The Chowder Chatter. Newsletter of the Caloosahatchee Marching & Chowder Society A Premiere Sailing Club of Southwest Florida

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1 The Chowder Chatter Newsletter of the Caloosahatchee Marching & Chowder Society A Premiere Sailing Club of Southwest Florida Next Full Moon Feb 25 FEBRUARY 2013 C o m m o d o r e ' s M e s s a g e A sailor s axiom states that the wind always comes from the direction you want to go. And every sailor knows that you can t sail directly into the wind. So the alternative is clear: going to weather not the easiest way to sail tacking through wind and waves. A zigzag course but not forgetting the destination. Tacking is simply a response to the obstacle of the wind and our determination to make the most of each leg to the journey until we reach landfall. So it is with life. CMCS has an outstanding year lined up with something for everyone. Many thanks to our dozens of volunteers that lend their hands and talents to make this possible! February is our membership appreciation meeting and I would like to go one step further ~ encouraging our members to come onboard to help with the many tasks that make CMCS the wonderful organization it is. There are many opportunities to get hands on ~ at the meeting the Commodore Bev Duff Committee Chairmen are being asked to have a display and opportunity for members to sign on with a committee to be that helping hand with the Committee. Large tasks broken into smaller pieces make it much easier to accomplish! Please go around, visit each Committee s display to see what they do and how each of us can help. CMCS has an ambitious cruising program planned this year! Another of my goals year is to get more boats out on the water to enjoy whatever we are offering.. And since we have the best gunk holes in Florida there are lots of choices besides our usual planned events. There s no place like an anchor in a quiet spot. CMCS continues its outstanding racing program however, our ranks have been tested for a full time Rear Commodore of Racing. So it is that we re drawing upon tradition and making the program easier for the Club racing. There are races for every experience level. Rounding the buoys is a great way to hone sailing skills. There s room for all ~ you want to crew, sign up, ~ have a power boat, help with race committee. Not sure your boat is competitive ~ sign up and find out. CMCS is philanthropic and we have just won a very prestigious award from US Sailing Association for with involvement in youth sailing programs in SW Florida. Many thanks for the generous contributions and Summerset sponsors for making this possible. Again, many hands ~ lots of applause all around. CMCS is known throughout SW Florida as THE Sailing Club to be a part of, and our signature event is Summerset. Sail the Tradition! My goal is to break the 100 boat mark again ~ we can do it. Everyone can participate and be a part of this signature event. This past year many more sailors found out that the best boating organization to be a part of in SW Florida is CMCS. WE ARE ABOUT BOATING/ SAILING in SW Florida, and not just a fork and knife yacht Club. Not that we don t enjoy our Chowder but more the Chatter and clamor of the working parts of a boat. CMCS has it all ~ great enthusiastic members, lots of folks willing to help on Committees, and a talented crew of Fag Officers and Directors, A Website that can link you to anything sailing in the area and all the club news. Many thanks to the outgoing Commodore, Officers and Directors and many Committee members who volunteer much of their time and talents to run CMCS. We are a sailing club, of and for sailors and we welcome you all aboard. There is no feeling as when your boat takes the wind into her sails and you find yourself steering a new course for new adventures. Fair winds and calm seas! See you on the water, Bev Duff

2 CMCS Giving it back to the community Steve Romaine presents a check for $500 to the Ostego Bay Foundation President Joanne Semmer. Steve Romaine presents a check a check for $600 to Gulf Coast Sailing Club Commodore Elizabeth Bloch. 2

3 US Sailing Award to CMCS US Sailing has presented to the Caloosahatchee Marching and Chowder Society (CMCS) a national award of excellence. The award for Outstanding Organizational Support 2012 was presented to CMCS's 2012 Commodore Glen Vetter and current Vice Commodore/Summerset Steve Romaine at the US Sailing national conference in Clearwater, FL January 24th. The award had eight nominees and is presented annually for noteable contributions to promote public access sailing in the development and organization of a program. This is the first time this award has been given to a Florida sailing club. 3

