May 2007 Official Publication of Alamitos Bay Yacht Club easter Volume 80 • Number 5 brunch Ronda Nuzum photos he Easter Bunny arrived just in time to greet the very excited ABYC children at the annual Easter Brunch. Fortu- nately, Eric Conn and Merle Asper were there well before the popular rabbit and hid eggs all around the Yacht club Tgrounds. The kids, dressed in their Easter finest, also had the opportunity to have their pictures taken with the bunny and received a bag of Easter goodies. Meanwhile, up on the second deck, an elegantly displayed Eas- ter brunch offered so many choices that many diners had to come back for a second plate. Jesus and Kelly and the rest of the staff out did themselves with both traditional and Mexican brunch favorites. Many com- pliments were heard as to the quality and variety of the food. According to George and Bob Anderson, who were serving pan- cakes, the chocolate chip variety was extremely popular. Dan DeLave and Eileen who served Jesus’ Mexican spe- cialties said they had a hard time keeping up with the de- mand. Mean- while, in the Stacy Conn’s creative table setting kitchen John Massy and Sue McDannel were amazed at how popular the freshly cooked crispy bacon was with members and guests. Jim Bateman and Bill McDannel poured champagne and mixed mimosas to the delight of the holiday crowd. Also filling in wherever help was needed were Diane Bateman, Carol and Glen Selvin and Nicole and Steve Moffett. Chris Ericksen did his usual masterful job as maitre‘d and Kim Atwood, who was sworn to secrecy as to E. Bunny’s identity, was his (or her) able assistant. All this didn’t just happen without tremendous planning and organization, however. Stacy Conn, Easter Brunch Chairman, spent countless hours making sure all of the details were in place for a beautiful, enjoyable event. Helping her set up and prepare Easter festivities were Diane Bateman, Elaine Wood, George Anderson, Lori When the bunny hid eggs too high for the little ones to reach, Vanskyhock, Jim Bateman and Sue McDannel. This was certainly a Spencer Clinton and Gavin Nuzum used teamwork to retrieve the eggs. (Spencer is the “climber”.) memorable event. Sue McDannel See more Easter photos on our website at aby.org, taken by Rob Rice inside Commodore’s Comments ...... 2 Manager’s Corner ...... 2 save the date Vice Commodore’s View ...... 3 Opening Day ...... May 5 Rear Commodore’s Notes ...... 3 Mother’s Day ...... May 13 Fleet Captain’s Report ...... 4 Club ABYC - Flight 6875 ...... May 18 From the Pages of History...... 4 Club ABYC - Silent Partner (Brad, Jr Dir) ....May 25 Junior ...... 6 Memorial Day Regatta ...... May 26 - 27 Membership ...... 6 Men’s Day Regatta...... June 3 OCR/Youth Multihull ...... Insert + 9 General Membership ...... June15 Hails from the Fleets ...... 10-11 Long Beach Race Week...... June 22-24 sou’wester • may 2007 • page 1 commodore’scomments

pril was the halfway point in our year and at our last board meeting I asked everyone to take a bearing on where they stood against their budgets and project plans for the year. We had a A good first half. Financially we are doing a bit better than plan. We have enjoyed good atten- dance at our sailing and social events and we’ve made good progress on some of our capital projects. The quality of food has improved and the club is just cleaner. This is pretty basic stuff but pretty darn important stuff. Our push is to carry the momentum forward through the second half. We have been forging a good solid relationship with our Club Manager Kelly Whitlow, his staff and our volunteers. Our members are more involved in our events and programs than they have been in years. We’re also seeing a broader group of members getting involved. These are signs of a healthy organization and bode well for our future. I strongly encourage you to join in. We’ve got several projects underway such as the new bay barge, the sabot racks, the sabot dollies and a multitude of other tasks where member involvement would really make a difference – both financially and in the quality of work. We have a wealth of talent in our members that we can tap. Call me if you want to get involved and I’ll put you to work. Better yet, come down to the club and play. Bring your friends and neighbor down to go for a sail and enjoy our now famous Bay Burgers on the patio or for one of our entertainment filled Friday happy hours. We start serving dinners on Wednesdays and Thursdays so now you have three evenings every week when you can come down and enjoy the sunset and a little al fresco dining. I’d like to congratulate our member Mike Ludt for being awarded the Association of San Pedro Bay Yacht Club’s Yachtsman of the Year for his great service to our sailing community. In particular Mike has been instrumental in upgrading the program to keep our common racing marks in the harbor well maintained and properly positioned. Thanks Mike, and congratu- lations for this well deserved honor. Good sailing, Jim Bateman manager’scorner

unny thing about this slow period here at the club, it looks and feels oddly familiar, very reminiscent of a busy period. I’m beginning to think the slow period was on a Thursday, F sometime in February….but I don’t remember. Well…I survived my first ABYC Easter brunch, and a BIG note of thanks to Stacy Conn and Chris Ericksen. There were several others who pitched in to make the event run smoothly, but Stacy and Chris really were key players. Stacy’s attention to detail and her flair for design set the tone for a wonderful afternoon for members, family and friends. Thanks again Stacy. Chris, your ability to “gently” coax people from their tables once they finished their meal kept the pace of the brunch right on schedule. And of course a BIG thank you to all the ABYC staff, who once again answered the call, and performed whatever duty necessary to insure a memorable experience for all attendee’s. We no sooner caught our breath from Easter, and a little clinic called CISA hit the club like Spring Break in Fort Lauderdale. Young sailors from all over the country converged on the club for four days of intense sailing instruction. The introduction of the instructors was, to say the least, impressive. Several Olympic medal winners….Sailor Of the Year recipients, and major players recognized as the best instructors in the nation. The days were filled with lectures, on-the-water drills, break out sessions and great interaction amongst the best young sailors in the nation. And then they ate. When they weren’t eating, they were sailing…thinking about eating. I asked one young sailor what his favorite food was, he said “more”. I quickly got the picture. This group put away more food than ANY of the previous groups combined. The CISA group was courteous, respectful of our club and full of energy. They were an absolute pleasure to work with, and I look forward to their return. I’m receiving very nice reviews on the recent change in the Galley food service. We will continue to upgrade the quality and selection of Galley food, an as always, I welcome your suggestion and input. Look forward to seeing you all here at the club, and experiencing my first Opening Day. Then we start getting busy again (: Kelly Whitlow

