Oakland Yacht Club Seascape July 2009

HARBOR VIEW: Len Cardoza, Vice Commodore

Greetings and Salutations from the Harbor!

How does the area around your berth look? Monthly harbor inspections continue to reflect a general improvement (Thanks!). Please remember to keep your hose coiled (tripping hazard!) and check to make sure there are no water leaks. It might be a good idea to take a stiff brush or scrubber, using biodegradable cleaner, to the top of your dock box. If your dock box is too far gone (Can you take an inventory of its contents even when shut and locked?) please leave a “fix-it note for Craig / Brent.

Please remind your hull cleaning service provider to replug your shore power after disconnecting his/her air supply (assuming an electric unit is used). There have been at least two cases of unplugged shore power cables in the harbor during the past several months.

Elsewhere in the Seascape, you will note that we are planning the July 4th Potluck and OYC Water Games. The “OYC Water Games”, including Kayak Races, Radio Control Sail Boat Races, Dinghy Races and a Rubber Duck Race will be a lot of fun. We still need volunteers from docks 2&3, 4&5, and 6&7 to help lead one of these events…sort of like a dock challenge. Let Rear Commodore Connie Russell or I know if you would like to help out with the events!

Unfortunately, the deteriorated condition of the bikes stored on the dock between Gates Six and Seven is a continuing concern. Please properly dispose (or donate to a worthy cause) if you are not using your stored bike regularly. We are not sure of the ownership of some of the bikes. Their ancestry is also in doubt. We will start removing the deteriorated bikes at the end of the summer.

Dock Cart Status: Special thanks to Brent for upgrading some of our more challenged dock carts with new tires and wheels. They look and roll great!

Dinghy / Kayak storage. This is another opportunity to improve the general appearance of the harbor and make more efficient utilization of existing water area. A Harbor Sub-committee continues to pursue alternatives and ideas, including kayak racks.

Dock One. The Dock One Subcommittee continues work with Encinal Yacht Club (EYC) concerning future plans for Dock One. Tom Charron, Bob Steffensen, and Sandy Jacobson continue to examine all alternatives, including reconfiguration of Dock One to accommodate visiting yachts; and possibly larger berths / side ties.

The existing agreement with EYC expires in April 10.

The next Harbor Committee meeting is scheduled in the Regatta Rm., at 1900 (7P), on July 2, 2009. In addition to dinghy/kayak storage, and future plans for Dock One, significant agenda items continue to be: Priority for repairs /reconfiguration; monthly harbor inspections; and finances. Safety and security continue to be primary issues. As always, the Harbor Committee welcomes member input and participation!

Live Aboard Rules. Unfortunately, The Harbor Committee has been notified of several apparent violations of live aboard policies. Page 12, Section IV, Oakland Yacht Club Policy Manual reads, in part: Definition of a Live aboard: 1. A person who spends fifteen (15) or more nights on board a vessel during any thirty (30) day period. Permission to Live aboard. No one may live aboard a vessel without having been a regular member in good standing for a minimum of nine months, and 2) written permission from the Harbor Committee as recommended by the Club Manager. The name, age, and relationship of the member of all additional persons living aboard with the member will be recorded with the Club manager and kept current. Documentation will be maintained in the member’s file. Please be aware of these important rules.

OYC Committees. It is time to recruit and select chairs and members of our committees for 2010. Please let me know if you would like to chair or serve on the following committees: Membership, Social, Race, Publicity & Public Affairs, Budget/Finance, Commodores, Risk Management, Education, Merchandise, Cruise, Librarian, Directory, Investment Review, Parliamentarian, Reciprocity, and Sunshine

Len Cardoza, Harbor Skrub

HOUSE View: Connie Russell, Rear Commodore

June has been a very busy OYC Month:

Yacht Photo Shoot: Approximately 12 members participated in the June 6th Photo Shoot. It turned out to be a picture perfect day with clear weather, lots of fluffy clouds and as always, the City skyline was spectacular. Thanks to Michael Hershey for offering Camp Alpha for the shooting platform. We only had one adrenalin rush for the day as we almost drifted into the buoy just north of the Bay Bridge, but a few shouts, arm waves and a very quick response by our Captain saved the day.

Participants have already received their copies of pictures and the boat name plaques have just arrived; so boat pictures will be mounted and hanging in the Club within the next couple of weeks. Thanks also to Michael Russell our OYC volunteer photographer.

Dock Party: Our second dock party was again a big success. Thanks to the Social Committee as we had over 40 members attend. Everyone sampled a wide variety of appetizers and there was plenty of wine to share as well as many tall stories.

Cooking Class by Chef Kris: For the 17 members that attended this class we had a real treat! Before we even started the class, Kris had prepared several large plates of finished sausage samples. Of course, we didn’t ask permission and started our pre-class sampling immediately.

