January 11-13
Crab and Pasta Feed and Cruise to Point San Pablo Yacht Club

January 19^th
Education Seminar

January 26th
Laisez le bon temps

Saturday February 16th
Ladies Luncheon

 

 Club Calendar

click above for racing

Contents

Commodore's Report

Harbor View

Social Committee

Education

COMMODORE’S REPORT

As I sit down to write this short note the wind is howling and the rain sounds like b-b’s pounding against the window in my den. The forecast is for winds as high as 80 knots and heaver rain during the next forty eight hours. In one of my recent articles I suggested that the winter storms were coming and that everyone should check the condition of their dock lines and the general security of their boat. Last night the storm’s winds snapped a few of the older dock lines and at least one jib broke loose from its tie down; this kind of weather will quickly destroy just about every old or frayed line. PLEASE check your boat to be certain that she is properly secured with the appropriate dock and spring lines. Sail covers, or any other type of boat covering will not survive 80 knot winds if they aren’t secured. Brent has done his normal wonderful job of making sure that the boats that broke loose last night are tied up again; however, he won’t be there in the middle of the night while your boat may be thrashing around damaging itself and your neighbors.

On a happier note, THANK YOU to George Gurrola and everyone else that spent several “happy” weeks putting together our 2008 Calendar of Events. Thanks to a lot of hard work the potential conflicts in our schedule (between racing, cruising, catering events, and social events) were eliminated with only one exception …this is a significant accomplishment. The calendars are available at the office and have been included in this month’s statement.

Our Sunday Brunch Race Series starts this Sunday (6 January); I hope you plan to be there.

Mike Jackson.

Commodore.

 

As of this writing, two items of major importance face the club. 

 

First, the harbor re-configuration project is waiting for completed analysis of cost to bring Dock 6 & 7 electrical up to code as requested by the City of Alameda.  We need to know the cost of this additional requirement in order to insure it is covered in the re-configuration budget.  Craig Wong's efforts to reuse the 28 foot fingers from Docks 5 & 6, instead of having them hauled away, will have a cost reduction reward that could be used to cover this extra cost, if necessary. 

 

Second, the Finance Committee and Board of Directors received news that the tax refund which the club has received over the past years from the City of Alameda would not be paid to the club this year.  It seems that the City of Alameda figured the refunds incorrectly over the past number of years resulting in an overpayment to OYC.  Our cash flow is hindered as we had to use other reserved monies to pay our taxes that were due in December.

 

These issues are foremost in the Board of Directors minds.

Conversations with a Couple of Cruisers

Almost anybody who owns a boat is a cruiser. Likewise, most trips on the water, from ducking around the corner to Ballena Bay to a full circumnavigation, can be considered cruises. Sure, taking your boat over to Sven’s for some work doesn’t fall in that category . . . nor does a run up and down the Estuary to blow some carbon out of the engine. And, few racers would say they were cruising on any of the legs of a course . . . even if the race extends over a long distance and a lot of blue water. But, if a jaunt takes couple of hours or more, and if one of the main reasons for taking it is to have fun, then you probably are cruising.

Henry Beard and Roy McKie, in their Dictionary for Landlubbers, Old Salts, and Armchair Drifters, say that cruising is any “Waterborne pleasure journey embarked upon by one or more people.” Then, consistent with the overall humorous and satirical flavor of the book, they add that, “A cruise may be considered successful if the same number of individuals who set out on it arrive, in roughly the same condition they set out in, at some piece of habitable dry land, with or without the boat.”

Funny as their last comment is, there is a lesson that the authors probably did not intend. The lesson is one that any cruiser knows: if you don’t adequately prepare for your trip, you can get in trouble. Further, the longer your trip the more likely it is that problems resulting from poor planning will be big ones.

Through the years, several members of the Oakland Yacht Club have gone out the Gate, and made that fabled left turn. I think Ed and Cornelia Gould are the most recent ones to do so and they are off cruising right now. Jim and Diana Jessie did it a long time ago, and kept at it for many years. Paul Cahill is about to take off. Even if you didn’t talk with the Goulds before they left, or have not talked with the Jessies, you can bet they did a lot of getting ready. You can also bet that Paul is doing that right now, and has been doing it for months.

I would like to say that, in a stroke of brilliant thinking, it occurred to me to ask Paul and Jim and Diana to share their experiences about getting ready. To give an educational program, that is. But, the truth is that Mike Jackson came up with the idea. It sounded good to me, so I asked. Paul said he would. Jim said OK, but that Diana would be out of town on the date that looked the most feasible in terms of other considerations. So there it is, and if you want to learn more about getting ready for your own adventure, or just enjoy hearing how others have done it, come over to the Club and get into a conversation with a couple of cruisers.

The session will be on Saturday, January 19^th, from 9 a.m., until 12 noon, in the Regatta Room. We are asking for registrations. Signup at the Office, or call (510-522-6868) or email (cwong@oaklandyachtclub.com) to put your name on the list. This will be yet another good opportunity to get smart about boating.

I probably should let go of this article with that announcement of the date and time. But, I cannot resist a couple of additional comments. A few fairly close friends of Marilyn’s and mine have made multiple-year cruises. These individuals have been members of the boating organization in the town where we live, the Chico Yacht Club. Yes, there is a yacht club in Chico. In fact, the CYC burgee has been hanging in the OYC for a long time. (Not many members know that, but the Commodore will buy a drink for the first one to properly identify it. Mike may not remember he said so, and you probably will have to remind him.)

