...a little dinghy. Inside this issue: Gold Country Yacht Club. Soundings from the Poop-deck. Don t Forget. Tish Buti. November 12th Meeting

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Volume 22, Issue 11 November 2003...a little dinghy Gold Country Yacht Club See you at the Christmas Party!

Don t Forget November 12th Meeting 2004 Election of Officers Inside this issue: Soundings from the Poop-deck Tish Buti Hey what happened to summer?

1 Volume 22, Issue 11 November a little dinghy Gold Country Yacht Club See you at the Christmas Party! If you won a perpetual trophy last year and have not already returned it, don t forget to bring it to the Nov. meeting. We are looking for ideas for next years calendar, if you have any let Tish know. Don t Forget November 12th Meeting 2004 Election of Officers Inside this issue: Soundings from the Poop-deck Tish Buti Hey what happened to summer? Can you believe it from 90 degrees to 30 degrees inside of 7 days! It is with great sadness that I report the loss of club member Sioux Wight who died suddenly October 18th of natural causes. Sioux was always there to help with the Regatta and Christmas Party. Personally, I really loved working on these special events with her and will really miss her fresh ideas and great sense of humor. Our condolences to Don, our Cruise chairman, and his family. Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers. November is always a busy month as we look forward to the holidays. I hope you will find time to join us at Larry & Lena s Pizza Parlor for our regular meeting on November 12th. This is the meeting where our slate of officers for next year is voted on. We will also have sign-ups for our Christmas Party/Awards Dinner to be held on Saturday, December 6th at the Scout Lodge in Grass Valley. Please mark your calendars and plan on joining us. Dates for next year s calendar are all ready being blocked out. If you know of any special events to be included, please let one of the Board members know as soon as possible. Our Regatta will be held on June 5th & 6th so please mark your calendar early. I am all ready getting word of other club s Regattas to be included on our calendar For those of you with perpetual club trophies, please bring them to our November meeting or drop them at Litton Engineering Labs as soon as possible. That s all for now. Hope to see you on the 12th Soundings form The Poop-deck 1 Membership 2 Fun in BVI 3 From The Starting Line 4 Fishing in the Queen Charlotte Islands 5 IN MEMORY of SIOUX WIGHT 2004 Membership Application 7

Page 2...a little dinghy At Our Helm Commodore Tish Buti 273-7819 tbuti@yahoo.com Vice Commodore G. Frank Nin 273-2564 gfnin@earthlink.net Secretary Lynn Buchanan sailynn@ussailing.

2 Page 2...a little dinghy At Our Helm Commodore Tish Buti Vice Commodore G. Frank Nin Secretary Lynn Buchanan Treasurer Nicki Talman Cruise Chairman Don Wight Publicity/ Membership Beth Buti Port Captain Doug Epperson Race Chairman Jerry Lewis Newsletter Editor Jeff Lund Place a Business card ad In this publication Call Jeff Lund your wish is my command! All you really need is a business card and the desire. Membership Beth Buti This year we have had so many new members join. It has been lots of fun meeting all of these new people (and I ve had a lot of fun interviewing and getting to know them as well!) I hope all new (and old) members know that they can always call me if they have questions or just want to know more about our club. And If I don t know the answers I can at least give you the number of those who may. I m looking forward to another exciting year as publicity and membership, and hope we continue to grow and have as much fun as we did this year. Here are a few more new members who have joined recently. Starting in September, if a new member joins, their dues are good for the rest of this year as well as all of next year. Tell a friend! Name: April Wicke Type of Boat: none right now Reason for Joining: She wants to get back into sailing. Other Hobbies: Horses, farming, hiking, camping loves the outdoors. Cruising Background: April has done a lot of sailing out of the Channel Islands Marina area. She did day sails, and is now interested in getting back into sailing, and possibly doing some crewing with others. Name: Mel Atwood Type of Boat: Newport 28 (docked in Emeryville) Reason for Joining: Recently moved to Grass Valley and likes to sail Other Hobbies: Mel teaches wilderness First Aid, he s an EMT in Roseville, and he likes all sorts of outdoor sports white water rafting, skiing, backpacking, canoeing Racing Background: He does lots of amateur, single handed society races in the SF bay and beer can races. He was titled the Beer Can King of Latitude 38 ask him about it!!! Cruising Background: He has cruised in the San Juan Islands, in Southern CA, in the Delta, and in the SF Bay. Name: Melissa and David Kraus Type of Boat: Coronado 15 Reason for Joining: They recently moved here from Cleveland and are interested in meeting other sailors. Other Hobbies: Hiking, skiing, biking the outdoors Racing and Cruising Background: Did a bit of racing in Cleveland but just bought this boat over the summer and are interested in doing more of both.

