Newsletter

…a little dinghy
Sept/Oct 2016
Issue 38-9
Feature Columns:
• Calendar
2
• From the
Commodore
• PICYA Info
3
• Places to go
4
th
The End of Summer
• 4 of July Event
5
• Errata
• Go for the Gold
Auction
6
• Changes in the
Board
• Racing
7
• Cruising
8
• Parting Shot
9
• Classifieds
10
Recollections
March 2013
Page 2 of 11
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At Our Helm
Commodore
Howard Hendrich
530-272-6969
commodore@gcyc.net
Vice Commodore
Stewart Perry
530-887-9522
vicecommodore@gcyc.net
Calendar
Secretary
Melinda Solis-Day
530-265-2070
secretary@gcyc.net
Treasurer
Stephanie Perry
530-887-9522
treasurer@gcyc.net
Cruise Chair
Joe Day
530-365-2070
cruise@gcyc.net
October
1
Additional Work Party to store FJ’s
3
GCYC Board of Directors Meeting #8
12
General Meeting @ Alta Sierra & Grill
Nominations for 2016 Board of Directors
November
1
GCYC Board of Directors Meeting #9
9
General Meeting @ Alta Sierra & Grill
Election of Board of Directors
PICYA Information
Publicity/Membership
Hugh Talman
530-272-2344
membership@gcyc.net
Port Captain
Bill Gully
530-263-5994
portcaptain@gcyc.net
Race Chair
Jerry Lewis
530-272-9380
race@gcyc.net
Sailing Education
Don Hare
916-774-6610
education@gcyc.net
Newsletter Editor
Dave Cowell
530-272-3209
newsletter@gcyc.net
September 17, 2016 - Coastal Cleanup Day
September 24, 2016 – PICYA Wheelchair Regatta (Encinal YC)
- Parking Lot Sale (Pittsburg YC)
October 1, 2016 – Make a Wish Cruise and Dinner
(Bridge Marina YC)
October 29, 2016 – Halloween Costume Party
(Pittsburg YC)
HORDER TROPHY –
The Pacific Coast Yachting Association, with the approval and encouragement
of the Horder family, will recognize an outstanding youth sailing program for
2016. The trophy is awarded annually to the PCYA member organization
(PICYA is a member organization) whose submission detailing a member
club’s youth boating program is determined by a PCYA committee to be the
most deserving.
The trophy, a famous Currier and Ives print of the sail/steam vessel “San
Francisco”, is over one hundred years old and occupies a prominent mantel
location at St. Francis Yacht Club. The original trophy will remain at the St.
Francis Yacht Club. Each year an engraved plaque inscribed with the name of
the honored program is added to the list of awardees. A “take home” copy of
the trophy will be presented to the winning PCYA organization.
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From the Commodore
Fall is in full swing, the delta breeze has dropped, the bay is
experiencing fog free days and our lake still has enough
water to sail in! Mary with NID has said we can stay on the
mooring balls until further notice, which could be at any time
after the 1st of the month. It's a great time to get out and
enjoy some easy sailing before Ole Man Winter sets in.
As most of you know, we had a Neptune 16 donated to the
club. We are trying to decide on what to do with it. Dave has
an article further down in the newsletter with some of the
proposals, but what is most important is whether or not we keep it. The boat was donated to our
youth sailing program and could be used there; however, it could also be sold or raffled off with the
proceeds going to youth sailing as well. We didn't have a quorum of members to vote on this at
the last meeting, so Dudley is going to put a ballot on the website so we can make a determination
and move on. If you aren't going to attend the next meeting to vote, please go to the website, print
out the ballot and mail it in no later than October 5th so we can get them counted.
Last Saturday (Sept. 17th) there was a work day scheduled to help winterize the Sunfish and the
FJ's. Since only 3 people showed up, putting the FJ's on the racks (which requires 4 or 5 people)
wasn't done. Bill Gulley has rescheduled a work day for the 1st of October so please, everyone
come on out and get the FJ's put away for winter.
