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June 2, 2009

Newsletter for June, 2009

Greetings Baysailors !!!! from aboard Dorothy's Toy. We now have a perpetual umbrella over our heads as we sail back...sail back...sail back from Key West. We are not back yet as this is written 5/20 at Marina Jacks. We started this odyssey on 5/9. We have dried our clothes multi times with no respect from the rain of our labors. We now just get into the dryers and tumble ourselves dry. We straggled into marinas wet and bedraggled in the late night hours. If it isn't the rain, it is the wind from all directions. We now live in our rain ponchos and rain slicks. We know every leak in this sailing vessel.

It was good to see Dallas and crew on the Talisman and Tom Dooley and his crew aboard the Cheryl Ann in Key West. They helped us with our lines when we came in to dock. I think everyone who went on the trip down the coast will have many a tale to tell and good times to share.

As we approach our last month with me as commodore, we will finish the year with a bang. Our next meeting should be interesting, followed by some day sails and our end-of-the-year overnight later in June.

It has been fun being the Commodore and participating in the expansion of our club. We have added new captains this year and many new members. I've been fortunate to have a great group of dedicated officers and committee chairs who have made this all possible. Thank you all for a job well done.

I leave this job in the confident knowledge that Allen Fiske, John Walker, and the rest of their team will do an even better job next year. It has been a privilege to serve as your commodore. Thank you all for the opportunity. See you at upcoming events and out on the water.

xxxx

Another good turnout for late in our year (ending June 30). Many members will be heading north for the summer, and we look forward to seeing them again in the fall.

After our Commodore had an inauspicious start due to boat problems, the rest of the weekend at Gulfport turned out to be a lot of fun. Everyone enjoyed meeting new and old friends in the SSCA and Boca Ciega Yacht Club groups. The BCYC hosted a BBQ, and the Saturday night dinner was at O’Maddy’s.

Volkard Neumann will be leaving us soon and moving to Annapolis. His boat is now in NC thanks to the help from Bay Sailors members Joe Curry and Steve Morrill, who did the Gulfport - Stuart leg, and Dallas Dawson, who did the leg from Stuart to Oriental, NC. We wish you well in your new endeavor, Volkhard. Just make sure you have room in your new place for Bay Sailors to come and visit.

The By-Laws revision regarding Disciplinary Action was brought up for a vote at the meeting. Peggy Miller made a motion to accept the revision as is, and Joe Curry seconded the motion. The vote was unanimous. I do want to tell the members and potential members (the ones we didn’t scare away) that there have been very few problems in this club in its 16-year history. We just wanted to clarify the procedures in case something should come up. We want you all to have fun sailing with us.

John Walker provided the training for this evening. Navigation was the subject. As sailors, we all need to know: 1) where we’re going, 2) where we are, and 3) what’s in between. To accomplish this, we need good charts and/or a good GPS. There is a wealth of information on navigation in our library, and next time you’re on a boat, ask the skippers some questions. They are always glad to share their knowledge.

Millie Nasta won the 50-50 drawing.

Enjoy your time on the water.

It’s now getting into the middle of August. The Bahamas in summer are the same as Florida: rain, bugs, calms, thunderstorms, tropical storms and hurricanes. On board, a routine set in. First thing in the morning, try to get a weather forecast. I was not able to receive shortwave broadcasts, so I listened to Bahamas radio, which broadcasts weather once a day, Barometer Bob on the VHF net (Bob passed away, but his wife continues the service), and internet when I could get wi-fi. The locals get their weather info by cable TV, which didn’t do me any good.

Second on the agenda was diving. The local operations charged $100 for a two-tank trip, well out of my price range. Fortunately, many of the best reefs are now preserves and have mooring balls. The moorings are suitable for dinghies, not a cruising sailboat, but they show where the dive sites are. All you have to do is get close enough to them. That is easier said than done, as the sites are in the middle of the reef area. You must take your boat thru the coral to get there. Incidentally, the best charts available show these areas as "not surveyed." Talk about being nervous!

