We will be spending a fun filled weekend,stern tied to the Petaluma City Docks this Memorial Day weekend. Petaluma YC hosts this event each Memorial Day and signups are now open.

Here is how it works:
Reservations will be taken until they reach the max of 150 (total for the event) . We will be sending our CLUB reservation list to them March 25th, so don’t wait until the last minute to sign up. In the event that there is room after the 25th, we will work with PYC to add the late “deciders” to the rooster, but there are no guarantees. Once the reservations are submitted, no refunds will be available.

PYC charges $60. a person for the event, kids under 13 are $25. Berthing of $23 a night is extra,( this is a Petaluma City Fee). No per day or event pricing is available. So what do I get for my $60?

Friday, starting at 5PM, Cocktail Contest on the Docks (pls. use Rum)
6PM, Potluck Appetizers on the Docks
8:30PM Dance Band at the PYC Clubhouse.

Saturday
9-11 Continental Breakfast
10-5 Poker Walk ($5 per hand)
6PM Buffett Dinner at PYC
7:30 Costume Contest
9PM Dancing at PYC with a DJ

Sunday
9-11 Brunch at PYC
2-5 Games Contest, winning Club gets one members weight in Beer.
5:30 Talent Contest

Monday
Club open 9-NOON

Watch for sign up directions soon, I am currently unable to update the Club Website.

Have Questions, send me an email at cruise@cpyc.com

Ross Bowling
2012 CPYC Cruise Chair

So on Saturday, I’m tending bar for the Forty Niners stunning defeat of New Orleans without a care in the world bemoaning the fact that Sunday would be another day of playing boat mechanic. Imagine my surprise when Mark Green and Allan Orr stopped by to catch the game. My question “Well I guess the trip is canceled? I haven’t heard anything official.” and their response of “Didn’t you get the email?” left me feeling more than a little queezy. So the trip was on! In fact Mark, Alan and two of their closest friends were sailing up to Schoonmaker Point Marina from which they intended to depart at 6:30 AM for a quick jaunt out to the Farallon Islands, a circumnavigation of said islands then back to the land. Seeing that, at least in my mind, that I started this entire train of thought I was committed to go. Now time for some serious planning. Gary Edwards and Lee Stevens were at the bar and flat out told me that I was crazy for joining the crazies leaving the Golden Gate anytime in the month of January. Remarks like: “You do know that they had the Mavericks organizing meeting last week?” ( Maverick’s being the winter surf contest off Half Moon Bay with 50 foot reported waves. ) followed by “Forecasted Seas of 8 foot swells with an additional 7 feet of wind driven chop. Winds building to 30 knots in the afternoon.” Well, I was less than confident and seriously undergeared for this first attempt at offshore sailing.

The first part of the voyage was ferrying Sweet Grapes up to Schoonmaker Point Marina here is Mark’s writeup:

“After watching the 49er’s Alex and Vernon show on Saturday, Mark Green, Alan Orr and Mark Ramsbey set off at 5:45PM on Sweet Grapes sailing up to Sausalito (Schoonmaker Point Marina) riding a strong ebb and moderate winds north, with only about 30 minutes of motoring through the light patches. An absolutely beautiful evening for a sail – flat water and steady winds for most of the trip. We arrived at the marina and were in our slip by 8:45. We were met at the marina by Alan’s wife Jude and her friend Jan who lives in Sausalito. The gals were bearing burgers and fries from a local Mexican joint (actually quite tasty – or we were just VERY hungry). Washed it all down with a cold adult beerverage while we chatted about Jan’s adventures to foreign lands (I lost count of how many) to perform plastic surgery in 3rd world countries. We were crashed out shortly after 10pm anticipating the 5:30 wakeup call.

Up and to the showers by 5:45 (ugghh!) with the rest of the crew to arrive before our scheduled 6:30 departure time. The ebb at the Golden Gate bridge starts at 5:44am and peaks at 3.77 kts at 8:40am, so we plan to ride the strong currents out. Slack is at 12:34 with the max flood of 2.52 kts at 3:17pm. With a little luck we should be back in Sausalito well before the ebb starts at 6:25pm, and hopefully already on our way south back to San Mateo.”

While the Marks and Alan were sailing I was picking up a new supply of Bonine, anti-motion sickness medicine for those of you who never had to take the stuff. The warning on the package ” do not take with alchohol, do not operate a motor vehicle while under the influence of this drug….” Well,
if I was going out the Gate there no way was I not going to take this stuff!

As an aside: I can tell you that driving while under the infleunce of Bonine is much worse than trying to drive after a couple of drinks at the bar. In the future it will be avoided at all costs. Pick a designated driver, really, seriously!

Somehow, I managed to both set an alarm for 4:30 AM and to make it to Schoonmaker Point at about 6:00. The whole crew arrives, myself Jim Manishin, Russ Reed, Glenn Kesselman and the other two Marks: Bettis and Canton ( to go with Mark Green and Mark Ramsbey ). After sorting out parking arrangements (gee, it would be nice NOT to have any cars towed while we are on the water) we leave the dock at 6:45 and motor out towards the bridge.

