Club, Lake Tyler, Texas

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1 July / Aug gust 2011 TYC C TellTale The infamous newsletter of the Tyler Yacht Club, Lake Tyler, Texas In this issue of potentially fabricated untrue buffoonery and unbelievable foisted hoaxes Team Ott places 2 nd in Catalinaa 22 Nationals Silver Fleet. Time for some culture there s more to life than drinkin pirate s rum. Olin Hartley hobnobs with Virgin s Branson and Oracle s Ellison in AussieLand on a TYC expense account. Members speak out. Luau Social July 16 t h Commodore s Flotsam & Jetsam Jimmy Ott TYC has been a busy place over the last two months. B dock is now essentially complete. Thanks again to all that worked so hard to get it completed. The only item left I know of is installation of a few horn cleats which we now have in the bosun s shed. We had a great turnout for the Rush Hour Regatta, and thanks to all who helped put it on successfully our VC Andy Rosson, formerr Commodore Mackey Smith, everyone who provided meals, registration folks and of course all the sailors!! It was great fun and one thing for sure, there was plenty of wind!!! Thanks too for those that came March 19 th to hear legendary Gene Ferguson giving us relative rookie s tips on racing the Catalina 22. Gene has been racing the Catalina 22 for 34 years!! We had about 18 in attendance. I learn something important every time I hear him talk about racing. We have added a few more members and I have seen several other interested families checking out the club. It is great to see such interest and participation. With that in mind, we had quite a crowd come out to watch the Fireworks display from the dam on July 3 rd. Theree were several groups with visitors and everyone shared room in the clubhouse, grill, and patio. Folks offered to share their food with each group and it ended up being a bit of an unofficial social, and all seemed to enjoy the evening. We really have some classy and friendly folks in TYC. Of course the fireworks were a great experience too.

2 Lastly, the lake level continues to fall and is now estimated to be about inches below the spillway level (not official just my guess). Please check your boat if you have one in a slip. Dock lines may need adjusting with the lower lake level. A few of us moved two boats that had keels stuck in the sand/mud and it was a real chore. So if your slip is on the more shallow ends of the docks, please contact Steve Hancock about temporarily moving to a deeper slip. And don t forget to pray for rain!! 2 Vice Commodore s Report Andy Rosson The summer doldrums have struck again! Fortunately we have two great regattas coming up this fall to look forward to. Triad Regatta September 17 at Longview Yacht Club This is a great one day event that TYC hosted last year at Lake of the Pines (and very nearly won.) This time we will take no prisoners! Entrants are limited to sunfish only, and if you don't have one then no problem, just help load up one of the club boats on trailer. (First come first served.) The top 5 finishers for all three clubs will count toward the club tally, so we need you all and your sailing skills. Hopefully we will have some one-design Sunfish racing at some point this summer to hone everyone's skills. Rose Regatta October at TYC This is our traditional Fall regatta and it s on the Catalina Circuit. Last year we had a great time and are looking for a repeat this year, with a bit more wind. More regatta info will come out from the next Vice Com as the date gets near. I encourage everyone who can to come out for the summer series which begins this Saturday July 9th. Don't forget it s the summer series so it starts at SATURDAY at 10 AM. Please RSVP on the website. Sailors & Sand Crabs Membership - R.L. Smith Are there any 'rainmakers' out there interested in TYC Membership? TYC still has some vacancies and right now interest seems to parallel the amount of rainfall we have had these last few months - occasional clouds but no delivery! It's time to generate some new membership interest and successful 'rainmakers' may get a 'special' discount! Speaking of rain, if necessary, the TYC Board may be forced to take extreme measures by donning their Indian headdresses and loin clothes and doing a rain dance at the each board meeting. Just imagine Commodore Jim, Andy, Sandra, Mackey, John, Brad, your editor Mark, critic-at-large Olin and the rest of the gang in Indian garb dancing around the charcoal grills after having partaken of the sacred fire-water (wait a minute - doesn't this sound like Deja-Vu?). That should be enough to scare the rain gods! Anyway, please direct indications of interest to your humble membership chairman, any board member, or to our TYC Website!