4 Racing News The Chili Cook-Off Regatta, held on Saturday, January 12, was a beautiful start to the 2013 season. The Regatta had 11 starters not a very good turnout for such a nice January day! The weather turned out to be a beautiful day with sunny skies, pleasant temperatures, calm seas and south-easterly breezes off of the beach. These conditions allowed for three races to be completed. In the Spinnaker Division, Forrest Banks Midnite Rider was first, followed by Eric Milbrandt s Full Tilt. In the Non- Spinnaker Division, Roger Horton s Wicked Wicked Ways was first, followed by Steve Romaine s Air Supply and John Churchill s Nurdle. In the True Cruising Division, Bill Misenheimer s Barefeet was first followed by Brock Johnson s Vixen and Stan Dale s Mark 1:17. The regatta was preceded by the annual Chili Cook-off Dinner at the Cape Coral Yacht Club on Friday evening. Rear Commodore of Racing The next regatta will be the Edison Gulf Regatta on Saturday, February 23, Steve Roake The racing will be followed by a skipper / crew gathering at Brock Johnson s home. More details to follow on this. CMCS is sponsoring a Rules Seminar on Sunday, February 3 at the Northern Trust Company s Community Room. This will be a four-hour session and will be presented by Carol Robinson. The seminar will include a general overview and refresher as well as what s changed in the version of the rules. There is a $5.00 contribution to cover handouts and refreshments. Registration opens at 9:30 AM with the seminar beginning at 10:00 AM. Please contact Steve Roake (steve@theroakes.com) to reserve your spot. Your timely reservation will help us plan for the number of handouts and refreshments. Advance payment is not necessary. Please bring your new rule book if you have one! A special thanks to The Northern Trust Company for donating the meeting room and Carol Robinson for donating her time to present this seminar. There are a number of changes to our program for the 2013 season. There s a new General Sailing Instructions with a new race course diagram; some changes to the starting sequences, division designations, awards qualifications and more! These documents have been ed to all current racers and are available on the CMCS website. One of the changes is the requirement for Division Pennants to help distinguish racers in the various divisions. Many racers have already purchased theirs. They will be available for purchase for $6.50 at the Rules Seminar and the next general club meeting, or contact Steve Roake to obtain yours. In December, the active racers were sent a short, ten-question survey asking for their opinions on various items. One of the questions dealt with interest in some casual races aka Lou Tilley events. These events will be open to anyone who wishes to participate. No fees will be required. Currently, the plan is to provide some practice sessions such as starts before the fun race. Participation in the practice sessions will not be required for participation in the race. Another possibility would be to offer some experienced racers to go with newer racers or those who might be thinking of racing to provide some informal coaching. Another question in the survey explored whether racers should take a more active role in race committee volunteering. 80 percent of the respondents agreed that the racers should provide some RC time. The Lou Tilley races might be the opportunity for some of the racers to see how RC works! 4

5 Racing News In order for the CMCS racing program to thrive we must have greater involvement and participation. One thing that needs improvement is participation in race management will see a few changes where the race chairman will chair a race committee comprised of a representatives from the fleet. This committee will help provide guidance for our racing program. Committee members are: Forrest Banks, Steve Romaine, Bill Misenheimer, Joe Periard, and Mike Smith. CMCS needs more volunteers for on-the- water race committee boat work. We need more volunteers to work with our experienced race officers in the conduct of the races. This is a great way to get some experience under the guidance of some of our race officers. Jobs include flag handling, timing, recording entrants and finish times, mark setting, etc. No experience is necessary just a willingness to help out! One of the benefits of being a U S Sailing member is receiving a new Racing Rules of Sailing rule book. The rules are updated every four years. The next new rules book will become effective on January 1, Join now to be on the mailing list for the new rules book. Go to for more information and membership applications. In addition to receiving your complimentary copy of the new Racing Rules of Sailing, membership entitles you to a ten percent discount on most regatta entry fees and discounts on merchandise available through the U.S. Sailing store. More importantly, it supports our national sailing organization, national events and educational programs that promote sailing in the U.S. Portraits taken at the annual Change of Watch banquet are now available on Shutterfly! Sailors take warning Do Not Feed the Cats! Photo by Don Lawson 5

