June 2015 Tiller - Monterey Peninsula Yacht Club

Tiller
The
Monterey Peninsula Yacht Club
June 2015
Year 63, Issue 6
Commodore’s Log
From where I stood, the
Birthday Party was a
success. Bob Furney's
newly donated punch bowl
was a big hit as was the
punch that went in it. David
Brock spent a lot of his
valuable free time putting
together that wonderful
timeline that shows how far
we've come and where
we're headed. It was all his
idea and execution; great
job David! Jerry and Samuel
Bob Furney donated a
beautiful punch bowl to
the club.
Hats off to John Feeley for the continued great job he's
doing as Race Chair. I recently sat down with him and
Mike Jones from Sanctuary Charters to discuss
recreational diving and sailboat racing. It went a long
way to educate us all as to how we use our bay and how
to avoid any conflicts that could end up with tragic
results. I'd like to host the local diving community to a
meet and greet at the club in the near future to help find
ways to work together more closely and show how
dedicated we are as sailors to safety.
Commodore
Patrick Tregenza
rocked the buffet and added a
solid base of Prime Rib and
Seafood Pasta which was
enhanced by all the
interesting dishes brought by
members. The most touching
moment had to be the oldest
and youngest members, Jim
Rodda at 103 years old and
James Brubecker, at just 2
months. Little James received
a tender kiss on the top of his
head by the elder James with
lots of "aws" filling the room.
The rendering of the Club
Improvements put together by
Paul Davis Partners got a lot of attention and quite a few
nods of approval. At the last board meeting we formed
two new sub-committees; the Construction Oversight
Committee which will be chaired by member Lino Belli
and the Construction Funding Committee to be headed by
Betsy Jeffers. Since we're in the process of a current
project, it no longer falls under the Long Range Planning
Committee, thus the change. Look for a General
Membership meeting to happen sooner than usual to
inform members of the plans and explore funding
possibilities. It's going to be a great thing to have our club
ADA compliant for our guests and members in the near
future.
Junior Advisor and Director Sharon Frey and I sat down
with Santa Catalina student Isabelle Redfield to discuss
High School sailing. Isabelle loves to sail but was
disappointed to discover that her school doesn't offer any
programs. She reached out to me through a mutual friend
that teaches science at Catalina and I immediately hooked
her up with Sharon. In addition to having their students
be part of our High School Racing Team, we came up
with the idea to do a 6-week introduction to sailing that
we would host every fall when the new kids start school.
It could be taught by our Junior Instructors from Summer
Sailing Camp and may even morph into something open
to adults as well.
By the time you're reading this, we will have had our
June board meeting. I wanted to reach out to all members
and remind them that the board meets the third Thursday
of every month and there's always a public comment
opportunity at the beginning. Anyone is welcome to hang
around for the entire meeting and I encourage people to
do so. I'm very proud of our Flags and Directors and all
the work they do as volunteers. In the 5 years I've served
on the board there's never been a closed session meeting.
Everything we do and discuss is right out there in the
open for everyone hear, so come down and hear it if
you're so inclined - we could use the company!
Fair winds.
Page 2
About the Cover Photo
David and Judy Fisher’s Sea Siren sailing to Moss
Landing. Photo courtesy of Greg Cailliet.
Hail and Farewell
Upcoming Events
By Becky Brock
Friday, June 26
6PM - New Members Night
Thursday, July 2
Noon - Entertainment Committee lunch
Saturday, July 4
5-9PM - 4th of July BBQ
Friday, July 10
Pizza Movie Night
Tuesday, July 14
6PM - Cruisers Meeting and Potluck
Saturday, August 1
Noon - Cruise to Stillwater Cove for Santanarama
Saturday, August 1
6PM - Winemaker’s Dinner
WELCOME aboard to our NEWEST members:
Jared January (Regular)
Sponsored by Jeff Pulford & Merritt Bruce
Jonathan Hires (Regular)
Sponsored by Sharon Frey & Bob Furney
Didier Dutertre (Regular)
Sponsored by Douglas Campbell & Tom Mangold
Course changes:
Reid Smythe (Military to Non-Resident)
Debi Nobrega (Regular to Non-Resident)
Resignations:
Lloyd Smith, John Staples, Lisa Williams, Luce Sahali
and Ray Ward
Save the Date!