Happy trails and happy sails,
Howard Hendrich
Commodore
From the Race Chair
The racing season has come to its end and all the equipment and such have been stored for the winter. However,
there is one of the club’s Marine VHF radios not accounted for. This is a white Cobra hand-held with wall-wart charger.
Anyone holding this radio please notify Jerry and return it as soon as convenient.
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Errata
"Into The Mystic"
We were born before the wind
Also younger than the sun
Ere the bonnie boat was won as we sailed into the mystic
Hark, now hear the sailors cry
Smell the sea and feel the sky
Let your soul and spirit fly into the mystic
Club Notices
Suggestion Box
You can anonymously make
recommendations to our board of
directors with a mind to make
this an even better yacht club!
It can be found at www.gcyc.net
or with this link:
And when that fog horn blows I will be coming home
And when the fog horn blows I want to hear it
I don't have to fear it
And I want to rock your gypsy soul
Just like way back in the days of old
And magnificently we will flow into the mystic
When that fog horn blows you know I will be coming home
And when that fog horn whistle blows I got to hear it
I don't have to fear it
And I want to rock your gypsy soul
Just like way back in the days of old
And together we will flow into the mystic
Come on girl...
Too late to stop now...
Van Morrison, Moondance, 1970
Free Sailing Magazines
Latitude 38 and 48 North
magazines can be picked up
anytime at 148 Richardson
Street in Grass Valley. They are
in the driveway in the BLUE
MAILBOX. Usually we get them
between the 2nd and 4th of the
month. They are also available
at the general meeting.
Club Meetings
The next General meeting will
be held Wednesday,
th
Sewptember 14 at the Scotts
Flat Lake clubhouse; dine from
6pm, Commodore’s bell at 7pm
to start the meeting.
(The club meets the 2nd
Wednesday of every month but
December, and two Wednesdays before the Gold Country
Regatta.)
Dues
Club dues for current members
should be paid before 1 April.
Forms available at :
http://gcyc.net/gcycmembership.html
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General Meeting Minutes
Minutes of the Meeting of GCYC on 14 Sept, 2016
Commodore Hendrichs called the meeting to order and reported on the issue of the club needing to have a slate
proposed for the fall election of officers. Members were invited to nominate or be nominated for the various positions.
He pointed out that there were only a couple of the club officers present and that the board had not held a meeting
that month. The Secretary and Cruise Chair were down in So Cal doing the Latitude 38 Tah Tah rally and the Vice
Commodore and Treasurer were involved with their business. The Treasurer had informed him the club had $8769 in
th
the bank.. He brought up the fact that Saturday the 17 was to be a PICYA “Coastal Clean-up” event and that we
should report our efforts to garner PICYA club points.
The Membership Chair, Hugh Talman, reported that the club had sixty-two members. A discussion ensued about the
dissemination of membership cards as there were several members who had reported never getting their cards. It
was brought up that the cards could be mailed to the members; however, Hugh was adamant about the club having a
focus on participation and so have members attend a meeting to get their cards. This was to avoid the semblance of a
“paper club” which only sells memberships to afford PICYA reciprocation privileges with other clubs. It was pointed out
that several members didn’t live in the area and were not likely to ever make the trip just for the card. The issue was
not resolved.
The Port Captain, Bill Gully, reported that the same Saturday as the “Coastal Cleanup” was a scheduled club work
day and that the members could combine the two to earn PICYA points and contribute an effort to clean up Scotts Flat
Lake and so help NID. The main purpose of the work day was to put up the club’s fleet of boats for the winter for
which he needed three of four able bodies. He passed a sign-up sheet for members to get a gate pass on Saturday.
The News Letter Editor, Dave Cowell, reported that he hadn’t sent out a Dinghy for September as there was nothing
of interest happening. No-one had submitted timely reports but as there was now a meeting to report he’d get it out
ASAP. Of note was that he’d generated a “Business Plan” for the Neptune 16 which had been donated to the club.
