November, 2013 (9 pages, 1.2Mb)

…a little dinghy
Gold Country Yacht Club monthly Newsletter
November 2013
Remembering Ray Woods, the founder of GCYC
Volume 35, Issue 11
The Gold Country Yacht Club recently learned of the passing of the club’s founder, Ray
Woods. We are dedicating this issue of “…a little dinghy” to remembering Ray, and his
efforts to promote sailing to our land-locked community on local inland lakes. Following
are remembrances of the origins of our beloved club, and of Ray, the leader, mentor,
and sailor. The first piece is from an article by Ed Guinaugh, first secretary of GCYC, on
the origin of the club, which appeared in the February 2010 issue of the newsletter,
including the minutes from the first meeting! Next, Jerry Lewis (current race chairman)
remembers Ray’s passion for racing sailboats.
Regular Columns:
• Club Notices
3
• Meeting
Highlights
4
• Membership
7
• Calendar
7
• Classifieds
9
Call for more info: 916-774-6610
From “…a little dinghy”
February, 2010:
Greetings Everyone.
Individual
Highlights:
• Ray Woods
1
• Friendship club
7
I've been procrastinating for
a long time about getting
something into the Little
Dinghy, and while going through
some old file boxes, I came upon
some great stuff. Most of you
know by now that Ray Woods
was the founder of our club. He
had a Catalina 22 and really liked
to race, but in 1982 there wasn't
anything that remotely resembled
any type of local organization
that gave him that opportunity, so
he went out and started one. He
put a picture of a sailboat in the
Union and an invitation to
everyone that had something that
floated with a mast and a sail
stuck to it, to join him in a regatta
on Scott's Flat Lake. In those
days Don Samuelson and I were
in the same office, and when I
showed him Ray's piece and
made the proposal that I had the
beer and he had the boat, I never
got to finish the sentence before
Don was making plans to get to
his Venture 22 ready for Scott's
Flat and my first regatta.
Ray leading a sailboat racing exercise @ SFL
March 2013
…a little dinghy
Page 2 of 9
At Our Helm
Ray Woods…continued
Commodore
Don Hare
916-774-6610
commodore.gcyc@gmail.com
Vice Commodore
Howard Hendrich
530-272-6969
vicecommodore.gcyc@gmail.com
Secretary
Wendy Rybicki
530-798-1635
secretary.gcyc@gmail.com
Treasurer
Jean Cutshall
530-477-1709
treasurer.gcyc@gmail.com
Cruise Chairman
Seth Schmerzler
530-292-3274
cruisechairman.gcyc@gmail.com
Publicity/Membership
Teresa Gaman
530-272-8042
membership.gcyc@gmail.com
Port Captain
Bryant Cockcroft
530-265-5196
portcaptain.gcyc@gmail.com
Race Chairman
Jerry Lewis
530-272-9380
racechairman.gcyc@gmail.com
Newsletter Editor
Rick Paulson
530-274-2549
newsletter.gcyc@gmail.com
Sailing Education
Ransom Burford
530-277-6632
education.gcyc@gmail.com
That Saturday morning, Ray combed the campground with great resolve and worked
those campers like a pro.
It didn't matter if you were there for two weeks or two hours, or if you could only race
one day, Ray didn't care. It must have been magic, but he was able to pull together
over 40 boats to participate in that regatta, with a variety of vessels that some said
hadn't been seen since the evacuation of Dunkirk! Summer and fall sailed by and Ray
must have gotten a little cabin fever after the lake shut down for winter; and before we
knew it there was a note in the mail that all of the participants received from Ray,
inviting them to his house for a meeting regarding sailing. What follows are the
minutes that I took down that February 27 years ago.