Volume 22, Issue 11 Page 3 Fun in BVI: Tich Buti Down the way where the nights are gay and the sun shines brightly on the mountain tops These words from Harry Belafonte s old song were one of the

The sailing really was exceptional and the boat chartered through North/South Yacht Charters a Catalina 42 Mark II-was a dream to sail.

John s Is- land, for some absolutely awesome snorkeling. We hiked over the hill between Great Harbor and White Bay on the island of Jost Van Dyke to visit the Soggy Dollar Bar.

Since they had just installed a beer brewing plant, we were treated to ice cold brew by the brewmeister, Aaron. Diamond Cay offered one of the most beautiful evenings we had afloat.

3 Volume 22, Issue 11 Page 3 Fun in BVI: Tich Buti Down the way where the nights are gay and the sun shines brightly on the mountain tops These words from Harry Belafonte s old song were one of the best descriptions of our vacation to the British Virgin Islands with Hugh and Nicki Talman. It was marvelous! The sailing really was exceptional and the boat chartered through North/South Yacht Charters a Catalina 42 Mark II-was a dream to sail. Wayne and I had been to the BVI twice before, but this time we visited spots we had not seen before. We visited the Indians, little islands between Norman Island and St. John s Is- land, for some absolutely awesome snorkeling. We hiked over the hill between Great Harbor and White Bay on the island of Jost Van Dyke to visit the Soggy Dollar Bar. We stopped in at Diamond Cay between Jost Van Dyke and Little Jost Van Dyke to check out a new bar/restaurant opened by an old favorite Foxy s Taboo. Since they had just installed a beer brewing plant, we were treated to ice cold brew by the brewmeister, Aaron. Diamond Cay offered one of the most beautiful evenings we had afloat. We were the only boat in the harbor and the full moon rose over the mountain tops, creeping up above the clouds and shining down on us through the rigging awesome! Another new stop was at Great Harbor (a lot of those down there) on Peter Island. The water here was so incredibly beautiful. It went from shades of bright turquoise that you could see fish and plants 60 feet down, to deep blues where you could only see bright flashes from fish swimming by. The snorkeling here was exceptional. This area at Peter Island Park System and was saw a HUGE stingray trysand on the bottom and beautiful sea fans of the on the entire trip was and I have ever had any- is part of the BVI National really a treat for us. We ing to bury himself in the saw the largest and most whole trip. The snorkeling probably the best Wayne where. How To Reach Us: We welcome letters form our readers. The writer should include his/ her name, address and phone number....a little dinghy reserves the right to select letters for publication and edit all submissions for length. Letters to the editor: Jeff Lund Sontag Hill Rd. Grass Valley, CA Or send by to: Jeff@sierranetworks.com To Subscribe: This newsletter is published monthly by the GCYC. For membership information, please access our web site at: We also visited old favor- ite stops along the way Callaloo in Great Harbor, Peter Island Cane Garden Bay on Tor- tola, Cooper Island, Little Harbor on Jost Van Dyke, Soper s Hole on Tortola, Marina Cay, Trellis Bay, Leverick Bay, Virgin Gorda Yacht Harbor and of course The Baths on Virgin Gorda. At the Baths, we hiked through the caves of the Baths and visited Devil s Bay. The water in this little bay was so clear! It was like swimming in an aquarium. We had bright colored parrot fish, reef fish and any number of other salt water specials close enough to touch. This huge rock formation just boggles the mind when you look at how Mother Nature has just thrown these big old boulders here. Because we were there before the official start of the high sailing season, we did have a few disappointments. When we stopped at one of my favorite spots, the Bitter End

I have been assured that we will be receiving one in the upcoming months to hang in our clubhouse. They were really very gracious hosts and we did get to have a walk-about through the whole place.