sou’wester • may 2007 • page 2 vice commodore’sview

he yard continues to be in a constant state of flux, but between John Perone, Lisa LeBold, and myself, we’ve made great strides in getting members off of the waiting list and into the yard T as they so deserve. Kelly and staff have done a great job in keeping the east yard clear, and we’ve had success in creating a sort of “big boat row” in the back of the east yard. I’ve had inquiries from people with boats such as the new Columbia 30, Olson 30’s, and the gorgeous red B 25 that’s in the yard, looking for a place to keep their boats. While smaller boats such as the Cal 20 have the entire yard to move into, larger boats including our growing Etchells fleet have only limited space, so the east yard has worked out splendidly for them. I was also the Board liason for the recent Easter Brunch, and can’t thank Stacy Conn enough for putting on an event that is truly first class. I’m really going to miss her next year. Stacy, along with Chris Ericksen as the matre de, our many servers and table turners, and all of the ABYC staff made this an event that truly looks easy. It was very nice to see members and their families choosing Alamitos Bay Yacht Club as the place they’d like to dine for Easter, vs. fighting the crowds at more traditional restaurants. So many events are coming up, and the summer sailing season is squarely upon us. Our grounds and facilities have been cleaned up, fixed up, and improved over the winter months, and you can be sure that your club and all its inner workings are ready for the season ahead. Glenn Selvin rear commodore’snotes

ere we are and it is May! Wet Wednesdays are starting up and the summer sailing season H begins! Yeeeeeee Haw! (Is that over the top? Membership: Find those extra special people that you think would make great members and bring them in. I know there are some great fleets out there that you could tap. I know there are a number of people we see around the club at every regatta that should be members. Here are some fleets that instantly come to mind: Lidos, 505s, Finns and all those sabot kids. These people are naturals to our system and they should not be overlooked. We offer a great place to sail with great camaraderie at a great price. How can you beat that? Get out there and bring them in. It only makes your experience with the Club better when you fill it with your friends! Here it is! Don’t forget! The all time most fabulous and motivating promotion! This is for Regular New Members only and their sponsors. The #1 sponsor and new member each get 250 ABYC dollars. 50 of which is to be used only for Club merchandise. The remaining 200 can be used for food, beverage, or Club merchandise. The ABYC dollars need to be used within 6 months and they can’t be applied towards dues or mooring. Just mark you bill when you are paying it how you want your dollars applied. Email me if you have any questions. Contact Mike Baumann [email protected], your hard working Membership Chairman or me with pros- pects. Social: Fridays have been great. Kelly and Jesus have been preparing magnificent food and everyone has been having a great time. Here are some of our upcoming events: 5/4 - Flight 6875: our friends and an extra special group of performers. Every time I hear them I think they are getting better! 5/11 - Brad Schaupeter: Our favorite sailing coach and superstar. Yes, he is also a fabulous musician! 5/25 - Comedy Extravaganza: We have comedians coming to the club and it should be a hoot! More on this later, but you should be here to experience it. I don’t know if we have ever had something like this here, but I am going to be sitting in the front! We have more planned for later, so watch your emails for further information. The website also has a vast amount of knowledge. By the way please thank Rob Rice when you see him; he donates a lot of effort to keeping it up. June 22 - 24, 2007 See you around the Club! Go ABYC! Merle Asper

sou’wester • may 2007 • page 3 fleet captain’sreport e have purchased four new VHF radios to augment the four purchased two years ago. Different from the older radios, these new ones use Li-ion batteries, which W have longer “on line” ability. One important feature about these batteries is the ability to top off their charge even after partial usage. There is a change in charging procedure, which is a short four hour event. We must not plug them in and walk away until the next regatta. That practice will “cook” the battery, causing reduced life. I know some of you think Li-Ion chargers are self-tending and automatic, well they aren’t. So, when you are finished using any of our VHF radios, please, turn them OFF, turn them in to the Port Captain, Dave Meyer, and he will tend to their proper charging. All the bay marks are being refurbished. The Coast Guard has requested that we comply with the published standard practice that all racing marks be a bright yellow. Kelly Whitlow is on top of the project and maintaining contact with USCG as to the progress of our compliance. The new Bay Barge Pontoon boat is now completely assembled. I cannot express enough thanks for the direct hands on help of Latham Bell. He devoted his full Easter Break to the project. I found I was working with the “Eveready Bunny”. He just kept going, and going, and going. Not only that, Latham, not unlike Mark Twain’s character Tom Sawyer, managed to entice others to twist a few wrenches. I was away briefly only to return to find Dan DeLave and Jim Drury up to their wrists with sticky “Tef-Gel”, putting in fasteners. He even got Mark Gaudio who, thanks to his compact frame, did slide underneath between the pontoons and secure floor fasteners that were inaccessible to us oversized “lugs”. Gee whizz Latham!! Mark was here as a guest with the CISA event. So, what is “Tef-Gel”, some of you may ask? I didn’t know either, until a search revealed that it is the product of choice for “Anti Seize / Anti Galvanic Corrosion” protection of Aluminum when Stainless Steel fasteners are used. A one-pound tub of the material was donated through the courtesy of Richard Vaught. Thank you Rich. We need financial assistance to afford a new engine for the new barge. Installing the old 8hp Evenrude/Johnson 2 stroke doesn’t make good sense. The last time (a year ago) it was fixed, it cost the Club $1,100.00 as the head was salted up, and the cylinder compression and “leak down” were marginal at best. We are considering a Honda 4 stroke, long shaft, remote control, electric start. Either 9.9hp or 15hp are the best candidates. Considering a larger engine may prove to be too heavy to handle, as the barge can not be put on a trailer for transport to a shop for annual maintenance. We should stay in a weight range that two men can lift the engine and place it in the back of a vehicle. The engines cost $2,950 and $3,500 respectively, plus tax and an additional $1,700 for Controller/Throttle& Shifter, Steering, battery with box, ancillary hardware and installation. The Sabot dolly project is approaching final assembly phase. The welded frames are in hand, bunks need final paint over the primer, and carpet is to be cut and stapled in place. This time, we are planning to use “Tef-Gel” on the fasteners and axle attachment. On inspection of the last group of the “Bob Chubb” dollies, we have discovered quite a lot of Galvanic Corrosion of the aluminum adjacent to the stainless fasteners, especially on the after bunk. We will create a work party to service the older dollies for corrosion removal and the application of “Tef-Gel”. Sabot Rack Project is in the phase of soliciting competitive bids for materials. The prime materials are 1-1/4 inch Schedule 40 Aluminum Pipe and “Speed-Rail” fittings. The Bilge Pump electrical circuit correction on “Sidney T” and “Outrage” is ready to be accomplished. The electrical parts for an insulated “manual” activation of the pumps have been purchased. Modification of Sabot Trailers is last on the list and is yet to be addressed. John Massey from the pagesof history s I have often said, themes recur in the SOU’WESTER’s from the past. This month I found that even more the point as the Olympic Classes Regatta gets covered in the pages of history. A THIRTY YEARS AGO: There was no specific article on the OCR in the SOU’WESTER of May 1977, but it was mentioned in several other articles. The International 14 fleet reporter, Peter Gales, said that the Fourteens had staffed whalers on Saturday of the regatta and told how one team spent four hours rescuing a Flying Dutchman; evidently the boat capsized at about five o’clock but had insufficient buoyancy to be righted, so the whaler team slowly towed the upside-down boat in from the capsize location—three miles outside the breakwater. A lifeguard boat met them there pumped the boat dry, but all in the dark; it was nine o’clock that night when whaler and FD got back to the yacht club. ABYC Commodore Tick Weber—who was reported to have assisted in the rescue of the FD—mentioned the regatta in his “Commodore’s Comments.” Not only did he congratulate the co-chairs, Alan and Mary Smith, and the other ABYC ...continued next page

