EAGLE HARBOUR YACHT CLUB. Soundings

Transcription

1 EAGLE HARBOUR YACHT CLUB Soundings JUNE

2 EAGLE HARBOUR YACHT CLUB 5750 Eagle Harbour Road, West Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, V7W 1P5 Telephone: (604) Fax: office this SOUNDINGS is created by volunteers Contributing articles are welcomed on topics of general interest to members Derwyn Lea Executive responsible for Soundings Margaret Campbell editor Diane Roberts design and layout Photo: Karen Savage 2

3 Commodore s Message Thank you to all who attended Safety Day in late April. We had beautiful weather and lots of well-attended activities. Hear more about Safety Day in an article later in this edition of Soundings. Early in May, the event not to miss was Sailpast. Again we had great weather and an excellent turnout. Work parties had the Clubhouse and grounds all spruced up for what is considered to be opening day of the sailing and boating season. As Commodore, I had the privilege of seeing a large contingent of members decked out in their navy and white attire sailing and boating by Aqua Libra. It was an excellent opportunity to connect members with their boats and it was great fun. Afterwards the Social Director, Vickie Hottes, organized a wonderful lunch and entertainment with The Millionaires Big Band. An enjoyable time was had by all. Word is that the Supercruise on the May long weekend was a resounding success. Thank you to Brian and Jenny Elliott for putting together a great weekend for all who attended. Sadly, Aqua Libra s engine was too unreliable to make the trip to Nanaimo. Along with all of these bigger events, the new liquor license is providing us with opportunities for more informal events. These events may include informational talks, pizza and beer, or bring-your-own barbecue events. Friday nights through the summer will become a regular barbecue night at the Club. Stay tuned and plan to attend. Don t miss the fun! The EHYC racing season began with the Invitational on April 26th. More is planned at EHYC, WVYC, and other locations. See the web site to learn more about them. Consider volunteering for the committee boat or trying your hand at racing. We are soliciting interest in having EHYC host VHF training and examinations leading to a VHF operator s certificate at the Clubhouse. Look for the communication and let us know if you would be interested in attending. With the sailing and boating season underway, let s take safety into the season and not have it be just a one-day focus. Whether on the docks or on the water, keep yourself and others safe. Tides, currents, winds, and waves have an impact on our dock systems. Everyone should be alert to potential hazards and notify Collen or an Executive member of any hazards that can be addressed. On the water, keep life vests on and safety equipment at hand. Here s to a safe and fun sailing, boating, and social season for all! Marg Latham Aqua Libra 3

4 VICE COMMODORE S REPORT When you go into the Clubhouse you will notice some new signs. These signs are required by the Liquor Distribution Board as we have our new liquor license. Now that we have this license, we do not have to get Special Occasion Licenses but are able to serve alcohol between 11 am and 11 pm. However only members who having a current Serving It Right license are able to serve alcohol. If you have one of these licenses, you are able to pour drinks between the above hours as long as you ensure that you sign a chit. Of course you must abide by all the regulations and especially must not serve underage persons or anybody suspected of having consumed too much alcohol. We ask that if you are looking to buy a glass of wine, please purchase the whole bottle and share it with your friends. We cannot have wastage by having half empty bottles of wine deteriorating in the bar. When one is down at Eagle Harbour one notices a lot of paddle boards and kayaks being launched from the beach. It is important that the Club attracts new members and especially young members. For this reason we have reached out to these boaters as to whether there would be interest in joining our yacht club and storing their boat in our facility. The response we received was very favourable. For this reason we have purchased a paddleboard rack that will be installed in the middle of June. The rack will be located in the southeast corner of the parking lot, and will be lockable. There will initially be 14 spaces, each available for an annual fee of $100. Allocation of these spaces will of course be on a seniority basis to members in good standing, and renewal will be based on the use of the board. We should try and avoid storing unused boats in this location. The rack will pay for itself in two years. Of course, if we attract new members it will be paid off much sooner. The next stage is to find a suitable location for storage of kayaks and other eco-boats. We are hoping to use the Clubhouse more for members and therefore have opted to reduce renting out the Clubhouse by stating that it can only be rented to Active Members. If you are an Active Member and would like to rent the Clubhouse you do have the option of using our liquor license. Details of this can be obtained from myself or Nancy. Members are encouraged to hold their events in our Clubhouse and Nancy and I will do whatever can do to make it easier for the members. Changes to garbage disposal at Eagle Harbour Yacht Club. Metro Vancouver has mandated that no compostable or food waste is allowed to be disposed of with general garbage. This means that we will be required to obtain a compostable bin in addition to our regular garbage bin. This is an additional expense for the Club but is unavoidable. In order to avoid a tripling of garbage disposal expenses, we would like to ask members to do the following: Please do not bring any garbage to the Club for recycling. When returning from boat trips, please take as much recycling material home as possible. Please ensure that all compostable material is disposed of in the appropriate bin. There is now a locked compostable waste bin in the parking lot and also a bin for organic waste in the kitchen. These bins are only for food waste! There is a key above the kitchen bin that opens the parking lot bin. Please return the key after use. Please do not put any general garbage into recycling bins. While it is going to increase disposal costs, the Club supports recycling and hopes that our membership will engage in this process. The Clubhouse now has an automatic defibrillator and many will have had this demonstrated during Safety Day. We encourage members to become familiar with this device and to take additional training. Hopefully we never need it, but we do have an aging membership and it is good reassurance. It is another example of how the Club is focusing on safety for the members. Tim Lepard Pegasus VI 4

