SEMAPHORE January 2012 37 12 20 N, 76 26 11 W Volume 32 Number 1 From the helm Commodore Bill Small Years ago railroad employees and yachtsmen prided themselves on the quality of their timepieces. Correct time was essential for safety and navigation. Trains could and did run into each other and boats smashed against rocky coasts because of inaccurate timepieces. Just a few years ago we prided ourselves on accurate watches to help us cross the starting line of a race just as the horn sounded. But today if you ask someone the time, he or she is as likely to pull out a cell phone as look at a watch. At yacht racing events, the committee boat will usually use GPS time, accurate to at least a tenth of a second, depending on the receiver. We have inexpensive clocks and watches synchronized with a national radio signal with timing accuracy of less than second per million years. In contrast to the fantastic accuracy of modern timekeepers, our human perception of time varies considerably. We may feel time goes by too fast or too slow. Time drags on forever for children waiting for Santa Claus; but races for adults trying to have everything ready for the Holidays. And think about time on a boat. Time afloat may seem too short but the memories may last forever. And why is this? Perhaps as we experience our time on the water we are unconsciously comparing it to the timelessness of nature, of the water and the sky. I imagine some of your fondest memories are of special times on your boat, a spectacular sunset, a quiet night, or a perfect cruise. Of course time on the water is generally a peaceful time, but during storms it can be a frightening time. But frightening or not, time is on our side, for every storm has its ending; and in time the sun and the stars will always return. Smooth Sailing, Bill REMAINDER OF DECEMBER 2011 CALENDAR OF EVENTS SUN 25 MERRY CHRISTMAS JANUARY 2012 CALENDAR OF EVENTS SUN 1 NEW YEAR S DAY RACE 3:00 p.m. NEW YEAR S DAY POTLUCK DINNER THR 5 7:00 p.m. BRIDGE FRI 6 6:00 p.m. HAPPY HOUR TUE 10 7:00 p.m. BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING THR 12 7:00 p.m. BRIDGE FRI 13 6:00 p.m. HAPPY HOUR SAT 14 10:00 a.m.-noon 7:30 p.m. SPEAKER SERIES--DAVID NIEBUHR POKER TUE 17 6:00 p.m. MONTHY DINNER MEETING WELCOME ABOARD THR 19 DEADLINE FOR SEMAPHORE 7:00 p.m. BRIDGE FRI 20 6:00 p.m. HAPPY HOUR THR 26 7:00 p.m. BRIDGE FRI 27 6:00 p.m. HAPPY HOUR SAT 28 10:00 a.m.-noon SPEAKER SERIES JACOB POLERMAN SYC Semaphore-1
SYC DINNER MEETINGS January 1 7, 201 2 Warm Your Heart Soup together well, as this year Wind Swept took second place honors! Congratulations to the Captain and crew of Wind Swept! Our January monthly dinner meeting will be co-hosted by Marlene and Al Cummins and Sandy and Lonnie Byrd. The menu centers around "a warm your heart soup supper" which we all look forward to on those cold winter days. The soup supper will feature 10 different soups prepared by "soup chefs" in the club. Members will be able to sample and enjoy a variety of soups. There will be plenty of salad, cheese and crackers at each table to allow everyone to nibble while waiting their turn at the soup buffet line. Dessert will include a selection of cakes. This evening is new member recognition night. Be sure and welcome our new members to our SYC family. The telephone committee will call you for reservations in January. The Blotters crew and friends Janet Beilhart and Alita Small, Monthly Dinner Co- Chairs SYC GATHERINGS AND EVENTS December 3, 201 1 --Yorktown Lighted Boat Parade It was a dark and stormy night. The captain tightened his grip on the wheel. Uh, really it wasn t dark and stormy, it was cool and beautiful. And the captain s grip was tight around a beverage, not necessarily the wheel. Intrepid Captains Jim and Linda Blotter with their crew of misfits, Carl, Jan, Mike and Jeanette, sailed into the night with his boat, Wind Swept, lit up like a Christmas tree. Literally, lit up like a Christmas tree! With giant wrapped boxes under the tree, a lit moving Ferris wheel and a smiling Santa Claus overseeing it all. This is the second year Seaford Yacht Club sponsored Jim and Linda Blotter s boat in the annual Yorktown Lighted Boat Parade. The effort of untangling lights, stretching them down the dock to make sure all lights worked, then tying, twisting and hoisting everything on the boat, was well rewarded. From the deck of Wind Swept you could see a large crowd on Yorktown Beach and a giant bonfire blazing. From the beach, it was said that the entire boat looked ablaze with lights. There were even two live elves on deck waving to the spectators and judges. It must have all come Wind Swept was decked out for Christmas. December 1 0, 201 1 Annual Christmas Party The SYC Evening at the North Pole was the way to get into the Christmas spirit. When you walked up the path between all those candy canes, you knew you had arrived at the North Pole. Sandy Hopkins, the Landscaping Committee, and Kelli and Bill Willshire transformed the club, inside and out, into the North Pole! All the decorations were incredible the SYC and children s Christmas trees and lights made the North Pole glow, thanks to the miracle magic of Elf Sheila Majka and helper, Elf Jim. Elf Lonnie created the entryway design and all the snow! Elf Donna checked at the door to SYC Semaphore-2
