The Official Newsletter of The Sailing Club, Inc. Volume 15 Number 3 Autumn 2006

Transcription

1 The Official Newsletter of The Sailing Club, Inc. Volume 15 Number 3 Autumn 2006 Lake Huron Two crews find spectacular beauty in the wilds of the Canadian Great Lakes. Page 1 Leeward Island Escape Thirty-seven Club sailors indulge in a bit of Caribbean swashbuckling on a Windjammer cruise. Page 5 Boogie Woogie Weekend Memorial Day crews salute World War II in song, dance, and fun. And some sailing, too. Page 3 A Week in the Wild by Jon Stufflebeem Lake Huron is indeed beautiful. We found great anchorages, friendly people and a great, uncrowded lake. Following our six p.m. pre-board on Saturday, August 12 we were briefed by the owners of Canadian Yacht Charters on conditions we were likely to find, especially sudden weather squalls and unexpected rocks. Lake Huron s northern channel is home to 30,000 islands, so we had a lot to choose from. After the briefing and final boat checkouts we were able to get our two boats (Jenneau 49 and Hunter 426) away about noon on Sunday. They were in beautiful shape and were very roomy below. We began sailing in a light to moderate breeze from Gore Bay, Ontario, through the Northern Channel toward Little Current (about the only town around). Around 1600 it became clear we would have to The boats anchored in The Pool taken from the top of the mountain above us. motor to make the Little Current Town Dock at a reasonable hour. We got to Little Current about the time the sun hit the yardarm and met continued on page 3 1

2 Memorial Day Weekend by Larry Sherwood If you left New Jersey at 1:00 or before, it was a milk run to our fleet location at Haven Charters in Rock Hall. Of course, most of us left after that and it was backed up like Omaha Beach on D-Day. Patty and I arrived at 7:15, in time to hear the Andrews Sisters singing country western on Wind Venture (Julio Menendez and his all girl crew). After Bob DuBois finished his boat inspection of Jenny Ann, the flagship of the fleet, it was off to Waterman s Mess for chow. Once in our bunks, we heard rap music coming from someplace near how come it was louder below than on deck? Good thing we didn t call in an air strike on the boat next to us, turned out it was our stereo! 2 Sail away... First mate Charter Liaison Friend Laura Laughlin, former Sailing Club board member and active sailor, passed away on Friday, August 25th. A Memorial Gathering in Laura's memory is scheduled for Saturday, September 23 from 12:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. at the Hillsborough Funeral Home. The Hillsborough Funeral Home ( ) is at 796 US Route 206 in Hillsborough. It is on the right past Andria Avenue. It is about seven miles south of the Somerville Traffic Circle. Letters and cards can be sent to Michael Brischler, 219 Zion Road, Hillsborough, NJ (m.brischler@att.net). Donations in Laura's memory can be made to any organization you find worthy. A Salute to the Soldiers and Sailors of WWII Those that missed the 5:00 a.m. reveille found the showers packed at 7:30. Assistant Trip Leader Barbara made sure that all boats had song sheets, Annapolis points of interest, and history and a trivia quiz. After the fleet briefing at 9:00, our convoy left at 10:00. Jenny Ann had to make a stop at the pump-out since the new hands in the maintenance yard had filled the holding tank with fresh water. Our sail to the mouth of the Severn at Annapolis was not uneventful. Jenny Ann managed to get a wrap in the middle of the jib and no amount of pulling would free it. Sandra Cardo with Tom Davies and crew stood by watching intently as the jib sheets were removed and everything straightened out. Finally, we were off to our rendezvous with the rest of the fleet in Clements Creek. Other than this little mishap with the jib, the day proved to be perfect for sailing. With winds at 10 to 15 knots, most of the sail was a broad reach. Jenny Ann arrived later than scheduled and found the fleet hanging out on various buoys or at anchor waiting for us to drop a hook. After some discussion and our resistance to dropping anchor in a grassy bottom, we tied up alongside the moored Sandra Cardo. With intelligence from the local resistance, it was decided that the mooring could hold all units of our fleet and we were joined by Wind Venture and Minerva, with Steve Krakauer. Minerva had left a perfectly good mooring to anchor continued on page 4 The Official Newsletter of The Sailing Club, Inc. 19 Manor House Drive, Dobbs Ferry, New York Mia McCroskey, Editor The Sailing Club Board Officers Commodore Steve Krakauer Vice-Commodore Larry Sherwood Membership Secretary Mary Ann Gordon Treasurer Cecilia Sweeney Charter Liaison Jon Stufflebeem Past Commodore Dave Steward Members at Large Kathy Gilchrist, Bruce Gollob, Jeff Hamer, Barbara Humphries, Joel Mack, Clara Matejka, Mia McCroskey, Doal Sanderson Please send all newsletter submissions to: Mia McCroskey 19 Manor House Drive K12, Dobbs Ferry, NY news@thesailingclub.org

