TheTiller. Monterey Peninsula Yacht Club. September 2014 Year 62, Issue 9

Transcription

1 TheTiller Monterey Peninsula Yacht Club September 2014 Year 62, Issue 9

2 Commodore s Log Lease Update The most recent draft of the new MPYC-Monterey lease was shared with the Board of Directors in August, along with a summary of the status. In addition, Jeff Pulford, John Laughton, and I reviewed the entire lease in detail, in particular areas of new language. We made several suggestions for Commodore David Blaskovich clarification of language to City staff and, with one exception, all of these suggestions were accepted by City staff. The status of our new lease: 100% of the fundamental terms and conditions approved by the MPYC Board of Directors and subsequently approved by the Monterey City Council remain in the lease. Over the last three months, City staff and the City Attorney have reorganized the lease and added some new language, which is acceptable to MPYC. Now the City staff and Attorney are scrubbing every little word and phrase. Why? Because the MPYC lease is the first of several on Wharves I & II to be renegotiated and rewritten, so the City is being extra cautious that this first lease is correct and complete. I am confident we are nearing the end of this long process. Fritz Weeth: Our long-term vision guy, impeccably timed for the new lease. Wendy Ward: And her gang invisibly, magically provide all that entertainment. David Duncan: Our Rear Commodore & House Chair. Always does so much. Jerry Stratton: Bar & Galley, and all those wonderful special evening dinners. Greg Cailliet: Crusing Club is in high gear. Attendance is at all time highs. Dianne Cailliet: Our PR queen who keeps us visible to the community. Dick Clark: Whenever there s a question on By-Laws, we go to Dick, the Master. Ashley Hobson: Coaching and nurturing our junior sailors. Chris Light: With limited dock space, our Port Captain somehow gets everyone in. And there are so many others, such as the truly indomitable Kit Ruck. She s everywhere and effortlessly makes it happen. Patrick Tregenza, who not only manages our dry storage area, but always steps forward for those special, nasty projects. If we ever need a quick improvement project for the clubhouse, Dave Fisher is on the job. We as a Club owe these and many others so much for what they quietly, completely do for our Club. Thank you. See you in the Club and on the water. Dave. Above & Beyond I hope everyone is enjoying the Club so far in Several members serve the Club in extraordinary fashion, primarily as committee chairs, and I d like to acknowledge them. Linda McLennan: What a fabulous monthly series of Tillers we ve seen this year! Juli Alexander: Along with Eric Anderson & Luis Alvarez, a great race season. Randy Frey: On Boats & Marks, he keeps our fleet humming for all those races. About the Cover Photo Tickle (left) represented Monterey in the Veeder Cup, defeating Rick s Place from Santa Cruz. Photo by Greg Cailliet. See article on page 6. Page 2

3 Upcoming Events Friday, September 19 6:00PM New Members Night/Wine Tasting Saturday, September 20 6:00PM Surf s Up Dance Music by the House Band Saturday, September 27 6:00PM Winemaker s Dinner Friday, October 3 to Sunday, October 5 Cruisers Cruise to Santa Cruz Monday, October 6 7:00PM General Membership Meeting Tuesday, October 14 6:00PM Cruisers Pot Luck Surf s Up at MPYC We re having a gnarly surfer party Saturday, September PM Hang ten on the dance floor to beach party music by The House Band Tequila Wipeout Saturday, October 18 to Sunday, October 19 Cruisers Dinkaround Regular Schedule Enjoy special drinks in the Tiki Bar. Complimentary appetizers. Beach Bum Dinner is served every Wednesday and Friday evening at 6:00, bar open 5:30. Lunch is served every Thursday from noon until 1:00PM. The MPYC Board of Directors meets every third Thursday of the month at 7:00PM. Remember to check the online calendar for updates. House Rules Members of reciprocal yacht clubs are always welcome; please remember to register in the Club guestbook before using Club facilities. Other guests are encouraged, but must be welcomed to the club by a current member. Membership is easy, and applicants need not be boat owners. For further information on membership and house rules, call (831) or visit us on the Web at Hail and Farewell Welcome aboard to our newest members: Bob Honnors (Regular) Sponsored by Janis and Jim Gregg, Jeri Crittenden, and Marty Lima Bill Jones (Non-Resident) Sponsored by Jack Allen and Ron Blue David Hunt (Regular) Sponsored by Ken Anders and Paul Brocchini Chris Kandell (Regular) Sponsored by Bruce Graham and Jerry Stratton Course changes: Reinstatement James Krossa Page 3