sou’wester • may 2007 • page 4 history(cont)

volunteers, he mentioned a still-recognized by-product of the event: new members. OCR, he said, “invariably brings in prospective members who may not own Olympic class boats but who are attracted b the high degree of boating skills we represent.” In other news, a number of ABYC juniors were reported as having done well in Naples Sabot regattas. At ABYC’s Mickey Mouse Regatta, Anne Bloemeke took first in the A’s, just ahead of brother Steve, while Jennifer Ellis touched out Latham Bell for the top two spots in the B fleet. Andy Merrill was second in the C division and Ron Rosenberg third. In the Spring Tune Up Regatta, however, both Anne and Jennifer slipped to second place in their respective divisions, Anne to Long Beach Yacht Club’s John Shadden and Jennifer to fellow ABYC Junior Dave Guder. Helen and Eleanor, the club’s office staff, asked the fleets to be sure to mail newsletters, notices and so on to the office: they were getting a lot of calls from members and non-members alike asking about fleet activities...new gate transmit- ters were in demand, but out of stock; they were $30 apiece back in 1977, and they needed to order at least 30 at a time...Ted Flood of Kenady’s Men’s Store in Belmont Shore would be showing the latest in men’s sportswear at a Father’s Day breakfast put on by the ABYC First Mates, the women’s group at the club; serving and cleanup would be done by the ABYC Juniors... TWENTY YEARS AGO: There was huge coverage of OCR in the SOU’WESTER of May 1987. It was a big deal: 193 boats and 434 competitors in eight Olympic and three Pan Am Games classes; over 200 volunteers staffed the three-day regatta on what seems to have been on three circles, one each staffed by ABYC, LBYC and Seal Beach Yacht Club race committees. Winners of medals included a number of well-known names, including Morgan Reeser and Dave Ullman in men’s 470, J.J. Isler in women’s 470, Brian Ledbetter and Lawrence Lemieux in Finn, Paul Foerster in Flying Dutchman and Vince Brun in . There were several ABYC members racing, and some medalled. Pease Herndon—now Pease Glaser—got silver in women’s 470 while Pete Melvin earned gold in Tornado. Among the Pan Am classes invited, Mike Segerblom won in Snipes while Chuck Queen won in Laser. Of some interest was a comment made by the publicity guy of the regatta. “I observed the strain a regatta of this size can place on a yacht club,” he observed. He then went onto editorialize: “with only slightly more than ten per cent of the participants from ABYC (and then mostly in Snipes), I believe we should closely examine the motivations for hosting this regatta. We must decide as a yacht club if we want it to be a premier…event or perhaps something a little more modest, or even not at all.” Ann Exley’s “From the Pages of History” column reported an incredibly intriguing tale from May of 1928. Evidently, a director of ABYC tendered his resignation, was apparently convinced to reconsider, hosted a board meeting at his home two days later and there was elected Commodore. Inquiring minds wonder what that was all about. Ann further reported that, on May 25, 1928, a housewarming party was held to celebrate the opening of ABYC’s first clubhouse and open the 1928 racing season. Was that ABYC’s first Opening Day? ABYC’s Summer Junior Program was ramping up, with Jim MacLeod and Chris Redman the chief instructors and Bob Anderson the program supervisor; seven weeks of instruction cost only $125—only $100 for a second or subsequent members of the same ABYC family—and only $150 for non-ABYC members...Easter Week of 1987 was busy, with the CISA Advanced Racing Clinic, followed by ABYC’s Easter Seminar, followed by the Easter Brunch...and “Driftwood,” a gossipy column by Betty Newton devoted to travel and family news, reported that C. Roy Conn, Dan Ryan and Earl Bowman returned from a fishing trip to Mexico; for those of us who knew that trio of raconteurs, that must have been quite a trip... TEN YEARS AGO: There were 118 boats in nine classes for the 37th Olympic Classes Regatta, according to the SOU’WESTER of May 1997. Three courses were laid, one each run by ABYC (Mike McDade was PRO), Los Angeles Yacht Club (Langon Parrill was PRO) and the U.S. Sailing Center of Long Beach (Mike Segerblom was PRO). Coverage reported on winners, and again this time two ABYC members medalled: Caroll-Ann Alie—now Rosenberg—in women’s sailboard and Bob Falk in Laser. Steve Flam, who served as Competition Chairman for the event, wrote a wonderful article entitled, “A Perspective on the OCR While Hearing Your Name Over the Loudspeaker for the 25th Time and Four People in Front of You Asking Questions You Cannot Answer.” He goes on to say how meetings started five months in advance to plan things and how so many volunteers did so many remarkable things. He finishes off with thoughts that have been in the minds of many regatta chairs. “Am I glad I did it?” he asks. “Absolutely! Would I do it again? Probably—but under an assumed name.” The Easter Brunch was apparently a success, with more than 300 diners; the event was chaired by Chris Ericksen, with Stacy Conn and John McNaughton in key support roles...Jeff and Pamela Merrill welcomed the arrival of the latest in that clan, John Charles Merrill, who was born on March 19...new member- Sou’Wester DEADLINE ships in progress included that of Cole and Yvonne Price, with their children Michael and Deborah and their Santa Cruz 27, and Friday, May 18, 2007 is the deadline young Doug McLean, a Cal 20 sailor... for the May Sou’Wester. Chris Ericksen, Club Historian