Although the club had voted to accept the gift as a purposeful addition to the youth education program there had been
no plan as to how the boat was to be used or maintained. The “Neptune 16 Business Plan” was an attempt to identify
the expected costs associated with the current proposals for its use. It would be presented in the Dinghy for all
members to consider. Commodore Hendrichs pointed out that there needs be a club vote on the plan to be adopted.
He proposed a write-in ballot be published on the Club Website and that these be used for the needed quorum.
Dudley Gaman responded that he would follow up on this.
New Business:
The club is in need of a Historian to keep up the documents and record events as happening. Dudley Gaman
volunteered as he was already managing the club website and had recorded the Little Dinghy newsletters etc. A vote
was taken and Dudley was unanimously elected.
The upcoming Christmas Party planning is underway and Theresa and Stephanie need to have a reasonable count
of how many people will attend. Currently the club is penciled in to use the Ponderosa Hall at the fairgrounds;
however, the attendance last year didn't warrant that expansive and expensive a venue. Depending on the
prospectus other sites are the Realty Chamber offices, the Boy Scout building, the Love building and the Ponderosa
rd
Hall. The Christmas Party is scheduled for December 3 . Stephanie will be sending out RSVP invitations to all club
members.
All members are invited to attend the October meeting at the “winter” location in Alta Sierra.
Fate of the Neptune 16
In July the club took possession of a donated full keel, cuddy cabin, sixteen foot sailboat with four horse
outboard, the Neptune 16. The current problem with the Neptune 16 is that it isn’t really a boat for our purposes. It’s too small for multiple users, .i.e four sailors would need be really good friends. It’s too
difficult for kids to launch and recover. (You need a pick-up or car with a tow hitch.) It takes up a
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…a little dinghy
lot of storage in the club compound and it’s too heavy to manhandle. It needs a motor to move in and out of
the harbor and you can’t use it to overnight due to lake restrictions. As a racer it wouldn’t be very exciting
or competitive. The club has owned boats like this in the past. These were available for general member use
but suffered for lack thereof. They were later sold off. What to do with the Neptune?
There have been several ideas “floated” about this boat. One was to offer it in trade to another club (ACYC)
for a racing dinghy (a Byte). Each club would see better service from the others boat. (The Education Chair
liked that proposal.) A second was to use it for “Keelboat Qualification” which might look good on paper
but has little in common with the programs taught in the Bay. The old saw about sailing the Bay is qualification for sailing anywhere might be considered. Who would like to be out in a Beneteau 36 in the fog in the
Slot with twenty knots of wind and ship traffic after qualifying with a sixteen foot boat on a lake? Which
instructor would sign him off for that? Another use would be simply as a raft-up floating support boat. It has
an anchor, ladder, and storage. As a club Race Committee boat it’d be very unwieldy and for the GFTG too
small. As a general purpose youth training boat it remains to be seen how many kids will be attracted to it
verses the Sunfish and the FJ’s.
There are members who don’t currently own boats though, who might entertain the use of it for their getting
out and sailing. Perhaps the Membership Chair can determine how many members that is? Those members
can be canvassed to get their thoughts on the issue. (One new member, Roman Malvehy, expressed such
interest.) Even members with boats might prefer to use it instead of rigging and launching their own boats
thus avoiding the cost and effort. Thus, if there’s enough expectation of use then it comes down to determining the location and cost of keeping the boat ready to sail.
Recently I approached Devery Stockon, the Harbormaster of Owl Harbor (where Howard and I keep our
boats) about getting a side tie for an additional boat. I described the Neptune and who’d be getting use of it
and she surprised me in that she agreed to the use and actually lowered her usual rate for such a mooring.
(Devery is the one who donated a month’s slip rental to the Go For the Gold auction this past summer.) This
presents another possible locale for use of the Neptune by the general membership.
