The Yardarm Newsletter for The Hudson Cove Yacht Club Late Summer 2014 Commodore’s Message Hi All, The summer seems to have gone quickly but I guess that means we were having fun in the sun. I am somewhat saddened that this is my last article for the Yardarm as Commodore. Throughout the years I have enjoyed the camaraderie from fellow club members and most definitely appreciated the work of past Commodores as well as the Board of Governors. The club has had some interesting outings and meetings. Some members have been certified in CPR, some of us cruised Long Island Sound. We’ve taken a short trip to Nyack and cruised up the Hudson to Rondout Bay. On August 23 rd Many of us were able to picnic although a huge rainstorm passed by and we almost needed our life jackets. There was actually about 4 or 5 inches of rain by the conference center. However, the food and company were great. There were also several potluck BBQs where many of us (or should I say the Commodore) over indulged because the food was so good. We still have an upcoming general meeting Saturday, September 27 th as well as our Election Meeting on Saturday October 18 th . Please consult our website hudsoncove.com for activity updates. I am saddened by the recent death of a former member of the yacht club, Hedy Singer. Her husband, Mel Singer, survives her. Our thoughts and prayers go out to him. Sincerely, Marc Goldzweig Commodore, HCYC Coming Up: “Shells sink, *General Membership Meeting dreams float. September 27 th Game Room next to Samalot Life’s good 7:30 PM on our boat.” —Jimmy Buffet— *Annual Election Meeting October 18 th Spook Rock Golf Course 7 PM The Yardarm Page 2 Hudson Cove Yacht Club Turns The year was 1984. Back then, according to founding member Ron Alfandre, you couldn’t moor at a Long Island Sound yacht club, not even just for dinner, unless you were a yacht club member. So Ron, Jeff Friedman, Don Merberg, and Marc Halpern started “what-iffing.” What if they formed a club out of Haverstraw. Their boats were already docked there. They had friends who would likely want to join. So began a year of plans. The club name was chosen, a statement of purpose was es- tablished, and preliminary by-laws were drawn up. Steve Pendleton and Nancy Devries were welcomed on board. It was Nancy who de-masculinized the by-laws. They’d been written as if the only members were men (who says Commodore’s are always he-s?). In fact, HCYC may have been the first club to offer full membership to women as well as men! Other firsts followed quickly… First Yardarm, first Board of Governors’ election, first Commodore’s Ball (then called simply the Annual Dinner Dance… dinner, drinks, music and dancing for just $30!). Membership grew reaching 83 boats by the end of 1988. Ron served as club treas- urer on an off (mostly on) for 18 years. Read more about the who, what, and how it all started on hudsoncove.com. Click on “About Us” and cruise down memory lane. “Twenty years from now, you will be more disap- pointed by the things you didn’t do than those you did. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from safe harbor. Catch the wind in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.“ —Mark Twain— The Yardarm It was the best of times, it was the worst of times Three Yacht Clubbers’ cruise plans hit rough waters Page 3 ... And Then There Was One! ! Fleet’s Annual Cruise… Through the New York State It was to be the Power Canal System to Lake Champlain. Ten days, twelve locks...an adventure! But work resp bilities and family commitments intervened and Linda Anders on “Sleepwalking” were the only ones to shove Thursday morning. onsi- A beautiful five-hour ride the first day brought them and Jeff Coeymans NY. And that’s where their trouble started. off that sunny Troy lock around their prop and the boat had to be hauled. No morning looking forward to their first lock experie to Coeymans’ Marina in First, a buoy chain wrapped themselves on what a piece of cake it haddamage been. so An they set off the next wrong… They lost their GPS, had a mufflernce at leak Troy; with then, w congratulating gine room, a bilge pump went blewie and had to be re float. Jeff was able to keep up with all the repairs d then it really went conked out. That’s when they said “uncle” and headed ater in the en- to restart the bad engine at the Troy lock since pro placed along with a he would have to maneuver through the single working until one engine Jeff working the lock only one engine). Luckily the engine kicked in and the back. Jeff had started to overheatthe just way beforehome carefully Haverstraw. monitoring They docthe temp and oil blemspre there meant 7:30 PM after a long, long 13-hour ride home. And door (tricky on y babied it all ked on one enginessure. around It yes, they’d try it again next year! Sunset at Haverstraw, “A ship in a harbor is safe a very but that is not what ships are built for.” welcome sight —John Shedd— The Yardarm Page 4 Chuck Manley Tells Us the Dumb Things He Did Yet It All Worked Out in the End With A Little Help From His Friends. We go to sea in our boats with the expectations that we get to our destinations without any problems. We check our inventory of safety equipment, make sure our communication devices work, check and service or replace all our fillers, belts, pumps on the engine, and make sure the batteries are charged and working, etc. Even when you do all that you have been trained to do or paid to insure a safe passage problems do occur. If they occur on the high seas there is a high possibility that it will happen in bad weather creating some intense times where “keeping your cool” is a real necessity. And do not do dumb things. We have a saying on one of our pictures aboard “Cloudspin” “Boating is hours of pleasure interrupted by moments of terror.” Even seasoned boaters will get blasé about checking all the important points to insure a safe passage. You have been relaxed, it’s a sunny day (maybe) and the boat has performed well during your cruise. Then it happens! “Cloudspin” was doing very well for our HCYC Long Island Sound Cruise this summer. Although there was not much wind to sail on we made good time to Newport and we were on our way back to home port. There was some rainy weather while we were at port in James- town, Rhode Island; but, that is what you expect a little of during a two-week cruise on the Sound. We reached Clinton, CT on a bright sunny day to stay overnight at Cedar Island Marina. It would be only a few days until we would be back at Haverstraw. All was well! Clinton is known for FOG and is a very difficult harbor to enter or leave when you cannot see the front of your boat. But the GPS with its track makes it an easy trip through the zigzag passage to the Sound. And the only lesson to know is to go slowly, stay on the GPS track, and watch for the marker buoys, if you can see them. As we cleared the channel the fog started to clear and we determined that there was some light wind to sail on. Having been wind-starved during our trip it was a pleasure to get the sails up and do some sailing. Well the wind gods were not cooperating and we determined after nearly an hour, that with the dying wind and current against us it was proper to get the engine going and make for Milford. The ills for having a cruise plan. That is when our problems began! As we increased our speed the engine would decrease in RPMs. It appeared to be a diesel problem and a check of the engine indicated a diesel leak! You see I should have checked the engine compartment before leaving the dock and I would have found the mat below the engine saturated with diesel. (1 st dumb mistake- Check the engine before you leave the dock.) Then I recalled the engine had started to act a little funny (not a big fat ha-ha, but now a revelation aha!) when “Cloudspin” was reaching the dock the night before; the engine was making a few interesting revs. However, it was a long trip to Clinton and cocktails were on our minds. (2 nd dumb mistake- If something seems wrong it probably is and you should check it out.) (Cont’d. on page 5) The Yardarm Page 5 The leak was found, but the compression washers needed were not anywhere in our inventory of hundreds of nuts, bolts, and washers. Trying to crank-up the offending attachment to the primary filter did not help. (3 rd dumb mistake – have on hand important parts and forget the multitudes of minor parts with little impact on safety or emergencies.) However, at last, we did one thing right - we had Sea Tow insurance (for a 26 year-old boat it was the right thing to have- 1 st bright act, never leave home without it.) A call to Sea Tow connected us to a local Sea Tow that came to our aid in about a half an hour and delivered “Cloudspin” back to the dock we had just disembarked from.