Bay Spray

HAMILTON BAY SAILING CLUB NEWSLETTER

Volume 38, Issue 1 March, 2007

MESSAGE FROM THE COMMODORE

March roared in like a lion for Southern Ontario. Snow, ice and rain made for an excellent reason to stay by the fire and read a good book. Lion or lamb, March means spring is upon us and soon we’ll be back on the water.

HBSC remains a hub of activity with tons of social events and workshops to keep us entertained while we wait for warmer weather.

HBSC Executive has been busy planning social and racing events with some special thought to our 40^th year celebrations. The Executive also spent a fair bit of time this year preparing comments to the City of Hamilton regarding the Waterfront Master Plan. If you would like to read our comments, I’d be happy to email copies to those interested.

You will be receiving HBSC brochures in the mail this month. Please note the section where you are asked to commit to volunteering to help with social, boat maintenance or clubhouse duties. Also, note the price change for new members. Please read Treasurer Mark Simpson’s article for a complete explanation regarding changes in membership fees.

Fleet maintenance remains a priority. Check out John and Dave’s article for more information on the spring work schedule and objectives.

I would like to extend a thank you to all of the volunteers who have helped make HBSC a success and hope to see all of you at the Pheasant Plucker for our annual St. Patrick’s Day pub crawl on March 16^th. Start early, party for the weekend is my motto!

~Frances Jewell

Commodore

Vice Commodore's Report

Clubhouse

Okay, we could have been sailing right to the end of January, the weather was so balmy. February was a different story!  Now it's March and the sailing season is a few weeks away. We are already distributing our flyers. Have you got yours? It's been at the clubhouse for a couple of weeks. Ready to join? You will notice that the membership fee for new members has been increased a lot but returning members still pay the same. So get your cheque in soon, we like you to take advantage of the early bird special.

Also you will or already have noticed the little column about volunteering. We all know our club wouldn't exist without volunteers, but this year we are asking formally to put your name down to make a volunteer commitment for  boat repair, clubhouse maintenance, race- or  social committee.

Since  the clubhouse is in my portfolio, I like to see lots of volunteers coming forward to help with ideas and implementations to improve our clubhouse. More colour, more decorations, more pictures, etc. Let's make our facilities a little more comfortable, let's just not have  an utility room where we store sails and rudders. Everybody should feel welcomed as soon as they enter the door. A few tables and chairs should be set up to invite members to sit down, exchange experiences; there shouldn't be empty or half empty water bottles nor personal gear left all over the place, the kitchen counter should be tidy, the washrooms clean. You get the idea, it takes a few encouraging words to remind your fellow sailors (mostly us guys) to keep the clubhouse tidy!  How about having somebody to turn on the music? Play a sailing DVD or video?

There will be some painting and some minor project works, yard maintenance like planting flowers and watering, raking leaves. Let's enjoy our clubhouse as long as we have it. As you know, our lease expires in 2009 and preliminary recreational master plans like us to move to another boat club. Thanks for coming out to the open houses and show your concerns. 

Docks

Our docks may need some work in the spring time. Yes, there is a beaver in the neighborhood and still munching on shrubs and not so small trees. The damage is clearly visible but since we have changed our docks from styrofoam to heavy duty plastic floats, the beaver seems to like to camp somewhere else on the bay. Busy little fellow!

Boat Show in Toronto

Again, our club volunteered some time at the Albacore Association Booth at this year's boat show. The association is very active sailing organization with tons of races and races every season especially in Toronto.  A private racing Albacore with all the bells and whistles was on display. Nice to see so many visitors coming close, patting the gunnel and gaze up the main sail obviously full of good memories! Need I say that many had grey hair?  Last year we got a boat donated for one dollar (The Dollar Eight).  This year a member of the Sparrow Lake Sailing Club mentioned that four to six of their members like to sell their racing Albacores for a modest amount (good), they have been racing and sailing a lot since the sixties but now they are getting on in years  and  the kids or grand kids prefer jet ski's or other toys and aren't into sailing (not so good).   We'll follow up!

Large Boats

We like to see our 3 Sirius's on the docks a little busier this year  than in the last few years. So far, everybody who wanted to sail on a large boat just had to ask the co-ordinating skipper to get on a Sirius if a large boat skipper was willing and available to take a Sirius out. Recently we have been discussing  to implement regular scheduled sailing nights during the week. So members (especially new members) can put their names down it they like to go on a Sirius on there scheduled nights. Stay tuned!