3 continued from page 1 Lake Huron our friends of the fleet : the Basdens and the Oburgs. They accompanied us for most of the rest of the trip. As Perry Basden is a frequent visitor to this area we were sure to let him lead the way into the anchorages. Monday we set sail for Baie Fine, an unusually beautiful and popular spot in Northern Georgian Bay. The wind was perfect, strong, mostly aft. We both got wing and wing at hull speeds (8.5 knots for the Hunter). As we approached Baie Fine we slowed and started the engine for a slow, careful trip up the long, narrow channel. At the end of the channel, if one is lucky, one can get in and anchor at The Pool, a shallow, grassy anchorage. All three boats were lucky and found an anchorage. Many of the crews went ashore for a climb up the trail to the top of the ridge. The rocks were pink granite, rubbed smooth millions of years ago by the retreating glaciers, and edged by white quartz. What a sight! Next day we stayed in The Pool, swimming, hiking and avoiding the 25 knot winds and five foot waves that had been blown up on the Lake. Wednesday we went back to Little Current for a group dinner at the Anchor Grille. It was a huge success. Most had fresh Whitefish or Pickerel, locally caught. We made a lot of noise: we had to, to keep up with the other diners! Thursday was a sail in light to moderate winds, Passagemaking on the lake. then a motor to the Benjamins, another island group much favored by visitors to Lake Huron. We dropped our anchors in Croker Harbour expecting a forecasted 15 knot SW wind but it didn t arrive. Sunset as seen from The Pool. Again going ashore, one boat s crew built a bonfire and both crews went swimming. The lake s water was very clear and so clean we could have used it in our water tanks if had needed to. The air was also very clean and clear no smog, allergies just faded away! One thing about Lake Huron when you are out of touch you are really out of touch. VHF was severly limited due to the mountainous terrain and cell phones rarely worked except when we were near Little Current or Gore Bay where we had good signals. Friday morning began with our Skipper, Jack Buckley, pulling a Beneteau 20 off a rock ledge she had evidently hit while motoring incautiously at high speed. The boat was on its side and its keel was showing in the shallow water where it had beached. Jack was able to pull her off the rock using the dink with a good four horsepower outboard motor. We motored (no real wind) over to the harbor at S. Benjamin Island, decided we d had the better of it the night before, and went south to Beatty Harbour on Clapperton Island for the night. All in all we were ashore for two nights and at anchor for four. Lake Huron is definitely a wilderness experience although with the large well equipped boats we had that was a pleasure, not a problem. A note about the boats and Canadian Yacht Charters. CYC keeps the boats in impeccable condition, and members of both crews praised them. For those of you who have never sailed Lake Huron add it to your list. It s a winner! Photographers in this Issue Thanks fo Joel Mack, John Foord, Jon Stufflebeem, and Larry Sherwood. pix to news@thesailingclub.org. 3

4 continued from page 2 Memorial Day next to Wind Venture. We were joined by a member of the local resistance; Wings and its crew of Don Gilmore and Lois McKenzie rounded out our fleet of five. We all settled down for SPAM in its infinite variety of recipes. These included pin wheels, dips (seven layers and less), grape leaf wraps. SPAM spread, and caramelized shish kabobs. Surprisingly, it was all good! All recipes were judged to be winners, but alas, there were only four prizes of homemade (Jersey) blueberry jam to be distributed. Big Band CDs were later given to several crew members who epitomized the trip s theme in their WWII attire. A forties sing-a-long followed at dusk and lasted until all the flash lights had failed. Barbara had made song books from which we sang along with the likes of Kate Smith, Bing Crosby, Sammy Kaye, Ethel Merman, the Andrews Sisters and more on CD. On Sunday morning, we broke up the raft around 10:30 and proceeded down the Severn. Jenny Ann, following secret orders known only to the Trip Leader proceeded to take core samples and depth measurements to the starboard side of green 1S. This was done using the strategically placed wing keel. Further samples were taken on the wrong side of HP off Horn Point and the entrance to Port 4 Annapolis Marina. At that time, we noticed a proliferation of Sea Tow and Tow BoatUS vessels in the area. Vultures waiting for less experienced mariners! While Steve K and Tom D. forced their crews to continue maneuvers, the rest of the fleet, at the urging of their murderous crews, decided to go to their slips and allow shore leave. Don Gilmore practiced a private man overboard routine at the dock with Mary Ann as a witness (see inset). We caught the water taxi to downtown Annapolis for some shopping and town painting. Some of us discovered Pussers located at city dock and their Pain Killers. Barbara, Cecilia Sweeney, Mary Ann recounts her version of Don s man over board drill: He fell off backwards, holding onto the life lines making it look as though he was slowly lowering himself into the water, then, legs in the water up to his knees, he reached over and grabbed the spring line of the boat next to his with his left hand and, still holding onto the life line on his boat, slowly sank to to his waist where (from my perspective) he then let go and completely went into the water and began running his hand along the hull of his boat, (again from my perspective) a hull check not a vain attempt to find something to hold on to. Then he did a few forward strokes and swam to the stern of his boat, where he disappeared from my view. and Mary Ann Gordon took a land taxi directly to the Middleton Tavern, where they downed several oyster shooters followed by eighteen of the tasty bivalves (sans the shooters ).The crews gathered at Buddies for dinner at 6:30. The restaurant was noisy and rowdy due to a bunch of sailors from the Sailing Club. Between the water taxi and local land taxis, we all made it back to the USO Canteen at Port Annapolis Pavilion. There, amid banners and flags, we were entertained by Bob (Krakauer) Hope and the Andrews Sisters Patty (Barbara), Laverne (Mary Ann), and Maxine (Cecilia). Several celebratory announcements were made: Scott and Doreen Nelson celebrating their recent nuptials; Julio and Pam celebrating their 22nd wedding anniversary; and Joel Mack celebrating the Big five-oh! Despite his advanced years, Joel had no problem blowing out the numerous candles on the cake as we all sang Happy Birthday. The Andrews Sisters sang Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy accompanied by a very talented bugler (Larry). After Bob Hope s hilarious monologue and interview, the show s finale featured I Want to Linger and included a simulated strip tease by the Andrews Sisters. There were no prizes given for the trivia quiz, but Steve was impressive with a list of more than fiftyfive movies reflecting the WWII theme. The most obscure was Sherlock Holmes continued on page 5

