February 2017 Official Publication of Alamitos Bay Yacht Club Volume 90 • Number 2 2016 mostimproved sailor

ynthia Heavrin, a member of the ABYC Senior Fleet was awarded the SCWSA’s “Most Improved Sailor” trophy for 2016. “Cindy” has been Sabots Cfor approximately five years. She said when she started, racing was a challenge. During one race she was in last place and had trouble making the weather . To her dismay, she hit it and had to take a penalty turn. That doesn’t happen anymore. Now, she is in the thick of the action, getting good starts and sailing like an old timer. The Southern California Women’s Sailing Association was organized in 1974 to promote interclub in Southern California. The organization is comprised of women and men sailors, age 18 and up, who race Naples Sabots. Currently, five regattas are held during the year at various yacht clubs, which includes The Ladies (and Gents) Regatta in October at ABYC. The “Most Improved Sailor” trophy is almost all wood. It highlights two metal Naples Sabots on a wooden beryl. The Trophy was first awarded in 2012 to Carol Pearson, MBYC; in 2013 to John Hauk ABYC; in 2014 to Darin Jayden; SDYC/Dean Macdonald, NHYC, and in 2015 to Dana Fischbeck, NHYC/Dee Van Horne, SDYC. Originally it was used as the Women’s B trophy from 1982-1991 until it was replaced by another trophy. In 2012 it was rededicated and has been presented to the Most Improved Sailor ever since. It will be on display at Alamitos Bay until this coming October. atticclean out

Annual attic clean-up, inventory and organization of ABYC event decorations by part of the SAC team; Lori Vanskyhock, Lesley Bunting, Candace Fisher, Carla Higbee (not pictured), Carol Ruegg, and Dana Bell, in preparation for a fun filled 2017.

sav e the date inside Happy Hour ...... February 3, 10, 24 Manager’s Corner ...... 2 Sunset Saturday...... February 4, 11, 18, 25 Commodore’s Compass ...... 2 Superbowl Party ...... February 5 Rear View ...... 4 Ukelele Lessone...... February 7 Fleet Captain’s Log ...... 4 Membership Meeting...... February 17 Junior Sailing...... 4-6 Midwinters Regagga ...... February 18 & 19 Rules Quiz #27...... 7 & 9 Club ABYC ...... March 3 Membership ...... 8 Manning Regatta ...... March 4 & 5 Hails From the Fleets ...... 9-11 Full ABYC Calendar sou’wester • february 2017 • page 1 manager’scorner Kelly Rose photo

ell, it seems as though the rainy season is upon us, if January is any indication of how February will turn W out. After weeks of much-needed heavy rainfall here in Southern California, you can be certain that many-a-boats in our yard are filling up with water. So if you are fortunate enough to have a boat in our yard, please don’t forget to come down and show it some love by making sure it’s not filled up with water. And while you’re here, why not grab a burger or a cup of warm soup at the Galley, or even stick around for a drink or two at the bar on a Saturday afternoon? Trust me, it will be time well-spent and you just might make a new friend or two. Speaking of the bar being open on Saturday, have you heard about that yet? Well, it is open every Saturday now, from 3pm to 6pm upstairs, and the official name for the occasion is “Sunset Saturdays”, a quite fitting name, don’t you think? Just another reason for members to come down and enjoy their club even if the weather isn’t cooperating for sailing conditions. So come on down and check it out! We look forward to seeing you down here at the club this Winter! Tori commodore’s compass Kathy Robinson photos