Currently we can a.) leave it in the compound and let members launch it, b.) put in on a buoy and let members use it there, c.) let members take the boat and sail it elsewhere, d.) put it on the side-tie at Owl Harbor
and members can sail the Delta, and finally e.) any combination of the previous plans based on wintersummer weather, water availability, and support. None of these would preclude use by the Youth Education
Program as we presently run it.
I've attached a spreadsheet which indicates the basic preparation costs and the annual maintenance costs
for five options. Compound storage (winter and summer), Mooring Ball (summer), Owl Harbor (annual),
Mooring Ball (summer) and Owl Harbor (winter) and lastly the obvious Sale. Each option has its pros and
cons.
Compound storage is the current situation and has no direct operating costs but requires the maximum of
user effort and a launch vehicle. This would be good training for members with no previous experience in
launching and recovery but who are looking to buy a boat. Additionally it could allow them to take the boat
to other destinations. (The club hasn't made any decisions about taking club boats to alternate sites; howev-
…a little dinghy
Page 7 of 11
er, it's probable that in the near future youth members might want to take an FJ to a distant regatta.) Foreign
ports might involve setting the boat up for overnight use and special training and qualification. The trailer
condition and insurance are definite considerations for multiple outings.
Mooring Ball reduces that set-up and launch effort. This would be the easiest mode of operating but requires an access craft and is only for the summer season. This would allow members to use a more stable
and somewhat larger boat than the dinghies. There is the availability of a ball, $50 per month added cost and
an added element of risk associated with being out on the lake.
Owl Harbor eliminates the need for a boat for access but involves an hour and half drive to the Delta. The
region offers multiple destinations and sailing opportunities and the season is pretty well year around so that
cruising and over-nighting is always an option. This would require complete testing of the electrical equipment on the boat with a battery and radio antenna connection. Since a side tie is without electrical hookup, a
solar battery charger would be needed and since the distances and remoteness are greater a spare gas tank
would be advisable. (One was donated with the boat but is not the right configuration.) Although the boat
has a Porta-Potty installed the use of that for over-nighting would have to be closely scheduled and monitored. Transportation to and location of the marina might be an additional insurance cost. The side-tie cost
was quoted at $35 a month based on the current use of slips by Howard and Donna and me. The marina has
camping and shower facilities but the use of those by member users would have to be clarified. Owl Harbor
is a dog park with boats. Members would need significant training in Coastal Navigation rules of the road,
piloting (charts) and boat handling to be safe but would gain significant experience in the same for their efforts. This would stand in well with the Keelboat Qualification scheme.
One element of these plans has not been determined and that is the sea-worthiness of the boat. Additionally
as stated above there'd have to be a polling of members for interest. Perhaps a Neptune Day can be scheduled to give members a chance to experience sailing it and possibly testing it in adverse conditions. Additionally there is an option to collect “donations” associated with the use of the boat. Depending on insurance
and our constitution this would help justify the expenses.
Annual
Neptune 16 Business Plan
Keep Alternative A – Keep boat in club yard and have members launch when needed.
Keep Alternative B – Keep boat in club yard over winter and have on
Buoy cost buoy in summer.
$50/mo
Keep Alternative C – Keep boat in club yard and at dock in Delta in winDock Cost ter.
$35/mo
Keep Alternative D - Have on buoy in summer and at dock in Delta in winter.
