mid-winter re g atta - 2006 · 2015-11-14 · mid-winter re g atta - 2006 abyc’s midwinters show...

sou’wester • march 2006 • page 1

Official Publication ofAlamitos Bay Yacht Club

Volume 79 • Number 2

March 2006

Commodore’s Comments .................................. 2Manager’s Corner ............................................. 2Scuttlebutt .......................................................... 2Vice Commodore’s Views.................................. 3Rear Commodore’s Notes ................................ 3Fleet Captain’s Report ....................................... 3From the Pages of History ................................ 4Bald Eagles on Catalina ..................................... 5Junior Sailing ..................................................... 8Hails from the Fleets .................................. 10-11

Manning ................................................. March 4-5Membership Meeting .............................. March 17Chapped Cheek/St. Pat’s Party .............. March 18Club ABYC Presents Flight 6875 ............ March 31Olympic Classes Regatta ......................... April 1-2Easter Brunch ............................................April 16Membership Meeting ..................................April 21Club ABYC Presents Flight 6875 ................April 28Spring Spruce Up ........................................April 29

photos by Rich Robertsphoto boat captain - Merle Asper

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m i dm i dm i dm i dm i d -----w i n t e r rw i n t e r rw i n t e r rw i n t e r rw i n t e r r eeeee ggggg aaaaa t t a - 2 0 0 6t t a - 2 0 0 6t t a - 2 0 0 6t t a - 2 0 0 6t t a - 2 0 0 6ABYC’s Midwinters Show a World-Class Flair

ABYC’s significant slice of the 77th SCYA Midwinters offered a crystal clear preview of good stuff still to come in2006 with connections to the 2008 Olympics and world class competition.

With Santa Catalina Island as a brilliant backdrop 26 miles away, veteran Henry Sprague in Finns, Kris Bundy in I-14s and Andy Beeckman in 505s were among the winners and 79 other entries in 9 classes enjoying bright and sunny—if chilly—sailing following successive overnight rainstorms preceding each day. Winds were light to moderate Saturdayand light building to brisk by the end of competition Sunday. In their 10-boat fleet, Beeckman and crewBen Benjamin from Newport Harbor YC were mostimpressive with five successive first places afteropening with an eighth that became their throwout.That left the ABYC teams of Kevin Taugher/ChuckTripp and Pierre Jeangirard/Rob Waterman to fightfor second, which the former won on a tiebreaker. “It’s just a great venue here, shifty and tac-tical,” said Beeckman, who placed fifth in the 505class Worlds in Germany last year. “We just tried to get clear starts and sail fast. It’s a little better for us in the breeze.”

Bundy, with Fritz Lanzinger as crew, came from Seattle’s Corinthian YC—the firsttrip he’ll be making to Long Beach this year with the club hosting the class Worlds inSeptember. Bundy/Lanzinger won three of the six races to edge San Diego’s JohnHarrop by two points. “Awesome,” Lanzinger said. Bundy said that although the wind builtand clocked steadily right during the after-noon, their plan was not totally the typical“go right at Long Beach.”

“You had to go both ways [Sunday]because of the oil island on the starboardside,” Bundy said, “a little bit left at the start

and then right. And then there was a [moored] barge that made a pretty goodwind shadow for these boats because we’re so close to the water.” Those winners were no more thrilled than Henry Sprague of Long Beach,who is still living it up in a single-handed Finn at 60 years of age and loving it.Sprague outsailed a fleet of 10 with three wins in six races, tossing a sixth in thefinale when he misplaced his course chart and sailed around the longer course mark for the faster boats.


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Oh the places you’ll go! Words of the great Dr. Suess, and, he was right! As sailors, we get to see beautiful bays and harbors if we choose to venture outside of our own beautiful and familiar waters. Lately, I’ve been lucky enough to visit yacht clubs around

Southern California and a few in Northern California as well. I’ve been on what I like to call the“Seminar Tour of 2006”. In early February I attended the Southern California Yachting Associa-tion Women’s Sailing Convention. This event, sponsored by SCYA and chaired by Gail Hine hasbeen going on for 17 years. Nearly 300 women from 10 states converged on Bahia CorinthianYacht Club where seminars ranging from sailing techniques, anchoring, navigation and evendiesel engine and head repair were offered. The seminars were taught by women in the yachtingprofession. Some were yacht saleswomen, 100-ton licensed boat captains, and professionalsailors.

Others brought a tremendous amount of experience and tribal knowledge. Margie Brown was on hand for on-the-water seminars and past instructors also include Wendy Siegal. All of these women/instructors are passionate aboutsailing and getting more women involved in the sport. I’ve attended the event in the past, but this year I wanted to go toespecially support womens sailing and yacht club involvement. I urge any ABYC woman who is interested in furthering hersailing and yacht club activities to get involved with women’s events. You’ll find a great camaraderie and you wouldn’tbelieve the experience and caliber of sailing knowledge these women bring to the boat and the club!

I also spent some time at Balboa Yacht Club getting to see our good friend Bruce Anderson launch his new RobertPerry designed 59’ racer/cruiser yacht, Free Range Chicken. (Bruce previously owned Stealth Chicken.) Steve and I willbe racing it in the Pacific Cup Yacht Race from San Francisco Bay to Kaneohe Bay, HI this July. As part of our preparation,we attended the U.S. Sailing Safety-At-Sea seminar held at the California Maritime Academy in Vallejo. We learned boatingsafety techniques, saw live man-over-board, helicopter water rescue and flare demonstrations. We also listened to expe-rienced ocean racers tell some horrifying stories of rescues at sea. We’ll receive a certificate from the seminar that isused as part of a requirement for our Pacific Cup entry since the race management requires that a number of the racers oneach boat be certified - just in case. This was another seminar worth my time even if I wasn’t going to Hawaii by sailboat.Sometimes even a trip to Catalina can be harrowing; this training is valuable and you never know when it will pay-off.

