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Cat TalesMarch 1999 |
Bill Weeks, Commodore
From the Helm and
Honolulu,
I am sitting in my hotel room wondering what to say. I don't
like being on the road, but if one must be away, this is as good as it gets. I
am in Honolulu, overlooking the Ala Wai Yacht Harbour. The Ala Wai is the major
yacht harbor in the Islands and is very active. I am looking forward to the
spring outfitting ritual. The weather is warm, high 70's, warm breezes, lots of
sunshine and a beautiful view, from Waikiki to Pearl Harbour. It doesn't get
much better than this.
Our January meeting was very successful. We had
over twenty people and a good speaker, Mr. Andrew Bass. Mr. Bass is the weather
forecaster for the Naval Academy and he spoke on bay weather. He discussed
where to look for wind and the atmospheric conditions that give the bay wind.
I, for one, learned a great deal about bay conditions.
We also held the
meeting in a new place (the Potomac Restaurant) just south of Reagan National
Airport. We tried a new place so members that live in the Washington DC
metropolitan area would not have to drive so far. All the members I spoke with
were pleased with the location. We will return to the Fleet Reserve Club in
Annapolis for the March meeting.
I have been thinking about where the
club is going. I spoke to the budget in the last newsletter and our membership
numbers. I have spoken to Joan Savage and the club expenses are about $1200 to
$1500 per year. Where does this money go?
- Winter Meetings ($100ea.)
$500
- Newsletter $500
- Christmas Party $200
- Oktoberfest $100
-
Ice Breaker $100
Spending $1500 per year, and the dues being $35 per
family, that works out to be about 42 dues paying members are necessary to
maintain our current level of activity (boy, I write like the bureaucrat that I
am, albeit very minor).
If we must cut costs, where can we do it? I
would like to hear from you on this subject. We do not need a response today,
but I will be talking to you over the summer. I do feel the newsletter and the
Christmas Party are sacred, the newsletter keeps us together and the Christmas
Party is well attended.
One of my thoughts is on the number of meetings
we have. The Catalina 36 club only holds two meetings per year, one fall and
one spring. If we did two meetings per year, or found a cheaper place to meet,
this would reduce our costs. With two meetings and then keeping the Christmas
Party, this would be three winter gatherings.
I hate to change the
dynamics of the club, but something must happen. Please give me your
thoughts.
I am dreaming of the Spring and the Bay. See you on the water.
The March member meeting will be at the Fleet Reserve Club
in Annapolis. For those members interested in joining us for dinner at 6:00 PM,
please call the FRC at 410-263-4614 for reservations. Dinner will be followed
by a pre-meeting social at 7:30 in the meeting room upstairs, with the meeting
starting at 8:00.
Pete Denholm has arranged for John Griffiths to speak
to us about blue water sailing, its joys and pitfalls, and how to get ready for
it. He will specifically talk about preparing for a DelMarVa
circumnavigation.
John Griffiths is a very experienced blue water
sailor, with more than 20 voyages of over 1,000 miles each. He served as
captain on all but two of those voyages, on vessels ranging from 3 to 140 tons.
Four of the voyages were Atlantic Ocean crossings. John is currently a yacht
surveyor and consultant specializing in damage claims, condition and valuation,
and purchase surveys. He has also owned a boat building firm which provided
custom boat building, repair and custom yacht joinery for all phases of
construction, fiberglass, electrical and mechanical. He also managed Prospect
Reef in Tortolla, which included constructing and operating the harbor, sailing
school and charter fleet.
John's boat experience began in 1950 and
continues today. He has participated in numerous boat-buildings and major
repair projects in Spain, West Indies, and the US, including a complete rebuild
of a 1925 Winslow yawl and rebuild of a late 19th century Cornish fishing
vessel. He also completed the finishing of the 50' cutter, FD 12 Brendan's
Isle, from a bare hull, and as an English boat builder, surveyed pleasure
vessels.
