The meeting was held at 6:30PM on March 11th at the club grounds.

Commodore Debbie cooked white chicken chili  which was enjoyed by all the mates.

Purser Barry Sanders commented that Board members should fly their flags at club events and meetings, a discussion of who had and needed flags ensued.

We discussed the need to rehab our Plank park and Max Vinson, Debbie Champion and Linda Guss all expressed interest in rehabbing the stained glass. The need to explain who is listed on the bricks in the park and their history was talked about. Captain Lee Huddleston will get a sign made and posted in the clubhouse to accomplish this. Commodore bricks are needed for the past several years. Past commodores can buy these for $25 each.

Our Purser – Barry Sanders reported that we have cash and the bills have been paid ( hope he doesn’t mean Bill Miller and Bill Champion ). Next year our bill from the Corp of Engineers is $1250 /year or $6250 for the next 5 years.

The knot of the month is the Jug Sling Knot. This knot was used on dhows in ancient times and also to provide a handle to enable hauling multiple amphorae at a time. Max Vinson is our go-to person for this knot (and most knots ). Ask Max who has a great knowledge of these matters and can tie this knot three different ways.

Sailing School at the Club – starts on April 30th and runs every Saturday from 9:30-11:30 through Saturday May 21st. The fee is $45 for each person and $75 for two people. Each Saturday at 12 noon there will be a sailing portion of the class, we need skippers and boats to sail with the new students and explain our sport. Classes will be held rain or shine.

Capt. Max Vinson needs to have some crew to help him with his boat. This is an excellent opportunity to learn from the master and will let Max sail more often. If you are interested and would like to sign up for weekends when Max is available, please contact Debbie Champion. If you have any experience in setting up a web based calendar scheduling system please contact your Scribe Gary Guss. We would like to be able to set something like this up on our website and match up skippers and crews. This will give us all a chance to sail more often and learn the differences between boats.

We just had the Spring Work Party on March 18th. Attendance was great and we got a lot accomplished. Thanks to all who attended and worked. Please see Yardmaster Reimer if you can help with some of the items left unfinished.

The Blessing of the Fleet will be held on April 30th at 11:30 am. Father Michael from Christ Episcopal will be presiding at the ceremony.

The next monthly meeting will be April 8th at 6:30pm for potluck at the lake. The Kerstings will be cooking “Shashlik”, the Ukrainian National Summer Entrée’. Here in Kentucky we call it BBQ.

The List for Saturday:
Need Tools – Extension Ladder if anybody can bring one – Powerwasher also

WORK PARTY LIST
SATURDAY MARCH 19, 2011
1) DOCK EXTENSIONS
2) INSTALL FLOOD LIGHTS
3) POWER SPRAY INSIDE HEAD
4) PAINT INSIDE HEAD
5) DRINK BEER
6) CLEAN/ORGANIZE SHED
7) REORGANIZE SHELTER LOFT
8) CUT & TRIM GRASS AROUND BOATS
9) RE-ARRANGE DINGY ROW
10) POLICE YARD
11) PAINT GATES
12) CLEAN HEAD AND SHED ROOFS
13) CLEAR RAMP
14) CUT BACK DECORATIVE GRASS
15) CLEAN AND COVER CLUB BOATS
16) REMOVEOLD TIES FROM LAKE PATH
17) REPLACE TIES ON PATH TO UPPER LOT
18) CLEAN MAYFIELD PARK

Yo, shiver me timbers … we meet at 6pm for potluck, meeting is at 7pm. Please bring a dish. Remember to be able to tie your Midshipmans hitch.

Picture by Alan Cannon

Most of the discussion at this meeting centered around the calendar.  We have all of our old events and a few new ones this year. The Infinity Regatta (around the islands in a figure of eight) and the Glow Night Regatta are two of our new Regatta’s planned for this year. We are also bringing back the popular Jolly Roger Long distance race. Doug Roberts is doing a super job as Race Chairperson again this year.
The board also discussed capital improvements with the first thing on everyone’s agenda, the pavilion replacement and improvement. The capital improvement committee (Gary Reimer and Bill Miller) will try to make renderings of the completed project, and then break it down into manageable stages. The first stage will be the rebuild of the pavilion roof and supports and will cost approximately $4000. Later stages would include adding an outdoor cooking area and having provision for removable sidewalls etc.
Purser Sanders gave his financial report and we are in a sound place financially. In March or April we will have to pay our annual fee to the  Corps of Engineers. Gary Reimer will speak with them to see if we can get a lower rate, if possible. We have a good rapport with the present folks over there and it is a good time to at least try to get a rebate.
We also discussed the upcoming Sailing school, which will be held at the Lake this year. The fee will be $45 each person and $75 for two people. The classes are planned for April 30th, May 7, May 14, and May 21st. The class portion will be from 9:30-11:30 am with the sailing portion at 12 noon. ( We need boats and skippers ) Classes will be held rain or shine.
We also discussed the need to “buddy up” with new members, so they have a chance to get to know others and feel more welcome. Please take a minute to introduce yourself if you are at the club and see someone new. New members are the lifeblood of a club like ours  and are needed to keep us viable, if you know of anyone who has an interest please invite them to come down and see what we have to offer.
Finally, we discussed updating the USSailing web site. (www.ussailing.net/poyc) I have started doing this and it should be completed this month. Please also be aware of our Facebook presence at Port Oliver Yacht club, as well as the Telltale online at https://portoliveryachtclub.wordpress.com where we have a lot of posts, articles of interest, a swap and for sale board and a number of local and not so local links for your entertainment.
Gary Guss – Scribe