sou’wester • may 2007 • page 5 the bay clogger (junior sailing) he summer is nearly here and as spring wraps up, we have a moment to catch our breath in the junior sailing office and thank all the people who have helped us get the ABYC junior program running so strong and who continually strive to Tmake it better and keep equipment maintained. Thank you to our Junior Advisory Board: Doug Jorgensen, Tom Newton, Brad Bolger, Marc Schryer Sr., John Robinson, Latham Bell, Chas Merrill, Jeff Merrill (also our board liaison), John Massey, and our chair, Bob Kirstine. All of these members put in a tremendous amount of heart, passion, and work from John Massey’s countless acts of volunteerism (including working on adding 30 new sabot dollies, a new bay barge, constant trailering) to Jeff Merrill’s consistent communication between all the many fleets and boards at ABYC. I am very lucky to have them all to work with and they have been instrumental to making the junior program what it is. It is also important to note certain other members (though the list is far too long to put everyone in this article – please know that every one of you who have helped is appreciated). Steve Smith & Vann Wilson have been so supportive and important to the development of our junior Laser Radial fleet along with all the Laser sailors at ABYC. Bob Chubb has always been a great help in designing our racks and dollies. Of course our board of directors and race management have always worked extremely hard to make ABYC and the racing here amazing. Finally, our parent base I’m convinced is one of the very best. I am thankful for all you do for our program and I speak on behalf of the program when I say thank you; it is truly appreciated! Help Needed for the Junior Program! In the same breath as thanking the membership and people who are so instrumental to our program, the junior program needs to ask for help for this summer. We are expecting a very full program and are in need of finding sabot and laser space in the yard. If you have a sabot or laser in the yard and would be willing to take it home for the summer to allow a student to store their boat for the summer or if you would like to sell your boat, please email the info to [email protected] with “Boat for sale” in the subject line or call the junior office at (562) 434-9955 and we will try to find it a home with a junior or otherwise. Boats currently listed for sale through the junior program can be found online at the junior website on www.fleetracing.net (scroll to the bottom of the junior website home page and there is a link for boats for sale). We are also looking for housing for some of our out of town coaches and if you would be willing to house a coach from Ireland or Argentina for the summer, or lend a bike to them for summer transportation, please contact Brad Schaupeter – junior director (contact info below). Summer Program If you want to sign up a student for the ABYC Junior Sailing Program, you can find forms in the main office of ABYC or on the junior website at www.fleetracing.net. Again, we expect a very full program, so please register quickly. We will see you this summer! Brad Schaupeter, ABYC Junior Sailing Director Email: [email protected]

membershipreport Metle Asper photo his month we welcome Charlie Buckingham as a junior member. Charlie is known to many of you as a very accomplished Junior Sailor Tfrom Newport Beach. We have posted 6 applicants for regular membership. They are: Kristine & Duncan McRae, sponsored by Bill McDannel, Art & Tiffany Vasenious, sponsored by Nicole Peoples-Moffet, Marcel & Jennifer Hughes, sponsored by Dave Smith, Brian & Heather Rusaw, sponsored by Mike Baumann, Eric & Becky Chadwick, sponsored by Ed Spotskey, and Joe Orte, sponsored by Ron Wood. Thanks to all of you who have introduced your friends to the club, and sponsored new members. Our promotion for regular membership continues, with the primary spon- sor getting $250 ABYC bucks (see Merle Asper’s column fro April for details). Summer is just around the corner, and now would be a great time to bring your friends and colleagues to the club to check out our sailing events and enjoy our improved food and hospitality service. Mike Baumann Jim and Anita Cole receive their burgee at the April General Membership Meeting sou’wester • may 2007 • page 6 new fleet? e have a new unofficial fleet at the Yacht Club. It is a One Design Radio Controlled Sailboat fleet. It all started when Commodore Jim Bateman wrote a paragraph about the RC fleet. I was wondering what he meant W by RCs? I used to be into Radio Controlled Planes and thought he meant a radio controlled sailboat fleet. When I asked, he mentioned the Race Committee’s fleet of boats, Patience, and the Whalers. He cocked his head and looked at me kind of funny, the way you know he can…oh well. While relating this story to a group at an ABYC happy hour one Friday night there were quite a few interested in Ra- dio Controlled Sailing. I did some research. The price of boats var- Under sail ies a lot. I had to fig- ure out what price-point might attract club members. Several fine model boat fleets are already established in Southern California, but I did not think that was a requirement. If we have enough sailors at the club all sailing the same boat it should not matter what anybody else is sailing. ABYC has a penchant for one design and big fleets of good sailors so I could look for anything. Merle figuring it out I was able to find a fairly nice boat called a Nirvana II. It is 32 inches long, comes with all the radio gear, three colors, red, blue and yellow. Or it can be repainted with Krylon. With the shipping it is about $200. It can be taken apart and put together fairly easily. It comes in a box that can be reused for trans- port. There are as many as 18 different frequencies, more if we use FM radios. That meant we could potentially have that many people all on the water at the same time. I was thinking that getting 10 people interested would be great! I had about 8 interested at that time. As soon as I told a few people about them a buzz started and we are now at 43 boats! That is more than 10% of the entire membership of the club. I had no idea that this would happen, but pleased that it has. We will not all be able to be on the water at the same time, as the allotment of frequencies will not allow it. It is as much fun watching the sailing as participating, so it should not be a problem. Just think of this as one more social event at the club. We can be shoulder to shoulder on the dock doing the thing that the club is famous for…racing sailboats. It does not matter what your chosen class is, or if you are still racing. With these everyone can test skills on a common field. We have already taken delivery on 36 boats and the rest are on their way. I have heard nothing but good things so far. The plan is to have informal races on Yeah...it’s pretty cool!! Friday afternoons, before happy hour in the basin of the Yacht Club. Even if you do not have a boat I think you will find it entertaining to watch. If you just need to have one see me, or wait until someone is bored with theirs. Dan DeLave, [email protected]

