Structure C and the Don Cesar April Sunset/Moonrise Cruise

June 2021

Structure C and the Don CeSar April Sunset/Moonrise Cruise

Photo courtesy of Beth Berkobein Commodore’s Corner 2021 Flag Officers Submitted by Roger Gilmore, 2021 BCYC Commodore Commodore Roger Gilmore Great showing of BCYC members in Key West, supporting BCYC Bone Vice Commodore Island Regatta participants. The experience reminded me of all we Jenn Buckley have been missing from the beginning of COVID—Social events.

Rear Commodore Thank you to Marty and his committee for taking on the full Re- John McLeod Opening of BCYC. I am hopeful we can resume all of our programs Secretary in the very near future and I ask for your support to help committee Jonathan Cornwell chairs bring out the best in our programs. Treasurer Nina Berkheiser A few of the Committee Chairs that remain open include Adult Sail Assistant Treasurer School and Racing. If interested, please send me an email. George Anderson Although lease negotiations are not finalized, the enthusiasm of Fleet Captain members remains strong. This subject has been draining on the club Bill Morse Board of Directors and we should have a clearer picture for you in the coming weeks. Thank you for your patience Board Members 2020-2021 Frank Damico Harold Small Gary Rhoads Barb Meyer Board Members 2021-2022 Meg Banitch Stacy Dochoda John Meyer Scott Sharlow Immediate Past Commodore Cathy Talisman Flag Officer, Board and other BCYC member phone numbers and email addresses available to club members at www.sailbcyc.org Windword Newsletter published monthly. Submissions deadline Wednesday following the Monthly General Meeting. Email submissions to Jen Rogers: [email protected] Boca Ciega Yacht Club & Anchorage The BCYC gang at the Bone Island Regatta party 4600 Tifton Drive South • Gulfport, FL 33711 727-321-7295 Mailing address for ALL payments by check: Boca Ciega Yacht Club PO Box 530848 | St. Petersburg FL 33747

View this newsletter in full color online at www.sailbcyc.org 2 Nathan Harrison...... June 2 June Birthdays Sheri Ogorek...... June 2 Ken Shur...... June 2 Justin Ruzinok...... June 12 Judy Trehy...... June 2 Dawn Fisher...... June 18 Jim Dimmick...... June 7 David Henshaw...... June 18 Roger Daisley...... June 8 Gary Rhoads...... June 19 Mark Ratcliffe...... June 11 Pat Nolan...... June 20 Mark Rother...... June 11 Marilib Maloy...... June 23 John Utley...... June 23 Stephen Wattay...... June 23 Sue Bedinghaus...... June 25 Marty Southard...... June 25 Margaret Daisley...... June 26 Picot Floyd...... June 27 Doug Fuller...... June 29 Jennifer Rogers...... June 29

Are we missing your birthday? Please edit your member information in Wild Apricot.

BCYC gear goes everywhere! BCYC Merchandise for Sale Send us a photo of you wearing BCYC gear on Support BCYC and Look Good Too! your travels and we will feature it here.

Our display case at the club gives you a sampling of items from our ever-changing inventory. They are available for purchase at monthly club meetings and at some work days and club events.

Please email Beth Berkobein at merchandising@ sailbcyc.org, and she will try to accommodate your schedule within reason.

We accept cash or checks only. Checks to be made payable to BCYC. Thank you and smooth sailing!

John & Katie at Churchill Downs

View this newsletter in full color online at www.sailbcyc.org 3 Thanks to Our Photographers! The most popular part of the Windword each month is the club photos, candid and otherwise. We want to thank all of you shutterbugs out there who send us such great material. This newsletter wouldn’t be the same without you. This month’s contributors are: Ann New, Beth Berkobein, Cathy Talisman, Dianne Benedetti, Lynda Calvillo, Roger Gilmore, Sheri Ogorek, Susan McQuillan, the crew of Seafari and Bone Island Regatta photographer Becky Bolletti. Thanks to you all!

Free Marine Classifieds

FOR TRADE: 8 HP 4 stroke Yamaha outboard (2002). Runs great. I want to trade for a smaller lighter motor. Mike Pilert. 928-853-9128. [email protected]

WANTED Looking for a 15 lb (approx) Danforth anchor and a used dock box. Please contact Elizabeth Hen- dricks at 727-999-0900 or [email protected]

Do you have any marine related items you want to purchase, trade or sell? Take a step up from the club bulletin board. Email [email protected]

Be sure to check our web site regularly to sign up for events; for What's BCYC Web Site Trending Now and calendar updates, weather and tide links, full-color www.sailbcyc.org Windword online, Wild Apricot membership features and more. Advertising Rates Business Card Ad Quarter Page Ad Half Page Ad Full Page Ad One Month...... $15 One Month...... $30 One Month...... $45 One Month...... $60 Three Months...... $30 Three Months...... $60 Three Months...... $100 Three Months...... $120 Six Months ...... $50 Six Months ...... $100 Six Months ...... $150 Six Months...... $200 One Year...... $75 One Year...... $150 One Year...... $250 One Year...... $300

Submit payment to: BCYC Treasurer, PO Box 530848, St Petersburg, FL 33747 Checks made payable to: BCYC Questions or ad specs: Call Lee Nell at 215-518-7671 or email [email protected] Submit artwork (PDF preferred) to: Jennifer Rogers, [email protected]

