Spinnaker Sheet, October 2012

Volume 84, Number 10
October 2012
SCYC Members Racing Updates!
ILLINOIS – Check out this photo of Junior
Sailor, Emma Drejes, who raced in the Women’s Single Handed Championship, The Letter Cup, in Chicago.
Emma wrote “Participating in a serious event for the
first time was incredible and most definitely the first of
many. I flew to Chicago for a three-day clinic, in a fleet
of girls preparing for a two-day championship regatta
in the Laser Radial. The first three days were focused
on boat speed, tactics and sail shape. During the clinic
we saw winds reaching 20 knots. I was surprised by
how big the waves were on Lake Michigan. I felt really
comfortable in the waves because it was very similar
to the sailing we see in Santa Cruz, which gave me an
advantage on most of the girls. I found myself consistently in the top ten, and occasionally top five. Leading
into the regatta I was hoping that the conditions kept
up and continued in my favor. Unfortunately, the wind
died off & the racing became a whole different scenario, making the fleet focus on how crucial the start
was and how tactical mistakes immediately flushed
you to the back of the fleet. Sailing in a fleet of 50 or
more boats was also an entirely new experience for
me. I was challenged and worked my way through
the regatta. The best race I had was a 14th. I learned
a lot about big fleet starting and how different racing
becomes, with 50 boats as to 15. Racing in Chicago
with such a strong fleet put things into perspective and
showed me how much I have to learn and that being
at the top is not impossible, but takes hard work and
commitment. It was really neat for me to connect with
other female sailors and sail in a new venue.”
October 2012
WALES - The final day of the Extreme Sailing
Series Act 5 in Cardiff saw Morgan Larson and his team
Oman Air, reaching the podium again. Going into the final
double-points race, all eyes were on the two Omani teams
and the Austrians. Morgan Larson ensured his team got
the best start. Finishing in 2nd place cemented their spot at
the top of the podium for the second time this season after
winning the inaugural Act (I) in Muscat, Oman, and denying The Wave, Muscat their fourth straight win. “Our level
of sailing was high enough to win all week, but somebody
just always had a little better day than us, especially The
Wave, Muscat,” said Morgan Larson. “You know, those
guys are so good. They are a real challenge for us, but as it
got lighter and shiftier, I think that worked to our advantage
a little bit - it really was anybody’s race. We just got on a
roll for the last few races. To win here is fantastic. It is a
testament to the Series and the competitors that there were
five teams in for the win on the last race.” The win here for
Oman Air also moves Larson’s team up into second place
on the Overall 2012 leaderboard.
CALIFORNIA - On September 1st, in the Jazz
Cup, at the South Beach Yacht Club, Rocket 88, Bill Turpin
and Ian Klitza, raced to a 2nd place finish out of 74 boats.
Zhenya Kirueskin-Stepanoff, raced as well aboard his Ksport boat, Akyla.
This month, at the 2012 StFYC’s Big Boat Series,
SCYC had many members racing. Bill Turpin and Ian
Klitza on Rocket 88, unfortunately had some drama. Ian
said “We started the first race of BBS, tacked, then lots of
cracking sounds! The port hull fwd of the fwd cross-beam
was breaking off! We had been upgrading the sailplan,
carbon sails, added a jib, straighter luffs, that and old age!
And she gave in. We will repair and race her again. Heard
a quote - boats are fastest right before they break”; Chris
Deaver raced on the SC37 Tiburon finishing 3rd in class;
Pepe Parsons raced on the custom Tripp 43, TNT finish-
2
Santa Cruz Yacht Club Spinnaker
ing 2nd in class; Chris Watts raced on the RP44, Tai
Kuai, in a challenging class; Mike Evans on the J105,
the Walloping Swede; Philippe Kahn on Pegasus,
MotionX, finishing 4th in class; Paul Allen and Brent
Ruhne on the Swan 45 Swazik who finished 3rd in class.
Corinthian sailor Dylan Watts raced in his first BBS on
the bow of the Express 37, Bullet, finishing 3rd in class.
Chris Watts was tactician and main trimmer aboard Polly, in the SF Perpetual Challenge, a
104-year-old contest, and the 2nd oldest trophy in Yacht
Racing after the America’s Cup. The contest was held
on SF Bay, between the Corinthian and the San Francisco Yacht Clubs. Although Chris’ Team didn’t come
out on top this time, it sounds like it was a fun event.
If you have info on where club members are
racing, please feel free to pass along details to [email protected].
Ellen Kett
Vice Commodore Report
Commodore Dave Emberson needs a bone
marrow transplant and you may be able to help by
going to this website to check the process and criteria:
http://bloodcenter.stanford.edu/ >donate >marrow.
We are also contacting the National Marrow Donor
Program to help us register more possible donors by
coming directly to the club on a Wednesday night. Our
blood drive last month was very successful and I pray
we will be able to find a bone marrow donor for Dave.
What a busy month it has been in the club.
There was one event after another. We got a late start to
the organization of the Big Brothers Big Sisters Reception but something wonderful happened. In a rush to
find someone to prepare food for the reception, I started
October 2012
(Commodore Dave Emberson at the helm of Elyxir
during the Day on the Bay Regatta)
asking members on a Wednesday night if they would
donate appetizers and to my delight, everyone I asked
said yes. Chris North and De Schuyler teamed up to
organize the event and we ended up with 15 platters of
some of the best appetizers we’ve ever had at the club.
