COLUMBIA SAILING CLUB FEBRUARY 2015 the Telltale History of a Long Boat…Solera Charles Calhoun There are many boats on our property. Some are for the excitement of racing and some for the pleasure of cruising. Some are new and some show some age. But there’s one that is over 85 years old and has a racing PHRF rating of 156 as compared to a J24 rating of 168, or a J27 with a 126, or an Ultimate 20 rated 144. Keep in mind the lower the rating the faster the boat. That boat is named Solera and is owned by Bruce Seiffert. The original designer and builder, Starling Burgess, the son of the designer of three America’s Cup yachts, was a gunner’s mate in the Spanish-American War, invented a new type of machine gun, wrote three books of poetry while a Harvard, and opened a shipyard in Marblehead in 1905. In 1910 He built the first airplane to fly in New England, went on to build the first licensed aircraft company in America, built the first seaplane to take off and land on water and later designed a three wheeled car which according to many looked more like an egg than a car. In 1928 Burgess’s creativity lead him to build a 30 foot boat which he called the Atlantic. His marketing skills produced 80 orders which were racing the next summer. By 1930 the first fleet of 100 Atlantics was formed. Solera was given to young George Franklin as a high school graduation gift in 1929 and over a decade proved to be one of the premiere boats in her class winning club championships in 1930, 31, 33, 34, 35, 38, and (continued on page 7) PAGE 1 COLUMBIA SAILING CLUB FEBRUARY 2015 At The Helm Commodore J.C. Moore The weather has been on a real roller coaster ride and continues to do so. But better weather is coming, and with it, sailing season can begin in earnest. Preparations are underway for the Easter Regatta on April 3 – 5. The dead tree removal and rip rap project by the camping area is underway. Spring Work Day will be March 21. There is a lot to be done, and we need all of the helping hands we can muster. After much discussion since the January BOS meeting and during the February BOS meeting, the Board of Stewards decided that the fairest way to raise dues was to combine it with an increase of the land parking fees and the back cove slippage fees. Accordingly, all dues, land parking fees and back cove slippage fees will be increased by ten percent (10%) starting with the second quarter billings. Club and back cove initiation fees will remain unchanged. On a lighter note, with the Easter Regatta comes the Easter Egg Hunt. All club members’ children and grandchildren born in 2004 or later are invited to participate. If a club member wishes for their child to receive a personal invitation to the Easter Egg Hunt, they need to send the information to Carla Moore at [email protected] as soon as possible. A hard deadline will be sent out via e-blast soon, but don’t wait! J.C. PAGE 2 COLUMBIA SAILING CLUB FEBRUARY 2015 CSC Auxiliary News President Diana Wrisley Hard to believe February is rapidly disappearing into the history books! Our diary shows we began the year with an awesome New Year’s Eve party where a good time was had by all. Kudos to Karen Counts, Juli Calhoun and everyone who made it happen! Any excesses of the preceding late night revelry were quickly dispatched on New Year’s morning at the annual Polar Bear Dip in which a few hardy souls dunked their toes (and certain other parts of their anatomies) into a chilly Lake Murray. Mother Nature didn’t provide much encouragement for sailing, but a sumptuous meal of Hoppin’ John drew plenty of attention. Many thanks to Jim Altman, Pat Freeman, and all who helped make this a wonderful beginning to the new year. Our first meeting of the year was held on January 13th. We had a great turnout and began making plans for the coming year. Thanks to Nan Nussler and Kim Milling for the delicious dinner and dessert. Our first outing of 2015 found us visiting Artizan, a combination art gallery, jewelry store and more, where we learned about felt hat making, enjoyed libations and wandering around the store admiring the artwork of local and national artists. Some CSCA members wore hats and won prizes – Best Story went to Debra Kelly, Prettiest went to Candace Leaphart and Most Panache to Rebecca Dotterer. As we viewed the wide variety of displays we were delighted to discover one of the artisans is our own Betty Evans, whose handiwork is beautiful! Special thanks to Kris Kenline and Betty Evans for arranging