4 Please check web site calendar for updates. Some virtual meetings may change, depending on Covid restriction status. Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday June 2021 1 2 4 4 Twin Dolphins 5 Marina Cruise 5:30 PM Birthday Party for Bill Morse 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Twin Dolphins Virtual Board Marina Cruise Meeting 7:00 pm

13 14 15 16 17 6:30 PM 18 8:30 AM 19 New Member Workday Reception 11 AM 8:00 pm General Rhumb Runners Advi- Meeting sory Board Meeting

20 21 22 9 AM 23 24 25 26 Youth Sailing 6:45 PM 9 AM 9 AM June Sunset/Straw- Youth Sailing Youth Sailing Windword berry Full Moon Deadline 12PM Sail Out

27 28 29 30 9 AM 9 AM Youth Sailing Youth Sailing

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday July 2021 1 2 3 9 AM Cruise to a new Youth Sailing location! TBD

4 9 AM 5 6 7 8 9 10 Cruise to a new Youth Sailing 9 AM location! TBD 9 AM Virtual Board Youth Sailing Youth Sailing Meeting 7:00 pm 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 7:00 pm Virtual 8:30 AM Workday General Meeting

18 19 20 21 22 23 24 6:45 PM Windword July Sunset/Buck Deadline 12PM Full Moon Sail Out

25 26 27 28 29 30 31

To avoid scheduling conflicts, please contact Secretary Jonathan Cornwell for calendar updates. Email: [email protected] 5 Welcome!April General Members Roger & Margaret Daisley April Provisional Members St. Petersburg, FL Boat: None Harman (Hack) & Peggy Nagler Redington Beach, FL We need your photo! Interests/Skills: Membership Please send to Boat - none Past Commodore of the South [email protected] Bay Cruising Club; Current Interests/Skills - Membership, and we will print it in member, (Fleet Captain,) of the Newsletter, Racing, Social the July issue. Bay Shore Yacht Club. Events, Sail School (Instructor), Thanks! Attended the US Naval Acad- Carpentry emy, Class of 1970 Tim & Lynne Gressett Dawn Fisher & Cathy Kaiser Treasure Island, FL Gulfport, FL Boat - 31' Chris Craft Boat: 20' JTC Pontoon Boat Name - Bonnie Dick Interests/Skills: Interests/Skills - Cruising, Pot- Building/Grounds luck Dinners, Boat owner over 39 years so a "boat handy guy" Never too late: photo from our March new Never too late: photo from our general member March new provisional member

Josh Warden David Koenig St. Petersburg, FL St. Petersburg, FL Boat: none Boat: O'Day Daysailor 17' Interests/skills: Kayaking, Interests/skills: Cruising, Paddle Boarding, Racing Racing, Sail School (volunteer), and Sail School has US Sailing Small Boat Level 1 Instructor Certification

We still need photos from members Justin & Kristin Ruzinok, members Cody & Kristi Deuter and members Jeremy & Eleasha Espinoza. We want to meet you!

Support our advertisers. Tell them you saw them in the Windword! 6 Windsurfer Class Stacey & EJ Dochoda held a windsurfing class on Sun- day, April 25th. Looks like everyone had a good time!

7 The Officially Unofficial Tuesday Evening On May 18th, we had three Capris racing. Capri #1 with Capri Racing Report Stan and his friend Josh; Capri #2 with Mike P., his friend Doug, and Elizabeth; and Capri #6 with Frank D. and Le- Submitted by Lezlee Kramer, OUTECR Chair zlee. The tides were good, the winds were again 11-15 The Tuesday evening Capri Racing at Boca Ciega Yacht mph with gusts. Capri’s #1 & #2 got in three nice races. Club unofficially kicks off after Daylight Savings Time Meanwhile, Capri #6 was in their own space, just sailing kicks in. So, on March 14th, we Sprung Forward and around the bay, and getting absolutely swamped a the “Days Were Getting Longer” but there was still not few times. It’s all good. And we all made it back to the enough daylight in the evenings to launch the Capris basin, although a little soaked. and get in a couple of races before twilight. So, we waited until April. Then we were off to a very exhilarat- And here we are at May 25th. The winds were great, 8 ing start! mph from the East and light gusts. But those gosh darn tides were not in our favor, negative .46. So, cancel we Well, April 27th looked good…until we checked the had to. tides. They were not in our favor. Negative .46 right when we wanted to sail. So, we postponed. There is always next Tuesday. On May 4th, the forces were with us. Well, maybe. Come on down and join us on Tuesdays. We meet about 5:30 to launch the boats and divvy up crew. Capri #1 was all gussied up, with her fresh bottom paint, and ready to sail. Tides were good. Winds 11-14 And there are still three Capris sitting on their trailers mph out of the South. We had six sailors, three crews. forlornly watching their sisters out sailing! But be pre- Until one Skipper & Crew (Stacy & EJ) decided it was pared to get your butt wet. too gusting for them and dropped out. So, Mike P. and Elizabeth headed to Capri #1; Frank D. and Lezlee headed to Capri #2. Capri #1 headed out and scoped out a course. Mean- while, Capri #2 started out but the Jib Halyard kept getting fouled. As we were trying to straighten it out, the wind kept pushing us back into the basin and we ended up by the boat launch! Capri #1 came back to see what was taking us so long. We traded crew members, and Capri #1 left with Frank and Elizabeth; and Capri #2 had Mike and Lezlee. Enjoy Authentic Greek Food, Seafood &More! We got in one race, and about halfway through the second race, Capri #1 had a problem. Their RUDDER broke! Indoor seating and Well, actually, the pin and bracket broke, but still no Outdoor Patio with a Great View steerage. Capri #2 went to help and ended up towing Capri #1 back to the basin! PSA: always put a painter Happy Hour 1-6pm • Early Bird 3-5:30 line on the boat. So, a VERY EXCITING start to Tuesday Night Racing. Full Bar May 11th saw two Capris racing. Thanks to our ever- fantastic small boat guy, Mark R., Capri #1 was repaired Daily Lunch and Dinner Specials and back in the water and ready to race again. Capri #1 was crewed by Elizabeth and Suzanne B.; Capri #2 was Open 7 Days a week crewed by Stan and Dawn (a new Member). Lezlee was 5501 Shore Blvd. South, Gulfport not there, and few details are forthcoming. (727) 623-4823 So, I guess, what happens on the bay, stays on the bay. However, I can attest to the fact that both Capris came www.neptunegrillgulfport.com back intact and under their own power!