5 SOCIAL DIRECTOR S REPORT Anniversary Dinner - March 28, 2015 Guest Speaker Bernie Hanby The Anniversary Dinner was attended by approximately 50 members. The night started off with drinks from the bar and great conversations amongst the members. Once members were seated, they enjoyed a basket full of fresh baguettes, cold cuts and top-notch cheeses, and were then invited to the buffet, which included honey-glazed pork tenderloin, grilled chicken breast in a cream sauce, and numerous sides. It ended with everyone s favorite black forest cake and coffee or tea. A special thanks to Bernie Hanby for speaking on the history of the Club, which was very informative. Of course, thanks to the many volunteers who make it possible to put on such an event: Mark & Judith Powell, Burke Corbet, Danny & Ann Keeble, Sue and Dave Slater, and many more. Commodore Marg Latham welcomed members to the Anniversary Dinner on 28 March. Members enjoyed lively conversation, good wine and good friends. After the buffet dinner had been enjoyed, Chefs Clark and Rory came out to take a bow to warm applause from the crowd. Behind the scenes, members of the Junior Club helped serve and clean up. Honorary Life Member Bernie Hanby entertained everyone with his tales of the first years of EHYC. 5

6 EHYC ANNIVERSARY DINNER 2015 The Little Yacht Club That Could the story of our first years At this year s Anniversary Dinner, long-time member Bernie Hanby gave us a brief overview of the first years of EHYC. In November 1968, a small group of enthusiasts started working towards the formation of a yacht club in Eagle Harbour. They put together a plan: they would purchase the existing marina, Eagle Harbour Marina Ltd., and arrange the conversion of the zoning from commercial M3 to yacht club. Membership would be limited to 200, with 150 mooring members and 50 non-mooring members allowed (including Juniors and Intermediates). The initiation fee of $500 included a returnable debenture of $450 on resignation, not the soundest financial foundation for the club. Annual dues of $100, and moorage rates of 70 cents per foot per month were established. E.H. Marina customers and local residents would be given priority. At first, the plan met with a warm reception in the community, but at the April 1969 election of the Eagle Harbour Ratepayers Association, there was a change of personnel and the new committee opposed the idea. They sent a petition to West Van Municipality and the Parks Board proposing that the cove become a park instead. However, the advocacy of founding members Rob Hafey, Alec Orr, and Frank Hoover won the day and on May 22, 1969, the Club was granted its Certificate of Incorporation. Robert Hafey became the first Commodore. The first challenge was to establish a breakwater to provide better shelter. In the Fall of 69, a WW II landing craft was towed into place, its superstructure having been removed. More objections from our neighbours. Now the boats could begin moving in. Some of them were on mooring buoys, but there were also tired docks, oriented east to west was an exhilarating year. The tug of war with West Van Yacht Club was launched, and on January 31, 1970, the Club held its first celebratory Wine and Cheese Night at $5 per couple! (Those were the days.) Betty Whitfield organized a Ladies Sailing group, with Barbara Miller as the first Skipper and Sue Hanby as her First Mate. The Club had its first Sailpast, a CNIB party, a family picnic, Christmas and New Year parties. EHYC was on its way. In August 1971, then-commodore Rod Whitfield advised members of a major crack on the breakwater. Storm damage! The breakwater had to be repaired at a cost of $25,000. Members faced a $60 debenture for each of the next three years to cover the cost, but it came with the assurance that it would last 40 years for sure. But worse was to come. On January 19, 1973, a huge storm hit the area. There were winds up to 60 km an hour and the breakwater simply disappeared. Deck hatches failed as a result of the violence of the wave action, the water got in, and it sank. So, incidentally, did Manukan, the ferro-cement boat of Dr. Sam Sydneysmith. Members came together for an Extraordinary General Meeting on February 12 to decide what to do now. Duncan Hay of the Western Canada Hydraulics Lab proposed a Baggy Breakwater that would use old tires in a net slung from steel pipes crafted with keels. It would move with the ocean swells but provide protection for the boats sheltering behind it. He estimated it would last 15 years. The Executive held meetings every few days for several months, looking at options, and trying to decide what to do. Would a Baggy Breakwater work? How could they finance it? Finally, on June 25, 1973, they