In addition, club wine makers Jack Gordon, John
Blackburn and Bret Gripenstraw donated excellent
wine. Everyone who made an appetizer or contributed
Santa Cruz Yacht Club Spinnaker
wine was invited to the reception to eat, drink and be
merry with the Corporate Sponsors. I hope I get invited
to make appetizers next year!
It was non-stop racing and sailing this month.
Along with the BBBS Regatta and reception, there was
the Windjammers Regatta, One Design, SCORE, a joyful and fun filled Jack and Jill Regatta and now we are
right in the middle of the Flying Dutchman Worlds with
boats and crew from all over the world. The harbor is
alive with foreign languages and accents. The energy is
intoxicating.
The nominating committee selected a slate of
officers for the year 2013. They are recommending:
Rob Schuyler Commodore
Barry Whittall Vice Commodore
Don Conant Rear Commodore
Mary Larkin Secretary
Lou Pambianco Treasurer
Chuck Murray Director
John Buchanan Jr. Director
Thanks to the nominees for their commitment
to contribute their time and energy to help make our
club a better place. Remember to attend the Annual
General Meeting (AGM) on Sunday, November 4th at 4
pm (appetizers to follow).
Rob Schuyler
Vice Commodore
3
October 2012
Rear Commodore’s Report
Big Brother Big Sister (BBBS) Reception was
a total success and will most likely be a “call back”
for future SCYC sponsored Corporate Receptions. The
donated appetizers and wine were well received. The
wide array of food selections was elegantly displayed
and included nametags identifying its creator. Kris
North and De Schuyler provided the coordination of
delicious food and decor. The team of Club Volunteers
included: D.J. Timpany, Rob and De Schuyler, Judy
Webster, Janel Schuyler, Nancy Beekman, Tom
Postlewaite, Ellen Bucci Kett, Carolyn Susman, Kris
North, Jan and Bob Dewitt, Angela Madden, Nancy
Rinkardt, Marilyn Diola, Bret Gripenstraw, John
Blackburn and Tom Garside. If I have left anyone out
accidently, please accept my apology at this point and
know that you to are very much appreciated.
The BBBS regatta was well attended. (see
BBBS article for specifics) With every social activity
comes the task of clean up and the need for volunteers
to work. The job of returning all those sailboats and
trailers back to their very own dry slips is a tedious and
thankless job. We can all thank Gene Sofen, Chuck
and Sasha Hawley, Chip, and Tom Garside for helping with this laborious process.
The Windjammer Regatta has returned and
SCYC hospitality volunteers (lead by Magdalena
Naef) provided delicious hot red and white clam chowder accompanied by sourdough bread and lots of real
butter to all. Rob Schuyler modeled the SCYC generosity by treating the entire crew of Akela, First To Finish,
with pitchers of ice cold Margaritas at the dock.
The Pink Ladies (Jan, De, Sue, Marilyn, Kris,
and Christine) outdid themselves once again! Kurt
Hoffman, Sue Clayton, Rob and De Schuyler and Jan
Dewitt decorated the club with musical memorabilia,
pink and black balloons, and an antique, old Jukebox
4
Santa Cruz Yacht Club Spinnaker
that blasted out oldies and goodies throughout the
evening. De lead “rock and rollers” in dance contests,
limbo challenges, and we all tried to master the hula
hoops once more!
The most challenging and hilarious part of the
Dance Party was the “bubble gum blowing” contest.
Jaws were chomping; faces were turning bright red,
and partial bubbles protruded from the not so elegant
mouths. Everyone was a winner that night and received
“Ever-glow” bracelets, trophies, and plenty of appreciation for their talents. Volunteers filled our stomachs
with the potluck contributions that fueled us for an
active evening. An energetic (Dirty Dozen) group of
Corinthians closed the club and would not surrender the
variety of wigs or the Hula Hoops back to their owner,
Jan Dewitt.
Hats off to Sydnie Moore for her leadership
and organizational talent with the Jack and Jill Regatta. All regatta “Jacks and Jills” were winners with the
numerous categories and a plethora of prizes that were
awarded. The overwhelming compliments permeated
the conversations about the day’s event as we transitioned to the Sunday Night’s Asian Buffet. We are
certainly getting maximum usage of our new facilities!
KISS prepared a cross section of Asian dishes for a full
house of members. We even seated diners at our three
new, very popular, sets of bar stools and roundtables.
Get out your calendars and mark them with
these inviting activities. Dave Emberson’s Lobster
Feed will be Saturday, October 13th beginning at 5:30
pm. Dave has requested 1&3/4 lb. lobsters to make sure
that everyone gets
their fill. The cost is
a bargain at $30.00
per person. Rick
Linkemyer, Kris,
and Fred Molnar
will be preparing the
fresh, live lobsters
for our consumption.
Reservations are
required and we will
be enforcing the club
policy of a 48-hour
advance notice for
cancellations. Call
now as the reserved
seats are going fast!