8 Adventures of Our Commodore BVI and was met with not only Covid-19 requirements, but legal issues. Lon found out the annual Temporary Submitted by Roger Gilmore, Commodore Import Permit (TIP) tax for Pegasus was 10 months During BCYC’s Bahamas trip in 2017, I met Lane, broth- overdue. This not only meant the tax needed to be paid er of Lon who owns Pegasus, a 50-foot, 28 ton, Lagoon but he was facing up to $5,000 in fines. Luckily, Lon was 500 Catamaran. Pegasus was located at Nanny Key, able to show emails where he had asked his boat man- Tortola BVI and chartered out with a captain and cook agers whether the TIP was paid, and the answer was for a mere $16,000 weekly. When Covid-19 sailed in, all yes. Lon was then required to pay the TIPs again and charter operations halted along with the rest of travel. the fines were luckily dropped by the BVI Chief Custom Boat captains were hired to oversee Pegasus and were Official. responsible for the overall boat condition. While provisioning Pegasus for the trip back to Florida, Lon had difficulties over the years with various cap- masks were required everywhere you walked, includ- tains and decided, with everything shut down, to ing outdoors. Pegasus’ condition, though neglected for bring Pegasus to Florida. This is where I came into the 14 months, was not too bad. Systems from water tanks picture. Looking for crew to assist in sailing the thou- to navigation lights were corrected. There were a lot sand plus miles to Florida, Lane sent an email inquiring of items missing from the boat, assumed stolen. Other shenanigans had occurred such as a new grill purchased for Lon by the captain for Pegasus. Lon arrived finding a used grille, not the new grille. Swapping out of new items for used did not stop there- a lighter, rusted anchor replaced a heavier anchor, the dinghy outboard was missing and more. Six crew were ready to journey out of Puerto Del Rey, PR., when unexpectedly, a family member of one crew person took ill and he pulled out. Also, news was received that Pegasus' last boat captain was found floating dead in the beautiful waters of Tortola. Karma?

Roger holding a copy of The Windword On the fifth day after having arrived at Puerto Del Rey Marina, we were underway. It was decided that we would not visit any other islands due to the various about my interest. I agreed. Covid restrictions for each island group. With the back- COVID-19 requirements made air travel difficult with drop of the Puerto Rican rainforest, the Marina slowly the requirement for a negative PCR test 72 hours disappeared. The next stop was a rest stop anchoring before arrival. Test results could take up to 4 days. In off Little Inagua, South Bahamas, 500 miles northwest. addition to the results, a health declaration form was Shift rotation consisted of two hours on, eight off. On required before arrival. I completed the form online at my first evening shift, the running lights failed and with Tampa Airport and a QR code was generated and sent rolling seas we continued, making no attempt to repair to me via email. Upon arrival, passengers were herded so as not to risk a person overboard. With the large thru baggage claim for entry inspection of their health expanse of water, there was no ship traffic to speak of. documents. Officials in hazmat-type gear took temper- The sky was black with a backdrop of brilliant stars and atures and scanned the QR code. Passengers without an occasional shooting star. the proper health documentation were directed into a The next day put us about 52 miles north of Dominican separate airport area. I was free to exit. Republic. The evening shift was moonless, with com- Before my flight, Lon arrived a week earlier into Tortola Our Commodore's Adventure, continued next page >>

