T e l l T a l e. November Bridge Members

Transcription

1 T e l l T a l e November Bridge Members Commodore Betsy Cottingham betsycottingham@clearchanne l.com Vice Commodore Ken Kundell kfkundell@salisbury.edu Secretary Greig & Linda Mitchell colmitch71@yahoo.com Treasurer Dave Stapleford oasisp33@comcast.net Choptank Fleet Captain Paul West pwestla@aol.com Tangier Fleet Captain Del Walter capt_del@yahoo.com Race Chairperson Bruce Franz bfranz@bwave.com Past Commodore John Motsko jmmtyaskin@yahoo.com Telltale Editor Paul West pwestla@aol.com Webmaster Tim Fuhrmann SailingBum@writebyte.net E a s t e r n S h o r e S a i l i n g A s s o c i a t i o n P O B o x * S a l i s b u r y * M D * FROM THE MASTHEAD Most everyone is getting ready for the holidays with friends and family; days on the water under sail are limited for Both fleets have had a quite month; masts have been dropped, motors are being winterized, and some boats have already been hauled for the long winter months. I am pleased to announce that the winner for the Great Shoal Award is James Hillman III. Many knew Jim; but regretfully, many do not. We owe much to Jim Hillman and those that followed. GREAT SHOALS LIGHTHOUSE TROPHY criteria: 1) Demonstrated a long-term interest and activities in sailing that resulted in benefits to ESSA, CBYRA, US Sailing and/or other organization that have similar benefits to the sport of sailing and yachting. 2) Leadership positions in ESSA should be important criteria in the selection process. 3) Can be awarded to an outstanding ESSA sailor, one who has competed at the local, national and international level of racing, made an ocean crossing or several long coastal cruises. 4) An individual who has made a single outstanding contribution that has a significant affect on ESSA. 5) To a former member of ESSA who has made a significant contribution to sailing in an area deemed appropriate by the Committee or 6) The trophy can be awarded for an action of courage that resulted in a lifesaving situation or the development of a safety devise. James H. Hillman, III Simply put, without Jim Hillman, there probably would be no Eastern Shore Sailing Association. ESSA was Jim s idea from the very beginning. He organized the initial meetings, drafted the original Articles of Incorporation and By-Laws, designed our burgee and had the humility and foresight to install Don McShane and Stedman Smith as the first two Commodores. Let there be no doubt that Jim was the driving force behind the organization. This, alone, should be enough to place Jim Hillman, III as the next name on the Great Shoal Award. However, there is much more to his contributions and achievements: 1. At one time or another he served in every position on ESSA s bridge. As our third Commodore he instituted the Year Book which has remained a mainstay of ESSA 2. He is a past Commodore and teacher of the Salisbury Power Squadron and did much to foster good relationships between the two organizations.

2 DATES TO REMEMBER Awards Dinner Friday November 30th Suicide Bridge Restaurant Cash bar 6:30PM Dinner 7:30PM Cost $36 per person Bridge Meeting Tues December 4 th 6:30 Ledo s Pizza, Nanticoke Rd. All members welcome, especially newly elected Bridge Officers Change of Watch Friday, February 1, 2008 (Venue to be announced) *********************************** For Sale: 91 Achilles Inflatable Dinghy * 8 1/2 feet * PHRF 5280 * Like-new Conditio * Manual, Repair Kit included * Maryland Title Contact Larry Rossi Adventure Kwest 85 CS Canadian Sailcraft PHRF 156 New Raymarine ST60 Wind/Depth/Speed New Rod Rigging 05 Cushions Recovered 04 Cutlass Bearing and Motor Mounts 07 North Kevlar Main 04 North Kevlar 135% #2 04 Quantum Fusion M All Purpose 150 #1 06 UK Halsey Light Air 155% #1 07 Many other upgrades & extras Contact Paul West pwestla@aol.com 3. He was ESSA s goodwill ambassador to other yacht clubs and sailing organizations on the Chesapeake Bay and beyond. Because of his efforts we were always welcome at Solomons Island for parties and regattas. He also hosted the Riverside Yacht Club summer cruise when these sailors from Connecticut chose the Chesapeake Bay for their annual cruise. 4. Jim spent countless hours working on equitable rating systems for ESSA, first with Portsmouth numbers and later with PHRF. 5. Jim and his wife, Connie, donated one of ESSA s first perpetual trophies, the Choptank Cup, and Jim developed the course and the spirit in which the race is sailed. His way of awarding the Cup, Champaign and ice was designed to keep the spirit of camaraderie flowing within the club. 6. Jim cruised extensively on the Chesapeake Bay, first in his Aquarius 24 (he did not fit in a Mariner very well), then his Newport 30, Golden Eagle, and finally the Oceanic 46, Eagle. On Eagle he traversed the Inland Waterway from Florida and later sailed her to Bermuda and back with family and friends on board. You may be able to find the ESSA burgee displayed at the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club thanks to Jim s visit. 7. Jim was always more interested in organizing and developing ways for ESSA members to enjoy their boats than participating heavily in the racing venues. He did participate in races and always defended ESSA s honor by being the boat to beat at the annual Chesapeake Bay Power Squadron regattas. Some of us have raced extensively, some have cruised extensively, some have served their time on ESSA s bridge and committees and some have done all of the above. Jim is one who has done it all, done it in an unselfish way and saw fit to put together an organization that all sailors on Delmarva have an opportunity to enjoy. ************************************** The last hurrah for the season s the Awards Banquet, which is to be held on November 30, at Suicide Bridge Restaurant. If you haven t already made reservations, please contact me today. Please come out and join your fellow sailors for an evening of good food, drink, and companionship; in addition to wonderful awards. You may not be receiving an award this year, but do support ESSA, and your fellow sailors. Betsy Cottingham Commodore A link to send to anyone who says sailing is boring!!

