The
Beacon 
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1 January 2005
Volume 4, Issue 1
P.O. Box 211, Glen Cove, NY 11542
www.GlenCoveYachtClub.org
Glen Cove Yacht Club Home Page
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The
Beacon
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1 January 2005 |
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Volume 4, Issue 1 |
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P.O. Box 211, Glen Cove, NY 11542 |
www.GlenCoveYachtClub.org |
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To start I would like to thank you for
your confidence in electing me your Commodore. Only a hand
full of members were there at the General Meeting for the
election. It is important that you participate in the life
of the Club. |
As you will see in this coming summer, the Club has purchased two new dinghy docks. They should be in place by the end of May at the latest. We will also continue to upgrade and repair the launch this winter. All these improvements have a cost. For that reason the Board has accepted my proposition of modestly raising the fees this year. Remember before you voice your opinion or complain that we all will be affected by this increase including the Board Members. The additional moneys raised will help the Club to improve the docks, club house, launch and launch operations. We had the good fortune to have wonderful launch operators during the 2004 season under the competent supervision of Scott Nieri. We hope they will be back next year. We are planning to keep launch service running on Monday but we need your input as to the hours of operation. We would like your suggestions for any changes not only for the hours of launch operations but also for the improvement of Club House, docks, grounds etc. We are in the process of working with the City of Glen Cove to improve the house, the grounds and parking lot. In the next edition of the " Beacon" I will keep you updated on our progress. Please see the calendar for the 2005 season in this newsletter. Please mark your calendars for the six cruising trips organized by our past Commodore and Cruise Committee Chair, Chris Brown. Chris was a great Commodore and I would like to thank him for his dedication to the Club. We will have a special party to replace the Lobster Fest next summer and that party will be dedicated to all the past Commodores of the Club. I would like to see all the Club members present at that party to honor and thank our Past Commodores. Finally, I hope you will rejoin the Club and will participate in the upcoming events in the 2005 season. Call your friends, bring them down and asked them to join us too! We have the best place on Long Island Sound at a great price. We certainly have the best view and great camaraderie between our members. I wish you all a Happy and Healthy New Year and many hours at sea in 2005. Bon vent, ~Herve Riou, Commodore of the Glen Cove Yacht Club |
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Schedule for 2005 Boating Season General Membership Meetings: This is an early chance to mark your calendar and to maybe help plan your summer. Dates and events may be subject to change so check later issues of the "Beacon" for the latest updates. |
This year we will see a slight increase in some of the fees charged by the Club. The present structure has been in place for quite some time and is due to be updated to reflect expenses. The new fee schedule is as follows:
There will be a $100 discount for Boatowning members if dues are paid in full by 28 February 2005.
On a Thursday in early September the remnants of hurricane Francis blew through our area. She wasn't any longer the storm that devastated Florida just days before but still had some punch left. Winds of 30+ knots, and higher gusts, from the south southwest along with some fairly large waves rolled through Hempstead Harbor. On that day two boats from our Club left their moorings. One found the breakwater and was pounded to a wreck. The other fetched up on another boat causing serious damage to that boat. The cause of these mooring failures was not the storm. It was the boat owners neglect of their mooring rigs. One failed to tie-wire the shackles properly and the other failed to inspect his chain for wear. The lesson to be learned, for all of us, is that our mooring rigs are our own responsibility. Once the rig is set in place by Stan Midura or anyone else, it becomes the boat owners job to inspect and maintain the system. In the words of Commander John Bonds, former director of the US Naval Academy's sailing program: "You get what you inspect, not what you expect". |
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The Club launch is the backbone of our operation. Without it we are dead in the water, so to speak. The boat is old and tired. Many people have contributed considerable efforts to keep it strong and working well. Dave Nieri, as Fleet Captain, has done a super job tending to our tender. Nick Muzante accomplished numerous much needed repairs. Scott Nieri has stepped up as a very capable head launch operator. He has filled a pair of shoes that have gone empty too long. Launch drivers, Mike Morrison and John Anderson, both performed well beyond expectations. All were smart, helpful and good looking. Because of their hard work there were no breakdowns or loss of service during the season. We hope this coming season will be as good, if not better.