9 Adventures of Our Commodore Shortly after daybreak we arrived at our resting anchor- << Continued from previous page age. Pegasus was powered into the west side of Little Inagua, joining several other catamarans and one large plete blackness, and we were unable to distinguish motor yacht. the horizon from the sky. Without running lights, the steaming light was the only deck lighting. Avoiding coral heads, the anchor was set. Lon cast for fish and in no time had a fish on. Proudly showing it Pegasus came upon traffic opposite direction offset to off, Lon released the fish, blowing Glenn’s mind, a crew starboard. I could not make out the red or green nav member out of Arizona. You see, the freezers, an ice lights only 2 white lights. It eventually moved north- maker and a couple of refrigerators were mysteriously ward away from our northwest track. I am sure we removed from the Pegasus. Living off canned chili, looked like a stern light moving forward too. I never beans, rice, and ramen noodles, Glenn was pining for saw a nav rule covering the right of way with two stern real food. lights approaching. With no more fishing action we were snorkeling the On day three, in the late afternoon, we were 90 miles coral heads. They were all brown, looking dead ex- north of Haiti, 70 miles from Little Inagua, our resting cept for medium blue colored fish swimming the coral point. Strong winds were off the stern with following heads. On anchor we repaired the navigation lights seas. Wind angle data was available, but not the wind and a few other items. With five days of blue water speed, a victim of missing Garmin cables. Amazingly, completed, I averaged sighting one ship per day. these conditions made the use of sails or power unnec- essary as the 28-ton cat was pushed along for most of The following day, we left our overnight anchorage the day at 4kts. Anything faster would put us early at heading out to complete the remaining 500 miles, back the anchorage in darkness, the 4 kts was perfect. Sun- onto two-hour shifts. The weather was still holding— set was eventful with the crew watching with cocktails fair weather clouds, easterly winds and following seas. for the green flash where the top of the sun disappears Shortly after 2 pm, with fishing lines trolling, fish on! below the horizon. Sure enough, the emerald green Besides the fish fighting, Lon was fighting the constant flash was witnessed, my first, however not as cool as speed of 5 kts the sailboat was producing. Once in the another crew had witnessed in the past. boat, the barracuda was found to be 3 feet in length and was bled out and prepared for dinner, putting a This evening, the city lights of the Grand Turks was off happy face on Glenn. the starboard. We were still under no sails or power still pushed along with strong winds and rolling seas. The Now ninety miles northeast of Cuba, we rolled on. At forward horizon view was black over black and with no Little Inagua, the desalination water maker was one of running lights. the items tested. Unfortunately, it failed to work prop-

10 der of the trip. Luckily, our supply of bottled water and rum were solid. By late Afternoon, we were 13 miles off Cuba with weather again building off the island. Day 8, we were 55 miles north of Cuba running NW towards Miami. We found ourselves in hazy skies with no wind. Some areas of water showed slight ripples; otherwise the water sat like a mirror. Using the 5 kt rule, auxiliary power moved us along. We found ourselves now assigned 2 bottles of water, for the remainder of the trip. In between Cuba and Abaco we encountered the first sightings of floating plastics such as bags, small con- tainers and other plastic trash just floating on by. Such deep blue waters with trash were sad to see. Day 9 was the worst. That morning, we had seas that were swelling and winds increasing in strength, continu- ing into the afternoon. Days earlier, we had following sea and wind pushing us as we headed westbound. Now, our course was now direct to Miami, heading northerly. The wind and seas were increasing in strength, pounding the front starboard side. Into the night, the conditions worsened and items down below that were not secured took flight. Resting was impos- erly and corrupted the starboard water tank. With the sible and it made for a long night. right rationing, the port water tank should have been On our last day, all exhausted, the weather did settle enough to get us to Miami, but somehow it too got down, but it was still rough. Around late morning, the corrupted. However, plenty of bottled water, beer and skyline of Miami was in sight. rum remained, calming the hydration question. Several hours later, we navigated into Miami Channel The following day, Pegasus was now 45 miles north- and put into Miami Beach Marina ending the voyage, east of Cuba. With fair weather and light winds, the 5 but not the fun with the remaining rum. kt rule kicked in requiring the use of auxiliary power. Water out of the faucet alone tasted awful but with some heavy Nescafé, one didn’t notice—too much. Later that evening the skies over Cuba lit up with light- ning while brilliant stars pierced directly over Pegasus. We were navigating closer to Cuba rather than sailing directly to Miami. We were concerned about the shallower depths around Ragged Island, South of Great Exuma Island. Also among the issues with Pegasus, the transducer for the depth finder was out of service. Deeper waters ruled. Day 6, the morning off Cuba provided us a nice broad reach. Prior provisioning for beer now proved too light since we were assigned two beers each, for the remain-