There are many seminars, lectures, and classes held all over Long Beach and the surrounding areas covering allaspects of sailing and boating in general. The U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Sailing, the Boy Scouts, and the O.C.C. SailingCenter are just some of the places to look at to enhance your boating skills and knowledge. Other yacht clubs hold classesand lectures that are usually open to our membership too. ABYC has had some great programs such as Marina Weather,Racing Rules, and soon Dan DeLave will hold a Whaler training course for our members. So take advantage of theofferings especially during the colder season and lighter sailing schedules.

Have a great March and be careful of little green goblins!Nicole Peoples-Moffett

We have survived Valentine’s Day (most of us) and are now ready to do what my Irish forefathers have known for 1600 years and that is eat, drink and toast St. Pat! St. Patrick’s Day is the day that comes just two days before spring and is

ABYC’s day to dust off the big bounce for the kids and celebrate. There will be, as always,Jesus’ special Irish Stew, hot dogs and games for the kids; so mark the date and plan to joinus here and sail Chapped Cheek.

We have had a great first two months of 2006. We have kicked off Club ABYCand started to officially make our club the best bet in town for a Friday night. Steve Harderand Flight 6875 has had this place jumping the last Friday of the month for over a year now

and has developed quite a following. So join us and see what all the buzz is about!Theresa

Mike & Lisa Wood proudly announced the birth of their son Aidan Michael Wood on February 16, 2006. Super proudgrandparents Ron & Elaine Wood have already signed him up for the Junior Program and the Wood Family racingteam!


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Special thanks to the House Committee for getting the burgees back up. They look fantastic. Given the incredible turnout of volunteers to help, this was clearly a very important project tomany members. There are still more to get cleaned, matted and hung along with

a continuing list of related projects. Look for announcements on upcoming work parties.Remember when unaccompanied children were not allowed on the 2nd deck? The signs

may be gone but the policy is still there – it just hasn’t been enforced consistently. One reasonhas been that kids haven’t had a junior room for a few years. As our membership grows withmore young families, we need to accommodate the children and give them a safe fun place toplay. We’ve cleared much of the clutter from the room behind Theresa’s office, which allows us torefurbish this space into a functional Junior Room. The House Committee will be coordinatingefforts on this.

Please don’t stash stuff in the yard. Old spars, boards, sails and other junk makes it look like a junk yard ratherthan the precious boat yard it is. And remember, the best way to become a candidate for eviction or the dense pack isto have a dirty boat on a trailer with flat tires stacked with junk.

We’re still working on the racking systems and a dense pack plan for the yard. Just a reminder, you don’t needto own a boat to remain a member. We’ll appreciate you even more if you can free up a spot. If you need some aidadvice on disposing of your boat, let us know and we’ll help.

Larry Kidd is coordinating the 3rd Deck cap and rail refurbishment project. We hope to have the 3rd Deck acces-sible for Opening Day. If you have the chance, thank Larry. He’s doing a great job and keeping a lid on costs.

We’re still waiting for competitive quotes on our refrigeration and electrical upgrades. We have a new icemachine for the bar and kitchen. The staff has been filling and patching the yard surface, which will help extend the lifeof the current coating.

Jim Bateman

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The Olympic Classes Regatta (OCR) is coming up and it looks like it will be a big one! April1st and 2nd, 2006. We will have close to 100 Lasers, 25+ Finns, Stars, and 470’s Thesailboard class, RS:X, may use the 2006 ABYC OCR as the US qualifier for 2006 ISAF

Youth World championship. Dan DeLave and I are in charge and we would love to find a placefor you. Call or email Dan ([email protected]) if you would like to be on the water, or me if youwould like to help on the shore.

Merle Asper, [email protected]

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Club ABYC Grand Opening!!

Please plan on attending the Grand Opening of Club ABYC, Long Beach’s newest private club and hot spot! Bring your family and friends to this gala event from 7PM to 10PM, Friday February 24th! And to kick off our newest hot spot, the band “6875” will be playing

the best of the oldies from ’68 through ’75 at Club ABYC, the last Friday of each month, until wethrow ‘em out!

But wait, it gets even better! Club ABYC will be throwing other theme nights on otherFriday nights, so watch your emails and your Sou’wester for further details. Karoke night, out-board motor night, sports night, bingo…the possibilities are truly unlimited!

See you at the Grand Opening Gala of Club ABYC, the most talked about private nightclubin Long Beach!

Glenn Selvin


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Changes in the way the club ran races and in the demographics of the club were common themes of MarchSOU’WESTER’s of the past.THIRTY YEARS AGO:In the SOU’WESTER of March, 1976, co-chairs of the Olympic Classes Regatta, Sandy Toscan and Rich Kempster,

reported that “large inflatable marks” would be used on one of the three courses while the other two would utilize the fixedmarks in the harbor, “much as they have been previously.” Up to this time, OCR—as well as nearly every other ABYCregatta—used the spar buoys located along the breakwater and the beach; moveable marks were a fairly new innovation“back in the day.” As many as 200 boats were expected for OCR, sailed the second weekend in April that year, with manyclasses using OCR as a ranking regatta because the regatta was thought to offer “a superb test of…sailing ability.”