6 Vice Commodore of Cruising Ron Maddix Cruising Report The New Years Cruise was well attended with 16 of the 20 boats making it all the way to Punta Gorda. Additional news on the Cruise is in Carolyn Wilson's Cruise report. The Duff's Winterset Cruise is scheduled for January 25th thru 27th. At the time of this writing they plan to sail to the Naples area. Hopefully, the warm winter weather will continue. EPOL will take place on February 15th thru 17th. Dock reservations should be made thru Paul Steinman and Rose Ann Hoffman not thru the Legacy Marina office. Friday evening we will have cocktails and hors d'oeuvres. The Oyster fest is scheduled for noon until they are gone, so don't be late. There will be a potluck at 5:00 pm with the parade starting later that evening. THE DEADLINE FOR ORDERING OYSTERS IS FEBRUARY, 8TH NO EXCEPTIONS(YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE) MY CHECK IS IN THE MAIL WILL NOT BE HONORED! The Panther Key and Points South Cruise is scheduled for March 1 thru the 8th. Waite Alexander, our Cruise leader, wants to Anchor Friday night at Champney Bay in Naples. We get to see how the other half lives. Saturday we will proceed to Panther Key. Those boats with less than 55' masts will want to follow the Preston's on the scenic Marco river thru Marco and Goodland. Those of us with "big sticks" will take the longer outside route. We will anchor here for 2 or three nights. Pot luck cook outs on the beach along with great dinghy rides make this a great destination. From there we will head to Everglades City, where we will go to the Rod and Gun Club Marina for two nights. From there we will go to Marco Island to anchor in Factory Bay for the last night of the Cruise. The following day we will head for home. If you have not been to these areas, this is a great opportunity to see some great cruising grounds. I will be leading the Cape Haze Cruise to Palm Island Marina on April 4 thru 7th. This is a Club favorite and slip reservations are limited. Activities are listed in the 2013 Cruising schedule. Marina reservations should be made thru the cruise leader and not the marina. This Cruise will fill up fast. Ron Maddix, Rear Commodore of Cruising I am trying to plan a cruise to the Abacos next June. ABACO BAHAMAS CRUISE (In Planning) Current idea is to leave Lake Worth Inlet (Palm Beach) on or about June 1 crossing to West End, then on to the Abcos. Return to SWFL on or about June 23. If anybody else is interested in such a trip, please contact Gordon Coffman -- "Ariel" or GHCoffman@rocketmail.com. 6

7 MEMBERSHIP & RECRUITMENT Hi fellow CMCS members. I would like to start out in my first Membership Fleet Recruiter message to say how excited I am to be a part of this great group. I am a fairly new member joined early last summer. I already feel like I ve known many of you for years and appreciate so much how you ve made me feel welcome. I feel strongly that the more you put into something the more you get out, and that s why I ve volunteered to help as Fleet Recruiter. So, in order to succeed in my new volunteer role, I m going to need some help. Any takers? As Bev indicated in the last Chowder Chatter, here are the tasks and responsibilities that I would be happy Fleet Recruiter Jean Andrews to share: There is: > The Reception desk at the meetings to meet and greet members, guests and prospects. > Behind the scenes is the membership packet(s) to have completed and ready for each meeting. > The computer work to maintain the rosters of the various fleets current > Keep the WEB Master to post to the WEB site. > Blast rosters to maintain and be prepared to send out as requested by various committees. (I understand the WEB Master is a great help with this task!) I would also like to get your thoughts as to the growth of CMCS membership. Please send any suggestions to jeanpandrews@gmail.com. We ll take all ideas under consideration. Thanks and Happy Sailing. Jean Pelican Bay is one of the favorite anchorages in SW Florida. Photo by Don Lawson 7

