Volume 34/No. 1 May 2020 From the Helm —the Commodore’s Corner by Lou Levine People some mes would ask me what I intended to do with permissible for us to open the clubhouse and allow boats in the my me a er I re re. My stock answer always was that I drysail area. Most recently, I was advised that the target date would do nothing every day. I would sleep late, drink a lot of is s ll June 1, but s ll subject to change in either direc on. coffee, surf the web, have lunch, nap, listen to the stereo (do So un l the lock down order is li ed and we are all back at people do that anymore or is that a 20 th century thing?), have the lake again, stay home and stay safe! supper, watch TV, stay up late, go to bed, and then do the same thing the next day, ad infinitum . And I was quite serious when I said that. Life as a permanent spring break from school seemed like the shiniest of golden years. But then reality came knocking. The lock-down and quaran- ne necessitated by the Covid-19 pandemic has caused me to take a very hard look at my re rement strategy. March 20 was the last day of work in my office. Since then I have been “working remotely”. But it’s not going well. Before the quaran ne, the key to my icy calm composure was that I had been able to build a wall between work and not-work. The three-mile commute to my office was a spa al Berlin Wall, separa ng the bright balmy relaxa on of home from the gri y grimy East Berlin of downtown Syracuse where I a empted to scratch out a living. Even though we have been hunkered down in our homes, And it worked pre y well for a long me. When I got suited Mother Earth is at work showing her new spring beauty. With up (literally) to go to the office, my best game face got loaded that comes cleaning up the flower beds from the winter too. I fought the fight, did what needed to be done. And then I weather. Jeff and Tess Freedman and I got permission from went home, put the suit and the game face back in the closet, the County Parks to go in a couple different days to do some cracked open a beer (these days more frequently Almaden work. Jeff and Tess trimmed some plants and weeded much of Cabernet Sauvignon in the 5-liter box), and wandered safely the front gardens. A huge thank you to them. I cleaned up the and swi ly across the borders of the realm of Morpheus. flowers around the buoys and hostas and trimmed the spirea But the quaran ne is like 1989 all over again. There is no bushes. For now, we are ok with the gardens, but they will more spa al Berlin Wall, heaven and hell are now unified. need work once we are able to open. We will see about mulch Home is work and work is home, there is no telling where one when the me comes. ends and the other starts. It is very difficult to work at home We need about 3-4 more people to help with the gardens. a er spending so many years training myself to believe that I Many hands make light work. I know we are all busy in the never have to work at home. Moreover, there are a lot of dis- summer but a few more people would lighten the load for trac ons at home, most of which contain a lot of calories and/ everyone involved. Please consider volunteering. or alcohol. Notwithstanding the amount of me I spend in the house, I am doing even less housekeeping than I did before the quaran ne. Accordingly, ad infinitum has turned into ad nauseum. To certain extent, technology has provided some social dis- trac on. I have done Zoom a number of mes with family and friends. Herb fixed us up with a Webex connec on so we can do OYC board mee ngs remotely (which, although prac cal and very much appreciated, doesn’t really compensate for OYC's first buds on Prairie missing the made from scratch pizzas we got when we did the Smoke, Geum triflorum, board mee ngs at Bev’s house—oh well). photographed on April I have been on the phone a number of mes with the Coun- 14, 2020 by Jeff Freedman Ken Grieg Memorial Rhododen- ty Parks Commissioner and the Harbormaster to find out when dron in bloom May 5. (Photo by the marina will open for permit holders and when it will be Garry Klink) Page 2
