Private Ear OFFICIAL NEWSLETTER OF PRIVATEER CLUB Lake Chickamauga Chattanooga, TN June 2021

Cory Richardson, Editor [email protected] View from The Helm Sherman, Marv Martin and Spencer Wiberley June 2021 are holding multiple sail camp sessions for kids from 8-14 years old, teaching them the At first glance I thought that June had been a basics of and exposing them to the joy relatively quiet month around the club. Dig a and freedom that commanding a small sail- little deeper and all sorts of activities were go- boat provides. There are 14 paid sailing in- ing on. The Thistle fleet held another success- structors led by Hunter Dinger. These volun- ful Brown Jug Regatta, which was attended by teers and instructors will have taught the ba- sailors from all over the region, including the sics to about 143 kids by August. On top of National Champion! Winds were light but that, Chuck Puglisi and Cory Richardson are enough races were held on Saturday to satisfy teaching an Adult Learn-to-Sail course at the the competitive fleet. Our illustrious social club. Over the course of two spring sessions chair, Tina Campbell, sponsored a well- and two fall sessions, they will have taught 33 attended, Caribbean-themed party and Cory adults to sail this year. If you have friends Richardson held a training session on how to who have always wanted to learn to sail, the properly lock through a TVA dam. Well done adult course at PYC is the way to go. We have all! Unfortunately, I missed out on some of recently added some new associate members these events while travelling to regattas in Illi- because of this program. Great job Chuck and nois and Ohio. Speaking of that, congratula- Cory! tions to Lynn and Bill Bruss who finished first in the Flying Scot Egyptian Cup regatta at One way to determine if a club is successful is Lake Carlyle, Illinois! They dominated a 24- to track membership numbers. Many years boat fleet with three first place finishes in five ago, our membership was limited to 120 fami- races, then they left Carlyle to head for Deep lies, and there was no Associate Member Creek, Maryland and the Women’s North class. Often the membership was closed be- American Championship. Lynn finished 4th cause of the limit, and we had a waiting list place out of a tough 14 boat championship that we drew from when vacancies opened. fleet in that event. Way to go Lynn and Bill! Some years ago, we created the Associate member class with a limit of 30 for prospec- If you’ve been to the club on a weekday morn- tive members to determine whether or not ing lately you know that there is a lot more they liked us, and whether or not we felt they going on besides weekend regattas and so- would become a contributing family member. cials. Tim Chambers and his team, including That change has been very successful in my Bob Bissel, Chuck Puglisi, Bob Ruppe, Steve opinion.

1 View from the Helm

Next, we expanded the family membership from 120 to 150 members. We were in the process of planning a replacement for the old clubhouse, and we felt that the new facility would be able to accommodate that number. Once again, I feel we were correct in our as- sumption, and the new facilities are serving the existing membership extremely well. Fast forward to July 2021. Our family membership has been at the 150 mark for months now, with little fluctuation.

Last week at our Fourth of July Celebration, Linda Lind informed me that we had reached our cap on Associates as well. The first time that has happened. PYC is experiencing a sig- nificant increase in the number of people in- terested in sailing and belonging to our club. This is fantastic news for PYC as an organiza- tion, and hopefully representative of an in- crease in interest from the public in our sport.

Having travelled to several out-of-town regat- tas recently, and talked to their members, we are unique in this surge. A lot of sailing clubs out there are struggling. I think the bottom line is, whatever we are doing to promote the club and our sport, we are doing it well, and we need to keep doing it. Linda Lind, our membership chair has been doing a fantastic job of managing this growth and keeping up with all the new names and faces. Thank you, Linda!

