NEWSLETTER March 2014 CALENDAR OF CLUB EVENTS Date/Time Event Location/Host March 6, 2014 @ 6:30 PM OSC Buccaneer Night Cody s Roadhouse ~ Ocala March 16, 2014 @ 1:00 PM Sunday Sailing @ The Point Lemon Point, Lake Weir March 20, 2014 @ 6:30 PM OSC Pot Luck Dinner Meeting Hosted by Charlene Johnson (See Page 7) April 26-27, 2014 Lake Weir Invitational & Carney Island Park 10th Harpoon Nationals Regatta Lake Weir, Florida Ocala Ocala Sailing Club Website: www.ocalasailingclub.org OCALA SAILING CLUB, PO BOX 2191, OCALA, FL 34478 PAGE 1
COMMODORE S COMMENTS Time flies when you are having fun... here it is March already... and we are having fun Looking back on February, for being the shortest month of the Year, it certainly out-did itself for this OSC season. The weekend following our bustling gathering for Buccaneer's Night at Little Joey's was honored with a visit from our Jamaican friend, Ian Gibson. He was in this country for a seminar in Orlando and was able to arrange his weekend to spend some R & R with his sailing friends from afar, which would be us at OSC. John Hult was hospitable and provided a room for him and we had a good time out at Ed & Lynn Sims' porch engaging in some Beer Can Racing, bending the rules to include some imported rum. The highlight was on Saturday Night when we progressed to Gator Joe's for dinner. Andy Forest from Lake Monroe Sailing Association met us there and awarded Ed Sims and crew their belated 1st Place Kettle Cup Trophy (see photo in this newsletter). It was great to see Ian again and we look forward to seeing him and perhaps some other sailors from Jamaica for our April Annual Harpoon Nationals Regatta. Speaking of our April Regatta, February was the month where the planning pieces all finally came together for that event. The plans as outlined in our last newsletter for the center of operations to be at Carney Island are still as planned. However, Bob Cole announced at our member's dinner meeting that the location for the Thursday night regatta social kick-off will be at Skip and Lou Archibald's home and that the regatta Saturday night dinner will be held at the Loch Harbor Condominium Club House. So, it is a relief to have those details resolved as there were many scheduling complications due to Easter weekend and conflicts in the schedule at the Kiwanis Club and Lake Weir Yacht Club locations. February 5th, I had the pleasure of attending a remote control sailing event at Lake Vista in Del Webb. Tom Barrett had invited me to attend one of these on any Wednesday or Saturday morning when he engages in this sport with a group of other miniature sailing enthusiasts. The racing class is the RC Soling Sailboats which are 1 meter in length. I even had a turn at sailing one of them. Believe me, it was quite a challenge. I felt quite accomplished and relieved to make it around the course just once. There are some photos of the event in this newsletter. It may inspire some of you to go have a look see at this fascinating hobby. If you do, be sure to talk to Tom. The Lake Harris adventure armada on Saturday the 15th to the Hideaway Restaurant was really fantastic. After thinking in the early hours that it might be a blow out, by the appointed hour of 9 AM, the bad weather passed on and a beautiful day emerged. The wind was swift and steady, blowing us easterly directly to our destination. We actually got there a half hour early. The prior 2 years there was so little wind that most of our fleet had to be towed to get there on time. Lunch was great with 16 of our members and guests joining in. The return sail to Venetian Cove ramps had our sails full of wind and it was quite a pleasurable day. The sailboats participating were: Ed Sims' Hunter 23' "Point Blank, Ross Martin's San Juan 21' Pivot, and my Catalina 22' "Wyndrifter". I've heard some of our sailors say that we should plan to do another one of these sails on Crescent Lake. Sounds like a winner to me. What do you think? The spring intra-lake races