The Inside Race Committee evidently were having fits with ribbons on the boom ends of Sabots and other classes:apparently folks were not scrupulous about removing ribbons assigned for other events. They set standards for all classessuch that the Junior “A” fleet used red ribbons, Senior “B’s” green and Senior “C’s” white; Senior “A’s” would display ablack ribbon and no ribbon would signify a Senior “B.” All other classes would fly red ribbons for “A’s,” green for “B’s” andwhite for “C’s.”

Tick Weber reported that 226 boats sailed in the ABYC part of the SCYA Midwinter Regatta in February, 1976,including 78 Lasers. Then, as now, this was an obstreperous class on the line, and they promised to voluntarily divide into“A” and “B” fleets in future. As the large hoist was out of service, a “cherry picker” crane was utilized; Tick was amazed thatthe operator even hoisted out Coronado 25’s, “which must of weighted tons” (well, maybe two tons…).

New members included Paul and Pat Aumann, who with their sons Greg and Mark owned a Lido 14 and a 5-0-5…Midge Marshall was named Food and Beverage Supervisor, according to Commodore Paul Merrill…Grounds andMooring Chairman Langdon Parrill reported that there were 504 boats in the yard, with 38 in the wrong spaces; identifiedas the culprits were members of the 470, C-15, 5-0-5 and Snipe fleets.

TWENTY YEARS AGO:Changes at ABYC reported in the March, 1986, SOU’WESTER included some new keelboat owners: Harry and DeeWhallon bought a Catalina 30, and three branches of the Marr family became new keelboat owners: Pat and Ernie Marrhad a “nearly new Cal 29” that apparently had a fireplace while son Chris and daughter-in-law Pat bought Fred Mihaylo’sCal 20 at the same time daughter Debbie and son-in-law Bill Leisy took over the family’s Coronado 25, BIG RED.

Another change, this one from the past, was reported by Ann Exley in her “From the Pages of History” column.Apparently some of the Patricia Skimmers were trying out “silk” sails, the latest fabric back in 1926: it was really a long-staple Egyptian cotton. It was voted that anyone with “silk” sails could use them for the rest of the racing season, butsubsequent sails had to match the fabric used by everyone else: canvas. It seems that innovation—and strive to maintainone-design rules—go back as far as we can see.

A General Membership program featuring the reminisces of 16 Staff Commodores was the hook upon whichCommodore Tony Fallon hung his announcement that dues and mooring fees were being increased by fifteen per cent,effective April 1, 1986. It was noted in an accompanying article that many of the Staff Commodores reported on theagonizing conversations among the Board that accompanied similar increases in past; again, an example of how somethings have remained constant over the history of ABYC.

A flyer announced that “McMoffett and McDade”—Steve Moffett and Mike McDade, respectively—were againhosting the annual St. Patrick’s Day party that included a performance by the Wilson High School Jazz Combo; were JayGolison and Mike Segerblom in that group? only 144 boats sailed Midwinters at ABYC this year, and member-winnersincluded Allison Jolly in Coronado 15, Paul Aumann in Lido “B”, Golison and Alexander in J/24 “B”; Dan and Norma Clappin their NA40, HOT FLASH, won PHRF-A over at Little Ships Fleet while Rod Ogilby in his Coronado 25, SEEADLER, wonPHRF-B…Dave Perry, in town for the annual CISA Advanced Racing Seminar, held separate seminars for Lidos andJuniors as well

TEN YEARS AGO:One of the changes indicated in the March, 1996, SOU’WESTER was on the cover: eight young children were

shown sitting under the trestle table that used to sit under the photo wall at the top of the stairs. The other was a two-pagephoto spread of a new-members’ reception that had been held in February. Members who joined ABYC in 1995 wereinvited, as were their sponsors, and there was a big turnout as the photos show. Many of them featured folks still here andactive—although older than shown in those photos.

Another change was reported by Gabe Ferramola, captain of the Lido fleet, who with his wife Cheryl had visitedthe newest Lido fleet in the country in Sequim Bay, Washington. Made up of a lot of old Southern California boats, the fleetwas primed to run the 1996 Lido Nationals. And the source of a lot of old boats: the availability of the “new Lido,” intowhich a lot of current Lido owners were expected to migrate.

A full page was dedicated to the reprinting of the obituary from the Long Beach Press Telegram of Sunday, Febru-ary 18, 1996, for Llewellyn “Bix” Bixby Jr. There are many here at ABYC today who may not know that the Bixby family—the closest thing to a ducal clan we have in this town—were long-time members and supporters of ABYC. Bix was really

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the third of the name in his family and served as Commodore of ABYC, as had his son, Llewellyn Bixby IV, who himselfpassed away in 1979. A legacy of this family is the ABYC junior-program whaler, “Bix,” donated by the family in his honor.

The Snipe fleet was inviting everyone to attend a “Mud Bug dinner” featuring “Louisiana crawfish flown in thatday;” it was to occur after a fleet race in the Bay…there were many paid ads in the SOU’WESTER, including ones forboat cushions built by Alan Johnson of Flyer Canvas Products, mortgages by Steve Shaw of American Savings Bankand men’s Navy blue blazers at a discount to ABYC members from Ted Flood of The Suit Club in Belmont Shore…amongthe new members in progress this month was a young woman named Nicole Peoples, who sailed a Laser.

Chris Ericksen, Club Historian

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Coastal Commission Decision Gives Catalina’s Bald Eagles a Continued Helping Hand

The American bald eagle, restored in recent years to Catalina Island, have a better chance than ever of continuingto soar above her secluded coves.