3 Be Seen at the Club - Brad Emge 3 Aloha, TYC Sailors! The tropical breezes are blowing, the surf is breaking at the shore, and it's 5:00...somewhere! (Don Ho meets Alan Jackson?) Here in Tyler, it's Day 22 of one hundred degree temps, our beach is getting wider by the day, and we're starting to see ladders at our ever-taller boat docks. It's obvious, we need a Luau Party! Sail on in for our beachside TYC Pig Roast on Saturday, July 16th. The Big Kahuna (TYC) will serve Pulled Pork, Slaw, and Potato Salad. Islanders can bring an appetizer or a dessert, and their choice of beverage. The winners of the Worst Hawaiian Shirt and the Wet Grass Skirt Contest are exempt from doing dishes. (Sorry, RL, you can only compete in one event this year!) Happy Hour starts at 6:00 PM, and the Pork gets Pulled at 7:00. Please keep up the good work on your e-rsvp's. Next up after the Luau is our annual Membership Meeting / Steak Dinner on Saturday, September 10th, also at 6:00 PM. Two great parties, don't miss them! Harbor Mast er - Steve Hancock It s shaping up to be a difficult summer at TYC. With the lake already 4 ½ feet low, this year could end up comparable 2006 when Lake Tyler dropped to an historic 8 ½ feet below the spillway and half the slips in our harbor were dry. There are several ways to prepare for such low water. The first is to pull your boat from the lake. Already, our TYC ramp is unusable for most boats; but many can still be pulled across the lake at the Hill Creek ramp. Next is to move to deeper water. There are still a few vacant deep water slips and the city will let us secure boats to the ends of the B and C dock T-heads during times of low water. This option carries some risk in that you may only be delaying going aground and you are now more exposed to rough water. Lastly, you can prepare to go aground. The toughest time for the boats is the stage between fully floating and fully aground when the boat can bounce off the bottom with passing waves. It s best to protect your easily damaged rudder by pulling it. Next, if you re industrious enough, when the boat is in jeopardy of impacting the bottom (the keel is about 6 off), you can jack-up the boat and put her on stands until the water rises again. Finally, once your fate is sealed and you re going aground, ensure that the mast is pointed toward the shore as the boat settles. This way, it is less likely that the boat will swamp when the water comes up again.

4 4 Racy Stuff - Steve Hancock Our racing program had been building such momentum that I had begun to think we had nothing but fair skies and following winds ahead of us. I had underestimated the power of the weather on our racing. Our Spring Series, which is often among our strongest, was thwarted this year by the weather, mainly in the form of excessively high winds that forced cancellation of 2/3 of our series races. One exciting development was the debut of Mackey s newly refitted J22, BiPolar, which flies to windward like iron to a magnet. Even with the weather challenges, participation in the series was good with 12 boats competing and 8 included in final scoring. In order of series finish, it was: Andy Rosson, Mackey Smith, Steve Hancock, Joe Sutton, Debbie Ott, Steve Snyder, Mark Bergman, and Bob Horick. Our summer series is scheduled to commence Saturday, July 9, at 11 AM. It s looking as though this series may be bedeviled by weather as well, this time in the form of low water; though perhaps the rains will come early proving me wrong. I d welcome nothing more. Below are the results from the Spring Series: All Spring Sunday Series Race Skipper 17- Apr 22- May 12- Jun 26- Jun Bergman Edens 2 Hancock Hobbie 5 Horick 8 1 Johnston 6 Ott, D&J DNF Rosson DNF 2 2 Smith, M 1 1 Snyder 1 4 Springer DNF Sutton DNF 3 4 Final Skipper Spring Sunday Series Race Apr May Jun Jun Total -1 Throwout Series Place Bergman Hancock Horick Ott, D&J Rosson Smith, M Snyder Sutton

