…a little dinghy
March 2016 Issue 38-3 8899 DDAAYYSS TTOO GGOO Feature Columns:
• Calendar 2 GGoo ffoorr tthhee GGoolldd • From the Commodore 3
• Monthly Minutes 4 RReeggaattttaa
• PICYA Info 5
• Errata 6
• Places to go 7
• Water Woes 10
• Spotlight 11
• Classifieds 9
March 2013 General Club
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At Our Helm
Commodore Howard Hendrich 530-272-6969 [email protected]
Vice Commodore Stewart Perry 530-887-9522 [email protected] Calendar
Secretary Debbie Mack March 925-899-0739 [email protected] 7 *PICYA Meeting – Benicia YC – Dave Cowell 9 General Meeting-Alta Sierra Pizza & Grill Treasurer 28 GCYC Board of Directors Meeting #3 Stephanie Perry 530-887-9522 April [email protected] 2 *Trans Folsom Race – Folsom Lake
3 GCYC Club Race #1 Cruise Chair Lynn Buchanon 4 *PICYA Meeting – Pittsburg YC – Dave Cowell 530-913-4283 9 GCYC Club Race #2 10 Work Party- SFL Clubhouse (10 AM) Publicity/Membership Hugh Talman 13 General Meeting- SFL Clubhouse 530-272-2344 16-17 *Camellia Cup Regatta - Folsom Lake [email protected] 23 *Konocti Cup Regatta - Clear Lake
24 SFL No Motor Day/Open House Port Captain Bill Gully GCYC Club Race #3 530-263-5994 *Opening Day on the Bay [email protected] 25 GCYC Board of Directors Meeting #4 Race Chair Jerry Lewis May 530-272-9380 2 *PICYA Meeting – Oyster Point YC – Dudley Gaman [email protected] 7 *Opening Day on the Delta Sailing Education 11 General Meeting-SFL Clubhouse Don Hare 13-15 Adult Sailing Class 916-774-6610 [email protected] 14 GCYC Club Race #4 21 Work Party at SFL Newsletter Editor 22 GCYC Club Race #5 Dave Cowell 25 GCYC Board of Directors Meeting 530-272-3209 [email protected] General Meeting – SFL Clubhouse 28-29 *Whiskytown Regatta - Redding
JUNE 4-5 GO FOR THE GOLD REGATTA
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From the Commodore Here it is March already, even though we had an extra day in February, it sure seemed to fly by. Donna and I did get to spend some time on the water in our boat as well as sailing with Dave Cowell and Stew Perry on Dave's Mas Tiempo. The winds were so light, we had to spend a lot of time motoring, but the day was so warm and sunny, it was ok anyway. Donna and I finally have our new engine panel in on Alice, it's really nice to be able to look down and see the gas gauge without having to remove the aft bunk and lift the cover to see the top of the tank! So now on to the next project. As all of you should know, working on boats is never ending. Launch time for Scotts Flat isn't that far away, so on the nice days, it might be time to spruce up your boat and fix those things that need fixing so you don't have to waste valuable sailing time to get them done. A little soap, water, wax and varnish go a long way in making your boat look a lot nicer and last longer too. In other club news, Lynn Buchannan has resigned as our Cruise chair. She has other commitments that don't allow her a lot of time to work with the club, so we have accepted her resignation. With that in mind, if you are interested in serving leaves April, June, September, October and on the club's Board of Directors as the cruise chairperson, November open. The club will pay for you and please let us know. There was discussion about maybe having your significant other's dinner at the meeting. If a director of the month kind of thing, so that individuals who interested, please look at the locations and dates have plans in place could be the "director" of that event for the of the meetings either on their web site or contact club. I think it's an interesting proposition. one of the directors. That concept has already been adopted for our PICYA representative. We will be having different people represent Fair winds to you all, the club at the delegate meetings through out the year. Dave Howard Hendrich Cowell will be donning the Blue Blazer and going to the March meeting, Dudley and Teresa Gaman will be going in May, Donna and I will do July and Don Hare will do August. That
Member RAFT-UP every Wednesday from 3:00 PM until dusk.
Last month to receive the Little Dinghy if you haven’t renewed.
Club Membership Renewal is due by April 1st.
Volunteers are still needed for the Go for the Gold Regatta.
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Monthly Meeting Minutes, February 10, 2016
These are the preliminary minutes to be submitted to the membership for amendment and approval at the next general meeting:
20 members present.