4 Race by Juli Alexander September! Where did the summer go? As the days grow shorter, the sunlight turns more golden and the summer fog lifts, so too does the MPYC racing season glide toward the end of the year. We can look forward to a few more Sundays on the water for Fall Series, the fun Jack-n-Jill and Crew s Revenge Races while racing those last few cherished Wednesday nights. Congratulations to Mike Polkabla and Dick Clark for winning 1 st and 2 nd Place in the Legends Regatta at the Shields Nationals in Larchmont, NY. Thursday, the first day of the Nationals competition, our teams had their share of challenges sailing in unfamiliar waters on unfamiliar boats. MPYC was 7 th, 17 th and 33 rd at the end of the first 3 races. Friday was a different story, however! Our 2 female skippers each drove their yachts to victory in the 2 races providing ANOTHER Monterey Sweep. Loca Motion s Crew relaxing at the ROLEX Big Boat Series in San Francisco. But the season is not winding down without a whole lot of excitement both on the home front and abroad! In distant seas, Bustin Loose and Loca Motion made us proud with a 2 nd and 5 th respectively at the Rolex Big Boat Series in San Francisco September 11 14th. Nicely done boys and girls! That same weekend, 3 crews represented MPYC at the Shields Nationals in Larchmont, NY. To start the regatta off on a good foot, Mike Polkabla and Dick Clark took 1 st and 2 nd in the Legends Regatta which is part of the celebration of the 50 th anniversary of the Shields Fleet. Charlotte Benbow and team won the practice races with a finish. The Race Chair called Wednesday a Monterey Sweep! Page 4 Ashely Hobson and Charlotte Benbow celebrate in Larchmont, NY after their version of the Monterey Sweep! Way to go girls! From what I ve heard, our girl skippers caused quite a commotion and put the MPYC Shields Fleet back on the map! Perfect timing as the 2016 Shields Nationals in Monterey approaches. continued page 5

5 September brings the Equinox when the day and night have equal time! And then the days will lose more and more daylight as we move through fall and into winter. The good news is that we still have one of the best places on the central coast to enjoy sunsets while sipping on the deck or enjoying a fine meal. Uncorked by Jerry Stratton Dining operations usually change from the buffet for a hundred to quieter table service dining as the sunset series ends, this year on October 1. However, this year we will continue the buffets for two additional weeks, October 8 and 15. We expect that some boats will continue to enjoy evening sails while there s sufficient daylight and all members seem to love the friendly and casual buffets! Beginning October 22, we ll return to the classy table service dining. We try to feature wholesome family fare on Wednesdays such as meatloaf, lasagna and more a la carte for your dining pleasure as we offer reasonable dining in our piece of paradise on the water! On September 19, we ll again pour eight wines for your sipping and voting pleasure! We choose our wine-of- themonth when we see strong voting responses. Don t miss it! We also invite our new members to come and mingle as they get used to Club rules, privileges and responsibilities. Be sure to introduce yourself to our new members and welcome them. I ve had a request that we always have a steak option available when we feature other red meat such as lamb chops. We ll add that so members always have something to chew on! See you at the Club! Race continued When all was said and done, Stillwater went home with a 5 th, Aileen with a 12 th and Storm with perhaps with the best prize of all. knowledge and skill! The Storm crew is relatively new to this game and we re proud that they had the guts to go to Larchmont and race in such a highly competitive field. They raced; they learned; and they came back to our fleet as better sailors which will improve the caliber of our Fleet. Well done to all our Shields sailors who went to the East Coast and made us proud! Back here on Monterey Bay, we ve had a lot of excitement as well. Larry Gamble and crew staged a successful defense of the Veeder Cup, once more pulling victory from the jaws of defeat! The score was 2-zip going into the 2 nd day of racing requiring the MPYC crew to win 3 out of 3 races, which they did! Sound familiar? (I think Larry likes the drama!) Congrats to our awesome Veeder Cup defenders! I wonder what boats they will compete in next year? (See page 6 for full article on the Veeder Cup.) In addition, there is contention in all 3 Fleets as the Sunset Series winds down. While Bustin Loose has A- Fleet First Place locked up, Calphurnia, Encore and Pearl are all in contention for 2 nd and 3rd. U20 and Ecaroh are separated by only 2 points in B-Fleet with 3 races left to go, while the two Moore 24s are in contention as well. In the Shields Fleet, Rolly and Stillwater are only separated by one point! While Meritage has a strong 3 rd, Aileen isn t out of the picture yet either! Stay tuned for an exciting end to the Sunset Series. See you on the water! On September 27, we ll again enjoy a gourmet dining evening with wonderful wines of Adelaida, a premium winery in Paso Robles. Sign up at the bar or call Jerry Mayo. Reservations are required. The Board reviewed the draft survey on bar and galley operations. It will now be mailed to all members. Please take the time to review it and then return it to the YC. We value all members comments and will present the results to the Board and to members in a coming Tiller. MPYC hosted the Moore 24 Nationals for the Dolphin Cup. Photo by Patrick Tregenza. Page 5

