The Starting Line April 2015

The Starting Line
April 2015
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
4/18 - Crawdad Cup
Regatta
Commodore’s Repor t by Melissa Hemker
March has been a productive month for the club. The lake is
filing up. As of the time I am writing this article the lake is 5.87
feet below full pool. In the past 3 months, the lake has risen
almost 4 ½ feet! All the rain has slowed down our ability to
launch the new floating breakwater as originally planned.
Kelson Elam has been diligently monitoring the lake progress
and will launch the containers once the rain stops for a few
weeks. Then we still plan to move the docks to deeper water.
Hopefully you’ve noticed some of the changes around the club,
much thanks to:
 David and Misty Hoye for taking the lead in getting new blinds ordered AND installed.
 Virginia Hannan for taking the initiative and ordering a truckload of new mulch for the
playground and John Ragsdill has been working hard to get it moved.
 Dave Christensen, along with the help of Joe Kracmer,
for re-doing the floor in the liquor closet before the
kegs fell thru to the dirt below. This was not a
glamourous task but I am very appreciative of Dave
taking the lead in getting the floor reinforced, tiled
and grouted.
 Pete O’Connell, Robert Vandling and Don Henry for
clearing the harbor of old steel trusses which had
been removed from the docks.
 Larry Seals and Joe Kracmer for taking care of Prep J.
 David and Misty Hoye for organizing the work party on Saturday, March 28th.
 The many volunteer race committees which have allowed the Flying Scot, E-Scow and
MC fleets the opportunity sail each weekend during the month of March.
Rush Creek Yacht Club is OUR club and is successful
because of the countless volunteers. I am blown away
by all of the folks that help each day. Many hands
make light work! Come out and enjoy our club and
see what YOU can do to help.
See you on the water!
Melissa Hemker
Commodore ‘15
5/9-10 - Spring
DinghyFest
5/16-17 Chocopalooza / Area F
Bemis Qualifier
5/30-6/1 - Founders
Regatta/IC24 NAs
6/22-27 - Sunfish
North American
Championship
9/26-27 - George
Griffith Regatta
10/10-11 - Fall
DinghyFest
10/24-25 - IC24
Nationals
12/6 - Commodore's
Requiem
Junior Education Repor t by Wendy Vandling
Spring Junior Sailing—The junior open house on February 28th was a great success with a
lot of visitors! Many of our visitors came from the article posted in the Blue Ribbon News
as well as the signs around town. The juniors are scheduled to participate as a vendor for
the Heart of Heath Family Fun Run on April 4th, members are encouraged to come out
and support our juniors at the free event which will be located at Heath’s Towne Center
Park from 8:00 am to 11:00 am.
The juniors had a successful spring break clinic
that was attended by 12 juniors! Coach Alex did a
great job with the kids in not such ideal weather
conditions. Spring session II has begun and the
juniors are in full swing with the TSA circuit. Six of our juniors attended the
kick-off
regatta
at
Lakewood Yacht Club on
February 28th and we had a
great turnout of 11 juniors
that attended the Spring Fling Regatta at Lake Canyon Yacht Club
on March 14th! Results can be seen at txsail.org.
You might see our juniors wearing their new RCYC Spring Junior
Sailing Shirts around the yacht club and at TSA events! A special
thank you to our sponsors that made the shirts happen: Gus Sails,
Gustavfoto and Vela Sailing Supply!
Sea Scout - Ship 1000: Catalina Island Sail by Don Henry
Sunday morning, March 8, 2015, 11 scouts and scouters departed
Dallas for Spring Break aboard Medusa, a Santa Cruz 52 based in
California. We met Rush Creek Yacht Club member and Medusa
owner Jay Spalding at Marina del Rey. After lunch we held the safety
briefing and discussed the plan for our trip to Santa Catalina Island.
Monday: After provisioning and boat prep, we got underway about
1300. We sailed up past Venice Beach to get a good line on Catalina.
Falling off to port we put up the 2000 sq ft spinnaker. With scouts
navigating, steering and learning how to trim a big asymmetrical chute
we sailed a broad reach to Two Harbors. Two beautifully smooth jibes
later we arrived at our mooring for hamburgers grilled on the stern.
Tuesday: We toured Two Harbors before departing for the
backside of the island. In typical So Cal conditions we motored
until we rounded the end of the island where sea breeze filled in
for a spinnaker reach into the other harbor at Two Harbors.
Dinner was a chicken white chili. In true scouting spirit the
scouts took care of cooking and cleaning.
Wednesday: French Toast, whipped cream and maple syrup –
excellent meals continued. Jay’s cappuccino machine sounded
réveillé each morning. Nice breeze all day, nor/norwest 1118knts. Tacking drills, sailing to weather; setting and dousing
drills; jibing drills got the scouts pumped up and ready for a 4hour broad reach under spinnaker down the back side of
Catalina Island. Dinner was mac & cheese with either
vegetarian or kielabasa sausage.
Thursday: Much welcomed showers and laundry ashore,
golf cart tour of Avalon, including a stop at the Wriggly
Memorial & Botanic Garden, lunch at Descano Beach.