Kris reviewed the history and details of sausage making and then we got to participate and watch the actual sausage making process. Charlie Casassa (PC) and Fred Joyce did the actual mixing. They also made a few samples for us to taste before we helped put the sausage into casing for further curing. (BTW: Ask Charlie about his “patty” flipping, he seems to have much experience in this area.).

Steve and Marilee Shaffer also brought their fabulous homemade house wine to sample during the sausage making and sampling process.

Now, don’t you wish you would have attended??????? Hopefully we’ll see you next time.

SALSA Dancing: We had a good turnout for the first Salsa lesson. Our next lesson will be Friday July 10th. If you missed the first lesson don’t worry, as our instructors Amy and John understand that we (like me) have probably forgotten everything they taught us in lesson one, so they start from the beginning. For those more experienced dancers, they will teach additional new steps.

Bar Stools: If you haven’t noticed, the bar stools have been re-upholstered with a navy blue fabric to better match the House décor. Thank you to Carmen Konkle and the Ladies Luncheon Committee for donating the funds and coordinating this effort.

Name Tag Board: Thank you also to Bob Steffensen for the major improvements in the name tag board. Craig has also ordered new name tag magnets.

July 4th Potluck and Water Games: Hope to see you at the July 4th Potluck and Water Games. We’ll start the hot dog, chili and potluck service at approximately 12:00PM and the water games will start at approx. 1PM. Beer and wine will be available for purchase in the Regatta Room. Oakland is scheduled to have its firework display at approximately 9:15 PM. Check out the flyer on the OYC webpage for further details.

Get out, have fun and support your Club!

As always, if you have any input or recommendations regarding the House, please send me an email at connierussell1@comcast.net (note 2 lls in Russell followed by the number 1), give me a call or join us at the next House Committee Meeting.

Thank you,

Connie Russell

Rear Commodore

Cooking Class

I would like to thank all of the participants, who attended my first cooking class at OYC. It was a great success; we made 2 types of fresh sausage and two types of cured salami.

I also want to thank Steve & Marilee Shaffer for the wine they brought to the class to share with everyone.

I hope do more classes in the spring, a possible wild mushroom class or maybe fresh pasta class. Please let me know what interests you “the members”.

Thank you to all that participated in the first OYC cooking class.

Your chef,
Kristopher Ott

Social Report July 2009

July Social Committee News

Happy 4th of July, and if you are reading this after the 4th of July, kindly skip to the next paragraph. Our 4th of July celebration and fun begins at 12 noon and will continue through the evening fireworks. Hot Dogs, Chili and Potluck begin at 12 noon, as does the Beer and Wine bar. Cost for Hot Dogs and Chili is $5.00 pp, bring a side dish and/or a dessert to share. Water games begins at 1:00, there will be Kayak races, radio controlled sail boat races, dinghy races and a rubber duck race.. The fireworks begin around 9:15pm from the Port of Oakland. Sign-up not required but certainly appreciated.

One week later on July 11 we have our Hawaiian Luau. Wear your leis and aloha shirts and sandals. Hors d’ Oeuvres at 5:30, The Hawaiian Buffet Dinner at 6:30pm and at 7:30 we will have a DJ and much dancing. The cost per Adult is $35.00 and $17.50 for children ages 4 – 12. Sign-ups required by July 3. I wonder if Bob Fournier and Ina Ricketts will wear their most authentic and colorful costumes. I sure hope so.

August brings us our annual Blues and BBQ. Amy Lou’s Blues Band has promised to come back. (They will have their raingear in the car, smile………….) Remember last year? This event usually sells out, sign up early. Saturday August 8th Bar and Food at 5:00PM Music and Dancing From 6:00 to10:00PM. Reservations required $30.00 per person. No cancellations after July 26th

We three are wishing you a fantastic July and August, and if my memory serves me right, I do not get to write to you in August. We hope to see you all at the Hawaiian Luau.

Your most modest awesome threesome
Inez, Pattie, and Toni

Social Events at the OYC	Web Page For This Event	Date
July 4th Potluck and Water Games	click here	July 4th
Luau	click here	July 11th
Blues & BBQ		August 8th

see the entire social calendar

Editor's Column

Here are some great cartoons. Your Seascape Editor / Webmaster has spent the entire month of June in China. Tour of Qingdao, Olympic Sailing City. New solar center in De Zhou.

I have added a new section to the website, member travel logs, here.

Remember that there is no Seascape in August.

Contact your webmaster at webmaster@oaklandyachtclub.com, or your Seascape Editor at SeaScapeEditor@oaklandyachtclub.com. Please report errors and suggestions.

