Commodore Cromer s Corner

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1 March 2015 http//mssclub.org 1350 CR 411 Killen AL March Schedule Schedule of Events Sat 7 th Work Day Wed 11 th Telcom Board Meeting Sat 14 th Club Race 1 PRO Bill Parkhurst w/ Dave Seborg & Mark Puckett Sat 21 st Race Committee Orientation Class taught by Tommy Glenn Sat.28 th Club Race 2 PRO Joel VerPlank w/ Dave Seborg PLEASE NOTE THE SAILING SEMINAR FLYER ON THE LAST PAGE. WE D LIKE YOU TO MAKE SOME COPIES AND POST ON YOUR WORK BULL ITEN BOARDS THIS IS THE ONLY MEMBERSHIP CAMPAIGN WE HAVE. Commodore Cromer s Corner As I wrote last month, my main goal as Commodore is to increase participation in club W activities, both racing and non-racing. Lawn Sports Day, May 16, will be great off-the-water fun, and I hope to have a lot of folks come. I ll tell you all about it in my next Commodore s Corner. This month we will hold two club races to get everyone back on the water. Even if you have never raced, you should join in. And by the way, we have the Race Committee Course on March 21. Please come out and learn a little about racing and a lot about what s involved with being on race committee. If you know me, you realize that I have sailed in lots of races and maybe won one or two, but mostly sailed way back. So why does someone who is not competitive keep going out? Well, it s fun. My first year or two, I would start each race, and then about the time the boat in front of me was crossing the finish line (my eyes were much better then, and I could see that far) I would fire up the motor and be in the mix for the next start. Lots of DNFs. After a while I got a little better and would get a Did Finish without delaying the racing. Then one day, I actually beat someone. I think he was so humiliated that he didn t race again for two years. Gradually I improved and now I strive to be in the middle of the pack. Two rules on my boat: nobody yells, and try not to come in last. So why race, if I don t have much chance of winning? I have always said that learning to sail is easy--but learning to sail well is hard. Sailing is fun right away, but you can spend a lifetime learning to do it better. One way to improve your sailing skills is to race. When I am racing and suddenly I find myself a lot closer to that boat in front of me, I try to figure out what I did right. Or (more commonly) when the boat gained a hundred yards on me I try not to repeat that mistake. Slowly, I get better. Surely, I learn more and more about sailing faster. Continued on page 2

2 Continued from page 1 But, as I said, it s fun. At least at the start of the race I am in the thick of things, sailing a couple of yards away from the other boats speeding along at three or four knots. It s exciting. And when the racing is over for the day I go into the clubhouse and enjoy the friendship of club members and watch sunset from the most beautiful spot on the lake. So come out and race, and don t worry if you beat me--i will keep sailing. Living land and Water Project Coming to the Shoals Spending up to 9 months a year living and traveling on the barge, the Living Lands & Waters' crew hosts river cleanups, watershed conservation initiatives, workshops, tree plantings and other key conservation efforts. THEIR MISSION To aid in the protection, preservation and restoration of the natural environment of the nations major rivers and their watersheds. To expand awareness of environmental issues and responsibility encompassing the river. To create a desire and an opportunity for stewardship and responsibility for a cleaner river environment. Schedule of Shoals Events In April the Living Land and Water project will make a 22 day journey down the Tennessee River from Knoxville to Paducah. They will stop in the Shoals May 9 th through the 12 th. Headquartered in East Moline, Illinois, Living Lands & Waters is a 501 (c)(3) environmental organization that was established by Chad Pregracke in Since the organization was founded, Living Lands & Waters has grown to be the only industrial strength river cleanup organization like it in the world. Sat. 9 th Sun: 10 th Mon 11 th Tue. 12 th Community cleanup Open House and tree give away Public presentation & student workshop Press Event Janna Whitley director of the Rogersville Chamber of Commerce is helping coordinate the activities in the Shoals. Her phone number is More details about the Tennessee River tour and opportunities to participate are available at Livinglandsandwater.org

