Gabriola Island Power and Sail Squadron

Transcription

1 S C U T T L E B U T T Gabriola Island Power and Sail Squadron Gabriola Power Squadron 2018 will be Great.. if we make it so! January - February 2018

2 Your Squadron Bridge POSITION NAME PHONE Commander Mike Hoeinghaus, AP Past Commander Ralph Hagen, AP Executive Officer Jean-Pierre van Praet Educational Officer Bert terhart, S Secretary Carole Lemieux Financial Officer Jude Briscoe Membership Officer Elaine Pearce PRO/Marketing George Myette Webmaster Bill Kalbfleisch Communications Officer & Don Butt, AP Scuttlebutt Editor Member at Large John Bullas Privacy Officer Don Butt, AP Gabriola Power and Sail Squadron PO Box 71 Gabriola BC V0R 1X0 We are a Squadron of Canadian Power and Sail Squadrons (CPS-ECP) in Vancouver Island North District MEMBERSHIP REMINDER Many of you have been notified by Headquarters regarding your membership renewals. It is easy to renew on-line. Just go to CPS-ECP and click on membership. On-line renewal and rejoin is a great way to go. It is so quick and easy. And have a look at the CPS benefits of being a member. For more info call our Membership Officer, Elaine Pearce

3 Courses and Events Always check the website for details - Courses and Upcoming Events Registration for all courses at: or Bert terhart: bert.terhart@gmail.com Here are the course dates for the spring Courses. Boating Courses are held on Wednesdays at the Rollo Center: 1. Boating 1 (PCOC): Jan Exam Feb 7 2. Intro To Cruising: Boating 2: Feb 14 - Mar 7 Boating 3: Mar 14 - Apr 18 Exams: Apr 25 Total course length for Intro To Cruising is 11 weeks including the exams. 3. Maritime Radio: Saturday Feb at the Rollo Center 4. Practical Workshops to be held later in the spring, Dates and locations will be announced when weather warms. Social Evenings: Two are in the planing stages, for February and March. Social time with snacks and interesting guest speakers. Annual General Meeting: The AGM date and location will be announced along with the Nominating Committee report. If you would like to take an active part in some way in the Squadron please call Ralph Hagen, Nominating Cttee chair

4 From the Educational Department Bert terhart, Squadron Educational Officer gear shift or cable failure. At any available opportunity during any of the courses or workshops that the Squadron offers, I have always stressed knowing how to do the simple things we often take for granted. When I say simple, I mean simple. As in knowing how to shut down the engine if the kill switch and/or button fails or knowing how to shift to forward into reverse or neutral if there s a Things like knowing how to clear a wrap on a loaded winch or how to get the windlass working again when pressing the Up switch does nothing. I learned this lesson vicarously when 1 of the 2 stories told to me by Seaburban s previous owner involved him plowing into the Custom s dock at Victoria s Inner Harbour when he found out rather late that Seaburban would not shift out of forward. The concrete seawall and dock pilings served to stop her rather than reverse thrust. The cause? A $0.10 split pin in plain view when checking the engine had vibrated loose and the shift cable fell away from the transmission. It took less than 2 minutes to diagnose and fix. I have never forgotten that story mostly because the confusion and awful realization that the boat was about to ram the dock was still present in his voice. As he told me this story, he slowly shook his head as if to say that it was something so easily avoided that it never should have happened. I resolved right then and there that missing a shift would never happen to me. For as long as I ve owned Seaburban, I ve been performing the same pre-engine start routine just to make sure that I m on top of the simple things that go into starting and stopping the engine and shifting into and out of gear. This past summer, while maneuvering in very tight quarters at the fuel dock in Port MacNeil BC, years of routine was about to pay off. I had motored up to the fuel dock and began to spin Seaburban on her own axis so as to come alongside the fuel dock port-side to. There was just enough space but we would be just forward of a large aluminum crew boat and astern of a 67 powerboat. There were some 5 or 6 people aboard the powerboat who were all eyes as Seaburban came alongside, stopped and began to pivot. Turning a large, unwieldy sailboat on it s own axis means holding the helm hard-over while al-