sou’wester • may 2007 • page 7 adopt-a-beach arth Day 2007 was celebrated early by a few intrepid souls: Al and Jeanne Nelson, Mack Mills and Yvonne Lindemann. Kelly, Roberto, and Lisa who managed to come up with a scrumptious breakfast backed them up. The ELong Beach Parks and Recreation Department, our partners in environmental projects, supplied bags and gloves. You may be interested to know that California still has a few pristine beaches left such as La Jolla and Laguna. However, Long Beach has to classify as one of the trashiest. The reason for this is the raging Los Angeles River, which most of the time trickles, but after storms, rushes down to the harbor area carrying any debris it can pick up. This weekend, it seemed to be a plethora of tennis balls. Are there courts on its banks? Back to the beaches: you may consider it unfortunate that we have to endure this onslaught of flotsam and jetsam, but actually its lucky in that it gives us an opportunity to eliminate a litter of the Styrofoam that fills our precious ocean. This is a good project and our location makes it effective. But, oh my aching back! As Yvonne Lindemann noticed, it’s only the seniors that come out. She suggested the fleets each send a representative: Lasers, Finns, Lidos, Cal 20s. The Juniors could make a treasure hunt of it. They could even play tennis afterwards. Hope this inspires you all to come out July 21st from 9-11, the next Adopt-A-Beach Day! Thanks to the Board and all the encouragement they supply through Jim, Merle, and Dan DeLave. Barbara Gabriel

jessicaselvin ost 20-year-olds request cash for themselves on their birthday, but for Huntington Beach native Jessica Selvin, the request was simply a reason to give back to MThe Children’s Clinic Serving Children and Their Families, in Long Beach. Selvin, a member of the Alamitos Bay Yacht Club, asked guests attending her 20th birthday party to donate to the clinic as an alternative to receiving presents. “There are too many families that keep their children home when they need medical help because of lack of insurance,” Selvin explains. “The Children’s Clinic is doing a wonderful thing by providing health care for not only those children, but for their parents as well. I was happy to show my support by raising money for the clinic.” Jessica Selvin and dad Glenn enjoy their joint birthday party...her 20th, his 50th. raleighmoffett Men’s Day aleigh passed away on April 21 after a short June 3rd illness. R Be there!!

2007 OFFICERS & DIRECTORS

Commodore Jim Bateman Volunteers Bill McDannel [email protected] [email protected] Vice Commodore Glenn Selvin Bob Anderson [email protected] [email protected] Rear Commodore Merle Asper Treasurer George Kornhoff/Mary Montz [email protected] Junior Rear Commodore A.J.Robinson/Laura Newton Jr. Staff Commodore Nicole Peoples-Moffett Fleet Surgeon Dr. Jeff Cohen [email protected] Judge Advocate Tom Ramsey Fleet Captain John Massey Port Captain Dave Myers/Jeff Ives [email protected] Sou’wester Editor/Layout Sharon Pearson Secretary Dan DeLave [email protected] ABYC Phone (562) 434-9955 Directors Fax (562) 434-2267 Junior Program Jeff Merrill Homepage www.abyc.org [email protected] Email [email protected]

sou’wester • may 2007 • page 8 ocr and youthmultihull champs Dan DeLave photos his could also be titled “What have I done down at the club lately”. On Friday March 30, 2007 I went out on a whaler and watched the SL-16s get wrung out buy the sailors racing in the US Youth Multihull Championship. I was ready to do Trescue duty if needed. There were plenty of capsizes but the SL-16s are easily righted and reloaded. Saturday March 31, I went out on Patience and did scoring with Sharon Pearson and Kevin Baumann. When not writing sail numbers it was a real joy watching Mark Townsend and Sandy Toscin manage a race course. It looked like they have been doing this for years. Oh my! They have been doing this for years. Sunday I went out with Mike Baumann driving Rich Roberts to both courses. We were officially the Photo Boat and went where there was the most action. My official assignment for the regatta was to organize the on the water volunteers, the Race Committee boats and equipment. Dave Meyers did a great job of organizing all the bits and pieces that are needed to put on a regatta like this. Vern Peterson, John Massey and George Caddle made sure Patience and all our boats other boats were up and running. Dan Delave was the event chair for the Olympic Class Regatta and combining the OCR and the US Youth Multihull Championship was a challenge he readily accepted. There was some resistance to combin- ing the Olympic Classes regatta with the Youth Multihull Championship but once Race Management and the Board of Directors bought into the concept things moved along smartly. Chris Ericksen did all the heavy lifting with the Notices of Race and the Sailing Instructions. This Youth Multihull Championship introduced the SL 16 to the US. The boats were locally built especially for this event. It is a beach catamaran designed primarily for youth sailing. The boat is light-weight with a modern sail plan, has double trapezes and a respectable sized spinnaker. As an observer my impression of the boat is that it provides a really exciting platform for juniors. However, it is in no way an easy boat to sail. I saw crews capsize in several creative ways. I saw one really exciting pitch pole, several stuff rotate spills in addition to simple blow overs. However the boats are very easy to get on there bottoms again. Once they are up they show little tendency to blow over again. But the really exciting thing about the boats is that they go really fast and really look good doing it. There is some hope among the powers that be that a lot of these boats get sold and a circuit develops much like the CFJ circuit. Naturally a strong junior circuit would feed into the multihull world. Jerry Montgomery and Chris Erickson split PRO duties on the Youth Multihull course with Jerry and Sally Dally doing most of the timing and recording. The PROs were scheduled to get in 12 races in two days of racing and they did it with seven minutes to spare. The traditional part of the ABYC Olympic Classes Re- gatta consisted of racing among respectable fleets of Finns, La- sers in addition to five Stars. PRO Mark Townsend and his Posse on Patience did their usual high quality job. They used a slightly different course configuration. The up side was that Mark Townsend was able to reduce the number of Race Committee boats and cycle the fleets through a little quicker. Kevin Taugher led the Laser fleet after the first day. Some will recall that he won the Oday Trophy in 2005. He was heard to say. “I still got it!” The twenty three-boat Finn class had some spirited rac- ing with the conditions just about perfect. I think there were only one or two capsizes. Unless you have been away for a couple of years it’s hard to miss the fact that the Finn class is growing. Hopefully they will soon apply for fleet status at ABYC. The Multihull Youth Championship will be held some- where else next year but the Olympic Classes Regatta will happen again next year. There is talk that the Olympic Classes Regatta might be moved to the fall next year but that move is still in the discussion stages. I must thank all the volunteers that pitched in and made it all work. Quite a few folks stepped up at the last minute and I want to particularly thank them. I remember Dan Delave saying with a week or so to go. “We are so screwed!” But actually, everything came together and the Regattas came off fairly well. Bob Anderson