Sell Boat
Initial Capital Investment
Current Repair Costs
Snow Cover
Buoy
Alt A
Alt B
Alt C
Alt D
$0.00
$150.00
$40.00
$0.00
$0.00
$150.00
$40.00
$300.00
$125.00
$150.00
$0.00
$0.00
$125.00
$150.00
$0.00
$300.00
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Dock
FUEL
Trans Cost
$0.00
$25.00
$0.00
$25.00
$210.00
$50.00
$100.00
$210.00
$50.00
$100.00
Maintenance Costs
$50.00
$50.00
$100.00
$100.00
$460
$760
Repair
Items
Totals/Yr
Outboard Gas tank
Hardware
Compass
Battery
Charger
$120.00
$30.00
$50.00
$75.00
$50.00
$115
$415
Cruising
Gipsy Soul on the Delta Doo Dah – Marilyn Webb
Danny and I participated in the 8th annual Latitude 38 "Delta Doo Dah” in
leaving the San Francisco Bay, with its notorious cold summer, and going
up the San Joaquin river as far as Stockton. Our first stop was Benicia,
where we finally got warm weather. It was Thursday and the Farmer's Market night, so we made our way downtown and found a little place for dinner
called "Got Plate Lunch". Danny said it reminded him of his time in Hawaii
and the dishes he enjoyed there.
Our next stop was Owl Harbor marina where we met up with Dave Cowell
and the Hendrichs. They gathered aboard our boat, Gypsy Soul, for a Bar-B-Q that night and enjoyed steak,
salmon and a special salad from the Hendrichs’ garden there at the marina. The night was balmy and it was
so nice to not have to dress for a frosty night.
The next morning we got up early to enjoy coffee on the
Hendrichs’ boat, Alice, and watch Dave paint his boat. Later
on, Owl Harbor put on a wonderful buffet breakfast for the
Doo Dah participants and Owl Harbor residents which we
all enjoyed. We then headed out for the Stockton Sailing
Club. If you haven't been to Owl Harbor since their remodel,
check it out. It's really nice & the staff is wonderful.
It was a beautiful, quiet day on the San Joaquin River. We
were motoring along in a revery when all of a sudden we
heard what sounded like jet airplanes coming. We were
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…a little dinghy
passed on both sides by dozens of big, fancy, fast, loud "offshore" type powerboats. They were participating in the "Big
Dog Poker Run".
The Stockton Yacht Club welcomed the Doo Dah crews and
had a BBQ dinner and car show that night. It was a wonderful evening but the next day was a bit hotter than we liked
(106), and so we headed back to Owl Harbor. The trip back
down the San Joaquin was a little less eventful than the pre-
vious voyage.
Donna & Howard joined us again for a Bar-B-Q before they headed
home. The next day we headed home, stopping once more in Benicia
overnight. Heading out early the next morning, we started layering up
the clothes, saying goodby to the warm weather and the end of another Doo Dah bash.
SOCAL Tah Tah – Daydreams with the Days and Barrys
This photo was recently found on the electronic Latitude 38 site showing our good friends having the time of their
lives in the Southern California seas. The
storyline is that there isn’t much wind but
spirits are high for a “lesser Santa Ana
condition” the next couple of days. This is
the leg of the trip where our intrepid
voyagers must go to Catalina so standby
for some tall tales.
Classifieds
J24 Sloop.
Very fast 1980 race boat. Hull and standing rigging is in good condition with many updates. Has large sail inventory
including 2 spinnakers, several sets of working sails and one brand new set of racing sails. Carbon fiber spinnaker pole,
duplicate set of blocks and sheets. Tactic sail computer, Sony marine am/fm dvd player stereo and VHF marine radio.
Single axle trailer and a great mooring spot at Scotts Flat Lake.
$5900. Call Seth - 530 292 3274
Flying Junior Sailboat for Sale
Contact Bryant Cockroft for more information:
.
530-265-5196 or email cockcroft@hughes.net
13.25’ molded fiberglass centerboard dinghy. Club youth and
collegiate racer. Used but good condition with nearly new
Pineapple sails.
No trailer
Asking $600
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1979 Spacesailor 18
Boat is in good condition and has two wheel Easy-load trailer. Both have current
registration. Sails are in excellent condition and motor is a 6 hp Johnson. This is a
sturdy boat to cruise or race. Asking $3600.
Contact Ed: 530 913 2236 or svgambit@gmail.com