4 Page 4...a little dinghy Yacht Club in North Sound on Virgin Gorda, the whole facility was closed and not due to open until the day before we left. I had contacted them earlier about exchanging burgees and we were able to meet with Jason and do that but because it wasn t the season, they didn t even have their supply of burgees in yet! I have been assured that we will be receiving one in the upcoming months to hang in our clubhouse. They were really very gracious hosts and we did get to have a walk-about through the whole place. One of the neatest things on this trip was that we ran into a big Regatta. During our stay in Cane Garden Bay, one of the people we ran into told us about a week long Regatta for airline employees. We had seen a couple of boats flying Southwest Airlines flags when we were in Soper s Hole and when we stopped the next day in Cane Garden Bay, we heard about a huge party that was going to take place at one of the big restaurants on the beach, Myett s. We made dinner reservations and hung out an extra day just to participate in the festivities. Cane Garden Bay is a sleepy little harbor with white sand beach that is protected by a big reef. There were over 120 boats in this little harbor that night! And you would have thought it was Scotts Flat Lake on 4 th of July. There were characters running around in the dinghies with water guns and swimmers on rafts with umbrella hats floating from boat to boat, mooching drinks. Just about any airline or air cargo company you can think of was represented. We saw flags from Delta, American Airlines, United Airlines, Fedex, Maersk Air Cargo, Italia Air, SAS you name it, they were there. The best entertainment was actually watching them come in with all their decorations and costumes in the afternoon. One was better than the other. A lot of catamarans so some very creative makeshift names just for the occasion. (Ask Wayne and Hugh about some of the scenery.) It really was a kick! We ran into the group again on our way up to North Sound and passed close enough to the Race Committee boat to hear the horns sound for the start of the race this one day. Wayne had to carefully maneuver through the racers. Being racers, we were tempted to tighten up things a bit and give chase to some of the boats, but we refrained. There was one 50-foot Beneteaue racer that must have been growling at us we actually caught up and passed him as he was preparing for his start. We got in his way just a little bit. Couldn t resist! We have tons of stories and pictures to share and yes, the Wooly-Bully Boys sang throughout the trip. From the Starting Line: The 2003 Racing season has come to an end, with a big jump in the number of boats participating the last few races of the Summer Series. We had some really great weather, nice winds and excellent competition. We welcomed many new racers for the Summer Series and even a few Junior Sailors got into the fray. The Summer Series' 6 sets of three races per day found Jerry Lewis and Rick Paulson on KUDZU edging out Lynn Buchanan and Tish Buti on SAILYNN for top honors. Jeremy Gicker and Kent Bennett on CP-183 would have been in second except they missed one two many race days and had to count a couple of DNCs of 9 points each (due to eight boats showing up the last two race dates). As you can see in the standings, Kudzu totaled 15, Sailynn had 32 and CP-183 just ten behind with 42. Wayne Buti and Dale Buchanan on TROUBLE were right there too with 56 total points. So watch out, here comes "Trouble." In the JUNIORS DIVISION, Joshua Soch edged his brother Jamin for the Junior championships - a new category we hope to expand upon next year. Novice Champ, Rookie of the Year, Most Improved and the coveted Overall Championships (combining both Spring and Summer Series) to be presented at our December meeting/party. Thanks to all that helped make this year a success. It was great fun! Jerry Lewis

Volume 22, Issue 11 Page 5 DNS currently = largest fleet which is 8, hence DNS=9; "dns" = thrown out DNS score Fishing in the Queen Charlotte Islands: Jeff Lund This summer I was invited on a trip of

A couple of years ago my father decided to take each of his children on a salmon fishing trip in the Queen Charlotte Islands just south of Alaska.

Early the next day we flew to Sand Spit at the top of Moresby Island. By this point, my hope for good weather was beginning to falter as it was raining when we arrived.

We had spent two days traveling to get to the ship and within an hour we were out in the ocean with lines in the water pulling out salmon you had to see to believe.

5 Volume 22, Issue 11 Page 5 DNS currently = largest fleet which is 8, hence DNS=9; "dns" = thrown out DNS score Fishing in the Queen Charlotte Islands: Jeff Lund This summer I was invited on a trip of a lifetime that I thought would be fun to share with the club. A couple of years ago my father decided to take each of his children on a salmon fishing trip in the Queen Charlotte Islands just south of Alaska. This year it was my turn with the trip scheduled for the first week of July. We left Sacramento airport on the 6 th and spent the night in Vancouver B.C. Early the next day we flew to Sand Spit at the top of Moresby Island. By this point, my hope for good weather was beginning to falter as it was raining when we arrived. From there we boarded a puddle jumper and flew north along the west side of Graham Island to Reynolds Sound where the M.V. Salmon Seeker was quietly waiting for us. We had spent two days traveling to get to the ship and within an hour we were out in the ocean with lines in the water pulling out salmon you had to see to believe. Our normal day went something like this. We arose at 5:00 AM, got dressed in our survival suits, had breakfast and were on the boat by 6:00 AM. Then it was out to the mouth of the sound (30 min trip) while trying to keep warm at 40 mph as the boat jumped and skipped from swell to swell. We would generally fish until 4:00 PM grabbing lunch as we could before calling it a day. Then it was back to the Salmon Seeker for drinks and hors-d oeuvres and as one might expect the swapping fish stories. One guy actually caught a 175 lb Hali- but wining a place on the Master Fisherman s board. Every night at 6:00 PM a gourmet dinner with wine was waiting for us and by 8:00 or 9:00 it was lights out. I m not usually the type to get up at 5:00 AM in the morning but believe me it was not a problem. Every day was filled with new sights, more fish than you knew what to do with, Beautiful scenery and Bald Eagles everywhere you looked. There was no reason to wonder what it was like 100 years ago, I was looking at it.