sou’wester • may 2007 • page 9 hails fromthe fleets hile April marked the start of KEEL BOAT FLEET ON WATCH the busy season for Alamitos Bay’s Etchells, all the action onderful news for the Keel Boat W came too late in the month to report here. Fleet meeting May, 11, we will Our 2007 Fleet Championship Series and World’s Qualifier have a great speaker, Michael W Series was scheduled to kick off on Sunday, April 22, with Salvaneschi, author and photographer of a terrific book, a one-day fleet race. At press time the turnout looks to be ‘Islands, Oceans and Dreams’. The Keel Boat program is a good one, with at least one rookie team on hand; tune in taken from Michael’s sailing adventures. Michael single next month to see if Bruce Golison and Steve Flam made it handed his boat, ‘Mika’, for seven years around the world to the starting line, sailing the Etchells formerly owned by and his book chronicles the storms, near tragedies, see- Tim Hogan and currently on charter out of the United States ing wonderful new places and enjoying the people he en- Sailing Center of Long Beach, to which the boat was do- countered. If you have a friend(s) who enjoys great sailing nated. adventures, now is the time to invite them to the May meet- The regatta was to be the capper of a busy week- ing. end for the Etchells fleet. The fleet was scheduled to host Many thanks to Vern Peterson, Chairman of the the April ABYC General Membership meeting on Friday, Spring Cruise, for arranging the dinner cruise to Shoreline April 20. Fleet Captain Jeff Powell and Fleet Secretary/ Yacht Club. Also thanks to Don and Bobbie Hodges for Treasurer Gordon Dudley lined up a great speaker: Peter bringing Bobbie’s Hunter 33.6, ’DIXIECAT’, as the before Damish, who regaled and informed us of Shackleton’s fa- dinner ‘Cocktail’ boat. As this cruise has not happened as mous story of adventure and survival, was scheduled to tell we go to press, but will happen before the May Sou’wester of his own experiences aboard the replica of Captain James comes out, I can only tell you that past Spring Cruise’s to Cooks’ ENDEAVOUR Shoreline Yacht Club have been super and I’ll bet this one The next day was to have been a junior Etchells is also. day, but it was called off. Stay tuned for news of a future A brief report on some of our members who have event where the Etchells Fleet invites ABYC Juniors more been, or are, in the local hospitals: accustomed to dinghies to learn the pleasures of a thirty- Wendy Siegal is home recovering from a benign foot keelboat. tumor adjacent to her brain. May is also looking busy for the fleet. A whole Joe Riddick is in the hospital as a result of a very slew of fleet members will be participating in ABYC’s Open- bad auto accident. ing Day on Saturday, May 5. Plans are for the fleet to set Let’s hope by the time this article gets to every- up the most popular food station in the event, featuring Tim one, via the May Sou’wester, that they are well and back at Carter’s famous barbecue. Tune in to see who will repre- the May Keel Boat Fleet meeting. sent the fleet at the Club Championship Regatta, sailed Jim Wright, former ABYC member, passed away this year in brand-new CFJ’s from the U.S. Sailing Center. March 30. Jim sailed the bay in the late ‘30s and early ‘40s The next weekend will see the second regatta of in Nationals and Skimmerettes, (or Rainbows) plus many the 2007 Fleet Championship Series and World’s Qualifier other sailboats in his latter years. He is survived by his wife Series. And ABYC’s Memorial Day Regatta will wrap things Betty, who shared sailing their sailboats and was a Sabot up the weekend of May 23-27. sailor at ABYC. Betty Wright is also the sister of Maggie But May also will see the beginning of Seal Beach Caddle. Yacht Club’s Pop Top Series of Thursday-night races. This MARK MAY 11, ON YOUR CALENDARS! The May has become a popular series for ABYC’s Etchells, with as meeting is going to be special. As usual the meeting will many as ten teams taking part over the course of the sum- start with a potluck dinner. Bring enough for 8 people and mer. don’t forget the serving spoon. So, as spring waxes and summer approaches, the See you at the meeting, year is heating up for Alamitos Bay’s Etchells. Stay tuned George C. for more news. Chris Ericksen