5 Team Ott Places 2 nd in Catalina 22 Nationals Silver Fleet Team Ott this year includes Jim and Debbie Ott, John Ott, and our 13 year old niece Lauren Jodry The Catalina 22 National Regatta was held on Lake Grapevine, just north of DFW Airport, June 18 th 23 rd. Racers came from California, Florida, Tenn, Indiana and all points in between. Sunday practice race was held in winds MPH. Monday morning s spinnaker race was held in winds MPH. Monday afternoon s Genoa races (3 of them!) were held in winds 30 MPH with some gusts well over 40 MPH!! And only one mast was lost Of course, many racers chose to remain ashore on Monday. Team Ott chose to race and got quite wet, broached the boat a time or two, but the Black Pearl, a 1971 Catalina 22, took the high winds in stride. Debbie and Lauren are fearless girls no doubt!! Team Ott finished 2 nd in the Silver Genoa Fleet and fifth in the Spinnaker Fleet without ever flying the spinnaker in a race!! Paying attention to what Gene Ferguson teaches pays off!! Now pulling the boat all the way to next year s nationals held in the mountains of northern California for a shot at first place? Hmmm. A huge TYC CONGRATULATIONS to Team Ott!!! -Ed 5 A Race to the Starting Gate Mackey Smith This year s Rush Hour Regatta was particularly exciting for me. It was going to be the first TYC Regatta sailing the new J22 my wife Kari purchased for my 40 th birthday back in the fall. The J22 had spent the winter at a boat shop in Canyon Lake, Texas acquiring some much needed upgrades prior to me hauling it to TYC. Delays of the installation of the lift and other personal commitments on weekends prior left me very little time to launch the J22, practice and be ready for the regatta. In fact, the morning of the regatta would be the first time to sail the J22 on Lake Tyler. It was cold that morning. Temps in the upper 50 s, cloudy, and the wind was blowing a consistent knots. Steve Ghormley, a friend from Kemah, and Eric Boettcher, fellow TYC member, agreed to crew with me for the regatta (and the maiden voyage). Just after the skippers meeting, final adjustments to the rig were made, sails were prepped and we pushed off from the slip with the mainsail up with about 15 minutes before the first gun. Plenty of time to make any additional tuning changes to the rig or sails while on the water. We sailed past the committee boat to check in and then head to wind in order to raise the jib. Jib was up and I fell off to starboard tack.

6 6 Steve, in the trimmer position, sheeted in the jib and then POP! the jib halyard cleat released. Steve yells head back upwind so I turn the boat, he raises the jib, ensures the line is secured in the cleat, we fall off, he sheets the jib and POP!, jib halyard cleat releases again. The jib halyard cleat won t hold! Steve shouted. This was not good. I turned the boat and we headed back to the slip. Ten minutes from the first gun, we are set to debut my new boat and we cannot keep the dang jib up. What a disappointment! I m going to be out of this year s spring regatta before it even starts. Just then I remembered Eric Guvenator from SYC telling me he d encountered such a problem in strong winds on a J22. He wound up installing a second cleat just behind the first to successfully keep the jib halyard tensioned. I had some old cleats in my toolbox on shore. Maybe we should do the same? We sailed back into the slip, dropped the main, raised the lift just enough to keep the J22 stationary and went into full on NASCAR Pit Crew mode. Hurriedly grabbing a screw driver on board, Steve began removing the companionway top where the majority of control line cleats on a J22 are mounted to. Eric and I darted on shore for a drill, drill bits and any old cleat I could find. After finding what we needed on shore, Eric and I sprinted back down to the dock. I looked at my watch to realize the starting gun was about to go off. We had 10 minutes after the gun and then we d better be at the starting gate. Boom! the cannon roared and the countdown began. Steve had the companionway top removed and he and Eric marked and began drilling an appropriate place to install a second jib halyard cleat. I was frantically hunting screws in my toolbox long enough to secure the cleat and go through the companionway top. I found two. One was a little bent, but it would suffice for now. Six minutes to start! I announced to the crew as the one minute warning sounded from the committee boat for the first fleet. Steve and Eric were tightening the lock nuts on the new cleat as I was getting the screws ready to re-secure the companionway top to the boat. Okay.let s get going! Steve yelled as the last screw went in. Four minutes to start! I shouted as the preparatory signal blared from the committee boat again. I began lowering the J22 s cradle back into the water as Steve raised the main and Eric helped feed the boltrope. Quickly pushing back from the slip, we were under sail again. Would our last minute modification be enough? The wind was coming from the north, straight down the lake. We made a B line for the committee boat and starting line. Head to wind and Jib Up! Steve yelled. Eric grabbed the jib halyard and up went the foresail. Confirming the line was now secure in two cleats, I fell off and Steve sheeted in the jib. We took off like a rocket. One minute! I wailed during the last warning horn blaring from committee boat. We were still a hundred yards plus from the starting line with less than a minute to go. Puff in 10 seconds Eric announced from the foredeck. Puff on! he repeated. That was the lift that we needed as the J22 leaped forward carving its path to the starting line. 10 seconds to start! I yelled. We were on starboard tack as we approached the line. Two other boats, who d been luffing up just behind the line just ahead of us, sheeted in and accelerated. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.HORN! We approached the line and crossed, at full speed no less, three seconds after the horn. The race was on and we were in it to win it!