Ed Guinaugh
The 1st Secretary
Page 3 of 9
…a little dinghy
Ray Woods…remembered by Jerry M. Lewis
Razark, Ray Woods’ Catalina 22 was the
most ‘tricked out’ sailboat I had seen
when I first joined GCYC back in 1991
after buying an Omega 14 sailboat from
Lynn Buchanan. He had a contraption –
I now think it may have been a wind direction and speed indicator – on the outer end of each spreader and cassette
tape streaming on the shrouds. And he
had reversed his mainsheet so it was no
longer a ‘head knocker’ and easier to
adjust from the helm.
He often hung Razark in his barn by the
huge ceiling beams and long straps. I
even clocked some ‘air time’ in these
barn slings when I pulled the swing keel
out ofQuarterMac, my MacGregor 25,
hoisting it off the trailer and dropping the
keel. To sand and polish the bottom, I
then rolled QuarterMac onto its side –
while still in the air – so I could stand up
and sand.
Razark on SFL, protest flag flying
But the most impressive thing about Ray
was that he looked like an “old salt” should look, even if he was sailing on a fresh water lake in northern California. He always wore a captain’s cap (like a Greek fisherman’s hat) and he robustly filled his blue jean overalls. His white “chin curtain” beard
(shaved upper lip) was trimmed perfectly, matching the mariner from my east coast
N.C. high school mascot.
And boy was he was a stickler for the
rules of sailing. He would enforce and
even ‘force’ the rules on everyone on the
water, insisting that you file a protest if
you were fouled or do a couple circles if
you fouled someone else. He felt it
Corinthian to follow the letter of the rules,
not just their intent. I remember he
pulled “the old 39.2” on me during one of
my first club races in 1991, coming up
under me (to leeward) on the beat to the
first mark and yelling “coming up, coming Ray holding court on the dock at SFL
up” turning up into Winginit until he forced me to tack away or bumped me – causing a
protest on his part for me not getting out of his way soon enough. I quickly learned
about “mast abeam” so I could hold him off on his repeated enforcement of the rules
(no longer in effect, but back then you could force a windward boat “up” into the wind
until the windward boat was in line with the mast of the leeward boat, then they had to
stop).
In checking our racing archives, Ray and Razark took first place in the Catalina 22
division at the 1989 Gold Country Regatta. I understand he had been battling Don
Samuelson (MoBettah) and Doug Epperson (Myott) for honors in alternate years
before that. He finished third in the 1990 regatta, fourth in 1991, fifth in 1992 (see a
Club Notices
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 November meeting was
held Wednesday the 13th. The
next General meeting will be
th
held Wednesday, January 8 at
Alta Sierra Pizza & Grill, 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.)
QuarterMac hanging in
Ray’s barn
Page 4 of 9
…a little dinghy
Ray Woods …continued
trend here!), but then was third in 1993, didn’t race in the
1994 regatta and took fifth in 1995 when it was a Catalina 22 Western Regional. He didn’t race in any more
regattas after 1995, but did continue to participate in club
races through 1997, then he ‘retired’ from active racing
in GCYC events. That was about the time many in our
club were switching to faster Santana 20, Capri 22, Ultimate 20 and Moore 24 boats.
I last saw Ray at Scotts Flat Lake during our annual regatta a couple years ago, the one where we would be
hosting the Catalina 22 Nationals the next week. There
was a twinkle in his eye and a puff in his chest as he surveyed the host of Catalina 22s on our lake. I suspect he
was thinking back to August, 1982 when he garnered anyone with a sailboat to come out and play on Scotts Flat
Lake that summer for a sailboat race. 42 boats participated and the Gold Country Sailing Club was born.
A big, heart-felt “Thank You” to Ray Woods, the founding
father of GCYC and the Gold Country Regatta.