3 Race Faster & Smarter If you want to improve your racing results, you should read Speed & Smarts. This bi-monthly newsletter, written by winning America's Cup tactician Dave Dellenbaugh, is full of race-winning tips on boatspeed, tactics, strategy, rules and more! To see a sample issue or get a subscription, visit from Scuttlebutt Kristin and I subscribe to this newsletter and it is full of great information to make you better on the race course % is focused on one-design dinghy sailing, but there is always something you can use in our Wednesday night racing. This month has some trouble shooting tips and I ve taken the liberty to post one tip of the seven given in each category (speed and pointing) so you can see what the newsletter is all about. Pointing The Problem: You are not able to point as high as the other boats around you. Possible Reasons Explanation Things you could try Your headsail is too full If your jib or genoa is full relative to -Reduce headstay sag by pulling on the main, it will tend to pull the bow the backstay or mainsheet away from the wind and make pointing - Increase jib luff tension difficult. Boat Speed The Problem: You are not going as fast through the water upwind as the boats around you. Possible Reasons Explanation Things you could try Failure to change gears Trimming sails too tightly is one of the -Ease mainsheet and jib sheet until most common causes of boatspeed your boat starts to accelerate. blues, especially in light air and/or - Let the vang off completely choppy seas. Darwin Award Nominee 60 Daysailor from Tony Castro (Designer of Adventure Kwest) Perfect Gift for the Sailor in Your Life

4 A Sailor s Spin on Coaches Quotes Editor: "After you retire, there"s only one big event left...and I ain"t ready for that." Bobby Bowden - Florida State "After you stop sailing, there s only one big event left...and I ain t ready to buy a trawler. Joe Botkin Nepenthe "The man who complains about the way the ball bounces is likely to be the one who dropped it." Lou Holtz Arkansas "The man who complains about the fluky wind is likely to be the one who missed the shift." Bruce Franz Thomas L. Sweeney (Mariner Nationals) "When you win, nothing hurts." Joe Namath Alabama "When you win, nothing hurts... until the next day." Dave Stapleford Greyhound (after the 2006 Choptank Cup) "There"s nothing that cleanses your soul like getting the hell kicked out of you." Woody Hayes - Ohio State "There"s nothing that cleanses your soul (among other things) like being green & puking your guts out for 30 hours Paul West & Mike Lees Crew on Touche for Annapolis to Newport Race "I don"t expect to win enough games to be put on NCAA probation. I just want to win enough to warrant an investigation." Bob Devaney Nebraska "I don"t expect to win enough races to be put on USSA probation. I just want to win enough to warrant an investigation." Paul Hull Black Side Down (?) "You can learn more character on the two-yard line than anywhere else in life." Paul Dietzel LSU "You can learn more character in the Gulf Stream than anywhere else in life." Deke Sheller Lolly "We didn"t tackle well today but we made up for it by not blocking." John McKay USC "We didn"t tack well today but we made up for it by not gybing well either." Hans Schultz Zoo Any given Wednesday Bruce Franz sent me these quotes from various coaches and players and I took the liberty to put a sailors twist to them and give credit to the sailor I thought most appropriate. Paul

