Join your clubmates to trim up the trees – Need Loppers – Chainsaws – Pole pruners – Chainsaw pruners .. Strong backs to move tree limbs around . The windex you save may be your own!
PERIODIC NEWSLETTER OF THE PORT OLIVER YACHT CLUB
CORRECTION OF THE CORRECTION
In the October Telltale I wrote the correction that in the Karl Million Regatta that Terry Williams, “was the skipper of his own Catalina 22, S/V Resurgam which he skippered amazingly well to come in second.” Actually Terry’s boat is an O’Day 23. How could I, of all people, forget.
THE GREAT MINNOW
The Club actually did have an Oktoberfest, in October, with brats, kraut, und beer! Prepared by our own Herr Brandon Cook. Terry and Annabelle Williams actually came dressed in ledderhosen for Terry and a drinnel dresses for Annabelle. I understand that the food and beer were Wunderbar!
The Great Minnow Regatta was also run. Due to poor weather on Sunday, it was only a one-day regatta. The lederhosen clearly inspired Terry because he won first place in his O’Day 23. Kevin Klarer in his Hunter came in second. Dado Basic in his Catalina 22 came in third, and Bob Sharlow in this Catalina 22 came in fourth.
After the day of racing and the Oktoberfest, I understand that we had our October meeting. No one took any notes, so we can assume that nothing radical or earth-shaking occurred.
COMING ATTRACTIONS
On the second Saturday of November, that is November 11, we will start the day with the Fall Clean-Up starting around 9:00 a.m. Please pitch in to clean up the Club property. Remember that Club dues were increased by $100 per year, BUT with the provision that you can work off that increase simply by participating in Club activities such as the Fall Clean-Up. Come out and help and earn yourself some credit. If you have tools that might be useful, please bring them with you. Blowers, trimmers, power saws, rakes, leaf bags, and such tools would probably be helpful.
After we work up an appetite cleaning up, we will be treated to another gourmet meal by our esteemed resident Chef, Brandon Cook. Please also bring some extra food, because we will have worked up an appetite.
After our repass, we will have our November Meeting. You may recall (but probably not) that the November Meeting is when we nominate and vote for members for positions as officers for the coming season. Originally, the only officers we elected were the Commodore, Vice Commodore, Purser, Scribe, and two Board Members At Large. Sometime along the way we stopped electing Board Members At Large and started electing people who agreed to carry out specific tasks, Race Committee Chair, Yard Master, Dock Master, and Editor of the Telltale. Of course, there is nothing to keep us from adding to or subtracting from this list. Think about whether you might be willing to serve or who else might serve.
SURVIVING THE SUCCUBUS
PROLOGUE – THE CPR THEORY
© Lee Huddleston 2023
I was taking a class in Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) given by our Yacht Club’s own Super Nurse, Carol Kersting, through the Public Health Department. The class was going well when I realized that I didn’t need to take a class in CPR, I needed to get my friends to take a class in CPR. Well, ok, maybe cute, but that really isn’t so. The very idea of just standing by while a person died in my presence is awful beyond words. But the principle actually is relevant when the subject is blue-water sailboats. I don’t need to own a blue-water sailboat, I need to get my friends to own blue-water sailboats. Let them deal with the initial cost, the taxes, and the eternal upkeep.
How would that be of any benefit to me? Visit any marina where ocean-capable boats hang out. There may be hundreds of beautiful, seaworthy boats just begging to go sailing. But their land-bound owners cannot take them out because they lack one very important ingredient. That ingredient is a crew. Even for the many boats capable of being single-handed and skippers who are capable of doing it, single-handing for longer than a day or two is boring and rather dangerous except for the dedicated introvert. By being willing and able to crew, you are doing the skipper a favor. And they usually realize it.
Don’t you need to be trained and certified? No. It doesn’t hurt to have training and experience, but the people with formal training and certification are often expecting to be paid. I’m focused on the enthusiastic person who simply wants to go sailing in exciting places, and often for free. A good personality is the primary requirement. And that holds true for the skipper as well as the crew. There are enough good skippers who need crew that a bully or primidone can find himself or herself sailing alone. Or not at all.
An eagerness and willingness to learn can go a long way to make up for a lack of sailing experience. Besides, the skipper usually has his or her own special way of doing about everything. If you have had formal training, you sometimes have to unlearn the official way and learn the skipper’s “better” way. And ironically, many skippers enjoy training their crew. Just be open to being told what to do and how to do it. That is part of the fun of being skipper. And, of course, avoid telling the skipper that his or her way is not the correct way, even if you think so yourself that it is.
The financial arrangements are as varied as there are different boats. I have never paid for the privilege of sailing, nor have I ever been paid. Do check what is expected. My experience has been usually meals purchased off of the boat are paid for by the individual. Meals on the boat are often covered, at least in part, by the crew and sometimes covered by the skipper. Often, the crew will go shopping for basic food at local stores before the trip begins. And in some places, getting local ingredient or food is a special, enjoyable benefit. Considering that you would have to buy food if you were home and that you are eating your meals in paradise, the food costs are usually reasonable. Talk with the skipper before signing on. Don’t wait for a surprise halfway through a cruise. Sailors need boats, and boats need sailors. It doesn’t hurt to ask.