called another Extraordinary General Meeting and were granted authority to borrow up to $100,000 at prime plus 2-1/2%. Another assessment, $12 per month per members for two years. Eagle Steel Fabricators built the pipes with keels (two of them 48 x 122 and two more 48 x 98 ) and in November the two longest pipes were launched with the help of a 125-ton crane, with the shorter ones launched the following January was a very busy year at the Club. 38,000 tires were brought in and stuffed into the nets slung between the floating pipes. This required 43 dry-land work parties and 46 underwater work parties. The divers Floyd Garner, Dai Roberts, Fred Fraser and Jon Strom spent 231 hours underwater. By that time, they were almost on their knees and asked if members of the Club would volunteer to take a diving course to help out with the task. I was one of those who volunteered and I have been a keen diver ever since. As you know, I recently published Marine Life of the Pacific Northwest: A Photographic Encyclopedia of Invertebrates, Seaweeds and Selected Fishes, and it all started with those darned tires. In 1975, I became Commodore and wouldn t you know it, on September 29th, the breakwater sank again! Luckily we were insured, thanks to Ron Defieux, and CanDive raised the pipes for us for a mere $20,000. This time, we also had spilled tires to contend with and my newly acquired diving skills were put to extensive use. To double our trouble, we had severe storms on November 6, 8 and 15: the tires sank again, all but seven boats had to be removed from Eagle Harbour, and our then-manager Dave Watson resigned. At the AGM on December 1, we considered our options. Should we 1) rebuild 2) revert to buoy moorings or 3) disband. As you know, we decided on option #1 and have gone on with great success ever since to create the friendliest little yacht club in the west. But as you can appreciate from this account of our early struggles, it was touch and go for the first few years! 6

7 Lobster Boil Bev Dicks and Andrew Crane hosted their 10th Annual Lobster Boil on June 12, 2015, with help from lots of eager volunteers. Lobster wranglers, barbeque chefs, table setters, drink servers, dish washers, many hands on deck to make sure the event was as much fun (and as delicious) as usual. This one s for you, says Bev. The baked potatoes were done to perfection. Thanks, Enrique. So many good things, the plate could hardly hold it all. Zdenka Schier looks pretty pleased with her haul. Here s a toast to a delicious dinner. Now down to the serious business of eating those lobsters. 7

8 MEMBERSHIP SECRETARY Welcome Our New Members The next time you are at one of the EHYC social activities or down at the docks, keep an eye out for our new members and introduce yourselves. Several people have joined since January. New full members include Nick Miller (620), John MacRae (621), Elizabeth (and Bill) MacFarlane (622) and, this month, Timothy (and Gabriela) Grady (623). We have quite a roster of new Associate members. David Mathieson has moved from Active to Associate. George MacRae, (John s father), Martin Dawes, Ryan Leeson and Gavin Froome have joined as Associates. Our Junior ranks are swelling as well. Max Moore, Yasin Ladha and Roos Nijzink are our newest Junior members (and future Commodores). Long-time member Bob Johnston (R276) has moved from active to retired, as has Sheldon Goldberg (R451). Please take a few moments to make our new members welcome. We ve had several more inquiries and expect we ll have more new members before the end of this year, especially with the addition of the paddle-board rack, Tim s brilliant idea aimed at attracting a slightly younger crowd to the Club from the neighbourhood! Of course, the BBQs and liquor licence may have also contributed a bit... but we re boaters first, eh? Jonn Braman Griffin REAR COMMODORE S REPORT Storing Dinghies on the Dock Now that cruising season has started, please note dinghies are not to be stored on the docks or tied up behind or in front of your vessel. Kayaks and paddle boards if not stored on your boat, can be stored on the breakwater or you can apply for a spot on the new paddle board rack speak to Collen. Dock Lines What size dock line? General guide (use larger size for exposed conditions): Boat length: Line diameter: Up to 20 (6m) 3/8 (10mm) (6 9m) 1/2 (13mm) (9 11m) 5/8 (16mm) (11 13m) 3/4 (19mm) The Club has a roll of 5/8 three strand nylon line available to members at $0.80 / foot. Fenders are available from the Club at the following costs: Description Price A circ. $75 A-4 68 circ $95 A circ $200 A-1 36 circ Red $45 F-3 9x30 $88 HTM2 $60 HTM3 $95 Glen Blake Balaena Retired fire hose is available to use as chaffing gear (no cost). 8