October Past Commodore Cruise to Loch Lomond Yacht Club

October 9 thru 12^th , 2009

You are all invited to the Past Commodore’s Cruise to Loch Lomond Yacht Club. In particular we would like to extend a SPECIAL invitation to all the OYC New Members in 2008 and thus far in 2009.

This is Columbus Day weekend and you can arrive on Friday and depart on Monday. There are a lot of berths and we feel we can accommodate all that wish to attend. We promise a good time, good weather, good food and good friends.

The Past Commodores wish to remind you that this is NOT a Cruise just for Past Commodores but a Cruise sponsored by the PC’s. All members are invited!!

A signup sheet will be posted in September but we want you to put the dates on your calendar NOW!!!

If you need additional information, please feel free to contact PC Michael Hershey at 510-652-7140 or PC Ron Konkle at 925-831-0991.

click above for racing pages on our website

June was a good month for racing, the Sweet 16 First half wound up, we hosted an Interclub race that concluded with a dock party, and we held our first "learn to race" seminar.

In the Sweet 16, notable OYC members have included: Richard Keller and John Tuma in Class A, showing that big monohulls and Trimarans can make for interesting racing together. George Gurrola and Robin Ollivier have been dueling all season in Class B, while Dick Johnson and "the young kids" and Martin Jemo are doing very well in Class C along with Emile Carles and Dave Lyman who have shown some moments of inspired sailing. Mike Jackson has been contending in Class D, and Tom Charron and Warren Taylor have been slugging it out in Class F. The committee has been having much to much fun with the courses, setting mark 4 once, requiring all competitors to descend into the depths of Brooklyn Basin, and then on succeeding weeks, moving the #6 Tetrahedron to force some interesting downwind legs, making it much more interesting for the spectators, as well as for the competitors to hear the post race bar side commentary. Look for more races of that sort, our goal is to get everyone in before dark, and make it as enjoyable as we can.

The Interclub race was ably run by George and many helpers, and saw a good brisk beat from near the Berkely circle up to Little Harding rock, and then the faster boats had the choice of which side of Angel Island, while the non spinnaker fleet turned and ran for the Estuary. Results are posted on www.sfbama.org/2009/IC09, Racing in the non spinnaker class was a blowout by the Maurier's who dominated their fleet by more than 10 minutes.

Wallace cup Notice of Race and Sailing instructions have been posted to the website, and will be formally sent to East Bay Clubs shortly. The format for this year has been modified to be 5 fleets, and average high point scoring, to encourage participation by the best racers of each club. OYC members will be selected by the race committee, based on results in the Interclub and Estuary racing. If you are interested, please keep in contact. We will need volunteers for the October 3rd event.

Our Learn to race your boat event was attended by 2 prospective members, and several of the current racers, who sat through my chalk talk and then proceeded to mix it up on the water. Haute-to-go, Lelo Two, Double Agent and Dominatrix got in 5 practice short races, with a dinghy sized line and course. Lots of yelling and a symbolic protest flag were in evidence, though everyone seemed to be happy at the end. Emile Carles demonstrated some advanced starting techniques, using Dock Six in the second to last race, while George and Robin showed how to change halyards and still do well.

Other than some annoying computer problems following the interclub race, which are delaying the compilation of the series standings, its been a great month for racing. Appreciation to the members who have helped out setting/retrieving marks and working the race deck.

From the Race Deck:
Sheldon Haynie

Race Committee

Oakland Yacht Club July 4^thCelebration

Bring your Family & Neighbors

Fun begins at Noon and continues through evening Fireworks

The Continuing Saga of the State Budget and its Impact on Boaters

There have been several hearings of legislative committees that have met to review the proposal of the Governor to eliminate the State Department of Boating and Waterways. Thus far, the department has survived. The Budget Conference Committee is currently hearing the issue. Please go to the RBOC web site www.rboc.org and click on “Special Call to Arms” for immediate information on how you can help. Until the State Budget mess has been taken care of, however, this department will continue to be on the chopping block. We will keep you apprised of these efforts and ask you to continue to write to your legislators as the call to arms goes out to you. Thanks so much for all your support.

RBOC is working for you!

The Recreational Boaters of California (RBOC) is PICYA’s legislative arm to work on our behalf and they have done an extraordinary job. Doug Hipsley is a Director of RBOC and submits the following report:

RBOC opposes proposals to increase ethanol in gas from 10-15%. Studies have shown an increased negative impact on marine engines that use ethanol0-based fuel.
RBOC supports continuous testing of anti-fouling bottom paints without using copper.
RBOC is supporting, opposing, or watching numerous other legislation and proposals from regulatory agencies, such as supporting bills that include removal of abandoned vessels from waterways, increasing the age of children wearing life jackets, and increasing the consequences for boaters driving under the influence. RBOC is watching proposals that impact boaters in the Delta, use of boats in the jurisdiction of State Parks, and other issues impacting boats and boating operation.