see who had been naughty or nice and Elf Mike Webb, creator of Santa s Workshop, busily made toys for good girls and boys. Father Christmas (Robert Priseler) was there with Mrs. Claus by his side (Noel Priseler) and guests posed for photos with Father Christmas taken by Paul Blais. Head Elf, Fran Butterfoss, directed the evening s activities with her helper, Elf Tom, who put the Toys for Tots under the tree as they were donated by the evening s guests. The Commodelf, Bill Small and Elves, Alita, Jeannette, Sandy, Lonnie, Lillian, and Robert Strieter were running all around the place to make everything run smoothly. That s what Elves do! The Usual Suspects band played, and everyone danced and enjoyed the delicious meal catered by Linda s Touch of Class catering. The Elf judges chose Gina Sheehan to win the Outrageous Christmas Sweater Contest. She received a special floral display created by Elf Lillian Downs, who also created the colorful table decorations with lollypops, candy canes, greens and ornaments. Thanks to Bill Edmonds, Mark Hinman and Tom Feldhaus for the beer arrangements. Thanks to Robert Priseler, two Marines arrived to pick up the Toys for Tots and were invited to join our party. Lastly, many, many thanks to our generous SYC members for all the toys - we filled two vehicles to the brim! Santa is probably wondering where all his Elves were last night, but WE KNOW and they were having a great time. If you missed the party, you may be able to catch the next Polar Express. Thanks and Merry Christmas to all Fran and Tom Butterfoss Here are some pictures of the fun evening taken by Paul Blais, Jeanette and Mike Webb, and Joan Edmonds: SYC Semaphore-3
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SATURDAY SEADOG SPEAKERS SERIES Boat winterized? Tired of the honey-do list? Looking for relief from the winter blahs? Make a date to come to the Club for the Saturday Seadog Speakers Series beginning in mid-january for stimulating talks designed especially for boaters or anyone interested in the Bay. Topics will include: Historic Roles of Watermen on the Chesapeake -David Niebuhr, Managing Director, Watermen s Museum Scallop Fisheries David Rudders, Assistant Research Scientist, VIMS The Ships at Jamestown - Captain Eric Speth, Jamestown Settlement Cruise Ship and Cruising Jacob Polderman, Senior Marine Architect Virginia Waterways and Ports of Call - Robert Priseler (guaranteed to get the cruising juices going as the winter winds down)! Five sessions are scheduled -one every other Saturday beginning on January 14 th. Talks will begin at 10:00 a.m., but come a bit early for coffee and doughnuts. Attendance is free and the public is more than welcome. This would be an excellent opportunity to invite friends and neighbors who might become interested in SYC membership down the road. Space is limited so please call Al Cummins at 757-259-0739 to make reservations for any session or the whole series. Full details will be posted on the Seaford Yacht Club website very soon. First Session Historic Roles of Watermen on the Chesapeake January 14, 2012 David Niebuhr Managing Director Watermen s Museum SYC Semaphore-5
BOARD OF TRUSTEES DRAFT MINUTES Meeting Date: December 13, 2011 I. Call to Order Officers and Trustees Present: Bill Small, Mike Webb, Al Cummins, Mike Brower, Paul Blais, Joan Edmonds, Amber Travers and Fran Butterfoss. Absent: Tim Dube, Cecil Adcox, Malcolm Burgess and Sandra Byrd. Bill Small called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. A prior motion to change the order of the meeting enabled guests to talk to the Board prior to the remainder of the meeting. The guest speaker s items are included in Section IV, Committee Reports. Joe Mitchell, the Club s Webmaster, attended the meeting at Bill Small s invitation. II. Secretary s Report Minutes of the November 08, 2011 meeting were presented and accepted by the Board. the website. We need to look at several vendors very carefully and have a sub-team review the vendors proposals. Concern was expressed over the final total cost. In the event we go to an outside vendor, Joe will continue as the Manager of the Club s website. Nominating Committee (Jim Blotter) Jim presented the slate of nominees for the coming year. They are as follows: Commodore-Mike Webb, Vice Commodore-Al Cummins, Rear Commodore-Sandy Hopkins, Past Commodore-Bill Small, Secretary-Joan Edmonds, Treasurer-Malcolm Burgess, Trustees through 2012-Fran Butterfoss and Paul Blais, Trustees through 2013-Amber Travers and Arnold Brower, Trustees through 2014-Carl Early and Geoff Rodgers. Notification to the members will be done via the Barnacle bulletin board and the Semaphore. The Board voted on and accepted the slate of nominees. III. IV. Treasurer s Report In Tim s absence, Al Cummins