April, 2019 Issue 41-4

Features Calendar 2 Commodore 3 Minutes 4 Cruising 5 Racing 6 Ads 7

1 Going … going… GONE. One minute it’s there, then it’s not. This March Issue thumbnail was all that was left of the pictures of Ken and Janis and their new boat although the story was recovered. At Our Helm Calendar

Commodore APRIL Dennis Barry 4-7 Pacific and Motor Boat Show 530-264-6853 10 – General Meeting at Trailblazer Pizza [email protected] 20 – SFL Work party GCYC Race #1 Vice Commodore 27,28 – Camelia Cup – FLYC Teresa Gaman Konocti Cup – KYC 650-207-6670 28 – Opening Day on the Bay [email protected] MAY Secretary 5 – Davis Team Regatta (LWSC) Melinda Solis-Day 8 – General Meeting at Scotts Flat Lake 530-265-2070 11 – GCYC Race #2 [email protected] 15 – Raft up at Scotts Flat Lake 18 – GCYC Race #3 Treasurer 19 – Club participation in No Motor Day Susie Barry 25-26 – Whiskytown Regatta 530-263-6542 28 – Club pre-regatta meeting at SFL [email protected] JUNE Cruise Chair 1,2 – GO FOR THE GOLD REGATTA Joe Day 5 – Raft up at Scotts Flat Lake 530-365-2070 8 – GCYC Race #4 [email protected] 10-14 – Youth Sailing Course 21 - Summer Sailstice Publicity/Membership 22 – GCYC Race #5 Sharon Barton 916-813-5109 JULY [email protected] 4 – Fourth of July Parade 10 – General Meeting at Scotts Flat Lake Port Captain 13 – GCYC Race #6 Bill Gulley 17 – Raft up at Scotts Flat Lake 530-263-5994 27 – GCYC Race #7 [email protected] 30 – Tahoe MoJo Cruise

Race Chair AUGUST Dave Cowell 1-4 – Tahoe Mojo Cruise 530-575-1891 10 – GCYC Race #8 [email protected] 14 – General Meeting at Scotts Flat Lake 27 – GCYC Race #9 Sailing Education SEPTEMBER 4 – Raft up at Scotts Flat Lake 7 – GCYC Race #10 11 – General Meeting at Scotts Flat Lake

OCTOBER 9 – General Meeting at Trailblazer Pizza

NOVEMBER 13 – General Meeting at Trailblazer Pizza

* Trailblazer Craft Pizza & Brews is located at the corner of Highway 49 and Alta Sierra Drive 39.1422° N, 121.0701° W Meeting Minutes March 13, 2019 Meeting Opening: 7:00 pm. Reports and Business

Commodore- Dennis Barry 1. NID/Mooring Ball Inspection – Dennis and Joe Day will do the NID mooring ball diving inspection in March. 2. Laurie Teichert - Dennis introduced Laurie, the daughter of former GCYC member, Bob Teichert. Bob has since passed and Laurie has two of his wooden boats, a 13 ‘ , and a 13’ to sell. She gave a nice presentation with a photo board and memorabilia t-shirts. The price of the boats are open to offers. 3. Flying Flags – Commodore Barry gave an informative presentation on the correct location for flying various flags and burgees on a .

Vice-Commodore-Teresa Gaman 1. PICYA – Open Day on the Bay is April 28th. All clubs are encouraged to participate in the Opening Day Boat Parade. We will continue to mention this to see if an interested member will participate. 2. Regatta - The liquor license and t-shirt logo are works in progress!

Treasurer-Susie Barry 1. Susie reported that the club has balance on hand of $5157.87.

Membership-Sharon Barton 1. New Member – Sharon introduced new GCYC member, Jacque Preble. A warm welcome to Jacque who joins us from San Ramon, CA. Jacque and GCYC member Bryant Cockcroft will be neighbors on Scotts Flat Road!

Port Captain-Bill Gulley 1. Shed Locks – The shed lock combinations have been changed. 2. Burgee Stickers – See Bill if you need burgee stickers for the dock. The price of a sticker is $2.

Race/Newsletter Director-Dave Cowell 1. Little Dinghy – Dave reported that the club’s newsletter, The Little Dinghy, has disappeared from his computer. After many years of being in charge of this publication, (THANK YOU, DAVE) he is hoping to find someone to assume the duty. 2. Racing – Dave will be participating on Committee Boat during an upcoming St. Francis Yacht Club SF bay race.