Also at the meeting, I will hand out sample inspection forms
used by the USCG Auxiliary when performing courtesy marine examinations,
provided by new members, Phil and Linda Ferrara. (Phil is a member of the USCG
Auxiliary.) Courtesy Marine Examinations are conducted on a planned and
announced basis at local marinas, yacht clubs, etc. or if a person wants a
separate, private exam of their boat, they may call George Mikulski of Flotilla
15-1 in the USCG Auxiliary at 1-410-757-4931. George lives in Annapolis and has
a listing of 40 volunteer vessel examiners from Annapolis to the Solomons. He
will take a person's name and number and assign a nearby volunteer to arrange
to inspect a person's boat. An inspection is generally done in the evenings or
weekends at your slip.
A CME is a great deal because:
- It's
free!
- There is no report to anyone except you, the boat owner, whether
you pass or fail.
- You know your boat meets safety standards.
-
Insurance companies will often grant a premium credit.
- You get a sticker
to post on your mast, which means the USCG/DNR will have no interest in
boarding you for a check.
- You often learn something you were unaware of
about your boat.
Just in time for Spring launch.
Bill and Sharon Weeks, Fortnight
III
The Annual Spring Flag Raising Brunch will be held at the
Topsider Inn in Galesville, MD this year. The date is April 17th and will begin
at 8:30 AM with an eye-opener and breakfast will be served at 9:00. The
Topsider has prepared a special menu for us. It is pretty traditional, and what
one would expect at that hour of the morning. The cost will be about $7.50 per
person, depending on what you ordered. Pete Denholm is arranging for a guest
speaker to follow breakfast. We should be finished by 11:00, leaving plenty of
time for spring outfitting.
The Topsider Inn is a quaint little old
restaurant in Galesville with good food. The view is of the West River and
Pirates Cove Marina. We will not have window seating, as we will be in the
meeting room, behind the bar.
Directions are:
From Annapolis MD,
take MD route 2 south about 10 miles to route 255. Turn left onto route 255 and
continue all the way to Galesville. The Topsider is on the left at the end of
the road.
From The Washington Beltway, Take MD exit 11, Rt. 4 south
about 10 miles. Turn left at Waysons Corners onto route 408. About 4 miles
later, 408 will intersect with route 2. Take route 2 north about 1.5 miles to
route 255. Take 255 into Galesville and the Topsider will be on your
left.
RSVP: I need a tentative head count. Please give me a call at 703-
848-1848.
Thanks, see you at the March meeting.
ju-bi-lee n. a time or occasion of
rejoicing.
For those who haven't heard, Joan and Wayne Savage have a new
(and bigger) boat. I asked Wayne to give us some juicy tidbits before we see
Jubilee at the first raft-up.
Wayne sez - Jubilee is a
1994 Catalina 36 (not Mk II) standard rig. She was purchased in Florida and
brought up to Hilton Head by her owners who sailed her in the Port Royal Sound,
and sometimes out in the blue water. Jubilee was available this
year as her owners were moving to Colorado to start an Inn and be closer to
family.
Jubilee is well fitted out with complete
electronics, including depth, speed, and wind instruments; autopilot; radar;
and GPS. It is also equipped with a Hart inverter to support internal creature
comforts such as the TV, microwave, and A/C-heater.
We plan to bring
Jubilee to Annapolis in April, hopefully coordinating with some
of the returning CCYC Winter Fleet. We expect the trip to be about two weeks,
and we are planning our crew lists accordingly. Joan and I will likely be
splitting those two, with Joan taking the first leg. I will meet her somewhere
along the way with a fresh crew and bring her the rest of the way to the Bay
and Joan will drive back to Washington. Too bad we both don't have enough
vacation time to cover the whole time.
If anyone is interested in
crewing with us for part of the trip please give us a call. (301-762-6752)
Ron Marcuse, Commodore, Intl C400 Assn., C400 #74
Good Vibrations
The Catalina Rendezvous to be held June
18-20, 1999 in Solomons Island will be called "Sail of the Century". The price
of the Rendezvous will be $160 per couple/boat - "all inclusive", including
weekend dockage, before May 10. After May 10, it jumps to $180. Extra people
and boatless people will be $60 each before May 10, $70 after. The price covers
everything (dockage, 5 meals, beer and wine, music, tents, seminars, gifts and
prizes, etc.). The Regatta/Race is funded separately ($40 per boat). Cruisers
and pedestrians (no boat) are invited to crew with the racers.