One of the great things about being a member of a Yacht Club is flying the Club burgee. Whether you are cruising in harbors near or far or racing round the buoys, it's always good to show the Club colors. The Glen Cove Yacht Club burgee with it's stylish eagle on a dark blue field should be flown at the top of the hoist under the starboard spreader. On a powerboat it's flown from a bow staff. Jim Dahl has ordered a new shipment of burgees that are expected to arrive in early spring. Contact Jim at 516-676-6097 or at JJDPHD@aol.com to order your burgee and fly it with pride. Our dinghy docks have seen better days! They could be completely overhauled at great expense of time, labor and money. Or they can be replaced with new docks. Because the Club treasury is healthy, it has been decided that the latter option will be exercised. The order has been placed with the Sullivan Dock Co. and we hope to have delivery in the spring in time for the new season. Also under discussion is the repositioning of the dinghy dock pilings. The idea is to swing the docks out into slightly deeper water so the dinghies do not ground at high tide.
Here's some special thanks to those who went out of their way to do a little extra to help the Glen Cove Yacht Club. **Nick Muzante** For putting in a lot of hours to do a number of much needed structural repairs on the Club launch. **Mike Goldberg** For offering the services of his printing shop, (Budget Printing Center, 93A North Park Ave., Rockville Center, 516-764-4222), to help put out each edition of our Newsletter. **Warren Gustafson** When we reached an insurmountable obstacle in the repair of the fresh water plumbing to the dock, he arrived with the right tools to do a professional repair. **Stan Midura** For always being there with his barge to help out when we need a push. And for the occasional rescue of a soul trapped on the breakwater. To these people, The Glen Cove Yacht Club, extends a very special thanks for a job well done. |
It's never too early to start planning the next season's cruises. The Board has allocated the proffered time slots for organizing the Clubs cruises for 2005. Based on this I have come up with this Preliminary schedule. Sat. Jun. 11th - A one-day cruise to Port Washington for dinner at Louie's Restaurant. Sat. Jun. 25th Thru Sun. Jun. 26th - A weekend cruise to our Club mooring in Oyster Bay Thurs. Jul. 21st Thru Mon. Jul. 25th - A five-day Cruise to Sandy Hook, New Jersey and the surrounding area via the East River and New York Harbor. Fri. Aug. 19th Thru Sun. Aug. 21st - A three-day trip to points east of Hempstead Harbor. Sat. Sept. 24th Thru Sun. Sept. 25th - A overnight Cruise to Norwalk, CT for the "Norwalk Boat Show" Sat. Oct. 15th Thru Sun. Oct. 16th - A last trip to our mooring in Oyster Bay and the Oyster Festival. As I say , this is just the basic outline, I will hold a meeting at the Club House on Saturday January 15th at 7:30 PM for those interested in discussing and planning the Cruises. For further information Please contact Chris Brown, Home 516-358-3616, Work 516-561-8610, E-mail CPBocean@aol .com. In past years, efforts to organize the cruising contingent of our Club have been hampered by a lack of communication. For this coming season an e-mail/phone list is being compiled to make proper communication a priority. If you would like to be in the loop for our local and maybe long distance cruising plans, then we need to hear from you. Past Commodore, Chris Brown is putting together the list. If cruising is of interest to you, be sure to e-mail/call Chris at CPBocean@aol.com / 516-358-3616 to have him include you on the list. The summer of 2004 was the first season that Glen Cove Yacht Club members had to enjoy the Club mooring in Oyster Bay. And enjoy it they did! Many different members took advantage of the mooring throughout the season. In August a Club Cruise was held with 6 boats rafted together on a quiet night. The mooring is available to any Club member on a first come, first served basis. It will again be located on the east side of the Oyster Bay mooring field. When it is reset in the spring, the new latitude and longitude will be posted at the Club and in the Beacon.
Last season the Club began running launch service on Mondays. It was a success because it was utilized by enough members to make it worthwhile. The question becomes: "what are the best hours to operate to ensure maximum use and efficiency?" If you are a Monday launch user, you are being asked for your input in this matter. Contact Dave Nieri at 516-674-3626 or Dnieri@yahoo.com to let him know what hours are good for you. Remember, if you don't put in your two cents, you have no right to complain later on. |
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Sailboat shows held in the middle of the winter have a special appeal to those of us who sail in the Northeast. With our boats on the hard and snow on the ground its fun to look at new boats and gear. It's time to begin getting ideas and to start working on our spring to-do lists. This year there will be no show in Atlantic City. That show and the fall show held at Liberty State Park are being combined and held at the Convention Center in Philadelphia, PA. in late January. So mark your calendar for the weekend of Jan. 20 - 23 and we'll see you at the show. For more info and directions call 1-800-817-SAIL or go on the website, www.strictlysail.com.
