Cat Tales March 2001

View from the Bridge

Ray Nieves, Commodore

The monthly CCYC meeting for March was held at Mama Lucia's, on March 18th. We were fortunate to greet two new members, Bob and Marla Bickel, aboard "Two Tall", a new Catalina 310 (when you meet them, ask how they came to name their boat). And thanks to Vice Commodore Shatz, we had two interesting guest speakers who gave us very useful information about storm preparation and management on the Bay. Rich will be providing information about the presentation, in his article.

A while back, I was reading one of the sailing advertisements and found a device for monitoring holding and freshwater tanks. This information piqued my interest, due to the fact that shortly after we purchased our 36 and went on our first cruise, we nearly had a holding tank experience of the worst kind (you can guess---lucky it didn't happen). When we noticed our seat cushions being lifted by the expanding holding tank, we knew there must be a better way of monitoring the tank, other than counting flushes.

ell, back to the holding tank device. I contacted Dudley Shelor the President of Chesa Tek, Inc. the inventor of "See Level" the holding tank and freshwater tank monitoring device (he also owns a Catalina). We talked for a while and I became very interested in the devices. But, the first effort by Dudley required that many little holes be drilled into tanks to install the monitors. After expressing my concern for drilling holes in our tanks, Dudley and I discussed options to allow installation without the need to drill holes. After some consideration and input from others, Dudley made a new prototype tank monitor, which can be installed in holding tanks or in freshwater tanks without drilling holes.

Considering that a lot of our members may have boats without tank monitoring devices, I asked Dudley if he would provide a group purchase discount. He gathered some resource information and now has provided group rate discounts. He sent me a mock up device, which I had at the March meeting and will bring to the Flag Raising. The new modified devices are installed without drilling holes, using the vent pipe plugs and believe it or not only take about five minutes to install. Joan Savage is willing to take your information and place a group purchase if we have enough interest, or you can contact Dudley Shelor at (410) 379-2891 for more information.

Also, during our meeting Sunday evening there was some discussion about having a club windbreaker, shirts, hats or other club items. If you're interested in having something that represents the club, please provide your thoughts to Rich, Mike or me.

As the Season gets underway and we prepare for the upcoming events, please let me remind you that during the planning meeting and continuing during our meetings, we have attempted to take into consideration the location of our entire membership to include something for everyone. Some concerns arise as to how to continue to maintain the interest and attendance of members, who all have busy schedules. Some of the things that Carolyn and I have enjoyed are the pleasure of your company, the learning experiences and the sea stories. Some of the things I think all of us want to avoid is not having good turnouts to our events, so please let me or one of the officers know what we can do to improve CCYC.

Well, it is now 0630 Saturday morning and we are going sailing, so I am sure you won't mind if we prepare to shove off. See you at the Flag Raising. Safe sailing!

2001 Flag-raising Brunch
April 14th, 10:00 AM
Deep Creek Restaurant
Arnold, Maryland

Vice Commodore Richard Schatz has arranged a great deal for our Flag-raising Brunch. We will meet at the Deep Creek Restaurant in Arnold, MD on April 14th at 10:00 AM. The restaurant will provide us with our own room and a menu of:

• Omelette Station (custom-made omelettes)
• Potatoes
• Bacon
• Sausage
• Fruit
• Biscuits& Muffins

The cost is $12.50 per person.

You received a reservation form in the last newsletter. It asked you to RSVP, with a check, to our Treasurer, Joan Savage. If you haven't sent your reservation yet, you can pay at the door. Please give Richard (443-482-9553) or Joan (301-762-6752) a call so we can get a head count prior to the Brunch and the restaurant can be sure to accommodate us.

Directions to the Deep Creek Restaurant and Marina:

• From Rte 50 E, take exit 28, Bay Dale Drive
• Bear right to Bay Dale Drive
• At stop sign, turn right and go over Rte 50
• At 2nd light, turn left onto College Parkway
• At 1st light, turn right onto Shore Acres Road
• At approximately 1-½ miles, take right fork onto Deep Creek Avenue
• Deep Creek Restaurant is ½ mile on right

See you there!

Member Meeting
March 18th, 5:30 PM
Mama Lucia's Restaurant

Richard Schatz, Vice Commodore

At the last member meeting, on March 18th, we had about ten members show up for the slide presentation by Dave Abt of Cruising Concepts concerning "Heavy Weather Sailing, Chesapeake Bay Style". Fred Wagner of West Marine accompanied him. His role was more related to sail trim. Fred is also an avid racing sailor. Together, they spoke of common sense ways to approach the weather on the Bay.

The essence of the presentation was safety and preparation. They presented their material with a mixture of seriousness and humor, but the point of respecting the elements was driven home quite clearly. Standard procedures like monitoring the weather, reefing sooner than later, and wearing life jackets are things we know we should do but sometimes we are reluctant to do or may not do on a regular basis. These are elements that can ruin your whole day, or weekend if not followed with some regularity.

Two new members that attended, Bob and Marla Bickel, seemed to appreciate what they saw and found out about some new marine gear that they need to add to their new Catalina 310, Two Tall.

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