9 Dock Lines Bow Line (loose) After Spring (tight) Forward Spring (tight) Stern Line (loose) Bow Line (loose) Forward Spring (tight) After Spring (tight) Stern Line (loose) Spring lines should equal the length of the boat (longer is better) Lines should be tied within assigned moorrage space SAFETY DAY 2015 The new and improved Safety Day this year included fair weather and lively attendees. Jerry plus sidekick from Canadian Power and Sail Squadron inspected nearly 30 vessels (most passed). Rachel from Link2Life gave a really thorough presentation on the effective use of our brand new Automatic External Defibrillator (AED) this was particularly well attended. You know where the AED is located at the bar in the Clubhouse, right? DNA (Andre) was on hand as always to inspect/refill our fire extinguishers and West Van Fire Department members put on a demonstration of how to use them (the Commodore was keen to show her abilities). Now we all know what the acronym PASS stands for. Thunderbird Marine made sure safety goodies were available, and last but not least, the Collen-orchestrated smokies and social hour were the hit of the day. Derwyn Lea Barcarolle The defibrillator demonstration was very detailed and was watched with rapt attention by EHYC members. 9

10 Many new fire extinguishers made their way onto EHYC boats on Safety Day. Now we all know how to deal with fires! The Courtesy Checks gave EHYC boats a careful going over. And after it was all over, it was great to relax on the patio and enjoy the sunshine. 10

11 JUNIOR COORDINATOR S REPORT Since the last report, we have had the annual boat wash, Sailpast, and supervised sailing is well underway. The boat wash was very successful, with eight Juniors showing up plus two adults (thanks to Tom Duguid and Cheralyn Mitton). We got six boats washed, although some were pretty clean to start with. Sailpast went well, with Juniors setting sail in their dinghies to salute the Commodore. They returned to dock to enjoy the fantastic lunch. It was a great social event for junior and senior members alike. We have been offering supervised sailing from noon to 3 every Saturday in May. The sessions are continuing through June. Hopefully this lovely weather will encourage more members to come out for these sessions. Supervised sailing is open to all Junior members (you don t need a specific level of Cansail to take part) and senior members and their families are welcome to drop by and come out at the same time. Juniors can bring along a sibling or mom or dad. There is no charge for this, so come along for one session or all of them. We have a coach in place who can help you rig the boats and keep an eye on you on the water. Coaches are there to help, but won t do any formal coaching although they can give a few pointers. Sessions will run in June and possibly July, subject to demand, and will then resume again in late August/September. We use a range of boats depending on your level of experience. Try our fast and colourful Fevas or set the spinnaker on a 420. We have plenty so please let us know if you are interested in taking part. Juniors should watch out for regular s and let me know if they are planning on coming along. Senior members should me (juniors@ehyc.org) if they are interested. Sailing School starts on June 29. Plans are well underway to get everything ready for the first day. Our replacement engines (for the stolen ones) are on the way and a new coach boat has been ordered. We recently took delivery of two used 420s from Deep Cove Yacht Club. This year we will be offering Cansail 5 lessons and this course is fully booked. As usual, we will be offering lessons for ages 7 to 16 in a range of boats Optimists for the younger kids, Pirates for beginners, Fevas, FJs and 420s for the more advanced students. Unfortunately, our registrations are disappointing this year. I would like to ask members a favour. Please send a link to our website ( to as many people you think may be interested in our lessons (for their kids, grandkids, friends of the family, etc). We need to get the word more about our great programs. Please consider helping. It is very important that we maintain our numbers so we can offer excellent programs with quality equipment. Thank you very much and I wish you a great summer on the water. Callum Beveridge Junior Club/Sailing School Juniors take part in Sailpast 11