The Oktoberfest Dinner is
on Sunday, October
October 2012
Upcoming SCYC
Events Calendar
505 Fall Regatta
October 6, 7
Lobster Feed
October 13
Fall One Design #3
October 20
Sunday Buffet Oktoberfest Theme
October 21
Staff Commodore Dinner
October 25
Junior Halloween Social
October 27
Pirate Party Raft-Up
October 27
Fall SCORE #3
October 28
Santa Cruz Yacht Club Spinnaker
21st. Check the website for the menu and don’t forget
to provide your anonymous feedback and suggestions
to KISS Catering through the Dining portal on our
webpage.
Halloween this year falls on the Club’s last
Wednesday Night of Sailing. You do know what this
means? Party Time and yes, most everyone will all be
wearing costumes. That will lead to some humorous
recognition of our partygoers creative outfits. Planning is currently underway to identify unique costume
categories; other than “Pirates”! Now is the time to turn
that costume idea into a reality. You can do it! Beg, borrow, and or buy something. Remember those costumes
you saw and said to yourself; “That is a good one!”
They will not be using it again. Steal it with pride.
I look forward to seeing everyone at our Annual General Membership (AGM) meeting at 4:00
pm Sunday, November 4th. There will also be a New
Members’ function on Sunday, November 11th and a
Regatta Appreciation Activity on Saturday, November
17th. Enjoy yourselves, smooth sailing, and be safe.
Barry Whittall
Rear Commodore
Lobster Feed
Saturday, October 13 @ 5:30pm
Social committee will be your host
Whopping 1 3/4 lb. Lobsters
$30.00 per person (tax & tip included)
Reservations Required
48 Hour Cancellation Policy
RSVP to 831-425-0690 or [email protected]
Halloween
October 31
Last Wednesday Night BBQ
October 31
AGM Meeting
November 4
5
October 2012
Santa Cruz Yacht Club Spinnaker
Treasurer’s Report
With our new construction, and refurbishing of
the clubhouse, this has been a most exciting year. I can’t
wait for our formal recognition of all this construction
and our being allowed to use the tram.
It has been a stressful year for our outstanding
Office Manager, Jennifer, Bret Gripenstraw, supervisor
of all construction and doing such an outstanding job, and
me as treasurer. We have had to get bills paid on time, get
cash advances from the bank, keep track of total costs etc.
This has all been accomplished!
The unexpected problems of the motors on the
whaler, a problem with the motor on the Black Pearl and
hoist problems have stressed our budget. The Black Pearl
and hoist are fixed, and new motors have been ordered for
the whaler.
But complicating this have been; purchases/verbal work orders to workers by well meaning club members for items without getting approval from the person in
charge of that program. These have caused the program
to go significantly over-budget. We do not have unlimited
money. The SCYC Board would like to have the option to
evaluate anything that makes a program go significantly
over budget. Are there alternatives? Could it wait until
next year?
Persons in charge of each program’s budget know
what they can spend/authorize.
Please do not buy or authorize any expenditures
of Club funds without authorization from the program
chair or the SCYC Board!
Chuck Murray
Treasurer
Greetings from the Port Captain
As many of you already know, we have spent
an unusual amount of funds on hoist repair and maintenance this year. Some of these expenditures were due
in part to component failures and operational errors. As
a result, I would like to offer some suggestions to help
reduce expenses for our hoist.
When launching or retrieving boats, the only
person operating the controls should be the owner or
slip renter. Please do not allow an untrained or inexperienced person to operate the hoist. The control box may
seem to be “industrial strength” but it is fragile. Try to
keep it from being dropped. We have installed a new
upper limiting safety switch. It is there to prevent the
load hook assembly from becoming two-blocked. When
raising your boat, check the clearance above the load
hook and do not over hoist the equipment. We have also
replaced the tension relief lanyard on the control cable
in an effort to secure the power into the control box.
Hopefully, with fresh components on our hoist
and some additional care when it is being used, we can
anticipate lower operational expenses and down time.
Thanks for your help and safe boating!!
Tom Garside
Port Captain
Advertise in the Spinnaker Sheet
Reach your target market. Rates, for a
business card size, as low as $15 per month or
$100 for the entire year. For more information or
to advertise please call 831-425-0690 or e-mail
[email protected].
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October 2012
Cruising News
The month of Sept. was great for the cruisers.
On Sept 8th we had a dock party hosted by Rick and
Dorie Green. The turnout was great with plenty of
drinks and food. I am surprised on how many of you
miss out on free drinks and food. We also had the Monterey Jazz Festival Cruise, Sept 20-23
“When you’re smiling, the whole world smiles
with you.” Monterey Jazz Festival headliner, Tony Bennett (who’s 86 years young), reminded the crowd with
his lyrics and his enthusiasm just how infectious happiness can be. A happy group of SCYC cruisers went by
land and by sea to Monterey for the 55th annual jazz
festival held at the Monterey Fairgrounds. Tom Manheim and Nancy Shanfield, Ron and Carol Merrall,
Vern and Meredith Wallace and guest Kristi Dunning
went by land. Steve Smardan on Reachable Star Too,
Marc and Lynn Barshay on Aeolian, and Fred Molnar and Bridget Binko on Gypsy went by sea. Steve
took the leisurely route through Moss Landing on the
way down, while Marc and Lynn, and Fred and Bridget
had “spirited” sailing straight down to Monterey on a
blustery Thursday with large quartering seas producing a bit of roll, pitch and heave, and whole lot of yaw.
MPYC hosted several of the group for Friday night
dinner, and Fred and Bridget tried their hands at radiocontrolled boat racing from the MPYC clubhouse deck.