are starting the first Saturday of March at Sanford with the 26th Annual Trans- Monroe Regatta. OSC will have 2 boats racing this season:"point Blank" with Ed Sims, Paul Straub and John Hult; and "Pivot" with Ross Martin and Art Twitchell. Soon to follow on March 15th will be the Shamrock Regatta at Palatka on the St John's River. We are both registered for that too. Wish us luck I'd like to close by saying that Mai & I had a wonderful time hosting the February Member's Meeting Pot Luck Dinner. It sure was lots of fun and you folks are the greatest Your Commodore, Art Twitchell OCALA SAILING CLUB, PO BOX 2191, OCALA, FL 34478 PAGE 2
A NOTE FROM THE VICE COMMODORE The Lake Weir Invitational and Harpoon Nationals Regatta are only 8 weeks away. The regatta team has members to help with registration, chase boats, food, trophies and more. We are planning for Harpoon, Open and Open Displacement classes at the regatta. Early registration will save you $10 and the cutoff date is April 12 th. Please register online for the regatta at www.regattaregistration.com. This is for racers and members who will be joining us for lunches & dinners. Your support will be greatly appreciated. We will need volunteers to bring desserts for the Saturday Night dinner, please contact Patti Moring if you would like to help. Please note the new location for Saturday night dinner is Loch Harbor Condominium Club House. We will have four days of activities: Thursday will be the Welcome Party at Skip & Lou Archibald s. Friday will be registration, practice sailing day, and a gathering at Gator Joe s. Saturday will be racing and a fabulous dinner by Patti Moring s team of Jan Cole and Sandra Harton. Sunday will be the final races, trophy presentations and suitable celebrations. I want to thank the regatta team for all the work they have done so far. The team is John Hult, Ed & Lynn Sims, Jan Schumacher, Art Twitchell, Larry Moore, Kathy Olbekson, David & Patti Moring, and Bobbi & Mark Ciraco. It would not be possible to put on a regatta without their help and all the other volunteers who will support us during the regatta. Please come out and participate, support, volunteer, or just enjoy the event. It is your regatta after all Wishing you good winds and great sailing. Vice Commodore Bob Ocala Sailing Club 2014 Lake Weir Invitational and 10th Annual Harpoon Nationals April 26-27, 2014 Register at: www.regattaregistration.com OCALA SAILING CLUB, PO BOX 2191, OCALA, FL 34478 PAGE 3
TREASURER S REPORT Greetings fellow OCS members, Another great month has come to a close. We ended February with a combined bank balance of $2,476.74 of which $471.46 was checking and $2,005.28 was savings balance (includes $0.08 cents interest and our monthly recurring $100 transfer from checking). Happy birthday We welcomed two new OSC members in February, Ken Renfro and Jim Edens, adding $100 to our checking balance as well as $29 from the 50/50 raffle from our potluck dinner meeting at Art and Mai s beautiful home. We also reimbursed Art Twitchell $106 for his rental payment of the Carney pavilion for the April Regatta. The $200 check to reserve the Lake Weir Yacht Club was returned to me and voided. We were not charged a reservation deposit for the Loch Harbor Condominium Club House which we have rented for the Saturday night of our April Regatta weekend. Happy Sailing Everyone, Kathy Olbekson ~ Treasurer lou archibald ~ march 8 grace moring ~ march 10 Sunday Sailing at The Point Sunday, March 16, 2014 1:00 PM Meet by boat at Lemon Point on Lake Weir every 3rd Sunday of the month for an afternoon of sailing and fun OCALA SAILING CLUB, PO BOX 2191, OCALA, FL 34478 PAGE 4
