Cat Tales

March 2007

Bob Klimek, Commodore

“Oh, the weather outside is frightful; but the CCYC events are delightful!” OK – OK; corny – but I couldn’t resist myself.

We started 2007 with a repeat of the successful 2006 game night at Al and Vickie Lohman’s. The food was outstanding; the laughter and merriment caused by the games was infectious; and the host and hostess were charming (particularly Al who wore his scrolling LED display on his left breast pocket; I wonder if that is a Navy thing?)

The Italian Dinner hosted by Mike and Marie Yates on February 24, 2007, with able assistant chefs MaryAnn McBride and Mario Taisch, was incomparable. How do you top a world-class meal prepared personally by three talented and skillful chefs orchestrated by a charismatic hostess. It was truly a memorable evening. By the way, in the last e-mail I received from Marie she was still looking for her kitchen!

On March 10, 2007, we had a seminar at Doyle’s sail loft. John Middleton, Sail Annapolis, presented the latest news from Catalina. He was followed by an accomplished presentation from Chuck O'Malley on sail handling. Then we all adjourned to an excellent banquet-style private dinner at The Rock Fish. John Middleton provided the Club with a box full of goodies which were distributed by a drawing of boat names from a wine glass – fitting for CCYC. John provided enough gifts that every boat got at least one item. Thanks John! And thanks to our Vice-Commodore, Jim Bergeron, for organizing and hosting the event with the able support and assistance of Suzanne.

There are two reasons for the above event synopsis: First, to entice you to visit our website and experience the event again through Mike’s camera lens and second, to entice you to attend the April brunch at the Annapolis Yacht Club. Aside from a fabled top-quality brunch, an unsurpassed view of Annapolis harbour, and unparalleled comradeship; you will also find out why you need to avoid those freighters plying the Bay.

By the time you read this, most of us will have de-winterized and some of us may have already had our first sail or two or more. Your Officers have worked hard to create a 2007 schedule that has something for everyone. I predict that 2007 will be a terrific year for the CCYC members.

By the way, Lucia was puzzled by an earlier column when I promised there would be “something new, something borrowed and something blue” on the schedule. “Something blue?” she asked. As promised, there will be a “Blue Moon” cruise on June 30th. So far I have avoided the “Something borrowed?” question.

Jim Bergeron, Vice Commodore

We have the Annapolis Yacht Club booked for our annual Spring Brunch on Sunday, April 15th, starting at 11:00 AM. Our guest speaker will be John Hamill from the Maryland Pilots' Association. He promises an interesting program discussing the role of Bay Pilots in bringing ships up and down the Bay and their perspective from the bridge.

The cost will be $38/person and will be collected by CCYC. (CCYC will pay AYC.) Please RSVP to jbergeron@ft.newyorklife.com by April 1st. We need to provide a minimum number prior to the event. We should be able to add some to the total after April 1st, but as expected, we will be responsible for our original head count as a minimum, so cancellations cannot be refunded.

The AYC is located at 2 Compromise Street in Annapolis. Free parking is available on the other side of the Spa Creek Bridge. AYC phone numbers are 410.263.9279 and 410.269.0779.

The AYC dress code requires jackets for gentlemen.

In addition to the presentation by John Hamill, Jon VanTassell (Resolve) plans a side meeting with anyone interested in discussing the trip north for the rendezvous in August. He plans to set up at a table at the brunch to lay out some charts and have a quiet discussion for about 1 hour. Anyone else interested in the trip is welcome to join in.

Diane Benyus and Richard Schatz, Scimitar

Come by Land or by Sea! CCYC's 2007 Icebreaker will be held on Saturday, May 5th at Quiet Waters Park, on Harness Creek, just off the South River. We have reserved the Dogwood Pavilion, which is conveniently located for boaters as well as landlubbers.

Check the April newsletter and the website for more info to come...

Jim Bergeron, Vice Commodore

Since I had only owned QUEBECOIS for three years, and I was having problems with the steaming light, the masthead anchor light, had lost my windvane to birds, had a faulty wind speed spinner and questioned the condition of my wooden spreaders, we decided it was time to pull the mast before we hauled for the winter in 2005. Never having done this with the boat, I didn’t know what we would find. One of my concerns was the need to cut some of the wires coming thru the end of the mast. In the end, it didn’t matter because we replaced all of them.

Once the mast was out, I inspected all of the fittings for the stays. They appeared to have been replaced in the not too distant past. I had Chesapeake Rigging give them a once over and he pronounced them sound. I then turned to the spreaders. On the early Catalina 30s they were made of spruce or oak. Mine were really in bad shape, with a good deal of rot. I ordered a set of aluminum spreaders from Catalina Direct and was looking forward to not having to deal with maintaining wooden spreaders. (After maintaining a 28 ft wooden boat for 15 years much of the appeal of wood had worn thin.) When the spreaders arrived, I discovered that they would not work on my mast. The early 30s have an oval mast, with no flat side. The aluminum spreaders have a base that requires a flat surface on the mast. I could probably have had these bases modified in a machine shop or had plates welded to the mast but I chose the path of least resistance and decided to fabricate two spreaders from spruce. Exotic Woods on Whitehall Rd in Annapolis planed down a nice piece of Sitka Spruce for me for $65 and my winter project was to turn it into two beautiful spreaders. I used the old ones for the pattern.

In the spring we installed the new spreaders, replaced all the lights; anchor, steaming, and spreader, as well as the VHF antenna, the wind speed indicator, and windvane. All the wires in the mast were replaced and the connections in the cabin at the mast base were rewired. You don’t have to pull the mast often but having it out sure makes it easy to work on these items. Also, restepping the mast gives you a great opportunity to tune the mast, something we sometimes think about doing but never get around to because we’d much rather go sailing. Everything now works and the only need to go up the mast is for an annual coat of paint for the tops of the spreaders. Since the Admiral is a lightweight, that is how she earns her keep and maintains her rank!