…a little dinghy November 2015 Gold Country Yacht Club monthly Newsletter Call for more info: 530-272-6969 Volume 37, Issue 11 From the Commodore Hi all, the first snow has fallen here in Grass Valley so there is some hope that we will have a lake behind the dam at Scotts Flat. We are only 6 months away Regular Columns: from our next Go for the Gold Regatta and already the planning has started. What better way to spend these cold winter days than thinking about sailing in • From the the nice warm summer breezes on the lake? Well, if you're interested in help- Commodore 1 ing out or racing this year please let us know. • Club Notices 3 I hope everyone had a • Membership 3 happy Thanksgiving this year. Donna and I • Classifieds 6 went to relatives in the Sacramento area and had a great time. My nephew cooked a tur- key on a rotisserie over a fire pit, it was very good. We will be in Puerto Vallarta at the time of the Christmas Party this year, so we wish you all a great time at the party and a very Merry Christmas to Individual all. Highlights: Howard Hendrich • Shift Change 2 Commodore, GCYC s/v Alice, Catalina 30 • Macho Man 4 • SFL Forecast 6 March 2013 General Club Page 2 of 11 …a little dinghy At Our Helm Shift Change Rick Paulson Commodore Howard Hendrich The time has come for me to give someone else in the club an opportunity to serve 530-272-6969 as a channel for GCYC’s many talented officers and scribes. I’ve enjoyed this en- [email protected] deavor even more than I expected, and because of that may have over-stayed my welcome. It’s been a fun 5 years and before I turn this post over to a very promising Vice Commodore editor in Dave Cowell, I’d like to share some of my favorite content from …a little Phillip Easley dinghy during my tenure. 530-477-6806 [email protected] My first issue it was an honor to introduce the new commodore, Chris Buti. Chris’s opening statement Secretary alongside the Buti family’s first sailboat, a Venture Debbie Mack 21, “It feels odd writing my first Commodore’s 925-899-0739 message in “…a little dinghy”. I have been with [email protected] this club nearly 20 years now and I have so many memories to share with all of my fellow ship- Treasurer mates.” Chris served a productive 2 years as the Stephanie Perry GCYC Commodore. 530-887-9522 [email protected] Of course there’s no forget- ting our perpetual Race Cruise Chairman Committee Chair, and my Vacant race skipper, Jerry Lewis, here sporting his Aussie look during the 2011 GFTG Re- Publicity/Membership gatta. Teresa Gaman 530-272-8042 Remember Don an and Katie [email protected] Wight departing the Gate on Port Captain their adventure to the lower Baja regions (redun- dant?)? How fun that was to share in their adven- Bryant Cockcroft 530-265-5196 tures, so well chronicled by Katie throughout their [email protected] travels! There have been so many excellent contributions Race Chairman Jerry Lewis to …a lil dinghy during these five years that I 530-272-9380 could fill several pages with great photos and [email protected] quotes from our talented club members. Newsletter Editor But of course I can’t neglect to recognize our most prolific Rick Paulson contributor, the bard of GCYC, Dudley. To date his volumes 530-274-2549 include Going to Town, Offshore workout, The Lost Screen, [email protected] Gas Pains, That Damn Noise, Stopping Traffic, A Whale Tale, Type Casting, Mandarum, Dudley’s Philosophy of Sailing, Sailing Education Book Learnin’, Bucket List, Island Time, Rules, Going Gold, Hugh Talman Sights and Sounds, Away Sailing, A History of Scott’s Flat 530-272-2344 Lake, and in this issue, Macho Man. It’s been an [email protected] honor and a pleasure editing and posting your work, matey. Keep the creative juices flowing. I leave …a little dinghy (the newsletter of course) in good hands. Dave Cowell’s dry humor and passion for sailing will guarantee plenty of good information and entertain- ment for the GCYC. Thanks for the support these years and see you on the water! Rick Paulson Newsletter Editor s/v Oski, Catalina 22 Page 3 of 11 …a little dinghy Teresa’s Membership Log Club Notices Ahoy Friends, Suggestion Box As some of you know, I am stepping down from the Membership/Publicity You can anonymously make rec- Board seat. It was a fun-filled 3 years ommendations to our board of di- and I really enjoyed meeting such a rectors with a mind to make this great group of people. You