OSC MEETING MINUTES ~ FEBRUARY 20, 2014 Location: Art and Mai Twitchell s Home ~ Ocklawaha Meeting was called to order by Commodore, Art Twitchell, after a wonderful pot luck dinner. First order of business was the 50/50 Raffle ~ congratulations to the lucky winners Ross Martin Sandra Harton Mai Twitchell Skip Archibald OBRS Burgee Scratch-Off Ticket Scratch-Off Ticket $30 Cash Treasurer, Kathy Olbekson, presented the Treasurer s Report. Jan Schumacher discussed the new Ocala Sailing Club website that has gone live. The hope is that everyone will enjoy using it and find the information useful. All ideas for changes and improvements are welcome The membership gave a big THANKS to our gracious hosts for the evening ~ thanks to Art, Mai, and Mai s sister, Karin Bob Cole gave an update about our upcoming Lake Weir Invitational and Harpoon Nationals Regatta on April 26 & 27, 2014: Skip and Lou Archibald have offered to host a Welcome Party on Thursday night, April 24th. Friday evening, April 25th, will be an informal gathering at Gator Joe s. Regatta Headquarters will be the pavilion at Carney Island Park for the Saturday and Sunday sailing activities and trophy presentation. The Saturday evening banquet will be held at the Loch Harbor Condominium Club House in Sunset Harbor. Larry Moore and Hal and Maxine Grover have volunteered to serve as Land Crew at the pavilion Lynn Sims has volunteered to contact the newspaper No new Regatta t-shirts will be printed this year The OSC Regatta Banner will be displayed at the Carney Island Park pavilion There will be a handout with a map and directions to the Loch Harbor Condominium Club House for the Saturday evening banquet. Please note that beer is not allowed at Carney Island Park but can be consumed out on the water. We can plan to have beer on the OSC Committee Boat, out on the water. Sailors can raft up to the Committee Boat if they want a beer. Ian Gibson would like to work with a radio station in this area to have the OSC Regatta broadcast in Jamaica. Lynn Sims has volunteered to talk to someone in the local radio business that she knows. Please note a correction to the Meeting Minutes from last month: The Carney Island Daily Park Fee of $5 will NOT be included in the Regatta Registration Fee. The March Buccaneer Night will be held at Cody s Roadhouse in Ocala on March 6, 2014 at 6:30 PM. Our monthly Sunday Sailing @ The Point sail is scheduled for Sunday, March 16, 2014 at 1:00 PM. The March OSC Meeting will be held at Charlene Johnson s home on Thursday, March 20, 2014 at 6:30 PM. Ed Sims discussed the upcoming Inter-lake Regatta s: March 1, 2014 LMSA Trans-Monroe Regatta March 15, 2014 GAYC Shamrock Regatta The OSC Meeting was adjourned and the OBRS Meeting began. Steve Jaffess currently has the gavel ~ who will be next??? The OBRS Meeting was adjourned... thanks again to Art and Mai Twitchell for a wonderful evening Respectfully Submitted, There she goes... Jan Schumacher Secretary Little Leviathan to the Rescue OCALA SAILING CLUB, PO BOX 2191, OCALA, FL 34478 PAGE 5
Cost: $60 per Boat 2014 LAKE WEIR INVITATIONAL & 10 th ANNUAL HARPOON NATIONALS April 26 27, 2014 NOTICE OF RACE Register for Regatta and Meals at: www.regattaregistration.com $10 EARLY REGISTRATION DISCOUNT BEFORE April 12 th All meals should be ordered ONLINE at: www.regattaregistration.com (This includes Crew, OSC Members, and Spectators) * Dinner for Skippers included in Registration Fee * Saturday & Sunday Box Lunches** $ 6.00 Each Saturday Dinner Tickets $15.00 Each Thursday, April 24 th Welcome Party Hosts: Skip & Lou Archibald 6:30 PM Dinner & Tales (Bring Dish to Pass and Your Own Drinks) Friday, April 25 th Early Arrivals Launch at Carney Island Park and Sail Practice (Carney Island Park Fee is $5 Each Day) 6:00 PM Dinner & Tales @ Gator Joe s Restaurant (Pay Your Own Way) Saturday, April 26 th 8:00 10:00 AM Registration, Coffee and Donuts @ Carney Island Park Pavilion 10:00 12:00 Noon Lunch - Pick-Up Box Lunch** 11:00 AM Skippers' Meeting 12:00 Noon Races 1, 2, & 3 6:30 PM Dinner @ Loch Harbor Condominium Club House (Map Available at Check-in) Sunday, April 27 th 8:00 AM Coffee and Donuts 9:00 AM Skippers' Meeting 10:00 AM Races 4 & 5 After Racing Lunch** and Awards Ceremony at Carney Island Park Pavilion (Classes with 5 Boats Registered will Trophy 3 Places) Contact For Additional Information: Commodore Art Twitchell (352) 598-4468 Vice Commodore Bob Cole (352) 867-8456 Hotels Shamrock Thistle & Crown B&B (352) 821-1887 The Nest on Lake Weir (352) 288-6378 Holiday Inn & Suites (352) 750-3888 RV Parking Southern Oaks RV Resort (352) 347-2550 OCALA SAILING CLUB, PO BOX 2191, OCALA, FL 34478 PAGE 6