Bald eagles disappeared from the Channel Islands in the1970s due to contamination by DDT wastewater dumped offshorefor 30 years by the Montrose Chemical Corporation and other pol-luters. The DDT left the eagles unable to hatch fragile eggs on theirown.

A decade-long lawsuit settled in 2001 found Montrosefinancially responsible for widespread damage to plant and animalhabitats. With funding from the settlement, beginning in 1991, staffof the Institute for Wildlife Studies removed the fragile eggs fromnests on Conservancy-stewarded lands, substituted “dummy” eggs,and later, returned the healthy chicks that had been incubated andhatched at other facilities. The recovery effort has thus far yieldednearly 100 bald eagles on Catalina Island, about 20 of which havestayed while the others relocated as far north as Canada.

However, last summer, the Settlement trustees– six stateand federal environmental agencies –hatched a plan to redirectfunding from Catalina to other projects in the Northern Channel Islands and in Mexico.

Despite more than 500 letters supporting continued eaglerestoration on Catalina Island which was closest to the dumping,sustained the most damage, and has by far the most visitors toenjoy the eagles (more than a million each year including 60,000school children) — the Trustees plan announced in November re-directed Catalina funding.

In a surprise decision in December, however, the Califor-nia Coastal Commission reviewed the facts and determined thatto be consistent with the California Coastal Act, funding to helpensure the continued presence of eagles on Catalina must con-tinue for at least the next 10 years at $250,000 a year.

Officials with the Conservancy, which is charged with pro-tecting the native animals and habitats of Catalina’s wild lands inperpetuity, said they were thankful for the Coastal Commission’sdecision “which will help ensure that Catalina’s bald eagles willcontinue to inhabit the Island and be accessible to for diversepublic audiences to enjoy,” said Leslie Baer of the organization’sexecutive team.

So, next time you are anchored in your favorite cove, keepan eagle eye out for Catalina’s magnificent bald eagles.

For information on how to make a donation to one of the Conservancy’s projects, volunteer your time, or becomea member please call 310 510 2595 ext 114, or log onto www.catalinaconservancy.org.

Dr. Peter Sharpe of the Institute for Wildlife Studies feedinga hatchling with a mother eagle puppet to avoid imprintinga human on the youngster.

A cute little eagle chick!

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Never go sailing when the temperature doesn’t at least match your age.Rich Roberts

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Congratulations! We are holding our own during this traditional slow period which means we have about 28 to 30memberships for sale. If we can maintain this pace we will have a good shot at full membership this summer.Speaking of summer, now is the time for you or a friend of yours (you must sponsor) to book the club for a summer

party, banquet, anniversary etc. We have many weekend days that are not fully occupied with racing and would be perfectfor an event. Renting out our fabulous facility is a great source of additional revenue. A typical one-day event approxi-mates the revenue from one membership for a full year.

And speaking of parties, save the date for the locally would famous Chapped Cheek Regatta and St. Patrick’s dayparty – Saturday, March 18th! All fleets and their guests are welcome. There will be an Ocean Course as well as a BayCourse plus trophies. Bring your Chap Stick and have fun!

Bill McDannel

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It is only 299 days to Christmas, which means it is 304 days to the 2006 Boxing Day Race. Mark your calendar,December 30th, and make sure you don’t miss this year’s race. What other ABYC race winner gets their name on theISAF and US Sailing Website? Mark Townsend

Ready for a gigantic hardware sail? That’s S-A-I-L, as in Ullman Sails Long Beach RaceWeek June 23-25, hosted by the Long Beach and Alamitos Bay Yacht Clubs. There will bedouble-dipping in several one-design classes. Besides contesting event honors, the char-

tered Catalina 37s also will settle their national championship, and it will be the Pacific CoastChampionships for J/105s, Olson 30s, Schock 35s and Beneteau 36.7s, as well as a world rankingregatta for Melges 24s and a Southern California High Point Series event for J/80s, J/105s, J/109s and J/120s. http://www.lbrw.org - Rich Roberts

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Proud to be an ABYAC!

I know I’m a real impatient pain when it comes to critiquing or dealing with yacht club web sites, mostly because Ibelieve that most miss their potential of delivering information and photos to their members and others who participate in their events, not to mention sailing fans in general. Most people just don’t want the stuff ASAP — they want it

now, like when they get home from the regatta that night. And boy, did ABYC really deliver this time. With Jim Morford pumping out the results with his usual dispatch andGrant Hill walking me through Rob Rice’s new Internet automat, results, photos and report were posted by about 5:30p.m. Sunday—before sundown yet!—for all the world to see.

Checking the SCYA site just now (late Tuesday afternoon), I see that only 14 clubs had posted results, and nobodyhad anywhere near the number of boats (89) that sailed out of ABYC.

I joined ABYC several years ago because I had come to know it as a hyperactive racing club with a strongvolunteer ethic and the best race management I have seen in travels here and abroad. Now we can also brag about ithaving the best damn web site, too.

None of us can accomplish any of this alone, so I thank all of you who gave freely of your time, as you alwayshave, to make it all work. Please pass these sentiments along to those I missed on the address list, and give one anothera big pat on the back. cheers...