11 but be ready to cuss when you need to remove it. Hint: Club Cruise to Mandalay Bay If you inspected your hoses and sails prior to the cruise Submitted by Richard Capt. Sandbar Walters you probably won’t need the tape; but who does that? While getting ready for the May 1st and 2nd club Please refrain from bringing paper napkins to the cruise to Mandalay Bay, you wonder what to bring. captains meeting to write navigational information This is different for everyone but there are a few essen- and routing details. You laugh, I have seen it more than tial things to bring along. It can be stressful to come once. Don’t be cheap — go out and get a nice set of up with a list that includes everything. First what type charts for your area and study them prior to the trip. of cruise is it? Pulling them out when you’re coming into an unknown “Honey, why is the hair dryer in our bag, this cruise anchorage or inlet with a stiff current is not the time to is an anchoring location… and I don’t have a long do that. Take a Power Squadron class on Coastal Navi- enough extension cord to reach shore.” gation. Those old salts know so much and will leave you Start off with knowing where you’re going, for how with valuable skills if you apply them. long, and what will the weather conditions be. Weath- Don’t be a “Chart Plotter Gazer” or a “Navionics Button er in this part of the country can change in a flash. You Route Pusher”. What you see on the screen is not an know if you bring your foul weather gear, the prob- exact replication as to what your eyes will see in front ability of ran is a lot less. If you forget your weather and around your boat. Use them as an aid but rely more gear, the sky will open up and flood the cockpit. on your eyes. They will certainly guide you into a day For new cruisers it can be challenging to know what is marker or run you aground if you don’t look ahead. really needed for a club cruise. Buy a good set of binoculars and have them in the “Honey, what is the sextant doing in our bag, I thought cockpit at all times. A 7x50 binocular is the best for mar- our cruise destination is only four hours away.” iners which is 7x magnification with objective lenses of 50mm in diameter. You don’t need all the extra features So start off with first doing the necessary mainte- like compasses and range finders in the binoculars nance on your vessel ahead of time and not the day of unless you want to dress to impress. What’s very impor- the cruise. Raise your hand if you have neglected your tant is the binoculars low light level performance. boat for a while but was so excited to join in the club cruise only to find the motor won’t start. You can hear "When is he going to talk about the Mandalay the distant screams of profanity echoing the marina cruise…?" from skippers who are weekend warriors that have not All right, I want to touch on one more very important kept up with general maintenance. item. Safety on the water should remain at the top We won’t go through that list here but Nigel Calder is of any list your making for your cruise. A good Coast a man that can keep your boat dependable and safe. Guard certified offshore PFD (Personal Flotation De- There are many other authors to read and learn a bit vice), whether it be self-inflating or manual needs to be about your electrical system. Remember if you let the in good service for all passengers. This website location smoke out of your electronics they will stop working. will help you determine what is best for your needs. Re- member the small people and pets too. https://www. “Honey, I didn’t know they ran on smoke…” dco.uscg.mil/CG-ENG-4/PFDSel/. A skipper who has taken the time to understand the A Type 1 PFD is the best for all locations and conditions many systems on his/her boat and how to maintain and the SOLAS (Safety of Life at Sea) certified is the them will certainly get to the happy hour before the international standard. They are not cheap but what is rest. your life worth? For most of our club cruises a Type 2 Duct tape, oh yes, duct tape. What for? To tape the PFD is sufficient and make sure it is adjusted to fit the mouth of a stowaway that’s driving you nuts. No, person it is for. Remember they have to be worn on duct tape can save the day if you blow a hose or need deck if they are the self-inflating kind. Don’t stow them to temporarily fix a rip in a sail. Yes there is sail tape away and forget them. Put the person’s name on them too if you want to be fancy but Duct tape will hold it that it is fitted for that regularly sails on the vessel. Put enough to get you where you need to go until you can a SOLAS light strobe on each PFD with fresh batteries. do a proper repair. I hear the Gorilla brand is excellent Another wiz bang device is the PLB (Personal Locator

12 Beacon) which will send out a distress signal through the satellites running around up in the sky. Not something you have to have but a good thing if you’re going farther off shore. Make sure it’s not set to go off if you fall in the water unless you want the Coast Guard joining our cruise. Practice MOB (Man Over Board) drills! Oh God really… You can practice now or you can talk to him when you get up there. “Honey, up where?” The Mandalay cruise was awesome. That’s all I have to say. OK, a bit more… We had five club boats make it successfully to the Mandalay anchorage, which is very close to Frenchy’s Saltwater Café , where we wanted to visit for dinner later that night. We could have got there a lot quicker if there was a bascule bridge on Causeway Blvd next Wonder how the island got the name Moonshine? We to that crazy traffic circle that Florida drivers still can’t came upon Gary Rhoads and Kathy Longacre’s Island figure out. Some went up the Intracoastal (ditch) and Packet 31 called Seafari. No; not Seafairy @$&#!, it’s others went on the outside up to Clearwater Pass. The Seafari which has a cool Sea Horse on the transom. New wind of course was mainly in an unfavorable direc- members Bob and Sue Bedinghaus and family with their tion to make decent progress unless you wanted to 28 Catalina named Easy Street was anchored nearby. A go south, but then we needed to go north. We did bit further south next to the Island Yacht Club was Bes- get a bit of sailing in to get a break from the iron jenny sie and Bill Morse at anchor on Grace, their Fountaine- rumbling. Dianne and Sandbar on Seagal came in Pajot 37 Power Catamaran. Seagal came alongside and the Clearwater Pass Channel and noticed there were found a spot to drop the hook with plenty of swinging plenty of people partying over at Shephard’s - the local room. Shortly after we could see Gyb Spilsbury and meat market. Barbara Brennan with a friend stowaway arriving on Imagine, their Bayfield 29. We all migrated over to Grace since the Morse’s have a floating condo with so much room to spread out. It is an incredible boat with two large supercharged Yan- mar 140 HP motors for a giddy up and go fast boat. We socialized, had snacks, and drank a bit until we had Gary and Bill ferry us with their dinghies over to Frenchy’s docks to go to their Saltwater Café for dinner. The dinner, drinks, and service was great and we left there in the dark well satisfied. “Honey, which anchor light is ours?” A cool continu- ous breeze blew through the anchorage making it very comfortable night’s sleep. Guess which direction the wind was coming from in the We progressed past the “wish you were there” bas- morning? cule bridge to go east and then head north under Yes of course hard and stiff from the south, so most the Clearwater Memorial Causeway Bridge up to the of us wisely took the ditch to head home—except the Clearwater Basin Marina, where we turned to port off Bedinghaus’, who had a pretty rocky ride on the outside the Intracoastal to take a private channel up towards and turned around to follow us down the ditch. A sailor Moonshine Island, where we turned to port past R12A and R14 to go south into Mandalay Channel. May Cruise, continued next page>>