The Festival had jazz artists with styles to please everyone, with some of the crowd favorites being The Blues
Broads, Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue, John DeJohnette with Pat Methany & Christian McBride, and of
course, Tony Bennett. We were also treated to the Space
Shuttle flyover on Friday, and the Air Force Thunderbirds tearing up the sky from the Salinas Air Show. A
great weekend for smiling!
Coming up is the most popular event of the
year. It is the Pirate Party Raft Up at Cowells on Oct
27th hosted by Vance Landis-Carey and Robert
Carey. This is another great opportunity to party with
your fellow yacht club member. If you don’t have a
boat, NO PROBLEM, rides to the raft up are available. If interested in more details please contact Vance
or Robert at [email protected] or robertcarey@
sbcglobal.net.
Feel free to contact me if you have questions or
want to participate in the Cruising Club.
Jason Lauer
Cruising Club Chair
Santa Cruz Yacht Club Spinnaker
SCYC Wet Slip Policies
•
Wet slip space is available to members and
visiting guests of reciprocal Yacht Clubs.
•
Guests may stay in the Yacht Club wet
slips up to three nights at no charge (limited
depth/length).
•
Members and dry slip holders, who are
registered to race, can leave their boats in the
water the night before and the night of a posted
SCYC race at no charge (Wednesday Night
Races are included).
• Members and dry slip holders, who are not
registered to race, will be charged the following rates (per day).
Rates:
Summer
4/1 - 10/31
Winter
11/1 - 3/31
Monday – Thursday
Friday – Sunday
$10.00
$16.00
$8.00
$12.00
Veeder Cup 2013
MPYC will host a meeting of the Veeder Cup
committees of the four clubs named in the deed with
the purpose of reinforcing the vision of the deed and
coming to agreement on resolving issues that have led
to the cancellation of the last two Veeder Cups.
The SCYC Veeder Cup committee will host a
meeting of our club members to discuss the thoughts
of our committee and to gain input from our membership. The SCYC committee believes upholding the
vision and spirit of the Deed is foremost: To promote
spirited competition and camaraderie between the clubs
represented in the Deed.
To meet that vision, we propose the following for
discussion:
1) Identify and agree on the classes that are eligible to
race for the cup. Include PHRF ranges that could race
for the cup, e.g. PHRF -20 to +20
2) The host club will select the competing yachts.
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October 2012
Santa Cruz Yacht Club Spinnaker
Host and challenging clubs will race using each of the
yachts alternately. In race one, host club will sail in
yacht A, challenger in yacht B. In race two, host club
will sail in yacht B, challenger in yacht A and so forth
to the completion of the regatta.
3) Crews will be composed of members from the host
and challenging clubs with one additional crew member from each of the non-competing yacht clubs per
yacht.
4) The question of amateur versus professional crew
needs to be discussed and agreement reached.
Please stay tuned for the date and time for our
Veeder Cup meeting and feel welcome to come and
provide your input. Thank you.
Veeder Cup committee
Greetings from the Galley
It seems this year is flying by, as we find
ourselves already in Autumn. We’re looking forward
to adding some cozy fall dishes to the menu, and also
change our burger a bit by only offering the Big Woody
every other week (which is a burger stuffed with Blue
Cheese) to new options. Let us know how you like our
food, or if you have a favorite that may be added to our
menu.
Best dishes from all of us at KISS to all of you.
Sandy & Scott
Kiss Catering
Sunday Night Dinner Oktoberfest Buffet
Sunday, October 21
5:30pm Cocktails
6:30pm Dinner
Appetizers:
Roast Beef Roulade and, Konigsberger Klopse
(Poached Meat Balls in Lemon Caper sauce)
(Introduced at the last Board meeting are new
Corinthian members Dylan Roberts and Dylan Watts
and Regular members Shawn Padilla and Megan Nutt
shown with Vice Commodoe Rob Schuyler)
Regular
Junior
Life
Total 675
8
418
92
10
Non-Resident
Corinthian
Honorary
70
59
26
Dinner:
Behrensalat: (Green Bean Salad) and Warmer Kertoffelsalat Mit Speck: (German Potato Salad with Bacon),
Sausages Soft Rolls, Spicy Mustards and Sauerkraut,
Bratwurst Mit Saurer Sabnensosse (Steamed Bratwurst
in Sour Cream Sauce), Braised Red Cabbage in Beer
and Caraway
Dessert:
House made Apple Strudel
$16.00 plus tax and Tip
RSVP to 831-425-0690 or [email protected]
October 2012
Santa Cruz Yacht Club Spinnaker
Sister City
On August 22, 2012, six visitors from Alushta
(our Santa Cruz sister city in Ukraine) were SCYC
guests at the Wednesday night barbecue. Although
their questions and conversations required a translator, their laughter and smiles let us know how much
they enjoyed our hospitality. Yacht Club members,
Nancy Lenz and Virginia Lee Roberts, set up for
the guests with colorful hand-painted pisanki as well
as other souvenirs and maps collected on their visits
to Ukraine. Virginia Lee was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Ukraine from 2007-09 and Nancy has hosted