Killbear

This year Bill Pettigrew has volunteered  to do the not so easy task of booking campsites at Killbear. Already a whole bunch of campsites have been reserved. Thanks Bill!  For further information please refer elsewhere in this news letter or give Bill a call. Get a trailer hitch on your SUV and help to pull up a boat! 

Enjoy the winter, it will soon be over!

See you at boat fixing, the FM/ Skippers meeting, at one of the many social events, the Open Houses or on the water!

Special Get well wishes to John Holm

John hasn't been sailing for a few years but a  lot of us still remember John as a very active member and one who did a lot of work behind the scene fixing rudders, tillers and centre boards for years and helped us greatly. John and his wife Virginia recently moved into the Mountain View  Retirement Home in Georgetown. Now  John is in the Georgetown hospital with lung problems. We wish him well!

~Ray Langer

Greetings From The Past Commodore

The 2007 HBSC brochures are out and you should be receiving yours in the mail shortly. As we get ever closer to spring and summer it's not too early to let your friends/family and acquaintances know about all the great fun in store by joining our club. We're planning(have started) distributing quantities about the city and area. I have a good supply available if any member knows of a place they think they might be able to make use of them. Just let me know.

Our New Sailors continue to find out about HBSC through their friends, as "Word of Mouth" is still our best advertising.

Thanks

~Don Robertson

Past Commodore

Secretary’s Corner

Emails: I continue to send emails throughout the year, announcing happenings at HBSC. Send any change of email address to me and I will update my list. If you have not been receiving emails let me know and with you, I will attempt to correct the problem. As HBSC emails are sent to a large group, your internet provider may identify them as spam. Therefore remember to:

1. Put the email addresses that I send updates from: hbsc_secetary@yahoo.ca and liz.aldrey@becon.org on your safe list.

2. Check your spam/junk email. Messages may end up there.

Any questions, contact me at above emails or 905-386-6516.

Websites of interest:

http://www.boatsafe.com/ - Includes boating tips, boating safety, and boating contests.

http://www.boat-links.com/ - Links to various nautical sites.

http://www.aandc.org/index.html - A site dedicated to maritime history and conservation, marine research and nautical education

http://www.ukhalsey.com/RulesQuiz/index.asp - Presents a series of race course incidents on the website of UK-Halsey Sailmakers

~Liz Aldrey

Sea Fever
John Masefield

I must go down to the sea again, to the lonely sea and the sky,
And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by;
And the wheel's kick and the wind's song and the white sail's shaking,
And a gray mist on the sea's face, and a gray dawn breaking.

I must go down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide
Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied;
All I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying,
And the flung spray and the blown spume, and the seagulls crying.

I must go down to the seas again, to the vagrant gypsy life,
To the gull's way and the whale's way, where the wind's like a whetted knife;
And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow-rover,
And a quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick's over.

(Welcome To All Who Have Spring, I mean “Sea” Fever! ~ Heather Kush)

Money Talks! – Notes from Our Treasurer

2007 Membership Fees:

The daytime temperatures are starting to climb and its time to begin thinking about sailing again. If you are thinking of sailing you might be thinking about paying your 2007 membership fees. For the 2007 sailing season, the membership fees are:

Full Member - $350

Returning Member - $250 if paid before April 14, 2007

Social (non-sailing) Member - $35

Some of you may have noted the pricing for 2007 differs from the 2006 prices. An explanation is in order.

At the Annual General Meeting held this past fall, a couple of significant recommendations were made by outgoing executive members. Two executive members noted a need to develop a boat purchase plan and two executive members noted a need to provide dedicated funding for future investments. During the 2007 budget discussions, the new executive decided on a way to provide the revenue required to fund new boats and that we would try it for the 2007 season. You will note that the difference between Full Member fee and Returning Member Fee is now $100. The executive decided to dedicate this difference to investments for fleet replacement. In essence, each new member will be paying $100 towards fleet replacement.

The executive discussed what happens if a returning member misses the April 14 cut off and it was noted that almost 100% of returning members have met the “early bird” deadline in the past. The very few who have missed the deadline have paid the full membership fee. [One of the reasons the early bird renewal was originally created was to encourage members to renew early and thereby provide the club with an early indication of the membership numbers. This is needed so that we know how many new members we can admit early in the season.]