More photos in full color on the website at www.sailbcyc.org/Gallery 13 May Cruise, continued from previous page just loves to look forward to wait for bascule bridge openings, annoying Jet Ski locusts, and racing power boats with owners with more outboards than brains. It’s simply the Yin and Yang of a sailor’s life. Patience Grasshopper! We all overcame forces working against us and safely got home to our berths for the end of a great cruise weekend. Our June club cruise will be to a familiar place we all love that has a great pool, showers, and staff. That would be Twin Dolphin up the Manatee River in Bra- denton. Scott Sharlow, our Cruise Director, has attached some important documents for the cruise on the club's website. Just go to the club calendar and click on June 5th Cruise Twin Dolphin, which will take you to the details. There is a 2021 TDM Rate Card, Cruise Club Organizer Welcome Letter, and a TDM Marina Layout Map PDF. So do that preventive maintenance you have been putting off if you would like to take part in a great June cruise. Keep up the cruising lifestyle, Capt. Sandbar

April Sunset/Full Moon Cruise

14 Workday Photos Submitted by Susan McQuillan

15 how the race is to be run, what marks to take to port 2021 Bone Island Regatta (usually) and other specific requirements per each divi- Submitted by Capt. Richard “Sandbar” Walters sion (class) of racing. This year there were five classes: Anticipation was way high with the BCYC racers who Lighthouse, Multi-Hull, Spinnaker, and True Cruising , were going to compete in the 2021 Bone Island Regatta which was split into the A and B class due to the num- (BIR), held on May 12 to 15th. There were 26 boats ber of boats in that class. MeeShee was in True Cruising entered but only 20 would finish. BCYC was well repre- B, Seafari in Lighthouse, and Tranquility in Multi-Hull. sented with three club boats and other club members Galene and After You were also in True Cruising B. The competing on non-member boats. Last year’s race only spinnaker class boat with any of our members rac- was cancelled due to Covid-19 so many were eager to ing was Mother Ocean. race this year. A lot of money and work is put into get- Enough with all the technicalities and formal details ting vessels and teams ready for this annual semi-pro and let me get into the actual race highlights. WFPHRF (West Florida Performance Handicap Racing The start was off the Venice jetty on May 12th with a Fleet) regatta. The BIR is part of the Boat of the Year se- single start for all classes at 1300 hours (that’s 1 o’clock ries (BOTY). This year the race started from Venice and pm for everyone else…). That meant there would be as always finishes in Key West…where the party begins! 26 boats positioning along the starting line to aggres- Only a couple weeks prior to the race, teams were still sively make tactical moves to get a jump on any other being tossed around… some dropping out, and oth- boats. For those that have never experienced this it can ers looking to get on a boat. Last minute boat main- be a nail biting - high anxiety moment. There is a five- tenance was performed to ensure the boats were safe minute sequence and the closer to the starting horn, and ready for this fairly grueling 158 mile race as the the more packed the fleet becomes on the starting line. crow flies. This is the longest race in the BOTY series. Most of these boats are at least 35 feet or more so we’re Some years the weather has been pretty rough but talking tons of fiberglass vying to cross the start first, this year we would luck out and have mostly favorable just as the horn blows. This start is not intended for the winds with some steep following seas. timid and one false move can cause massive damage to Let me take a moment to list the boat and members a boat. The race committee was wise enough to make a that competed in this high action and challenging race. wide starting gate for this amount of moving fiberglass. Not everyone had the best position and some had just MeeShee Skipper: Lee Nell Crew: Mark Rother, Juli Jaco- arrived at the start from the dock. by, Michelle Porter, Mike Cook, and Larry Brown(former member) Harold Small’s son Jonathan’s flight from New York was Seafari Skipper: Gary Rhoads Crew: Kathy Longacre, delayed and he was cutting it real close to be able to Richard Walters (Sandbar), Dianne Benedetti, and Asa get to the boat on time to make the start. Harold had Folsom the engines revved up on Tranquility, his Maine Cat Tranquility Skipper: Harold Small Crew: His sons; Jason, 30. Trish rushed her son to the dock and he jumped Jonathan, and Ryan aboard no more than twenty minutes before the start and they quickly jetted to the start area with no time to Non-member boats with BCYC members aboard: spare. Seafari decided to hold back in the starting pack Galene Skipper: Gerard Gaudry (former member) Crew: since Gary was not familiar with large boat racing starts. Member John Meyer with other non-members. Sandbar totally agreed to be safe and let the pack pass Mother Ocean Skipper: Rick Gress (non-member) Crew: and follow as close as possible without getting any Joel Heyne, Mark Requa with other non-members. dirty air. After You Skipper: John Gardner (non-member) Crew: The Seafari crew had very little time to get familiar with John Alonso (former member) and other non-members. the boat before the race so we had to iron out some The race was sponsored and managed by Alice Petrat issues real quick before the start. Gary had purchased a and family, who are not affiliated with any yacht club. really nice Code Zero light air large genoa that was on a The Captains Meeting was held at Sarasota Sailing roller furler mounted just in front of their main jib roller. Squadron (SSS) on May 11 at 7pm. This is the meeting We found that it was impossible to tack this sail and where the details or the race are discussed along with had to roll it completely in and then let it out on the the specific Sailing Instructions (SI) that specify exactly opposite tack. This made for a very slow tack so choos-

