February 2017 Official Publication of Alamitos Bay Yacht Club Volume 90 • Number 2 2016 mostimproved sailor ynthia Heavrin, a member of the ABYC Senior Sabot Fleet was awarded the SCWSA’s “Most Improved Sailor” trophy for 2016. “Cindy” has been sailing Sabots Cfor approximately five years. She said when she started, racing was a challenge. During one race she was in last place and had trouble making the weather mark. To her dismay, she hit it and had to take a penalty turn. That doesn’t happen anymore. Now, she is in the thick of the action, getting good starts and sailing like an old timer. The Southern California Women’s Sailing Association was organized in 1974 to promote interclub dinghy racing in Southern California. The organization is comprised of women and men sailors, age 18 and up, who race Naples Sabots. Currently, five regattas are held during the year at various yacht clubs, which includes The Ladies (and Gents) Regatta in October at ABYC. The “Most Improved Sailor” trophy is almost all wood. It highlights two metal Naples Sabots on a wooden beryl. The Trophy was first awarded in 2012 to Carol Pearson, MBYC; in 2013 to John Hauk ABYC; in 2014 to Darin Jayden; SDYC/Dean Macdonald, NHYC, and in 2015 to Dana Fischbeck, NHYC/Dee Van Horne, SDYC. Originally it was used as the Naples Sabot Women’s B trophy from 1982-1991 until it was replaced by another trophy. In 2012 it was rededicated and has been presented to the Most Improved Sailor ever since. It will be on display at Alamitos Bay until this coming October. atticclean out Annual attic clean-up, inventory and organization of ABYC event decorations by part of the SAC team; Lori Vanskyhock, Lesley Bunting, Candace Fisher, Carla Higbee (not pictured), Carol Ruegg, and Dana Bell, in preparation for a fun filled 2017. sav e the date inside Happy Hour .............................. February 3, 10, 24 Manager’s Corner ............................................. 2 Sunset Saturday................. February 4, 11, 18, 25 Commodore’s Compass .................................... 2 Superbowl Party ................................... February 5 Rear View .......................................................... 4 Ukelele Lessone................................... February 7 Fleet Captain’s Log ........................................... 4 Membership Meeting.......................... February 17 Junior Sailing.................................................. 4-6 Midwinters Regagga .................. February 18 & 19 Rules Quiz #27............................................ 7 & 9 Club ABYC ................................................March 3 Membership ......................................................8 Manning Regatta ................................ March 4 & 5 Hails From the Fleets ................................... 9-11 Full ABYC Calendar sou’wester • february 2017 • page 1 manager’scorner Kelly Rose photo ell, it seems as though the rainy season is upon us, if January is any indication of how February will turn W out. After weeks of much-needed heavy rainfall here in Southern California, you can be certain that many-a-boats in our yard are filling up with water. So if you are fortunate enough to have a boat in our yard, please don’t forget to come down and show it some love by making sure it’s not filled up with water. And while you’re here, why not grab a burger or a cup of warm soup at the Galley, or even stick around for a drink or two at the bar on a Saturday afternoon? Trust me, it will be time well-spent and you just might make a new friend or two. Speaking of the bar being open on Saturday, have you heard about that yet? Well, it is open every Saturday now, from 3pm to 6pm upstairs, and the official name for the occasion is “Sunset Saturdays”, a quite fitting name, don’t you think? Just another reason for members to come down and enjoy their club even if the weather isn’t cooperating for sailing conditions. So come on down and check it out! We look forward to seeing you down here at the club this Winter! Tori commodore’s compass Kathy Robinson photos ail on January…HELLO the month of love!! I cannot believe that it is already February, wow! With that said, if you are going to do something sweet for your Valentine you might S want to include the other part of the family- like your boat that is in the yard! We have received roughly 17.8” of rain since October, which is amazing and that means that you immediately need to come down to the club and bail out your Cal 20, Lido 14, Etchells, Sabot, Opti, Snipe, Kayak, Viper, anything that holds water! I have bailed out our Cal 20 5 times over the last couple of months removing tons of water! Hey, while you’re at it bailing out all of that nasty water