ail on January…HELLO the month of love!! I cannot believe that it is already February, wow! With that said, if you are going to do something sweet for your Valentine you might S want to include the other part of the family- like your boat that is in the yard! We have received roughly 17.8” of rain since October, which is amazing and that means that you immediately need to come down to the club and bail out your Cal 20, , Etchells, Sabot, Opti, , Kayak, , anything that holds water! I have bailed out our Cal 20 5 times over the last couple of months removing tons of water! Hey, while you’re at it bailing out all of that nasty water and schmuck…it may be a good time to reflect on “when was the last time I used this pride of joy?” Anyway, boats need love and I am sure all the boats in the yard need some long deserved attention. Moving along…our Club 13 (which is our hybrid of a happy hour) has now changed its name to Sunset Saturdays. It is intended for members and quest to come down to the club for a drink to enjoy the sunset or catch up with a member that might have been out practicing, training or just messing around on boats or at the club. Come on down and enjoy the killer view! I would like to give a shout out to our juniors and our junior Commodore Ryan Schack for pulling together the dinner and program for the January general membership meeting. A PowerPoint presentation outlined what the juniors have been up to, and each fleet had an opportunity to showcase what they have been up and explain what is coming up, which was a very nice presentation. They also had a 50/50 raffle along with Jennifer Golison helping out selling all of the cool sea bags from Maine- thank you Jennifer for your continued support to the junior program. Well it is that time of year when all of the Opening Day ceremonies and installation dinners are upon us. Trish and I attended LBYC Installation and let’s just say that there was no shortage of hospitality, good food and libations. Our first Opening Day is going to be LAYC and as of this writing it will be Trish and I, Nicole Peoples, Jon and Kathy Robinson and Dave and Stacy Schack. It is a great way to mingle and connect with fellow clubs. Trish, is this enough sunscreen?

...continued next page sou’wester • february 2017 • page 2 morecommodore ...from page 2

Tons going on at the club…have you seen the new ’s that are in the east yard? The Nacra 15 was selected as the world youth class, to be used at the Youth World Sailing Championships for the foreseeable future. The Nacra 15 is essentially a smaller version of the Olympic . The intent is to train out of ABYC to prepare for the 2017 US Youth Championships in Corpus Christi in June. Pete Melvin is spearheading this effort, which is a great opportunity for our youth sailors to get involved with. If you have any questions or want to get on the rotation, contact Pete! How about that Weekly Reader? Stacy Massy is going a great job, (thanks Stacy) and I am having fun posting various videos and jokes. If for some reason you are not receiving the WW, just go onto the main ABYC page and on the lower right corner there is a button to subscribe. Cheers, be kind, and we hope to see you around the club soon… Chuck, Trish and Chelsea

Got Sails? The Juniors are collecting old sails to recycle into duffle bags and other gear. Clean out your boat and garage! Simply drop off your old sails in the designated collection bin in the junior room.

Sou’Wester DEADLINE Help us to Help you! Please keep your e-mail address current February 19, 2017 is the deadline with [email protected] to receive all of the weekly news and events. Thank for the March Sou’Wester. you. 2016/17 OFFICERS & DIRECTORS

Commodore Chuck Clay Treasurer Nicole Peoples/George Kornhoff [email protected] Vice Commodore Kevin Brown Junior Commodore Ryan Schack [email protected] Rear Commodore Dave Schack Fleet Surgeon Dr. Richard Bell [email protected] Judge Advocate Tom Ramsey, Esq. Fleet Captain Steve Mueller [email protected] Fleet Chaplain Don Reiman Secretary [email protected] Port Captain Dave Myers/Christina Hall Jr. Staff Commodore Latham Bell [email protected] Sou’wester Editor/Layout Sharon Pearson Directors [email protected] Junior Program Steve Bloemeke Weekly Reader Stacy Massey [email protected] Membership Dan Milefchik [email protected] [email protected] ABYC Phone (562) 434-9955 Volunteers Rob Stropky Homepage www.abyc.org [email protected] Email [email protected]