The meeting was called to order at 7:07 PM by Commodore Howard Hendrich.
Commodore – Howard welcomed all members and announced club burgee stickers, logo bags, and license plate rims are available at the head table.
Vice Commodore – Stewart told of the progress on the Go for the Gold regatta. He is contacting sponsors and asking for help with donations, raffle and auction prizes. He needs help with the Gold Pan trophies and discussed the sizes and where to purchase them. He requested help with the publicity as well. Robin Hart is working on Barbara Hare’s Regatta logo getting it ready for event t-shirts. Stuckie’s Engraving would love for us to come back for badges, engraving etc. Discussion followed about cheaper alternative engravers.
Treasurer – Stephanie stated that as of January, the club’s bank account has $7,700. The club has submitted applications for insurance although there are some questions about required information needed on the renewals.
Secretary - ( Absent)
Publicity/Membership – Hugh thanked former membership and publicity officers for their support. He has recently introduced himself to the Union staff. He introduced Mr. Don File as a new member, who shared his experiences sailing and expressed a desire to connect with the Port Captain to help work on the club’s boats.
Racing - Jerry stated that that Folsom Lake is rising and the FLYC is starting their winter racing series this month. This was witnessed by Scott Mack and Dave Cowell as evidenced in their appearance on KCRA TV News.
Youth Sailing - Don has had one woman show interest in the adult program so far. He will contact former Youth Sailing kids about the advanced program being offered for FJ racing this year.
Port Captain - The clubhouse is in fine condition and the dingy dock is afloat now. Bill asked how the members’ dinghies have been identified when using the dinghy dock. The reply was “There should be a club burgee sticker on the boat”.
Cruise Director – (Absent)
News Letter - Dave asked if everyone got their emails and gave the answers to the January quiz about when and where the board members started sailing.
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New Business -
Lynn Buchannan has resigned as Cruise Director. The club is looking for someone to step up and take the position. Discussion followed about an alternative system of a revolving “director for the month” or Cruise Leader for individual events. The Board would prefer an individual to fill the board seat.
The question came up about selecting a PICYA delegate. The board has realized that the PICYA delegate has to incur a lot of hardship and expense to make the monthly meetings. It was decided that the club would have multiple delegates to reduce the impact. Volunteers were solicited from the present members. After reading the PICYA meeting dates and locations, Dave Cowell took March and April, Dudley and Teresa Gaman took May, Howard and Donna Hendrich took July, and Don Hare took August. These will be re-published in the monthly news letter calendar.
From the Floor – Hugh Talman handed out state waterways boating maps of the Delta.
Melinda Day shared information about No Motor Day and Surf Expo at Scotts Flat Lake.
Teresa Gaman requested that reminders about the next club meeting be sent out by email. Attendance to the meetings and club membership renewal has been slowly picking up. Jerry Lewis suggested penalties each month for late membership.
Bill Gully asked if the club had made its contribution to a local charity back in January. He then made a motion to give a donation to the Food Bank, Melinda Day seconded it, and the motion passed by unanimous vote of the members present.
The meeting was adjourned by the Commodore at 8:12 PM.