Saturday, October 31
The fabulous Retrospect Band will be playing great
dance music for our Halloween party.
Pizza and a Movie at MPYC
by Ron Baxter
Regular Schedule
Dinner is served every Wednesday and Friday
evening at 6:00, bar open 5:30.
Lunch is served every Thursday from 11:30AM until
1:30PM.
The MPYC Board of Directors meets every third
Thursday of the month at 7:00PM.
Remember to check the online calendar for updates.
http://www.mpyc.org
House Rules
Members of reciprocal yacht clubs are always
welcome; please remember to register in the Club
guestbook before using Club facilities. Other guests
are encouraged, but must be welcomed to the club by
a current member.
Membership is easy, and applicants need not be boat
owners. For further information on membership and
house rules, call (831) 372-9686 or visit us on the
Web at www.MPYC.org.
On Friday July 10th, Jerry Mayo will be taking a longdeserved vacation. The bar and galley committee has
decided to take this opportunity to shake things up a bit
with a casual pizza dinner and a movie! The dinner will
be buffet style with
pizza and salad and
the movie will be Mel
Brooks’ uproarious
comedy Young
Frankenstein. We will
still have our usual
Friday happy hour
and start serving
dinner at 6. The
movie will start at
8:30. So come on
down, bring the kids
(young Frankenstein
is rated PG) and
enjoy a hilarious
night of pizza and
raucous comedy.
Page 3
Race
Bowl of Sailing” and is the one race of the season to
which every other race builds up.
by John Feeley (Race Chair)
See them all in sad repair
Demons dance everywhere
Southern gales, tattered sails
And none to tell the tales
Ghosts of Cape Horn
Gordon Lightfoot
I believe we are all aware as racers at MPYC that we are
only guests of the ocean when we compete on the everchanging conditions of our sport’s venue. There are
many lessons to be learned and relearned every time we race.
The Fairhope Yacht Club hosted this year's Dauphin
Island Regatta race, which rotates between Mobile Bay's
four clubs each year. The race is considered “The Super
Despite the sunny skies prevailing when vessels took
their marks in the ill-fated Dauphin Island Race on April
25, forecasts spelled out clearly the potential for
hazardous conditions to develop throughout the day.
At the end of the day, 10 boats – not all of which were
regatta participants – either capsized or were disabled in
Mobile Bay after a "strong disturbance in the
atmosphere" over Texas and Louisiana Saturday morning
later slammed into a "highly unstable atmosphere" in
Mobile Bay. The resulting storm spawned near hurricanestrength winds (60 knots) for the boats on the water and
left six sailors dead.
I won’t belabor the point of lessons learned from this race.
I’ll let you draw your own conclusions from these facts:
continued page 5
Modern Beaufort Wind Force Scale
Page 4
Lucky Duck Wins
the SoCal 300
Race
continued
1. NOAA predicted “storms” moving in and generating
up to 60mph winds late in the day.
2. The sponsoring club decided to execute the race given
the storm timelines.
3. Start of the race was delayed 90 minutes because the
Club had erroneously posted a cancellation of the race on
its WEB site and at the start, a general recall was initiated
for one PHRF Class due to aggressive boats trying to get
a starting line advantage.
4. It appears a number of racers were not wearing PFD’s,
lacked safety equipment on board (or were unfamiliar
with the equipment) and many boats did not know proper
protocol for providing aid to racers in trouble.
5. 476 sailors were on the water at the start. The finish
line was 18 miles to the southwest – just the direction
from which the prevailing winds were coming.
6. The storm struck with exceptional speed and intensity.
So here are a few lessons learned from this regatta for
Feeley to Feeley: Inspect regularly a boat’s safety
equipment for serviceability; wear your PFDs while
racing; make sure your regular crew and guests
understand emergency procedures; make sure you have
good communication for calling for assistance and
reporting; make sure PROs and RC crew understand their
responsibilities regarding weather, danger and safety
procedures; make sure our sailing instructions are
complete regarding safety; and respect our sporting
venue.