12 STAFF CAPTAIN S REPORT Sailpast The weather was lovely and that encouraged many members to participate. Some were so eager they were out of the starting blocks before the twelve o clock gun was fired and the Commodore had a chance to cast off. (Tut! Tut! Such a breach of protocol!) As ever, it took a while for the sail boats to form a line, but thanks to the fact that West Vancouver Yacht Club held their Sailpast an hour earlier than usual we did not have quite the confusion that has marked some previous events. No EHYC boaters joined the West Van line and saluted the other club s Commodore! The power boaters were scattered over a wide area when the parade began, but they formed a pretty close line behind the Staff Captain when the moment came to head towards the boat on which this year s Commodore, Marg Latham, was waiting to acknowledge their displays of respect. Back at the Clubhouse we enjoyed an excellent buffet lunch prepared, as it has been in several of the last few years, by Cindy Cutts, a Club member who has done this as her work-party contribution to EHYC. It involves a very great deal of work and Cindy deserves hearty thanks from all of us who attend this event. Supercruise The Victoria Day weekend cruise was held at Nanaimo Yacht Club this year. Initially we had planned to return one more time to Otter Bay Marina, which had provided such an excellent venue for two previous cruises. Unfortunately, in early February when we ed Charlene and Jess Mansley, who manage the marina, they gave us the sad news that they would be unable to accommodate us. Most of their dock space is now take up with year-long rentals, leaving only a few slips for transient moorage. And to make matters worse, they no longer had the services of Stephan, the chef who had fed us so well on previous trips. Jenny and I immediately began the search for an alternative venue. Nanaimo Yacht Club came to our rescue, offering sufficient moorage for our boats and the rental of their large function room in which we could hold dinners on both Saturday and Sunday evenings. Over a period of two and a half months Rob Weibe, their Rear Commodore, Carol Shaw, the club Secretary and Rusty Kostka, the club manager, were immensely helpful and generous. They charged us only half the normal rental fee for their function room. As the weekend of the Supercruise drew near, we were hoping that the weather would be kind to us. And it was. We had lots of sunshine and even some wind to allow us to sail over. Once there, Rusty went to great length to help us not only finding slots for our boats but also answering innumerable questions about club facilities. On the Saturday evening we held a barbecue/pot-luck supper cooking our chosen meats on the barbecue and sharing numerous delicious cold dishes and desserts. After the eating we opened a large envelope given to us by Margaret Campbell (who sadly was unable to be there) and conducted a quiz that tested peoples knowledge of the province in which we live. It was rather like an English quiz-night at the pub. We had five tables of half a dozen members each, locked in fierce competition. Much laughter and only a little cheating! In the end prizes were awarded to eight people. One table had mysteriously gained two new members! Nanaimo Yacht Club did not provide the open spaces for the playing of bocce and other games or an appropriate spot for the Blind Dinghy Race that we have had at other places, but it did offer immediate access to a very attractive sea-wall path right into the heart of the town, and close-by ferries across to Newcastle Island with its excellent camping sites, tables, and trails. There is also a ferry to Protection Island with its Dinghy Dock Pub and roadways and shore paths. Some of our members chose to anchor or pick up a mooring buoy just off Newcastle Island or take their boat right into the municipal marina. On the Sunday evening we had arranged a catered meal in the club s room. We had taken the advice offered by Rob Weibe, Carol, and Rusty and hired a company that has provided meals for the yacht club on many occasions. Cheryl Nixon s Spice of Life Caterin did a great job... excellent service and generous helpings of very good food. On the Monday morning some folks headed home, but a good many took advantage of the sunshine and breezes to extend their stay at Nanaimo or to set off for favourite anchorages or mooring spots further down the Vancouver Island coast. All in all, it made for a very fine start to a boater s cruising season. Thanks to all of you who participated. Photo Competition This will undoubtedly be held again this year. Preliminary discussions have been taking place. Details will be provided shortly. Fishing Competition This competition has not been held for several years. It will be revived this year. Brian and Jenny Elliott Bohemian 12

13 Sailpast May 9,

14 Supercruise May 16/17, 2015 The Nanaimo Yacht Club gave EHYC a warm welcome. The NYC s deck proved to be the perfect spot for Happy Hour. Picnic on Newcastle Island anyone? The buffet provided by Spice of Life Caterin was a delicious success in a clubhouse bedecked with flags. 14

