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Cat Tales |
June 2007 |
 View from the Bridge |
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Bob Klimek, Commodore
Weather (WX) is too often our nemesis. Lucia often quotes the “50-50-90 Rule”: If there is a 50-50 chance that it will go wrong; it will go wrong 90% of the time. Or does it just seem that the winds are from the South 90% of the time when I want to sail down the Bay and from the North 90% of the time when I want to sail up the Bay. For the Memorial Day Raft-up, weather conspired to scatter the raft-up either just when the party was in full swing or just when dinner was served. Now that the Memorial Day weather is behind us, I predict that all future CCYC events will be entertaining and enjoyable with near perfect weather. In any event, I can guarantee the events will be entertaining and enjoyable. Don’t miss the CCYC Follies on June 16th. I cannot guarantee the quality of the talent, but I can guarantee that it will be a memorable experience. Moreover, admission is free. Better yet, as an enticement we will provide free food and beverages. WHAT A DEAL – SEE YOU THERE! |
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CCYC Summer Stock Shaw Bay, June 16-17 |
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Lucia Casale, Lucia, and Bev Davis, Ayewash
Karaoke - A Japanese word that stems from the words kara, which is short for karano, meaning "empty", and oke, which is short for ôkesutora, meaning "orchestra". The words together make a contraction literally meaning "empty orchestra". (Contrary to popular belief that karaoke is Japanese for "tone deaf".) Lucia and Ayewash are teaming up to host a night of CCYC Summer Stock, where all the talented and (with enough wine) not-so-talented singers can croon with the stars. Using our karaoke machine, you can take the stage (the foredeck of Ayewash) and belt out your favorite tune. Lucia and Ayewash will be in Shaw Bay by 3:00 pm and monitoring Ch 72. We'll start Happy Hour and the Show around 4:30. Bring your favorite hors d'oeuvre and drink and settle in for an evening of entertainment. |
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Blue Moon Cruise Selby Bay (South River) Jun 30-Jul 1 |
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Mario Taisch and Lori Burkhart, Sea Cara Everything will be blue, but …… the MOOD! Bring your boat, fenders and lines, one or two appetizers to share with friends (wine is welcome too) and your creation of a "blue drink" (that includes blue, green and yellow). After the appetizer time and the preliminary drinks, at about 6:00 pm, Mario and Lori will be happy to share with all friends a special home-made LASAGNA, specifically made for the event. Everybody will be welcome to come to Sea Cara (no plates needed). After dinner, a jury of five experts (volunteers are welcome to apply) will come by for the "blue drink testing". (If you decide to compete, please fly any kind of sign/flag to catch our attention.) A special prize will be given to the winner (if still sober) and the drink will be proclaimed the official “2007 CCYC Blue Mooner”. Sea Cara will be at Selby Bay at 3:00 pm and will be monitoring channel 72. Mario’s cell phone # is 703.795.7654. Please RSVP to Mario and Lori (taischm@verizon.net) so they can plan rafting and LASAGNA based on how many are expected to come. |
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Hardware Adventures Free chart plotter |
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Gerry Helldorfer, Ragtime Well, not exactly free, but if you have a laptop on board, that’s all you need. If you are fascinated by chart plotters, but you don’t want to spring for that $2000 Raymarine plotter or $500 for Rosepoint software or even $190 for Fugawi software, you can have much of the same capability with free software and charts. You probably know that all of the NOAA charts are now downloadable for free. You can get them in raster format or vector format. I downloaded all of the charts of the Chesapeake Bay from Maptech (http://www.maptech.com/) and free charting software Seaclear (http://www.sping.com/seaclear). It takes a few minutes to figure how to setup the charts with Seaclear, but after that it does a nice job of giving you access to all of the charts right on your screen. If you connect your PC to the NMEA output of your GPS, Seaclear locates your boat on the correct chart and tracks it as you move. It displays your speed and course over the ground and it gives you lots of other capabilities that are common to chart plotters. If you input any other navigation data via NMEA signals it will display those, as well. That includes things like the depth, wind speed, etc. I have the GPS on the boat set up to output the NMEA signal