t’s mid-May and that can only mean one thing: Lido Twilights have arrived! The Lido Olympic Classes Regatta I fleet invites all local sailors to come out and race every Wednesday night at ABYC. huck Tripp from ABYC placed second in this year’s Our racing is very diverse. We have all types Olympic Classes Regatta. There would no doubt of sailors out on the racecourse. From the hardcore racers Chave been two ABYC Laser racers in the top three, to the beer can racers. Whatever your style of racing is, had KevinTaugher – fresh from an impressive performance you’re sure to fit in with us! Don’t have a lido? Then borrow in the 505 Worlds in Australia – contested the second day one! Twilights are always a fun event filled with beer! of racing. As it was, Kevin stood in first place with three Mark Ryan bullets and a second at the end of day one. The eventual sou’wester • may 2007 • page 10 hails fromthe fleets winner of the regatta was John Pierce, a long way from home, representing Ithica YC. Kevin’s first day scores still placed him tenth with other ABYC racers Jim Kirk and Jorge Suarez also participating. Here is Chuck’s report from the regatta: We had perfect conditions on Saturday, 10 to 12 knots, although I would have preferred a few more knots of wind. Kevin Taugher and John Pierce had their own private races going on for 1st and 2nd position. The rest of the fleet was more even with everyone racing real close. We sailed the Olympic quad courses which worked really well. The Stars, Lasers, and Finns raced on the same course; however, we never ran into another fleet. PRO Mark Townsend favored the leeward end of the starting line by about 5 to 10 degrees. This usually works well because the right side of the course is normally favored. This; however, wasn’t the case on initial beats all day. The left side was paying off more then the right. Kevin and John were able to start well at the leeward end and get to the favored side of the course. They also did a better job sailing downwind. Sunday was another picture perfect day with a little less wind, probably 8 to 10 knots. Kevin wasn’t able to sail because of family commitments. John Pierce again dominated the day although Adam Deermount, from Newport Harbor YC, pushed him and actually won the first race. He made a run at me for second place overall but got hung-up with a lot of other boats at the leeward end on the line during the start of the last race big raft up! With a head start, I was able to hang on for second overall with Adam third for the regatta. Jim Kirk had these thoughts about OCR: Kevin Taugher dominated the first day and did not plan to sail the second day. Chuck Tripp accelerated well off the line and always seemed to work his way toward the front of the fleet. He sailed a very consistent regatta. Adam Deermont sailed very well on the second day. He also was able to recover from back in the fleet to competitive positions at the front. Laser Midwinters West Three ABYC Laser racers took their boats over to California Yacht Club in Marina Del Rey to compete in the 2007 Laser Midwinters West, March 23-25. Top ABYC finisher in the 64 boat fleet was Chris Raab in 8th place. Other ABYC Laser racers competing in this competitive fleet, were Cameron Summers and Jorge Suarez. California Laser Masters Regatta Jorge Suarez was the sole ABYC Laser racer to attend the annual California Laser Masters regatta hosted by Mission Bay YC in San Diego, April 14th-15th. Jorge acquitted himself nicely with a twelfth place finish in the 29 boat fleet and securing third place in the Apprentice Masters division. ABYC 2007 Laser Fleet Championship Standings Chuck Tripp, by virtue of his performance in the E.E. Manning and runner-up finish in the Olympic Classes Regatta, is top scorer to date for the fleet championship. Chuck is followed in order by Jim Kirk and Jorge Suarez Steven Smith, ABYC Laser Fleet Captain

ne of the joys of being Fleet Captain is to see that there are enough volunteers to man the Race Committee Staff. With Joe Riddick down for a while recovering from an automobile accident, it O canbe an egregious task. Finding a skilled whaler operator is not easy. When all else fails, ask family. So Isabelle asked Robin Lounsberry Townsend. Robin was able to sandwich in “rescue boat” between chores of taking hubby, Mark to the airport and attending a party at 4:00 p.m. Thanks Robin! We also appreciate Al Nelson, our PRO, who managed to get in three good races while ready to hoist the “y” or lifejacket flag if needed. Jinx Ellis, back from Hawaii, expertly handled the timing of the starts. This second Championship Race was contested by Lee Berlinger, John Ellis, Mike Gass, Dianne Gonzales, Jennifer Kuritz, Mack Mills, Mary Riddick, and Bob Ware. The winners: (1) Bob Ware (2) Mary Riddick (3) Diane Gonzales. Lee Berlinger was first in the second race but had to retire in the 3rd due to boat repairs. There are two races remaining in the Championship Series: May 20th and June 17th Isabelle conducted the Sabot Meeting asking George Caddle for a report on the racks. He said the prototypes had been moved to a new location in the yard, but there was no change. However, the new Bay Barge was making great progress under the direction of John Massey and Latham Bell. It can be seen in the side yard. Other notices: Twilights start May 3rd. John McNaughton will do PRO duty. Men’s day is June 3rd. George asked for help in having “Open House” aboard the Patience Opening Day. John Ellis will display his Sabot nearby. Others can help out as needed. Rowell Greene received 40 yes votes for judges on the water at the Nationals in June at Mission Bay Yacht Club. Our good wishes continue to follow Joe and Wendy Siegal as they continue their recuperation. Jesus’ wonderful Chicken Mole reminds us to invite all members to our monthly dinners. Please call Isabelle for questions, ideas or suggestions Barbara Gabriel

sou’wester • may 2007 • page 11 PRSRT STD U. S. Postage Alamitos Bay Yacht Club PAID 7201 East Ocean Boulevard Long Beach, CA Long Beach, California 90803 Permit No. 685 more easter photos Rob Rice photos

The Rice kids with the Easter Bunny!

The “older” kids get ready to hunt eggs in the boat yard

MORE YOUTH MULTIHULL CHAMPS PHOTOS

Dan DeLave photos

Peninsula Summer Concert Schedule

5:30 - 7:30 pm - 72nd Place Park JUNE 10 ...... Weenie Roast/concert with Flight 6875 JUNE 17 ...... King Salmon JULY 8 ...... Big Box of Men JULY 22 ...... HoDads AUGUST 5 ...... Gregg Young & The 2nd Street Band AUGUST 26 ..... Elm St. Band sou’wester • may 2007 • page 12 ocr and youthmultihull champs California weather just what Florida sailors needed Rich Roberts photos