Shopping and arcade time. Dinner was chicken tacos.
Later that evening, the Harbor Patrol was prepping for a
possible frontal passage with winds up to 30knts.
Avalon Harbor is unprotected from the north. We
discussed options with scouts and settled on a plan to
sail to the lee side of the island if necessary. Everyone
organized and packed for a quick exit if necessary. The
front never showed up and we spent our last night on the
mooring listening to a gentle surf breaking.
Friday: A beautiful sunrise revealed Southern California’s coastline while we enjoyed lattés in the cockpit. We
motored to Two Harbors to complete our circumnavigation of Santa Catalina Island. Wind was fickle but finally
filled in about 5knts out of the northwest. We fell off, set
and doused the spinnaker 3 times and reached in to
Marina del Rey. Mexican dinner and awards at El Tonito just
walking distance from the boat’s berth at Windward Yacht
Center.
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Best Sailor: Chris
Best Playlist: Tim
Most Improved Sailors: Mercedes & David (tie)
Knothead Scout: David, for swimming in his jeans
Knothead Scouter: Robert, for challenging Chris & David
to swim to shore and climb a hill.
Ship 1000 had a great time as Medusa’s crew and learned
a lot about sailing a 52-foot racer. By the end of the week
the scouts were sailing without instruction from adults. This
scout planned and led activity was a brilliant success. Thank you, Jay Spalding, for taking time and making Medusa
available.
Scouts: Tim White (Ordinary), Crew Leader and
cockpit; Jinah Mullins (Apprentice), planning
committee, cockpit, spin trim and helm; Mercedes
Alavaringa (Apprentice), planning committee and
spin trim; Caitlin Milner (Apprentice), helm and
cockpit; Hana Mullins (Apprentice), helm and mast
climber; David Milner (Apprentice), dingy master
and foredeck; Chris Steele (Apprentice, Eagle
Scout), planning committee, mast and foredeck.
Scouters: Jay Spalding (Eagle Scout), owner &
Medusa skipper; Don Henry (Eagle Scout), skipper
ship 1000, Patty Alvey, galley master; Frank
Mullins, small engine repair; Robert Phillips (Eagle
Scout, Chairman, East Trinity Trails District), golf
cart driver.
House Repor t by Kenny Wolfe
Club Improvements
You have hopefully noticed the results of BOG’s approval of funding for new shades and new bar stools.
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We will also be Powder coating the frames of the bar height tables.
Tremendous thank you to Misty and David Hoye for managing the project as well as everyone who helped.
Dave Christensen and Joe Kracmer volunteered their time to tackle a much needed project---re-tiling the floor
of the liquor closet. A huge thanks to both of them as they put in long hours (3am) to minimize the amount of
inconvenience of club operations.
We had a very successful work party, and worked through a number of projects that have been on “the list”
for much time. We appreciate everyone who participated.
We will be releasing our Spring/Summer menu in April. We hope you like some of the new options. For those
who are targeting a healthier option, we have added a Turkey Burger for you.
Love Boat Race/Dinner
This event was fantastic. We almost had the same number as the annual dinner. Success is tied to a one day
sailing race and the well published “Nice Dinner”.
Wednesday Nights
We have been having great participation on Wednesday nights—even on non-last Wednesdays. This is great to
see!
Upcoming Event: Crawdad Cup
Last year we had great success at the 1st Annual Crawdad cup, even with horrible weather. We have moved it to
April 18th targeting better crawdads and more desirable weather. We will post the NOR this week, and the racing
will be open to non-RCYC sailors. I will be the Regatta Chair, but we need a PRO and volunteers for the Crawfish.
Wednesday Night Specials
Bill Pay Address Update
4/1 - Fish Tacos W/ black beans & fire roasted corn
Soup - Spicy Beef Taco
Dessert - Mexican Hot Chocolate Brownie Sundae
Due to the Heath Post Office Closing… Members
who are using Online Bill Pay Service please
change the remittance address in the billing profile
for Rush Creek Yacht Club to:
4/8 - Baked Rigatoni w/ RCYC dinner salad & garlic bread
Soup - Tomato Basil
Dessert - Cannoli Cake
4/15 - Spicy Fried Chicken Breast w/ mashed potatoes, slaw,
corn on the cob & biscuit
Soup - Faux Gumbo
Dessert - banana pudding
4/22 - Tuna Stuffed Tomatoes on Spring Mixed Greens Salad
Soup - Roasted Carrot Apple
Dessert - cheese cake
Rush Creek Yacht Club
201 Laurence Dr.
Ste. 205
Heath, TX 75032
If the remittance address still reflects "PMB" 205
the checks are being returned back to your banking
institution.
4/29 - Turkey Pot Pie
Soup - Chicken Bacon Ranch
Dessert - Chocolate Chip Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches
Rush Creek Yacht Club
320 Rush Creek Drive
Heath, Texas 75032
W eb S it e — ww w. rc y c.o rg
F ac eb o ok Bo ok P ag e — R us h C r e ek Yac ht Cl ub
J u ni o r F ac eb ook Pag e — T eam R C YC
Phone: 972-771-6500
Fax: 972-722-3508
Email: [email protected]