6 2014 Veeder Cup by Patrick Tregenza (Vice Commodore) Holy cow! What a race! This year s Veeder Cup, much like last year s, was not for the faint of heart. Here s the recap: Back in March we had all the letters go back and forth as described by the deed of trust. My wish was to use Santana 22s with spinnakers, not that out of the ordinary, but it proved to be a huge problem for Santa Cruz. My thought was this is an important regatta showcasing the talents of the best sailors from each club. SCYC claimed that the deed states that One Design rules must be adhered to according to the Veeder Cup rules. Our argument was that there is a class spinnaker in the Santana One Design Association (SODA) rules and I went so far as to have the fleet captain from San Francisco give their use her blessing. Ok, so we re going to use spinnakers. Problem is Santa Cruz can t find a decent spinnaker in their fleet to use. No problem, we ll loan you one of ours. With that behind us, their skipper, Bob Comstock, who by the way just won the Santana 22 Nationals and the SantanaRama in his boat Rick s Place, was set to challenge using Don Radcliff and Evan Diola as crew. Bob is a total gentleman and couldn t have been a more decent competitor. Meanwhile, MPYC had to choose which of our Santanas to use. My thoughts were that Charlie Kurtmen s Leprechaun would be the best choice because it s our only dry sailed boat and has the fastest bottom. After much speed testing between my boat Ecaroh, Kate Conway s boat Cnidarian and the Carder s boat Tickle, it was decided that Tickle would defend for Monterey. Our crew, skipper Larry Gamble, foredeck Chris Gatward and pitman Tim Cordrey worked for days testing different sails, sanding the bottom and getting the rig just right. Saturday Race One: Santa Cruz incurred two penalties in the pre-race mix up and ended up over early on the start. Race committee put up Santa Cruz s flag (blue) but failed to sound the horn. Both boats made it around the windward mark and the umpires decided to black flag the race since technically Santa Cruz hadn t actually started. Santa Cruz filed redress for not getting a horn for being OCS and as PRO I decided the fair thing to do was throw out the race and start over. Saturday Race One, replay: Both boats were fighting for advantage with Tickle ending up in a controlling starboard position at the line just as the gun went off with Rick s Place on port just below them. Tickle tacked onto port to cover, but Rick s Place had speed and rolled them. A tacking dual ensued with Tickle throwing in at least 15 tacks on the first windward leg. Tickle somehow got around Rick s Place and rounded the leeward mark just ahead. The next downwind leg had the boats neck and neck with Rick s Place luffing Tickle at least five times. In the end, Rick s Place edged them out at the finish line by less than a foot. Saturday Race Two: More mixing it up in the box with Rick s Place raising their red flag only to have it declined by the umpires. Tickle was first at the gun with both boats on starboard toward the pin end. Rick s Place showed the boat speed and great driving by Bob that they re known for to pull ahead and keep pulling for a bullet by ten boat lengths. Larry exercised his option to call it quits for the day with a score of Monterey 0, Santa Cruz 2. Saturday evening all competitors and race officials had an informal gathering at my Photo Studio along with a slide show of photos from the day. We all had a great time and it went a long way to improve the relations between clubs. Tickle and Rick s Place in a close encounter. Photo by Patrick Tregenza. continued page 7 Page 6