Dining Out at the Club In at Home OYC Eats By Tess Freedman OYC Eats, a newly formed winter ac vity to explore new res- taurants together with OYC friends, held three successful events this winter: We are all dining “in” now—cooking at home or or- January 14, Brunch, Wolf’s Den, Syracuse dering for curbside or home delivery, and there is no February 2, Superbowl Party at The Reef, Memphis, NY indica on that “Dining Out at the Club” will occur any March 10, Dinner Buffet at Indian Grill, Camillus me soon. To try to stay connected with OYC friends, Thanks to Pete Ki and Holly Ioset for organizing this new we held a Virtual Hot Stove Party on May 9. Eighteen winter ac vity for OYC. members had a great me visi ng using Zoom (with or without video), including prospec ve members Barbara OYC HISTORY BYTE by Garry Klink and Dave Krause. Tess and Jeff Freedman gave a pre- senta on of their trip through the Panama Canal on Feb- Many of you have seen the Thistle Trophy in the club. ruary 11. We hope to do a Zoom gathering again soon. This is the story of that short-lived fleet. I received a que- We welcome new member John Lischak, from East ry from a Spencer Pe t, who had bought Thistle 289 and Syracuse, a sailor who has a boat slip on B-wall, and re- was told that it was once owned by a Commodore of turning members Onondaga Yacht Club, and he wanted to know more. By Paul and Chris ne Tranchell, Liverpool looking through the old minutes, I was able to determine residents who have that in late 1947 our board and Commodore George H. rejoined the club Sanborn decided that our Snipe and Lightning Fleets following a few were in decline. He wanted to explore whether there years of work ac vi- was a Single Fleet that the sailors could move into. In es out of the area. 1945 the Thistle Class was born. The designers (Douglass Paul sails the and McCleod) were wri en to. They wrote back with Hunter 22. informa on on the boat and on how to start a Fleet. They suggested that the board take in a Thistle Rega a. OYC Emergency Procedure Under Development OYC Sailors visited “Aurora” (anyone know what YC was By Herb Schrayshuen there in 1947?) to see the Thistles in a Rega a. Tom This Spring your Board has been developing an Emer- Thurlow ( Commodore 1944-45, possible owner of gency Procedure to give club members guidance so that they may assist with on-the- water and on-land emergen- #289?) organized OYC’s Thistle Fleet on May 23, 1948. cies related to club and other ac vi es. In the course of There were 7 members. Tom Thurlow also wrote the the development we learned that 9-1-1 is the primary deed of gi for the trophy and acquired it (built it him- way to obtain medical help for incidents. One revela on self?). Other Club member winners of the “Annual” tro- was that the address of the club used by 9-1-1 is not phy include: Don Whitney, George Lewis and Dex Ed- what you might think (Sycamore Street). The 9-1-1 sys- garton. By 1952 the fleet was tem uses another address for the club building, 41 East disbanded. Snipes and Light- Shore Drive. This is important to know if you are com- nings came back into favor with munica ng with a 9-1-1 dispatcher during an emergency the OYC sailors. I have not been while at the club. able to find any individual race The Board is preparing a detailed emergency re- results except for a Thistle re- sponse guidance document that will be shared with ga a we had in 1948. members, posted in the club house, and placed in the larger club boats most likely to be used for rescue and assistance. The Board will share the final document when OYC Thistle Trophy with inscrip- approved (May mee ng), before the club opens for the on: “Annual Champions, Thistle season. Class, Onondaga Yacht Club” Page 3
Annual Dinner January 19: 45 OYC members and guests enjoyed a delicious meal at Drumlins Country Club. Gar- ry Klink administered the oath of office to OYC Trustees and Bridge officers and presented officers flags. Commodore Lou Levine presented his thoughts and goals for the coming sea- OYC Bridge for 2020: Commodore Lou Levine, Vice Commodore Kev- son. Tess Freedman reviewed the 2019 season in pictures, and in O’Leary, Rear Commodore Tess Freedman, Secretary Brian Colvin, Ryan Miller summarized the past year for the Sea Scouts. Treasurer Tom Ogden
2019 Awards and Sailing Trophies: Commodore Lou Levine presented the Season Handicap Sailing awards for 2019, and thanked Greg Chapin for his years of service as Race Com- mi ee Chair. Diane Knowlton presented Ryan Miller with the Knowlton Trophy for the highest par cipa on in our races as skipper or crew by a new or fairly new member. Final Handicap Racing Standings: 1st Jeff Freedman, Mariner 2nd Greg Chapin, Mariner 3rd Bill Pease, Hunter 22 4th Ryan Miller, Laser 5th Tom Ogden, Flying Scot OYC Board of Trustees for 2020 taking oath of office from Garry Klink Par cipa on Awards: Pete Ki , Herb Schrayshuen (l -r): Lisa Notar , Ryan Miller, Herb Schrayshuen, Sco Sperling, Bev Wernet. Not Shown: Tom O’Neil
Handicap Sailing Trophies presented by Commodore Lou Levine (above, l-r): Jeff Freedman (1st); Bev Wernet accep ng for Bill Pease, 3rd; Ryan Miller, 4th; Tom and Linda Ogden , 5th. Not shown: Greg Chapin, 2nd. Below: Herb Schrayshuen and Pete Ki , par cipa on awards, with recogni on of their work on boat maintenance, and Diane Knowlton presen ng the Knowlton award to Ryan Miller.