Lastly, I was informed this morning of the passing of long-time member Harvey Howalt. Harvey had been ill for several months fighting prostate cancer. He was a competitive racer, ocean sailor and played a mean game of Croquet. Most of all he was a good friend. I suspect that there will be many a glass raised in his honor in the near future. See you all on the water,

Rob

2 Coming Events

JULY 2021 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 1 2 3 12PM July 4th Social

4 5 6 7 8 9 10 2PM 6PM 6:45PM 2PM Summer Summer Series Electronic Keelboat series Race Navigation Wednesday Class series 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 2PM Dinghy Board of 6PM 6:45PM 2PM Summer Summer Series Directors Electronic Keelboat series Race Meeting Navigation Wednesday 6PM Class series 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 2PM Dinghy 6PM 6:45PM 2PM Summer Summer Series Electronic Keelboat series Race Navigation Wednesday Class series 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 2PM Dinghy 6PM 6:45PM 2PM Summer Summer Series Electronic Keelboat series Race Navigation Wednesday Class series

AUGUST 2021 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 2PM Dinghy 6PM 6:45PM 2PM Summer Summer Series Electronic Keelboat series Race Navigation Wednesday Class series 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 2PM Dinghy Board of 6PM 6:45PM 2PM Summer Summer Series Directors Electronic Keelboat series Race Meeting Navigation Wednesday 6PM Class series 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 2PM Dinghy 6PM 6:45PM 2PM Summer Summer Series Electronic Keelboat series Race Navigation Wednesday Class series

22 23 24 25 26 27 28 2PM Dinghy 6PM 6:45PM 1PM Dog Summer Series Electronic Keelboat Regatta Navigation Wednesday Class series 29 30 31 2PM Dinghy 6PM Summer Series Electronic Navigation Class

3 RACE COMMITTEE ASSIGNMENTS

4 Racing Report

5 Summer Racing at PYC

The spring racing logistics were an experiment that I view as a success, in as much as they gave a clear answer to the question, “Would support a mid-week series?” The answer is “NO.” Therefore, the Summer Series will re- vert to what we have done historically.

• Wednesday • 6:45 start • Keelboats only with two starts • “A” fleet first start • Preferred race duration 60–90 minutes • “B-C” fleet second start • Preferences • Reaching leg when possible • Race duration 45–60 minutes

• Saturdays • 2:00 start • Keelboats only • All boats start together on a single course • Preferences • Race duration 60 minutes • Second race if conditions allow • Scoring will separate “A” from “B-C” fleets racers

• Sundays • 2:00 start • Dinghies Only • Portsmouth D-PN rating used for scoring • All boats start together unless: • A one-design fleet MAY have a one-design start if: • There are at least 5 of the same class boat • AND if in so doing, at least 3 other boats remain to start in the handicap start • Preferences • Race duration 40–50 minutes • Two races if conditions permit

6 Heartache at Race Week Anacortes

Seattle sailor Greg Mueller, 58, crewing on the J/120 ‘With Grace’, died on Tuesday afternoon (June 22) after falling overboard while racing.

Mueller was the team’s foredeck, and according to ‘With Grace’ skipper Chris Johnson, Mueller had stepped into a line that looped around his foot just as the spinnaker filled. Mueller was jerked off the boat where he dangled upside down by his foot, about 8 to 10 feet in the air, before plunging into the water where he was dragged alongside the boat, still connected by the line.

Crew members rushed to bring him back on board, where they took turns performing CPR, while another teammate of the eight-person crew called the race committee to get help.

Several team members aboard the vessel had completed Safety at Sea training provided by the Coast Guard, Johnson said, but there was little more they could do except call for medical at- tention.

Johnson said Mueller had spent two to three minutes in the water by the time his crew could slow the boat enough to bring him back aboard the ship. Though he was wearing a personal flotation device, it was of little use because of the way he was positioned in the water.

Two boats from the race committee arrived to assist, but they had no medical personnel on board, according to crew members. Eventually, a speedboat came to take Mueller to Guemes Island, where a medical team received him.

The crew was uncertain whether Mueller still was alive when the speedboat arrived. They re- ceived a call shortly afterward with the news he had died.