Meeting Adjournment: 7:33 pm. Written and Submitted by: Susie Barry Commodore

Ahoy, Spring is here at last! A reminder that membership fees are past due as of April 1st for the 2019 season. There will be a late fee so please get your applications/renewals in asap! Here is a link to membership forms; http://gcyc.net/2018GCYCmembershipForm.pdf Most of us know that the Gold Country Yacht Club is a member of PICYA. For those who don’t know what PICYA is, I will add a link. One of the best advantages and benefits to being a member to PICYA is that it allows GCYC members reciprocal services at cooperating yacht clubs throughout California and beyond! For example, say you’re walking down Front Street on Maui and you stumble upon a sign that says “Lahaina Yacht Club”. You start to go in but on the door there is a sign that says “Members Only” in big bold letters. Well with reciprocal privilege’s, you can just walk in with your GCYC membership card and enjoy some sailing enthusiast comradery just like at home where our clubhouse is open to their members as well. That is just one example, another benefit will pay off as you may be on a sailing journey down the California Coast and need to find a nice hot shower in a local harbors reciprocal Yacht Club! Link to PICYA: http://picya.org/ There are many more benefits to joining the Gold Country Yacht Club! Here is some wording I borrowed from our www.gcyc.net membership website page: “Gold Country Yacht Club membership is open to all, with or without boats. Many members maintain their own boats on Scotts Flat Lake, but the club has a fleet of sailing available to all members. If you don't know how to sail, we have certified instructors teaching organized classes as well as experienced members eager to share their love of sailing. Those with trail-able boats organize trailer-cruises to other lakes and coastal destinations. Several GCYC members maintain offshore in San Francisco Bay from where they depart on Summer bay and coastal cruises and the Baja HaHa.”

And here is a link to our website calendar: http://gcyc.net/GCYC2019Calendar.pdf The club is ready to grow and we encourage new membership!

Hope to see you on the water soon!

Dennis Barry GCYC Commodore Vice Commodore Ahoy – All hands on deck! Welcome Spring because it's here, and that means it's time to get ready for racing, rafting up, No Motor Day (May 19th), and our 39th Annual Go For The Gold Regatta (June 1-2). Please check the calendar at gcyc.net, and join us at the Clubhouse, Scotts Flat Lake, for a Clubhouse Clean Up day on April 20 th at 10:00. Race #1 is this day also. We need to get everything ready for the season! Time for everyone to pitch in and keep this Club energized. The deadline for a $75 membership renewal has passed. The cost for renewal is now $85. The Regatta Registration forms will be available at the Club's website by April 15 th . I am excited about the 39 th Annual Regatta, which is coming up fast. We need member participation at the next general meeting on April 10 th , when we will continue to pass the sign-up sheets around. We need donations for the Raffle. This is a fun event, and we look forward to enjoying it with all of you. I want to personally thank Dennis & Susie Barry for their endless dedication to making everything run so smoothly, and, to their valuable knowledge of procedures. I am proud to follow in their footsteps. Looking forward to launching Blown Away on April 19 th . Scotts Flat Lake is full and stunning. Looking forward to seeing everyone out there! Port = Left. Easy way to remember this is "No PORT wine LEFT in the bottle". Starboard = Right. So think of "green for go is all RIGHT". See you at the next General Meeting on April 10 th , Trailblazer Pizza & Beer, 6:00 Eat, 7:00 Meet. Ho, Teresa Gaman GCYC Vice Commodore Kia Orana, Catalina 36 Blown Away, Capri 18 Membership All members are reminded that all club memberships need to be renewed. The new on-line membership forms and dues payment options will soon be available. If you don’t want to renew on line the standard forms will be available and cash or checks will still be accepted.

Celebration of Life for Ed Guinaugh

It was truly tragic that Ed had to suffer the effects of his ill health and the difficult end to his amazing life. Forty or so people gathered at the Alta Sierra Country Club to hear the stories and see the images that barely touched Ed’s persona and story. He was a dedicated father who worked hard to give his young daughters a sense and love for the outdoors and nature. Warm hearted and generous he was admired and appreciated by everyone with whom he came in contact. During the celebration his daughters gave both a stirring speech and an eye- tearing photo journal of their dad. His smiling face always prominent in an outdoor setting either hiking or camping in the woods or sitting in a sailboat. Joe Day gave Ed an “Eight Bells” ceremony. Afterwards volunteers gave anecdotes of times they shared with Ed. Some were demonstrative of his generosity, some of his humor, but all were sadly in commemoration. Cruising The cruising season is just around the corner and the club is getting the Barge ready for the first raft up. The change-out of the seat cushions has been partially completed by Bill Gulley and only the painting of the console and mounting of the signal flag mast has to be accomplished. The Barge will be launched and training of prospective operators accomplished at the April 20th work party.