8 Our February cruise will be the Edison Parade of Lights Cruise, commonly known as EPOL. Reservations have been made at Legacy Harbor Marina for Feb 15 & 16 at the CMCS rate of $2.00 per foot. Please contact Rose Ann Hoffman at: or Susan Reekie at: ASAP AS THE SLIPS ARE GOING FAST Please include your NAME BOAT name LENGTH BEAM DRAFT 30 OR 50 AMP Edison Parade Of Lights Cruise FRIDAY NIGHT: Cocktails at 1700hrs at the Tiki Hut area. Please bring an appetizer to share. Dinner is on your own - on your boat or at one of the many restaurants in the area. SATURDAY: All you can eat oysters for all those who have signed up and paid in advance, 1200hrs at the front of C-Dock. CALLING ALL OYSTER SHUCKERS, please bring your knives and gloves. The club will provide plates, napkins, utensils and condiments. Volunteers for setting up tables and chairs will be most welcomed. SATURDAY NIGHT: Pot Luck Dinner at the Tiki Hut 1800hrs. Please bring a dish to share and your favorite drink. Again, plates, napkins, utensils etc will be provided. The Edison Parade starts at Ft Myers HS at 7:00pm and travels to the Downtown River District, so there is plenty of time for dinner and then a short walk to the parade area. SUNDAY: No formal breakfast is planned, so either eat on your boat or walk to one of the nearby restaurants. The Edison Parade of Lights is a very special occasion to the Ft Myers area. Please continue the CMCS tradition of lighting your boat to honor Thomas Edison. Plan on decorating your boat with white" Christmas" type lights while at the marina. If you have extra lights to share please bring them. FOR ALL LAND CRUISERS: Legacy Harbor Marina 2044 West First St Ft Myers Edison Parade of Lights Oyster Fest February 16, 2013 Names of people attending: All you can eat oysters: Number of people to eat oysters: Times $10 per person: Total amount enclosed: Please make check payable to CMCS and mail to: Paul Steinman, Tudor Dr., Cape Coral, FL The deadline is Friday, February 8 th sorry, no exceptions! 8

9 Ladies Bridge Club On 1/9/13 Biologist/Naturalist, Jonnie Gove, gave 12 of us a private swamp tour in Big Cypress the western Everglades. She gave of us our own walking stick which helped up to navigate all the plant routes and coral down below. We ended the tour in a huge Gator Hole where Jonnie explained how the Gator catches his prey. Luckily for us no Gators showed up. Photos provided by new member Rosie Young! Rose Ann Hoffman February 6th LBC is moved to February 13 and ECHO global farm in North Fort Myers. Go to their website at for details. I was thinking a 10:00am tour and then I am open to suggestions. March 9th Race for the Cure more details to come. March 14th - Ladies day sail more details to come. Thanks, Rose Ann 9