Rich Roberts

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Sprague said he has been sailing Finns since he was 15 years old whenthe boats were all made of wood—”Plastic had not been invented yet,” he said—and noted that “there’s a resurgence in the Finn class.” It remains an Olympic class and will be featured in ABYC’s annual Olym-pic Classes Regatta in April, which will serve as a U.S. team qualifier for Finnsailors. Sprague has no illusions of going to China in 2008 but said, “I like tocompete against the top guys. All of us old guys like to see if we can beat theyoung guys. There also seems to be a resurgence in sailing among older folks.It’s so healthy—look at me!” Other winners included ABYC’s Mark Townsend and Chuck Hardin in Cal20s, Newport Harbor YC’s Kurt and Anne Wiese in Lido 14-A, ABYC’s Scott andTyler Scarbrough in Lido 14-B, NHYC’s Randall Hause in Byte and ABYC’s PeteMelvin/Jacques Bernier in F-18. It was the maiden race event for the new Morrelli-Melvin version forthe first time and running off five winsafter an opening third place when theywere 20 minutes late to the start.Complete results at: www.abyc.org

Rich Roberts

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On Friday, January 28th, at the Newport Harbor Yacht Club, the TransPacific Yacht Club (TPYC) held its annualmeeting with considerable presence from ABYC members. Of special focus was the 25th anniversary of the1981 race.Before the meeting, MERLIN, RAGTIME, and WESTWARD were made available for on-board viewing. Jerry

Montgomery, Past Commodore of ABYC, is the outgoing Commodore of TPYC and introduced newly elected members ofTPYC’s Board of Directors including newly elected Wendy Segal, many time participant in her Cal-40, WILLOW WIND.

ABYC members in attendance included Jerry and Marilyn Montgomery, Wendy Segal, Scott Atwood, StephanieMunn, Rob Rice, Don and Jane Reiman, Bob Lane, Stacy Conn, Eric McClure, Rich Roberts and Dave Thompson.

In 1981, ABYC’s Bell family sailed WESTWARD towards Hawaii at the start of the 1981 race. Sam and Willi Bellspoke to the meeting about seeing a flare off their starboard bow after clearing San Nicholas Island the first night after thestart. They displayed decorated seamanship by pursuing the source of the flare (realize this was the 4th of July!) and finding6 sailors clinging to the bottom of the hulls of a catamaran “shadowing” the Transpac. The Bell family took all 6 aboardWESTWARD with a great display of seamanship and “cruised” to Hawaii. ABYC is the home of great sailors in many ways!

At the conclusion of the meeting, in appreciation of Jerry’s work for TPYC, he was awarded a one-half model of theSanta Cruz 50 RALPHIE, which Jerry skippered in 1997 to an Overall Victory. Aloha!! Race TransPac ’07.

Dave Thompson

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Hello ABYC members! The ABYC Junior Sailing Program has gotten back into the swing of things with our springsailing program having started up in February. After an over the top fall program of 48 students we have a springprogram of 34 sailors. We reformatted the classes a bit to allow for the recent high enrollment and have found

things going smoothly and the kids having fun. Our first clinic included having local sabot pro Mark Gaudio working with theadvanced sabot students while Adam Deermount, a very established Laser pro worked with our Laser Radial class. Ourbeginner, intermediate and intro to racing students focused on their boat handling and how to read tell tales. The beginnerstimed themselves reaching between two marks to see how fast they could get their boats going using proper sail trim. Allin all it was a blast and we are looking forward to many more fun and successful clinics.Midwinter Regatta

The junior program was split in two locations for this regatta as the Sabots sailed out of Newport Harbor and theLaser Radials sailed at Mission Bay. Savannah Robinson (C1) and Ginger Luckey (C2) both won their fleets and will beadvancing into the next fleet while Hilton Beckham sailed her second regatta as a novice racer after only ten days ofsailing! Our Laser Radial sailors Cameron Summers and Alex Vaught sailed very well displaying the huge amount ofpractice time they put in with some really excellent starts. A big thank you is due to Doug Jorgensen for helping out with theC3 fleet and for towing a trailer and also to Julie Luckey for towing down our coach boat.Laser Program

One of the more exciting things happening right now in the junior program is our Laser Radial program. As wecome upon the one year anniversary of our first laser classes last spring, we have gone from two or three studentsexpressing interest to having between eight and ten laser sailors in our off season program. And our hopes for the summerare very high as I am looking for a topnotch laser instructor and expecting strong enrollment.

Additionally, one of the coolest things to see has been the bonding of the ABYC Laser fleet with the junior programLaser Radial sailors. As the Laser fleet runs their Sunday winter series, more and more of our students are joining them.The ABYC Laser fleet members consistently show generosity in their time and equipment with the younger studentshanding down their used equipment and passing along their knowledge continually. I look forward to this relationshipgrowing the strength of the laser fleet at ABYC more and more.

With this surprisingly fast growth, we have had to adjust to manage this new fleet. The Junior Advisory Boarddecided that it would be worthwhile to invest in a coach boat equipped to go out on the ocean for the Lasers. With moneyfrom the Junior Fund (a fund created from member and non member donations) recently purchased a 17-foot whaler witha 60-horse engine. Thanks to John Massey for putting in the time and effort to hunt down this boat. We are very excitedto put it to good use! If you are interested in donating to the Junior Fund, you can contact the front office of ABYC at (562)434-9955THANK YOU!!!

We have had so many donations of materials, equipment and time that it is hard to comprise a list of it all.However, it is so important to express our gratitude to these people who have recently helped the junior program. Thankyou to Duncan Harrison for donating new line for our charter boats as well as his time to the junior program, Chuck Trippfor donating a Laser sail, Chas Merrill for donating his DeWalt electric hand sander, Scott and Missy Scarbrough fordonating two sabots to the charter program, John Massey for the massive amounts of time he puts into our program, andfinally Kaenon Sunglasses and Steve and Carol-Ann Rosenberg for a very generous monetary donation for the juniorprogram travel fund. We greatly appreciate your support!!!

