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March 2008
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Saturday, March 22, Spring Fling
& Easter Egg Decorating
Contents
Harbor Reconfiguration Project
Update |
Have you visited your harbor recently? It is actually happening − our harbor is finally being reconfigured to accommodate a greater number of boats in the 36 to 46 foot range. At times I wondered if this project would ever get started, but thanks to the diligent work of a lot of members, it is nearly half-completed as I write this article. The construction company is incredible. It’s been a real pleasure to watch a group of professionals do what they said they would, when they said they would, and for the price they said they would. Wake me up ─ I must be dreaming! If nothing unforeseen happens, the construction will be finished at the end of March. For more details on this project, please see Len Cardoza’s article in this edition of SeaScape. As I
mentioned in my last article, I asked Marilee Shaffer, our Treasurer, to
Chair a special Commodore’s Committee to determine the best long term
solution for our cash reserve problems. Marilee’s committee has
recommended that our slip fees be increased by what I consider to be very
reasonable amounts and your Board of Directors has approved that
recommendation. A few people have asked me if the cause for these fee
increases is the reconfiguration project’s expenses. The answer is “No.”
The reconfiguration expenses have remained well under what the membership
approved and the forecasted payoff to the bank is still planned to occur
in less than two years. The sooner we repay this loan, the sooner we will
begin recognizing an increase in our annual income of approximately
$85,000.00. I will be writing a letter to the Membership in the next few
days that will fully explain what events have made these slip fee
increases necessary. I’ll also cover what the specific fee increases will
be. This decision was not taken lightly by anyone on Marilee’s committee
or the Board; every opportunity to avoid any fee increase was seriously
considered. If you have any questions, please feel free to give me a call
or catch me at the Club. My letter of explanation will be sent as soon as
possible. |
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Our Club's winter racing program will soon be over and if you’ve missed it, you missed a good time. Not to worry ─ watch for the announcements about our summer Wednesday evening series, The Sweet Sixteen. It is the same type of relaxed sail boat racing and is a wonderful way to break up a long week of work. If you’d like to volunteer to help the Race Committee, please get in touch with Steve Shaffer; he’ll be delighted to hear from you. If you’d like to learn how to race by crewing for someone, let Steve know and he can steer you toward a good boat and skipper. And again, please don’t forget that your Board of Directors meets at 7:00 p.m. on the third Thursday of each month (except August) and your attendance is always welcomed. Have a Safe And Healthy Month,
Mike Jackson. |
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Bill
Niepoth, Education Chair
A Workshop with Diana Jessie On March 15th, Diana Jessie will present a workshop based on the second edition of her popular book, The Cruising Woman’s Advisor: How to Prepare for the Voyaging Life. The session will be from 9 a.m. to 12 noon in the Regatta Room. There will be no charge, but we are asking for pre-registrations. The program will be open to the public and it will draw a good turnout, so get your name on the list soon. There is a signup sheet outside the front counter at the OYC. Or you can call in (510-522-6868), or send an email (emendes@oaklandyachtclub.com) We have had some excellent workshops, and this will be another one. It proves the point that quality does not have to be expensive. The Education program at the OYC is a low budget operation. It makes no real financial demands on the Club, except for a couple dozen doughnuts now and then, an occasional complimentary dinner to say thanks to presenters, and a modest amount of staff time for handling signup sheets, etc. Well, yes; I do ask Craig and Elaine a lot of questions about dates and related stuff . . . and they are always generous with their time. But, overall for the few bucks spent we get some very good sessions . . . and some impressive presenters. As you might guess those folks, often OYC members, typically receive no compensation from the Club. I’m not sure why I say typically; in my memory, they never have. If we had to pay for Diana’s expertise and her experience, we might have to borrow money from the reconfiguration project. Most of you know Diana and are aware of her accomplishments. If not, modest person that she is, you probably will not hear about them from her. She is a highly- experienced cruiser and racer, a sought-after speaker, and an author who is well known in the boating community. All of that, and she and her husband are long-time members of the OYC. Jim Jessie had the good sense to ask Diana to marry him, and the two of them have been an incredible team. They completed a 60,000-mile, six-and-a-half year full circumnavigation, and a second circumnavigation of the North Pacific. Their cat, Boca, logged about 40,000 of those miles. Diana also has a lot of racing experience. And, she was skipper of the first all-woman crew to compete in a Yacht Racing Association of San Francisco Bay event. That was in 1974.