PICYA Information
March 7, 2016 – Delegates Meeting, Benicia Yacht Club March 21, 2016 – Board of Directors Meeting, Aeolian Yacht Club March 26, 2016 – Leadership Conference, Martinez Yacht Club April 4, 2016 – Delegates Meeting, Pittsburg Yacht Club April 24, 2016 – Opening Day on the Bay – Heroes on the Water May 7, 2016 – Opening Day on the Delta September 17, 2016 - Coastal Cleanup Day September 24, 2016 – PICYA Wheelchair Regatta (Encinal YC)
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Errata Club Notices Suggestion Box
'To sail is the thing,' wrote Arthur Ransome in his children's classic “Swallows You can anonymously make and Amazons”. And just what is that thing? Every sailor knows. It's what the recommendations to our board of poets say and the pictures show, and everything else, too; it's the joy of casting directors with a mind to make off and the delight of returning home, and it's all the winds and waves in this an even better yacht club! between. It's the beauty of a boat and the power of the currents, the sound of ratcheting winches and the strain on the wheel; it's the fair breezes and It can be found at www.gcyc.net sunsets, the storms and luffing sails. It's the beer in the bar when the race is or with this link: done, and that moment when you feel you'll never get there. It's what sailors mean when, safe and dry, standing on solid ground, they look at you and say, 'I'd rather be sailing.'" - Anne Depue Free Sailing Magazines
It is with great regret that the Board has accepted Lynn Buchanan’s Latitude 38 and 48 North magazines can be picked up resignation from the Cruise chair. The Board has decided that one person could anytime at 148 Richardson not possibly fill her shoes and so will be asking for Cruise Leaders for each of Street in Grass Valley. They are the planned outings. Leaders may opt to change the destination as weather and in the driveway in the BLUE water levels dictate; however, they will be required to give one month’s notice. MAILBOX. Usually we get them The Commodore will be asking for Cruise Leader volunteers at the next between the 2nd and 4th of the General Meeting. month. They are also available
at the general meeting. Lynn and Dale have been longtime benefactors of the club since its inception. They are Plank Holders and have served in just about every capacity there is in Club Meetings our organization. It would be a sure bet to say they’ve owned and raced more The February meeting was held (different) boats in our club than any other member. Curiously, the only name Wednesday the 10th. The next you may recall is “Sailynn”. (There was mention of another boat -“Despite a General meeting will be held blue cheek, Dale "Diesel" Buchanan has successfully installed a new fuel tank Wednesday, March 9th at the in Dulcinea.”) Ask Dale about that. Alta Sierra Pizza & Grill; dine There are so many young people who have Lynn to thank for introducing them from 6pm, Commodore’s bell at to the sport of sailing. One can remember her sharing the intricacies of knot 7pm to start the meeting. tying and how to properly secure a painter to a cleat and the pain she suffered when bending and stooping to help the smallest child. She had knee problems (The club meets the 2nd then. Wednesday of every month but You might also recall a race while closing on a leeward mark with Lynn on your December, and two Wednes- quarter, asking no room and pushing the limit of the rules. She has been one of days before the Gold Country our steadiest and best racers. Regatta.) We can only hope that Lynn and Dale will be out there to test our mettle on the race course and offer insights about the club for years to come. Stay the Dues course! Club dues for current members should be paid before 1 April. “Nice? It's the only thing," said the Water Rat solemnly...,” Believe me, my Forms available at : young friend, there is nothing - absolutely nothing - half so much worth doing http://gcyc.net/gcyc- as simply messing about in boats. Simply messing... In or out of ‘em, it does not membership.html matter. Nothing seems really to matter, that's the charm of it. Whether you get away, or whether you don't, whether you arrive at your destination or whether you reach somewhere else, or whether you never get anywhere at all, you're always busy, and you never do anything in particular; and when you've done it, there's always something else to do, and you can do it if you like..."
"The Wind in the Willows" by Kenneth Grahame.
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Places to Go
Camp Far West is full of water. As a matter of fact it's overflowing and the sight of the water in the spillway is awesome. As a sailing destination this could be a real sleeper except that the facilities around the lake are rather limited. There is a ramp on the north side and one on the south side; however, the south side doesn't open up until May. By then the power boat crowd from Sac has taken over the lake and it becomes a weekend nightmare. Since the lake lies in the extreme ends of Placer, Yuba and Nevada counties it's hard to say there's any effective marine patrol by Sheriffs who don’t see it in their jurisdiction. The lake is notorious for late night parties and high speed powerboats. But, between now and May there is some tranquility and the upper ends of the lake would do for an anchor-out away from the public. There's limited shore access to the upper end of the lake. Because the lake is essentially in the valley with no significant hills the winds follow the Sacramento pattern with afternoon breezes. Most of the shoreline is rocky with no beach sites. There are significant underwater rock outcroppings which become a problem when the lake level drops during irrigation season so that late summer use is severely limited. Access to the lake north shore ramp is via Highway 20, Chuck Yeager Rd. and a gravel road, Waldo and Camp Far West Rds. Otherwise you'd have to drive to Lincoln or Wheatland and come in from the south.
Collins Lake Collins is known predominantly as a fishing lake. They spend a lot of money stocking it and often have tournaments for fishermen. Looking at their website at http://www.collinslake.com/ you immediately see happy fishermen with giant fish. That doesn't mean it isn't suitable for sailing. Like Camp Far West, Collins is a "valley" lake and has wind patterns mostly the same. Low hills surround the lake and high mountains to the north prevent northern winds though. Most of the shore is dirt banks with brush and scrub oak predominantly. The campground sits on the western shore with the eastern shore pretty well devoid of development. Except for fishermen, the setting is serene. The lake management is great with all the attention to detail and regulation you would want so the Wild West attribute of Camp Far West is missing. Like Scotts Flat, personal watercraft are prohibited. Unfortunately the lake is filled by Dry Creek which is strictly a local
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drainage. Currently the lake is twenty feet below full. You can stay overnight on your boat though and the charges are $22 per day(night). To get there you go down Highway 20 to Browns Valley and turn onto the Marysville Road (Chevron Station). Another 10 miles and you'll see the entrance to the lake.