The executive also discussed what should we do about 2006 social members wanting to become full members for 2007. It was noted that until now, we have promoted social membership sales by saying that social members are considered returning members for the following season. We will honour this for the 2007 sailing season memberships as the current social members were not given any opportunity to make arrangements to upgrade their membership prior to the fee changes for 2007. For future years, each executive will review what fee social members wishing to upgrade to full membership would be charged.

The Returning Member (paid before April 14) fee remains at $250, the rate charge for 2006. The Social (non-sailing) Member fee has increased from $30 to $35 for 2007. [The 2006 Full Member fee was $280, which was the sum of the Returning Member fee plus the Social Member fee.]

Social Memberships and Sailing Privileges:

Another issue the new executive has discussed is that of the sailing status of Social Members. A review of By-Law No. 1 states that Social Members “may not sail except as a guest of a Full Member”. The Rules Regulations and Policies of the HBSC contain a section entitled “Guest Policies”. One of the guest policies basically says that on an instructional night, guests may only sail with the permission of the Coordinating Skipper and only after all sailing members have been accommodated. The executive wishes to be clear that Social Members should not come out during the week with the expectation that they will be sailing unless:

• The Social Member has been invited by a Member and
• The Coordinating Skipper has been able to accommodate all scheduled and unscheduled Members.

If a member wants to get a guest out sailing on an instructional night, contact the coordinating skipper for that night and let them know beforehand. This doesn’t guarantee your guest will get out but at least you may get an indication of how tight the scheduling for the night might be.

If you have questions about either of these two issues, all executive members are willing to answer them. Drop us a line or give us a call.

See you on the bay,

~Mark

Fleet Captains' Report

John and Dave are pleased to report that the work sessions are still progressing well.  We are going back to 2 nights a week in March and will be starting day time work sessions as the weather improves. We have completed inspections and repairs on all Albacore masts and booms

We are starting on cradles and hope to complete the addition of  cargo winches for strap adjustment on the remaining 10 dollies

The splicing session went well thanks to the efforts of Wendy Wilson and Colin Campbell with approx 15 people attending

We would like to motion for the approval to spend up to $700.00 from large boat upgrade for the fabrication of a lifting frame to raise the Sirius to a height of approx 4 ft to allow the replacement of swing keel cables and to work on the bottom and swing keels. This frame may be in the form of a separate cradle or a modification to the existing trailer from Sirius one to allow the boat to be lifted. A final decision will be made when the snow clears and we can remove the tarp. The lifting jacks  will be the same either way and can be ordered. Since there is a fair amount of work involved in the construction and then in working on the boat it is recommended to start now. The advantages of constructing this frame are that we will be able to work on any of the three Sirius Keels or bottoms at our convenience and not be dependent on others and additional lifting costs or cradle rental Cost will be recovered within three lifts. We will be able to strip, clean and apply bottom paint to the swing keel on one boat each year along with a better job in preparation to applying bottom paint. By the appearance and rust build up of the swing keels it has been a long time since they have been properly cleaned and painted.

The prop guards are in and will be mounted shortly.

~John and Dave

Social Update

2007 marks our anniversary year and we’ve kicked off the year with some fun times.

We started off the year with Rock ‘n Roll Bowling in January, with a terrific turnout of 20 bowlers. The evening started with dinner at Cheers.

Thanks to Dave and Jeannette Potter for a terrific progressive euchre night. Over 20 turned out to play and we all had a great time!

February’s Ballroom Line Dancing and dinner, coordinated by member, Colin Campbell, was great fun! We had 22 people follow the directions of Carol Anne.

And with Spring around the corner, there’s more good times to look forward to.

Upcoming Events:

St. Patrick’s Day Pub Crawl on Friday March 16^th

Commences with dinner at 7:00pm at the Pheasant Plucker, 20 Augusta St. (btw James & John St’s) Hamilton. We will play the evening by ear, but the tentative general plan is to go to The Cat ‘N Fiddle around 9pm, then to The Winking Judge around 10pm, then to Aout n' About around 11pm. All are within a two block radius. Please RSVP to Angela at 905-527-5037 or angela.v@sympatico.ca by Tues March 13 if you plan on attending.  Please let us know as we have to let the restaurant know how many of us to expect.

April

...we’ll be off to the races with an evening at Flamborough Downs!