Ray hoisting the club burgee on Razark, Catalina 22
Jerry M. Lewis
GCYC Race Chairman, CRO
s/v Kudzu, Capri 22
November General Meeting Highlights
Officer’s Reports November 13th, 2013
Commodore Don Hare announced and congratulated the Officers for the 2014 Board of Directors:
Commodore: Don Hare
Vice Commodore: Howard Hendrich
Secretary: Wendy Rybicki
Treasurer: Stephanie Perry
Race Chairman: Jerry Lewis
Cruise Chairman: Seth Schmerzler
Newsletter: Rick Paulson
Education Chairman: Ransom Burford
Port Captain: Bryant Cockroft
Membership/Publicity: Teresa Gaman
Commodore Hare asked members to turn in membership renewal forms at the general meeting or online soon so that
in order to get the 2014 membership roster updated and distributed.
Vice Commodore Howard Hendrich stood and reminded members about the November 15th deadline for the 2014 Go
For the Gold Regatta t-shirt art contest. The board would like to decide on the artwork by the 11/18 Board
of Director’s Meeting.
Page 5 of 9
…a little dinghy
Howard passed around the signup sheet for the 2014 Go for the Gold regatta coming up this June. He stated that our
member volunteers are what make this our biggest fundraiser of the year. We cannot do it without YOU! If you were
not at the last GCYC general meeting and you would like to volunteer please contact our Vice Commodore as soon as
possible.
Membership/ Publicity Chairman Teresa Gaman was excited about the upcoming 2013 Annual Awards Banquet
Christmas Party!
Date:
Time:
Where:
What:
it)
Saturday, December 7th, 2013
Appetizers 5 PM and Dinner by 6PM
Nevada County Realtors building in
Whispering Pines Business Park off of Brunswick Road
336 Crown Point Circle, Grass Valley.
After appetizers and dinner enjoy our Awards Banquet and Pirate Gift Exchange ($15.00 limit, please wrap
Teresa thanked Katie, Nikki, and others for volunteering. If you would like to help on the day of the party you could
stop by around 11am to decorate. Teresa sent around the Christmas party signup sheet during the meeting so if you
were not at the last general meeting but intend to go to the Christmas party email Theresa and ask how you can help.
There are 27 people attending so far contact Teresa if you plan to attend.
She needs to know:
1. How many adults are attending?
2. Number of children under 12 & gender (children 12 and under will receive a fun gift from GCYC)
Please contact Teresa asap at membership.gcyc@gmail.com.
Secretary Wendy Rybicki said that she had just sent a “printable” version of the 2013 membership roster on
November 13th. Members have been asking her for a roster that could be printed on an 8.5 by 11 piece of paper so
she sent that out along with the pdf version. Any changes or updates will not be made on the 2013 roster, but will be
updated when she receives 2014 membership registration forms. She reminded members to highlight any new
information that needs updating. If there are any mistakes in contact information, etc. highlight that also.
Newsletter editor Rick Paulson stood and shared news of a break in at Scotts Flat lake. A boat in dry storage was
broken into and had some expensive items stolen.
Treasurer Jean Cutshall announced that we are up to 98 members. She said that this is a lot of growth and it is very
good for our club. Jean welcomed Stephanie Perry aboard as the new club secretary with great excitement!
Race Chairman Jerry Lewis asked some key members to share their recent sailing adventures with the club.
Dave Cowell back from the Franks Tract Race hosted by Andrews Cove Yacht Club held up his unique but well known
tractor trophy for all to admire. Dave described the race stating that there were lots of strong tides!
Jerry asked Commodore Hare to share a bit about the Winter Series in Berkley that he is participating in this year.
Don took 3rd place sailing NoCatHare and invited members to sail the SF bay during these winter races. He
reminded us that there is still time as the races continue in through February.
Turns out that Ransom Burford Education Chairman was also out on the bay that weekend for some racing fun. He
was on a J70 that weekend.
Cruise Chairman Seth Schmerzler commented on his mooring ball coming loose last summer along with
two others and was concerned about the safety of our boats on mooring balls next sailing season. He
Page 6 of 9
…a little dinghy
stated that NID said that they would repair broken mooring balls before summer.
He reminded members that they don't have to have a sailboat to join in on the raft up fun! This summer will be here
before you know it, call Seth for any cruising ideas!
