approachable to us at high tide. We opted to anchor on the outside so as not to have to negotiate the shallow cut. The island is slow and laid back - as it is with all the Bahamas - but more so here. It is not a really a place you want to go to party - unless your idea of fun is BINGO (and yes, there is a BINGO hall here). This is a place to soak up the history of the island chain, view the islands from atop the lighthouse, shop in the quaint stores and stop for an ice cream cone. I absolutely loved this island and it was just the right speed for me after spending three days at Guana GREEN TURTLE FUNKY CHICKEN: If chickens are not the Bahamian State bird, they should be! This is especially true in Green Turtle and the Islands north/west thereof. One afternoon as we were seated at a picnic table enjoying a just-made conch burger in New Plymouth, we watched a chicken cross the road right in front of us. My daughter commented Well I guess the reason really is to get to the other side. Every morning while anchored out in this area I was heralded from my slumber by the crow of a distant cock-a-doodle-dooooo! the phonetic interpretation of which is errrrrrr er errrrrr er-errrrrrrrrrrr! It appears that the locals are very protective of their fowl. I think there are more beware / caution of chicken signs posted on the streets then there are signs for pedestrians. If you need further proof of the popularity of the chicken in the Bahamas, then you must go to the Green Turtle Club on a Wednesday night at about 9:00 p.m. The Gulley Roosters will be playing outside under the oak tree that night. There you will find all the locals and tourists, young and old, outside on the deck shaking like Southern Baptist converts. If you go, and you really should, just make sure you put out a stern anchor on your dinghy or, when the tide comes in, your ride will be hopelessly trapped under the dock. If that happens, you will have no choice but to find a bench to rest on until the tide goes back out which coincidentally, is just about the time that the roosters start their morning concert. Page 6

7 Summer Sailstice at Grills Cruise Review Page Proffitt The Summer Sailstice Cruise went off without a hitch. A beautiful breeze out of the East made a great sail to the event, up or down the Intracoastal. With a 4-foot sand bar just off the Grills dock, most of our cruisers anchored a ways off shore. For those that didn t have their dinghy, Del Wiese lent his to help shuttle people in and out. We had 8 boats show up to the event, with boats coming from Port Canaveral YC, Harbor Town and MYC. Even though it was a warm day the temperature was nice under the tent with a cool breeze blowing out of the East. We all ate well, from appetizers to full meals, with great servers provided by Grills. On Sunday morning a group came ashore to have breakfast at Grills before heading home. If you are cruising near the Pineda Causeway, Grills is always a good stop for lunch or dinner. Unfortunately I would not try getting to the dock unless you have less than a 3- foot draft. Considering we only had about 30 of our ECSA family at the cruise it proved to be a light turnout for such a great location. Hopefully we can have more to attend cruises in the future. If there are other locations or events you think ECSA should include in the cruising schedule, please let one of the board members know so we can plan new things for the club. Mark your calendar now for our next cruises, to Cocoa Village for July 4th, to Captain Katanna's on August 8th & 9th, and the Labor Day Cruise to Fort Pierce/Harbortown and Vero on September 5th through the 7th. The following is a list of those attending: Don & Joanne Theriault, Page & Claudia Proffitt, Tom & Mary Ann O Shea, Dean & Patty White, Jim & Amy Lacy, Bob & Linda Norway from Manatee Cove, and new members Nancy Knobb and Chris Whitby on Rosalyn and Charley& Paivi Stuard on Trouvere, all came by boat. Also showing up by car were Karen Coleman, Simon Koumjian & Eileen Kiesel, Ross Herbert, Bob Wiley, Dave & Gail Cordial, Clay & Patty Showen, John & Loretta Schnitzius, Rhonda & Dan Beasley, Rick & Susan Hushla with Park, Pam Vanderveer & Dave Silverman from MYC and Tom and Barb Schrader from PCYC and ECSA. Welcome New Members! Richard and Debra Adkins Noel and Marsha Bauer Get a DISCOUNT on your BoatUS Membership (new or renewal) when you use our ECSA Group Coop # GA81299B Page 7

8 Upcoming 2015 ECSA Events Date Event Contact Jul 4-5 Fireworks at Cocoa Village Hushla/Wiley Aug 8-9 Capt. Katanna s Baird Sep 5-7 Labor Day Cruise to Fort Pierce / Vero Beach Geraci Sep Marker 21 Cruise Theriault Oct Boy Scout Island Cruise Clendinen Check out for up-to-date racing information. EAST COAST SAILING ASSOCIATION PO Box Satellite Beach FL COOP MEMBER