Mark noted our voyage:

“We cross under the bridge at 7:15am with the winds still in the 6-7 kt range. The winds soon pick up to 10+ kts and we unfurl the 150 and kill the engine. Ahhhhhh! Love the sound of silence! After a short port tack, we come about onto starboard and a course that should allow us to fetch the islands. The wind slowly builds to 14 kts and we change out the 150 for the 110. It’s over 25nm from the bridge to the islands, and we already have 4-5 foot swells with a little chop. It’s overcast and colder then it has been, so everyone is in full foulies and layered up (although several of us will regret clothes choices later). With luck we will make the islands by noon and be headed back for home. It’s one long tack out to the islands and we start rotating helmsman every 45 minutes or so. The wind varies but is steadily building. We can see the islands off in the mist far to the west within an hour of crossing under the bridge.

The swells and chop continue to increase, but are still bearable as the islands slowly become more distinct. The folks on the rail are getting an occasional dowsing, but nothing too extreme. A few of the crew are a bit green around the gills, and one will spend most of the outbound trip in the cabin, apparently having picked up a bug from his kids. I find that keeping your hands warm is important if you want to be able to operate all your clothing fastenings for a natural break – note to self for future trips – when in doubt, go to the full fingered neoprene gloves from the start.

By noon we are nearly up to the islands, but find we will need a couple of short tacks to get close in. We abandon the plan to circle the islands, as the wind speeds are approaching 20kts and are expected to build to 30kts by late afternoon. We approach within a couple hundred yards of Southeast Farallon, then bear off and head for home at 12:08pm. The wind is soon steadily at 20+kts with swells coming in off our port quarter so we abandon any thoughts of setting the chute. We are steadily in the mid to high 7kt speed through the water and hitting 9+kts as we try to surf the swells. The true wind direction varies from 125-150 degrees port and the helmsmen are working pretty hard (we found this was great exercise for anyone he had gotten a little cold on the way out) so we continue to rotate them out every 20-30 minutes. A contest forms to see who can get the max speed surfing down the swells. The wind is in the lower 20s as we are flying home in fabulous sailing conditions. The overcast is now broken up and it is a beautiful day on the Pacific. Our max surf speed of 10.7 kts holds for about an hour, until we are approaching the bridge. The wind and swells are now nearly dead astern and Alan catches a swell and surfs down it at 10.5…11…11.5 and finally hits over 12kts, blowing away our previous boat speed record as the wind is now steadily 25+ kts with gusts to nearly 30kts.

At 3:23pm we cross back under the bridge, having completed the return leg in 3:15 after taking 4:53 on the way out. By 4pm we are back at Schoonmaker, several of the crew very happy to be back on solid ground. We say goodbye to Russ, Jim, Glenn and the Marks Canton and Bettis. Alan and the Marks Green and Ramsbey cast off just after 4:20 in hopes of riding the last of the flood partway home to Coyote Point.”

And no good sailing story is complete without at least one little disaster:

“As we motor down the Sausalito channel, the engine drops out of gear, so we quickly set the sails and kill the engine. We find that a dock line has fallen onto the drive shaft and caught a vent hose as it wraps the shaft, twisting the wire from the vent hose dozens of times around shaft. Sailing conditions remain outstanding as we cross under the Bay Bridge at 5:45pm, staying east to avoid the wind shadow from the city. Mark G. and Alan spend nearly 2 hours between them under the cockpit untangling the mess. Nothing looks seriously damaged but the shift linkage has enough friction that it won’t operate the transmission. The wind holds in the high teens to low 20s all the way down the bay, and we reach Coyote Point by 7:45 in spite of the building ebb. We have to abandon our first attempt to sail in as we lose too much speed while dropping the main and have to jibe back out. On the second attempt, we carry more speed in under just the partially furled jib, and manage to make it to the fairway and gently coast back down to our slip.”

A word of thanks from Mark Green and Alan Orr:

“Thanks to all the crew the made this trip possible, especially to Jim for inspiring the trip and to Mark Ramsbey who passed on a car ride home from Sausalito Sunday afternoon to help bring Sweet Grapes home. The extra hands were very helpful in bringing her home safely! “

To other CPYC sailors, please forward me a write up of your sailing adventures for future blasts!

Send write-ups to regatta@cpyc.com.
Jim Manishin, Regatta Chair

No host bar & Hors d’oeuvres at 1730
Stuffed Mushroom Caps
Bruschetta
Cheese platter
Veggie platter

Dinner at 1900
Mixed Green Salad
Bread & Butter

Steamship Roast Beef
Succulent Baked Ham

Penne Pasta with choice of three sauces
Marinara, Pesto or Seafood Newburg

Seasonal vegetables

Dessert & Coffee
Served at your table

Installation program at 2000

Music & Dancing 2100
Music by Top Banana & the Wild Bunch

Cost
$55.00 per person
RSVP by January 17, 2012
Joseph Pratt, Rear Commodore
rearcommodore@cpyc.com

Attire
Coat & Tie, Blue blazers Optional

Our first cruise out of the year is Sunday, January 22, following the Commodores Ball. Please sign up as soon as possible as we need a head count for Brunch and to arrange for dock space.