Cruise to Pittsburg (Report) Just last Friday I decided to take a mini-cruise to Pittsburg Yacht Club. It's only 19 miles downriver and there was to be a frontal passage which usually has SW and NW winds associated. I planned on catching the morning ebb tide for an extra knot or two. Friday nights, PYC has great dinners for club members and guests and the Pittsburg marina is a brand new facility with low slip rates and excellent accommodations. It just didn't quite turn out so well. Firstly, the wind didn't pick up until the last couple of miles, and then it blew fifteen knots right on the nose. Arrrgh, tacking up New York Slough is a pain, especially when a tanker comes through from Stockton. Dropping all sail and motoring into the Yacht Club marina (it's separate from the regular public one), it was apparent I was the only visitor and the clubhouse was closed. Maybe I was just the first to show up since it was only two in the afternoon. After docking, hooking up the electrics and paying the $15 berthing fee, I wandered over to the Tocci Yacht Sales office and had an hour or so conversation with Ralph Tocci. Ralph pointed out that since the cook hadn't shown up there probably wasn't to be a dinner that night. Later the clubhouse opened up and I met him again inside. He was correct about no dinner. PYC had a Cruise-OUT going on and they were all up at Benicia YC dining. Oh well! Some venison chili and snack bars for dinner then some TV. Maybe things would improve tomorrow. It was about 3:00 AM when I woke to notice there wasn't any hum from the battery charger. I got up and looked at the breaker lights which were all off. Lost shore power. Did the plug come out, breaker pop, or what? Pulling back the hatch I poked my head out to look around. It was dark, but shouldn't have been. All the dock lights were off. Since I was the only boat there I wondered what I could have done to cause that. Later, at a more reasonable hour I got up and went into the clubhouse to use the facilities (they'll loan you a key). The lights were on in there so the power outage wasn't anything big. Later still, Ralph showed up and we went over to the Harbor Master's office to see if they could fix the problem. We all trooped back to the dock and the HM opened the breaker cabinet on the dock. All the breakers were set as was the master switch so it had to be a PG&E problem. . (That’s the breaker panel box in the middle of the photo.) I spent the next few hours working on boat projects, waiting for the tide to start flooding. Around noon I checked in with Ralph to say goodbye and see if he knew anything. What he told me was amazing. It was apparently a copper wire theft attempt. It's hard to say but since the
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thieves thought the marina would be deserted they'd have been hard pressed to do their dirty work with someone close by who was obviously awake and in plain sight of the breaker box. Then again maybe the dock breaker box padlocks were a deterrent. We'll never know I left and sailed back to home port in time to rendezvous with Howard and Donna and go to Lucy's in Rio Vista for a great Italian dinner. Sunday would be another great day of sailing.
If you’re looking for a great place in the Delta to launch and base out of you can’t find a better one than Pittsburg Marina. Everything is new and well maintained and the rejuvenated downtown boasts several restaurants and shops well within walking distance. You can use the slips at the yacht club if they’re not reserved or call and reserve one. Cost is only $.50 /foot paid with an envelope via drop box. PYC will loan you a key to their bathrooms and showers gratis. Call and check to see if they have something scheduled though. See pittsburgyc.com . It is one hundred and thirty-one road miles to the Pittsburg Marina from Grass Valley via I-80, I- 680 and Highway 4. Get off Highway 4 at Railroad Avenue and head north until you get to the marina. It is very popular with the local folk and is quite busy on shore during the day. Weekends are busy with many events happening during the year. Howard swears by the Bar-B-Q truck that habituates the parking lot weekends. PYC is mainly a power boat club but is very hospitable and well organized.