The Skagit County coroner’s office said an autopsy was scheduled for June 25 and that it would release information on the cause of death by June 28.

Johnson said Mueller had been a member of the With Grace crew since the purchase of the boat in 2014.

“Greg was a very key part of our team,” said crewmate Ken Jones. “He knew exactly when the sail should be changed and what size to use. He could predict problems and gave us clear di- rections. There are a lot of lines that have to be led just perfectly. Most of us had no idea what he did; everything was done for us, and we really relied on him.”

A longtime member of the Washington Yacht Club, Mueller was an avid racer in the region. “Sailing accidents can happen to anybody,” said WYC member Raz Barnea. “When they hap- pen to someone as skilled as Greg, it really puts it into perspective that something can go wrong.” https://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/2021/06/26/details-on-race-week-anacortes-accident/

7 Racing Workshop Announcement What: Our goal is to provide sailors that want to continue sailing an opportunity to improve their skills through exposure to racing. PSEF has an ongoing race team that will begin practice in the fall. Participants in the workshop can join the team at that time. More information can be found on the PYC web site: www.privateeryachtclub.org/sail-edu/youth-race-team

When: Join us on Tuesdays: June 22, July 6, 20, 27 Time: 5:30 to 8:00pm. Who: The workshop is open to past Sail Camp participants. You do not have to be a member of PYC.

Cost Of Workshop: Free What is the format: Each Tuesday we will start with a brief but informative lesson on a specific topic related to the sport of sailing. THE TOPICS ARE NOT CUMULATIVE SO PLEASE COME WHENEVER POSSIBLE. We will have a race course or 2 set up and to sail for at least one-hour There will be a short debrief afterwards. On days with bad weather we will discuss more in depth topics and have fun games. Briefings will be done as a group, but there will be enough staff present to separate the fleets by skill level on the water.

What do you need to bring: The boats will be provided by PYC. You need to bring your own sailing gear: life jacket, proper sailing attire, sunscreen, and water bottle.

Instructors: Privateer will provide the Instructors and safety personnel. There will be members of this year's Race Team present to take new sailors out. Occasionally we need volunteers on the water and on shore to help with: registration, social activities, and launching boats. Let us know if you are interested. Parents On Site: Parents are welcome to stay on site for the duration of the clinic, but do not have to.

Questions: Steve Sherman, [email protected] 423-432-6512

FOR PLANNING: PLEASE RSVP BY EMAIL IF YOU WILL ATTEND

8 Bulletin Board Borrowing the Fusions, Kayaks & SUP SAIL CAMP This equipment does not belong to PYC. It is owned and maintained by our education non-profit PSEF. Annually Sail Camp will run from there is an exchange of invoices be- tween PYC and PSEF. PSEF for proper- June 7th to July 23rd. ty use and PYC for members using the water craft. This is an IRS requirement. Electricity will be turned Please Sign the equipment out so we off at the docks from have a record of its use. Let us know if it is broken. 8:30AM to 4PM for safe-

We also have been seeing young adults ty. use the equipment with little or no pa- rental supervision. That is great as long as they have been trained in it's use and Contact Tim Chambers sign it out. 18 and under cannot be on the property without parental guidance. with any issues.

Steve Sherman 423-718-3704 Wanted: New Webmaster

PYC is searching for a club member to take over web- master responsibilities.

Duties include: - Uploading Flyers and Announcements to the homepage - Maintaining website software updates - Adding user accounts for new club members

For more information, contact: Keith Harper 423-299-5224

9 Bulletin Board NEW PSEF PROGRAM DIRECTOR

Privateer Sailing Foundation is looking for an Administrative Di- rector beginning in late fall. The jobs main work is administra- tive surrounding Sailing Camp and Adult Learn to Sail. Market- ing, Staffing and organization. We have a great staff to back you up. The job can be structured to meet your time constraints. In recent years we have added a salary.

Contact: Tim Chambers or Steve Sherman to discuss the posi- tion. NEW WEBSITE ADDITION!!