and send it to my Raymarine instruments, Radar/Chartplotter, and the DSC VHF radio. I could have connected the boat GPS to my laptop but, I also wanted to try the system in my car so I bought a second GPS. This little GPS cost $49 on the internet and uses a USB port on the computer for the signal connection and power. It consists of the GPS with built in antenna and a CD with the drivers and setup program. I got it at http://store.luluusa.com/newnausbgpsr.html. I was surprised at how well it works. It picks up the satellites from inside the boat with no problem. So, if you have a laptop on your boat you can have a pretty sophisticated navigation program, all of the charts, and a chart plotter for just a little downloading and a connection to your GPS. Of course, it’s not the $2000 system, the PC isn’t waterproof, and the screen isn’t very readable in direct sunlight, but it really works. And, you can also use it at home to look at the charts, set up routes and waypoints, and make navigation plans before you take it to the boat. I made a test run on the Memorial Day weekend trip to Swan Creek and Purdy Point. The system worked well and I was impressed with the way it finds the correct chart. I plan to use it on the Norfolk trip. I really don’t care to input waypoints and routes, but it is great just for identifying the current boat position on a chart. You can then move the cursor to the next buoy or creek entrance and it displays the bearing and distance to the location of the cursor. That’s a good navigation feature when you are in unfamiliar waters. Be careful if you do that, because it displays true compass readings, not magnetic readings. That’s not a big deal since the variation is about 10 degrees and you can figure the magnetic bearing in your head. If you try this and have problems getting it to work, give me a call. I got mine to work and I’ll tell you how I did it. |
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ABCs of VHF/DSC |
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Chesapeake Bay Magazine The U.S. Coast Guard is stepping up its campaign to train recreational boaters to use their new high-tech radios - not their cell phones - if they have to make a "Mayday" call. Now it is trying to persuade them through a narrated, illustrated tutorial posted on the internet at www.boatus.com/mmsi called "Can You Hear Me?" Produced in conjunction with the nonprofit BoatU.S. Foundation for Boating Safety and Clean Water, the 35-minute program starts with the basics and ends with installation tips. You can view it at a sitting and/or review it in chunks. The tutorial explains - with examples - how boaters who have the new very high frequency (VHF) radios equipped with digital selective calling (DSC) can and should register their own maritime mobile service identity (MMSI) numbers. When hooked up to a GPS, the radio can broadcast an instant distress message that not only identifies the vessel but also pinpoints its location. The Coast Guard says that while most fixed-mount VHF radios available today have the capability, most boaters haven't taken full advantage of it. The tutorial shows how. Several members are interested in implementing the Digital Selective Calling (DSC) capability with their VHF radios and then using it to hail other CCYC members, particularly the Raft Captain as they approach a raft-up. During raft-ups, we thought we would set up radios and then compile a directory of CCYC members' numbers, not to be published or distributed out of the CCYC. To use the Global Maritime Distress & Safety System/ Maritime Mobile Service Identity (GMDSS/MMSI) system, your boat must be equipped with a radio that has DSC. With a DSC-capable VHF radio, you can:
You can obtain an MMSI number free. BoatUS, in cooperation with the FCC and the Coast Guard, has agreed to foot the bill for this service. BoatUS is offering this registration service free of charge to all recreational boaters. You can get your MMSI number at the same BoatUS website listed for the tutorial. |
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Meet a Member |