Ukrainian visitors through the Santa Cruz Sister Cities
Committee. As a remembrance of this visit, Alushta’s
mayor, Stanislav Kolot (who is on his fourth visit to
Santa Cruz) presented an Alushta yachting cap to Staff
Commodore Charlie Roskosz. The Mayor told us
that now that government restrictions are being eased,
they hope to develop their own yacht harbor on the
Black Sea. Earlier in the week, a community event on the
Wharf on Sunday, August 19 celebrated 25 years of
the Santa Cruz/Alushta sister city relationship. Music
by Wally’s Swing World, Ukrainian food, speeches and
greetings by mayors of both cities expressed the warm
feelings that have been shared over the 25 years between
these two seaside cities. On Monday, the Alushta visitors were given a tour of the harbor arranged by Port
Commissioner Reed Geisreiter. Before their week-long
visit ended, all six toured UCSC, San Francisco and
Monterey and attended our local Rotary Club meeting. Nancy Lenz
9
October 2012
West Marine Fun Regatta
Thank you to all of the volunteers who helped
make the 2012 West Marine Fun Regatta safe and fun
for our sailors. We had 42 boats, 4 fleets: FJs, Laser
Radials, El Toros - Advanced and Intermediate. The
weather was beautiful with winds ranging from 4-12+
knots and cooperated all weekend. Huge thanks to
Bret Gripenstraw, PRO Outside Course and Ken
Eckert, PRO Inside Course for your support and
patience. You guys did an incredible job of running
the races. John Fraser, Support Boat Coordinator
and Gene Sofen for recruiting the experienced and
talented people that made up the Race Committee and
water support team which included: Matthew Coale,
Charlie Roskosz, Henry Cassady, John Buchanan
Jr., Bruce Donald, Tim Kelbert, John and Wendy
Wurster, Mark Langer, George Arthur, MJ, Gene
Sofen, Chuck Hawley, Malcolm Northcott, Lowell
Ellis, Royce Fletcher, Guido Diaz, Kristen Lenz,
Fred Molnar, Bridget Binko, Jim Foley, Linda
Moore, Sasha Hawley, Loren Marcellini, Eric
Malmberg, Buster Long, Tim Stapleton, John Pacholski and John Marlett.
Thanks to all Onshore Support volunteers
who kept this regatta running smoothly: Dick McCartney, Shore Services, Brian Beers, Patrick
Tara, Paul Tara, Royce Fletcher, Hilary Walecka,
Rachel Cherry - Boat Wranglers Extraordinaire,
Holly Schipper, Julie Levy, Trish Malmberg, Royce
Fletcher - Safety Check team, Mary Tara and
Kristen Lenz for EVERYTHING, Tina Verutti, Kim
Americh, Dianne Pacholski at the Registration Table/
Welcome Table, Charlie Roskosz for taking on race
committee duty and standing by as Protest Committee
Lead, Barbara Booth for helping with scoring on extremely short notice, Andrea Miller, Chuck Murray
and the many other volunteers who help with food
10
Santa Cruz Yacht Club Spinnaker
prep for the race. Liz McComb, West Marine and other
very cool West Marine employees who volunteered on
their time off. You were great fun to work with. All
others local and not, who made it possible for these
young sailors to participate in this regatta. (Sailors thank your parents!)
More thanks to: Harbor office - Officers Sean,
Don and Bryson - thanks for working with us to ensure
the safety of our sailors and assisting in event logistics
around the Harbor neighbors: Aldo’s, Velocity, UCSC,
Bob and Carol Simpkins, Jack and Carol Gordon,
Phillipe Kahn, - thanks for sharing your “space” with
the racers.
Thanks to the generous sponsors: West Marine,
Lighthouse Information Systems, Inc., Gayles Bakery,
SCYC - Jen and Greg. Your contributions make the
regatta possible.
Bengie Hodges
2012 West Marine Fun Regatta Coordinator
Back in the Old Days; Kaija—39 Years
Later
After 39 years, our 24-foot Piver Nugget, Kaija, was ‘reintroduced to the wild’ on September 22,
2012. The first day of Fall proved to be an excellent
day to let her spread her wings and fly again under sail
on the Monterey Bay.
I and my two sons Christian and Jack on
board headed out of the Santa Cruz Harbor into
sparkling seas with just 10-12 knots of Northwesterly
breeze blowing. We had intended to err on the side
of caution and not push Kaija too hard as she had not
sailed since 1973. But, exuberance, anticipation and
temptation lead to confidence and we stuck her bows
out toward mile buoy and a building breeze on a starboard tack.
She handled 15 knots of wind beautifully
powering off the tops of the choppy waves and accelerating in the lulls. Nothing broke. The best sailors
use their superior knowledge to avoid the use of their
superior skills, so we tacked before mile buoy onto
a port-tack beam reach towards the wharf and the
Dream Inn. On this point of sail, Kaija, stretched her
wings, picked up her pace and we saw speeds close to
10 knots.
That’s when the irony kicked-in for me; I had
never sailed a trimaran until this day!
October 2012
Kaija began for us as a back yard project in the
fall of 2009 when Kurt and Sue Larsen gave her to us.
Two summers passed because my wife and I are busy
raising two active little boys and ‘life’ often gets in the
way of the things we’d rather be doing. We were not
going to let this summer slip away so we launched her
on September 9.