Education Chairman Ransom Burford says he is working on next year's Youth Sailing Program. Last year he and
Don Hare worked with 36 students. He has some great ideas and is especially open to new ideas and suggestions.
He asks that members email him those suggestions for next year's program. Education.gcyc@gmail.com
He has some ideas for next year such as:




Level 3 racing
A Womens Clinic
Weekend Adult Classes
Youth Classes
Ransom is asking for volunteers and says that it doesn’t matter what your skill sets are he will find a volunteer job for
you. This program is dependent on volunteers just like you!
Ransom stated sailing equipment needs:


A launch dolly- Doug Epperson volunteered to help with the project and Jerry Lewis suggested a building
party or two to support Doug.
Two chase boats for the Youth Sailing Summer Program 2014
Port Captain Bryant Cockcroft announced to members with a mooring buoy that payment is due by December 16th of
this year.
New Business
Hugh’s Head Count: 37 members in attendance
Howard Hendrich: We are offering for free the use of our time share at the Hilton Boganvilla in Puerto Vallarta. It's a
two bedroom suite overlooking Bandaras Bay. It goes for over $600 a night, so it's quite a deal. All someone needs to
do is get their airfare back and forth. The dates are November 30th to December 7th. Contact Howard for more
details: hwhendrich@hotmail.com
Dudley Gaman: I've had several requests to put pictures taken by members on the web site. The problem is that this
takes me considerable time that would be better spent sailing. To overcome this hurdle, I have made some additions
to the GCYC web page to allow members to upload and display their photos through a couple of online photo sharing
sites, or via their own personal site. A prototype version with examples is now online to demonstrate the capabilities.
You can get there through the Membership pull-down menu on the GCYC web pages or directly at:
http://www.nccn.net/~gcyc/gcyc-memberpages
Please note that several photo sharing sites do not work in this format based on my testing.
If you have an existing site, send me the URL and I'll add it to the page following successful testing.
Several members stood to pay tribute to one of Gold Country Yacht Club’s key founders who recently passed away,
Raymond Woods. Jean Cutshall recalled that he was at our GCYC Go for the Gold Regatta several years ago and
seemed to really enjoy himself. Plans are underway to acknowledge this remarkable man, Raymond Woods, in the
coming months.
Raffle Winner: Katie Wight
Page 7 of 9
…a little dinghy
Meeting adjourned: 8:37 PM
Happy November!
Wendy Rybicki
GCYC Secretary
s/v Saluta Patuta, Catalina 22
Quote of the Month
“and I shall watch the ferry boats, and they'll get high, on a bluer ocean against tomorrow's sky. And I will never grow
so old again, and I will walk and talk, in gardens all wet with rain...”
― Van Morrison
Teresa's Membership Log
All hands on deck!
Well, here I am again, and, I hope you're used to it because I'll be your Membership Publicity Officer for another year!
Yay!! I'm happy and proud to help. I love making new friends and our club is a great place for that.
You can renew your membership now for 2014, however, cards won't be available until January.
Put your hands together to welcome new members, Cliff and Lory Hocker who live in Brentwood and own a Catalina
25. We hope to meet them soon at one of our general meetings or at the Club's Holiday Awards Dinner on Saturday,
December 7th.
Speaking of the Holiday Awards Dinner, here are some details that you don't want to miss. The party is in Esterly Hall
at the Nevada County Association of Realtors, 336 Crown Point Circle, Grass Valley. Appetizers begin at 5:00, and
dinner follows at 6:00. The dinner is pot luck and a sign-up sheet was passed around. If something is still needed, you
may receive a phone call soon from Nicki, Katie, or me. The Club provides gifts for children 12 years of age and
younger, so please let us know if you are bringing a child in this age range. Also, please bring a can of food to donate
to the Food Bank. We will have a bin prepared for your donation. The awards presentations are fun. You don't want to
miss it! And, don't forget about the pirate gift exchange. If you want to participate in this funny exchange, please don't
confuse it with a white elephant gift. The pirate gift exchange is a new and unused gift, and we've decided that $15 is
plenty to spend. Oh, and very important, at the end of the party, everyone helps clean up. It's fun, you'll love it!