“SERIOUS RACE FOR SERIOUS OCEAN RACERS”
by Betsy Jeffers
MPYC member Dave MacEwen and the Lucky Duck
raced in the inaugural SoCal 300 race over the Memorial
Day weekend. The race was a partnership with Santa
Barbara Yacht Club and San Diego Yacht Club, similar to
the Spinnaker Cup. The race is a bit different; there are
four legs on the course: Santa Barbara to Santa Rosa
Island, Santa Rosa Island to San Nicholas Island, San
Nicholas Island to the Tanner Bank Weather Buoy, and
Tanner Bank Weather Buoy to San Diego. Lucky Duck
finished 1st in all but one leg of the race, taking a 1st in
class and 1st overall with a corrected time of 23:26:03.
Robin Jeffers, James Clappier, a former RLS sailing team
member, and Brendan Bradley, Bobbette’s son, were part
of the crew.
Congratulations guys….next up, TransPac.
I will provide racing results for MPYC and standings in
the July article because I want to emphasize safety
lessons this month.
Question for next Month…What is VMG and how do
you capture it when racing?
Answer to last month’s questions:
A. Define the meaning of the following terms: Calm,
Light air, Light breeze, Gentle breeze, Moderate breeze,
Fresh breeze, Strong breeze, High wind, and Gale.
The terms are devised from the Beaufort Scale used
today and are empirical measurements that relate wind
speed to observed conditions at sea or on land. Its full
name is the Beaufort Wind Force Scale. The scale was
first devised in 1805.
Page 5
Thank You Spinnaker Cup Volunteers!
by Betsy Jeffers
I want to thank the volunteers who came forward to
support the Spinnaker Cup over the Memorial Day
weekend. A special thank you goes to Kit and John
Ruck, Liz and Mark Chandler, Donna Womble, Dave
Morris, Patrick Tregenza, and David Duncan for your
extra special help and support! Unfortunately, we had
fewer boats this year, only 23 participating, but it still
takes the same amount of folks to make this a
successful event. The first boat, Invisible Hand,
finished in the early evening, even with the less than
windy race this year, while the rest of the boats
finished into the wee hours of the night. During the
event, I continually heard how great our club is, how
responsive our staff is, the breakfast the Junior Sailors
prepared was tasty, and what a wonderful event we cohost with San Francisco Yacht Club.….So thank you,
thank you, I could not have pulled it off without all of
your help!
Delta Ditch Run
by Betsy Jeffers
On Friday June 5th, Robin Jeffers, Gary Owens, Dave
Morris, Donna Womble, Ashley Hobson, Mark Gibbs and
several other folks set up tents at the Stockton Sailing Club
in preparation for the Ditch Run. The Ditch, referred to as
the Redneck Transpac, is a 67.5 mile race starting outside
of Richmond and finishes at the Stockton Sailing Club.
At 6:00 Saturday morning, we boarded buses and headed
to Richmond YC to prepare for the start. There were 153
registered teams so the starting area is a bit of a dance.
The one thing we couldn't do is cross the start line with a
kite...how frustrating is that! Carnage began right at the
start, and continued up the entire course. Ask Donna,
Mark and Ashely how it feels to have your mast outrun
the boat ... not fun, and poor Peabody lost her rig. Before
the incident, they
flew past us with the
biggest smiles on
their faces. Gusts
were recorded in the
30+ range. The
Redhead, with crew
Dave Morris, Gary
Owens, Peter
Baldwin, owner
Walter Smith and
Photo from Pressure-Drop.us
myself had a
fabulous time. A Cal 40 can sail pretty deep, and we
laughed at how we may make the whole race without a
jibe. Others, like Donna or Patrick Whitmarsh, overall
winner on a Melges 20, probably lost count! Falling into
your tent after this race and a few rum drinks, is heaven.
In my opinion, this is a race you need to put on your
bucket list....