presented this month s report. Income from monthly meetings and clubhouse rentals are higher than budgeted. Repairs and Maintenance expenses are higher than budgeted due to water main repairs and the replacement of double doors. Insurance expenses year-to-date are higher due to increased liability for Jr. Sailing and the Poquoson High School use. Overall, our financial situation looks good for the year. Net Income year to date is $15,205. The cash balance as of the end of November was $82,139. Our business loan balance was $78,504. The Treasurer s Report was presented and accepted by the Board. Newport News Waterworks has given us a credit of $356 as a result of the high water bills previously paid due to water pipes breaking. Al explained the line items in the proposed budget for the next year. The Board will decide whether or not to make an additional $10,000 payment on the loan at next month s Board meeting. Committee Reports: Webmaster (Joe Mitchell) Joe has maintained the Club s website since about 2000. Joe s support over more than a decade providing information to our members is quite a feat. Currently, our website is hosted by Yahoo. Website report (Fran Butterfoss) Fran recently led a group that looked into having an outside vendor update the Club s website. Out of seven vendors that were solicited, three stood out as possibilities. Proposed costs varied greatly with an average cost of about $4,000 to $5,000 for the initial setup of Club Rentals (Vikki Collier) There are no new rentals: Membership (Sharon Kline) Laurie and Walter Ulbricht were approved as new resident members in the Club. Welcome Laurie and Walter! In addition, Paul and Judith Garman have resigned. We re sorry to see them go; but we wish them well in their downsizing and Florida adventures. That leaves the membership numbers as they were previously at 123 resident members and 8 non-resident members. In addition to the above, Commodore Bill received and distributed to the Board members reports from the Chairs of the following committees: House & Ground, Housekeeping, Membership, Semaphore, Landscaping, Communications/Publicity, Boating Education and Fund Raising Committees. V. Old Business: Seaford Seadog Saturday Speaker Series (Al Cummins) Al has five speakers committed for the upcoming series. He would like to have a sixth one with an emphasis on being of interest for women. Sessions will be every other week. Will Gwilliam has volunteered to do a flyer and post it in various places. Al is working on free publicity, as well as advertising in the local media. He hopes to send an ad out to Jill Bieri and parents of the students in our Junior Sailing Program. The first session will be held on Saturday, January 14 th at 10:00 a.m. (come early for coffee and donuts) and the speaker will be David Niebuhr, Managing Director of the Watermen s Museum. Mr. Niebuhr will speak about the historic roles of watermen on the Chesapeake. Mark this time and date on your calendars! SYC Semaphore-6
Safety (Mike Brower) He has had requests on how to use the Club s defibrillator. He will have a speaker demo how to use it prior to dinner at the January meeting. Dredging Status (Mike Webb) Bill Edmonds is awaiting the proposal from contractor. Yorktown Lighted Boat Parade (Mike Webb) Mike passed around the program for us to see the Club s ad. Jim and Linda Blotter took second place in the boat parade. Congratulations, Jim and Linda! Status of Real Estate Tax Issue (Bill Small) Paul Weakley is working on getting our real estate taxes reduced due to the services/education that the Club provides to the community. Bill Small has prepared a very comprehensive report listing and explaining all that the Club has done for the community. Aerial Photo of the SYC (Bill Small & Joan Edmonds) The Club purchased the rights to an aerial photo of the SYC mainly the back showing the marina. The cost was $132. The Board also approved having a 20x30 canvas wrap made to hang in the clubhouse. We will see if members are interested in purchasing smaller framed photos. Joan hopes to have the canvas at the January Board meeting. Presentation of Revised Club Rental Procedures (Mike Brower) A number of changes to the procedures have been made, attempting to clarify and improve the process. The Board approved these changes and a copy of the revised procedures will be posted on the SYC website. VII. Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned at 9:27 p.m. Respectfully Submitted by Joan Edmonds, Secretary NEW STORAGE FOR OPTIMIST PRAMS Next time you re at the club, take a look by the barn (See picture below.) and you ll see all of our Optimist Prams stacked high and tight. On the last Labor Day cruise, Mike Webb saw a trailer that was used by a sailing school at Tides Lodge. Back at SYC, we had 9 Optimist Prams on a makeshift rack. It was neat and organized, but, not really permanent. Also, each season the prams had to be ferried back and forth to the floating dock for use in the Junior Sailing Program. Mike mentioned the trailer to Tim Dube and showed him the pictures of the trailer. In hardly any time, Tim found a used trailer, welded racks on it, and soon it was parked at SYC ready to load with prams! Now, not only are the prams stored neatly and better protected, but, come summer, we ll just hitch up the trailer and haul all the boats down to the floating dock. Thanks Tim, you ve made our club look good and operate more efficiently. VI. New Business: Dinghy Trailer Thanks to Tim Dube, we have a trailer for the club s small boats. Tim purchased a trailer and did the welding and fabricating. This will enable the boats to be stored and trailered down to the dinghy dock. SYC Documents/Media Control Issues (Paul Blais) Paul explained how/why we need to have policies and procedures to protect the Club's assets. Paul distributed a handout with examples of assets and explained how we may want to protect them for the future. This will be continued next month. Annual Awards Nominations (Joan Edmonds) Nominations continue to be received and the Board will vote on the recipients at the January meeting. January Dinner Meeting (Bill Small) Just a reminder that this is New Members meeting. Upcoming SYC Monthly Events Summary (Bill Small) Commodore Bill went over upcoming club events. SAFETY CORNER We will have a quick demonstration of the emergency defribrillator at the beginning of the January dinner meeting. If you have any questions, please send them to Mike Brower at arnoldbrower@cox.net or call him at 757-988-0231. Mike Brower, Safety Chair SYC Semaphore-7
THREE GULLS WITH NEWS Gary and Carol Shulenburg invited SYC members to visit them on November 26 at their daughter s, Kristen, home in Mathews to see their coal fired, steam-driven M, T, & P miniature railroad. Robert and Noel Priseler, along with their granddaughters, Jalen and Kiley Pryor, had a ball riding the train and learning about its development. Peggy Newcomb at the Holiday Gallery Reception Peggy Newcomb recently displayed her paintings at the Holiday Gallery Reception of the Poquoson Art League. Gail Eldred also displayed her handmade jewelry. The work of both of these artists is for sale. Carol and Gary Shulenburg, their grandson, Matt, Along these same lines, Jan Price has been exhibiting her work in Gloucester Courthouse at The Village Art Gallery and Arts on Main. She has pictures and prints at both places for sale. Likewise, Gail Eldred has her jewelry on display at Arts on Main. Columnists: Audrey Moore, Marian Phillips, and Merle LaMal, RACING NEWS 2012 NEW YEAR S DAY RACE Engineer Matt drove the train around the property. We are hoping for a good turnout for the New Year s Day Race to kick off 2012! Following the race, there will be a potluck, covered dish brunch starting at 3:00 p.m. Jim Blotter is the sponsor for the New Year s Day Race. *************************************************** Joe and Mary Anne Gagliano are excited about this coming Christmas. Joining them will be Mary Anne's daughter, son-in-law, and granddaughter, Mary Katherine, age 5. The key event will be watching Mary Katherine open her presents from Santa. Tom Feldhaus, Race Committee Chair Our condolences go out to Susan and Bruce Pettyjohn on the death of Susan s mother. SYC Semaphore-8
FROM THE DOCK MASTER The water supply to the docks has been turned off for the winter. The lines have been blown out with compressed air and have been secured. Please do not turn the water system back on. The pump-out system has also been winterized. Mark Hinman, Mike Brower, Bill Willshire, Dana Arenius, Tim Dube, Malcolm Burgess, and Joan Edmonds all helped get this done. Thanks for all your help! Bill Edmonds, Dock Master BE THE WINNER! SOLVE THE PUZZLE! Solve the puzzle and win TWO TICKETS for two free monthly dinners. This is a $24 value. Last Month s Puzzle Winner We had a tie Paul Blais and Hugh Van Brimer; each answered all but two correctly. Phil and Sandy Hopkins came in second place and Arnie Janot came in third place. Because a rule previously set stated that a person can win only once in a year and Paul was our first 2011 winner, the free tickets go to Hugh. As we enter the new year 2012, I would like to delete that rule and have it state that there is no limit to the number of times you can win within a given year. Seaford Stumper Key January s Puzzle. How many Toys for Tots were collected by the SYC and given to the Marine Corps? The answer is due by January 6. SYC Semaphore-9
WHAT S AT THE BOTTOM? Have you ever wanted to walk across the bottom of the river, lake or ocean to see all the ships that have sunk? The Aral Sea was once the world's fourth-largest saline body of water. It has been steadily shrinking since the 1960s, after the rivers that fed it were diverted by Soviet Union irrigation projects. And now it's almost gone leaving a desert full of old shipwrecks. Really quite unreal isn't it, you are looking at the BOTTOM of the once fourth largest salt water sea in the world. To think mankind can have this kind of an impact on our world. PO Box 1885 Yorktown, VA 23692 FIRST CLASS MAIL SYC Semaphore-10