the lovely evening at Artizan. By the way, if you find yourself in the vicinity of Bull and Gervais streets with a bit of spare time on your hands, drop in at Artizan at 1217 Bull Street. The most recent CSCA meeting took place on February 10th. Marybeth Mahrer provided a delicious meal and we wound up scrap-booking well into the evening. We also reviewed plans for our very own Mardi Gras celebration, February 17th, 6:30PM at Alodia’s Cucina Italiana. We were reminded to bring our purple, green and gold masks to wear for the evening. The occasion doubles as our “Pajama Party” where CSCA members are asked to bring PJs for Sistercare. Please be sure our 2nd Tuesday monthly meetings are on your “to-do” list. We’ll email reminders. Diana PAGE 3 COLUMBIA SAILING CLUB FEBRUARY 2015 Membership News Vice Commodore, Andrew Clarkson The Board met earlier in the month and approved two new provisional members. Please welcome to provisional membership: Andreas Schuhmacher and his wife Regina have two sons: Nicolas (7) and Lucas (6). Andreas grew up windsurfing in Europe. He and Regina purchased a Catalina 250 in October 2013 and in the past year have sailed on Lake Murray regularly. Andreas says he recently had his first racing experience by participating with the Race Committee for the 2014 Midlands Regatta. “We love sailing because we enjoy being out in nature together as a family and relaxing on a boat. We like experiencing the new challenges and adventures that come with sailing. We also like the fact that the sport is peaceful (mostly) and has little impact on the environment.” “We want to become better sailors and improve our knowledge of sailing. We also want to provide our boys the opportunity to grow up sailing and develop a love for sailing and the outdoors. We like that the club promotes racing, the opportunity to be a part of a crew on other boats and to experience different boat types. We particularly like that this club offers a safe and family friendly environment. Having spoken to many members, we feel like we share many interests and values, and that our family would be a good fit.” Elaine Parshall is no stranger to the Columbia Sailing Club. She grew up in the club and her family has been a large part of the CSC community for many years. She is a four-time winner of the CSC Outstanding Junior Sailor Award. Elaine has lived out of town for a number of years, including the Northeastern US and most recently in Hartsville, SC where she is Division Chair of the Accelerated Engineering Program at the Governors School of Math and Sciences. She has taught adult and children sailing for many years, as well as being a high school sailing coach. After 30 years, she returns to our community to be close to her “friends at CSC and to her family.” Elaine owns a sunfish and I’m certain plans to give her brother David Parshall a run for his money on the water. Please join me in welcoming both Andreas and Elaine. Applied for membership: Judith Parshall Williams has recently applied for membership. She and her husband Fred own a Mirage 5.5. In her vast sailing resume’ she has sailed Sunfish, Y-Flyer, S-24, Evelyn 26, O’Day Tempest, Penguin, Kirby 21, Capri 16 & JY15 to name a few. Judith is a Past President of the CSCA (1987). Judith writes that “the Columbia Sailing Club has been a part of my life since 1972 when Corky Parshall joined the club. Palmer McArthur told me after Corky died that the club was ‘My Family’.” Over the years, as my children, David and Elaine Parshall have joined this illustrious group, I feel the need to once again be a part of all the activities, sailing with my children, helping with club regattas, and in the kitchen.” (More membership news on page 8) PAGE 4 COLUMBIA SAILING CLUB FEBRUARY 2015 The Rear View Rear Commodore, Dan Robinson February at CSC may seem like a quiet time for sailing, but the club is bustling with activity as we plan for the 2015 sailing events. Alex Bolan has the Easter Regatta preparations well underway, and Jan Jernigan is working with US Sailing to organize the Junior Women’s Doublehanded Championship in June. Maria DeHart updated the flag officers on the summer Youth Camp status last month, and the planning of that event has started. We will publicize the camp details to the membership and begin running ads in local publications to advertise this camp. The calendar for the Thursday night dinghy races is completed, and we have scheduled 10 races beginning in early June and ending mid-August.