alifornia must have cured whatever ailed Alexander Stewart and Evan Miller as the Panama City, Fla. sailors won US Sailing’s Youth Multihull Championship for the Arthur J. Stevens Trophy Saturday and Sunday. C Eighteen teams competed on new Nacra SL16 catamarans in conjunction with host Alamitos Bay Yacht Club’s annual Olympic Classes Regatta that featured Finns, Lasers and a handful of Stars. The youngsters—boys and girls ages 13 to 18—sailed inside the breakwater while the OCRs ran outside off Seal Beach, and both enjoyed Long Beach’s fresh sea breeze of 10 of 12 knots all weekend. While Stewart, 18, and Miller, 16, edged first-time catamaran competitors Andrew Mason, 17, and crew Chris Segerblom, 14, of nearby Orange County by half a point, the OCR classes were runaways for veteran Darrell Peck, 42, Gresham, Ore. in the 25- boat Finn fleet, John Pearce, 24, , among 18 Lasers, and Erik Gidecis and crew Michael Marshal of Bahia Corinthian YC in Newport Beach, who swept six races among five Stars before sitting out the finale. Stewart arrived in town last week carrying a stomach flu that was running through his family, and when it hit Miller Friday their participation was doubtful. “I thought we wouldn’t be able to do it,” Miller said, “but we felt better Saturday, and [Sunday] we were fine. I guess we’ll leave whatever we had in California.” They stayed at Mason’s house, which despite their illness must have benefited both teams. Mason and Segerblom told them about sailing at Long Beach, while Stewart and Miller offered tips about sailing multihulls to their rivals who had never sailed anything with more than one hull until six days before the event. Mason said, “When someone told us the Youth Multihull Championship was here we said, ‘That sounds like fun.’ “ They flipped four times on a windy practice day last week, started the regatta with 2-6-2-2 finishes Saturday and then won a race Sunday to give the Floridians a run to the wire. Peck won three of the seven Finn races in conditions made to order for his taste in breeze. “I love coming to this place,” he said. “It was too windy when we were practicing last week but on the weekend it was just right.” Peck has long held his own among the U.S.’s top Finn sailors without nabbing the country’s sole Olympic berth. He knows he may be a longshot, but said, “I’m always trying to make the team and have had a lot of fun doing it—and I’m going to be at Newport Beach for the Trials [in October], and anything can happen.” Pearce, a sailing coach at San Francisco YC, defended the Laser title he won last year, but he gave a nod to ABYC’s Kevin Taugher, who won three of four races Saturday and then was unable to sail Sunday because of a personal commitment. John Robinson photo of Stars “It was a shame that Kevin didn’t sail,” Pearce said. “He was awesome.” Pearce, who was third in the U.S. Nationals in Texas, also has an Olympic ambition that he’ll chase at the Laser Trials in Newport, R.I. this fall. Complete results available at abyc.org Rich Roberts cisaclinic CISA Clinic’s last lesson: sportsmanship counts, too he world-class instructors weren’t the only role models at the California International Sailing Association’s windy 30th annual Advanced Racing Clinic concluding last weekend at Alamitos Bay Yacht Club. A few of the students also Tstepped up. One was Michael Menninger, 17, of Costa Mesa. At the awards ceremony Sunday following the championship regatta on the final day Menninger received first prize—a sailing wetsuit—for winning the Laser Radial class. Then moments later it was realized there had been a scoring error in his favor and against Philip Crain, who was already on his way home to Houston, Texas. Crain, also 17, had been scored a maximum of 20 points for not finishing the third race, but the coaches suspected otherwise, and Menninger told them, “He finished no worse than sixth in that race, maybe better.” That was later confirmed with a phone call to Crain, and his revised fifth- place finish gave him a two-point edge. Menninger is the son of Bill Menninger, a well-known offshore and big boat sailor. “You win some and lose some,” the younger Menninger said later. “[Crain] did sail a pretty good regatta.” Meanwhile, the usual CISA Clinic Sportsmanship awards voted by the coaches and the sailors’ peers were presented to Philip Lozier, Coronado, in the Radial class; Cody Shevitz, Santa Barbara, 29ers; Andrew Mason, Corona del CISA says thanks to ABYC Mar, International 420s; Matt Wenner, Los Angeles, Lasers; Nicole Popp, Tampa, Fla., Club 420s, and Ryan Lee, San Diego, CFJs. There were 118 sailors ages 13 to 18 from 16 states stretching from Hawaii to Maine. All were selected based on the résumés. About one-third were girls. Several were sons or daughters of well-known successful sailors, and Ian Towill, 15, is the younger brother of Mark Towill, 18, a member of Roy E. Disney’s Morning Light team currently training for the Transpacific Yacht Race to Hawaii, the Towills’ home. All 30 CISA clinics have been at ABYC. CISA co-founder and president Tim Hogan presented a plaque to club Commodore Jim Bateman in appreciation for the hospitality and use of the sailing-oriented facility over three decades. Hogan, who also is president of the Interscholastic Sailing Association (ISSA), governing body for high school sailing in the U.S., said, “It was probably our windiest clinic, and I think the 30th year is a big deal. It’s such a unique situation when you have Olympic sailors and college coaches instructing these kids.” Director Robbie Dean assembled a staff of instructors that included former Olympians and current campaigners. The wind blew hard for the on-water drills the first three days, especially on the first day Thursday when the anemometers at the club pegged at 40 knots and all but the International 420s remained inside the inner bay or at the dock. Back on shore one young girl said, “I just want to die on dry land.” But others enjoyed it, including Maggie Shea of Illinois who sailed a tricky 29er with Stephanie Roble of Wisconsin and said, “It was so fun!” Instructors don’t miss a thing For the racing on the last day it topped 20 knots, churned up the two race courses inside the breakwater and brought another exercise—righting a capsized boat—into frequent play. “It must have been rough out there,” CISA administrator Marylee Goyan said. “We have a bunch of lunches left.” Class winners included Danny Cayard of Kentfield, Calif., and crew Max Binstock Belvedere, Calif., in 29ers. Because he is 18, it was the third and last CISA clinic for the son of Paul Cayard, but he believes he benefited significantly. “I wouldn’t know how to train as hard,” he said. “The work ethic is learned here.” That was the emphasis of a presentation Saturday night by Howie Hamlin, a dominant skiff sailor and the International 14 world champion who lives just up the street. “I thought that was a great talk,” Cayard said. “He told us how hard he had to work to win world championships. It doesn’t just happen.” The closest contested class was the CFJs, where Cameron Forsberg, 17, and crew AJ Robinson, 16, of Long Beach came from behind to win by one point over three rivals within two points. (Editor’s note...AJ is an ABYC junior and Junior Rear Commodore) Another speaker was George Szabo of San Diego, the U.S.’s highest-ranking sailor in the Olympic Star class at No. 4. Complete results available at abyc.org Rich Roberts