When you have a moment in your busy day, please check out the newest addition to our website to help all our existing members get to know our new Associate members. In the Member Section of the website, please click on the Our New Members tab to see pictures and brief summaries of all our newest members. Linda Knudson Lind and Keith Harper have put their heads together to add this to our website. If you have any suggestions for them, please let them know. In the mean time, please check out our new members, and when you see them up at the club, please make them feel welcome!

Linda Knudson Lind

ADULT LEARN TO SAIL The class starting September 12th still has openings. The instructor will be Cory Richardson.

Contact [email protected] 10 Eight Bells Harvey Howalt

Harvey was an accomplished racer and offshore sailor, and a great contributor to the our club over the years. He was a Snipe sailor, Thistle sail- or and Flying Scot sailor. He and Pat Crowe start- ed our J-24 fleet which was very successful and active for many years. In past years, he and his good friend Stewart Cofield campaigned their Flying Scot, traveling to many regattas around the country. Many of you had the opportunity to sail with him aboard Islandia, visiting places like Newport, RI, Bermuda, Antigua and Jamaica. Re- cently he was instrumental in launching our building fund for the new clubhouse. Much of the design work was done onboard Islandia, on my laptop, with Harvey peering over my shoulder, asking questions and making suggestions. He wasn’t at our club every weekend like some, but he always enjoyed being a member, and pitching in when he was needed.

C. Rob Fowler Commodore - PYC

11 AROUND THE CLUB WITH JIM DAVIS

The usual suspects at the Keith Harper’s ‘Burning in’ party Caribbean Party

Jan Varnell working hard! Pat Crowe explains sailing to all the young whippersnappers.

Keith Harper’s signature Serving with a smile.

12 Locking Through Class

WHAT? A class all about locks and dams and how to use them. Also a presentation on the new lock and plenty of Q&A!

WHO? Presented by the Chickamauga Lock Supervisor Cory Richardson.

WHY? So you know how to safely lock your boat through a lock.

WHEN? Saturday September 4th at 9 AM.

NO RSVP, Just show up at the clubhouse by 9 AM. If we have enough boats and in- terest we will motor down to the lock, go inside the chamber, and discuss the pro- cess. If you have a BIG boat feel free to volunteer it up!

13 For Sale Catalina 22—$4,000 - ‘Li’l Buoy Blue’ - Reconditioned fully race ready, with good sails and gear. Walt Jenison 423 653-4091, Home 423-886-5655

J-29— $10,000 — ‘Maniac’ - 2 mains, 4 spinnakers, several genoas, and even a couple of small , Navman instruments including depth/speed/wind, with 5 displays VHF, Ste- reo w/CD, Outboard motor, Autohelm, Built-in manual bilge pump, Solar battery charger, Relatively new (2017) battery, Large awning. Several scratches, dents, and other imperfections. Tim Chambers 423-718-3704 MARINE CLOTHING BELOW WHOLESALE McLaughlin Boat Works was the North American Distributor for Magic Ma- rine Foul Weather gear and clothing. That relationship ended earlier this year and McLaughlin still has a large inventory which they are blowing out at 80% off to PYC members. A $140 spray top can be had for under $30. This is an oppor- tunity to own the Cadillac of Marine Clothing at ridiculously low prices. See the catalog at www.magicmarine.com/products for the variety of items offered. 4737 Adams Road, Hixson, 1 (800) 784-6478 Minn-Kota 55 trolling motor Very little use, worked good. Forward and reverse. Trickle charger and an old battery $200 obo. Marv Martin (423) 331-3161 Tohatsu. 5 hp Motor runs great but the casing on the foot is cracked and leaking. Not sure what other gears and seals might need to be replaced Asking $200. Marv Martin (423) 331-3161 Looking for a small sailboat with trailer, such as a ‘Flying Junior’, etc. Luke Padgett, 423-322-8904, [email protected]

PRIVATEER YACHT CLUB SHIP’S STORE Go to this website: https://stores.inksoft.com/privateer_yacht_club. Check back later for member discounts during promotional sales on all types of apparel and gear, even outside the range of customized pieces. YOUR AD HERE! EMAIL ME AT [email protected]

14 Privateer Yacht Club Board of Directors Meeting – Minutes Monday, June 14, 2021

Rob Fowler, Commodore called the meeting to order at 6:00 pm.

