April 2013 - Outrigger Yacht Club

April 1 2013
OYC
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COMMODORE BILL’S COMMENTS
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Commodore Bill Hartwell
COMMODORE BILL’S COMMENTS
Well, who knew! Who knew we would have to postpone the
fifth and sixth races of the Icicle Series on Feb. 16 because
of freezing temperatures and snow? And then who knew we
would get to Saturday, March 2, and find that its still pretty
cold (for those of us raised south of the Mason-Dixon line)
but not cold enough to call off the previously postponed fifth
and six races. The hearty skippers and their crews showed up
ready to take on whatever came their way. And a lot of
adverse conditions did come their way. The boats racing had to
adapt to the rapidly shifting light winds, light rain and more snow.
It all made for some interesting tactics and exciting finishes.
I had a lot more fun on the Race Committee than I thought
possible. Pete Calame was a big help even with his tender
shoulder condition. Many thanks to Sam and Mary Reeves for
letting us use the Mad Hatter, their Catalina 30 with a
Continued on page 5
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April 1 2013
OYC N E WS LE TTE R
VICE COMMODORE Wade’s REPORT
We have started off the year with some Vice Commodore Wade Miller
great racing in the icicle series with
special congratulations to our winners
Don Corey on Fore, John Guthrie on Lone
Ranger, and Neil Liner on Air Transit. Thanks for all 18 boats that participated. As we head into the beginning of our busy
race season, we have made a few small
changes to our schedule. April 13th is a
busy day with the 150 Bridge Race,
Frogmore Stew and Icicle race series
awards. May 11 is the Top Gun and
October 11-12 is the Leukemia cup which
has been combined with the Pursuit and
should be a top priority on everyones
calendar.
We are really looking forward to a great
season, the Wednesday night series starts
on April 24th and the NOR will be out
soon. Looking forward to seeing
everyone on the water.
Wade
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April 1 2013
O Y C N EWS L ETTER
REAR COMMODORE EDDIE’S REPORT
Hello OYC Members and friends. Our next big social function
Rear commodore Eddie Sawyer
is fast approaching with the Frogmore Stew Dinner on April
13th. Everyone is asked to donate $10 per person to offset the
cost of the event. That's a pretty good deal; $10 for all you can
eat and drink. It is crucial for everyone to RSVP as soon as
possible in order to make sure we have plenty of food and
beverage to go around.
I have roughly 20 RSVPs from the Facebook post along with
some emails too. Don’t forget to sign up! Thank you,
This year OYC is the host for the LNKC Icicle Series. We will
present awards to the winning skippers at the Frogmore Stew
event. Just one more reason to join us on April 13 and be
around the proven top sailors on Lake Norman.
Facebook? Yes we have our own Facebook page and we
would like you to friend us. It was pointed out to me that only
17 of the 66 friends on FB are members. So sign up for
Facebook. It is free, fun, and interesting to see what’s going
on, share pictures, find crew and hear the stories from the
fleet.
In other news, it was great to see so many of you at the LNYC
Midwinters. I had the privilege of sailing with Don Corey and
his brand new U20 hull #250. It was so much fun sailing
against 10 other U20's. You really do learn a lot about strategy and how important a good stopper knot is.
We had lost our tack line during a spinnaker take down and the stopper knot untied itself then got pulled
thru the rigging. We thought it might work to rerun it, but it was blowing 15 and upwards on the wind ward
leg it was too dangerous to send Matt up and around the bow sprit in heavy chop. We could not re-launch
the spin for the last downwind run. It was a rush doing 12kts with just jib and main. We still finished with a
respectable 3rd overall in an aggressive fleet. Thank you Don and Matt for a great day.
Eddie
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April 1 2013
OYCOYC
N E WS
LE TTE R
NEWSLETTER
SPECIAL NEWS REPORT FROM LOCAL NEWS OUTLETS
It has just been learned that keelboats registered in North Carolina have been
exempted from the state tax reform bill currently in the North Carolina legislature to
raise registration fees substantially. An overwhelming outcry from members of the
Outrigger Yacht Club of Lake Norman, NC seems to have worked.
In a major effort to ameliorate the property tax overcharge to the property owners of
Lake Norman, the County Board of Commissioners has decided to purchase the
Midtown Sundries Property and then gift it to the Outrigger Yacht Club. The OYC Board
of Trustees has decided to accept this offer conditioned on Mecklenburg County
providing a perpetual operating and maintenance trust fund for the sole benefit of the
Outrigger Yacht Club. As a further inducement to accept its offer, the County has
promised to remodel and improve the existing facility to include boat ramps and a 12
ton boat lift.
A second part of this property tax settlement calls for the County to provide a
perpetual operating and maintenance trust fund for the sole benefit of the Peninsula
Yacht Club. County Board President Dulin said that the County is pleased to provide
this funding to the OYC and the PYC because “we believe that competitive sailing on
Lake Norman provides a major stimulus to the continued growth of Mecklenburg
County.”
President Dulin said that he believes that funding the two yacht clubs will be money
better spent than doling out $50,000,000 on improvements to Bank of America
Stadium and $120,000,000 on the streetcar line to nowhere in Charlotte.
The governing authority of Lake Norman, with the concurrence of the Lake Norman
Keelboat Council, has decreed that no power boats, with the exception of power boats
connected with sailboat racing, may leave their slips, docks or moorings during the
time a properly sanctioned regatta is being conducted on Lake Norman. Violators will
be fined up to $500 and may lose their driving privileges for one month.
Newly elected State Senator Jeff Tarte, has introduced a bill requiring less noise off the
shores of Lake Norman. OYC has no opinion on this bill, unless it interferes with the
US Sailing Rules of Racing or the Country Music Hall of Fame. Jeff does not want to
inconvenience anyone, but he has very sensitive ears and likes to hear himself talk.
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April 1 2013
OYC N E WS LE TTE R
Continued from page 1
with a large cabin, for the CB.
The OYC has excellent representation on the Lake Norman Keelboat Council.
Neil Liner has been joined by former Commodore Jim Juhl and current Real
Commodore Eddie Sawyer.
BILL
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April 1 2013
S A ILIN G
It has been learned that Viking Longships has proposed adding a ship to tour Lake Norman.
The 150 passenger vessel will make stops at North Harbor, PYC, and Queens landing as it
tours Lake Norman and the wine country of the Yadkin Valley (by bus). Charlotte officials
are all abuzz about this announcement because they feel it makes us even more a world class
city. Mayor Foxx has even proposed a street car to the lake in order for visitors from lesser
developed countries to feel more at home.
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