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(This is a new feature highlighting the sailing experiences of a CCYC member. Each month, we'll introduce a different member.) Commodore Bob (C400 Lucia) My first sailing experience was in 1972. Prior to that, I had been a power boater and had no interest in slow! In 1972, I was stationed in the Pentagon in R&D and was invited to Annapolis by a contractor representative to “Sail the Chesapeake.” I think the rep had a small marketing budget, because he only rented a “Rainbow” and we did not venture much beyond Back Creek. But, I recall it was an interesting first experience. A few years latter, I attended my first Annapolis Boat Show and bought a 1977 Morgan Out-Island 41. It was one of those “good deals” where the boat would pay for itself. The boat would be operated in charter in the Bay during the summer and in the Virgin Islands during the winter. I could use it or a sister ship at any time and so on. There was a lot of good salesmanship on their part and naiveté on my part. The Morgan 41 was made in Largo, Florida. I took delivery after it was trucked to Jacksonville, avoiding Maryland Sales Tax (Maryland got me later). Thus began a 24 year love affair with the Morgan 41. At 44,000#s, full keel, shallow draft, small sail plan and guppy shape; sailing tended to occur at winds over 20 knots on a reach. I did a lot of motoring! But, I am ahead of myself. A friend and I flew to Jacksonville and took delivery of the Tradewind. My friend’s sailing experience was less than mine. I had sailed twice. Fortunately, we were not obligated to demonstrate our sailing skill or knowledge. After all, with the sails down, it was just a power boat. I had lots of power boat experience. Our skill at chart reading was also less than fully developed. On our second day on the ICW, we ran hard aground on a falling tide. It was an embarrassing experience to have a two-day old boat lying on its side high and dry on a sandbar. About 3 am the tide floated us off the bar. And so ended the first of many, many experiences with the Morgan 41. She was built like a battleship and in rough weather she was a cork. After roughly five years, the charter company went out of business, I acquired two partners and over the next 15 years, we moved the Tradewind south down the ICW every winter. We spent three winters in St Thomas, VI; four winters at the Ocean Reef Club, Key Largo, FL; three winters in the Bahamas, and five winters in Islamorada, FL. We left her for days and weeks in every port up and down the east coast and never had a problem with vandalism or damage to the boat. I survived a lot of harrowing experiences and learned a lot of lessons. A couple are that any time I am out of sight of land for 24 hours, I am lost at sea. That is not true today, but there was no GPS back then. I learned the value of an autopilot in stormy weather off-shore with a short-handed crew. After 24 years, I still loved the Morgan 41 and I knew her every whim. I had bought her with the premise that I would get a boat big enough that I would not want a bigger one (Of course, we all dream of the bigger boat – my dream years ago was of a 51’ Pearson). But, I was content with the Morgan. Having learned my lesson and sticking to my initial premise, I avoided Annapolis Boat shows! Then in the fall of 2001, Lucia talked me into attending another Annapolis Boat Show. Once I stepped aboard the Catalina C-400, I was hooked. I bought out my two partners and traded the 1977 Morgan 41 for a sleek new 2002 C-400. On our first sail we learned that the C-400 is a REAL sailboat. At half the weight of the Morgan and a full sail plan, she does not need 20 knots of wind. In fact, our first experience with over 20 knots of wind was scary. We are into our sixth sailing season with the C-400 and our fourth season with CCYC. Both Lucia and I appreciate the opportunities afforded to us by the CCYC to socialize with other sailors. I still dream of going south again for the winter. Some day. |
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Food Glorious Food! |
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Lucia Casale, Lucia I got the OK from Marie. I hope you think it's funny. A Recipe to Die For? A few days before the Memorial Day Raft-up, Commodore Bob reluctantly called Marie Yates, the Raft Captain: “B..Marie, I ‘av gott’a realy bad c’old. I can’t b’eath and I d’on’t feel good ‘nough to go sail’ing.” Bob took a ragged, congested breath and waited for a polite we’ll-miss-you-feel-better reply. The silence of the land line phone was broken by a rasping whisper soaked in spring storms and experience. “Roberto, you have entered a family you cannot leave. Yur com’in ta’ da’ raft-up. I’ll make ya Mamma Marie’s remedy for ‘da common cold …. knock ya right inta shape or .. maybe knock ya on yur axx, but eider way you’s will feel bett’a.” Bob looked over at me bewildered and helpless, I shrugged my shoulders. He returned to the line, “B..Marie, I mean God Mother, that’s an offer I can’t refuse.” The line went dead. We would be there. Well, alright maybe it was just an exchange of e-mails but you get the idea. Mamma Marie’s Instant Cold Remedy By Marie Yates, Prego (Avoid open flames when preparing this recipe)
Mix together, drink and rest. And if you are feeling really sorry for yourself, have another !!! Remember to submit your favorite raft-up recipes to recipes@sailccyc.org.
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