OSC Pot Luck Dinner Meeting Thursday, March 20, 2014 at 6:30 PM Hosted by Charlene Johnson 14971 SE 107th Avenue Summerfield, FL 34491 (352) 274-2100 ~ Please bring a dish to share and your own drinks ~ Directions: From South US 441, turn East onto Sunset Harbor Road. Turn left on Timucuan Road. Charlene s house is on the last road, a left hand turn before entering the causeway to Bird Island. That is 107th Avenue. 2nd house on the right, 2 story gray house. Parking on all the paved areas and the center grass area between her house and the yellow house. 2014 SPRING REGATTA SCHEDULE Date Sailing Club Location March 1, 2014 March 15, 2014 April 26-27, 2014 May 3, 2014 Lake Monroe Sailing Association 26th Annual Trans-Monroe Regatta Gulf Atlantic Yacht Club Shamrock Regatta Ocala Sailing Club 2014 Lake Weir Invitational & 10th Annual Harpoon Nationals Regatta The Rudder Club 61st Mug Race Lake Monroe Sanford, FL Boat House Marina St. John s River Palatka, FL Carney Island Park Lake Weir, FL Palatka to Jacksonville, FL OCALA SAILING CLUB, PO BOX 2191, OCALA, FL 34478 PAGE 7
OCALA SAILING CLUB, PO BOX 2191, OCALA, FL 34478 PAGE 8
Remote Control Sailing with Tom Barrett A Twitchell Tale by Art Twitchell" The Location, Lake Vista, in Del Web. Tom Barrett is here with his RC Soling Sailboat, sail #3998. They are on their way to the first marker which is part of the course set up in this well appointed man-made lake. Rounding the first marker on this run, Tom's boat is squeeking into the lead. For your information, this is the servo inside this remote control sailboat that controls the sails; there is another servo in the stern for the rudder... and... NO electric motor as one might suspect when observing these speedy vessels. On shore skippers and spectators look on in anticipation as the sailboats work their way around the second mark. Outcropping into the lake is a gazebo where other landlubbers can watch as these nifty little one meter vessels sail confidently under their remote guardians. The sails are set and the boat is launched #3998 is under weigh Along with the other focussed remote control skippers, (Jim, Jim, Jack and Bob), Tom is at his virtual helm and the boats take off from the starting line. OCALA SAILING CLUB, PO BOX 2191, OCALA, FL 34478 PAGE 9
"Beware," to those on the lake competing with these sailboats for they are aggressive and purposeful in their urgent quest for the finish line... Bravo, Bravo That's one more for Tom... but who's counting? Tom, how many total #1 wins was that for you today? Three mornings a week these dedicated sailors come out here for fun to race their proud (1- class) RC Solings. Well, there you have it folks... RC sailing at its finest Tom Barrett, OSC is proud to have you among our ranks and for your perpetuation of the honorable sport of sailing in style and scale... to master the wind. Respectfully, Art Twitchell OCALA SAILING CLUB, PO BOX 2191, OCALA, FL 34478 PAGE 10
Lake Harris Cruise February 15, 2014 OCALA SAILING CLUB, PO BOX 2191, OCALA, FL 34478 PAGE 11
WHAT S AFLOAT? Congratulations to Mai Twitchell Mai is originally from Sweden and became a United States Citizen on February 27, 2014 OFFICERS Commodore Art Twitchell" artmai2@gmail.com" 352-288-4955" Vice Commodore Bob Cole" bob.cole4551@cox.net" 352-895-9850" Secretary/Webmaster Jan Schumacher" janoschumacher@aol.com" 407-376-0253" Treasurer/Quartermaster Kathy Olbekson" kolbek13@gmail.com" 352-643-0105" Racing Commodore Open THANKS to the SPONSORS of the 2013 Lake Weir Invitational and Harpoon Nationals Regatta OCALA SAILING CLUB, PO BOX 2191, OCALA, FL 34478 PAGE 12