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 February 9 February 2009 COMMODORE commodore@cmcs-sail.org COMMODORE S MESSAGE During the 1970's, Pat and Hope Rooney lived on their Pearson 35 (this boat is now owned by Paul McDill) at the Fort Myers Yacht Basin. They invited Bob and Betty Kayusa (Celebration, a 30 foot Morgan) and Pims (Gopher Baroque; yes we owned the boat that long ago) to their boat before the Edison Festival of Lights Parade to party and feast on oysters and beer (We travelled that first year by automobile).. We returned for several years by land and boat. This was a "school" affair, since most of us taught at North Fort Myers High School. In fact, it became a highlight of the school year to be invited there for the party. When the Rooneys decided to teach overseas in Germany, the few of us who came by boat decided to invite boat friends. It was quite a mix of school teachers and salty sailors throughout the 80's who partied all afternoon while watching the parade preparations and into early evening each parade day. Some people actually staggered out to see the parade, while others felt it necessary to finish off the keg! Occasionally, a strolling visitor would come by and ask which Edison group sponsored the vittles-they would pay and wanted to help themselves! As the years rolled on and it was called the Edison Pageant of Light, somehow this fun-filled function became a CMCS event, one of our favorites. Sometimes we went up to the Franklin Locks on Sunday (there are stories here also, ask Bob Duff), since many years the parade weekend was followed by Presidents' Day on Mon., so it rounded out the 3-day weekend. The Fri. night pizza party was added in recent years, when the boat dockage moved to Century Harbour, more recently Legacy Harbour. Just plain shucked oysters have blossomed into steamed, grilled, barbecued, fried, and other succulent dishes! Shuck 'em, slurp 'em, and/or disguise 'em with decorations - just plain luscious! P.S. Pat and Hope Rooney have retired recently and live in St. James City, and have fondly attended the oyster-slurping part of the day for the past couple years. At the last Board Meeting it was mentioned that there was an oversight at the Annual Dinner in recognizing Susan Stier - Storekeeper and Paul Corzatt - Bartender for 2008 both did an excellent job last year. See you on the water - Bill CMCS - A Little History of Events As best as I can recall the first Chili Cookoff happened sometime in the 90s and it was held at Glover Bight after the race. The boats anchored in the bight and we all went ashore set up some card tables and proceeded to have the first Chili Cookoff. By the time you read this the 2009 Cookoff will be history. Many thanks to Candice Thiele and all of the Chili Chefs for their support of this event. The Edison Pagent of Light has an interesting CMCS history. I asked Carol Pim to fill in the blanks:

2 REAR COMMODORES CRUISING Tom & Linda Koenig CMCS Cruising Report Yup, it s Tom and Linda s turn to volunteer time to CMCS. We are honored to be selected for the position of Cruising Commodore for There are lots of fun cruising events planned for everyone s enjoyment. So let s get cruisin. Next Upcoming Cruise.. EPOL, February 20-22, with Dee and Jim Vaigle as cruise leaders. It s not too late to get in on the action there; come by sea or if you re in the same boat (pardon the pun) as your cruising commodore (bridge too short or mast too tall), hop in your land yacht and come join the fun. See all the details about EPOL in another article in this issue. The 3 rd Annual Landlubber Cruise is scheduled to happen on March 1. To date, no one has volunteered to lead the pack for this one, so we ll keep you posted. This one-day event would be a great opportunity for you to invite other non-boatowning members, or friends, or acquaintances, to enjoy a fun day of sailing down and up Ft Myers Beach. So let us know if you would like to make this cruise happen. March 7-8, Kim Brown and Judy Anderson, Trust Me, will be leading our next cruise to Pelican Bay. Kim has given us details on this cruise: Pelican Bay Cruise-March It is a standard destination that promises laid back fun. We re going to head up Friday the 6 th and await the arrival of the hordes sure to show up. We need to get there early as our goal for the weekend is to pass on the entertainment flag.(if we still have it) So I want to be sure to witness the various anchoring dances. Pelican Bay is a great place to watch folks go hard aground with their stereo s blaring. Anyone else who is there Friday night should plan on joining us for cocktails on Trust Me!!!. On Saturday we have a couple of suggested activities (never invest too much psychic energy in trying to herd the CMCS multitudes). Looks like the best shot for the famous Tunnel of Love is late Saturday Morning say ride the tide 11A and then ride it out after lunch. There is concern that scurvy will be a problem on the beach so I will supply fruit juices. Judy says I have to add an appropriate preservative lest the fruit juices spoil. For those who don t have a nap on the agenda, we will have the One if by Land and Two if by Sea Treasure hunt on Saturday afternoon (3p?). Bring extra batteries for your handheld GPS. In true CMCS fashion, the thrill of victory will out-weigh the value of any prize by a large margin. We will gather for cocktails again Saturday evening (5P). Hopefully by then someone with a big boat and a willingness to see how many it can hold will have shown up (volunteers welcome). Otherwise the first 20 get seats on TrustMe!!! and the balance will be in the dinghy seats. 2