Page 6...a little dinghy Generally the fisher persons (we had ladies too) were usually grouped in 2 s and had just enough room in their cabins for a bed, a small shared closet and a sink.

In fact between the 28 fishing enthusiasts we brought back over 4,000 lbs of fish (Chinook & CoHo Salmon, Ling Cod, Halibut and Red Eye.

As we flew in and out I couldn t help but re- alize that this was one of the most spectacular areas I have ever seen.

6 Page 6...a little dinghy Generally the fisher persons (we had ladies too) were usually grouped in 2 s and had just enough room in their cabins for a bed, a small shared closet and a sink. The shower was shared with another cabin but it seemed to work out ok. I mean, after all, we weren t there for relaxation. In fact between the 28 fishing enthusiasts we brought back over 4,000 lbs of fish (Chinook & CoHo Salmon, Ling Cod, Halibut and Red Eye. We were there for 5 Days and as it turned out the weather cleared on the 1 st night and was warm and sunny the whole time we were there (not normally the case). As we flew in and out I couldn t help but re- alize that this was one of the most spectacular areas I have ever seen. If you thing that the San Juan Islands are nice, you should go see the Queen Charlotte Islands. Would I go again? You bet! You could sail up there for years and never see it all. A little about the Queen Charlotte Islands: The Queen Charlottes are an archipelago of approximately 1,884 islands (150 significant islands), 60 nautical miles off of northwestern British Columbia. The islands were named by Captain George Dixon (British Navy) in He named the islands after his ship, the Queen Charlotte, which in turn, was named after the Queen of England. However, the native people of the islands (the Haida), call the islands Haida Gwaii ( Homeland ). The two main islands are Graham Island in the north, and Moresby Island in the south. Graham and Moresby are separated by the very narrow Skidegate Channel (pronounced Skid-eh-Gate ). On the east side of the Charlottes is Hecate Strait; a very large, shallow body of water. They say that a mere 10,000 years ago, Hecate Strait was actually dry land and tundra. Since the first sign of human life on the islands dates back to about the same time period, one could speculate that the original islanders just strolled on over from pre-historic Prince Rupert. Things are quite different on the west side of the islands. The islands drop precipitously off into the depths of the North Pacific. By the time you are 10 nautical miles west of the islands, the water is over a mile deep (1,000 fath- oms). There is virtually no sign of the continental shelf on the west side of the Charlottes. In comparison, the continental shelf extends for nautical miles off the North Coast of British Columbia, Vancouver Island, Charlottes have been referred to as both the Canadian Galápagos and the Hawaii of Canada. While I have not been to the real Galápagos, I have read about them. I have been to Hawaii. If you are expecting the Charlottes to be a warm tropical place, change your expectations. Based on my experience the Charlottes are not generally warm and tropical. Rather they are windy and wet. C L U B S I E R R A CS SPORTS & FITNESS CENTER (916) W. Berryhill Dr. Grass Valley, CA Fax (916)

7 Volume 22, Issue 11 Page

Gold Country Yacht Club P.O. Box 813 Grass Valley, CA 95945 Phone: (530) 273-7819 Email: tbuti@yahoo.com WE RE ON THE WEB! Look for us at - www.nccn.

8 Gold Country Yacht Club P.O. Box 813 Grass Valley, CA Phone: (530) WE RE ON THE WEB! Look for us at - November Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat December Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat November 3 PICYA Meeting Delta Marina YC December 6 Awards/Christmas Party November 6 BOD Meeting November 12 Club Larry & Lenna s Pizza November Cold Turkey Cruise LARRY & LENNA S PIZZA Johnson Place, Grass Valley CA. - Phone: (530) Remember, there is a 20% discount on your food if ordered before 4:00PM. 6:00 and 7:00

...a little dinghy. Inside this issue: Gold Country Yacht Club. Soundings from the Poop-deck

...a little dinghy. Inside this issue: Gold Country Yacht Club. Soundings from the Poop-deck Volume 22, Issue 10 October 2003...a little dinghy Gold Country Yacht Club Special points of interest: Don t forget to return the perpetual trophies at the November meeting. Fleet week is close at hand.