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Cat TalesJanuary 2004 |
Rich Miller, Commodore
The year 2003 was a memorable one for our
club. We met the challenges of an unusually wet and blustery season with an
unbeatable combination of good cheer and camaraderie. I'd like to thank our
outgoing Commodore, Ray Van Horn, for lending his hard work and smiling
personality to our club, and to all who participated in and contributed to our
events to help make it another successful year.
The year 2004 marks the
24th year that CCYC will have been serving Catalina sailors on the Chesapeake
Bay. I am looking forward to working with the other club officers to continue
the long traditions of the club by providing our members with opportunities to
share in our mutual love of sailing and to expand our knowledge of Catalina
boats and the skills we need to sail them and care for them. Your participation
as an active member is crucial if we are to meet these goals.
Therefore,
as we enter the planning stage for our upcoming season, I am putting out the
call to everyone to volunteer as a raft captain for an event. The job of the
raft captain is to serve as the organizer for one of our regularly-scheduled
gatherings. You will be asked to provide a pre-event announcement as well as a
post-event writeup for the club newsletter, and you must be on location at the
selected raftup location to welcome and guide boats into the anchorage. Claire
and I found it to be a great way to meet other club members and share cruising
locations that we enjoy. New member or old hand, I would encourage you to
contact me or one of the other club officers before our February 8th pre
planning meeting to volunteer as a raft captain. Please specify a suggested
cruising location and one or two preferred times of the season for your event.
If you cannot serve as a raft captain, please contact us anyway if you have
suggestions or special requests for event locations or times.
We are
looking forward to a happy and safe sailing season in 2004, and we hope to see
you on the bay. Smooth sailing to one and all.
Al Lohman, Vice Commodore
Well, Spring will be here before you
know it, so that means it's time for us to get together and make plans for the
upcoming cruising season. The meeting will be at the Italian Garden restaurant
in Gambrills, MD on March 13th, starting at 4:00 PM. The restaurant is on Route
3, south of Interstate 97 in the Village of Waugh Chapel shopping center, near
Applebee's. The same gentleman who owns Cantina d'Italia in Annapolis owns the
Italian Garden, and he made me an offer we couldn't refuse. The Cantina, where
we've had the last two meetings, is being remodeled. After shopping around, I
think we get a good deal with these people and they've served us well in the
past. I chose Saturday so that those who have long drives don't have to worry
about getting home late on Sunday night.
Before we get down to the
schedule part of the meeting, we'll have a speaker from the Quantum sail loft
in Annapolis. Here's a chance to hear from an expert how to properly care for
your sails to preserve their sailing performance for as long as possible. We'll
also plan to discuss how to tell when your sails have reached the end of
service, what kind of information you need and what things to consider before
approaching a sailmaker about buying new sails, the cost and performance
trade-offs associated with the various sail fabric choices, and a discussion of
asymmetrical spinnakers. Of course we'll also be covering questions along the
way. The challenge will be to not spend too much time on this topic so that we
can get on to the main part of the meeting.
The main part of the
meeting, aside from dinner, will be our cruising season schedule. This year
we're asking everyone to consider where and when you would be willing to serve
as a raft captain. Pick one of your favorite places and pass your idea to the
Commodore before our February 8th preplanning meeting or just bring your plan
to the meeting. It seems like we had some good ideas being exchanged at the
holiday party, so now's the time to volunteer to host an event near your home
port or in a familiar place. Hopefully, this may be better than deciding on
places and then casting around for raft captain "volunteers." Of course, that's
still the default method and the commodore will have the press gangs standing
by. Anyway, here's hoping we have a mild winter and a big turnout for the March
meeting. Remember a good cruising season starts with a good plan.
Diane Benyus and Richard Schatz, Scimitar
It's hard to
believe that the holidays have come and gone already. Hopefully you have a lot
of good memories to look back on - of celebrations with family & friends.
We hope one of those fond memories will be of the CCYC Holiday Party. Rich and
I were glad that so many of you could join us. In addition to the opportunity
to share great food (thanks to everyone) and some Christmas caroling, we had a
fun time again exchanging (& re-exchanging) gifts.
We also held the
passing of the flags ceremony and welcomed in our new Commodore Rich Miller and
Vice Commodore Al Lohman. Mike Davis received his "Crossed Quills" flag
representing his duties as editor. (Is there any more room on you halyard,
Mike?) Thanks were given to retiring Commodore Ray VanHorn for a great sailing
season under his command. Sue Dennison presented an award to Ray on behalf of
the club in recognition of his many contributions. Mike Davis and I also
received acknowledgments for our efforts as Editor/ Webmaster and Treasurer
respectively.
Sue presented Pat & Rod Waite with the "OOPS" award
for their anchoring exploits and close encounter with the Bay Bridge (a great
story if you haven't heard it). Rich and Claire Miller received the coveted
"Salty Dog" award for their efforts above and beyond the call of duty. Claire
was heard to say, "We never went out in bad weather before we joined this
club." Thanks again to everyone for a great night.
As we sit through the cold weather, we can start looking forward to the
start of the next season. That includes planning new cruises and going to
parties. That also includes renewing your membership and alas, paying dues.
CCYC dues are $35 for each calendar year (January to December). The money is
used to cover rental of the meeting places, speakers, the cost of publishing
the newsletter, some of the expenses of CCYC parties and other business of
running the club.
There is a Membership Renewal Form in this newsletter
that includes all the information I have on file about you and your boat. I
would appreciate it if you would take the time to check over the information
and correct anything that is wrong or missing.
Additionally, we have a
supply of CCYC burgees and they're available to members who do not already have
one. The cost is $25 per burgee and you can include it with your dues. Mail
your check to Diane at 128 Silopanna Road, Annapolis, MD 21403.
Max Munger has renewed the CCYC Cooperating Group Accord with BOAT U.S.
Last year, 38 of our members enjoyed the benefits of BOAT U.S. membership at
only one-half of the regular annual dues rate. If you are not currently a
member (shame on you) just fill out the online application at www.BOATUS.com to
receive your own membership package and discount catalog. If renewing, there is
a separate online form with your previous information. If you are not online,
just call 1-800-395-2628 and have your credit card ready. Be sure to use our
group name (CCYC) and our group number (GA80542S) when renewing or
enrolling.
BOAT U.S. members enjoy low discount prices on thousands of
boating products from the large annual catalog or directly from the marine
centers in the Washington-Annapolis area. BOAT U.S. members can shop and
receive discounts at any West Marine stores too! Immediate benefits are
available to all members on boating equipment, boat insurance, towing services,
discounted fuel, slips, repairs, warranty and product information, financial
and documentation services, charter, travel, auto rental discounts and books,
charts and video libraries. I highly recommend the unlimited towing
service!
BOAT U.S. continues to represents its 550,000 members in
Congress through its boating advocacy programs. Members also receive a year's
subscription to the SEAWORTHY and BOAT U.S. REPORTS periodicals. Where else can
you get so much for just $9.50! Join today!