Sea Ray Update by Dave Urban Since our winter storage contract was up April 15th, I picked up the Sea Ray and brought it to my house to clean it up and get it ready to sell or use for this season. I have made several repairs as well. The boat is cleaned and I have applied oxida on remover, polish, and a coat of wax. The bo om has been painted, the outdrive sanded and painted and the propeller recondi oned. Page 4
OYC Small Boat Report By Herb Schrayshuen The Board has been taking a number of steps to review the fleet of small boats and decide on the best path for- ward. This spring a comprehensive review (condi on, uses by the club, next steps) of each boat and boat type was con- ducted to provide the background for future decision making related to various boats. We will keep the membership informed of future decisions. To-date the Caprice has been sold, the Porpoise has been approved for sale and a new replacement Sunfish has been procured to replace one due to poor condi on. Addi onally, all Laser and Sunfish centerboards and rudders have been varnished, and three Sunfish dollies have been built over the winter to make the club Sunfishes easier to launch. Also, recently we have replaced the headsail on the Capri and purchased a flota on panel to avoid turtling if capsized. The Capri is a high use boat since it is kept on the water and is quite popular. We are considering building a small beach ramp for two boats (one laser and/or one sun- fish) to make launching easier. The table below outlines the current small boat fleet composi on, status and poten al future decisions. The Board welcomes member feedback.
Boat Class # Summary of status and Poten al next steps Boats Sunfish 4 One replaced due to condi on. Built three Sunfish dollies to ease launching. Fixed all ller extensions. Laser 7 Two new Laser sails purchased in 2019. Fixed all hiking straps, ller extensions and mainsheet blocks Widgeon 12 2 Considering sale Javelin 14 1 Intending to keep American 14.6 1 Intending to keep Blue Jay 3 Recently refurbished. Implement spinnaker on two boats Flying Scot 1 New Halyard; Rudder repaired; Plan new jib sheet cleats Snipe 1 Intending to keep. Replaced sail control retrac on cords. Capri 14 1 New headsail and mainsail floata on panel. Replaced bearings in the mainsheet and jib sheet cleats Porpoise 1 Sale approved Caprice 1 Sold due to condi on Canoes 2 Considering replacement with one lighter model Kayaks 2 Intending to keep
CALENDAR OF EVENTS ~2020 OYC Officers~ May 9 Saturday Virtual Hot Stove Party 7:30 –8:30 pm, via Zoom Commodore: Lou Levine All other April/May Activities Cancelled or Postponed until further notice Vice Commodore : Kevin O’Leary Rear Commodore : Tess Freedman Bald Eagle and Secretary : Brian Colvin Redhead Duck Treasurer : Tom Ogden Onondaga Lake Immediate Past Commodore : Tom March 7 Ogden Trustees: Herb Schrayshuen, Ryan Miller, Lisa Notar, Tom O’Neil, Bev Wernet, Scott Sperling Editor: Tess Freedman A new family at OYC, May 3 (from Garry Klink)