More photos in full color on the website at www.sailbcyc.org/Gallery 16 rolling back in your head from further math concepts just think the higher you are on this ladder the better your position is with the rest of the fleet. Unfortu- nately Seafari was at the bottom rung. The next morning’s sunrise was spec- tacular, with absolutely no sight of land and in our case no sight of any other boats either. This can cause you to feel lonely and hoping you’re still heading ing not to tangle with the larger and faster boats at the in the right direction without looking at start was a wise decision. the plotter. We came across a fishing vessel on AIS about The start sequence started and Seafari was a bit late five miles off our bow that was meandering back and getting over but we settled into a close reach and forth. An AIS (Automatic Identification System) in a cool started to pick up speed. Seafari is an Island Packet 31 gizmo that allows you to identify vessels using a digital so it takes a few football fields to get her going. We did VHF radio-based transponder. You can register your own our best to keep up and for a long while we were do- vessel into this international network once you acquire a ing pretty well with most of the fleet within sight. Gary MMSI (Maritime Mobile Service Identity – unique 9 digit did a great job in setting up the helm shifts and had number) which is exclusively assigned to your vessel one person overlapping the shifts. We had to tie up identifying what type of vessel, its length, name, and their folding dinghy and lash it to their davits. We told ownership. Gary being the techie he is had this all set everyone it was our racing spoiler. up way ahead of time. As the first evening started approaching we got all the In the afternoon the wind went light and we had to fall jack lines in order and harnesses ready for the evening. off a bit more to keep our slow progress towards Key We were able to track some of the other boats while West that seemed so far away at the time. The general we still had internet reception through our cell phones consensus in past BIR races is to stay east of the rhumb from the BIR website. Every vessel was being tracked line and wait for the evening land breeze closer to with either a SPOT or In-Reach tracking device that was shore. The land breeze never arrived. Amazon delivery required by the race committee. After a while our cell was late? The wind had clocked more to the north and coverage went weak and we had trouble seeing where began filling in so we set up for a downwind run. Sand- other boats were located. We could see MeeShee bar suggested to pole out and use the heavier jib into come and go off our port bow probably a couple miles the night and set up a downhaul line on the whisker ahead. We soon went black with no cell service so we pole to keep it from rising up in puffs which causes the hoped we were staying close to the back of the pack. wind to dump out, slowing Seafari’s average speed. We Throughout the evening we did our best to keep put the mainsail on the lee side and added a preventer Seafari running as fast as possible, with Sandbar giving to it also and tightened up the boom vang. Seafari was some suggestions for trimming sails and maximizing now wing-on-wing and surfing down the following seas our VMG (Velocity Made Good). VMG is basically the that started building into the evening. Seafari loved speed at which a sailboat is making progress directly to surf since her bottom was fairly flat. Many times we upwind or directly downwind. Points of sail on a beam clocked SOG (Speed over Ground) knots way above the do not affect VMG but that is a math thing that I won’t apparent wind. go into here. Earlier that afternoon we finally saw a boat we thought Sandbar also explained the concept of ladder rungs. was racing and coming up behind us. Getting on the No we didn’t have an extension ladder aboard! Just binoculars we noticed it only had its mainsail up and imagine a very wide ladder superimposed on the race seemed to be motoring. This had us puzzled since the course. The sides of this ladder are aligned parallel to AIS was telling us it was Barry McClure’s Island Packet the direction of the wind making each rung of the ladder perpendicular to the wind. Before your eyes start Bone Island Regatta, continued next page >>

