S m a l l Y a c h t S a i l i n g C l u b o f O r e g o n u P . O . B o x 5 5 0 2 u P o r t l a n d , O R 9 7 2 2 8

NewsNews

Commodore:Alan Schamp(503) 292-0511Vice Commodore:Larry Johnson(503) 661-7199Treasurer:Alan Boguslawski(360) 737-2689Secretary:Robyn Thomas(503) 655-4915Rear Commodore:Bob Waldron(503) 359-5514Membership:Robyn Thomas(503) 655-4915Program:Bob Waldron(503) 359-5514Newsletter:Mike and SandyO’Bryant(503) 281-9102Protests:Bill Barton(503) 227-3451Trophies:Jim Shaw(503) 636-3816Cruising:Vicki Sanborn(503) 286-9257PIYA Rep:OpenPHRF Rater:Bill Brennan(503) 286-9374PHRF Rep:Marv Dunn(503) 235-1457

J A N U A R Y 2 0 0 2

S m a l l Y a c h t S a i l i n g C l u b o f O r e g o n u P . O . B o x 5 5 0 2 u P o r t l a n d , O R 9 7 2 2 8

Columbia River cruising guide featured at January meeting

If you walked through the Portland BoatShow last week, you may have stopped towatch Darren O’Brien’s video package,“Cruising the Columbia River.” This excel-lent video is volume one of what Darrenhopes will be other Columbia River videocruising guides. It features more than 40cruising locations along the river fromBonneville Dam to Astoria, including theWillamette River and the Willamette Channel.

Darren will speak to SYSCO’s mem-bers at the next general membership meet-ing, January 21, 7:30 p.m. at Mars Meadowrestaurant at Hayden Meadows. Meetingsare always on the third Monday of eachmonth. Come early for dinner and socializing.

This should be an entertaining programand an opportunity to view familiar territorybathed in sunshine on these cold damp winterdays. Come to the first SYSCO generalmembership meeting of the year for conver-sation, camaraderie and someone else’s per-spective of our beloved stomping grounds.

P.S. Darren will sell copies of the videoto SYSCO members at a discount.

P.S.S. The SYSCO Board meets thefirst-Monday of each month. Time: 6:30p.m. Location: Barley Mill Pub, 1629 S.E.Hawthorne. All members are welcome.

Upcoming eventsJan. 21 SYSCO general

membership meetingFeb. 2 OCSA Race Book partyFeb. 18 SYSCO general

membership meetingFeb. 21 & 23 Race Management

Clinic for RaceCaptains

March 18 SYSCO generalmembership meeting

May 18-19 2002 Ladies Cruise

J ANUARY 2002 PAGE 2 SYSCO N E W S

Race CaptainLARRY JOHNSON

Greetings and Happy NewYear! This race year we will beusing a new starting procedure thatgives the race committee moreflexibility to control the race. Itwill also require more from therace committee. SYSCO membersfrom each fleet will be tasked withperforming race committee duties.Doing race committee can be achallenge, as well as a learningexperience.

Few of us do race committeeduties often enough to feel com-pletely confident in our abilitiesand the new starting system may

further challenge our confidence.Knowing this, SYSCO will hosttwo race committee clinics inFebruary. The purpose of theseclinics is to discuss in depth thenew starting procedures and howbest to use them. Several SYSCOmembers attended a clinic inSeattle late last year to learn aboutthe new system. They will presentwhat they learned at the clinic.

The two race clinics are specif -ically for the fleet captains. Foodand non-alcoholic beverages willbe provided.

The first race clinic is Thursday,February 21st, 6:30 p.m. at:

Papa’s Pizza Parlor16321 SE StarkGRESHAM, OR

The second clinic is Saturday,February 23rd, 8:30 a.m. at:

Elmer’s Pancake House3455 SW Cedar Hills Blvd BEAVERTON, ORWe will also review the new

starting procedure at the AprilSYSCO clinic, which is open toeveryone.

This month, I will be callingmembers from each fleet to recruitfleet captains. I will need the helpof fleet captains to make SYSCO’sraces a success this year. Plan toattend these clinics. For moreinformation on the new startingsystem, go to US Sailing’s websiteat http://www.ussailing.org/racemgt/rule_26_starting/index.htm.

OCSA UpdateLARRY JOHNSON

The OCSA board is hard atwork getting the 2002 Race Bookspublished. There will be an OCSARace Book Party with pizza andbeverages at the Rose City YachtClub on February 2nd from 4pm to7pm. During the party, GaryWhitney and Jeff Duvall will dopresentations on the new startingprocedures. See you on the 2nd.OCSA members from 2001 willreceive a postcard with moreinformation about the party.