Cruising Genoas After 30 years in the sail making business, I still find it fascinating. It's an ancient trade that evolves, as it always has, to take advantage of the latest thinking. It's a field that offers up more questions than answers. But about this, I have no doubt: the thinking on cruising sails is far behind the curve. A fine example of this is the crosscut roller furling genoa. In fact this is about the worst way to make a cruising genoa. Here's why: Everybody has seen a loom and knows that woven fabrics are composed of threads (or "yarns") running in two directions. We call them threadlines. To maximize strength for weight, sailcloth is normally stronger on one threadline than the other. But in all cases, woven cloth is weak on the bias. Depending on the fabric, woven Dacron will stretch seven to fifteen times more on the bias than on the primary threadline. That's when the fabric is new. As it ages, it "flutters down" and the bias figure worsens-- 10 to 20 times more stretch on the bias than the threadline. And this assumes using the very best fabric money can buy. This amount of stretch guarantees that the shape of the sail will be inconsistent. Sailing in light air, a new crosscut genoa will look very nice. You'll have time to gaze up at your sail thinking, "What were those guys talking about, this sail looks great." But when the breeze builds and you're getting busy, an insidious thing happens: the sail grows. It gets full and the draft slides aft, two things you don't want to happen. Excessive heel is the result and that's bad. It's bad for crew comfort and lets face it, not everyone you like having onboard is happy when the boat is over on it's ear. It's bad for steering effort making life difficult for driver and autopilot alike. And finally, it's slow. I know, I know, "I'm not racing, I'm only cruising." But still, you have a lot of pride in the 'ol Homestead and it pains you when every boat in sight blows by you. With rare exceptions, cruising genoas are roller furled. Well, crosscut sails are particularly poorly suited for roller furling. Why? In a crosscut sail luff tension is critical because it positions the draft. For furlers to work correctly the head swivel has to go right up near the top of the headstay. So with roller furlers there is no scope for luff length change. The sail must be cut to the full hoist and can't be stretched further so in heavy air the draft moves aft. The result? More heel, unhappy crew, and sore shoulders from fighting the helm. Many put their faith in furling systems and sail with their sails rolled part way -- roller reefing. Here the axiom is: the more you reef the worse it sets. Think about it: we've stressed the importance of luff tension. As you reef, and you roll in the sail, you roll away from the tensioned luff of the sail. With each roll, there is less luff tension and the draft creeps aft. Foam luff pads don't begin to address this innate problem. |
OK, now that we've administered the coup de grace to crosscuts, what's the better choice? A tri-radial. In one stroke the tri-radial eliminates the whole bias stretch issue. They don't "grow" unevenly under pressure so they don't get the deep belly and tight leech of the crosscut sail. The shape is stable. Once we take the correct branch of the sail design fork in the road, everything gets better. We can use warp orientated woven fabric or, even better, one of the host laminated fabrics. Note that laminates are not necessarily more costly than woven goods. Good woven fabric is expensive and basic laminates are not. Laminates can be extraordinarily rugged and in all cases they give the greatest retention of the designed shape of the sail. Laminates are not perfect; they are subject to cosmetic faults. But years down the road, the essential shape will be unchanged -- no fuller and the draft right where it started on day one. So, cosmetic faults? That which works good, looks good. ~Chris Wentz, One of the successful events held last summer was the First Annual GCYC Photo Contest held during our 4th of July picnic. The winners were: "Great Egret" by George Vosburgh, "Ziegler's Cove" by Chris Brown and "Sunset at our Dock" by Larry Ward. Those photos have been on display at the Club and will remain until replaced by next years winners. This coming July we will have the 2nd Annual GCYC Photo Contest in conjunction with the holiday picnic. Again the rules are simple: WHO: Any member of the Glen Cove Yacht Club or their relative or friend. The photo entered must have been taken by the person entering it. SUBJECT: Any subject but a nautical theme would be preferred. SIZE & MOUNTING: Any size and type of mounting. In light of the fact that the winning photo will be displayed prominently in the Club, each entry should be sized and mounted in a suitable fashion. WHEN: All entries to be submitted by 1:00 PM on the 4th of July 2005. Prior to that day, entries can be sent or given to Jim Cleary. JUDGING: Later on the afternoon of the 4th of July all persons present, and willing to do so, will cast a ballot indicating their choices for 1st , 2nd and 3rd place. The ballots will be tallied and the winner announced. So get your camera warmed up, your photos ready and plan on joining us for the 4th of July at the Club.