sou’wester • february 2017 • page 3 rearview

t has been a busy January. The SAC continues to be very busy in making plans for upcoming events including a wine tasting event tentatively scheduled for April 1st; details are forthcoming. I I’ve had a lot of fun working with the dedicated members of SAC and if you’re are interested in helping out please let Dana Bell know. Any level of commitment is welcome. For those of you who were not able to attend the January General Membership meeting the Juniors put on a great presentation about what they’ve been up to. We have some very dedicated kids representing ABYC who are thankful for all of the support the membership provides. Sunset Saturdays (AKA/formerly Club 13) continues on Saturday afternoons. Whatever the occasion-post sailing, storm-watching or you’re just looking to get out of the house come down and hang-out at ABYC. As a reminder for wine enthusiasts, wine by the bottle is available from the bar. I am looking for volunteers to help out for SCYA Midwinters which will be held February 17th and 18th. We will be hosting several fleets on one circle in the outer harbor. Please contact me if you’re available at [email protected]. fleet captain’slog

reat News. ABYC has been selected to host for the Viper 640 Worlds in 2019. It will be a great event for G the club and our ABYC Viper Fleet. Thank you to Tim Carter and the RMC for all the hard work. Speaking of hard work, RMC will be hosting a Volunteer event soon. If you have helped in the past or wish to do so in the future, you are welcome. Please keep a look out for the date in the weekly reader. Whaler volunteers can now find a list of everything they will need posted on the Race Management container door. We have a list posted for each whaler job on the race course. I hope this will make it a little easier for everyone on race day. Thank you to everyone who helped with the Jr. Invitational Regatta. The weather worked out great for Saturday and a smart choice to cancel was made for Sunday. I know my kids had a great time on the water. A lot of work goes into hosting Junior events and I know the kids appreciate the effort. Go TEAM ABYC Stephen Mueller junior perspectives

ose Bowl Regatta on the weekend of the 7th and 8th was a great time. The sun was out but there was no wind whatsoever. We barely got in 5 races which means that overall the Regatta did not count. The dinner on Saturday Rnight was nice because we got to hear many colleges talk about their sailing programs. Getting to talk to the coaches and college sailors was a great experience and I cannot wait to do this Regatta again next year! Taylor Milefchik, Junior at Poly High School

he Jr. Fleet hosted the General Membership Meeting last Friday, and held a presentation reviewing the past years Jr. racing events and results. Everything from Sabot Nationals to US Youth Champs, it was great to be able to share our Texperiences with club members. Congratulations to new Jr. Member Cole Pomeroy for winning the 50/50 raffle! Thanks to all who showed up and we appreciate your continuing support for the Jr. Program. Ryan Schack West Coast Ambassador,Sailors for the Sea

sou’wester • february 2017 • page 4 the bay clogger Jennifer Kuritz photo

he winter months have been a little slow around the Junior Program, but that hasn’t stopped the ABYC Juniors from sailing and proving that ABYC really is Tthe place to be! sailor, Luke Melvin, placed in the top 3 of his age group at CBYC’s Holiday Regatta, which is part of the Optimist Carrie Series. Luke has also been doing well in the other regattas within the Carrie Series. The Rose Bowl regatta was the weekend of January 7th and 8th and both Long Beach’s Wilson and Poly High Schools participated. Wilson won 1st place in Silver Fleet! Our spring schedule is posted for clinics and classes! We have Learn to Sail, Opti Green, Opti Champ, Sabot, and clinics happening this spring. Visit the Junior Program website for more details! Liz