How comfy is that? Racing Although the racing season on Scotts Flat Lake hasn’t begun yet several members took advantage of the Trans-Folsom event on March 30th to get their boats wet. Dave Russo took his Paceship 23, Tuxedo, down a day early to get some training and boat setup done with Dave Cowell. Don Hare and Bismark Dinnius came down with NoCatHare, and Dennis Bary came down with Jeremy Gicker in Kukana Luka to make it a trio of GCYC racers. Apparently there was a “grudge match” in the making between Dave R and Dennis B left over from last year. Trash talk had been proffered on the net and gauntlets flung. Unfortunately the weather did not cooperate and, although it was a warm and sunny day, with little and unsteady wind the race was shortened from the 21 mile plan to just nine miles. It was just the right conditions for Don and Dennis though as they thoroughly trounced the five boat Catalina fleet. Don received a mini-champagne for his efforts. Dennis got bragging rights against the Daves although there was a lot of muttering going on about the lack of real wind. Perhaps it’ll have to be two out of three or maybe the entire summer season to settle the grudge?

It was just twenty years a go…. While at the Boat Show I talked with Will Paxton of the Quantum loft in San Francisco. Will is a well know racer in the Bay and has heaps of trophies in a multitude of events. The question I asked was whether he was the Will Paxton who swept the class in the 1999 Go For the Gold regatta? He said he was and as a matter of fact it was the start of a very good year for him. He followed up his GFTG win with a Trans Pac victory and an Express 27 Nationals victory. What a trifecta! See what good things come from doing the GFTG. I asked him if he’s going to do a 20 year come-back but unfortunately the conflict with the Delta Ditch Run is there and he’s made obligations. He did say how much he enjoyed the lake and the regatta and so maybe the next time there’s no conflict he’ll bring up his kids and have another go. Take A Kid Sailing by Dudley

As we prepare for the opportunity to give people sailboat rides during No-Motor Day on Scotts Flat Lake, I can’t help thinking back to my youth. There are certain events during childhood that, as you realize years later, helped shape the person you became as an adult. I had just such an experience when I was 14 years old.

Friends of my parents, the Dilleys, had invited our family to go sailing on their new Pearson Triton on Chesapeake Bay. My parents had some other commitment, but instead of abandoning the plan, the Dilleys invited me to come alone. I had quite a bit of experience with row boats, but I had never been on a sailboat.

I don’t remember much about the car ride from New Jersey to Maryland, but my first glimpse of the marina is still etched in my brain. I felt like Dorothy seeing the Emerald City for the first time. The place glistened with the beauty of dozens of boats.

I don’t remember anything about the preparations to leave port, but I will never forget the thrill when the sails went up. “Fairley” took off like an uncaged bird. We all know the feeling of catching a good breeze now, but at the time I had never experienced anything more exciting. I marveled at the the wake we left behind, the water rushing past the hull, and the warm breeze in my face. It was a day that had a profound impact on the rest of my life...and it wasn’t done yet.

After sailing for a few hours, we pulled into an empty cove and dropped the anchor. It would be the first of hundreds of nights I would spend on the hook. The memory is as if it had happened yesterday.

The V-berth with its own door and hatch was assigned to me. It was the coolest place I had ever slept in. I could feel the gentle rocking and hear the lapping of the almost calm water against the hull. My mind was filled with previously unknown sensations and thoughts of my first cruising experience.