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Water Woes
If you check the club's web site lake level indicator you'll see that Scotts Flat is slowly rising, very slowly. About a foot a week. At this rate the lake will get full in --- 14 weeks, about the middle of June. That is if the outflow doesn't go up with the start of irrigation season. And we were doing so well with the rain in January. But now we've had weeks of warmer weather and the rains haven't kept up, but the snow melt has and so the Deer Creek drainage snowpack is gone. Without natural inflow the water to fill the lake all comes from the NID South Yuba Canal via the Deer Creek Powerhouse. So the question comes back "Why isn't NID filling Scotts Flat Lake". Curiously you only have to look at the minutes from the NID Board January 29th meeting to see a telltale comment.
"Rem Scherzinger, General Manager, reported that the District has 165,094 acre feet in storage, which is 101 percent of average and 62 percent of capacity. Precipitation as of January 21, 2016 is 115 percent of average. He noted that Rollins Reservoir has been spilling for about one month, and that the District is losing that water to the system at this point. Combie Reservoir is full and both power units are running."
This can be validated by the fact that the downriver reservoir at Camp Far West is also spilling. So, why hasn't NID allowed that "lost water" to be captured in SFL? You'll have to ask Rem that. The only financial motivation to let it go down the Bear is that PG&E has four powerhouses and NID has two to use that water whereas Deer Creek has just one. But, isn't there a flood control issue with the dams being filled too early? Kind of. If Rollins and Camp Far West are full then why is Scotts a flood control reservoir? Because of Nevada City and Lake Wildwood. Some old timers can remember Deer Creek in full flood with the lower level of Lefty's Bar and Grill (then Big AL's) under water and the Broad Street bridge at risk due to debris collecting on the upstream side. There're no flood gates on Scotts Flat and so it fills and then spills. Fill it too early and risk a flooded restaurant in Nevada City. And since this is an El Nino year with heavier than average rainfall.... But, they could divert more water down the lower Cascade canal which isn't used any more. That would spill into Wolf creek and cause issues there. Why make problems for yourself, right?
What's the next step? Of note in the same NID minutes was another statement.
"Rem Scherzinger, General Manager, reported that the District is going to receive three 500 horse power pumps for the Siphon Lane Pump Station. This Project was initiated a year ago when there were failures on the South Yuba Canal. This will provide the District the ability to move approximately 7 to 8 cfs from the Deer Creek side to the Bear River side."
Gee, if they're putting in these pumps then if something happens to the South Yuba Canal where will the water come from, SFL? Stand by for the next development on this plan. Curiously there isn’t any reference to it on the NID website. Siphon Lane is just off of the Highway 174 and Brunswick intersection in Cedar Ridge.
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Spotlight on a New Member
A new member to join GCYC is Dr. Roman Malvehy. Roman recently retired from a local prac- tice and is looking to increase his sailing experience with us. He is Catalon by birth and sailed Snipes and Vauriens in Spain before immigrating to the US. (No, that's not a misprint, there is a Vaurien - see https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaurien.) In the US he sailed a Catalina 27 in Kennebunkport, Maine and in the BVI. Later he moved to the LA area where he sailed locally with trips to Catalina. Some of his best adventures involved sailing in Moorea on a Hobie and more recently in the San Juan Islands in a Catalina. Ask him to relate those stories. Lately he went out on Mas Tiempo and had his first exposure to the Delta and big(er) boat sail- ing. He's hooked and is willing to ship out with anyone looking to take on new crew. Does anyone else see a resemblance to another of the club’s big boat sailors?
Parting Shot
There were three elderly Irish sailors starting out on a great voyage; The first, Scotto, said “My, but it’s a fine windy day.” The second, Howie, said “No. I b’lieve it’s Thursday.” The third, Davey, said ”Aye, me too, let’s go get us a beer.” And so they turned back into port and now you know why Columbus discovered America. Happy St. Patrick’s Day.
Classifieds
J24 Sloop.
Very fast 1980 race boat. Hull and standing rigging is in good condition with many updates. Has large sail inventory including 2 spinnakers, several sets of working sails and one brand new set of racing sails. Carbon fiber spinnaker pole, duplicate set of blocks and sheets. Tactic sail computer, Sony marine am/fm dvd player stereo and VHF marine radio. Single axle trailer and a great mooring spot at Scotts Flat Lake. $5900. Call Seth - 530 292 3274
Flying Junior Sailboat for Sale
Contact Bryant Cockroft for more information: . 530-265-5196 or email [email protected]
13.25’ molded fiberglass centerboard dinghy. Club youth and collegiate racer. Used but good condition with nearly new Pineapple sails. No trailer
Asking $600