CYC cruisers have included a couple that made a circumnavigation with their cat, Charlie. One other guy, from whom we bought Almond Joy, sailed to Australia on a later boat and then lost it on the way back . . . on a reef off Fiji. Three other couples, at different times, spent several years in the South Pacific, the Caribbean, and up the East Coast. My conversations with those friends always left me with the clear feeling that they had turned dreams into adventures. They became part of the elite community of individuals who have challenged themselves and experienced the range of emotions that come from taking a boat offshore. I respect and admire the members of that community. Jim and Diana Jessie certainly are part of that group. Paul Cahill soon will be.

New Year and New Resolutions:

1) Take Boat away from slip more!

2) Attend more Club Cruises!!    To help us all achieve that the OYC Cruisers are starting year off with Craig & Jennie leading the annual Crab Feed Cruise to Pt San Pablo.  This is the cruise you MUST attend!!  Those two really know how to throw a party.

February will find Roy and Marsha Stark planning lots of "Sweetheart" events at Ballena Bay.

In April, Muggs and Larry Zabel and Barbara and Len Cardoza are taking us to our Old friends the Aeolian Yacht Club. These folks invented "getting down".

Get ready to go to a ballgame via boat with the Dewers and Whites in mid May and end the month at Coyote Point on Memorial Day with the Cooleys.  June will find a first with Tara and her Dad Ron Giddings hosting a small boat cruise to Jack London Square for a walk about and then Ice Cream.  Everyone is welcome, sailing, dingying, rowing-just get there and have fun.

The fire cracker Konkle's are putting together an escape to the Sausalito area for July 4, 5, & 6th.

The Jesses will lead an anchor out Delta Cruise July 19-26 and August 17-23 the Elliott's are heading up a Delta Yacht Club and Marina Cruise About for those that can't make the first one or folks can go on both if they would like. (The more the merrier I say!) October will end our official cruises starting with the Batchellers and Grona's "return to Tinsley Island" and the Grand Daddy
October 24 & 25 Commodores Cruise to St. Francis Yacht Club.  Ending with a great dinner at St. Francis Yacht Club. 

There are two/three cruises more whose "timing has not yet come together". I will keep you all posted via the Seascape.  If anyone would still like to volunteer to help please do not hesitate to contact me.  Each Cruise Leader will report the next month to the Seascape and have pictures so this month watch out for Jennie and the camera( especially watch the butter dripping down your chin when she's around).  I appreciate all the help so many talented people have already given me--don't stop--being the cruise director from the desert is a real trick.

See ya on the water, hugs Roxanne Grona

Social Report January 2008

 Greetings from the new social chairs!

Events in Bold below require reservations. 

Oakland Yacht Club Harbor Reconfiguration Project Update

Len Cardoza January 4th, 2008

As you may know, OYC entered into an agreement with Cooper Crane / Western Dock Enterprises (Contractor), to Reconfigure Docks 5, 6, and 7 (Project). This is the first phase of a larger project to reconfigure the harbor for increased safety and efficiency. The goal of the project is maximum utilization of OYC harbor property. The reconfiguration will result in fewer small berths and additional larger berths to match member demographics and accommodate vessels currently on the waiting list. The Contractor has ordered certain long lead time materials including steel piles, to avoid cost increases.

The single remaining issue that needs to be resolved before actual construction within the harbor can begin is the acquisition of a building permit from the City of Alameda. The City of Alameda’s initial questions and concerns about the Project have been addressed with the exception of electrical service to the docks / boats. OYC member Terry Keefe has been working with the Contractor to develop the additional specifications required by the City and revise the Project’s drawings accordingly. Thanks Terry! Unfortunately, this has been a lengthy and iterative process. The signed, revised drawings were re-submitted to the City of Alameda on January 3, 2008. We anticipate that the permit should be finalized by mid January.

Since the structural elements of the Project have been accepted by Alameda, the Contractor continues work on Project elements that can be done at its corporate yard. The steel piles have arrived, coated with protective sealant, and are stored at the contractor’s yard. The Contractor has started work on constructing the new finger piers. Next steps for the Reconfiguration Project include finalizing the aforementioned building permit from the City of Alameda; obtaining a revised cost estimate for the electrical work; obtaining a detailed schedule from Western Dock for the execution of the Project; and finalizing the plan for the temporary relocation of OYC vessels impacted by the Project. We hope to see actual construction within the harbor by late January or early February! In the meantime, watch for updates on the Club’s bulletin board!

Nancy Schimmelman 
Subject: changed price for class

When I placed the ad for the BCN/ACN class in Latitude 38 for next month, I dropped the price to $120 to make it easier to price things for students who only want to take the BCN portion of the course instead of both BCN/ACN

Ladies Luncheon

PUT IT ON YOUR CALENDAR!

SATURDAY February 16th
11:00 – 3:00 PM

 

ATTN LADIES! You’re invited!

LADIES LUNCHEON FEB. 16^TH

11:00 AM – 3:00 PM

Ladies – put this date on your calendar, and join us for our annual fund raising luncheon on Saturday February 16, 2008.

Enjoy a lovely lunch, raffle with really great prizes, jewelry vendors, and a guest speaker who will present a slide show and speak on the subject of “Plants for Summer-Dry Landscapes”, which perfectly describes our Bay Area. Learn about plant communities, drought tolerant plants, micro-climates of the Bay Area and how to “garden where you are”. This will be an informative and interesting session

The proceeds from this annual event benefit our club directly as evidenced by the new paint, countertop and fixtures in the women’s restroom and we have other projects yet to complete.

So bring your mom and girlfriends for a fun afternoon and support this event.

We’ll see you there. The price is $16.50 per person.

Sign up at the club or on-line.

Cruise to Point San Pablo Yacht Club

January 11, 12, 13, 2008

Sign up at the club by January 4th!

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