Brad Schaupeter, ABYC Junior Sailing Director

In six months—right after Labor Day—Alamitos Bay Yacht Club will stage the latest—and largest—world-championship regatta in our eighty-year history as the International 14 Worlds come to Long Beach.

Close to 100 of these high-performance dinghies are expected to stream in from around the world to compete inthe event, scheduled to run from September 6 through 17. Sailors from the United States, Canada and elsewhere in theWestern Hemisphere will be joined by Fourteeners from Australia, New Zealand and the rest of the Pacific Rim and fromGreat Britain and elsewhere in Europe to contest the title of World Champion.

This is an historic event for both ABYC and the I-14 class, for it was at ABYC in 1979 that the first-ever individualI-14 World Champion was crowned. Prior to that time, the only world title in the class was for the Team-Racing Worlds;ABYC pioneered the format that now occurs every eighteen months around the globe.

The I-14 Worlds is two regattas in one. A two-day Team-Racing Worlds will pit four-boat teams in a high-speed,high-stakes, team-racing regatta in the Long Beach Outer Harbor off the Peninsula. As many as ten international squadswill compete for this, the oldest international title in the I-14 class. Then, after a day filled for a practice race, the entirefleet will line up for seven consecutive days of fleet racing, the outcome of which will see the naming of a new I-14 WorldChampion.

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We are a sailing club that includes social functions. To that end and for your enjoyment, also applying toregatta guests of our club, we encourage all to participate.

Here are some excuses for volunteering:Meeting new members (friends). Continuing contacts and friendships with established members.There are many experienced volunteers willing to share information and train in the duties of any position. If you

are interested in championing an event (or project) at the club or taking a role in running regattas this is a great opportunity.Many members that do not race still enjoy taking part in the “on the water” experience. As a volunteer for a regatta

you have a major role in the racing. You will know the players and, having witnessed the event, be in a great position forthe discussions that happen later.

If there is a position that you are interested to learn more about I will set you up with a very competent practitionerthat can guide you in the right direction. This way you will know what is expected and get through any task with much betterunderstanding than before you started.

We have a phenomenal membership and some of the nicest people volunteering, because they enjoy it. Maybeyour reason is to participate in events that you cannot sail in or just get to know more of the membership. Here is a perfectway to show people who you are.Whaler Operations Classes – There is an instructional day planned for May 20th. This is to allow participants to under-stand the workings of running a Whaler and how to help in this capacity with regattas.

Dan DeLave,Director (Volunteers) - [email protected]

ABYC is collecting world-class cadre of talent to run the racing. Staff Commodore Mark Townsend will reprise hisperformance as PRO of the 1999 Melges 24 Worlds to run a committee of as many as three-dozen volunteers on the water.An International Jury made up of top-notch rules experts, including many with I-14 experience as judges and competitors,will be assembled. Many notables from the I-14 Class will be there, too, to supervise registration and measurement of thisISAF International Class.

The starting line, which could stretch well over a quarter-mile, will feature two segments anchored at each end andin the middle with race-committee boats. Set in the waters of San Pedro Bay, the course will have beats two miles long orlonger. The total number of mark-laying, breakdown, rescue, press and spectator boats could exceed 15 boats, a formi-dable fleet.

Ashore, the regatta will start before the racing, with measurement and registration taking place at ABYC. Duringthe regatta, the sailors and their families and friends will use ABYC as a home-base, and the hospitality of Long Beach andABYC will be extended to all. From the gala opening ceremony at ABYC to the closing dinner and trophy presentation in theGrand Salon of the Queen Mary, our visitors will rely on ABYC volunteersto ease their stay in our fair city.

The regatta is being managed by a small but hard-working com-mittee. Staff Commodore Chris Ericksen, who chaired the 1993 TornadoWorlds and 1997 A-Cat Worlds, has taken on the position of GeneralChairman for the 2006 I-14 Worlds. Yvonne and Paul Galvez, ABYC mem-bers who have attended three I-14 Worlds as competitors, will round outthe committee: Yvonne, as co-chair, will supervise the administrative andsocial aspects of the event while Paul will coordinate racing and serve asthe sailors’ representative on the committee. As befitting an event ofsuch magnitude, the regatta will be under the overall supervision of Com-modore Nicole Peoples-Moffett.

With so many days of racing and so much to do, there will beample opportunity for ABYC volunteers to contribute as much time andeffort to making this event, which promises to have more boats than anyother World Championship ABYC has ever held, a success. From greet-ers to parking-lot coordinators, from measurement assistants to beachmasters (the boats will be stored on the city beach adjacent to the yachtclub), from whaler drivers to scorers, the number of volunteer-days shouldexceed four hundred. If you want to be part of the action of the next World Championship regatta at ABYC, please markyour calendars and contact anyone listed above with your offer of assistance, the job or jobs you want to do and the dayor days you could be available.

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KEEL BOAT FLEET ON WATCH

h a i l s f rh a i l s f rh a i l s f rh a i l s f rh a i l s f r o m t h e fo m t h e fo m t h e fo m t h e fo m t h e f l e e t sl e e t sl e e t sl e e t sl e e t s

Thanks again to one of our most active members, Judy Mathias, for a great evening Friday, Febru-ary 10 at Shoreline Yacht Club. Good

friends, a friendly atmosphere and a great dinner all con-tributed to a special evening. The April Spring Cruise willalso be to Shoreline Yacht Club, Friday, April 28, so markyour calendar for a fun time.