7 2014 Veeder Cup continued Sunday Race One: Bob Comstock graciously accepted a penalty to be assessed during the first race for a little mix up during the first race on Saturday. Don Radcliff had a medical emergency and was replaced by Patrick Diola who happens to be Evans brother. I m not sure if Bob was just being very Corinthian, but he stayed away from Larry and did not engage at all during the run up to the start. About a minute after the start, the wind shut off completely with Tickle heading toward shore and Rick s Place headed in the opposite direction. When the wind finally filled in, it did so from the shore and Tickle made huge gains while Rick s Place was still stuck in the doldrums. Score: Monterey 1, Santa Cruz 2 Sunday Race Two: With the wind now from the south, Race Committee had to completely reset the course. Larry Gamble s match racing skills were showcased as he kept Rick s Place pinned outside the start line until well after the gun. They had a two boat length lead at the line and although it was close, continued to lead the entire race. They admitted to making some tuning changes from the day before and their boat speed sure showed it. Score: Monterey 2, Santa Cruz 2 Sunday Race Three: Larry again was on the offense during the pre-race jousting and looked to have an impressive lead but decided to circle back because he thought he d be over early. Missing contact with Rick s Place by inches, he ended up two boat lengths behind as both boats left the line on port. Tickle again showed off their new found boat speed and were first at the windward and leeward marks with Rick s Place having some trouble getting their kite down. Race Committee was so entranced by this incredible racing that we failed to notice that the pin was dragging quite noticeably. The call went out to the mark boat to hightail it back to the start line to drag it back to weather and its original position. The pin was dropped just as the boats were battling it out a few hundred feet from the finish. Tickle finished barely a boat length ahead of Rick s Place. Bob rightfully called for redress for RC moving the mark. We got both skippers, myself and both umpires onboard the whaler and I explained the reason we moved the mark. Bob accepted my explanation (rule 34, RC can move the mark back to it s original position) and it was over. Monterey 3, Santa Cruz 2 We all had a great time reliving the weekend and armchair skippering at the club afterwards. My thanks to Matt Seidenzahl and Jared January for their tireless work setting and re-setting marks all weekend, Art Sutton and Dick Clark for being on the Veeder Cup Committee with me and helping out on RC duty. Our Umpires, Mike Gross and Don Wieneke and Don s girl friend Mo for all their very professional work and to Rex Keyes, the Committee member from EYC and Barbara Booth from SCYC and especially Jeff and Vic Carder for loaning us their great boat Tickle. But mostly I d like to thanks the sailors, Larry Gamble, Chris Gatward, Tim Cordrey, Bob Comstock, Don Radcliff, Evan and Patrick Diola for showing everyone how it should be done! Looking forward to next year! Vice Commodore Patrick Tregenza presents the Veeder Cup trophy to Larry Gamble, skipper of Tickle. Photo by Di Cailliet. Page 7