We need to continue to support their efforts through financial donations as much as we can. When the invitation comes to Oakland Yacht Club members to donate toward RBOC, we hope you will be generous. For more specific information on any of these issues, please go to their web site www.rboc.org.

Don’t Forget the Lipton Regatta Series

The Lipton Regatta Series will be held at Golden Gate Yacht Club on July 18-19. We hope Oakland YC sailors will participate and bring home a winner! For more information and entry forms, go to the PICYA web site www.picya.org.

As always, if you have any issues you would like to be brought up to PICYA, let us know.

John Roderick and Sue Roderick – PICYA Delegates – Oakland Yacht Club

510-521-6754 or cell phones 510-517-4727, 510-205-1908

The Ladies Lunch Fund group would like to thank the Cooley’s and Stark’s for running the Coyote Point Cruise and allowing us to raffle off some prizes to augment our funds. Thanks to all of the participants and some Coyote Pt. members we were able to raise an additional $345.00. I know Ron and I had a good time and I hope all of you did too and that the winners enjoyed their prizes. Thank you all again for supporting our efforts towards the betterment of the club.

Respectfully submitted,

Carmen Konkle

CRUISE TO DELTA YACHT CLUB

It is up river time again!

OYC is cruising up to the Delta Yacht Club beginning Monday, July 6^th and leaving Friday, July 10^th.

Make your plans and sign up now. There is no limit.

Delta YC has 600 feet of dock space, a clubhouse, a 20’ x 40’ swimming pool, and plenty of room to relax.

A New Amenity for Boating “Clean and Green”

Even a well-maintained boat engine may drip a little oil from time to time- ever think about where all those drips end up? Thanks to a new program at Oakland Yacht Club, it won’t be in our Bay!

Free bilge absorbent “pillows” are now available in dispenser racks at Gate 6 and Gate 3. Each berther will also be getting one directly through the mail. Place it in your bilge (a handy loop can be used to tie it in place) and check it from time to time. Water passes through it, but oil sticks- it can hold up to a quart of oil. When it looks dark and blotchy, it’s time to pull it out and dispose of it in the red can, located next to the dispenser rack. It will be picked up by a specialized hauler and recycled.

The bilge absorbents and recycling service are funded by the City of Alameda, using grant funds from the California Integrated Waste Management Board.

HUNGRY??

Taking the boat out for the day?

Taking guests?

Need some great food?

Call OYC and order box lunches.

Fixed fresh to your order.

Sandwich – salad – cookie - & a drink!

$ - - - - - $ Priced right $ - - - - - $

See the Box Lunch Program

IMPROVE YOUR SAILS’ PERFORMANCE & SHARPEN YOUR boat handling SKILLS

The fastest, and the most fun, way to fine tune your sail trim & boat handling skills is to join an OYC informal race series. Keep your eyes open for the advance notice about this winter’s Sunday Brunch Race series. Even the best among us can always get a little better.

If you’d like to volunteer to help the Race Committee, please contact Craig Wong.

Racing is a “hoot”, give it a try!

Stuck In a rut ?

Try something a little different and volunteer to help your Club.

We belong to a Club that is completely dependent upon each of us volunteering to help with a variety of Club projects. Please make a little of your time available and become involved with our Club's governance, boating, & social functions; our Club's future always looks much brighter when we have a wealth of new ideas.

Host Your Next Event at Oakland Yacht Club

I wanted to make sure that all members know that the Clubhouse is here for each member to use. If you are getting ready to celebrate a special occasion (Wedding, Anniversary, Retirement Party, Baby Shower, Holiday Party, etc.) the club is here for you. Members get a $200 discount off the Room Rental rate. We want you to feel welcome in planning any special occasion at you Yacht Club.

For more information please contact Elaine Mendes at (510) 522-6868 or via e-mail at emendes@oaklandyachtclub.com

Why do all the work, when we can do it for you

All of the Benefits of a BoatU.S. Membership At Half the Price

For Sale

Yamaha Two Stroke 8 H.P. Outboard Engine

Ten House Since New

Price $1000.00

also

Honda 5 H.P. Four Stroke Outboard Eng.

Less than Thirty Five Hours Since New

Price $500.00

Call Ed @ 650-968-2138

Slip available for sub-lease this summer (June 27^th to September 27^th)

Slip 231 (46’ x 17.5’)

If interested, contact Doug Thorne at sailor@thorneasset.com

Slip available for sub-lease this summer (June 1^st to mid September)

Slip 628 (44’ x 15’)

If interested, contact Dennis Rampe at drampe@hotmail.com