Donna Womble, Mark Gibbs and Ashley Hobson on
Peabody. Photo from NorCalSailing.Com
MPYC Members Elsewhere
by Liz Chandler
Many MPYC members race all over California,
Nationally and Internationally. This new Tiller column
will attempt to report what is happening elsewhere. I
apologize if I am missing some great race reports this
month, but I encourage you to get your information in to
me so I can include everyone in future issues.
([email protected])
During our busy Spin Cup weekend, you might have
noticed Robin Jeffers was missing. He was crewing on the
SC52, Lucky Duck, in the first ever So Cal 300 Race, a
distance race that starts in Santa Barbara, goes around the
Channel Islands and ends in San Diego, in 4 legs. Lucky
Duck not only won their division, they won overall!
The first weekend of June, we had members on at least 3
boats in the Delta Ditch Run, a wild ride from SF Bay to
Stockton Sailing Club. This race is well known for high
winds, numerous gibes and lots of carnage. This year's
edition did not disappoint. Donna Womble entered her
new Ultimate 20, Peabody with crew Mark Gibbs and
Ashley Hobson. Unfortunately, Peabody dismasted-hopefully, she had rig insurance. Dave Morris, Robin and
Betsy Jeffers crewed for Walter Smith on Redhead, the
Cal 40. They avoided the carnage and finished third in
their class, unscathed. Patrick Whitmarsh (Judy Clark's
son) crewed on Flygfisk, a Melges 20 that took first
overall in the Delta Ditch Run.
Finally, Tim Cordrey sailed the Coastal Cup, a race from
San Francisco Bay to Santa Barbara, on the SC52,
Prevail during the same weekend as the DDR.
Photo from Pressure-Drop.us
So, remember to send your news--or your friend's or your
kid's -- to be included in this column!
Page 6
Bar and Galley
automated, cash-register system for billing and managing
food and beverage service.) Also, we are close to
improving our décor by replacing the worn out galley
chairs.
by Patricia Nicewander (Bar and Galley Chair)
Remember that Bar and Galley survey we sent out late last
year? This survey included sections on satisfaction levels,
questions concerning additional service, and areas where
members could write in what they liked best and least.
There were 140 surveys returned, and the results have
been calculated. Thanks to Lyn Blaskovich, Diane
Cailliet, Linda McLennan and Kit Ruck for helping
summarize the results -- and thanks to those members who
returned their surveys.
The results show an overwhelming Satisfaction Level with
Bar and Galley Service (89%). Also, the Bar Hours are
“About Right” at 81%. The majority of respondents did
not want additional dinner and lunch days.
Your comments and suggestions are welcome.
Uncorked
by Jerry Stratton
Announcing our next Winemaker's Dinner: Mark your
calendars for a night of stunning wines and gourmet food!
On Saturday, August 1st, we will sample the fine wines of
McIntyre Vineyards. This Monterey County wine making
family is known for big but refined Santa Lucia
Highlands Pinot Noirs, super Chardonnays, and much,
much more. Don't miss it! Secure your reservation for the
evening which begins at 6 PM with Manager Jerry Mayo.
Seating is limited.
52% of respondents rated the Club Management
(Manager, Staff, and Operations) “Best Liked” at 52%.
The Food Service (value, portions, quality, presentation,
variety) was 28%. The “Best Liked” rating for Social
Atmosphere (people, camaraderie) was 16%. Physical
Atmosphere (location, décor) were only rated “Best
Liked” by 4% of the members.
The Food Service (value, portions, quality, presentation,
variety) was rated “Least Liked” by 53% of those
responding. Physical Atmosphere (décor, crowds) was
rated “Least Liked” by 32%. There were 12% who “Least
Liked” the Any Change category. The Social Atmosphere
and Club Management (staff) were rated as “Least Liked”
by only 2% and 1% respectively.