7 Nautical Book Review Calvin Maynard 7 Master and Commander, by Patrick O Brian, Lippincott Publishing Master and Commander by Patrick O'Brian is a wonderful book the second time you read it. It is the first installment in a 21-part series. The first time around, I (for one) struggled to grasp the naval terminology to gain even a basic understanding of what the author was saying. It is simply not a book you can pick up and read without doing your homework. Sailors, even recreational sailors, have an advantage here. And once you can tell a head from a halyard, it is one of the most enjoyable books of the Napoleonic fiction genre (O Brian was hired to replace C.S. Forster, whose Horatio Hornblower books were bestsellers; O Brian proved a far superior writer). The plot centers around two main characters: Captain Lucky Jack Aubrey and Dr. Stephen Maturin. Aubrey is a man s manly man, and English sailor to the core. His huge frame, terrible addiction to puns, skill at sailing and war, and incompetence at everything on land make it even more surprising that he should be best friends with Dr. Maturin. Don Esteban Maturin y Domanova is the illegitimate son of a Catalan lady and an Irish officer serving the king of Spain. He is a shy, quiet man, both a well-known naturalist and skilled physician, both of which he uses to cover for his activities in naval intelligence. The book s best point is how finely written it is. One can feel the richness of detail in every one of its many settings. From the wealth and splendor of the governor's mansion in Port Mahon, to the smoke and gore of battle, to the filth and poverty of the dockyards, every inch is described in exquisite detail. Many of Aubrey's most exciting adventures were based upon the real-life exploits of Thomas Cochrane, most notably the capture of Cacafuego, a Spanish 32-gun xebec frigate, by HMS Sophie, a 14-gun brigantine. O Brian s talent lies in making the readers become so wholly immersed in his world that they feel they can climb aboard the ships, meet the characters, feel the spray before the bow, and smell the powder during an action. He does this using extremely accurate accounts of sailing, in-depth descriptions of relevant politics, timely inclusion of historical figures, even in making you hear the music Aubrey and Maturin play in the evenings in the great cabin. Anyone who reads Master and Commander is in for a world of action, adventure, romance, science, and even the occasional burst of humor. That is, provided you can understand the lingo. And yes, it is better than the movie.

8 OFFICERS CLUB OPERATIONS Commodore Jimmy Ott Facilities..... John Ott Vice Commodore Andy Rosson Harbormaster Steve Hancock Secretary Sandra Dugan Political Lobbyist... Roy Maynard Treasurer John Springer Race.Steve Hancock Rules.Shirley U. Kidd BOARD OF GOVERNORS Membership..R.L. Smith 3yr: Mackey Smith Newsletter...Jimmy Olsen 2yr: Brad Emge ASA Instruction Bobby Loggins 1yr: RL Smith Party Favors... Brad Emge Brewery.Monk Gunnar Ott Concessions..Noah Count Critic-at-Large...Olin Hartley 8 CALENDAR July 16 Luau Social Board Meetings: 2 nd Wed of every 6:30PM Summer Series Races: Every Saturday. Start cannon at 11AM Editor's Warnings: 1) If you do not wish to receive a paper copy of the newsletter via the postal service, please John Springer at John.Springer@tylerpipe.com and ask him to remove you from the mailing list. Electrons recover faster than forests. 2) Any feedback regarding the contents of this newsletter will be entertaining and can be sent to TellTale@TylerYachtClub.org Do not expect responses any time soon I am pretty busy rooting out evil. 3) General club membership is eligible to contribute to BilgeTalk. Submitted materials are subject to strict content review by the Office of the Commodore but nothing has been rejected yet. 4) Many of the news briefs published in this newsletter were sourced from Calvin Klein UnderCovers LLP (a company expert in getting to the bottom of things and covering up the good, the bad and the ugly) and from WikiLeaks. Other clandestine sources will never be disclosed (water-boarding attempts have failed). The TELLTALE Tyler Yacht Club PO Box Tyler, TX 75713