There
will be 2 races on Saturday, and one on Sunday morning. There are just too many
classes to do it all on one day. We can give out the trophies for the 1st 2
races on Saturday night, and the others at Sunday brunch.
For additional
information, you can access the web site at http://www.catalina400.org/.
Charles and Freda Gandy, LUV
IT
Hello, All,
After several sets of company and then a
rash of things broken and repaired, we'll be leaving Key Largo at the next
opportunity. That could be any time in the next 5 days. We need a North through
East wind for moving down to Marathon, then an East through West wind for
crossing over to NW Cape, in the Everglades. One thing for sure: after sailing
this many years, we won't go until the transit will be comfortable. That we've
learned.
We were led to believe that we would be able to cross from the
West Coast of Florida back to the East through the Okeechobee canal, but it
appears that that will not be possible. Though cruisers said that we would be
able to make it, we were concerned about the 49-foot bridge and our 53-foot
mast. Ron Kemper assisted with information gathering from the people who assist
in heeling boats to clear that bridge, and came up with a recommendation that
it might be possible, but likely we couldn't. We would lose at least 4 days in
finding out, so we'll cruise the western shore a while then return the way we
came.
Dock life here at Marina del Mar is so comfortable that we have
not had a strong impetus to leave. There are cruisers who have spent the last
13 winters here, and several who have been here around five. They keep in touch
throughout the years, and look forward to gathering each winter. Much activity
and visiting back and forth goes on at the dock, and a group gathers in late
afternoons to visit at two picnic tables.
Through the years they have
slowly made improvements for the good of the group. One boat from Michigan
brought a device that looks like an outdoor cooker, but has holes all around
the sides. It is a free-standing wood-burning stove for the chilly evenings (60
degrees or so) when there are card games or cookouts. A vertical post with lamp
attached to the end of a picnic table provides light. Some gather each morning
at the tennis courts, and they claim to play equally poorly but with energy.
Any boat that leaves the dock for fishing or snorkeling can easily gather crew
and riders.
Some commercial tour boats that go out our canal are in
jeopardy when they pass our tables. Someone will shout to the Captain, asking
when he got his license back. "How long have you been out of detox?" they will
ask. We only do this to the captains that live on the dock and are good
friends. You should see the faces of some of the tourists. It raises their
excitement level.
In addition to the Dock Rats, we have enjoyed the
friendship of Ed and Cori Summersett, who are retired from NSA, and long-time
friends. They live aboard their sailing vessel FANTASY here full
time. Pam and Tom Dove from Kent Island were in a condo nearby for 6 weeks. We
got together with them several times, and they took our dinghy out
exploring.
Diana and Barry Carter are here. They cruised south two years
ago and had planned to travel to the Bahamas with us. They lost their engine
during the crossing, aborted back to Florida, and have been here ever since. He
is now the manager of West Marine, and we have kept him busy. His store does
more business than any other in the U.S. of comparable size, and gives
excellent service.
We've driven to Key West six times, thoroughly
enjoying the beautiful drive down, then Key West's uniqueness and the sunset
entertainment at Mallory Square. There is a magician-comic currently performing
that is fantastic. With his clever subtlety, one must listen closely to catch
all of the second- and third-meanings of his veiled comments, and his routines
were different each time we saw him. Key West is a favorite place of
ours.
We've made a list of things that must be done before we leave Key
Largo. Fill the water tanks, do the laundry, things like that. But an
imperative on the list is one more meal at Calypso. We've eaten out a lot since
arriving Dec. 8th, and quickly found Calypso to be our favorite. It is seldom
crowded (a little off the beaten path, so the hordes have not yet found it),
and the food is top quality at reasonable prices. They carry the standard
Florida fare of cracked conch and fried or broiled fish, as well as some very
unusual items. One in the latter category that we especially enjoyed was
grouper or dolphin coated with ground-up peanuts and deep fried, then topped
with a mild banana sauce. Incredibly delicious! The best thing on the menu,
though, is a side order of corn on the cob. It's not steamed or boiled, but
deep fried, and then sprinkled with seasoning! Very different! Extremely
delicious!
That's the Keys for you: very different, very
entertaining.
Much love, The Adventurers