I have been able to sail in the Bahamas, the Virgin Islands, the Turks and Caicos Islands, the Dominican Republic, Porto Rico, Antiqua, Dominica, Guadeloupe, Saint Lucia, Martinique, Venezuela, Greece, Turkey, the Chesapeake Bay, and along the Eastern Coast of the United States, all for free except for a share of the food. You can too.
More chapters of Surviving The Succubus are coming.
OFFICIOUS INTERMEDDLER
Yes, that really is a genuine legal term. It is the label for a person who interjects himself into someone else’s business, without being invited, often with disastrous, unintended results. One such instance comes to my mind. Our esteemed members, Carol and Frank Kersting purchase themselves a brand-new Flying Scott with the prettiest apple-red gelcoat we had ever seen. Carol and Frank were about to launch their new toy when along came a well-meaning officious intermeddler, who shall remain unnamed. As Carol and Frank were stowing equipment on their boat which was sitting about ten feet from the water, the intermeddler decided to help them launch the boat. He untied the bow line. Unfortunately, the intermeddler hadn’t noticed that the Kersting’s trailer was equipped with rollers instead of bunk boards. The instant that the bow line was released, the boat began its journey to the sea. Before it even registered on anyone, gravity was pulling the boat aft at a rapid clip. The three participants were paralyzed by the shock as the boat gained momentum. Gravity succeeded in launching the fiberglass missile into the air before crashing it down onto the concrete ramp, and scrapping it down to the water’s edge.
The intermeddler looked at Frank, who at the time was young, tall, and quite strong. The intermeddler’s life passed before his eyes. He just knew that he was a dead man walking.
At the same time, Frank was trying to decide whether to kill the intermeddler immediately or latter. Fortunately for the intermeddler, Frank was genuinely serious about his religion and the intermeddler’s life was spared, with just a very stern admonition, “Don’t you ever help me with my boat again!”
Lee Huddleston, Editor of the Telltale
“May the seas lie smooth before you. May a gentle breeze forever fill your sails. May sunshine warm your face, And kindness warm your soul”
Moved because of Dale Sturms passing
Join us for the Regatta on Saturday with a 10:30 am skippers meeting with racing soon after! That night at 6:00 pm, we will have a potluck with our own Brandon Cook preparing a meat dish. Please bring a side dish to share. The monthly meeting will be held after the dinner.
The forecast looks decent. Expecting about 5 sailors so far. Potluck/Meeting after the race as usual at whatever time that is somewhere around 5 to 7pm.
Potluck meal will be Mediterranean inspired as per Captain Cook .. bring a side to go with Falafel or something!
THE wake-up call
As Dr. Frankenstein is reputed to have said, “It’s ALIVE! It’s ALIVE! Well, yes, the Port Oliver Yacht Club really is still alive. It just needs a couple of dope slaps to get it moving. The Club looks rather good; the docks are floating; and the Lake level is up above summer pool. The docks are not secured to the land, so don’t put your boats on the docks quite yet. Wait for the Dock Master, Greg Glass, to give the signal. Besides, the water is still rather cold. And there is a large raft of logs and trash blocking the end of the ramp. Which brings up the first installment of Coming Attractions.
ATTRACTIONS COMING SOON
On Saturday, March 12, from 9:00 until 12:00, we will have a clean-up of the Club Property. Other than the mess at the end of the ramp, there are leaves to be picked up and other house-keeping tasks to be completed. At 12:00 we will have a potluck meal. Please bring food to share. After the meal, there will be our first meeting of the year.
NAUGHTY CAL LANGUAGE
Founder: “Founder” is an unusual word in that it has many different, unconnected meanings. Of course, we have the five “founders” of our Club, Bud Burford (father of John), Joe Mayfield, Don Mayfield, Paul Huddleston (father of Joe, Phil, and Lee), and Joe Huddleston (brother of Phil and Lee). There is “founder” which means melting and casing metal. There is “founder” which is to disable an animal, especially a horse, by overfeeding it. But the “founder” that I am interested in is the nautical context, where founder means to submerge or sink. This species of founder comes from the Latin fundus which means the bottom or base. So, a sinking boat is expected to end up on the fundus.
Apophenia: The human tendency to link unrelated things. (For example, including this term in a sailing club newsletter.) 😊
Duning-Kruger Effect: People who know the least about something often seem confident that they know more than everyone else. (Now my bet is that you think that term is apropos to a sailing club. 😊)
Weatherly: The ability of a sailboat to sail close to the wind with little leeway. A modern racing boat can sometimes point almost to 30° off the wind. Most cruisers do well to sail to 40° or 50° off the wind. Viking ships and square-rigged boats struggled to sail 70° off the wind. Whereas clipper ships could sail up to 65° off the wind. That may not seem like much of a difference, but consider that they were traveling very long distances. A small advantage added up to a big difference.