A report of the survey findings will be posted on the Club
Members’ bulletin board should you want further details. I
think we can assume from these findings that the
overwhelming majority of those surveyed are happy with
our bar and galley management and service. I do see
indications that we need to improve food service, manage
crowd control, and update our décor. This is why our
Manager and the Bar and Galley Committee are working
to get a new chef in place so that menus can be reviewed
and updated. We are considering adding features to our
Maitr’D System to help alleviate crowding at the bar
during Wednesday night races. (FYI, Maitr’D is our
Page 7
at
MPYC
of July Drinks
SpecialSpecial
4th of July4th
Drinks
5-9pm BBQ Buffet
6:00PM BBQ Buffet
9pm
Virtual
9:00PM
VirtualFireworks
Fireworks at the Club Dock
at the Club Dock
Cruising Club
by Greg Cailliet (Cruising Club Chair)
The MPYC cruising
club sailed to the
Elkhorn Yacht Club
Friday-Sunday, 15-17
for a weekend visit. This
was our second cruising
event and six boats
made the trip on
Saturday morning:
Diablita, Sea Siren,
Gitane, Sitara,
Symbiosis, and Ruckiss.
The sail up was
Randy Hamilton and Jackie
fabulous, with most
Petro on Symbiosis cruising to boats reaching 6-7 knots
Moss Landing May 15, 2015.
under sail and the total
Photo by Marianne Mangold. time for the trip was 2 to
3 hours. Great
conditions with good wind and lots of whales to see!
We were greeted and generously hosted by EYC Race
Committee Chair Janice d’Arcey, Commodore Stan
Jacques, Vice Commodore Chuck Enders, the Port
Captain Brian Ackerman, and (of course) by the bartender
Linda May. Four boats shared the EYC guest dock, while
two others were allowed to tie up along docks that were
empty. Gitane had to
share theirs with
Mayan and broke the
record for the most
times a boat had to
leave and return to
their dock in a
weekend – I think it
was about five times
because Mayan (a 59
foot schooner) was
already promised a
place so she could be
in the Saturday race.
We totaled about 14
people and were
joined by about 10
other MPYC
members who came
to EYC aboard their
land cruisers.
Art and Lal Sutton’s Gitane
redocking in Moss Landing
Harbor AGAIN. Photo by Greg
Cailliet.
We participated in
social activities with
EYC members, both for happy hour on Friday evening,
and the dinner they had for the racers who were in the
Otter Regatta Saturday. On Saturday, many of us dinked
around Moss Landing Harbor, had lunch at the Haute
continued page 9
Lunch at Haute Enchilada. Photo by Greg Cailliet.
Page 8
Cruising Club
Mayan
Enchilada, and then either ventured up Elkhorn Slough or
returned to the North Harbor.
Elkhorn Yacht Club provided MPYC members with a
special treat during the Cruising Club’s recent weekend
visit. The 59-foot Alden staysail schooner (58’ 11” LOA
and 45’ 7” LWL), Mayan, formerly owned by David
Crosby, graced the marina and competed in the Otter Cup.
by Tom Albright
continued
The Otter
Regatta on
Saturday had
eight boats
entered,
including
Mayan, the 1947
schooner, first
owned by David
Un Bel Di and Mayan neck-and-neck Crosby (the
(bow-to-bow?) in Otter Regatta.
singer of
Photo by Terry Briggs.
Crosby, Stills,
Nash and later
Young) and now residing in Santa Cruz Harbor with new
owners (see Tom Albright’s article in this Tiller and the
May, 2015 Latitude 38). She won, but in close second
was John Herne, sailing Un Bel Di, the Cal 2-25 formerly
owned by Steve Hyland. So, John is keeping her racing
prowess up to snuff. And, Steve and Kris joined us for
Saturday and drove their dinghy around Elkhorn Slough.
On Sunday, we attended the Nautical Flea Market, and
some of us found deals we could not do without. Five
yachts left mid-morning for home to Monterey. As with
Friday’s sail, the wind was great and most boats made the
trip in under 3 hours, all under sail. The sixth boat,
Ruckiss, stayed another night and sailed home early
Monday morning.
The MPYC Cruising Club is having its sixth meeting
Tuesday 9 June, 2015, and will hear from Dave Morris
about anchoring, mooring, and docking – this subject will
be just in time for our boats to become prepared for the
upcoming Commodore’s Regatta (our cruise) to
Stillwater Cove on 19-21 June, 2015. We expect even
more cruising boats to attend that event and are looking
forward to it.
So, Cruising Club members continue to be active and we
are having fun with good participation in our events.