sou’wester • february 2017 • page 5 junior programboard rep elp Wanted! At the last Junior Advisory Committee (JAC), among other things discussed was the need for a person to Chair the H important activity of Fund Raising. Over the years various activities have helped pull in important dollars to help purchase different things and while there are ongoing fund raising activities done by the Jr. Board of Directors and Jenifer Golison’s awesome Sail Bags effort, there is always more needed to keep our program moving in a positive direction. You can reach out to either Bob Little or myself and ask about more details. I’m at [email protected] . But please do not contact us with specific ideas, what we are really hoping for is to find someone to collect those ideas, vet them, and circle back to the JAC for implementation. There are plenty of great ideas for making money for the program, and we really need someone to champion the effort. 501(c)(3) update- The name “Alamitos Bay Sailing Foundation” can and will be ours for the taking. Kevin Taugher, Christina Hall, and Kathy Melvin have been working hard on the bylaws and making wonderful progress. All of this takes time and takes a step at a time. A change in High School Coaching. Mark Ryan has accepted the position of High School Sailing Coach with us for this Spring Semester and we could not be more delighted. Next time you see him at the club be sure to congratulate him. Welcome aboard Mark! Enjoy the brisk winter winds and see you on the water! Steve Bloemeke, ABYC Board of Directors Jr. Sailing Program

Chuck up front, then Left to right in the pic: Cole Pomeroy, Karina Stropky, Julia Golison, Katie Zieba, Jack Taugher, Julia Carpenter, Taylor Milefchik, Alexis Hall, Brett Peoples, Jake Zieba, Charley Snyder, Ryan Schack, Haley Thompson, Luke Melvin, Roxy Snyder

eight bells he Ellis family is sad to report that Jinx Ellis passed away after a brief illness yesterday, January 23. Jinx has been a member of ABYC since the mid-70s. She began sailing during her school days in Bermuda and T London, sailing Fireflys at University of London Sailing club. At ABYC, she sailed Cal 20s and was active in the keel boat fleet. She spent many hours volunteering on Patience and on the Bay Barge. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that you volunteer for race committee in her memory. A Celebration of Life will be held at Heritage – Dilday Memorial Chapel at 17911 Beach Blvd., Huntington Beach at 2 PM on February 3. The reception will follow at their home. The Ellis, Kuritz and McNaboe Families

sou’wester • february 2017 • page 6 rules answerquiz #27 lue and Yellow are both on starboard. Blue enters the zone clear ahead of Yellow. Blue rounds the offset mark and gybes to port, leaving a half boat length gap between her and the mark. Yellow gybes inside Blue. Blue gybes onto Bport for the downwind leg and contact occurs between Blue and Yellow. Blue protests Yellow claiming she didn’t have mark room.

Answer on page 9

rileygibbs

TEAM USA << =< = = Racing this past week at the 2017 Miami World Cup has been quite the experience! Looking forward to training and racing ahead. Huge thanks to my crew Louisa Chafee for being so willing and forgiving while teaching me to become a cat sailor! And to all of our supporters and sponsors we couldn’t have done it without you! @stfyc @zhikaustralia @harken_inc @marlowropes @foneamerica Riley Gibbs

sou’wester • february 2017 • page 7

View from Second Deck

January 2017 Steve Bloemeke photo membershipreport he following membership candidate has been posted: T Jason Mullen and Kerry Morrigan sponsored by Martin Bookwalter Five new members received their burgees at the January membership meeting:

Regular member, Patty Williams, whose father and grandfather were both Regular members Roger Pond and previous commodores. Marriane Renz sponsored by Steve George and Suzan Brooks

Yachting member Alexis Hall sponsored by Dave Schack

Regular member Keith Polmanteer sponsored by Latham Bell

Junior member Cole Pomeroy sponsored by Latham Bell

Congratulations to our new members – once again a great incoming group that makes our already fantastic ABYC family even better!

sou’wester • february 2017 • page 8 racing rulesquiz #27 ...from page 7

ule 18.2(b) requires that Yellow giving Blue mark-room. When Yellow becomes overlapped inside Blue, Rule 18.2(c) requires that Yellow give mark-room to Blue and also give that Blue room to sail her proper course. Yellow has given RBlue room to round the mark, and allowed Blue to sail her proper course. This does not include room to gybe. Blue should be disqualified under rule 10. Mark Townsend hails fromthe fleets

OME OUT AND JOIN US FOR SABOT SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 12 We would like to invite those 18 or older to come out and join us for Sabot Sunday on C February 12. There are many junior Sabot parents with access to boats. Let’s get those boats off the racks and out on the water one Sunday a month for a fun racing experience. First race starts at 12:00 pm. We usually sail three races and then enjoy dinner after. If you haven’t raced before, don’t worry. We will have a “B” start to make it easier to get into the swing of things. For more information and if you have questions, please email Kathy Weishampel at [email protected].