For the parents of junior sailors, we'd love to see you continue your membership with the Gold Country Yacht Club.
We hope you can come to the party too! We are very proud of your children.
If you haven't yet, please contact me with your RSVP to the party. You can send an email to
membership.gcyc@gmail.com. Thank you!
See you on December 7th.
Happy Holidays!
Teresa Gaman
Membership/Publicity Officer
s/v Kia Orana, Catalina 36
s/v Blown Away, Capri 18
Events on the Horizon
December
7 - Holiday /Annual Awards Party-NCAOR
Page 8 of 9
…a little dinghy
Looking Back on the Friendship Club in 2013
On June 22 this year, the Gold Country Yacht Club once again hosted the local Friendship Club for a day of sailing
and water fun at the Club’s home, Scotts Flat Lake, Nevada City, CA. The day started with a quick knot tying class
and a briefing on water safety aboard a sailboat. Then, generous skippers took the girls out for a sail and a hot dog
feast at the end of the day.
The participating skippers, Buti, Buchanan, Paulson, Lewis, Gicker,
and Burford, gave the girls a chance to “drive” and feel how the wind
really does dictate where we go. And, of course when the wind dies,
there is always a spot on our lake to take a break and a swim before
going back to the helm. We rafted up across the lake and enjoyed a
pleasant dip on a warm, summer afternoon.
Thank you to all those who participated and helped make the day
special for all the girls!
Tish Buti
s/v Bam/Bam, Reinell 182
Classifieds
Catalina Capri 16.5 2007 Very Good shape well cared for, Jib and Main original and great shape, centerboard boat
fun to sail 2-4 people, small cabin up front for camping gear or cooler etc. Trailers nice and light-easy to set up. 2011
Honda outboard 4 stroke-internal tank-used about 2 hrs. max-31 lb. motor. Includes , oar, safety flag, hiking straps,
motor mount on back, good trailer strap, heavy canvas cover custom made-can be used for mooring cover-has all
hook ups and vents. Great lake boat-easy to sail and a blast. $6900, Call Dave 530-265-2325, costadr@comcast.net
Chrysler Buccaneer 18 with trailer,
two jibs, mainsail and spinnaker.
New Inland Sail (www.inlandsailing.com/) custom made mast
stepping system for this boat so the
mast can be easily stepped alone.
Great for the single hander! Take
advantage of this great spring wind
and have some fun! Call, text or
email: 916 220 6044
Standard Horizon CP180 Chartplotter with remote GPS
antenna, Standard Horizon Matrix marine VHF radio with DSC
(includes emergency alert system), Standard Horizon remote
RAM microphone. All units work and are in A1 condition. All
units are white in color. Units inter-operate and included are all
manuals and plugs.
See http://standardhorizon.com/indexVS.cfm?cmd=DisplayPro
ducts&ProdCatID=84&encProdID=8C4F9C5570985FD3B3179
295AC4D3ECD&DivisionID=3&isArchived=0&currTab=tab_De
scription&currDiv=DescriptionDiv&ExpandID=707,Features
$300, firm. Call Dave at 530-272-3209.
Gold Country Yacht
Club
PO Box 813
Grass Valley, CA 95945
PHONE:
916-774-6610
E-MAIL:
commodore.gcyc@gmail.com
On the Web
See us at:
www.gcyc.net
Flying Junior Sailboat for Sale – Contact Bryant Cockroft for more information:
.
530-265-5196 or email cockcroft@hughes.net
Asking $600
13.25’ molded plywood and fiberglass club racer, centerboard
dinghy, fractional sloop, in fair/good condition with nearly
new Pineapple sails.
No trailer