The Armchair cruise is scheduled for Thursday,April 6. Always a lot of fun and it is for a good cause,The Children’s Benefit League. Both Judy Mathias andCarol Reynolds will give more details and have signupsat the March meeting.

The June Pinewood Model Boat Regatta will bescheduled earlier in the day on Saturday, June 10 toaccommodate people attending ‘POPS’ that evening.More from Bob Chubb and Jeanne Reid at the Marchmeeting on the exact particulars.

Friday, March 10, will be our next meeting. VernPeterson will give last minute details on the Spring Cruise.Potluck, as usual, see you there.

Those of you interested in group tickets for thePOPS 2006-2007 should contact Margaret Caddle rightaway as reservations for our group seating must be toher by March 15.

George

Jorge Suarez as Master of Ceremonies, along withour guest and frequent competitor in the Laserfleet at ABYC Peter Drasnin, produced and pre-

sented a montage of wonderful images, projected viacomputer to the screen, of the 2005 Laser Masters WorldChampionship contested in Forteleza Brazil.

The evening began with a featured Brazilian cock-tail at the bar, followed by Brazilian inspired dishes fromthe kitchen. While enjoying dinner, attendees wonderedwhat was in store from the big screen, computer, projec-tor and loudspeakers set-up at the front of the room.

Peter first showed a series of pictures, expertlyedited and accompanied by a rollicking score of Brazilianmusic, of the venue along with frequent pictures of ABYCLaser racers; Vann Wilson, Chuck Tripp, Mike Pentecost,Chris Rabb and Jorge Suarez who were there to race.The second series showed the racing in 25-30 knot windsand 4-5 foot waves…very cool!

During questions and answers; Chuck, Jorge,Peter and Vann regaled us with anecdotes and descrip-tions of an obviously wonderful experience for all of them.This author extends a heartfelt Thank You to Jorge andPeter for a unique and truly enjoyable evening!2006 ABYC Laser & Laser Radial Fleet Championship

The ABYC Laser Fleet will begin their 2006 FleetChampionship series March 4th & 5th with the E.E. Man-ning Series Regatta. The Fleet Championship will be

determined by results and participation in the followingregattas:

Olympic Classes Regatta: April 1st -2nd

Memorial Day Holiday Regatta: May 27th -28th

O’Day Area J Qualifier Regatta: June 3rd

Labor Day Holiday Regatta: September 2nd-3rd

Charity Regatta: September 24th

Turkey Day Regatta: November 18th-19th

Competitors will earn points in reverse order oftheir placing in a race, i.e. the first place finisher will re-ceive points equal to the total number of competitors inthe race, second place finisher will receive one less point,etc. In addition, to encourage participation, each racerwill receive points equal to the total number of competi-tors in the regatta. The competitor with the largest totalof points for the season will be our winner.

We will score Lasers and Laser Radials sepa-rately and crown both a Full Rig and Radial Champ inNovember at the Turkey Day Regatta.ABYC Laser & Laser Radial Winter Series

The winter series provided something for everytaste. January 15th dished up fresh breezes which JimKirk mastered finishing as low point leader for the daywith bullets in three of four races and one second. A newface at ABYC and prospective member to be, Andy Heckl,placed second on points. Showing the Radial can movein a breeze, Ryan Hoeven placed third on the day in frontof six other Full Rigs and Radials.

Racing was on a windward leeward circuit untilthe last two races where the wind shifted far enough rightto allow the original windward mark to become a reachmark. Our R.C., ABYC’s Ellen Kirk & Lisa Lebold alongwith Peter Bennett, quickly set a new windward mark, tothe delight of everyone who enjoyed spray-filled wave-catching reaches.

January 29th saw our best turn out to date witheleven Lasers. We started the day by watching the La-ser race training DVD, The Boat Whisperer. Since thevideo showed a number of techniques for upwind racingin light winds, our day was perfect for practice with threeraces in light breezes and the last two in marginal hikingconditions. ABYC’s Kevin Taugher was low point leaderfor the day; however, ABYC’S Jim Kirk bested Kevin inone race while a frequent visitor to ABYC, Peter Drasnin,also had a first place finish.

February 12th saw the return of light breezes andbalmy temperatures. We started the day with a repeatshowing of the popular Downwind portion of The BoatWhisperer before sailing out to the race course.

This day featured quite a few powerboats withtheir accompanying wakes traversing our race area.Thank goodness we did have enough breeze to powerthrough without too much complaint. Willem Emmer hadtwo first place finishes, Ross Bennett had two, JorgeSuarez and your author both scored one first as well.Racing was close as a quartet of boats in the first racefinished overlapped with each other and lead changeswere not infrequent. Ellen Kirk and Peter Bennett per-


h a i l s f rh a i l s f rh a i l s f rh a i l s f rh a i l s f r o m t h e fo m t h e fo m t h e fo m t h e fo m t h e f l e e t sl e e t sl e e t sl e e t sl e e t sformed their typical excellent and unselfish race commit-tee work, running six races in short order while evenmanaging to reset the weather mark and start line beforeraces five and six.

Since this format of Fleet races has proven popu-lar, the ABYC Laser and Laser Radial Fleet will continueto host these Sunday informal, multi-race, relatively short-course race days for Lasers and Radials throughout theyear

Steven Smith, ABYC Laser Fleet Captain

The 2006 Super Bowl Regatta forthe ABYC Etchells was anotherin the more-than-a-decade of

great fun, some collisions and a veryclose finish.Five Etchells turned out for the regatta.