8 Cruising Club by Greg Cailliet We had our 9 th meeting on 9 September and once again had very good attendance, about 30 members and 2 guests. The potluck was also very tasty, as usual, and featured Thai food in honor of our speakers. We briefly discussed the upcoming cruise to Santa Cruz Harbor, being organized by Patricia and Alan Nicewander for the 3 rd -5 th October. Our speakers that evening were Dave and Lin Blaskovich, who spoke on Cruising in Thailand and entertained everyone with their beautiful slides and stories of their adventures in Laos and Thailand. After the Santa Cruz cruise, we still have the Dinkaround sometime in mid to late October (dependent on conditions), organized by Sharon and Steve Halvorson; the Carmel Valley Land Cruise on 21 th -22 nd November, also organized by Sharon and Steve Halvorson; and the Lighted Boat Parade on 7 th December, organized by Joe Headley with Di Cailliet's help. Upcoming meeting topics will be Westsail 32s by Randy Hamilton and Jackie Petro on October 14 th ; "Rough Passage to London" by visiting author Robin Lloyd on November 11 th ; and "Cruising Highlights on a Grand Banks 36 up in Desolation Sound out of Vancouver" by Debbie and Dave Morris, and Garry and Carole Owens on December 9 th. The cruise to the Capitola Art and Wine Festival was a lot of fun. Seas were calm on both the trips north on Friday and returning on both Sunday (4 boats) and Monday (2 boats). The winds were mild and some had to motor sail one or both ways, but it was very comfortable and there were LOTS of humpback whales to be seen. was terrific. We all got an early night s rest to be ready for Saturday s events. Once again, Kit set up camp near where the music played, with an MPYC burgee being displayed for all to see. We tasted wine, looked at fabulous art, and listened to some great music. The favorite was a group called The Sun Kings, who did a Beatles tribute. Other groups included the Jacob Jeffries Band, Extra Large, and SambaDa, the latter two on Sunday afternoon. On Saturday evening, everyone was invited by Eric Baggiolini and his lady friend Teresa along with some of her girlfriends, who had a reunion of sorts on Saturday in Capitola. Again, the hosts were generous with delicious food and other offerings. Everyone had a blast, AND, we once again got an early night s rest. Sunday morning, four of the boats departed and sailed back to Monterey. Ruckiss and Diablita remained for the music on Sunday and watched the good half of the San Francisco 49ers game at the café on the wharf. Luckily, we missed the last quarter. The MPYC Cruising Club continues to have a fun year and will finish off the rest of 2014 with an exciting slate of events. We had a total of six boats, including Diablita, Ruckiss, Got d Fever, Mahalo, Sitara, and Enchanted Lady. There were 13 people on boats, all on moorings, with others from MPYC coming by land vehicle on both days. On Friday evening, we were generously hosted by Marty Lima and Jeri Crittenden on Got d Fever and the food Page 8

9 Summer Fun Sail by Sharron Frey Junior Championships by Sharron Frey Seventeen Junior Sailors, ages 9-17, attended the MPYC Summer Fun Sail on Saturday, August 9. Perfect conditions allowed Race Committee to set up a course just off Del Monte Beach, which allowed families to set up camp on the beach to cheer the contestants on! After the races, more than 80 friends and family members came to the Club for the Summer Sailing Camp Spaghetti Dinner and awards banquet. Awards were presented in the following categories: FJ Fleet: First Place-Sophie Rasmussen and Jacob Matiyevsky; Second Place- Connor Jacobs and Jeremy Burke; Third Place-Anthony Biondi, Dante Fiala, and Lucas Kaemmerer. Bic Fleet: First Place- Elizabeth Lindholm; Second Place- Lucas Kaemmerer, Zachary McKrill, and Dante Fiala; Third Place-Nathan Muck and Quinn Weisenfeld. Natalie Gibbs and Sophie Rasmussen received the Best Sailor Awards, Zachary McKrill was Most Improved, and the Harvey Kilpatrick Award for Outstanding Sportsmanship went to Connor Jacobs and Finn Stout. Many thanks to Liz Chandler for scoring the races, Sarah Duncan for making delicious spaghetti sauce, Pat Burger for organization and supervision of the young sailors, Dave and Lin Blaskovich for pitching in to help with dinner, Todd Muck for cooking pasta, and to our instructional team for making it all possible. This summer s instructors were: Dalton Muck, Liam Chaffey, Logan Allen, Lauren Dykman, Austin Book, Cayla Whiteside, Thomas Melnick, Evans Attwell, and Randy Frey. If you thought the Veeder Cup was exciting, you should have seen the MPYC Junior Championship Race on Saturday, August 16! As the wind picked up, the FJs flew over the course set by Race Committee John and Kit Ruck, Todd Muck, and Randy Frey. First Place: Austin Book and Camy Whiteside; Second Place: Dalton Muck and Thomas Melnick; Third Place: Logan Allen and Cayla Whiteside. Congratulations to all our Flying Juniors! Oops! Austin and Camy. Thomas and Dalton Page 9