With that kind of a background, Diana has written several books in addition to the Cruising Woman’s Advisor. Her Cruising with Your Four-Footed Friends has been a great resource for boaters with pets. Boca was a consultant for the book. Diana served as an author and editor for Basic Cruising and Bareboat Cruising, both part of the U.S. Sailing Certification Series. In addition, she writes a monthly column for 48° North and she often contributes articles to Sea magazine. Closer to home, she wrote a wonderful series on the history of the OYC for our Seascape newsletter. Well, you can see why we are excited about Diana doing a seminar for the Club. In addition to her experiences and her writing, she is a great presenter . . . and often gives sessions at boat shows. The most recent was the show in Seattle. So, get smart and get signed up for her March 15th program. The workshop will be for both power boaters and sailors. There are some other educational events in the hopper for the Club, including a presentation by authors/photographers James Martin and Mike Lee who developed the impressive “Islands of San Francisco Bay” book and slide show. Also, we have a rigging seminar in the works for you sailors (tentatively April 12) . . . and some other programs that will be announced later. As I’ve suggested before, keep your eyes peeled. |
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March notes from
the Social Chairs.
Wow, that was one
serious crab feed, there was enough for everyone and everyone
really enjoyed it. Thanks to Captain Bob Austin of Have Crabs –
Will Travel for providing us with 400 pounds of live crab, and for
cooking 400 pounds of live crab; and to Kris, for the remarkable
choices that went with it. It was all good. We are looking
forward to next year to enjoy this very special treat, once again.
March brings our
Spring Fling and Rites of Spring Race on March 22nd,
2008. There is something for everyone. 12:30pm the Race starts
4:00pm Social Chairs will be helping with Egg Decorating for the Kids & Grandkids 4:00pm Bar opens for parents & racers to have cocktails 6:30pm Dinner 7:00pm Awards for the Rites of Spring Race 8-10pm Finishing up the night with our Disc Jockey, Mr. Jon Goldstein with First Place Entertainment. The dinner is $25 for Adults and $10 for the kids buffet. Easter morning we will have a wonderful Special Buffet Breakfast from 9am – 1pm. OYC will be hosting our first Annual Easter Egg Hunt at 10am. If it is a beautiful day we will have an area sectioned off for the hunt. If it is rainy or cold we host it inside. Breakfast will feature Crab & Asparagus Quiche, Eggs Benedict, Easter Honey Glazed Ham, a mimosa for the adults, and more. The cost will be $15 for adults and $7.50 for the kids. Our wine dinner featuring the wines of the Navarro winery and vineyard is scheduled for April 19th. Kris is busy putting the final touches on our menu. Thanks to Anne Jacobson for organizing this event for us.
May 3rd
brings us Cinco de Mayo, a most colorful and festive occasion and
celebration. Details will follow.
Inez and Toni
Social Chairs Events in Red below require reservations.
see the entire calendar |
Rites of Spring Short Handed Race OYC's best-known race, the Rites of Spring for single and double-handed sailors, falls on March 22 this year. If you haven't done much short-handed sailing, this is the time. Short handed is great. Not only do you skip the hassle of lining up five crew and lunches, you finally get the opportunity to do everything done the way it should be done-your way. Spinnaker and Non-Spinnaker divisions are available. This will be our 20th annual race and it just gets better every year. In addition to the experiencing a fun race, you get to extend the pleasure by coming up to the club for an apres-race evening of dinner, awards presentations, and lie-telling with your competitors.
Pick up an application at the club, OYC website or/and contact George Gurrola (510 843 9417) or ggurrola@comcast.net ) for details.