May

…brings us a tour of the Slaman greenhouses and spring hike.

Watch your email for more updates and details of upcoming events.

It won’t be long and we’ll be on the water! Off to Killbear and many other places.

Your Social Convenors, The ARIJANLS

~Angela Vaiciunas

~Norah-Lynn McIntyre

~Richard Kirkham

~Jan Grant

Reminder of Sailing Terms

Amidships - condition of being surrounded by boats.

Anchor - a device designed to bring up mud samples from the bottom at inopportune or unexpected times.

Anchor Light - a small light used to discharge the battery before daylight.

Bare Boat - Clothing Optional.

Beam Sea - A situation in which waves strike a boat from the side, causing it to roll unpleasantly. This is one of the four directions from which wave action tends to produce extreme physical discomfort. The other three are `bow sea' (waves striking from the front), `following sea' (waves striking from the rear), and `quarter sea' (waves striking from any other direction).

Berth - a little addition to the crew.

Boat ownership - Standing fully-clothed under a cold shower, tearing up 100-dollar bills

Boom - sometimes the result of a surprise jibe.

Boom - Called boom for the sound that's made when it hits crew in the head on its way across the boat. For slow crew, it's called `boom, boom.'

Bottom Paint - what you get when the cockpit seats are freshly painted.

Calm - Sea condition characterized by the simultaneous disappearance of the wind and the last cold beverage.

Chart - a type of map which tells you exactly where you are aground.

Clew - an indication from the skipper as to what he might do next.

Companionway - a double berth.

Course - The direction in which a skipper wishes to steer his boat and from which the wind is blowing. Also, the language that results by not being able to.

Cruising - Fixing your boat in exotic locations.

Crew - Heavy, stationary objects used on shipboard to hold down charts, anchor cushions in place and dampen sudden movements of the boom.

Current - Tidal flow that carries a boat away from its desire destination, or towards a hazard

Dead Reckoning - a course leading directly to a reef.

Deadrise - getting up to check the anchor at 0300.

Deviation - any departure from the Captain’s orders.

Dinghy - the sound of the ship’s bell.

Displacement - when you dock your boat and can’t find it later.

Estimated Position - a place you have marked on the chart where you are sure you are not.

First Mate - crew member necessary for skippers to practice shouting instructions to.

Flashlight - Tubular metal container used on shipboard for storing dead batteries prior to their disposal

Fluke - The portion of an anchor that digs securely into the bottom, holding the boat in place; also, any occasion when this occurs on the first try.

Foul Wind - breeze produced by flying turkey.

Freeboard - food and liquor supplied by the owner.

Gybe - A common way to get unruly guests off your boat.

Headway - what you are making if you can’t get the toilet to work.

Head up - Leaving the boat toilet seat up. When boat skipper is female, leaving the head up is a serious offense

Heave-Ho - what you do when you’ve eaten too much Ho.

Jack Lines - `Hey baby, want to go sailing?'

Jibe - either you like it or you don’t and it gets you.

Keel - term used by 1st mate after too much heel by skipper.

Ketch - A sailboat with good wine in the cabin

Landlubber - anyone on board who wishes he were not.

Latitude - the number of degrees off course allowed a guest.

Mast - religious ritual used before setting sail.

Mizzen - an object you can’t find.

Motor Sailer - A sailboat that alternates between sail/rigging problems and engine problems, and with some booze in the cabin.

Noserly - What to call the wind direction when it comes from where you're going

Ram - an intricate docking maneuver sometimes used by experienced skippers.

Rhumb Line - two or more crew members waiting for a drink.

Sailing - The fine art of getting wet and becoming ill, while going nowhere slowly at great expense.

Schooner - A sailboat with a fully stocked liquor cabinet in the cabin

Sheet - cool, damp, salty night covering.

Shroud - equipment used in connection with a wake.

Starboard - special board used by skippers for navigation (usually with "Port" on the opposite side.)

Swell - a wave that’s just great.

Square Rigger - a rigger over 30.

Sloop - A sailboat with beer and/or wine in the cabin.

Tack – A maneuver the skipper uses when telling the crew what they did wrong without getting them mad.

Yawl - A sailboat from Texas, with some good bourbon stored down yonder in the cabin

Zephyr - Warm, pleasant breeze. Named after the mythical Greek god of wishful thinking, false hopes, and unreliable forecasts.