10 The Great Pacific Race by David Brock MPYC was proud to be the hosting yacht club at the start of the Great Pacific Race. The rowing race from Monterey to Honolulu began on June 9th and ended on August 23rd. Out of 13 boats to enter the competition, seven successfully completed the race. The first boat to cross the finish line after 44 days at sea was Uniting Nations. This team won first place within their class of boat, classic fours, and also went on to be the overall race winners in this first time ever rowing race across the Pacific Ocean. Fat Chance won first place in their category, open pairs. Rumor has it that while rowing in the middle of the ocean, Zillow offered to buy his company, Trulia, for $3.5 billion dollars. What an endorphin enriched experience that must have been! The French team, CC4 Pacific, was the last to finish the race, but ended up winning first place in their class of boat, classic pairs. At the start, they had much difficulty getting out of the Bay. But this challenging exitus from Monterey would be nothing compared to the powerful and obstreperous demands of the open ocean that lie ahead. Hurricanes Iselle and Julio were building strength and headed right toward their final destination of Honolulu. They were advised to deploy their sea anchor and wait out the first hurricane. Once hurricane Iselle passed, hurricane Julio took a right turn and moved north right on top of CC4 Pacific. They survived, and a week later finished the race. This is a Cinderella story that has all the makings of a Hollywood motion picture. Elsa Hammond with her fiance Steve Bullock at Silver Gate Yacht Club in San Diego. The solo class of contestants was perhaps the most difficult to watch. Out of four registered boats, not one was able to conquer the mighty Pacific Ocean. Unfavorable winds and unfavorable currents were to blame. Although everyone involved was disheartened that they could not complete the race, the contestants should feel proud as they brought international awareness to their causes. Mary Rose brought awareness to birds. Jim Bouer rowed for cancer research. Daryl Farmer shed light on unsustainable fishing practices and kidney cancer. And Elsa Hammond highlighted the importance of Women s rights and social injustice around the world. Ocean rowing is a grueling and unforgiving sport. In 2005, the race across the Atlantic ocean reported a 25% drop out rate. In addition, not one solo racer officially completed the race--among these contestants were top organizers of the Great Pacific Race, Chris Martin and Roz Savage, so they certainly have earned the right to sympathize with our beloved solo racers. Overall, the Great Pacific Race is being heralded as a huge success. Multiple world records have been achieved by these heroic rowers. But there are a few notable unsung heroes that were silent in the background and provided an important role in supporting the contestants. Of course, I am referring to the amazing people we have at MPYC. Art and Lal Sutton hosted members of team Boatylicious. But where they went above and beyond was when they drove up to San Francisco to pick up the team s rowing boat and tow it back on a trailer to Monterey for the second start of the race. Bob Furney hosted an all male group of rowers and humbly prepared them a daily all American breakfast of fried eggs, bacon, and toast. Joe Headley and crew picked up Daryl Farmer in difficult seas off the coast of Big Sur after he suffered severe dehydration. Tucker wrote an unforgettable poem of the events, which she recited at the club after one of the Sunset Series races, which is now one of my most memorable and cherished moments at MPYC. Ashley Hobson went the extra mile or two...or 2400, when she booked a flight to Hawaii to see her adopted rowers complete the race. I wish the Brocks could have done the same, but our solo rower got stuck in the unrelenting conditions and had to be rescued off the coast of Isle Guadalupe in Baja California. We picked up her trailer from the boatyard just days before it was to be shipped to Hawaii and headed down to San Diego. The Silver Gate Yacht Club immediately took care of Elsa and her boat with open arms. I wish I could say the same for continued page 11 Page 10