Come join us for our monthly potluck/speakers and/or for
one of the cruises planned for 2015.
A June 6, 2013 Wall
Street Journal article
featured a discussion
with Crosby about his
interest in sailing.
Just beginning to sail
at age 11, Crosby
instinctively knew he
was a natural and had
an odd sense that he
had sailed before. As
a result of this
feeling, years later he
wrote “Deja Vu.” In
1967, Crosby
borrowed $25,000
from his friend, Peter
Tork of the Monkees,
Mayan arriving at EYC. Photo
and went to Ft.
by Greg Cailliet.
Lauderdale to
purchase Mayan.
The boat was very similar to an Alden-designed schooner
Crosby had admired in his youth. Crosby lived aboard
Mayan in San Francisco until 1970. While down below,
he wrote “Wooden Ships,” “The Lee Shore,” “Page 43,”
and “Carry Me.” Crosby refers to Mayan as his “deep Muse.”
“Southern Cross,”
the sailing-inspired
single, was written
by Stephen Stills.
The record jacket
features the group
on board a vessel
that could possibly
be Mayan (Crosby
suggests that
virtually everyone
continued page 11
Page 9
Beautiful teak and mahogany.
Photo by David Book.
Who Wants to
Circumnavigate?
by Bill Fleetwood
Before I met her, Sam read Maiden Voyage by Tania
Aebi. Tania had set out in 1985, at age 18, and sailed
around the world single handed. Sam was very impressed
and figured if Tania, who had little to no sailing
experience could pull that off, then she, Sam, could too.
Being older, and after years of successful racing in
Monterey Bay, she had a more mature view of such an
undertaking. She decided some off shore cruising
experience might be good before packing her sea bag for
a sail around the world. She looked to meet a family,
sailing south to Mexico, who would take her aboard to
give her some experience cruising. That was in 1996 and
is how, through a series of events, we met.
I was between boats at the time but I had a plan,
augmented by a few years of meager coastal cruising
experience, and Sam bought into it. Literally bought into
it, by going in with me on a boat, a Catalina 36, which we
trucked from Alameda to Seattle. We spent that summer
getting our feet collectively wet by cruising in the Pacific
Northwest. That all went pretty well so we got married,
sold the Catalina, went to San Diego and found a more
proper cruising boat, a Gulfstar 50 ketch. Neither of us
had ever set foot on a ketch before, nor had either of us
been at the helm of a 20 ton yacht before.
water maker, and fridge compressor, all of which we
discovered functioned only marginally. All had to be
replaced by the time we reached Australia. Also aboard
but not installed when we bought the boat, were a new
state of the art autopilot, a Monitor wind vane and a
VacuFlush head, none of which, we soon realized, either
fit or worked satisfactorily. Fifteen years later, we had
greatly increased our knowledge of boat systems, and had
replaced malfunctioning items with new, so that by the
time I sold Blue Banana she was, in my opinion, finally
ready for a circumnavigation. Her new owner may have
had a different view of things, however, as he prepared to
sail her from the south of Spain home to Oslo.
Dinghies are not exempt either. We started with an old
Avon with some 50 patches on it. That, we realized while
watching our bank balance approach single digits, would
need replacing also. We chose a new Avon principally
because it had a 10 year warranty and we figured it would
last until we sailed back home again. That didn’t happen,
however, and by the time the warranty expired, I was
pumping air in and water out a few times each day. Even
though we were close to ending our cruising, we picked
up a new Aquapro dinghy in Athens. Sam was delighted
for she could again arrive at another boat for sundowners,
or ashore for dinner, without a wet “dinghy butt”.
continued page 11
In relating this it sounds like we were naive, to say the
least. Naive and pretty unprepared to set off on a sail
around the world. But Tania Aebi , as she wrote in
Maiden Voyage, was less prepared. She taught herself
how to use a sextant, and celestial navigation, on the first
day of her voyage. We at least had a GPS.
Your cruising boat, too, would benefit from some prior
experience. We’ve all seen boats advertised as,
“Circumnavigation veteran and ready to go.” What those
ads fail to mention, is that “ready to go” means that most
of the electronics and other systems are shot. Everything
needs to be replaced (and after a few years of long
distance cruising, they will need to be replaced again).