At the last two OCSA meet-ings, the board has discussed theissue of on-the-water registrations.There has been an ongoing prob-lem with some boats turning intheir registration on-the-water atthe first race of a series or regatta.The clubs have decided NOT toallow on-the-water registrationsbeginning in the 2002 race season.On-the-water registration has

caused many race committees tohave to rethink fleets and startingsequences on the fly. There isenough to do to prepare for therace without dealing with on-the-water registrations.

What can you do? Register bythe deadline. However, the boardrecognizes that last minute changesin your life do occur and you maystill want to participate in a seriesor regatta. Call the race captain forthe series no later than the nightbefore the race. Let them knowverbally that you want to partici-pate. This way the race committeewill know of your intentions. Theskipper will still need to turn in therace entry form to the race commit -tee. This is for liability purposes.

Friday Night Beer Can raceswill again be a part of the racingschedule this year. While the BeerCan races are just for fun, keep in

mind that a completed race entryform is needed from each boat par-ticipating. On-the-water registra-tions and bribes will be acceptedfor these races only.

The OCSA board passed amotion to donate $100 to each ofthe 5 local clubs for flags and othersupplies needed for racing thisyear.

S Y S C O N e w s l e t t e ra v a i l a b l e v i a e - m a i l

Get the SYSCO Newsletter by e-mail faster than snail mail. Send your e-mail address to MikeO’Bryant at obryants@earthlink.net.He’ll take care of the rest.

Thanks to Bill Barton, you cannow find SYSCO News on theinternet at http://www.leftblank.com/sailpdx/sysco.html.

We all have gotten through theHoliday and Boat Show seasonsand should now be ready for thesailing season. As I look at the boatproject list and then at the boat andadd another line to the list, it seemslike I will run out of paper longbefore I run out of projects. “It willprobably be OK for another sea-son” becomes the justification toput the tools away and go for asail; or do we really want to investthat much time and money into the boat right now when we couldbe sailing?

From experience, bottom main-tenance should be highest on yourlist to be race ready, either pullingthe boat and repainting, or hiring a diver if paint is not scheduledthis year. Hauling and pressurewashing with paint equals 100% (a knot plus); hauling and pressurewashing equals about 95%; a diverequals 90% (at-least a knot); but a brush or drydiver from thedock equals only 50% or less(maybe ½ knot).

Another advantage of haulingor the diver is a close inspection ofthe keel, especially following lastseason’s low water when themajority of us rubbed the bottomand some of us were even keel-anchored for awhile.

On another subject, if yourMarine Board decal has expired, anew one needs to be installed. I saythat because the Marine Patrol ison the County’s budget cut list andif I was a Marine Officer I wouldbe finding reasons to stop boatsand write tickets to justify what I

was being paid to do. We do needto support what they do to promotewater safety, but don’t give themcause to stop you: it might turninto a complete inspection and theycould look until they find some-thing else to ticket you for (is yourfire extinguisher tagged and cur-rent, your flares all up to date, PFDand throwable device, lights allworking, or the always popularhead plumbing?). It could be anugly situation. Back to the projectlist.

Also, beginning 2003 theOregon Mandatory BoaterEducation Program takes effectand the first year will require alloperators 30 years and younger tohave passed the test, or otherwisehave met the requirements and toposses a Card. This applies to boats

GREATER than 10 hp. What is thehorse power equivalent of 416square foot of sail? All boatersshould have the knowledge tooperate a boat safely, knowledge ofthe Rules of the Road and candemonstrate that by passing a testto qualify for an Operators Card.We also have the issue of PAN-CHO III operators. For those withkids, the guide says 12 to 15 yearolds can operate a power boat 0-10h.p. alone if they have a Card, anda boat 10 hp or greater if super-vised by a Card-holding adult.

For those planning your 2002campaign, the SAIL PORTLANDweb site has posted the 2002OCSA schedule, so you can markup your planner. Include the datesJuly 27 through August 4 for theSYSCO Delta Cruise 2002.

Thoughts from the RearBILL SANBORN

SYSCO boat show chair, Gary Whitney, and Bill Sanborn assembled this year’s booth, includingrug, tables, story (history) board, race marks, the SYSCO banner, race flags, projectionequipment and handout materials. Scot Wirs photographs highlighted 2001 race events.