But the diving was worth it. The best I found was off Fowl Cay, between Man O' War and Great Guana Cays. Anchoring in ten feet, lots of shallow coral heads and short reefs, then a wall going down to sand at 60 feet. The fish are fed, so big grouper follow you around. Sharks and jack cruise the wall. A sand channel breaks the reef in the middle of the activity, similar to Blue Corner in Palau. Visibility wasn’t great, so I named it Brown Corner. At the top, thousands of small fish add color. I dove it twice.

The third activity was getting someplace for the night. There are lots of protected anchorages in this area of the Abacos, all within a short distance. I had gotten used to a lazy schedule of 20 to 25 miles a day. Here it was more likely to be 5 miles, including diving. The hardest lesson for an independent cuss like me was to pick up a mooring if they are available. The holding isn’t great, and the thunderstorms are strong.

Last on my list was to play tourist. On Great Guana I had a Grabber at Grabbers and the pig roast at Nippers. An afternoon thunderstorm thinned out the crowd at Nippers. Umbrellas went everywhere. A boat anchored off the beach nearly swamped getting out. I had another beer and waited for the rain to pass. My last stop was at Green Turtle Club. Advisories on Hannah and Ike convinced me it was time to go home.

Book of the Month
by Maggie Federici, Librarian

Two Against Cape Horn is about a husband and wife who live aboard a 35-ft yacht and have sailed 50,000 miles in their boat. This book is perfect with the onslaught of summer's heat. To borrow it, contact Maggie.

End-of-the-Year Party

Wow! What a great weekend. The trip to Gulfport on the 24–26 of April was one of the busiest of the year. The Seven Seas Cruising Association had a “sail in” to Gulfport with the intent of demonstrating the financial impact that the boating community has on local economies. Boca Ciega Yacht Club had its annual member drive, and Bay Sailors joined them both. The weather was almost perfect all weekend for sailing and land-based activities.

The SSCA selected Gulfport because it’s a waterfront community, and it has had a reputation as being anti-boating. Gulfport has come around in the last few years, mostly, I think from some very active members in the Boca Ciega Yacht Club. A former Bay Sailor, Al Davis, has been doing a lot of work getting the Clam Bayou section of Boca Ciega Bay cleaned up, as well as convincing the city council that boaters are good people (as well as good business).

From an article in the April 30th Gabber: “Our motto is always leave a clean wake,” said Tampa Bay Metro Coordinator for the Seven Seas Cruisers Association Jeff Hazzard. “We mean that culturally and environmentally, and we always do a beach cleanup in whatever port we anchor. It’s our way of giving back and also to thank the City for their accommodations.”

Joyce Runion and I joined the SSCA for the morning beach cleanup. The SSCA, as a gesture of good will, with a crew of around 50 members (and two Bay Sailors) combed the beach, picked up trash, and filled several containers. The most common items we picked up were cigarette filters. So, if you’re still smoking, PLEASE TAKE YOUR FILTERS WITH YOU.

In the afternoon of the 25th, Joyce and I volunteered to help out the Boca Ciega Yacht Club with the annual Fun Day. The BCYC has an annual membership drive and invited everyone in the whole world to come look at the club and, hopefully, join. I got to do one of the best jobs available–crew on a sailboat that took prospective members for a free ride. Joyce got to babysit the kids while mom and dad were out on the free ride. Over 400 folks showed up, and I have to confess that I mentioned Bay Sailors more than once to a few singles who were on our boat.

And in the evening of the 25th, as if that wasn’t enough excitement for a day, we joined approximately 40 Bay Sailors for dinner at one of our local favorites, O’Maddy’s. We had the sweetest waitress, Heather, I think; and she was just terrific putting up with us and bringing us food and drinks and then having to write 40 separate checks! I heard that the Bay Sailors’ bar bill was almost as much as the SSCA spent the entire weekend! (ok, I made that up).

The poem below was written in honor of SSCA members Devin Taylor and wife Liz, originally of Great Britain but living here in the area for the past 10 years. They came to the rescue of Dorothy’s Toy when it lost its prop at the Gulfport 4/25-4/26 weekend. They became aware of the prop situation at their SSCA breakfast held before cleaning the beach. Devin graciously went and got his dive equipment. This included tank, suit, mask, flippers, weights, etc., which took 15-20 minutes to change into. He splashed into the cool morning waters and in two minutes rescued the prop.