Our boat came loaded, including a generator, SSB radio,
Riding in our new dinghy to another boat for sundowners
- and arriving with dry butts for a nice change.
Page 10
New Members
Circumnavigate
continued
Tina Pryne, born and
raised in Hawaii, now
lives in Pacific Grove.
She is active duty
Navy and a student at
NPS. After attending
USNA, she was
stationed in San
Diego for 4 years
before moving to
Monterey. She has a
boyfriend and a lab
mix dog. Tina enjoys
racing while other interests include shooting, hiking and
wine tasting.
Pam Gaul is originally
from Iowa and moved to
CA in 2002. She now
lives in New Monterey.
She is a special education
teacher at Pacific Grove
Middle School and her
significant other, Duane
Johnson, is an account
executive for Fox
(KCBA). They have a 6year old miniature
Daschund named Mickey.
Pam enjoys cruising as well as paddle boarding and hiking.
Jared January was
born and raised in
South Florida and
currently lives in
Salinas. He prefers
racing over cruising
but is happy just being
on the water. Other
interests include
spelunking, roller
skating on the beach
and long walks on the
bike trail.
One day after arriving in Australia, I had a conversation
with a local who seemed impressed that we had sailed
there from California. He said, “Wow, you must know a
lot about sailing”. I think in response I mumbled
something like, “Well . . . I’m not sure I know all that
much, but I guess I know more than I did when I left
California.”
We all know life is mostly a series of trial and error
events which is how we learn everything, from walking at
a young age without crashing into tables (something I still
have trouble with occasionally when leaving the club bar)
to sailing around the world. Sam and I shared a nothing
ventured, nothing gained and no guts no glory attitude.
We weren’t always on the same page, however. One day
while plowing downwind with what seemed to be
humongous following seas, with an ill advised sail plan,
Sam called to me and asked if I was scared. When I
replied I was not she yelled back, “Well maybe that’s just
because you don’t realize how dangerous this is.”
What activity, other than sailing, I ask, can scare you
witless at 6 or 8 miles an hour? The rewards are there. So
get out there, and learn as you go. If you wait until you
think you are ready, and your boat is ready, you might as
well stay home.
Mayan
continued
in rock’n’roll has been aboard her.). However, the lyrics,
“We got eighty feet of the waterline nicely making way,”
is probably not referring to Mayan. But, it could be if we
choose to believe it. Consider this. Would “We got fortyfive feet seven inches of the waterline nicely making
way,” have had the same lyrical impact?
At any rate, Mayan is a beauty, and it was a privilege to
spend the weekend in her company.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8AhFiePczT8
Bar Stool
Makeover Project
The deadline has been extended to 8/1.
Page 11
MONTEREY PENINSULA YACHT CLUB
Municipal Wharf #2
Monterey, CA 93940
(831) 372-9686
PRSRT STD
U.S. POSTAGE PAID
MONTEREY, CA
PERMIT NO. 69
Return Service Requested
MPYC 2015
Officers and Directors
Commodore: Patrick Tregenza
Vice Commodore: David Duncan
Rear Commodore: Betsy Jeffers
Staff Commodore: David Blaskovich
Recording Secretary: Sharon Halvorson
Corresponding Secretary: Becky Brock
Treasurer: Art Sutton
Directors:
Sharron Frey
Tom Hoover
Scott Brubaker
Dino Pick
The Tiller
Editor: Linda McLennan
Layout: Linda McLennan
Distribution: Kit Ruck
Printing: Office Depot, Salinas, CA
Contributors:
Patrick Tregenza
John Feeley
Jerry Stratton
Greg Cailliet
Ashley Hobson
Becky Brock
Patricia Nicewander
David Book
Bill Fleetwood
Liz Chandler
Marianne Mangold
Betsy Jeffers
Ron Baxter
Tom Albright
Editor’s Note: Please send articles,
photos, want ads, letters to the editor,
notes and ideas, anytime to:
[email protected]. All articles subject to
editing.