15 FLEET CAPTAIN S REPORT The BIYC Spring Quartet Series picked up where we left off in our last Soundings report. EHYC was represented by Dave Wilson and crew on Merlin, and Bruce Winfield and crew on Nunnehi. Merlin had a very good series, finishing with a four-race record of , and the overall series win! Nunnehi did very well too, following a non-start in race 1, with a threerace finish of April 26th marked the last race in this series, which doubles as our EHYC Invitational Race. Unfortunately no additional yachts from EHYC or any other clubs registered for this race, hosted by EHYC, so the race participants remained the same as those that competed in the entire Spring Quartet series. Twice around Passage and Bird Rock, with the finish line a big experiment this year! At the urging and sage advice from Collen, your Fleet Captain set the finish line as the imaginary line sighted from the Club deck, over the rock just north of the breakwater to the first point of land to the south of Eagle Harbour. Merlin took line honours with a thankfully self-reported time, with BIYC s Wingaway correcting to 1st overall. Your Fleet Captain came to quickly realize that the anticipated excitement of a finish observed from the Club deck would be very short lived indeed with a clockwise course - it s impossible to see the approaching yachts around the corner of Eagle Island until a few seconds before they cross the finish line in a moderate breeze! One can t be distracted by chit-chat and BBQ watching when there are finish line duties to be done! The rest of the finish went well after that, and I believe consensus was that a finish line close to the breakwater provides for ample observation opportunities by those on the deck, and yachts in the race as well. A good time was had by all on the Club deck with Collen s usual BBQ fare and trophy presentations. Many thanks to Junior Members Olivia and James for handling the committee boat duties, and staying available on the water until all had finished; and to Vickie Hottes and David Conn for all their help with the onshore hosting functions. Next up for some of us was the Club Supercruise to NYC this year, which was organized and is reported on by our Staff Captain Brian Elliott elsewhere in this issue. For others, it was Round Saltspring on the May long weekend. Andre Wojcieszek and crew, back on Andre s Radical Departure this year, took 6th overall, while Bruce Winfield and crew on Nunnehi finished closer to the end of the pack, but in some very competitive company! Radical Departure at time of writing this article was in Ucluelet Harbour, taking part in the grueling VanIsle 360, and sitting 10th overall in Div 1 after six legs reported. I m not aware of any EHYC yachts that participated in Swiftsure this year, so apologies if I ve missed anyone! June 6th & 7th saw the annual RNSA Single Handed Race from Point Grey, to Cape Roger Curtis, to Nanaimo on Saturday, with a straight shot back to Point Grey on Sunday. Our Club was well represented again by Andrew Crane on Moonshadow III (4th in Div 2), Ken Kufta on Elysium (6th in Div 2), Dave Horton on Grey Goose (2nd in Div 3),and Bernie Walker on Pavlova (3rd in Div 3). Good weather and good wind prevailed for the weekend, with the outbound leg taking between six and eight hours, and the return leg about ½ that time! Many thanks due to Len Brownlie on Knotty Girl for carrying out EHYC s race day responsibilities of setting the turning mark near Cape Roger Curtis! Just for interest in other events around the PNW, June 7th also saw the start of Stage 2 of the R2AK (Race to Alaska) from Victoria Harbour, BC to Ketchikan, AK about 750 nautical miles. First to finish was Team Elsie Piddock, in five days (all upwind!)! Elsie Piddock is a 25 kit-built Trimaran with a crew of three and a PHRF Rating of -20! Check out the R2AK website for more details on this interesting race! The longest start line in the Northwest saw almost 100 registered yachts circumnavigating Bowen Island on June 13th in the ever-popular BIYC Round Bowen Race. Results just in looks like Bruce Winfield and crew on Nunnehi were the only EHYC participants this year, finishing 42nd overall out of the 98 starters. The WVYC popular mid-week Wednesday Evening Series continues through mid-september. The race format is divided into five series of roughly four weeks each. Series 1 is now complete with Merlin finishing 3rd overall in Div 2, and Nunnehi finishing 6th in Div 3. Grey Erik is back on the racing scene after three months of too much traveling, and will compete in Series 2. The next two traditional Club races, the Single- and Double-Handed races remain unscheduled. The turnout last year for these races was very discouraging, in fact no one from our Club registered for the Double-Handed race. If anyone has any thoughts about this, or an idea of what better dates might be selected, please shoot me an or call. Good sailing, Kent Brownlow Grey Erik 15

16 EHYC Invitational Race April 26,

17 Doug Close observes: Racers need to know a sharp mind can help win races... A new study from Saarland University in Germany, suggests that brief sleep or short naps during the day can significantly improve memory retention and potentially boost brain power. The researchers found that even sleeping for short periods lasting from 45 to 60 minutes produces a five-fold improvement in information retention and retrieval from memory.