10 Really Great Stuff For Sail FOR SALE 1998 Beneteau Oceanis Hunter $16,900 Yanmar Marine Diesel Engine 15 HP New sole - handmade New Japsco head New Hatch Covers - Forward and Midship Navico AutoPilot Mainsail + 3 Head sails New cushions throughout. L.O.A. - 28' 5" L.W.L. - 23'9" Shoal Draft - 4'0" Headroom 6'2" Beam - 10'6" Call Jean Andrews at for more info. Beautiful, very comfortable cruising boat. Easy to sail and extremely roomy below, including king-size aft berth. New mainsail with in-mast furling, roller furling genoa, auto-pilot, 12v refrigeration, propane stove with oven, bimini/dodger, cockpit cushions, custom screens. Washed, waxed and ready to go. LOA: 32 ; Beam: 11 3 ; Draft: 4 3 ; Bridge Clearance: Yanmar 3GM30, 27 horsepower diesel engine with new 3-bladed prop; 1000 hours. All electronics, icl. New VHF radio and all new in mast wiring to antenna. New bilge pump system, new fresh water pump, and New Price: $56, 500 For more information, contact Russell Vance at or vances105@comcast.net FOR SALE Precision 18 hull #001: UNO For Sale: 2009 Achilles LSI-290 Air Floor Dinghy 9' 6" White Hypalon 75 lbs. but carries 1230 lbs. Like new for half the price! $1199 Dan Merriman A Beautiful Piece of Florida s Sailing History! Restored/Repaired and ready to enjoy Fittings recaulked, new headliner, new cushions, Good sails, galvanized trailer w/new axle, springs, & tires. Perfect for the river and other protected waters Easily towed, launched, & hauled out at local ramps. More pictures and information available CMCS Special Price: $2995 Is it time to renew your Boat US Membership? Remember to use the CMCS Group ID # GA82335B on your application, and save half the price of your annual membership fee Phil Correll: or pccist@yahoo.com 10

11 C.M.C.S. CHANDLERY Buy, sell, trade Members, to advertise your boating-related items free in the CMCS Chandlery, Don Lawson, Chowder Chatter Editor at or use your roster for telephone information. Your ad will be listed for 3 months unless you notify me to take your listing out sooner. Non-members are welcome to advertise their items at a price of $30.00 for 3 months. Business cards or business related listings sent in digital format only : Members: 3 months, $25.00 Non-members: 3 months, $50.00 SAILBOAT GEAR FOR SALE 2-Harken Deck Organizers #1501 (3-sheave) used one season - 2@$50.00/ea 1-pair Harken Traveler Control Blocks, #1935 (3-sheave) (use on Harken cars) $ Harken # 3" double block (new) w/o shackle - $ Harken #028 3"/1-3/4" fiddle block (used) w/o shackle - $ Harken # /2" Big Bullet Cheek Blocks (new) - 2@$10.00/ ea 2-Spinlock XT08-14 double rope clutches (used) - 2@$90.00/ea 2-Sparcraft press-lock jib sheet shackles (up to 1/2" line) - $75.00 for both 1-Flex-O-Fold 17x8 two-blade folding prop (1-1/8" shaft) used one season - $ ss reefing/cunningham hook - $ (1 pair) 1-1/2"x8-1/2"x1/8" ss tangs (link plates) w/5/8" dia holes - $ Whale Flipper SK0405 pump service kit for Mk3-4 pumps (new) - $ Yanmar drive belt (REMF 6450) 1/2"x46", new, never used - $ Tempo rubber OB motor bracket pad (new) - $10.00 Make offers! Contact: Steve Roake Steve@TheRoakes.com or (239) GIVE AWAY Are there any wine makers out there? I have about 60 unlabeled wine bottles (empty ) for anyone interested. (Time to Make Wine moved from Cape Coral to Fort Myers) FOR SALE C Cushions brand helmsman saddle cockpit seat. Extra high 7 x14 x24 Like new. Used twice. New $159 Asking $99 or make offer. FOR SALE 8 West Marine inflatable roll-up dinghy. Hypalon. Good condition. No holes or patches. Stored indoors. Will throw in a working 3 ½ hp Nissan motor. $ Dave & Cindy Naumann Achilles 10.4 roll-up inflatable dingy And 2004 Yamaha 8HP engine Will do 12 knots with two people Freshwater use $1800 Call Tim Cheek

12 CMCS Chowder Chatter c/o Don Lawson, Editor 1411 SW 53rd. Ln. Cape Coral, FL CMCS SCHEDULE OF EVENTS FEBRUARY 2013 Feb. 6 Feb. 12 Feb Ladies Bridge Club Member Appreciation Edison Festival Cruise 12