Notes from the Cruising Chairman March Cruise Note: The schedules and spaces at other yacht clubs were all filled for March. I guess everyone is going to be out racing around the Bay, hiding easter eggs, or just plain busy. We are gearing up for a very busy Cruising month in April. We have two very fine and very different destinations that month. April 5th and 6th finds OYC at San Francisco Yacht Club drinking wine and enjoying their amenities with Bob and Clauda Bass and yours truly and Frank and the last weekend finds us all at Aeolian Yacht Club partying with the best of them.(More on that cruise later.) Please make plans to attend some of the extended cruise outs this summer. OYC cruisers are the best!!!!!!!! See ya on the water. Roxanne Grona (see the cruise schedule) |
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Oakland Yacht Club Harbor Reconfiguration Project Update Len Cardoza February 28th, 2008 See the photos In spite of some challenging weather, significant progress continues on the project to reconfigure Docks 5, 6, and 7. Western Dock Enterprises is the general contractor. 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. Construction. Dock 5 is complete, including new fingers, fendering and hardware. Dock 7 has been moved to its new location. The new landing and connection to the walkway parallel to the shore is also complete. The contractor installed piles to complete the pitchforks on Docks 2 & 3. Brent will complete the outer pitchfork fingers, using old, but serviceable fingers from Dock 6. The contractor is in the process of installing the final piles for Dock 7. Craig Wong and Brent Gill, assisted by club members, successfully executed the phased, temporary relocation of members’ boats to accommodate the construction. Boats were initially moved from the west side of Dock 5, then from Dock 7 to the completed fingers on Dock 5. Other boats were rafted to the cleared area (east side) of Dock 6 and the guest docks. Marina Village also provided guest dock space. The next phase includes pulling the piles from Dock 6, moving the dock, and installing new / recycled piles and new fingers. The Project remains on schedule. Schedule (posted at the OYC bulletin Board) 2/4/08 – Mobilization (complete) 2/5-15 – Install Dock 5 fingers (complete) and piles (complete) 2/13-15 - Install Piling Dock 2, 3 (pitchforks) (complete) 2/15-29 – Pull piles from Dock 7, move dock, and install new piles (in progress) 2/18-29 – Install electrical Upgrade, Dock 7 walkway extension (in progress) 3/3-17 – Pull piles from Dock 6, move dock, and install new piles 3/14-24 - Install electrical Upgrade & fingers, Dock 6 3/24-31/08 – Final Punchlist, Project Acceptance, de-mobilization Please watch for updates on the Club’s bulletin board! |
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Delta Days Reminder
All this cold weather turns our thoughts to summer cruising in the Delta. The cruise will be July 19-26. It's a long way off but we want you to think about spending the week in the Delta being a real cruiser. We will not be using marinas for overnighting. We will be close enough to some that you can make use of them. We will be in dinghy range for food and potables. Since many of you are new to cruising and haven't had an opportunity to anchor out, we are planning a quick review for those interested. Please email us directly at <alaskannalu@cs.com> to let us know of your interest and availability. Those boats that have 110 electrical systems, please let us know so we can help out with charging. This cruise will necessitate using a dinghy. If you have questions about dinghies or their operation, please let us know. Stay warm and think about a summer in the Delta. Best wishes, Jim & Diana Jessie
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. |
Cruise-Out to Aeolian Yacht Club Len Cardoza, 2/28/08 OYC is planning a cruise-out to Aeolian Yacht Club on April 25-27. Planning is underway for a possible pot-luck on Friday evening, April 25, followed by dinner at AYC on Saturday, April 26. The sign up notice will be posted at OYC on Friday, April 4, 2008. Please contact Muggs Zabel at 510 227 5337 or Len Cardoza at (w) 510 627 1307; (res) 510 638 1025; (cell) 510 333 4342 for additional information.
Rites of Spring Race - March 22 Remember! The Rites of Spring race on March 22 this year. For those not familiar with the details, this is OYC’s most widely known race on the bay. Competition is limited to single and double handed sailors, and women full crewed. Start lines are wide, and non-spinnaker classes are welcomed. It is perfect for couples or friends who want to try racing without lining up and managing a large crew. The time of year usually provides us with winds that are a little less wild than in summer and the central bay courses are interesting. So, come out, confirm your sailing skills and have some fun. If there is a more enjoyable way to open spring, don’t do it. It’s probably illegal. Pick up entry forms at the club or call George Gurrola (510-843-9417 or ggurrola@comcast,net) for details.