2 sailors gathered to learn the latest racing rules presented by rules expert Peter Haynes of Newport 3 Beach. New and seasoned racers of several classes enjoyed the in-depth, intense power point presentation. New club member Roger Pond commented that the rule presentation was so clear and concise that it made him realize that he had “joined the right club”. Upcoming events: March 25, Lido Clinic Silent Film Festival/Art Deco Ball Casino Avalon, Fleet Six Golf Tournament Avalon, May 20, 2017 Upcoming Races: Harry Wood March 26 District 1 Championships, Newport Beach August 11-13 Lido Nationals Newport Beach, CA

For Lido Fleet membership, questions or to arrange to charter the Lido Fleet boat, contact Fleet Captain Kathy Reed at [email protected]

Instructions for Member Ads page Submit your business card, 3.5” x 2” .jpg, .tif, .png or .jpg file to the club secretary at [email protected] or the Sou’wester editor at [email protected]

Spring Spruce Up Rates: $50/3 months April 22 & 23 $125/year Billed directly to your club account Contact the club secretary at [email protected] for non-member rates sou’wester • february 2017 • page 9 hails fromthe fleets

aser & Radial Racing Clinics at ABYC A series of Racing Clinics at ABYC are open to all Laser, L and Laser 4.7 sailors. These clinics are for all Laser sailors who are comfortable and confident sailing in the ocean and are organized by our Junior Sailing Director, Elizabeth (Liz) Ackerman, and conducted/coached by Allie Blecher former Junior Sailing Director at ABYC, 2012 U.S. Sailing® Singlehanded Champion and 2009 Inter-Collegiate Sailing Association (ICSA) All- American Sailing Team member from the College of Charleston. The next Clinic is Saturday March 18th. It does help with planning when participants pre-register online, so if you are planning to attend, please register on-line by going to this site:https://goo.gl/forms/6SgHMeunHn7UAkrE3

2017 Clinics are scheduled for the following dates: March 18th May 20th June 3rd

Laser & Radial Racing at ABYC and Elsewhere The first Laser racing of the New Year at ABYC will be the SCYA Midwinter Regatta February 18-19 when ABYC hosts Laser Masters. Laser Masters are racers 35 years and older. Racing is open to both full- rig and Radials. It will be great if we get a good turnout of Radials this year (maybe a separate fleet?), and keep in mind, rig-swapping will be allowed if you feel conditions warrant. Other SCYA Midwinter Regatta Laser and Radial racing will take place February 19th at Westlake Y.C. and February 18th -19th at Mission Bay Y.C. See the SCYA website for more Midwinter Regatta information: http://scyamidwinterregatta.org/ . Steve Smith