All during her restoration, Kaija, brought our
sailing community together. At the Sunday afternoon
launch my kids & my wife Joanne, and my best friend
Dale Tracy and his dad Norm Tracy showed up. We
restored Kaija in Norm’s yard at Brommer and Chanticleer, and I’m sure Joanne wanted to see the results of
our ‘free boat.’ She works very hard and hasn’t paid
much attention to our progress.
I told a few friends that we’d launch Sunday
afternoon, but that we weren’t having a party. Howard
and Yvonne Spruitt, Steve Leddy and Fredda Orol,
Jim Wallace and Cindy Phillipy, Jim and Sue Byberg,
Caleb Murray, Ian Jones, Michael Schweyer and many
others showed up anyway. Kurt and Sue Larsen’s
daughter, Lisa Evans came to see Kaija float again with
her son Brady and her daughter Kaiya (same name/different spelling/long story).
When we stepped her mast two weeks later J.R.
Parker appeared from Costa Rica to run the hoist for
us. Staff Commodore Steve Niemann offered to take
pictures. John Wurster was there to lend a hand and
Tom Garside got sucked in to help. Later Jim Robinson and John Frasier reconnected after 20+ years and
talked about the good old days when they were dock
(Kurt Larsen checks out the boat that he and his wife
Sue built 48 years ago in 1964. She is ‘prepared for
launch’ on the trailer near the launch ramp with the
harbor office in the background)
Santa Cruz Yacht Club Spinnaker
mates on F-Dock back the 1980s. I wish I had a pad
and pencil to record the stories they told!
Everyone that shows up to see Kaija has a
good story to tell about the kindness of Kurt and Sue
Larsen. Together, Kurt and Sue ran Larsen Sails for 35
years, building and fixing our torn sails, repairing our
boat covers, and just being very warm, gentle, honest,
hard-working people in the Santa Cruz sailing community. All the attention Kaija garners is proof of what
people around here think about Kurt and Sue.
Back on the bay, on Kaija’s first sail in 39
years, the winds seemed to lighten that afternoon. With
a gut feeling that we could sail downwind towards
Capitola and not pay the price coming home, we decided to call Kurt and Sue to see if they could make it
to the top of their street on 37th Avenue to watch us sail
by. We were delighted to get Kurt’s phone call asking
us, “Which one are you?” They were the ones ‘on the
bench, under the palm tree’ by Jack O’Neill’s house.
We responded by telling them that we were the
most inside boat coming around Rockview sailing wing
on wing. Even though we were outside the kelp line
and half a mile away Kaija was easy to spot. We sailed
as close as we could, just outside the kelp line for Kurt
and Sue to see the boat that they built together 48 years
ago. Before slogging home to weather, we sailed a few
circles so Kurt and Sue could see their Kaija sailing
again on her re-maiden voyage.
The following is a re-print of the story that I
wrote in 2009 just after Kurt and Sue entrusted us with
Kaija and her future:
Back in the old days, a tiny willow tree began
life in a beautiful back yard in Pleasure Point. Today
the tree towers over the yard with its wispy arms encircling and protecting a 24-foot trimaran hand-built of
fiberglass and plywood. The little boat, parked there in
1973, has not plied the waters of the Monterey Bay for
thirty-six years.
The 24-footer is a Piver Nugget that was handbuilt in 1964 by Kurt Larsen of Larsen Sails.
You may recall from a previous article that
Rich Gerling sailed a Piver Nugget to Hawaii in 1961.
Rich followed Art Piver across the Pacific with Piver
sailing aboard his 35-foot, self-designed, Lodestar,
trimaran. Rich and Art were among the first people to
accomplish ocean passages on multi-hulled sailboats.
Although they caught the attention of the media at the
time, these funny, little boats were not yet popular and
far from being accepted by the sailing establishment in
1961.
After reading my article about the local sailor,
11
October 2012
Rich Gerling and his Piver Nugget, Kurt and Sue
Larsen called to invite me to their home in Pleasure
Point. Under a willow tree in their back yard sat their
Piver Nugget, Kaija. As I peeled back the tarp covering the boat, it was like opening a time capsule. The
boat started projecting stories of many sailing adventures in and around the Monterey Bay, of being handbuilt with care and of being coveted by the builder and
his wife.
All the parts and pieces are there just like they
were 36 years ago when she was put to rest under
the willow tree. The cabin still features the homemade curtains and bunk cushions hand-made so long
ago. Navigation charts sit on the nav table waiting
for course lines to be plotted on them and the little
alcohol stove appears ready to heat water for a cup
of hot chocolate to be enjoyed on a brisk spring day
while reaching from Capitola to Moss Landing. Even
the self-steering vane sits in the cabin ready to take
the midnight watch while a weary crew catches some
well-deserved shut eye.
Kurt built his little Nugget trimaran in his parent’s front yard in Santa Clara. They were on vacation
in Europe and when they arrived home, much to their
(The boys and I sail Kaija on the first day of fall off of
the Casino Building at the Boardwalk. We handed our
camera to Jim and Marty Robinson, anchored off he
wharf, who took this image for us)
12
Santa Cruz Yacht Club Spinnaker
surprise, there was a sailboat under construction in their
yard! Kurt tells the story of being in college at the time
and studying engineering, but he thought building his
own boat would be far more fun and interesting. Kurt
had heard of Piver and one day he went to Sausalito
to meet the designer and trimaran guru himself and he
picked up a set of plans.
