Saint Lucie Sailing Club The Log October 2018 Wild Rice Incorporated April 4, 1975 From the Commodore While we didn t have a September meeting due to Labor Day, there was still a lot going on. A couple of our boats (Wild Rice & Layla) journeyed to Ft. Pierce over Labor Day weekend to join with the Ft. Pierce Yacht Club for an ocean race and post race pot luck at their clubhouse. Unfortunately, some nasty squalls forced abandonment of the race just prior to the start. The pot luck was nonetheless enjoyed by many SLSC and FPYC members. The club also descended on Peck s Lake on Sept 15 th to participate in the National Beach Cleanup Day. With the Goombay Bash river race on Sept 8 th, it all added up to a pretty busy month. October kicks off with our monthly meeting on the 1 st where we ll hear all about Diana Dean s adventures chartering a boat in Belize. Past Commodore Tom Mestrits will be announcing the slate of SLSC officers for 2019. October is also the time when SLSC puts on its annual Oktober Fest social. This year it will be at the Bayview condo clubhouse on Hutcheson Island on October 20 th. Details to follow, but expect some tasty German fare. And as always there s the Saturday Beer Can races in the North Fork, as well as the monthly trophy race on October 13 th. On another note, we re still seeking a Fleet Captain and Rear Commodore for next year. If you re interested in helping the club by serving in either of these roles, contact nominating committee chair Tom Mestrits, or myself. We d love to hear from you. Meanwhile, let s have fun on the water! - Joe Sawyer, SLSC Commodore 1
Upcoming Events Monday, Oct. 1st - SLCS Monthly Meeting, 7:00 PM Saturday, Oct. 6th - Beer Can Race, 12:00 PM Saturday, Oct. 13th - Champagne & Chocolate Challenge Regatta, 10:00 AM, to Ft. Pierce Sunday, Oct. 14th - Champagne & Chocolate Challenge Regatta, 10:00 AM, return Stuart Tuesday, Oct. 16th - SLSC Bridge Meeting, 6:45 PM Thursday, Oct. 18th - Sailing & Margaritas Social, 6:30 PM at Fresh Catch, 1411 NE Indian St., Stuart, RSVP to lindamagda468@gmail.com Saturday, Oct. 20th - 12 Pack Race, 12:00 PM Saturday, Oct. 20th - Oktober Fest, Indian River Plantation, Bayview Clubhouse, 6:30 PM, Bring side dishes, BYOB, RSVP to lindamagda468@gmail.com Saturday, Oct. 27th - Beer Can Race, 12:00 PM Saturday, Nov. 3rd - 12 Pack Race, 12:00 PM Saturday, Nov. 3rd - Stuart Air Show, afternoon raft up on the St. Lucie River Monday, Nov. 5th - Monthly SLSC meeting moved to Nov. 8th, 7:00 PM Thursday, Nov. 8th - Monthly SLSC meeting, refreshments 6:45, program 7:00 PM Saturday, Nov. 10th - Beer Can race, 12: 00 PM Saturday, Nov. 10th - Annual Membership Party, Port Salerno Civic Center Hutchinson Island, near Bathtub Bch, www.mitchpix.com 2
Goombay Bash Regatta Raced September 8, 2018 Sloop John B Capt. Goombay Smash Mike Diamond Sloop John B Salty Dogs Wild Rice Close Chase. Skeeter, Race Committee Boat Salty Dogs 3
12-Pack Update Raced September 22, 2018 - Mike Diamond We had a nice breeze, no rain and five boats participating including a new entry s/v William Bligh! Salty Dogs was 1st across the line and passed Sloop John B before marker #6. All five boats were on the same leg between marker #7 and marker #6A as we headed south for marker #1. Sloop John B rounded marker #1 1st with Wild Rice and Adagio rounding marker #1 within a few boat lengths of each other. Order of finish: Sloop John B, Wild Rice, Adagio, William Bligh, Salty Dogs. We skipped rafting up due to the heat, though a few of us met at the Deck restaurant for lunch. A great day had by all - Only three more 12 Pack races in 2018! - October 12 Pack is scheduled for 10-20-18 Adagio gals... 4
International Coastal Cleanup Day The SLSC participated in the International Coastal Cleanup Day, which was Saturday, Sept. 15. We had six, or seven boats rafted up at Peck's Lake. Around 25 folks helped cleaned up the beachfront area on the Atlantic side, as well as some of the mangrove areas on the ICW side. As a boat-only access beach, this area stays "cleaner" than most beaches. In fact, a couple people commented that there weren't many "big" items (like glass bottles, or aluminum cans." However, upon closer look into the seaweed washed upon shore, we found thousands and thousands of little pieces of plastic. Waves break up bigger plastic items into smaller, micro-plastics. These small pieces of plastic are such a problem since fish and water birds see them floating in the water and think they are food. They ingest them and die. The documentary A Plastic Ocean showed birds with stomachs so full of small plastics that they couldn't eat anything else, causing them to die. It was truly sickening. So, the fact that we picked up hundreds of pieces of small plastic might not look like a big deal, however, in the end we may have saved the lives of many fish and birds since those plastics would wash back out into the water during high tide. The final numbers for the entire county's participation is not in yet. I'll try to share that when it becomes available. However, here are some highlights from our club's efforts: 22 glass bottles, 27 plastic bottles, 36 beverage cans, one toilet seat, 26 cups/plates, 14 utensils, 7 beach toys, 220 bottle caps, and 789 plastic pieces. We may have had closer to 1,000 plastic pieces--difficult to keep counting all those small pieces! Interesting side note: my friend, Melissa, and her boyfriend John found a condom, a tampon, and a syringe--all they needed was a diaper to complete the "Garbage Grand Slam"! And a BIG thank you to Tom Mestrits for coordinating our club for this event! - Patricia Strutz 5
Green Flash Perpetual Trophy This is a proposal and we want all our active sailors to give us their input. I feel a new challenge to achieve a goal to sail the course the fastest would increase participation and competition, along with bringing in newer, more modern boats to compete for this coveted trophy. There will be classes, so it is fair for various size and types of boats. The trophy should be modern that shows speed, not on old ugly mug. Rules: 1. The challenger must be a SLSC member and has to use their own boat. 2. Can use any sail combination, based on over all time, not handicap. 3. The course that would be used is the SLSC Beer Can course of 5.5 nm. 4. The record attempt can be run anytime, but must have an independent person time the run. 5. 4 classes: - Monohull under 30WL - Monohull over 30WL - One design - Multihull I am working on a proposed trophy that I will bring to the October meeting. Suggestions are welcomed and appreciated! - Thomas Mestrits 6