sou’wester • february 2017 • page 10 hails fromthe fleets Todd Smith photos

al 20 Fleet 1 (ABYC) recently held a fleet meeting to discuss our C plans for the 2017 season. Our fleet captain, Steve George, led the meeting with a good turnout of active ABYC Cal 20 sailors participating. Several ideas were kicked around in the spirit of how we can rally more of our local boats to participate. If you take a look at the yard, we have a ton of Cal 20’s sprinkled about. Our goal is to get more of these boats out on the water where they belong! One initiative is to identify specific ABYC regattas that will be grouped together to form a 2017 series. Cumulative scores would then be used to determine our series champion with some throw outs allowed in case a boat can’t make one of the regattas. We also discussed which weekend regattas may be designated as one day regattas for the Cal 20 fleet. Several of our sailors prefer some one day regattas so that they can get their other weekend tasks done on the second day. Steve broached the idea of a Cal 20 work day this Spring where everyone can come down for the afternoon to perform their annual boat maintenance and get a hand from other sailors. A consensus position was that a keg of beer would be the Cal 20 sailing is fun! Just ask Phil Soma (left) and Jeff Ives aboard Bravura. appropriate lubricant for the Cal 20 work day. Photo from the 50th anniversary Cal 20 Class Championships hosted by Steve plans to send out a survey to our Cal 20 ABYC fleet to solicit feedback on these ideas and determine our 2017 fleet series events. Our first major regatta will be the SCYRA February Midwinters hosted by ABYC and we look forward to getting at least 10 boats out on the line to kick off the 2017 season. See you on the water! Todd Smith

KEEL BOAT FLEET ON WATCH

reat to see everyone at the January meeting. It has been suggested that we try to arrange the dinner tables to accommodate everyone and eat our dinner together. We then could all participate G in exchanging ideas that the Fleet members might enjoy. With that in mind let’s give it a try at our next meeting which is Friday, March 10, cocktails at 5:30PM and dinner at 6:30. ABYC bar open and Friday night dinner available.

See you there, George

here is no news, except looking forward to SCYA Midwinter’s Regatta at Lake Gregory. No date yet, but usually in May if the ice clears up. Anyone wanting to schedule a practice day of Racin’ in the T Basin or at El Dorado Park, please let us know. Hope you have pulled out your batteries for the winter! Don Shirley, Nirvana Fleet Scribe

sou’wester • february 2017 • page 11 sou’wester • february 2017 • page 12 sou’westersponsors

Repairs • Crane • Marine Supplies ORIANA SHEA AND COMPANY CalBRE# 01217538 ORIANA SHEA Residential Real Estate Specialist Office (562) 270-1775 ext. 2 (800) 277-2136 Mobile (562) 477-3388 or (714) 696-6063 Email [email protected] www.OrianaShea.com (562) 951-5768 DONALD Fax (562) 951-5788 Serving Long Beach • Seal Beach • Lakewood • Huntington Beach Cell (310) 480-4138 Cypress • Newport Beach and Surrounding Areas HOLLAND Sunday, February 5 Bar Opens 3:00 pm • Kick-Off 3:30 pmL

Join your friends at ABYC – Entry Fee – Bring something yummy to share. 2nd Annual Hors d'oeuvre Contest, judged by our own Jorge Saurez. arty – Prizes – Trophy, 2nd, 3rd – Entertainment – Rumor has it that Patty Williams will entertain us again with her pom-poms and game calls! – NO RSVP NECESSARY – Just put on you team's colors and come on down to the club for a fun afternoon! You're Invited to a ace Managemen RVOLUNTEER APPRECIATION PARTYT Friday, February 24 5:00 – 7:00 pm

The Race Management Com- mittee would like to thank all the volunteers that made the 2016 racing season a success. Join us for light refreshments from 5 to 7 in celebration of a job well done. Put the 2017 sailing season on your bucket list and hear an update on the upcoming Nationals and Worlds. Get involved for another fun- packed year of good racing and good friends.

RSVP to Sheila [email protected] (562) 434-9955 by Sunday, February 19 lub3rd ABY CAnnual Port, Luff, Starboard TournamentC Friday, March 3, 2017 Bar Opens 5:00 pm/Dinner 6:00 pm Tournament Registration 5:00 - 6:00 pm Tournament Starts Promptly at 7:00 pm!

Tournament – $5.00 Donation All proceeds to ABYC Junior Program Dinner – $12.00 Burgers with All the Fixings/Potato Wedges/Cookies

Competitors of All Ages Winner Receives a Will Have Fun! plaque on the perpetual trophy

“Multiple Brackets of Play. Start Training Now to Increase Your Stamina!” Chuck Clay, Commodore