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Tragedy almost reared it's ugly head on the Sunday of Halloween. My friend Mark Kubinyak was alone on his boat, "Hornpipe", at his mooring in Keyport, NJ, on a cold and windy day. The dinghy painter slipped from his hand as he was getting into it. Without thinking, he dove in the water to catch up to the dinghy. The water temperature was 52 degrees. The wind took the dinghy out of his reach. He was about 100' from "Hornpipe" when he realized he made a mistake. Turning back he found he could no longer lift his arms to swim. Floating on his back he hardly could keep his head out of the water. Another sailor on the dock saw Mark's dinghy floating away and figured there might be trouble. He got to Mark in a motor dink and was able to drag him on board. Mark was unable to even help get himself up into the boat. They got him to the dock and from there to the hospital. He was hypothermic with a core body temperature down to 95 degrees. The Doctor figured he only had a couple of more minutes left when they fished him out. They warmed him up and monitored his heart for a couple of hours then sent him home. He's fine now and all is well. Mark learned a couple of hard and fast lessons that day. Thankfully he will be around to put those lessons to good use.
The GCYC Ships Store is stocked with good stuff this year. Club burgees, heavily sewn, will be in stock by early spring. Collared shirts in both white and gray. T-shirts (Hanes Beefy-Ts), Baseball caps in navy blue and also in beige with a blue brim. All have the Club emblem embroidered on them. These are all high quality items. To view photos of all available items, visit the Club website at www.glencoveyachtclub.org. To purchase any item contact Jim Dahl at 516-676-6097, or at JJDPHD@aol.com. Jim will have Ships Store items available at all Club events. The price list is as follows:
We will be ordering some new types of merchandise for review and purchase by members at the Commissioning and opening events in Spring. Tote bags, denim shirts, and Polartec pullovers, all in limited quantities to see how we like them. (Most items available in M, L, XL, and some in Small (T shirts) and XXL (polos). The small profit realized from the sale of Club items is added to the Club treasury to defray costs.
NOTES: A = Total race points this year (you get one point for every boat you beat including dnf's) As you can see 7 boats were involved in racing this year, however only 4 were on the line in each race. We actually accomplished 3 out of four the races. Much better than the 0 out of 3 the previous year. We have planned another 4 this season and hope more of you will catch the bug and come out. Half are on Sat. and half on Sun. If we WERE to give out PRIZES, they would be: Corybantic for best average race position (first !) (entered 2 races to qualify). Weepecket for most total season points. Shadowfax for best second half performance Snow Crash, Tanqueray and Breizh Izel for consistency. Sylkie for prettiest boat on the line. Well, that's it for the time being from your most favorite and most unbiased (and only !!) Race Committee Chairman. Have fun this winter and be raring to go in June or (Dave) July !!!!!!!! ~Larry Ward |
Nothing is more confusing to land people than the vocabulary employed afloat. Here's a tongue. in-cheek guide to salty sea talk that should do much to exacerbate the confusion. Anchor -- A device designed to bring up mud samples from the bottom. |
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While last season was good as far as membership goes, there is always room for more. We have a lot of space in the mooring field and we would love to have fresh new members in the Club. In the past our efforts to advertise in the local papers have yielded only a few responses. Word of mouth seems to be our best method of attracting new boats. With this in mind, we ask that all our existing members become ambassadors of the GCYC. Everyone is asked to make an effort to recruit new members. Blank membership applications are available in the holder behind the front door of the Clubhouse and from the Club website Our Club is a great bargain and we all need to spread the word.
Looking for an inexpensive used dingy. Sailing preferred but not a must. Please call Mike Goldberg at 516-764-4222 m-f 8:30-5:30.
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We're getting an early start to the new season with this January issue of the Beacon. It's looking like it will be a very good summer. A lot of people are already working very hard to make it so. To keep everyone up to speed on the happenings at the Club, it is important to get all information printed in the Beacon in a timely manner. To accomplish this I need everyone's help. If you have something that you would like to see in print, send it to me. Sea stories, recipes, buy &/or sell stuff, safety issues, letters to the editor, jokes, etc,etc. Send it all along to me, Jim Cleary, at: saildana@aol.com or 167 Cypress Street, Floral Park, NY 11001.
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