5 Sailing Club Members Have a Swashbuckling Time in the West Indies by Larry Sherwood Thirty three members of The Sailing Club made the journey to Sint Maarten and commandeered the S/V Polynesia from Windjammer Barefoot Cruises, Miami, FL, a 248 foot four-masted schooner with a crew of 45 and berths for 112 passengers. The Poly, built in 1938, originally called the Argus was one of the last of the great Portuguese Grand Banks fleet. Polynesia was featured in the May 1952 edition of National Geographic magazine and in the late maritime writer, Allen Villers book, The Quest for the Schooner Argus. This legendary 248-foot schooner was acquired by Windjammer in 1975 and christened Polynesia. Our journey covered what our captain (Captain Neil) called the only remaining islands in the West Indies that have not been too commercialized. Many have no facilities for foo-foo ships, the cruise liners. We visited Nevis, St Eustatius (Statia), Anguilla and the last island, St Barts, didn t fit the captains idea of old world, but as a stop for the rich and famous, it was a not to be missed island. One of the main events of the trip was the 12 meter regatta on St. Maarten, between the Stars and Stripes US-55 (winner of the 1987 America s Cup with Dennis Conner) and Canada s True North KC87. Eighteen of the Sailing Club s sailors under the guidance of Team Leader Joy Rocklin (Montgomery) in Stars and Stripes were pitted against a very good Canadian boat, having our two Canadian members in their crew, under Team Leader Gloria Basden. The Stars and Stripes, taking advantage of Sailing Club expertise, won a close five leg race. The appeal of a windjammer rests in the small crew and passenger numbers. Entertainment involves passenger participation under the guidance of an Activities Mate. These games sometimes evolved into something more appropriate for a singles cruise, but this is what the Poly is known for. There were enough young at heart in our group to make a good showing (The grog helped). In summary, the experience of our cruise on the Polynesia was a positive one. Our Sailing Club group got a chance to socialize with each other and we also met most of the other passengers (thirty-three in our group, with ninety-seven passengers total). The crew was friendly and easy to talk to. Captain Neil, with Windjammer for more than thirty years, was competent, friendly and very entertaining. As far as the ship went, it has seen better days and probably won t be in the fleet after a few more years. New regulations may force a lot of Windjammer s fleet out of business and they are actively looking for newer boats. The sails were patched, some of the decking was springy and there were some areas where calking (tar?) was oozing out between the planks. All metal parts and turnbuckles appeared to have many coats of paint on them. At times, hot water for the showers was scarce. There was more movement and ships noise (squeak/groan) while under way, which sometimes made sleeping at night a little difficult for some, but perhaps soothing to others. continued from page 4 Memorial Day Goes To Washington. The evening ended with some dancing to the Big Band music. Monday morning dawned bright and clear at Port Annapolis. Minerva left at 10:00 and returned shortly after reporting heavy fog in the bay. Wings had left earlier and had many close encounters with raiding power boats operating as if they had radar. The crews waited out the delayed mission by swimming, biking, reading or doing maintenance on their boats. Noon was the zero hour and the intrepid fleet set out for their home port of Rock Hall. Jenny Ann continued her top secret survey of sandy shoals one just after pumping out in Rock Hall, another after passing Wind Venture to the shallow side of G7 (all those moored boats must have had center boards). The boats were turned over to fleet maintenance and the crews were on their way home by 5:30 facing an uncertain path: The NJ Turnpike was closed north bound at Exit 3. 5

6 c/o Mia McCroskey 19 Manor House Drive, K12 Dobbs Ferry, NY S A I L I N G E V E N T S Date January 13 21, 2006 April 23 29, 2006 May 6 7 May June 3 4 July August September 8 11 October 6 9 October Event British Virgin Islands St. Martin Windjammer Cruise On the Water Training Memorial Day Intro Trip ASA Basic Keelboat Certification Havre de Grace Lake Huron Annapolis Solomons Island Frostbite Sail