There was a small boat-building industry going on in nearby Alviso. Kurt spent time there getting
ideas and locating resources to help with the project
of home-building a boat. Among the many talented
“hippies” there were wood workers, metal fabricators,
welders and people using one of the latest technologies
of the day, fiberglass. People freely shared what they
knew and Kurt gobbled up the free advice and lovingly
built his beautiful boat.
Distracted by his school studies, it took a year
to build Kaija. She was launched in Alviso and kept
in Redwood City for a time while Kurt and Sue spent
a summer sailing her on the San Francisco Bay. Eventually they ended up keeping her in the San Leandro
Marina where slip rents were very reasonable.
Kurt, Sue and Kaija were all perhaps a bit
restless in the 1960s so the three of them headed south
for the Monterey Bay in 1966. Their new home port
was Moss Landing where the slip rent was cheap at just
$12.00 per month.
Kurt left school that year and volunteered to
work for VISTA. VISTA stands for Volunteers in Service to America. It was a domestic Peace Corps program and a way of serving our country without being
sent off to fight the war in Vietnam. After two years of
serving VISTA in Houston and the South, Kurt returned
to Santa Cruz. Their first daughter, Karen, was born in
1968.
Later that year, Kurt took a job running the
Capitola Wharf for Tom Shanahan. Tom owned the
wharf, as well as the boat rentals and the bait and tackle
business. Kurt ran the store, rented fishing skiffs and
did all the maintenance for the business. He tells of the
struggles he had keeping the outboard motors running
and keeping the rental boats from sinking (leaking too
much) without much budget.
Overall, those were some good days back then
with many great hours spent anchored off the Capitola
Wharf and sailing the clear waters of the Monterey
Bay. Kurt and Sue kept Kaija anchored off the wharf
all summer and sometimes sailed her back to Moss
Landing for the weekends. With his own key to the
Wharf, Kurt could let himself in to go sailing anytime.
With a gleam in his eye, Kurt recently told
October 2012
me about the wonderful reaching conditions that they
enjoyed between Moss Landing and Capitola where
Kaija often hit speeds of 20 knots. She was fast,
stable and easily driven.
Kurt was handy at fixing stuff and word got
out that he could also fix torn sails and ripped canvas.
People started bringing him things to sew and it soon
became apparent that this would become a business
of its own. His parents had since bought a vacation
home on 37th Avenue and this home became the first
location for Larsen Sails.
Raising a family and keeping up with a growing business began to take up all their spare time so
Kaija was retired from sailing. She was parked under
the tiny willow tree in 1973 where she still sits. Kaija
waits patiently to be released from that beautiful back
yard in Pleasure Point, waiting for the day when she
will once again sail on the Monterey Bay, just like
Back in the Old Days.
(Author’s Note: With a promise that Kaija
will once again sail, we acquired the boat from Kurt
and Sue. My boys, Christian and Jack, are very
excited about the prospect of restoring her to sailing
form and experiencing multi-hull sailing for ourselves.
My wife, Joanne, is more into sailing boats than fixing
them so she has put in her reservation for the first
ride after the shakedown cruise. Ever since, and even
before, writing about Rich Gerling and his passage
to Hawaii, I have often contemplated “life without
a keel.” Kaija, all told, weighs less than the 2000
pound keel on our current 34 foot sailboat. Kurt and
Sue Larsen have given me and my family a chance to
experience multi-hull sailing with little investment. I
will keep the membership updated on our progress as
we proceed with the restoration of Kaija.)
Kaija will be hosting her own launch party on
Sunday, October 7 from noon until 3:PM at or near
the yacht club hoist. She is old enough to buy a keg
of beer which she will gladly provide and share with
anyone of age that shows up. Bring along your stories
from boat launchings back in the old days and I will
try to remember them for future newsletter columns.
There will be a few headbands on-hand to dole out if
there any Santa Cruz Hippies left among us.
Niels Kisling
SCYC Historian
Santa Cruz Yacht Club Spinnaker
Going Where the Ice Cream is Always Cold
(Conclusion from last month)
After getting under the bridge we went into
the town of Waterford for the West Marine, lunch and
ice cream. We find the town very comfortable. Older
brick buildings are filled with comfortable people
doing comfortable things, food is cheap in this part
of the country. We have lunch or dinner, all four of
us for 18 to 30 bucks. Gas is a little less expensive
but the housing costs are the big difference. For $250
thousand dollars you can get a beautiful river, canal
front home with boat dock, but in the winter time you
will have to trade the boat for a snowmobile.
Day five we are going west and we transit
11 locks and 39.8 miles before we are too tuckered
to transit. We get as far as Putnam Park. Along the
canal these parks include free dockage with no hookups but there are picnic benches, BBQ’s, maintained
lawn, and wooded areas. In this case, the remnants
of the “original canal” and the “Enlarged Erie” from
the 1840’s are on proud display with story boards,
displays and a visitors center (Closed after Hurricane
Irene in August last year).
