Jan Flotilla (Page 8) - The Sailing Club Inc.

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Go Round the Horn at
Author’s Night 2006
Mark your calendars boys and girls, for ye won’t
Publishing. After recognizing
want to miss this year’s author – Dallas Murphy.
that making a living in theater
We’ll be traveling to higher latitudes for this
was unlikely, he turned to
Author’s Night, at least in our collective minds, to 55
prose fiction. Dallas published
degrees 59 minutes South latitude by 67 degrees 16
four novels in the ‘90s, among Murphy will discuss his
minutes West longitude. As Mr. Murphy states in the
them Apparent Wind, set in
2004 book, Rounding the
Horn at 2006 Author’s
Introduction to his book, “There is no land to the
South Florida, and a threewest, none to the east, all the
book mys- Night.
way around the world.
tery series about a guy who lives
Meet The Author
Antarctica is the nearest contioff of his dog, a star in movies,
Dallas Murphy
nental landmass, 600 miles
TV, and pet-food advertising.
south.” His most recent work
After learning the same thing
6:00 PM
Rounding The Horn: Being a Story
about novels, Dallas turned to
Saturday, February 11 nonfiction, publishing Rounding
of Williwaws and Windjammers,
Drake, Darwin, Murdered
the Horn. This was no third
Missionaries and Naked Natives – a Deck’s-Eye View of
choice, however.
Cape Horn, is the subject for this event. I just finished
Dallas states that he has been fascinated by Cape
the book and must say it is a good read!
Horn, and has been thinking, reading, and dreaming
This year the event will be slightly different from
about the ocean since childhood in Florida. Dallas
previous Author’s Nights. We’ll be selling the book
continued on page 3
before the event so that you can read it before you
attend. Then, on February 11th we’ll all join in reading some of our favorite passages and questioning
Dallas on his cruise in these most southern waters.
Afterwards, get your copy autographed while greetThe Official Newsletter of The Sailing Club, Inc.
ing him one-on-one. You may purchase the book by
19 Manor House Drive, Dobbs Ferry, New York 10522
going to www.amazon.com and having it shipped
Mia McCroskey, Editor
directly to you (least expensive way for you), or I can
The Sailing Club Board
order the books for you at a slightly higher fee. I’ll
Officers
need to know by January 20th.
Commodore
Steve Krakauer
As always, wine and cheese will start the evening
Vice-Commodore
Larry Sherwood
at 1800 hours. The program will start around 1900
Membership Secretary
Mary Ann Gordon
Interim Treasurer
Cecelia Sweeney
hours.
Charter
Liaison
Laura
Laughlin
Contact me for a reservation and by the 20th of
Past
Commodore
Dave
Steward
January for the book at [email protected].
About the Author
Dallas began his career as a playwright after
receiving an MFA from University of Massachusetts.
His first plays were produced Off Broadway, at
Williamstown Theater Festival, and in San Francisco.
The Terrorists was published by Broadway Play
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Members at Large
Jeff Hamer, Barbara Humphries, Joel Mack, Clara
Matejka, Mia McCroskey, Vic Oburg, Doal Sanderson,
John Sefcik, Jon Stufflebeem
Please send all newsletter submissions to:
Mia McCroskey
19 Manor House Drive K12, Dobbs Ferry, NY 10522
[email protected]
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West Indies
Windjammer
Now when you leave the warmth of your home
and step into the under-twenty-degree cold of winter,
think about how nice it must be in the Caribbean.
The Windjammer Trip happens at the end of April as
the winter months leave us. When you come home
after this trip, the summer months are approaching to
keep the Caribbean memories alive. It's bound to be
delightful!
Windjammer Trip Leader
Vic Oburg [email protected]
We still have air-conditioned cabin space on the
Polynesia Windjammer, a 4-masted, 248 foot, 112-passenger (max) vessel. We're heading through the West
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Indies for six days
and six nights with
stops scheduled at
six beautiful islands.
No work, just relaxing with the help of
complimentary
Happy Hour Rum
Swizzles. White
sand beaches and
SV Polynesia
turquoise/jade green
waters under sunny skies will certainly set the mood.
Meals (all included) are reported to be excellent. So
far, we have 28 members, or members-to-be, who will
be enjoying this exciting cruise out of Dutch Sint
Maarten.
Check out the Club website under the rolling banner on the Windjammer Trip and become a "Jammer"
with us. We'll surely razz you if you miss it!
continued from page 2
Author Night
sails seriously (on other peoples
boats) racing and cruising inshore
and off. After navigating the 2002
Newport to Bermuda Race, he
decided to write a book about the
Gulf Stream on which he is now
working. It will be published by
Perseus Books late next year.