5 ternating short, very sharp bursts of throttle first forward and then astern. I had done it dozens if not hundreds of times before. It was, well, simple. All was going well: I was nearly all the way around, pointed directly at the powerboat s stern and some 10 or so meters away. Having just applied close to half throttle in forward I went to move the throttle lever back to idle so I could shift into neutral and then reverse. Rather than the solid feel of the lever I had become accustomed to, the lever felt strangely different. I looked down. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Seaburban lunged forward and the powerboat that was only near now loomed. I tried again for lower rpms. Nothing. Something was seriously wrong and what was looming was now not just close, but right on top of us. Hoping against hope I pulled back again on the throttle lever and it come completely clear of the shift mechanism and binnacle. With the wheel hard-over to starboard the bow had swung clear of the powerboat by mere feet but the stern was about to hit with some real force. I frantically spun the wheel to port and looked back to seen Seaburban s stern swing clear. Looking up I saw the very concerned and puzzled faces of the people on the powerboat looking down into the cockpit. Within a few seconds, someone onboard her had recovered enough from the near collision to shake a fist and holler a few choice obscenities. For my part, I was bombing down the fairway well in excess of the 5 knot max without any control over the engine. There was no way I could leave the helm as there were docked boats port, starboard, ahead and astern. Until clear, I could only imagine what had happened and think about what to do next. Once clear, I locked the wheel and rushed below to disengage the throttle cable. It took 10 seconds. It was simple. I knew exactly what to do because it was one of those simple overlooked things I had resolved to know how to do. It had just paid off in spades. With the engine under control, I could anchor and deal with the throttle lever. As it turns out, the 1/4in. stainless machine screw that held the throttle cable on had sheared off. Within an hour, I had chased out the remainder of the screw, found and fitted a replacement and was on my way back to the fuel dock. When I had finished refueling and was about to cast off, the owner of the powerboat sauntered over and asked, as non-chalantly as he was able, what the heck had happened. I dug into my pocket and pulled out the sheared-off screw. This screw, I said, is what happened!. He gaped, slack-jawed, at the screw. Before he could muster a response, I had invited him aboard and showed him exactly what had happened. A few minutes later, we were aboard his boat and in the engine room. After disconnecting and reconnecting the throttle cables on his engines, I looked 2up just in time to see him smile and say Wow. That was simple. Think about what you take for granted aboard your own vessel. Someday, somewhere it might just pay to know how to deal with something so simple. Bert terhart, Educational Officer

6 The Christmas Party Twas a good evening of singing, socializing, best turkey dinner and potluck with it ever. D/C Ion Barnes and his wife, Lois from Cowichan, SBYC Commodore Agathe Gaulin and Georgette, and Freda Bohm our guests. Thanks to Jean Sproule for the keyboard skills to keep us on key. and to sponsors Harbour Chandler, Page s Resort & Marina, Village Foods, Island Home and Garden, and Arbutus Home Hardware

7 The Squadron Pennants They re here! Brand new Squadron pennants to adorn your boat! They do tend to fade like all flags so why not spruce up the appearance of your boat with a new pennant - they look good. Really good! Call any one of the Bridge/Exec members (phone numbers listed at page 2, Your Squadron Bridge. Only $22 each, we ve kept the price as low as possible. The Survey We ve had a pretty good response to the survey. However we d like to hear from more of you. If you haven t done the survey yet, pour a glass of eggnog, take five minutes or so, and enjoy. We have some helpful information that will guide our activities. I intend to publish a summary of the results next edition after the Bridge has had an opportunity to digest the responses. A Sad Day at Silva Bay - Update It was a tragic day when Silva Bay pub burned. However I have it from a good source that there is optimism for an opening in time for the boating season next summer. The Ontario Yachts Group (Ontario 32 and 28) are planning their 2018 rendezvous at Page s Resort and Marina with dinner at the Silva Bay restaurant/pub at the end of August. Our best wishes for timely and successful re-opening.

8 The Boating 2-3 Class The two students in the Boating 2-3 class this fall, but both enthusiastic and a joy to teach. Congratulations on successful completion of the courses, CPS-ECP National Conference in PEI It was plus 24 C in PEI in October for the National Conference. Our new Chief, Former Law Officer, Chuck Beale is our new Chief Commander, and Peter Bolton, P/D/C of VIND is now National Training Officer. Yours truly received Life Membership. Photographs are at

9 A Bit of Timely Humour How Did they Get There?

10 What a way to start 2018! Diet to Start the New Year This is a specially formulated diet designed to help us cope with the stress that builds during the day. This really works!! Yea... BREAKFAST * 1 Grapefruit * 1 slice whole-wheat toast * 1 cup skim milk LUNCH * 1 small portion lean, steamed chicken with a cup of spinach, no butter * 1 cup herbal tea * 1 Plain Biscuit AFTERNOON TEA * The rest of the biscuits from the packet * 1 tub of rich ice cream with chocolate topping DINNER * 2 bottles of wine (red or white, it doesn t matter) * A full loaf of garlic bread * 1 family size pizza with the works * 3 snickers bars LATE NIGHT SNACK * 1 whole cheesecake (eaten directly from the freezer) FINALLY REMEMBER: Stressed spelled backwards is desserts. Send this to four people and you will lose 2 kilograms. Send this to all the people you know (or ever knew) and you will lose 10 kilograms. If you delete this message you will gain 10 kilograms.

11 With thanks to those who support us: