The
Beacon 
|
|
1 September 2004
Volume 3, Issue 4
P.O. Box 211, Glen Cove, NY 11542
www.GlenCoveYachtClub.org
Glen Cove Yacht Club Home Page
|
|
The
Beacon
|
|
|
|
1 September 2004 |
|
Volume 3, Issue 4 |
|
|
P.O. Box 211, Glen Cove, NY 11542 |
www.GlenCoveYachtClub.org |
||
|
The season is almost finished and the weather was not really clement - once again. Hopefully September will be better. The approaching end of this season means it's time to start planning the next. First up on our 2005 agenda is the election of officers. Sue Hempton, our Assistant Secretary, has been named Chair of the Nominating Committee. Please contact Sue if you would like to be part of the Board. On a personal note, I urge everyone to become active members in the life of the Club. Since I first joined the Club in 1999 and then became an officer in 2000, I have always seen the same small set of members involved with the Board and making decisions. At the beginning I started to think it was a closed club. How wrong I was! The Board is working very hard to get more members to be more involved and take a more active part in the management of the Club. But by either indifference or lack of get-up-and-go, we have seen very few members volunteer to become trustees, officers, or Committee Chairs. Unfortunately, these same noninvolved members still have no trouble exercising their voices to criticize or complain. The budget of the Club is now approximately $30,000 a year and growing, thanks to the diligent efforts of the Board and our Commodore. These funds are allocated to various long-term projects and to the day-to-day operating expenses of the Club. If you want to have a say in how these funds are spent, contact Sue and GET INVOLVED IN YOUR CLUB. If we are to continue progressing, we need a regular source of new ideas and energy. I hope my plea to you will not fall on the same deaf ears as in previous years! In the meantime, enjoy the rest of the season to the fullest -- and see you on the water. Bon vent, ~Herve Riou, Vice Commodore
|
Sept.
11th Sat. 2:30
PM 9/11 Memorial
Race Sept.
25th Sat. 2:30
PM Commodore's
Race Nov.
17th Wed. 8:00
PM Fall Annual
Membership Meeting Dec.
4th Sat. 4:00
PM Annual Holiday
Party The Great Value of Late August Sailing The great value of late August sailing with a bunch of people who are first rate! So where were these jokers going now? I was given the chart coordinates (club bulletin board 40 52.84N, 073 30.966W ) for a "CB22" mooring that belongs to the GCYC in Oyster Bay Harbor. OK, this is good, since I had a million things to do on this Saturday, and would most likely get going late - this would be a short sail to the neighboring harbor for a "raft up". My wife, Olga, was also keen on "getting away," and this was the way to do it - an overnight, nearby, this was doable. Of course, pack for an overnight, pack for a month - food, clothing, toiletries, drinks, the new propane stove, etc. So Saturday, about 3 PM, we finally set sail. Was this a perfect start to the perfect weekend - of course not. First, I tried to set my asymmetrical spinnaker out of a sock and it jammed in the sock, which it has done 3 out of 5 tries. We broached, the spinnaker gets doused not in the sock but in LI Sound. I drop, the main, retrieve the chute (as my wife does a masterful job of steering so we don't run it over and kill a $1500 SAIL. After a swift easterly journey (5-6 knots all the way), I reach Oyster Bay Harbor, and I start to look for about 3-4 boats I estimate to be in the south-easterly area where those coordinates were indicated on my chart (yes, I use paper charts!). THERE THEY ARE! We had pulled in the roller furling jib, and were motor sailing with the main, when we came up to the raft of no fewer than 6 boats. The men and women on the raft scurried about and gave us guidance, help untangling a docking line, and we at last had enough fenders in place to insure we wouldn't damage each other's boats. |
|||||||||||||
|
Page 2 |
||||||||||||||
|
Then the party in progress received our donation of shrimp, wine, cheese and crackers, and we sat in the spacious cockpit of Bonnie and Jim Cleary's 38 foot Morgan, Dana, as a radiant moon rose. Tom, Betsy, and Sue on Tangueray , Vice Commodore Herve' Riou on his boat Breizh Itzl, Marty Cafferky on his Bristol looking boat, and a late comer, Mel Ehrlich and guests on his son's J/105 rounded out the party, in addition to me, Jim Dahl and my wife Olga on Snow Crash. We talked, watched the moon, and admired everyone else's boat until about 12 midnight. Next morning we spent a laid back several hours eating omelets, swimming, rowing around Oyster Bay Harbor, and then putting gear away for the sail home. And what a sail it was, 10-15 knows out of the SW, giving us a beam reach to a close reach all the way. Everyone wanted to stay out until late in the afternoon, and then we started to arrive, one-by one, back in Hempstead Harbor. Sun, lots of wind, a safe harbor and launch service to return too - these are the benefits of our great club! The climax of the day was watching a club member arrive back in our mooring area, now with wind 18-20 knots, and have his engine die. Herve Riou, squaring away his own vessel after his trip, saw the danger instantly as the 20 foot sailboat, with sails down and an outboard that had quit, headed for the rocks, He signaled to John, our launch driver for the day, and then he hopped aboard the launch and they went to the rescue of our foundering fellow member. They secured a line on the boat and towed a grateful owner to his mooring. What a great ending to a fantastic weekend with friends doing what we all share a passion for sailing and cruising. By the way, I still have to get Bonnie's recipe for her spinach dip - I ate a whole bowl of it.
"I'll do it" - three words that built the Glen Cove Yacht Club and sustained it for over 40 years. Sad to say, few in the Club today know these three little words. As a result, the Glen Cove Yacht Club is sinking into a malaise that may see it disappear from the waterfront scene in a few years. You have to occasionally ask yourself "Why is it so inexpensive to keep a boat at the Glen Cove Yacht Club?" compared to other boating resources on Hempstead Harbor. The answer is that the GCYC was founded as a working club, where all of the members pitched in with their skills and knowledge to maintain and operate the Club for the benefit of all. This concept has been gradually lost over the years. I often hear members say "Somebody should do this…" or "We should provide that…" . Unfortunately, the "We" and the "Somebody" rarely if ever includes the speaker. This "Somebody" should be put on the payroll and we should pay him or her well, because everyone has high expectations of "Somebody". |
The "I'll do it" ethic means that a member will see something that needs to be corrected or has an idea that will provide a new or better service, and then will take the initiative to make the repair or to organize an effort to make the improvement happen. It also means that members will step forward to take a hand in managing the Club operations and developing the policies and guidelines that make it an organization. Finally, not everyone wants to be an officer or a Committee Chairman, but that does not relieve one of the requirement to actively participate on a committee to the best of his or her ability. This is not happening. Most of these Board Members have been the "doers" and "makers" of the Club for many years and also have been rotating through the various positions on the Board for 10 years or more because very few younger and newer members will step forward and take an active role. The average age of the Club Officers and Trustees that make up the governing board is over 50. It is not unlikely that some of these long-serving Board Members will begin retiring from the "doing" and "making", and from the management of the Club, so that they can spend more time on their own boats. Who will fill the void? The primary committees, tasked with the upkeep of the infrastructure, the Clubhouse, Docks, Launch and Rowboats, are plagued by a lack of leadership, management and member response. So don't wonder why there are burned out lights, no toilet paper, raised decking on the floats, leaking water lines, no fenders on the rowboats, etc. It is the general malaise and an unwillingness to volunteer that is the cause. Our Club Launch is so badly deteriorated and poorly equipped that it would not pass a Coast Guard inspection. Yet we rely on this asset more than any other to transport our members and guest in safety to their boats. If anyone needs an example of the GCYC's future, one need only look at our neighboring club, the GPBA. What condition are their pilings in? Where are their docks? Where are their MEMBERS? Consider where you want to moor your boat over the next five years, and then see whether you have anything to offer to ensure that the Glen Cove Yacht Club remains the best bargain and best location on Long Island Sound. It just takes those three little words… ~Dave
Nieri, Fleet Captain
|
|||||||||||||
|
Page 3 |
||||||||||||||
|
Perhaps the last vestige of the 45-year presence (1904 -1949) of New York Yacht Club Station No. 10 at Glen Cove is the English Hawthorn (Crataegus laevigata) tree that stands on the north side of the Clubhouse. This tree was probably planted in 1932 or 1933, shortly after Station 10 was moved from the end of Landing Rd. (near the present day pavilions in Morgan Park) to the end of McLoughlin St. A postcard view of NYYC Station 10 in the mid-1930's clearly shows a newly planted tree in the lawn on the north side of the Station Master's residence, which would later become the first clubhouse of the Glen Cove Yacht Club. It was obviously selected as a specimen planting, since no other trees appear to have been planted. The NYYC Hawthorn, now fully grown, appears in a photo of the Glen Cove Yacht Club taken in January 1980, a year before the clubhouse was destroyed by an arsonist's fire. The tree, now estimated to be about 75 years old, survived the devastating fire that destroyed the former Station Master's residence in January, 1981. This is one tough tree! You might ask why the NYYC chose to plant an English Hawthorn to adorn the Station 10 property. One can only speculate. It may, however, have something to do with the legends surrounding the English Hawthorn. The Hawthorn has long been a symbol of protection due to its sharp thorns. It was also generally seen as a tree which brought good luck to the owner and prosperity to the land upon which it stood. It belongs to the trilogy of sacred Irish trees (the other two being the Oak and the Ash). Faery spirits were believed to dwell in Hawthorn hedges, which were planted as protective shrubs around fields, houses and churchyards. The Hawthorn was once thought to offer psychic protection to the traveler. The twigs would frequently be used as a curative for depression and the powdered seeds used to cure gallstones. Often used for walking sticks and to make fires, the Hawthorn also formed the Maypole around which the Celts would dance at Beltrane...the onset of Summer. The Hawthorn was associated with both the sacred and the unlucky (some holding the belief that it was from the Hawthorn that the crown of thorns used at the Crucifixion of Christ was made, for example). To destroy this tree was to incur great peril to the individual who was responsible for such an act. |
The Hawthorn was embodied in the character of the chief giant Yspaddaden in a Welsh romance of Kulhwch and Olwen. As a guardian figure who attempts to protect the virginity of Olwen, he is felled and the blooms of Summer soon open. Thus, the Hawthorn symbolized the advance of Summer and the defeat of Winter. In ancient times, young girls would rise at dawn in order to bathe in dew gathered from Hawthorn flowers, thus ensuring their beauty for the coming year. The blossoms, especially the white variety, were also used to decorate halls and worn as crowns by maidens in wedding ceremonies. The Celts believed the Hawthorn could assist in releasing negative and/or blocked energy held within. According to some Arthurian sources, Nimue trapped the besotted Merlin in a Hawthorn tree, where his voice may be heard to this very day, but perhaps the most famous Thorn tree was at Glastonbury (the site of Glastonbury Abbey), which is said to have sprouted from the staff of Joseph of Arimathea and reputed to have blossomed only on Christmas Day. The original tree is believed to have been felled during the English Civil War...although Hawthorn Trees may still be found around the Abbey, which are said to be the cuttings of the ancient original. The wood from the Hawthorn provides the hottest known fire. Its leaves and blossoms are often used to create a tea which aids in relieving anxiety, loss of appetite and poor circulation. The Hawthorn is a small tree that grows with a dense, many-branched and twisted habit. Due to its impenetrable growth, it is used chiefly for hedging. The origin of the word derives from the Anglo-Saxon "haegthorn," which means "hedge-thorn." It is also known as Whitehorn and May. Whitehorn originates from the contrast of the smooth, gray bark with the powdery black bark of the Blackthorn. May is derived from the month of the tree's flowering when the blossoms are used to form garlands on houses and maypoles for Mayday. The Pilgrim's ship Mayflower was named for the Hawthorn. The thickets of the Hawthorn bear long and very sharp thorns which provide it with an excellent defense system. Hawthorns have many species throughout Europe and not always easy to differentiate. All are thorny shrubs of the Rose family which usually bear white or pink flowers. The Hawthorn is common in abandoned fields and along the edges of forests. |
|||||||||||||
|
Page 4 |
||||||||||||||
|
The Hawthorn is also well known for its medicinal properties. Hawthorn normalizes blood pressure by regulating heart action; extended use will usually lower blood pressure. It is good for heart muscle weakened by age, for inflammation of the heart muscle (myocarditis), and for softening the arteries in arteriosclerosis. It reportedly helps strengthen blood vessels, cures giddiness, reduces palpitations, relieves angina pectoris, aids weak hearts, cures vascular insufficiency, and prevents blood clots (embolism, phlebitis). People under stress and strain from pressures of the job can benefit from hawthorn tea, which aids in digestion. The tea is also a good remedy for other nervous conditions, particularly insomnia. Hawthorn is used to dilate coronary vessels, to restore the heart muscle wall, to lower cholesterol levels, and to treat skin sores. Though nontoxic, hawthorn can produce dizziness if taken in large doses. Hawthorn contains heart-affecting compounds that may affect blood pressure and heart rate. Most hawthorn preparations are considered safe, but it is usually available in a highly concentrated form that should be used only under medical supervision. You may have wondered how the NYYC Hawthorn continues to live with its center hollowed out. Heart rot in trees is a common problem, but it is the outer layers of the tree that move water and nutrients from the roots to the crown. Efforts are underway now to locate a qualified tree surgeon to help preserve this historic tree. The last thing that your Club officers want to do is cut this beautiful tree down, since it would bring all sorts of bad luck to the Club! ~Rich Reynolds, Club Historian
|
We have had two sailboat races and have two yet to come this year. The two to come are on Saturdays Sept. 11 and 25. The Skippers Meeting in the clubhouse will be at 1:30 PM and start off the jetty at 2:30 PM. There will also be a SEMINAR at 12:30 PM on the 11th, subject STARTING AND BARGING. Even if you think you know what barging is (nothing to do with crossing behind tug boats !!) come anyway. If you DON'T know, you HAVE TO come. It'll be fun and I'll bring some donuts and make coffee. (Larry) The FATHERS DAY RACE on June 19th took off at 5:00 PM. There was a good Northwest wind strengthening to 25 mph. Tom Hempton set a 7 1/2 mile course GDS with a close port tack to G , then upwind to D ( the second nun on the Sands Point shore), a long run down to S off Sea Cliff and a tack back to the finish off the breakwater. Weepecket was first at the start but soon overtaken by the larger Snow Crash and Corybantic. The latter whisked around the course to win by 5 minutes on corrected time over Weepecket struggling in the heavy seas with Tanqueray and Snow Crash making the decision to pull out along the way. No complaints about a lack of wind for our first race of 2004. But we need MORE BOATS to race! On Saturday July 10th we scheduled the traditional PINA COLADA race and party with an earlier 1:30 PM start to make sure we had time for the party. Again four boats showed up ; Tony Oliveira in Corybantic with his now official handicap of 60, Jim Dahl in Snow Crash, Jim Nelson in Silkie, and Larry Ward in Weepecket, on a windless afternoon. Patience reigned and motors prevailed until the race was finally called by Larry on Channel 69 at 3:00 PM. But the party was definitely on and a GREAT SUCCESS . OVER AND OUT - Race wise that is. But YAWL COME on the 11th and/or the 25th. As an EXTRA INCENTIVE, any boat that has never raced at the club this year will be given a free 50 seconds per mile on its handicap for its first race by the Race Committee. ~Larry Ward, Race Committee |
|||||||||||||
|
Page 5 |
||||||||||||||
|
It was a dark and stormy night! Well... at least it was a wet and rainy afternoon. The weather certainly called the shots at the outset of the Glen Cove Yacht Club's Annual Club Cruise. Seven or eight boats had originally planned to join the journey. By sailing time it was Tom Hempton aboard "Tanqueray" with his crew Sue Hempton and Betsy Gustavson, and "Dana" with Bonnie and Jim Cleary on board to clear the breakwater. Zeigler's cove was to be the first night's destination. The wind was from the Northeast, which makes that harbor uncomfortable. Instead we put in at the Eaton's Neck Coast Guard Cove. There we found an almost empty anchorage and calm conditions. We rafted both boats together and enjoyed a cocktail hour that lasted well into the evening. On Saturday morning we found the rain had stopped but the wind continued from the northeast. The decision was made to sail into the wind across the sound to Blackrock Harbor. At 10 knots of wind it was a rather nice sail across until the wind tapered off in the early afternoon. In Blackrock we took moorings at the Blackrock Yacht Club. Showers, drinks and dinner at the Club were excellent. We enjoyed the hospitality shown to us at Blackrock. Back on the boats after dinner we found that the Northeast wind was holding us broadside to the swells rolling off the sound from the southeast. It was a very uncomfortable night's sleep. At first light it was a unanimous decision to get out of Blackrock. Again the wind blew from the northeast. This gave us a glorious wing and wing downwind run with a big following sea. Our destination at the end of the run was the Glen Cove Yacht Club mooring at Oyster Bay. Both boats arrived and rafted up on the mooring before noon. Both crews immediately retired to their respective bunks to make up for lost sleep. By now the weather had cleared and the sun showed it's face. Late afternoon found us well rested and ready to begin another one of those cocktail hours that lasted into and beyond the dinner hour.
|
Monday morning reveals a beautiful day. The wind is light from the northeast. We break the raft early to head back to Glen Cove. "Tanqueray" leads the way out of Oyster Bay under power. Once beyond Bell "17" off Centre Island, it's a broad reach home. For a cruise that started in the rain, it ended in fine fashion in great weather. The only thing missing was the rest of the fleet. 
1/3 pound blue cheese, crumbled - I favor a
Danish blue 1 (6 ounce) can of walnut halves, toasted 1/4 cup maple syrup, warmed 1 1/2 tablespoons cider vinegar 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil Salt and pepper Place spinach on a large platter. Top with blue
cheese and walnuts. Warm maple syrup in a small
saucepan. Pour vinegar into a small bowl. Whisk oil
into vinegar in a slow stream. Whisk maple syrup
into dressing in a slow stream. Pour dressing down
over the salad platter and serve. Season with salt
and pepper to taste. Yield: 4 servings ~Sue
Hempton
|
|||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||