Researching the book has put him
to sea on several oceanographic
expeditions with Woods Hole and
NOAA.
Among other writing, he has
published a two-book series of
plays for children (Scholastic),
and has written about sailing and
navigation for specialty magazines
May you always have a star
by which to steer.
– Dave Steward
Spend a Day to Save a Life:
Certify in CPR and
Standard First Aid
March 4, 2006
The Safety Committee of The Sailing Club is again
pleased to sponsor a training session in which participants can become certified in CPR and Standard First
Aid.
These are invaluable skills that could save peoples
lives. While certification in CPR and Standard First
Aid is required for all Skippers in The Sailing Club,
this session is open to all Club members, family &
friends. The more people who know these life-saving
skills, the safer we will all be.
Please visit the upcoming events section of the
Club's website for more details.
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January in the Tropics
This week in paradise was a late
addition to the 2005
season. The British
Virgin Islands lived
up to their reputation
as “Disneyland” for
sailors with easy
sailing, perfect
anchorages, and loads
of carefree fun.
Photos by Joel Mack
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Getting Involved
Save the Date:
The Sailing Club’s Annual Meeting
Come renew friendships and meet new members. Here is your
chance to hear about all the exciting trips and events planned
for 2006. Announcement of election results. Introduce new Board
of Trustees and Officers.
Friday, March 31
6:00 p.m.
Watch your mail and email for details
or contact Clara Matejka
909-766-2939, [email protected]
Our Club owes its success in large part to its
volunters. Trip Leaders, Skippers and First
Mates are just the most visible. The Club is
goverened by a sixteen-member Board of
Trustees, consisting of six officers and ten members-at-large. Members-at-large are the voice of
the Club on the board and may also lead subcommittees like Social, Safety, and Newsletter.
The election for the board is next month. We
are looking for volunteers to serve as membersat-large for a one-year term. If you are interested
or want to know more, please contact John
Sefcik 908-359-1089 or [email protected].
BVI Portrait Gallery:
Old and new friends
sharing fun, sun, and
boat drinks.
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Lower Chesapeake Bay Circumnavigation
(A Counter Clockwise Sail in the Bay less traveled)
We said we were going to sail.
on the Severn River. We
It was eight days and more than
arrived around 1600 and
two hundred fifty miles spread
quickly assembled a raft.
over fifty-two or more hours of
The sunset in Mobjack Bay
sailing. We kept our promise.
followed immediately by
This sailing quest was conthe moonrise suggested a
ceived almost a year ago by Dave
continuity for the rest of our
and Rob, and was realized
week’s adventure.
October fifteenth through
Day two and our
the twenty-second by a
float plan for this day
flotilla of four boats charcalled for continued Warships and funships in Little Creek
tered out of Deltaville,
southing into Little
designed slips make this destinaVirginia. The cruise consistCreek in Norfolk, Virginia
tion a recommended stop for the
ed of Dreamer II a 39-foot
and the Bay Point Marina
cruiser. Even the heads were
Beneteau skippered by
roughly thirty nautical
ornate with marble and plenty of
Dave Steward, Victoria a 39miles south and east of
room to spread out. The Cabana
foot Beneteau skippered by
Mobjack Bay. Freshening
Bar has a panoramic view of the
Rob Chichester, another 38- Thimble Shoals
winds once again filled our
Chesapeake Bay and its expanse at
foot Beneteau, Sea Spirit,
sails as we moved from
Light
this latitude. We paused to watch
skippered by Julio
beam to close and ultimatethe sunset. As the last streaks of
Menendez and a 35-foot Beneteau
ly to broad reaches. Soon enough
orange light dripped below the
skippered by Stan Richmond. Our
the Thimble Shoals light appeared
horizon, we spun to see the full
itinerary would take us into some
as the fleet bore left for the
moon rise over Kings Creek.
of the more historical areas in our
entrance into the creek that also
The fleet departed early on the
nation’s history — both maritime
holds the navy’s Amphibious fleet;
fourth
day for Pungoteague Creek.
and wartime — but also to some of an interesting juxtaposition of warthe most remote and pristine areas
of the Chesapeake Bay.
Club members began arriving
on Friday the fourteenth after a
wet drive, stowed their gear, and
greeted their crewmates. This first
day out was just less than 34 nautical miles to a small, attractive bay
Sunset in Mobjack Bay
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ships and pleasure-ships nestled
within yards of one another.
Land-based visitors joined us
for a picnic at the marina. We
watched the moon rise again as we
feasted on various southern fare.
Our third day met us with stiff
breezes out of the northeast,
increased swells, and wind-blown
whitecaps in the lower Bay. The
flotilla beat toward Cape Charles
and a brand-spanking new facility
there called Bay Creek Marina. The
circuitous route into Kings Creek
will necessarily demand one’s
attention but was rather entertaining to execute nonetheless. The
underused marina was most spacious. Huge fairways and well
Shore-side picnic in Little Creek
This was a new destination. It was
also going to be another good
day’s sail given it was 39 nautical
miles from marina to anchorage.
Pungoteague Creek provided the
quintessential gunkholing expericontinued on page 7
T
continued from page 6
Lower Bay
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light, then on to R “72” and a
course heading change for a close
haul into the Patuxent River and
ultimately into Solomons,
Maryland. We had come to cruise
but the conditions were right for a
race to break out. Victoria (Rob, et
al) shook out her reef and made a
run at Dreamer II (Dave and company). Dreamer II got the stuffing
beat out of her by Victoria even
when they deployed the “railmeat,” but what a sail it was.
Dreamer II almost didn’t make
it in to Back Creek and Zahniser’s
in time for check-in because the
sailing was just too fine.
ence as we found the bottom with
our keels but not with our anchors.
The next morning we found
that the raft of four boats had tangled itself overnight. Once all were
disengaged the fleet motored out
of Pungoteague Creek heading for
Crisfield, Maryland. Little or no
wind forced us all to motor until
reaching Somers Cove Marina, a
facility run by the state of
Maryland just inside the Little
Annemessex River. This was our
fifth day underway and would be
the only one with no
wind. The Bay was so
flat that it provided the
crews an opportunity to
take in the surroundings
and accurately dodge
the myriad crab pots
that seemingly bob out
of nowhere. Crisfield
provided an opportunity to re-provision and
shower, but the visible
decay and commercial
inactivity were incongruous with the construction of the megacondos taking place
along the riverfront.
Warships and funships in Little Creek
Nonetheless, The
Cove restaurant across
from the marina provided our
So, okay, all good things must
stomachs with some good downcome to an end. And, so did the
home cooking.
weather, but not the winds. Friday
The forecasted wind direction
and our seventh day out met the
was about right, but the twenty
flotilla with low scudding clouds
plus knots far exceeded the preand drizzle. It would get wetter,
dicted ten. This was the second
but the sailing would be outralongest day of our proposed eight
geous! Swells built to the five to six
day circumnavigation with forty
foot range and with headsail alone
miles to cover. Sails were quickly
we made over seven knots to our
hauled just outside Crisfield at G
intended destination for that day;
“1.” Several tacks later, and we
the longest of the circumnavigation
were on course for Holland Island
at 41 nautical miles, into Mill
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Creek south of Reedville. What
was estimated to be an eight hour
trip, assuming five knots, was only
about six hours and some change.
We were not alone in Mill Creek. It
seemed every snowbirding cruiser
had dropped a hook there. Once
again our fleet rafted, chatted and
slept through torrents of rain with
flashes of lightning and thunder. It
was a good gunkhole and well
protected from the northeasterly
blowing outside.
We had reached our eighth and
final day of what had become an
absolutely fine cruise. We would
only find out later what a fortuitous window of opportunity we had with
Hurricane Wilma churning across Cancun then
lower Florida. The fleet
once again removed itself
from one another and
along with the southbound cruisers who also
were weighing anchor we
made our way out of this
splendid hurricane hole
and pointed southward
back toward Deltaville.
This day would have been
yet another in a series of
great sails, but alas …
check-in time back at
Deltaville countermanded
that option.
We had arrived eight days earlier ready for adventure. We were
leaving physically spent but
nonetheless invigorated from the
experience and feeling very much
alive. Indeed, the bay less traveled
was exactly that, as we rarely saw
other sails other than our own.
This portion of the Bay gives one a
sense of openness and “offshoreness” not achieved further north.
Best of all we got to sail!
– Dave Steward and Rob Chichester
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c/o Mia McCroskey
19 Manor House Drive, K12
Dobbs Ferry, NY 10522
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Date
Event
January 13 – 21, 2006
April 23 – 29, 2006
May 6 – 7
June 3 – 4
July 22 – 24
August 13 – 20
September 8 – 11
October 6 – 9
October 28 – 30
British Virgin Islands
St. Martin Windjammer Cruise
On the Water Training
ASA Basic Keelboat Certification
Havre de Grace
Lake Huron
Annapolis
Solomon Island
Frostbite Sail