3 Annual Captain s Classes at Muscle Shoals Sailing Club We are privileged to be partnering with Muscle Shoals Sailing Club Classroom is located at 1350 County Road 411, Killen, AL OUPV (6-Pack) 56 hours course Saturday-Sunday Aug 1-2 9a 6p Monday-Friday Aug 3-7 6p 10p Saturday Aug 8-9 9a 6p making it easier to use and still allow for storage of up to 12 boats. The rack now has a new metal roof, roof stringers, roof beams, and new cross bracing. Another day of work is needed to finish the rack, replace the carpet pads, clean up the boats and return them to the rack. The annual fee for use of the Laser rack is due at the first of each year and should be paid to the treasurer for each stored boat. For more information regarding the classes, contact Captain Ronald Getter at or CaptianGetter@TrueCourses.com BOAT RACK GETS NEW ROOF On February 7th and 14th we had two work parties to remove the boats (and junk) from the old Laser rack, disassemble it, and replace the roof. We can thank Tom Cromer, Rick McAdams, Bob Stagg, Gar Bouse, Jim Farrell, Finn Jones, John Sworm, Mike Tutich, Brent Woods and all I forgot to mention for the great work. From the photo you can see that the rack is now only two boats high. As we only have 6 Lasers and two Sunfish on the rack now the storage space for each boat has been increased We are also hoping to find a good way to store the 420 dinghies on the large "party dock" so they will not have to be launched with our decrepit trailers. Hopefully this will be completed before the UNA sailing classes in May. Another dinghy related project is to provide an easily launched rescue/coach boat to support sailing classes. Bob and Sue Kuehlthau have agreed to donate a 14' inflatable RIB and outboard for this purpose. It is a used boat which we hope to have in place on a floating launch ramp by midmay. Current plans are to locate the floating ramp in the shallow slip next to the Race Committee Boat.

4 WORK DAY A SUCCESS MSSC BOARD OF DIRECTORS Commodore Secretary Treasurer Tom Cromer tomcromer@outlook.com Wes Brown j.wesley.brown@gmail.com Paul Jacobs ppjacobs@comcast.net It turned out to be a very nice day and much was accomplished by the members who came out. Bob K finished the boat rack, Jim F,Finn and his son Jacob cleared most of the trees off the north bank of the boat yard, the logs were removed from the ramp and the burn pile grew to three times larger plus two smaller piles were started. 1 st Vice Comm. Paul Hill jpaul0113@gmail.com Contact Paul for Clubhouse rentals 2 nd Vice Comm. John Sworm Johnsworm33@hotmail.com Contact John for a space in the boat yard Harbor Master Jim Farrell jffarrell@comcast.net Contact Jim for slip availability Fleet Captain Sail Master Joel VerPlank joel@verplank.com Tommy Glenn tbglemm@gmail.com Jacob Jones, Finn s son, clearing the bank We have two spare masts about 27 ft. tall. They can be yours for the price of the aluminum. They will be cut up and sold to the recyclers if no one wants them. Contact Rick McAdams for more details at Tack Editor Rick McAdams richardmcadams@comcast.net

5 SSC ANNUAL SAILING SEMINAR 2015 LEARN TO SAIL IN TWO WEEKENDS NO PRIOR EXPERIENCE NECESSARY There is nothing - absolutely nothing - half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats. - Water Rat, Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows DATE: JUNE 6th & 7th and JUNE 13th & 14th THIS IS A 4 DAY SEMINAR HELD ON TWO CONSECTIVE WEEKENDS TIME: PLACE: COST: 9 TO 5 EACH DAY MUSCLE SHOALS SAILING CLUB ON WILSON LAKE $60.00 PER STUDENT WITH A $20.OO DISCOUNT FOR EACH ADDITIONAL FAMILY MEMBER THIS SEMINAR IS DESIGNED FOR ANYONE INTERESTED IN EXPERIENCING THE JOY OF SAILING AND LEARNING BASIC SAILING SKILLS Must be at least 8 years old to attend Children under the age of 12 must be accompanied by an adult Space is limited so please register early CALL for more information: Tommy Glenn, Chairman or tbglenn@gmail.com Or visit our web site at

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