5 Safety at Sea - Voice of Experience The following tips were posted on the Cal web list by a sailor who fell overboard and survived in 58 degree water for over ½ hour. By the time he was picked up, he was suffering from early stages of hypothermia and was very confused. The boat he was on and others were looking for him over 1000 yards from where he fell off and this was in the daytime. Fit your PFD, to the clothes you are wearing every time you are on the boat. If your PFD is up around your face and the water is over your nose and you are choking, your PFD isn t doing its job. Always make sure it fits properly. Blow it up manually if you have to, to see for yourself what a difference your clothes make. If you have a Auto PFD, replace the cylinder and aspirin every year. It has to work the first time. Sign into UK Halsey and watch their crew over board videos. It shows you how to go back and pick someone up. Type in Crew Overboard Symposium, it gives a lot of info on equipment you can use. Get a throw bag with 75 feet of rope and learn how to throw it at someone. Time is everything and a throw bag covers a lot of water. Have a Man or Crew overboard pole and horseshoe or similar floating device ready at all times. PHRF rules state you only need one for overnight races. A lot of racers have a life sling on their boats. They only aide getting the person back on board secondary to locating someone. Add a handheld waterproof (now they float) radio to your man overboard pole and a flare and smoke kit. You can also keep these in your pocket. At night wear a PFD with radio and flares in the pockets. See Kokatat or NRS kayaking gear. It is cheaaper than stuff with sailing on it. Getting someone back on board is something none of us ever think about but is just as hard and locating someone. New Crew Member Kristin and I have thought long and hard and have decided that in July, we will be adding a new crew member to our regular crew. Although this person will take a while to train as they will be quite young and still wet behind the ears, we think the effort will be worth it in 5 or 6 years. Yes that is a long time to train someone but since it will be our first baby, we want to take our time and make sure we do it right and so that Jr. gets into the rhythm of the boat early, I am looking for a gimbaled boat seat to hang on the pushpit. Our crew is thrilled with the addition but, when Brian was told that his position on the boat would now include changing diapers, he did have concern that his job was going to crap. Oh yeah, I guess we ll also need a Baby on Board sign now. ~ Paul

6 Windjammers Lecture Series The Windjammers are a cruising club who invite people prominent in the sailing world to speak to their club and the public as well. I attended a lecture last year by Onne Vanderwal, a former professional sailor and now a professional photographer, who had just returned from Antarctica and had some amazing photos and was very interesting. I plan on attending at least 3 of these lectures this year and thought others of you might be interested. This year they have the following speakers: Terry Hutchinson Tactician America s Cup Team New Zealand December 15, 2007 Terry just finished competing in one of the most exciting Americas Cups. He will tell us firsthand what it was like competing in the 32 nd Americas Cup from training, to the races, and for those of us who were not there what it felt like to be in the finals in Valencia. Wade T. Murphy, Captain Rebecca T. Ruark, Skipjack January 12, 2008 Wade continues to dredge for oysters on Maryland s Eastern Shore. His boat, the Rebecca T. Ruark Skipjack, was built in She now is the last remaining working skipjack continuing to dredge for oysters each winter. Brian Hancock, Extreme Solo Sailor, Portimao Global Ocean Race Challenge Race Organizer February 2, 2008 Brian has sailed in three Whitbread around the world races. He is a talented writer who has written six books on sailing. Both Brian and Josh Hall have organized a new around the world race. Brian will take us into the extreme sailing world with a live call to a Barcelona World Race competitor. Jon Bowermaster, Explorer, Larson Ice Shelf Expedition on Pelagic March 15 th, 2008 Jon is a National Geographic explorer. In December 2007 he will be a part of an expedition on the Pelagic Australis, skippered by Skip Novak. John will provide an empirical look at how our seventh continent is changing and evolving, dramatically influencing the world s oceans and our planet. Lectures are from 8 to 10pm and will be held at: Severn School, Price Auditorium, 201 Water St. Severna Park, MD C o n t a c t : P a t B r a n c h E m a i l : p b r a n c h 6 4 v e r i z o n. n e t W i n d j a m m e r M e m b e r s h i p I n d i v i d u a l $ 2 0, F a m i l y $ 2 5 T i c k e t s f o r S p e a k e r S e r i e s $ 4 5 ; I n d i v i d u a l l e c t u r e $ 2 2