3 Cruising continued... Tides look OK- there are some low lows (-.4) in the wee hours of both mornings (so sleep in Sunday if you are draft challenged) but then things get better as the day goes on. Anyone who needs help getting in there (or doesn t know where there is) please me. For that matter, if you are hoping to show, me ahead of time JIC there is a change of plans. Last year this cruise got lost and ended up in Glover s Bight due to the weather. As always we ll monitor 16 and 72. Kim - kimcbrown@comcast.net Cell All the information for the rest of your 2009 CMCS Cruises is listed in you 2009 CMCS Calendar, such as the names, dates, and cruise descriptions. You can also check them out on the CMCS Website. We have a few cruises that remain leaderless, as of this printing. So.anybody with an interest in having fun, meeting new and interesting people, and working toward accepting the Cruising and Exploration Trophy at the end of 2009 (explanation also listed in your 2008 calendar), please jump in and volunteer to lead one of the remaining cruises. If you have any questions, please us at windswepttom@yahoo.com or call

4 A Cruising Update from former members Harold and Val Fahs, aboard La Buena Vida,, somewhere in the Bahamas: Hello all, We arrived at Georgetown, Exumas on 1/19 after a 40 mile sail down from Little Farmers Key. We had pretty good wind and only one squall during our trip. We have now reached the southern end of the Exuma chain and will spend a while here catching up with friends and getting some maintenance down on the boat. This is the end of the line for a lot of cruisers who come down here and spend the whole winter, there are currently about 150 boats here and more arriving everyday. I have heard stories of there being 400 to 500 here by Easter. I don't think that will be the case this year with the economy the way it is. Although it must be good in Canada because they are all here, the last one out should turn out the lights. There are quite a few amenities here as this is the largest town between here and Nassau. We have had two days of west and then north winds after we arrived here and this is the first time we have been off the boat. I don't like to put the dingy in the water when its blowing 30 knots. We plan on proceeding on to Long Island and possibly the Jumentos later in the season. We are still getting the cold fronts every few days and you have to plan your trips around the weather windows. Take care and we will be in touch when possible. Harold & Val SHIP S STORE The CMCS Ship Store will be featuring some new items at our next meeting. We have some new tank tops for women with our sailing logo, some good quality aprons with our logo along with some handmade glass jewelry made by our own Lynne Manley. These are incredibly beautiful pendants and earrings with sailboats and are one of a kind. They are priced individually from $20-$45 and are well worth it. The store will open at the start of our social hour and will close when the actual meeting begins. If anyone has idea for items they would like to see offered please Loree Minks at 1lj1@comcast.net. 4

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6 UPCOMING RACES: Edison Gulf Regatta, February 14 REAR COMMO- DORE RACING All Racing Skippers, Here s what the race committee is doing for ALL 2009 races : 1. Attached is a General Release Form for all races in Please print out, sign and send to me. Then if you want to use the new fill-in entry form on the website, just type your info in the boxes and click the submit by button. You are good to race! 2. PayPal payment for racing is coming soon, until then, please mail in checks via snail mail to me, or save a stamp and bring to the skippers meeting. No late fees apply. 3. With the exception of Summerset, all skippers meetings will be on the Friday night before the race. Location(s) to be announced. Not all races will have skippers meeting (look at the calendar). Scratch sheets will be ed for these races. 4. You only need to send a current PHRF rating one time per year, (unless you change something that requires an update). I will keep on file. Since certificates expire in June each year, and if you raced in Sumerset 2008, I already have it. If not, please mail me a current rating. Here s what the race committee is doing for ALL NON BOTY RACES: 1. No deadlines for race entries, if you have a release on file and check in at the committee boat, your racing. If you want to be on the pre-race scratch sheet, please or call me before Friday night. 2. If you don t have a PHRF certificate or sail numbers, so what, come race, we will assign you a handicap on the spot. When you discover how much fun this is, go get them. By the way, if you are not a CMCS member yet, consider joining after trying us on. We won t even charge an entry fee for your first race. 3. No time limits on finishing, you came to sail, not to ask for directions or be told what time it is. If you get lost and end up in the Bahamas, you win! 4. Please follow all right of way rules, reserve colorful adjectives for injuries and broken stuff. Protests are not looked kindly on by the race committee. We have requested IACC to lay off recruiting at CMCS regattas, so relax, the pressure is off. 5. There will be raft ups (locations will be announced) with race results and awards after all races that don t have social events attached to them. ALL BOTY RACES: Have a certified race official, all racers will please abide by rules set by them for each regatta. Note: For anyone wanting to do it the old way, just fill in the blanks, hit the print button on the entry, attach a check and mail it to me. Nothing will change for you. RACING IS JUST SAILBOATS ALL HEADED TO THE SAME PARTY 6