11 Polynesian Tattoos by Bill Fleetwood Most men I ve known throughout my life who at some point had themselves tattooed, were sorry they had done so. And I am one of them. When Sam and I sailed our boat Blue Banana from Mexico to French Polynesia, we made landfall at the Marquesan island of Hiva Oa. It was Spring and the best time of year for favorable winds for that 3000 mile passage, so a number of boats with crews we knew from cruising in Mexico were there at the same time. We became aware of a lot of talk among other cruisers about Polynesian tattoo designs and wouldn t getting one or two make a perfect statement about our achievement in reaching those islands? Nonsense, said I. No tattoo for me. As we moved through the islands, catching up with other cruising boats here and there, we saw that many of our friends were decorating their bodies with some pretty amazing tattoos. Some were actually quite beautiful. My friend Wally now had one leg covered with an ancient design from the knee down. Another had a classic tattoo on most of one arm. Many were less flamboyant as in the case of our friend Susan. She had a dolphin tattoo applied where it would almost always be hidden unless she chose to wear a bikini. Word got around that even conservative Susan now had a tattoo, so everyone asked to see it. Susan would shyly oblige, tugging down the waist of her shorts a bit while muttering, The tattoo artist that Sam chose, with his American wife. He was recognized at the time as one of the best. I never imagined I d be pulling down my pants so often for so many. That always got a good laugh. By the time we arrived at Moorea, Sam had made up her mind to have a dolphin tattooed on her shoulder. I didn t like the idea, and while walking with her to her appointment with a pretty well know tattoo artist, I tried to talk her out of it. I kept saying, you know I don t like tattoos and my love for you will not be enhanced by any tattoo on your body. Anyone reading this who knew Sam realizes that trying to change her mind about something she wanted was an exercise in futility. She got her dolphin. Two days later, we were at the island of Raiatea and I got a tattoo. I m still not sure why, but it obviously seemed like a good idea at the time. The artist who did mine was not as famous as the man who did Sam s, but he is the one who did all the tattoos on Sam s artist. Mine is not a classic Polynesan design, per se, but has a circular pattern with ancient Tahitian symbols for the sun, moon, stars, and the sea. It also has a manta, a gecko, and a couple of stylized turtles. As the idea, or excuse, for a tattoo was to commemorate our ocean passage to Polynesia, I also wanted a Polynesian sailing canoe as Sam getting her dolphin tattoo. part of the design. The following year, just before sailing west to the Cook Islands, we attended the First Annual Tattoo Festival on Raiatea. Both Sam s and my tattoo artists were there, as were tattooed people from around the world. It was all very interesting, but I am still no fan of tattoos. The Great Pacific Race continued the San Diego Yacht Club :(. We towed the boat north to Long Beach and said our goodbyes; only to say hello again the following week in the High Sierras and then in Monterey. Yes, after three months, we were still hosting our rower and loving every minute of it! I hope the Great Pacific Race returns to Monterey in 2016 and I hope everyone at MPYC will have the same opportunity as we did to be part of such an amazing event with the most amazing people. Next time you buy a drink at the bar, look up at the ocean rowing paddle hanging above. Give a toast and imagine great things! Page 11

12 MONTEREY PENINSULA YACHT CLUB Municipal Wharf #2 Monterey, CA (831) Return Service Requested PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE PAID MONTEREY, CA PERMIT NO. 69 MPYC 2014 Officers and Directors Commodore: David Blaskovich Vice Commodore: Patrick Tregenza Rear Commodore: David Duncan Staff Commodore: Ron Blue Recording Secretary: Sharon Halvorson Corresponding Secretary: Sharron Frey Treasurer: Betsy Jeffers Directors: David Brock Tom Hoover Larry Gamble Pakhtun Shaw The Tiller Editor: Linda McLennan Layout: Linda McLennan Distribution: Kit Ruck Printing: Office Max, Salinas, CA Contributors: David Blaskovich Juli Alexander Bill Fleetwood Patrick Tregenza Ashley Hobson Greg Cailliet Di Cailliet Sharron Frey Jerry Stratton David Brock Editor s Note: Please send articles, photos, want ads, letters to the editor, notes and ideas, anytime to: tiller@mpyc.org. All articles subject to editing.