SYSCO NEWS P AGE 3 JANUARY 2002

Would you like to take a fewkids sailing, kids who probablyhave never been on the waterbefore, much less on a sailboat?While working the boat show onSaturday with my wife Sue, wemet Earl. He stopped at SYSCO’sbooth and asked if we couldexplain how a sailboat works to the 10 year old he had with him.With all the pictures at the boothand a book on sailing, weexplained the basics of sailing to Earl and his friend.

After a nice conversation onsailing, Earl told us he was from aprogram called Friends of the

Children based in NortheastPortland. It’s a program wherementors like Earl work with sev-eral kids from age six and stayswith them all the way through theirhigh school years. As Earl said,“We try to show them what is outthere, to expand their horizons andget them out of their comfort zone.”

Earl was very appreciative thatwe took the time to explain sailingto him and his young friend. I toldEarl that Sue and I would enjoytaking some of his kids sailing thissummer on our boat. Taking thatone step further, I thought aboutgetting a group of boats together to

take some of these kids sailing.Personally, I don’t need an excuseto go sailing or to take people sail-ing. Wouldn’t this be a fun way toshow some of these kids what sail-ing is all about?

Would you be interested in par-ticipating? If there is enough inter-est, I will coordinate this endeavor.Like the MasterCard commercialsays: Munchies $5, Soda Pop $4, a gallon of Fuel $2, the smile on akid’s face, Priceless!

If you are interested, call Larryor Sue Johnson at 503.661.7199 oremail us at LSPBJ@WORLDNET.ATT.NET

J ANUARY 2002 PA G E 4 SYSCO N E W S

Sailing with Friends of the ChildrenLARRY JOHNSON

From the HelmCOMMODORE ALAN SCHAMP

This year will be anotherlearning year for me as SYSCO’sCommodore. This new role will beanother opportunity for me to gainexperience and grow. I suppose itwill be similar to Race Captain, inthat I will have things pretty wellfigured out when it’s time to moveon to another position.

Larry Johnson takes over asRace Captain and there will bechallenges in implementing the

new starting system. It will beespecially important for the FleetCaptains to step up and learn thenew system before they get out onthe committee boat. SYSCO willattempt to implement the new sys-tem using race committee proce-dures and Race Instructions thatwill minimize confusion for theracers. It will be important to haveconsistency in how our race com-mittees perform on the water toachieve this goal. It is extremelyimportant for all Fleet Captains toattend one of the seminars thatLarry is organizing to present the

SYSCO implementation of the newstarting system. This does not haveto be a painful process as long aswe work together to achieve con-sistency and do a little up-frontwork to be ready for our day onthe committee boat.

I’m looking forward to anotherexciting year of racing and partici-pating in SYSCO. The people inthis club and the larger Portlandarea sailing community make itfun to be involved in this organiza-tion whether it be racing, cruising,socializing or club business.

Ladies Cruise 2002VICKI SANBORN & PAT BROWN

The SYSCO Ladies are host-ing the 2002 Ladies Cruise, May18 & 19. Our first planning meet-ing is scheduled Monday eveningat 6:30 pm January 21, just prior to

the SYSCO general meeting atMars Meadows.

Pat Brown and Vicki Sanbornare co-chairing this year’s cruise.Our goal is to plan a weekend thatis fun, laid-back, and more inkeeping with the original ladiescruises. We definitely want this tobe a group effort and would love to

have all SYSCO women partici-pate who want to be involved.This is an event that I personallyhave looked forward to with greatenthusiasm. It is now my time togive back after more than 10 yearsof other people and clubs doing allthe work. See you at MarsMeadows January 21!

SYSCO N E W S PA G E 5 J ANUARY 2002

Board Mtg. MinutesJANUARY 7, 2002

SYSCO’s 2002 Commodore2002, Alan Schamp, called themeeting to order at 6:30 p.m.

COMMODORE: Alan discussed receipt of some

requests, including a request fromthe Santana 22 fleet, for reconsid-eration of their fleet assignments.We have carefully considered therequests and SYSCO has submittedthe final fleet designations and raceinformation to OCSA.

VICE COMMODORE/RACE CAPTAIN:

The 2002 Fleet Captains willbe confirmed shortly. LarryJohnson, SYSCO’s 2002 RaceCaptain, led a discussion about theupcoming race clinics. Tentativeplans were discussed regarding theclub’s open attendance race clinicduring the first week of April (twoevenings), and the closed RaceManagement Clinic for fleet cap-tains, February 21 (evening) andFebruary 23 (morning). BobWaldron will confirm a location forthe February clinic as soon as pos-sible and the fleet captains will benotified. We also talked about ourcourse board options. Larry willresolve this as soon as possible.There was quite a bit of discussionabout the purchase of OCSA’s2002 race booklets. Last year,SYSCO purchased 30 booklets forthe club. For 2002, SYSCO willpurchase 20 booklets.