Past Fleet Captain Greg Sims, recovering wonderfully fromhis hip-replacement surgery but nursing a sore foot, vol-unteered to run the races; Laser sailor Lisa Lebold gaveup her own sailing to assist on the race committee.

Greg and Lisa set some unusual courses. Ratherthan choosing from the regular ABYC chart, he made themup as we went along and even tossed in a new mark: hedesignated the speed can in front of the Marina Shipyardaround past Long Beach Yacht Club as Mark “Z” and usedit as the leeward mark for the single spinnaker race. Theother four races featured trapezoidal courses, starboardroundings and an innovative windward-leeward-reachingcourse with looping turns around the marks. At least twoteams were confused about that course which led to thembeing scored DNF—and greatly effected the outcome.

Defending winners Tim Carter and Chris Ericksen,sailing with Brent Carey, won the first race while the sar-torially splendid Jim Bateman, Kevin Ellis and Jorge Suarezwon the second. When the DESPERADO’s botched thecourse in Race Three, Chris Wells and Mark Hardy, sail-ing with Mark’s daughter, won it. Bateman and Companywere second in that race while the Carter/Ericksen teamwon Race Four, the spinnaker race. Wells and Hardyheaded in after that one, leaving the stage set for a final-race showdown—or so one would think.

Disaster struck. Jim Bateman was squeezed outat the start while barging Jeff Powell and Gordon Dudley,who had picked up Laser sailor Alex Vaught as their third,and Chris Ericksen showed the ravages of old age byforgetting the right way to round the windward mark. Asthe two teams fought not to be last, the win in this racewent to Pat Kelly and friend Jane, sailing doublehanded,with Dudley/Powell second. Bateman/Ellis touched outCarter/Ericksen and were presumed to have taken thetitle.

But it turns out that—as usual—consistency wins:with no finish lower than third, the Hardy/Wells team wonthe regatta without having to race the last heat, whichwas their discard. Bateman/Ellis was one point back andCarter/Ericksen one point behind them. Here are the finalresults:

OWNER SAIL NO. TOTALSWells/Hardy USA488 8Bateman/Ellis USA143 9Carter/Ericksen USA491 10Dudley/Powell USA531 12Kelly USA89 13

In addition to the participants the regatta was ob-served by ABYC Commodore (and Etchells owner) NicolePeoples-Moffett and husband Steve, who took theirBeneteau out as a photo boat; Merle Asper joined them.Cal 20 sailor Steve Butler was there in his Avon and tookpictures, too. Even former Etchells owner Stacy Jack-son got into the act, hollering encouragement from theend of his Basin Four dock as the Etchells sailed by.

A topic of conversation after racing was Etchellsparticipation in the then-pending SCYA Midwinter Regatta.The outcome was inconclusive, so you’ll have to tune innext month to see how it turned out. It is certain, how-ever, that the ABYC Etchells will participate as duty fleetfor the SCYA Manning Regatta March 4-5. This is theone time in the year that the Etchells fleet can turn to asa group to repay other ABYC fleets for running racesthrough the rest of the year. Steve Moffett is serving asregatta chair and Jim Bateman will be Board liaison forthe event; Mark Townsend and Marc Schreyer, both menwith Etchells credentials, will be PRO’s. We hope to havea great turnout of Etchells and friends of the Etchells fleet.

Finally, we are pleased to report that that BruceGolison and Steve Flam finished seventh overall in theannual North American Mid Winter Series, held onBiscayne Bay and featuring 65 Etchells in four regattas.Entrants came not only from fleets across the UnitedStates but also from Canada, Europe, Australia and NewZealand; competitors included world champions, Olympi-ans, America’s Cup talent and professional sailors. Theweather was equally varied, with winds ranging from fourto 25 knots over the course of the series. Also racing inthe event were Jeff Littell and Jerry Thompson, whotrailered their boat out from ABYC (Bruce and Steve’sboat lives on the East Coast) and ended up mid-fleet.Jud Smith and Henry Filter were the overall winners. Con-gratulations to those Etchells members who flew the ABYCburgee so far away and with such distinction.

Chris Ericksen

Sou’Wester DEADLINE

Friday, March 17, 2006 is the deadlinefor the March Sou’Wester.


PRSRT STDU. S. Postage

PAIDLong Beach, CAPermit No. 685

Alamitos Bay Yacht Club7201 East Ocean BoulevardLong Beach, California 90803

Our wonderful Santa and...

2006OFFICERS & DIRECTORS

Commodore Nicole Peoples-MoffettVice Commodore Jim BatemanRear Commodore Glenn SelvinJr. Staff Commodore Ron WoodFleet Captain Merle AsperSecretary Grant HillDirectorsJunior Program John MasseyMembership Bill McDannelVolunteers Dan DeLave

Treasurer George KornhoffJunior Rear Commodore Sydney BolgerFleet Surgeon Dr. Jeff CohenJudge Advocate Tom RamseyPort Captain Dave Myers/Jeff IvesSou’wester Editor/Layout Sharon PearsonABYC Phone (562) 434-9955

Fax (562) 434-2267Homepage www.abyc.orgEmail [email protected]

OCRApril 1st & 2nd

June 25, 26 & 27th

Barbara Gabriel photos

Clif Mathias on gate duty forMid-winter Regatta

Busy Mid-winter docks

mid-winter re g atta - 2006 · 2015-11-14 · mid-winter re g atta - 2006 abyc’s midwinters show...

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