Linda Lind, Membership Director : Linda introduced three new associate members. Sheena Benavente and Albert and Diane Davis.

Sheena has recently moved to Chattanooga after spending several years in the San Francisco Bay area, where she learned to sail. Sheena has done some off-shore sailing (Figi/Tonga/Caribbean/Nova Scotia) as a crew member, as well as sailing on keelboats in the rough waters of the Bay. Lake sailing will be new to her, and she is looking forward to the experience, as well as joining a community of others who share her love of sailing.

Albert is an USA Air Force and Vietnam veteran. He started sailing in Berlin, Ger- many and has lived aboard an Endeavor 32in Tampa, Florida. Albert and Diane currently have a Nimble 30. Though temporarily sidelined by knee surgery, Albert is looking forward to being a part of an active sailing community.

Josh Sniderman had resigned his family membership.

Three associates have completed the 1 year associate membership requirements. Two had very little participation and/or activities in their logs. They will be de- nied family membership and will be eligible to apply for associate membership after 12 months. John Krystyniak was very active during his associate member- ship and will be offered a family membership.

Current PYC Membership: 150 family (150 max) 28 Associates (30 max) 15 Juniors 15 out of town

Martin Gregory, Secretary: Martin reported that the minutes from the 04.12.21 Board meeting have been edited by Board members and corrections made. Rob asked for a motion to accept the minutes as written. After a second, the minutes were accepted.

Mitch Colman, Treasurer: Mitch reviewed the A/R Aging Summary, Balance Sheet and Profit & Loss Year/Year Comparison.

Balance Sheet: Cash on hand in good position Have approximately $5,000 in reimbursement checks to issue

15 Aged A/R: Overall aged A/R is in reasonable shape. Have a couple of members that are long term delinquent. Have converted aged A/R to quarters.

P/L: The quarterly dues/rental statements will be issued 06.21.21.

Kevin Gersch, Dock Master: Kevin discussed dry slip identification, slip availability and B Dock electrical parts recovery.

Working on signage for dry slips.

Current wet slip and dry storage availabilities…. 6 wet slips, mostly on D and E docks. 7 dry slips in the Cabin Lot 0 dry slips in the Clubhouse Lot 4 dry slips in the South Cove Lot

Working to identify an abandoned Nissan Rogue, Michigan plate DUU 2537 parked in the Cabin parking lot. No cabin owners know anything about the ve- hicle.

Frank Hughes, Rear Commodore – Buildings and Grounds: Frank discussed four pro- jects.

No report

Rob will contact Frank about fallen tree near the PYC entrance.

Tim Chambers – Director Club Boats: Tim reviewed the status of club boats.

All club motor boats ok except for the large RIB which had a seam failure in one of the air chambers…near the stern. Sending boat to Knoxville for repair. Re- pair cost TBD.

Tina Campbell – Social Director: Tina discussed regattas. socials.

Caribbean Social is planned for 06.19.21.

July 4th Social is being handled by the Associate Members. Recommend changing the race time to include the race as part of the July 4th activities. Lunch at 1:00, Race at 4:00, Happy Hour and Social after races end. Bumgardner Band to play at Social.

Frank Hughes will host an event Friday 08.27.21 honoring the members of his Opera- tion Desert Storm team. He expects approximately 100 Desert Storm veterans to

16 attend.

Tom Clark, Vice Commodore – Racing: Tom discussed 2021 club racing year-to-date and regattas.