Since then I have sailed many thousands of miles, but the debt owed the Dilleys for the impact they had on my life could only be repaid one way, and that is for me to take a kid sailing for the first time. And that is why I look forward to No-Motor Day. We’re starting the active part of planning and arranging for the GFTG regatta. Everyone needs to help as this is the major fund raiser for the club. Please consider involvement with the preparation, setup and operations in whatever capacity you can. Besides the usual tasking list at the club meetings you will all be contacted to see what your preferences, needs and experiences are. No experience? We’ll get you the instruction and training to do the job. JOIN THE TEAM Ken and Janis’ Reprieve Editors Note: I thought this was lost with the rest of the March LD but found there was still a copy of the email in the box. Unfortunately the pictures were not part of the email and so only the thumbnail on the cover remained. It was a cool and cloudy Sunday morning as I left my boat and started home on Highway 12. Traffic was light and as I crossed the Potato Slough bridge I looked over at Tower Park Marina and the remnants of the West Coast Canvas shop which had suffered a catastrophic fire. I’d heard that Ken and Janis’ new boat had narrowly escaped the fire and so on a whim I pulled off to see if I could find it for some pictures. As I pulled up into the parking lot a lone figure wearing a hoodie was walking over to a car. Maybe he’d know which boat was theirs. As he came back across the dock I stepped up and said “Hi, Ken”. ------Last Sunday, I was walking back to our new-to-us yacht Iris, currently docked at West Coast Canvas in Tower Park Marina near Lodi. Near the bottom of the ramp, I looked up to greet an approaching man and found myself looking at Dave Cowell! “What a surprise!” I said. “What brings you here?” “I came looking for you guys!” he replied. Apparently, the scuttlebutt is out: we’re transitioning from Kuani, our 42’ Cascade ketch to the much roomier 46’ Sea Ranger aft-cabin trawler (think of upgrading from a 2/1 cabin to a 3/2 condo.) We took possession at Delta Boat Works near Isleton and moved her the ~7 miles to the canvas shop to have Curt Page and his crew enclose the bridge and aft deck to protect her from the elements in Marina Bay, where we live. We tied up in Tower Park just two days before the canvas shop burned to the ground! Fortunately, no one was hurt and Iris escaped unharmed. Sadly, Curt lost everything and has had to figure out new workshop space. Ultimately, we will spend a few unplanned weeks there, but the project is moving forward. After that, we’ll take Iris to KKMI for a bottom job and some minor mechanical recommendations. Once that is completed, we will move aboard and finalize Kuani for sale.

Iris (currently named Woo Dip) was built in 1987 at C&L Boatworks in Taiwan. She is 46’ by 15.3’ with a 4’ draft. Driven by twin SP275 Ford Lehmans, she’s a smooth and able ride. One of the many reasons we were initially attracted to her is that she is a single-owner boat. Purchased originally by the Niello family (of the Porsche/Audi/Infinity dealerships) in Sacramento, she has spent her entire life slipped in a covered berth near Isleton. She was used lightly (~800 hours on the mains, 200 on the genset,) having only been to the Bay once. The rest of her history is in the Delta, making regular trips to Tinsley Island in the summer. It is not an understatement to say she is “vintage,” but she is as near bristol as one could hope for a 32-year old boat. We plan to cruise the Delta, Bay and coast for 2-3 years and upgrade some systems before heading north, bound for Alaska. We will be having a boat-warming party in late April or early May, so keep an eye out for the invitation. We love to show her off, and are very proud to be the new stewards of this adorable vessel. We’re definitely smitten!

Ken HOW to properly RAISE a DACRON ! Discussion in 'Sail Trim with Don Guillette’ from Sailboat Owners Forum

Woven dacron are the most commonly found mainsails on ‘cruising’ boats. If you ‘just raise’ a woven dacron mainsail, you’ll most probably have sail trim and shape problems, problems that can adversely affect a boats performance, ‘helm balance’ and ultimately safety.

The following will outline what added steps are needed after a ‘boltroped’ dacron sail is raised - to get the ‘best’ out of the sail so you can have a ‘more forgiving’ and ‘less cranky’ boat. Note – these directions are NOT for mainsails that are on in-mast roller furlers nor mainsails made of ‘laminates’.

Boltropes - theory. Most woven dacron mainsails have a ‘boltrope’ at the luff; and, there are certain additional steps that should be taken after you ‘just raise’ such a sail, ...... as the ‘as designed shape’ of the raised sail depends a LOT on the tension in that boltrope. The boltrope is a 3 strand dacron rope inside a ‘sleeve’ at the luff and it’s there to prevent the sail’s luff from ‘overstretching’ at the higher windranges – typically when the windstrength goes well above 12- 15 kts. A woven dacron sail, without a boltrope will have the point of maximum draft constantly change its position, either fore or aft, with differing windstrengths; in light winds the draft will ‘go forward’ and in heavy winds the point of maximum draft will ‘go aft’. The boltrope is added to keep the point of maximum draft essentially in ‘one place’ under different windstrengths and to help keep the sail shape from stretching ‘all over the place’ under varying wind-loading. When making such a sail, the sailmaker will purposely cut the boltrope a wee bit shorter than the ‘designed’ luff length, usually (for a sail typically designed for sailing in approx.15 kts.) will cut the boltrope shorter by approximately 1” for every 10-11 feet. of luff length. – this is called ‘boltrope preload’. So, to get to the ‘as designed’ luff length when raising such a sail, that boltrope has to be additionally stretched-out (by additional tension, etc.) or the sail will not be ‘stretched’ to its intended ‘as designed’ SHAPE.