17 Bone Island Regatta, continued from previous page a sigh of relief when we saw the ominous dark unlit tower just off our port beam. Exactly at 24°43.094´N by 420 April, which was a boat in our Lighthouse class. 81°55.331´W Gary snapped the picture concluding our We thought she would have been way ahead of us at finish for the Lighthouse class. The crew was elated, this point in the race. The rate she was moving under but knew we had a lot more racing to do since we de- a mainsail alone we could tell she had her motor on. cided to race the complete course all the way into Key Sandbar tried to hail her on the VHF but received no re- West. We knew it wouldn’t count for a trophy, but that’s sponse. We continued to watch and attempt hailing her what BCYC sailors do. as she fell off and headed to the coast. Once we gained We found out the Garmin plotter they had on Seafari a couple bars on the cell phone we called Alice Petrat was off compared to the Navionics chart we had on the the race committee chair to inform her we believed iPad, so we shut the wacko gizmo off and relied solely that April dropped out but we didn’t know why. She on the accuracy of Navionics in the dark to help guide didn’t get any word either. We found out later that Barry us. Kathy was aiding Asa, who was at the helm, with got clunked on the head by the whisker pole and split instructions from the chart on the iPad while Sandbar his head open and had to go to the emergency room. and Gary looked ahead to make sure we were clear and It turns out that he is fine but unfortunately had to DNF heading correctly while trimming the sails as needed. (Did Not Finish) himself. Dianne, oh did I mention Dianne, she was a bit under In racing you never want anything bad to happen to the weather but did come up to join the crew to help another competitor in your class and we knew we had us navigate safely in. Asa had warned us earlier that won at least 2nd place in the Lighthouse class due to a there is a wicked current at times after we get through fellow sailor’s accident. You never know what can hap- the Northwest Channel and then turn to port to head pen out on the water when you are miles away from north into Key West Bight next to Tank Island. We didn’t land, so you really need to take safety seriously and know at the time where the tide cycle was and hoped have a good first aid kit. Night time can be especially it would be slack or push us to the finish line. dangerous on the foredeck when there is no moonlight As we progressed up the North West Channel we were to help guide you. just able to harden up and not have to tack. That was a Early on Friday morning we were getting within range welcoming feeling in this dark night, with the confus- of the Smith Shoal Light that we had to take to port. ing city lights of Key West in the background. Dianne, Sandbar read the chart for the details on this marker Kathy and Asa kept working the chart and guiding Asa and said it flashed at a 6 second period was 47ft and since she has trouble seeing at night. Didn’t know that had 9M noted. He explained to the crew this meant we till then… So with the extra eight eyes working in con- should see the light when we are roughly nine nautical cert we successfully made our way up the channel. miles from it. Per the plotter we were about eight miles We started to head up into the Key West Bight channel out. He suspected that the light was out, not the first with less than a mile to make the finish. We couldn’t BIR he raced in with the light out so this was a common believe it but that wicked current that Asa warned of occurrence. Hitting this marker in the middle of a dark earlier was as its peak wickedness—and not to our moonless night is not something you want to do. favor either. Sandbar realized we didn’t have the board The sailing instructions said to set up a waypoint to down and quickly shouted to drop it immediately sail to for this marker that was a safe distance away at knowing the IP31 has a shallow keel and needs every approximately 150 ft. west of the marker. Gary went bit of its long centerboard to point up. The current kept up to the bow, tied to the jack line with his harness pushing us further away from our intended direction. with a death grip on his phone, to be ready to snap a Asa was working so hard at the helm to get Seafari to picture when we had reached the way point he had point up, with Gary and Sandbar trimming the sails. entered earlier. The crew was getting a bit nervous “Don’t strap the jib - bring it in gradual after the tack”, because we were getting close but still could not see Sandbar shouted. “I’m losing her she’s falling off, I’m the Smith Shoal marker in the muddy dark night. Gary losing speed”, Asa cried out. Sandbar kept an eye on saw a faint shadow off our port bow and Sandbar felt our speed and signaled to tack before we lost our way that it probably was the light since it was in the proper to make it. Gary ran up to the bow to help backwind direction with respect to the waypoint. We all breathed

18 the jib to get our little more stories I can tell about Key West but we have a piglet to tack, she’s saying “Whatever happens in Key West, stays in Key a stubborn tacker… West”, so if you want to know more about what hap- Kathy and Dianne pens in KW get some experience and get on a crew kept an eye on the for next year’s Bone Island Regatta. Sandbar with his nuns and cans so we Seahawk will be there for sure next year. didn’t whack them Keep her sailing fast and live life slow, during our tacks. Captain Sandbar With each tack it seemed we were not making any head- way but the Seafari team wouldn’t give up. Kathy suggested shorter tacks, since we were always losing too much speed on the longer tacks—great idea Kathy! After over a half hour of grinding, sweating, and yelling commands, we finally were able to make a final tack to lay the finish. Gary had us going between G25 and R24 to finish but Sandbar shouted out “No—we need to take R24 to port!” Gary raced down below to check the SI while we were getting close to DNF ourselves. “Sandbar’s cor- rect– take R24 to port,” and shortly after we could see a flash from the race committee, who was waiting for the last boat to cross the finish line at 06:19. It took us 17 tacks to finally cross the finish but the Seafari team prevailed and overcame the wicked tide of Key West. The whole team high fived each other with a big group hug. Feeling so elated that we forgot how exhausted we all were. We puttered about a bit trying to contact the Galleon Marina for our slip and while we were waiting Gary checked the centerboard. We found that it had hung up even though the line was released in the cockpit so we had no centerboard when we needed it the most. Sheer determination from a great team must have been what made up the difference. Truly amazing! After getting safely tied up at the Galleon Marina we all took hot showers and passed out on Seafari to recover the rest of Friday to get prepared for the parties that night. This is why sailboat racers do what they do. We all want to get to the party as fast as we can. There are

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2021 Bone Island Regatta race start…notice Harold Small's multihull Tranquility in the foreground in the middle of the pack; Lee Nell's MeeShee must be on the other side. Meanwhile, Seafari is peddling as fast as she can at the back. Go BCYC!