Proposed in 1808 and completed in 1825,
the original canal links the waters of Lake Erie in
the west to the Hudson River in the east. Governor
Dewitt Clinton broke ground for the construction of
the canal. In those early days, it was often sarcastically referred to as “Clinton’s Big Ditch”. When
finally completed on October 26, 1825, it included 18
aqueducts to carry the canal over ravines and rivers,
and 83 locks, with a rise of 568 feet from the Hudson
River to Lake Erie. It was 4 feet deep and 40 feet
wide, and floated boats carrying 30 tons of freight. A
ten foot wide towpath was built along the bank of the
canal for the horses and/or mules which pulled the
boats and their driver, often a young boy (sometimes
referred to by later writers as a “hoggee”). An engineering marvel when it was built, some called it the
Eighth Wonder of the World.
In order to keep pace with the growing demands of traffic, the Erie Canal was enlarged between
1836 and 1862. The “Enlarged Erie” was 70 feet wide
and 7 feet deep, and could handle boats carrying 240
tons. The number of locks was reduced to 72.
The “Barge canal” which is the one in use
today was completed in 1918, and is 12 to 14 feet
deep, 120 to 200 feet wide, and 363 miles long, from
Albany to Buffalo. 57 Locks were built to handle
13
October 2012
barges carrying up to 3,000 tons of cargo, with lifts
of 6 to 40 feet. This is the Erie Canal which today is
utilized largely by recreational boats rather than cargocarrying barges.
Our next stop was for ice cream and lunch the
next day in the town of Canajoharie (Can-jo-harie)
above lock number 14. Then we stop for the night
in Herkimer just past lock number 18. In Herkimer
we find a free dock with no services but that does
not stop us from swimming, the water feels great, it
is completely fresh and the boat loves it. We have
noticed that the engines have cooled down a bit and
we can use the anchor wash off as a forward shower
now. In Herkimer, we find out there is such a thing as
a Herkimer Diamond which is a clear crystal that has
facets and makes lovely jewelry.
Josanne and Katie really know how to put the
meals out. During the day there is a constant flow of
fruit, nuts, chocolate, yogurt and liquids going between decks for Don and I upstairs navigating the boat
and at night the food is great. Nobody I know keeps
a cleaner or happier galley than Katie, I am guessing
that comes from years and years of trial and error.
The locks, entering, going up, and then exiting
take an average of 30 to 40 minutes per lock. Doing 8
to 10 of these a day and traveling 40 miles or so is really quite a day. Josanne was quite the trooper, by the
time we are done with 24 locks she still has a smile on
her face. It was kind of tricky to fend off the bow and
the stern while a line was tied around the pole at the
beam or the other option is to hold onto a slimy rope
at each end as we are raised and fend off the wall at
the same time the water swirls and eddies all around
the boat.
I am getting concerned about the traffic on the
canal. There isn’t any, where are all the boaters transiting the canal? I have only seen a few at most that have
paid the $100 season pass to use the facilities. I am
utterly surprised that after 18 locks we have not seen
a soul doing the loop. We have not even seen anyone
using the locks, not one boat entering or leaving the
locks while we were in the vicinity. The lock operators
are all very talkative and happy to have some company.
On to Lake Oneida (like the dinner ware) on
the east shore of this 24 mile long lake is the town
of Sylvan Beach. I would call Sylvan Beach “tired”,
maybe it was just me, I mean in the heat of the summer this is the place to go, the sandy beach is as
packed as our boardwalk beach, the restaurants are
great, and hotels are full, the tee shirt stores are busy
14
Santa Cruz Yacht Club Spinnaker
all day and the ice cream is as good as it gets. There is
even an amusement park in Sylvan Beach on the shore
of lake Oneida and getting into the swing of things I
ride the rollercoaster. But I can’t talk anyone else in our
party to ride with me.
This is the season to visit the lake, lots of boaters, bathing suits, swimming in the fresh water lake, jet
skis, amusement park, cheap beer, everything for the
summer happening spot. maybe it’s me.
We have dinner at a place called “Harpoon
Eddies” in Sylvan Beach but after a nap Josanne drags
us down there in the heat and we are all complaining.
Turns out, it was worth it, A/C , friendly staff and a
couple of pitchers of Sangrias and we are dancing to
the (I am impressed) one man band belting out Billy
Joel and Aerosmith. Who knew they could have this
much fun in the sticks.
Onward across Lake Oneida to Syracuse and
we are wondering how we are going to get back to JFK
for our return to California. No problem, check on-line
and you can find six ways to “Get Back, to where we
once belonged”, rail, plane, helicopter, rental car, bus,
or taxi. Turns out our 7 days on a boat is only a four
and a half hour bus ride back to Manhattan. Don told
me “What we travel in a day is practically equal to
what a car does in an hour.” What can I say.
I am sorry to say we have to leave Don and
Katie to go on their merry way, “living the life”. Their
future destination may be Montreal to leave the boat
for the winter and come back to Santa Cruz. Josanne
and I need to go home and work in the dirt, but that is a
landlubbers calling.
You know I would consider doing this Great
Loop myself in a few years, for us yachties it would
be like strapping on a motor home (a land yacht) and
seeing the country, the good old USA. The complaints
that I hear from world cruisers are that it costs a little
more in the states to cruise and you don’t have the camaraderie that you do outside the country. Good or bad
in this country, everyone (Americans) are all caught
up in their own lives and generally there is no need for
them to be eking out a living on the whims of the visitors. In America you also don’t have the theft, crime,
foreign exchange, and languages problems you have in
foreign lands. Also in the states you always have good
clean water, food and vegetables, it is easy to get parts
for the boat, and the ice cream is always cold.
Randall Sparks