7 SeaClear II The Poor Man s Chart Plotter Sometime ago I was checking out the downloadable Raster Charts from the NOAA Office of Coastal Survey (nauticalcharts.noaa.gov) website. I believe Tim Furhmann sent out several s a whileback alerting ESSA members to their availability and I started searching around for a good free viewer. At some point in time I stumbled across SeaClear II. I call this The Poor Man s chart plotter because it will interface to your GPS and any other NMEA devices. It claims to run on Windows 95 through Vista. I have only tested it on Windows XP and Vista. So, if you have an old laptop and buy the NMEA cable for your GPS, you can make a cheap chart plotter. If your boat is so equipped, you can interface your depth sounder, wind indicator and autohelm as well. My experience is limited to hooking up to a GPS. Below is a screen shot of SeaClear attached to my GPS, which was sitting out on my deck. As you can see the bull s-eye indicated my present location on the chart. center of bull s eye The initial setup of the program was fairly straightforward. It is freely available for download at Select SeaClear II Full install sc_setup.exe listed first in the download options. This also includes the manual in English. I saved the downloaded file to my desktop and ran it right from there. Next, I double-clicked on the file to run it and accepted all the defaults as it installed. You should be aware that program places itself in c:\program files\seaclear. There is a subdirectory below that named \charts where you place all your downloaded charts files. At this point, I found it very useful to go into Windows Explorer or My Computer and create some desktop shortcuts. The installation process usually creates a shortcut for SeaClear but not the other program you will need, MapCal_2.

8 Launching SeaClear now will bring up the program with a world map, which is not very useful. The next step is downloading the charts of interest. I proceeded to the NOAA Office of Coastal Survey (nauticalcharts.noaa.gov) website. Following the instructions, I downloaded all the charts covering the Chesapeake Bay region. I should note, the website allows you to select the charts you want and then refers to processing your order, but there is no charge. The charts are packaged into a ZIP file and sent to your PC. Once downloaded, double-click to expand the files or use PKUNZIP on older systems if necessary. The expanded charts are deposited in a directory by chart number, located under a BSB main directory. Copy the files out of each numbered chart directory and paste them into the Program Files\SeaClear\charts directory. SeaClear will not be aware of these charts until you use MapCal_2 to update SeaClear s table of available charts. Launch MapCal_2 from the desktop shortcut. In the upper left menu select Tools, Autoload List and then Scan for New Charts. The next time you run SeaClear, all the additional charts added will be available for viewing. At this point you have a nice up-to-date chart viewer. The charts downloaded include all the Notice to Mariners updates at the time downloaded. The updates alone can be downloaded from the same website and added periodically to keep everything up to date. To view the additional charts, rightclick on the map presented, select charts and then list all. You will see a window with all the charts available.

9 My final experiment was attaching my GPS. This provided SeaClear with my location on the chart as well as speed and time information. I have a very basic Garmin etrex GPS. I found that most GPS units have a NMEA interface but you may need to look in the manual to find how to hook into it. The etrex plug is hidden under a rubber flap on the back. I had no trouble ordering the interface serial cable. I should mention that I had to turn on the NMEA interface through the GPS setup menu. Later, I realized my laptop only had USB ports. To get around this I ordered a $10 adapter converting serial to USB from the computer department at the campus bookstore. This is a great program to experiment with. When I planned out cruise routes in the past, I used the program simply as a chart viewer to the exact Latitude and Longitude of the marks along the way. With this information, I created waypoints in my GPS long before interfacing the two together. I plan to make use of it more with the GPS attached on future cruises. If you would like more information of how to set this up, I found a great website with an instructional video that was very helpful. The address is This is a great diversion to play with now that the days are short and cold. Enjoy! Ken Kundell

10 Lea Beachamp 08 Bivalve Fleet Captain Lee Beauchamp is a Project Engineer with the City of Salisbury Public Works Department. Lee serves part time as a Sergeant in the Delaware National Guard with the 287 th Army Band. He is a 2005 Graduate of the University of Delaware where he was Race Captain for the Delaware Sailing Team. Lee has been involved with ESSA since 1999 when he raced with Keith Henry aboard Sea Fever at the Wednesday night series. After racing on many different boats in the ESSA fleet, Lee and his fiancée Andrea Drewes bought a Tanzer 22 fin keel called Wind Bag and joined the Tanzer fleet in Bivalve. Lee has spent the majority of his sailing career racing in both one design and PHRF fleets throughout the Chesapeake Bay. During the 2008 sailing season, Lee will be racing with Tom Jackson aboard Reveille in Cambridge and Skippering Wind Bag in Bivalve as well as several PHRF events around the bay. Contact Details: Lee Beauchamp Postal Address: Bennett Rd, Salisbury, MD lbeauchamp@ci.salisbury.md.us Phone: (443) T o m A n a s t a s i o a n d h i s c r e w, T o d, s h o w i n g t h e i r g a m e f a c e s. CURMUDGEON S OBSERVATION 'Political Correctness is a doctrine fostered by a delusional minority and the mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a turd by the clean end. From Scuttlebutt