As always, Oyster Point Yacht Club will be serving up their fabulous brunch. We don’t have the full menu, but we will let them know we want their famous Eggs Benedict!. Brunch will be served at 11am. Brunch is $15, $5 for kids.

If the niners are playing that afternoon we will plan to be back to Coyote Point time to have a viewing party at the club.

Thanks and I’ll see you there!

Two boats raced non-spinnaker: Jack Verducci’s Vita Bella and Jocelyn and Steve Swanson’s Zingara. Vita Bella gave a good effort finishing only 5 minutes behind Ada Helen on the water at 4:11:30 elapsed. Zingara finished at 4:13:00 elapsed. Zingara corrected over Vita Bella for the win. Final results of the Non-Spinnaker division:

The sadistic Regatta Chair is re-thinking February’s race. February will be a full crew race so begin lining up your crew early! Happy New Year and keep sailing.

Jim Manishin, Regatta Chair

The Skipper’s meeting will be held at 11:30 hrs in the Regatta room. The race will start @ 13:00hrs with the 5 min warning at 12:55hrs. There will be a rabbit start. Competitor’s will record their finish times at the outer channel markers and bring the results to the CPYC bar. Course to be set at the meeting. We will monitor channel 71

Please contact your friends and invite them aboard for a great day of racing.

Looks like a great weekend ahead..

For 2012 there are many issues that need to be address that we simply could not address in 2011. On December 13, 2011, I turned the gavel over to Mark Liddell. It will be up to Mark and his board to continue the process of guiding the club through the many challenges that are ahead of us. I wish Mark and the 2012 Board God’s Speed and I look forward to playing a supporting roll.

Jack Verducci
Staff Commodore

A joint special meeting of the 2011 & 2012 Board of Directors was held on November 29, 2011. A quorum of both the 2011 boards and the 2012 boards where present. Present where Jack Verducci (2011/2012), Mark Liddell (2011/2012), Gary Edwards (2011/2012), Mark Green (2011/2012), Laurel Reid (2011), Steve Basuino (2011), Joe Pratt (2011/2012), Matt Neumann 2011/2012), Chuck Johnson (2012), Gil McCoy (2012), Jim Manisim (2012), and Matt Martell (2012). John Douglas, who will be on the 2012 finance committee, was also present. Treasure Mark Green gave a presentation on the finical health of the club, which outlined the history of the finances of the club and included the payment schedule of the elevator loans.

On March 16, 2010, a special meeting of the general membership was called to discuss the pending dangers that the club was facing due to a series of circumstances. Projections where made that the club would run out of money by the end of 2011 if no changes where made. This meeting was a turning point for the club. Once again members rallied to reverse this trend. Changes were made. Expenses where cut and revenue from events was increased, to bring the club’s year end profit to $7,600.00, up from a loss the previous year. In 2011 these efforts where built upon by further reduction in expenses and further gains in revenue. This two year effort has put the club in the best financial condition of the last ten years.

A five year operating plan that includes taking care of deferred maintenance items was presented and reviewed. It was determined that if the club maintained its current pace we could continue operating in the black without the need to raise the dues or imposing a new assessment while continuing to maintain and operate the club.

A motion was made and seconded to end the assessment. The motion was carried unanimously by both the 2011 and 2012 board members present. The assessment ends on December 31, 2011. We start 2012 with money in the bank and the club debt free. All agreed that more important than the money is the good will that this will generate. The board of directors is committed to running the club as efficiently as possible and keeping our dues as low as we can to attract and keep members. We are here to serve. The club belongs to all of us if we can continue to work together and to be proud of what we have accomplished we will attract members. We are winners and everyone wants to be on the winning team.

Thank you all, job well done!

Jack Verducci
Commodore

*Bravo Zulu is a naval signal, conveyed by flaghoist or voice radio, meaning “Well Done”

A Special Thank You.

Everyone has contributed to paying off the elevators through the monthly assessments. We thank you all for your patience and faithfulness.

We want extend a special thank you to those who made an extra contribution. These generous contributions came at just the right time and have significantly improved the clubs financial position. Another plaque will be added to our elevator naming those who made contributions to the “Burn Mortgage” fund. The plaque will be dedicated at the 2012 Commodore’s Ball. Once again

The other special item is voting on Honorary Memberships. A list of prospective Honorary members will be presented for your approval.

I shall present a special report on the State of the Club. This is a follow up of the report given at the February 2011 general membership meeting. We shall review the year 2011 and do a 5 year comparison to see which direction we are moving in.

Come and participate. It’s your club. Don’t rely on rumors and hear say, find out what is really happening.

Faithfully yours,

Jack Verducci
Commodore