Boltropes – practicality. For the sailor, this means that if you ‘just raise’ such a sail and want to sail in 12-15kts., the luff will be physically shorter than the ‘design’ by approximately 1” for every 10-11ft. of luff length; ..... therefore, you need to additionally ‘stretch out’ that boltrope so that the sail takes on its as DESIGNED shape!!!!!!!!!! Without stretching out this ‘pre-load’ after ‘raising’ the sail, the sail will be draft-aft, ‘baggy’, too much draft, and the aft sections of the sail (leech) will be somewhat ‘hooked up to weather’ – all shapes that promote aggressive heeling, ‘powered-up but exceptionally slow’, poor ‘pointing’ ability, increased “”, etc...... very ‘cranky’ boat!!!

Remedy (Rx): Raise the sail to just ‘up’, then apply an approximate additional 1” inch of HALYARD (and ‘’ if you have one) strain for every 10 ft. of luff length. Then go sailing on a hard BEAT to WINDWARD and notice the helm pressure (so-called ‘weather helm’). Crank on more (or less) HALYARD tension until you can take your hands OFF the wheel/tiller ... and have the boat go in a straight line (no heading up or down), all by itself — called a ‘dead fish neutral helm’. Then, slightly RELEASE some halyard tension until the boat ‘s-l-o-w-l-y’ heads up when you release the wheel/tiller ... the boat will now be FAST, wont heel as much as before, and will ‘point like ’. The sail will now have its point of maximum draft positioned correctly for the current wind and wave conditions ..... and you will better enjoy yourself.

Shrinking Boltropes .... a 'problem' with aged sails. Dacron boltropes change shape over time and depending on HOW MANY TIMES they get ‘stretched- out’ ... and they progressively and additively get shorter and fatter. So, if it takes an immense amount of halyard tension to get to the ‘neutral helm’, etc., consider to take your mainsail to a sailmaker to get the boltrope adjusted or ‘eased’. Easing the boltrope will quickly and cost effectively bring an old ‘baggy’, powered-up, draft-aft sail ‘back to life and proper SHAPE’ ... and usually at minimal cost. Another way to check for a shrunken boltrope: on a windless day, raise the sail to ‘just up’, add the additional 1” / 10-11 ft. of luff length by added halyard tension, then check the angle that the top of the boom makes with the mast at the gooseneck. If that angle is much greater than 90 degrees ... say 95 to 100 degrees, it means that the boltrope has shrunken and should to be readjusted or ‘eased’.

Most boats with ‘shrunken boltropes, or improperly raised boltroped mainsails, will visually have the aft end of the boom LOWER than the gooseneck!!!! .... probably 95% of all cruisers & ‘non-racing’ sailors will have a ‘droopy’ aft section of their boom.

Once you have the proper basic ‘as designed’ SHAPE in your mainsail by properly RAISING it, etc. (by stretching out that boltrope!!!!) which brings the point of maximum draft to the ‘correct’ fore/aft position, all the ‘other trim and shaping’ efforts will be ‘much’ easier and more ‘effortless’. Advertisements

SPECIAL SALE TO CLUB MEMBERS: 1985 Capri 22, Hull #53. Boat and trailer are in fair condition and in need of some TLC. Main sail (stained) but usable. Jib in fair condition. 2 Spinnakers in good condition. Complete rigging, no motor. $1,000.00 or best offer as it is available to club members only. If no one purchases the boat it will be put on the market in the spring at a higher price. This boat has a lot of potential!! Contact: Jeremy Gicker 530-477-7853

CATALINA 25 1982 Catalina 25 full keel pop-top model without trailer. Main sail is in usable condition with new Quantum jib on Harken roller furler. Jiffy . All lines lead aft to cockpit. . Backstay tension adjuster. Lewmar winches. Spinnaker with spinnaker pole. Anchor with rode. Cockpit manual bilge pump. Stainless fold-down swim ladder built onto stern. New Yamaha 10 hp four cycle engine with electric start and electric hoist. New NAPA start and 27DCM house batteries with Novopal 1KW inverter, engine charging, and 180 watt solar panel with Windynation P30L smart controller. 110V AC power wired with ProSport trickle battery charger and Marinco 30 amp shore cord. Interior is in OK condition with main cabin seat covers but V berth and quarterberth are excellent. This is a great family boat for overnight weekends. Has double berth under the cockpit and a double V berth in front, plus two settee berths. Galley with sink, 10 gallon water tank, ice box and stow spot for portable stove. Full fold-down dining table. Head with holding tank. New cockpit cushions. New Lorance GPS chartplotter, marine VHF radio, depth finder, and new Plastimo bulkhead compass.