COOL WEATHER SAILING
The air will soon feel warm, except for a few cold snaps such as “Dogwood Winter,” “Blackberry Winter,” and “Linen Britches.” But, the water will remain cold for several more months. The point is, if you get your boat in soon, please keep the temperature of the water in mind. First-of-all, launching your boat is going to be a “bracing” experience. Give some thought to how you might be able to launch without getting wet. It can be done with a little forethought.
As you go out onto the Lake, please wear a Personal Floatation Devise (PFD), that is, a life jacket to those of us who have been around a while. Of course, it would be prudent to wear your PDF even in the summer, but in the early spring it can be more than just handy. A warm body falling into a cold lake can practically paralyze the person’s muscles. Climbing back into a boat or righting a capsized boat may be easy in the summer but nearly impossible in the spring. And, even if it does not save your life, it will make it easier for us to locate and thaw out your body.
For those days when the air is cool, remember that cool air is denser. So, a brisk wind which would be wonderful in the summer may be harder for your boat to handle in the spring, same wind speed but much more power. Adding to that, the winds in the spring tend to be stronger.
So, do not dilly-dally, Get your boat ready enough and go sailing. The Lake is calling you.
HEAVY WEATHER SAILING
The first order of business is the selection of sails. Reconsider flying that 155% genoa. I know that it is beautiful and makes your heart leap up, but it can easily overpower your boat. Save it for the summer doldrums.
If you can reef your main sail, think about doing so before you go out. When there is a nice gentle breeze in the Cove, look out at the main body of the Lake. If you think that you are looking at a herd of wild, white stallions, think again. They are whitecaps that appear when the wind reaches 12 to 13 knots. A prudent sailor will put at least one reef in her main before going out. When she gets out on the Lake and discovers that the wind is within her capabilities, she can always shake out the reef. You will find that it is a lot easier and safer to put in a reef while you are sheltered and shake it out later than to go out and get beaten up by strong wind while you try to put in a reef.
If you are getting healed over too much for your comfort or even rounding up, you need to adjust your center of lateral resistance relative to your center of effort. Say what? Your center of lateral resistance is your centerboard or keel. Your center of effort is the combination of your sails.
Most people think that the only purpose of the centerboard line is to raise or lower your board according to the depth of the water. But they are missing out on a very useful tool. Most centerboards are attached at their forward end. When they are lowered, they pivot on that forward attachment until they are essentially vertical. But there are a lot of positions between vertical and horizontal. If your board is all the way down and your boat is healing more than your like, you are probably “tripping over your board,” in other words, the wind is trying to push you sideways and the centerboard is pushing against the water to resist. The push of the sails is above the resistance of the board so the sideways push tends to heal the boat over. When you first pull on the centerboard line it does not lift the board straight up. It starts the board pivoting on that forward attachment. The first few inches of the line raise the board very little. What those first few inches of line do is move the board aft. When you do this, you will be moving the center of resistance of the board under the main sail. The boat will not round up or heal as much.
For boats with fin keels, of course you cannot raise the keel. But you can move the keel slightly farther aft my moving weight forward. If the bow is down and the stern is up, the center of resistance will have been moved aft to some extent.
One more line with which you need to become familiar was invented by a distant relative of our Member, Tom Cunningham. It is called a cunningham after Briggs Cunningham. It is a line that runs through a grommet in the luff of a mainsail about a foot above the gooseneck (where the boom attaches to the mast). If you have reefing on your boat, the first reef point grommet is probably a few inches farther up the luff. The cunningham is used to tighten the luff by pulling down on it.
You may ask, “Why not just lower the boom or raise the sail higher?” A very reasonable question. Raising the sail higher or lowering the boom does tighten the luff, but it also affects the whole sail in ways you might not want. Another good reason is that most racing boats have black lines around the ends of their masts and booms to prevent a sailor from using a larger sail or stretching her sail larger. Take a look at your own boat. Now you don’t have to wonder what those black bands are for. By using a cunningham, a sailor can tighter her luff without going over those black lines.
So why would you want to tighten your luff? The topic of this article should give you a clue, heavy weather sailing. When you are sailing you want the deepest draft of your mainsail to be as close as you can get it to your mast. As you know, the wind moving over that bulge is what creates the lower air pressure, which in turn, moves your boat. But without a cunningham, as the wind increases in strength, the bulge tends to move aft. Normally the lower air pressure at the front part of the bulge pulls the boat forward. As the bulge moves aft, the lower air pressure will pull less forward and more to the side, slowing the boat down and making it heal more.
If you do not have a cunningham grommet in your mainsail and you want to add one, please note that the grommet has to be embedded in a lot of extra pieces of sail cloth to keep it from ripping the sail.
Lee Huddleston, Scribe
Regatta Saturday – Skippers at 10:30 am .. Possible also later sailing for Solstice that night, if there is interest!
Port Oliver Yacht Club - The Telltale 