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2008 Ladies Luncheon a Success Our Ladies Luncheon this year was well attended once again. We enjoyed a clear day, cocktails served by our volunteer bartenders, Ron Konkle and Bob Steffensen. Our jewelry vendors once again presented us with their creative wares while member Joyce Taylor regaled us with her banjo. After a great lunch prepared by our chef, Kris, our guest speaker, Susan Handjian, of EBMUD Water Conservation Program, gave us an informative and interesting talk about drought tolerant plants and water usage in the garden. I think we all learned something and came away with some new ideas about our gardens. We would like to thank our attendees for supporting this event and especially to those who donated the wonderful prizes for our raffle. The money raised will help us in our continued effort to make upgrades to the clubhouse where needed. There are too many to name here, but we also want to thank the many helpers and volunteers who helped serve and clean up. Special thanks go to Muggs Zabel, who did a great job at selling our raffle tickets. Kudos to you! We hope to see you all again next year. Respectfully submitted, Carmen Konkle |
February Crab Feed Photos see all the photos
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PREDICTED LOG RACE FOR POWER BOATS The Oakland Yacht Club has enjoyed a long affiliation with the Predicted Log Racing Association. Over the years several of our members have participated in their races and have been very successful. As a reminder, the invitation remains open to OYC members to participate in these events. The following are the race instructions for the March 8th race. Those who are interested in participating or would like to get more information about the PLRA, should contact OYC member, Ran Wyder, or PLRA Coordinator, Fred Schreuder (Fred’s contact info is listed below). Race Instructions:
Checkpoint # 2 is between San Bruno shoal and shallow area 1.05 n.miles South East of San Bruno Shoal in 20 feet deep water. Start not earlier than 830, not later than 1400, at your own speed. Predict your arrival time at each checkpoint. Use a crew member as your observer. Observer marks time, when you say “MARK” at start and each checkpoint. Observer is the only one allowed to use a watch! GPS is allowed, but turn off time! You may change your predicted RPM a maximum of 10%, up or down, during the race. Turn in your predictions, start time, RPM and boatspeed by e-mail not later than Thursday March 6 before 9pm at:fschreuder@sbcglobal.net, or give them to me at the yacht club before or during Friday dinner. Observer turns in result at San Leandro Yacht club, not later than 2 hours after arrival to Race Committee. (Race committee is Fred Schreuder and Gil McCoy). Results will be announced Saturday evening during cocktail hour. The winner will receive a bottle of wine, donated by the PLRA. Rules for this race are printed in the February Coyote Bay in the Predicted Log article. Have fun: Fred Schreuder, CPYC coordinator. |
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40th Anniversary of RBOC Historical & interesting accomplishments Recreational Boaters of California What is RBOC Today? It is a non-profit government advocacy organization led by 19 volunteer boating directors from all over the state. They work with lawmakers to inform them of California boaters’ needs and to advocate boater positions on legislation and regulations. These directors work to promote recreational boaters’ interests, protect boaters from restrictive or adverse laws, and enhance boating opportunities. Recreational Boaters of California does this by reviewing all proposed laws that affect boaters, writing beneficial laws, opposing bad laws, and keeping the government from taking boaters’ tax dollars for non-boating reasons. What kinds of legislation have been affected by RBOC’s efforts? • Boat registration fee would be more than $100.00 a year! • Possible replacement of diesel engine. (Figure the cost for that!!!) • There would have been no grand-fathering of current outboard motors (minimum savings of $800 per engine)! • Boating on reservoirs used for drinking water could have been restricted. • Pay for the damage to the ecosystem, caused by the shadow of a boat on the water! • The interest paid on boats is considered a second home and is still deductible The issues that the RBOC is actively pursuing include:
RBOC will be sponsoring a new law requiring that operators of motorboats pass a test and carry a lifetime certificate while operating.
RBOC is working to prevent a new boat permit that could be imposed across the country at the federal level.
RBOC is working with the state on best management practices for the use of anti-fouling paints on boat hulls.
RBOC is developing a new law allowing boaters to turn-in derelict vessels to local agencies [as an alternative to possibly abandoning them on the waterways]. 40 Years of Advocacy Back in 1965 several concerned boaters in Northern California led by Ward Cleaveland formed an organization they called Boat Owners Associated Together, Inc. By connecting with like-minded boaters, commodores of yacht clubs, and others, the organization incorporated as a statewide group in 1968 — hence our 40th anniversary. In 1971 these boaters hired a professional legislative attorney, Jerry Desmond, who provided guidance and knowledge as the group waded through the many bills that were affecting recreational boating. The large east coast marine associated organization The Boat Owners Associated Together, Inc.’s name seemed to cause some confusion here on the West Coast. So the West Coast group decided to change their name in 1982 to reflect their efforts and became Recreational Boaters of California — RBOC! As BoatU.S. grew and became a more nationally recognized organization and a presence in California, both organizations realized they could benefit one another, and so a cooperative agreement was reached in 1992. RBOC would provide important information about California boating legislation to BoatU.S., and BoatU.S. would provide RBOC with information and heads up about federal legislative issues! A great partnership has evolved between the organizations! |
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MARCH 8TH MARK YOUR CALENDAR FOR OYC NIGHT AT SVENDSEN’S DEEP DISCOUNTS THIS IS A ONCE A YEAR EVENT YOU REALLY DON’T WANT TO MISS IT AND A FREE DESERT AT OYC AFTERWARDS
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IS YOUR BOAT READY FOR SPRING? DO YOU NEED TO REPLACE SOME GEAR? WOULD YOU LIKE TO SAVE SOME MONEY? MARCH 8TH IS OYC NIGHT AT SVENDSEN’S WITH DEEP DISCOUNTS. DON’T MISS IT!!
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