and schmuck…it may be a good time to reflect on “when was the last time I used this pride of joy?” Anyway, boats need love and I am sure all the boats in the yard need some long deserved attention. Moving along…our Club 13 (which is our hybrid of a happy hour) has now changed its name to Sunset Saturdays. It is intended for members and quest to come down to the club for a drink to enjoy the sunset or catch up with a member that might have been out practicing, training or just messing around on boats or at the club. Come on down and enjoy the killer view! I would like to give a shout out to our juniors and our junior Commodore Ryan Schack for pulling together the dinner and program for the January general membership meeting. A PowerPoint presentation outlined what the juniors have been up to, and each fleet had an opportunity to showcase what they have been up and explain what is coming up, which was a very nice presentation. They also had a 50/50 raffle along with Jennifer Golison helping out selling all of the cool sea bags from Maine- thank you Jennifer for your continued support to the junior program. Well it is that time of year when all of the Opening Day ceremonies and installation dinners are upon us. Trish and I attended LBYC Installation and let’s just say that there was no shortage of hospitality, good food and libations. Our first Opening Day is going to be LAYC and as of this writing it will be Trish and I, Nicole Peoples, Jon and Kathy Robinson and Dave and Stacy Schack. It is a great way to mingle and connect with fellow clubs. Trish, is this enough sunscreen? ...continued next page sou’wester • february 2017 • page 2 morecommodore ...from page 2 Tons going on at the club…have you seen the new Nacra 15’s that are in the east yard? The Nacra 15 was selected as the world youth multihull class, to be used at the Youth World Sailing Championships for the foreseeable future. The Nacra 15 is essentially a smaller version of the Olympic Nacra 17. The intent is to train out of ABYC to prepare for the 2017 US Youth Championships in Corpus Christi in June. Pete Melvin is spearheading this effort, which is a great opportunity for our youth sailors to get involved with. If you have any questions or want to get on the rotation, contact Pete! How about that Weekly Reader? Stacy Massy is going a great job, (thanks Stacy) and I am having fun posting various videos and jokes. If for some reason you are not receiving the WW, just go onto the main ABYC page and on the lower right corner there is a button to subscribe. Cheers, be kind, and we hope to see you around the club soon… Chuck, Trish and Chelsea Got Sails? The Juniors are collecting old sails to recycle into duffle bags and other gear. Clean out your boat and garage! Simply drop off your old sails in the designated collection bin in the junior room. Sou’Wester DEADLINE Help us to Help you! Please keep your e-mail address current February 19, 2017 is the deadline with [email protected] to receive all of the weekly news and events. Thank for the March Sou’Wester. you. 2016/17 OFFICERS & DIRECTORS Commodore Chuck Clay Treasurer Nicole Peoples/George Kornhoff [email protected] Vice Commodore Kevin Brown Junior Commodore Ryan Schack [email protected] Rear Commodore Dave Schack Fleet Surgeon Dr. Richard Bell [email protected] Judge Advocate Tom Ramsey, Esq. Fleet Captain Steve Mueller [email protected] Fleet Chaplain Don Reiman Secretary [email protected] Port Captain Dave Myers/Christina Hall Jr. Staff Commodore Latham Bell [email protected] Sou’wester Editor/Layout Sharon Pearson Directors [email protected] Junior Program Steve Bloemeke Weekly Reader Stacy Massey [email protected] Membership Dan Milefchik [email protected] [email protected] ABYC Phone (562) 434-9955 Volunteers Rob Stropky Homepage www.abyc.org [email protected] Email [email protected] sou’wester • february 2017 • page 3 rearview t has been a busy January. The SAC continues to be very busy in making plans for upcoming events including a wine tasting event tentatively scheduled for April 1st; details are forthcoming. I I’ve had a lot of fun working with the dedicated members of SAC and if you’re are interested in helping out please let Dana Bell know. Any level of commitment is welcome. For those of you who were not able to attend the January General Membership meeting the Juniors put on a great presentation about what they’ve been up to. We have some very dedicated kids representing ABYC who are thankful for all of the support the membership provides. Sunset Saturdays (AKA/formerly Club 13) continues on Saturday afternoons. Whatever the occasion-post sailing, storm-watching or you’re just looking to get out of the house come down and hang-out at ABYC.