THANK YOU!

The boat was moved from the slip to have the anchor dropped.
Winds were at 15-20 knots.
Fending off pilings and battling the winds,
Unbeknownst
A line was dropped and dropped again.

The pilings were passed
With a final engine blast,
And in that moment?
That UH-OH moment?
The silence came
Of a prop in pain
Coming to a stop!!!
From the line unbeknownst that had been dropped
And that now was wrapped around the prop!.

THIS MINI DISEASTER CAUSED THE BOAT TO STOP!
And the anchor was dropped.
A diver came the next A.M.
To plunge the depths and release again
This prop
That had caused this engine to stop.
And Dorothy's Toy
Free to sail
All the winds that prevail.

Forgive me, Maggie Federici

You can go over the check-off list 100 times, but it is at the moment you are three feet from the dock that the ghost of “Did I bring everything?” starts to haunt. Miraculously, on this trip it was paper towels. Cut them in quarters, and you can survive.

I am writing this from Naples. Did you get lost in the dark trying to find Naples Yacht Club? When we put out the call for guidance, help came from all directions—Tow Boat U.S. and from some fellow on a boat (Charisma). Trouble is, we were there many years ago. Since then a remodeling job rendered the club unrecognizable. We decided to ask was the place newly done—Yes. Thus, that is how we got lost. We were not lost but didn’t know it.

We pulled into a slip, and a few slips down were Cici and Vince from Tarpon Springs Yacht Club. Small world.

We have been to Cabbage Key and Venice. Somewhere south of Boca Grande we came upon a whale in distress. It was still breathing but just floating. Called the Coast Guard to report and give coordinates for finding the whale. They in turn report it to Fish & Wildlife. It was a sad sight to see this grand mammal in distress.

Heading to Keys now.

Key West, May 13, 2009

We arrived in Key West 12:25 on Tuesday, May 12. We had left St. Pete Beach on Friday, May 8, about 10 a.m. It took four days with overnight stops in Venice—Cabbage Key (always dock there stern in or be an acrobat getting on/off the boat), and Naples, with a beautiful overnight sail through Florida Bay. And we did sail with a wonderful wind out of the north/northwest (10 knots) and a ¾ moon glowing on the waters, giving, as best described, an enchanted sail.

The downside was no auto pilot. Steering could elicit the jargon of the saltiest sailor sailing the seven seas never able to leave the wheel. So just being the two of us, we became inventive getting the sail up and down. We did almost any related boat activities in steps. We did well.

We left Naples around 1 p.m. and sailed into the night. The moon rose about 10:30, an unbelievable orange glow giving way to a lit glow across the sky. Before the moon came over the horizon, the sky was ink-black with a vast twinkling of stars. It was the warm-up for the arriving moon. We had the soft sounds of jazz on the radio, the water lapping at the boat as we moved through the water.

In the morning, the rising sun came on the tropical waters—azure blue—of the Keys.

Returning from the Keys, Sometime in May

The saga of the Key West trip continues. Ed and I have had our feet turn into flippers, and there is this continuous umbrella over our heads. Rain poncho and slicks are our new wardrobe. We wash everything and repeat after the storms. A whole day in Naples drying the boat and us out, only to have rain again one hour out of Naples.

South Seas Island Resort

I sit here and write this as the clothes dry in the dryer in this resort!!! That is never pictured on a post card. We came here to meet up with Judy Speed, Christine Galanopoulos, and Happy Birthday girl Carol Callier. But it even rains here. We almost had a Board meeting. Ha! Venice next.

It was Sunday, May 17. We were enjoying our happy hour drinks at a local watering hole celebrating my birthday and the good life in general. Christine Galanopoulos, Judy Speed, and I were wondering about our seafaring friends who were sailing down the coast and where they were. I called Ed. (Who doesn’t have Ed’s # on their phone?) "Hi Ed, Where are you?" "We are just off Sanibel and Captiva…" I couldn’t believe it. "That is where we are," I said. After some discussion, Ed said he would call if they decided to go to Cabbage Key or stay in Captiva.