Tom has posted a page for PYC racing results.

The Summer Season begins next week and ends August 29th.

PHRF keel boats will race on Wednesdays at 6:45 pm and on Saturdays at 2:00 pm. Dinghies will race Sunday’s at 2:00 pm

The Dog Regatta is to be scheduled between the end of the summer racing series and the beginning of the fall racing series. Tentatively August 28, 2021.

The John’s Pig Regatta is scheduled for 11.13.21

M14 Fleet has expressed interest in hosting the M14 Nationals at PYC in September. Would be a two day event.

TVCC Regatta is upcoming.

Safety boat teams should be restricted to those individuals who have received training on righting and rescuing. Keith Harper will host a training session in the club- house…video and class.

Keith Harper, Past Commodore – PSEF: Martin reported for Keith….

Sail camp is “rockin’ n’ rollin.” Sold out for the summer.

The new dinghy dock section is now in place with a little work left to do.

Received some free publicity from the Times Free Press…photo of the day of the Fu- sions sailing.

Old Business:

Porch Furniture: Waiting for delivery.

PYC Website: Keith is on the issue….new manager and software. No volunteers yet. Keith will fill in during the interim.

Water Runoff: Phase I complete. Next phases by lot…Cabin area, parking lot, etc.

Kitchen Renovation: Trying to get Steve Austin, Designer and Jan Varnell together to dis- cuss needs and draft proposal.

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New Business: Ground Tackle, Chase Boats: After considerable discussion about ground tackle and chase boat availability for PSEF Sail Camp,the Thistle Brown Jug Regatta, and Club Races, the Board and visitors in attendance agreed to inventory the ground tackle and, if neces- sary, purchase additional tackle, to replace any worn out tackle and to ensure that the PYC Committee Boat and the PSEF have enough ground tackle for their individual needs. It appears that the confusion of safety boat need/schedule was miscommunica- tions.

A “Use and Return” policy should be applied to all groups, so that ground tackle is returned to its proper place. In addition, all PROs are responsible to ensure they have the ground tackle and safety/chase boats they need for each race. PROs should notify the BOARD is they encounter problems with either.

Electricity Usage: May need a policy to address the use of electricity for wet slips.

Loose Handrail – Swim Deck: Tim reported a loose handrail leading to the swim dock. Advise Frank Hughes of the needed repair.

Attic and Storage Room: Tina and Jan reorganized the attic storage area and the storage ar- ea adjacent to the kitchen/common area. Great job!

Adjournment: Rob asked if there was anything else to discuss. There being none, Rob asked for a motion to adjourn. After the motion and a second, the motion to adjourn was passed.

18 Privateer Yacht Club was organized on July 25, 1940, in order to promote sailing in the Chickamauga Lake area and particularly in Chattanooga; to teach its members to talk the language of the sea and build up a marine tradition for “The Great Lakes of The South”; to help promote water safety and a code of ethics for the waterways; to form a social and activity nu- cleus for people in the area in- terested in sailing; and to devel- op an active relationship with other sailing and boating organi- zations to promote racing and other boating activities.

www.privateeryachtclub.org A nice day on the Gregory’s J-32 Privatear Yacht Club 4713 Privateer Road P.O. Box 1041 Hixon, TN 37343

PRIVATE EAR is a monthly publication written by PYC Club Members, and compiled by: Cory Richardson

CONTACT YOUR BOARD MEMBERS

Rob Fowler, Commodore Tina Campbell, Social Director [email protected] [email protected]

Tom Clark, Vice Commodore, Racing Kevin Gersch, Dockmaster [email protected] [email protected]

Frank Hughes, Rear Commodore, Tim Chambers, Club Boat Director Buildings & Grounds [email protected] [email protected] Linda Lind, Membership Director Mitch Kohlmann, Treasurer [email protected] [email protected] Keith Harper , Past Commodore Martin Gregory, Secretary [email protected] [email protected]

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