will be in an even better yacht club! good hands because Hugh Talman has graciously stepped up to the helm and It can be found at www.gcyc.net will replace me as your new Member- or with this link: ship/Publicity Director. He has a lot of experience in this Yacht Club, and, he has a sincere, positive attitude about its existence and future. Thank you, Hugh, and, thanks to GCYC for letting me serve. Free Sailing Magazines Put your hands together for new mem- Latitude 38 and 48 North maga- ber, Thomas Poppleton (and first mate zines can be picked up anytime Terry Graban) from Nevada City, whom at 148 Richardson Street in we met at the last General Meeting on Grass Valley. They are in the November 11th. He has a 1976 26' driveway in the BLUE MAIL- Balboa, named LaBall Troth. BOX. Usually we get them be- tween the 2nd and 4th of the All hands on deck -- I look forward to seeing you all at the Annual Holiday Awards month. They are also available Banquet on Saturday, December 5th, at Ponderosa Hall, 11228 McCourtney Road, at the general meeting. Nevada County Fairgrounds, Grass Valley. I'm sure by now you've received a call from Katie Wight regarding the pot luck dinner, pirate gift exchange (1 gift per Family with 2 steals), and the rest of the evening's schedule. Please RSVP to Katie so we Club Meetings know how many tables to prepare. The last meeting was held Wednesday, November 11th. Appetizers begin at 5:00, dinner begins at 6:00. Thank you, Katie, for all your hard The next General meeting will work preparing for this wonderful party. We look forward to seeing everyone there. be held at Alta Sierra Pizza; And, don't forget your dancing shoes! Wednesday, January 13th dine from 6pm, Commodore’s bell at If you haven't renewed your membership this year, and you want to attend the party, 7pm to start the meeting. please renew now for 2016. Thank you. (The club meets the 2nd Happy Holidays! Wednesday of every month but December, and two Wednes- Teresa Gaman days before the Gold Country Membership/Publicity Director Regatta.) GCYC s/v Kia Orana, Catalina 36 s/v Blown Away, Capri 18 Page 4 of 11 …a little dinghy Macho Man by Dudley I may not be a racer, but that doesn't mean that I'm above showing off my sailing skills whenever someone is watch- ing. There is nothing better looking than a perfectly trimmed sailboat beating to weather, wind in the hair, spray on the face, boat healing at its most efficient angle. And there is, or at least was, never an excuse for using the motor when there was wind blowing. That would be a sign of weakness. Teresa and I had sailed our Catalina 27, Invictus, up to spend Friday night in Alameda before heading over to a raft-up at Clipper Cove the next day. Saturday morning the wind was ripping down the Oakland Estuary. Clearly using poor judgement, I decided it would be more manly to beat up the channel than to use the motor. We set off on a port tack and making good speed, but little progress, we tacked back to- ward the other side of the channel. And we tacked back, and forth, and back, and forth. Motoring boats were passing us on our left. They were passing us on the right. And we kept tacking. I was having fun against the challenge, but had I been more attentive to my mate, I would have noticed that she wasn't sharing my glee. We'd probably tacked about 40 times when Teresa stomps down below muttering, “I'm never going sailing again.” No sooner had she ducked her head inside than, BOOM! CRASH! Suddenly the mast was bent at a 90 degree angle with the lower part draped across the deck and the upper part dragging alongside with the sails madly flapping in the water. Curiosity getting the best of her, Teresa came back topside to see that we had a problem and her anger slowly gave way to helping me figure out what to do. We fired up the old Atomic 4 and got control of the boat. Being in no immediate danger, we decided to head for the nearest dock which happened to be an abandoned collection of pilings and rotten wood with ugly nails menacingly protruding as potential hazards. Probably not the best dock to use in such a blow, so we motored onward down the channel. We were soon joined off our starboard side by a police boat that had noticed our misfortune and come to offer assistance. Assuring them we were fine and we needed no help, which would have been another sign of weak- ness, they left us to figure out what to do with the damage.