7 Steve Romaine Vice Commodore/ ~2009 SUMMERSET~ 44th Annual Summerset Regatta will set sail off Fort Myers Beach October 3rd and 4th. Listed below are the most FAQ's to date: ~Racing Sat. Where? Two possibly three buoy races in the Gulf off FMB ~Racing Sun Where? One creative distance race starting and finishing near FMB ~Skippers Meeting Thur Where? Bonita Bills,FMB Free Beer etc ~Awards Dinner Sun Where? Captiva Dining Room, overlooking the Gulf, at the Pink Shell Resort FMB ~Saturday Night Cocktail Party Where? Coconuts Patio Pink Shell Resort FMB ~Dockage Where? A limited number of slips available at Pink Shell at $35 per night -Are Rooms available at the Pink Shell? Yes, at a special group rate ~Are Cruisers welcome? Absolutely at all events. Details on entry form. ~Regatta entry fee and dinner cost? Not certain at this time but your committee is trying to prices the same or lower than the last few years ~Sponsorship opportunities available? Yes, in support of Summerset and youth sailing ~Why October 3rd and 4th, not Labor Day Weekend? Our Certified Race Officer available Oct3-4., and CMCS Board has approved the scheduled change as hurricanes have played havoc with schedules in two of the last four years ~Why everything: Racing and socials at FMB? Convenience and less cost to our members. Also a better opportunity for many of our Charlotte Harbor friends to enter and enjoy. We need each and every members support. Also to "spread the word" on the 2009 dates and planned activities. Thanks- Steve 7

8 LIBERTY ASHORE Joan Perkett (239) Hello All: Be sure to mark your calendars! The Membership Appreciation Social is coming up on February 17. Beginning at 6:30 PM, free beer (2 pony kegs), wine and other drinks will be provided along with a variety of snack foods. That will give you an hour before the General Membership Meeting to socialize, get to know your new board members and membership chairs, and get caught up with old and new friends. As you may know, with the Liberty Ashore Chairperson position open this year, I have agreed to step in as Liaison for this function. We have volunteers lined up already to head up several functions, but still need volunteers to head up: Snack Social May 19 Pizza Night June 16 Snack Social July 21 Annual Picnic August 1 Ice Cream Social August 18 Football Kickoff Social September 15 Snack Social October 20 Cake Decorating Social November 17 Christmas Party December 15 If you have run one of these events before, your expertise would be very much appreciated. If you never have run one, we still can offer expert advice we have collected over the years. This is a great opportunity for partial year residents to get involved, as our events are spread all through the year. New members there s no better way to get to know others than teaming up with others and getting a job done. There are many opportunities to get involved in our club this year. With more than 200 members, if we spread the work around no one member needs to be burdened with too many functions. We do need to maximize our time on the water, you know! Fair Winds and High Tides! Joan Perkett Vice Commodore 8

9 LADIES BRIDGE CLUB Theresa Roake

10 National Weather Service, Tampa Bay Area, FL Information Sheet If you need a weather forecast for a destination outside your listening area, you can always call the National Weather Service (24X7) to obtain the marine forecast for the particular area you plan on heading to. IE: You are in Charlotte Harbor and plan on heading for the Keys. Contact: (after business hours/weekend hit ext. 1) Spotter Line: (when you need to call in a severe weather report) Websites: 10

11 C.M.C.S. CHANDLERY Buy, sell, trade Members, to advertise your boating-related items free in the CMCS Chandlery, Peggy Stafford, 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 Send a check made out to C.M.C.S. to : Chowder Chatter Editor, 2230 Everest Pkwy, Cape Coral, FL For Sale: Catalina 320 Island Time Classified.htm FOR SALE: Sumner Sailing Dink with oars... $ hp Mercury 2-stroke $950 obo Will deliver Bud Fox Oldglory76@comcast.net Davits ACE Galvanized 1,000 lbs (2 x 500 lbs) - $200 (Fort Myers Beach) Fort Myers Beach Pilot Club (a women's service organization) is selling a set of seawall davits. The bases bolt onto dockside cement pads. Swing is about 6 feet. ACE is the best quality galvanized davits. Everything is in good shape. This set of davits was donated. They show signs of weathering, but appear to never have been installed -- meaning no scuff marks from lock-washers on the bases, and no other real signs of wear. Questions, call ATTENTION NON-BOAT OWNING CMCS MEMBERS Bud Fox would like you to know that his 35 catamaran is available for non owner use when the wind blows. Just call with a group. Of course, he will be on board! Cheers Bud at FOR SALE Honda 9.9, 4-stroke engine has less than 15 hrs.- Like new! Electric and pull start Long 20" shaft 12 volt, 12-amp battery charger Control cables (shifter & throttle) with wiring 3 gal. fuel tank with fuel line 2 props, flush kit, honda tool kit Heavy duty outboard bracket Over $2500 invested/ Asking just $1500 (239) Cecil Hazen

12 CMCS Chowder Chatter c/o Peggy Stafford, Editor 2230 Everest Pkwy Cape Coral, FL CMCS SCHEDULE OF EVENTS FEBRUARY 2009 February 7 February hours February 11 February hours February 14 February hours February N/MI Hospice Regatta Board Meeting Ladies Bridge Club Skipper/Crew Meeting Edison Gulf Regatta Membership Appreciation Social EPOL Cruise