TREASURER: As outgoing Treasurer, Larry

presented his final 2001 financialreports, reviewed the reports with

the Board, and turned over theseduties to Alan Boguslawski. Theaccount balance, as of 12/31/01, is$4,194.43. There are a few recentlyreceived payables.

SECRETARY: Membership renewals were

mailed in mid-December. Wetalked about the deadline forrenewals and the estimated date formailing of our roster/bylaws. I willcheck our web site and request anupdate of the information. I will goahead and order certain burgeesfrom our provider in California.

NEWSLETTER: Mike asked us to submit our

articles, columns and photos bySunday, January 13, 2002.

PROGRAM:Bob volunteered to serve as

2002 Program Chair. Tentatively, ascaled-down version of our RaceManagement Clinic will be offeredto the membership at the March 18general meeting.

BOAT SHOW:Gary Whitney served as Boat

Show Chair this year. On “BoatShow Eve,” Bill Sanborn and Garyconstructed and set up the booth,including rug, tables, story (histo-ry) board, marks, our large banner,race flags, projection equipment,and handout materials. Last sea-son’s racing was showcased by thedisplay of fantastic action photo-graphs shot by Scott Wirs, a pro-fessional photographer (and associ-ate member). At Gary’s request,Alan will send a letter of thanks toScott Stevens, who provided thevideo projector. Gary wishes tothank the members who set asidethe time to help at the booth.

NEW BUSINESS: Larry said that while he and

Sue were on booth duty at the boatshow, a mentor from the “Friendsof Children” organization talkedwith him about the mentoringactivities of that organization.Larry told the Board that he andthe mentor talked about bringingchildren, under the program’ssupervision, onto sailboats. Larrywill follow up on this.

OLD BUSINESS: Larry revisited the liquor liabil-

ity issue. We will take special carein our future activities at whichliquor is provided by, or served at,SYSCO’s direct expense.

ATTENDANCE:Officers/Directors/Committee

Chairs: Alan Schamp, LarryJohnson, Alan Boguslawski, BobWaldron, Robyn Thomas, GaryWhitney, Mike O’Bryant, RodDawson and Bob Rouse. Guests:Kay Waldron and David Crosby.

Tonight’s meeting wasadjourned at 7:30 p.m., withoutobjection.

RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTEDREBT, SECRETARY

Renew Now!!!2002 renewal forms were

mailed to all members and news-letter subscribers in December.

Please do not run the risk of missing the renewal deadline.Mail your check and theremittance portion of therenewal form in the postage-paidenvelope tomorrow!

PLACE

STAMP

HERE

SYSCOP.O. Box 5502Portland, OR 97228

January Meeting“Cruising the

Columbia River”by Darren O’Brien

The AfterguardBOB WALDRON, COMMODORE

Before I get a few things readyto take with me on the “No-Sail,”my monthly contribution to thenewsletter needs to be prepared.Mike is either being gracious inaccepting my contribution or hereally has less to fill the newsletterthan he should. Be that as it may, I am delighted to continue. Make anote of the program this month.Gary Whitney got this arranged forme and I think this will be a pres-entation that will be lots of fun. Allof you folks who have cruised theriver will be interested. Those thatwant to cruise the river and thosethat never do should look at whatyou are missing. I was impressedby the quality of the video’sproduction.

Gary did a great job getting setup for the Boat Show this year. Thebooth looked fantastic and we wereamong the sail boats section of theshow. We must all admit thatPortland is a power boat town butthe sailing community is doing agreat job of getting out the word onthe joys of powering your wayaround with rags. Kay and I had fun the evening we werethere and actually talked withseveral people (strangers) aboutSYSCO specifically (they pickedup information too) and sailinggenerally. Neither one of us hadmuch opportunity to walk aroundthe rest of the show but it appearedthere is a lot of confidence that this sector of the economy is recov-ering or will recover.

Hopefully you have taken noteof the several activities the club has

planned for the Spring. A lot ofbreath and ink has been spent onthe topic of the new start sequence.Larry has training presentationsplanned for fleet captains, we willhave a club meeting dedicated tothe topic (probably March,) ourown sail education program willcover the subject, and of coursethere will be Sail Education Weekin June. Look for more informationin the race booklet when it is available.

As program chair I have my listof ideas for programs. They shouldbe a good mix of racing topics,cruising, and general interest. Ifyou have suggestions or know folks who would like tomake a contribution with materialrelevant to our Club, please let me know.

SEE YOU ON THE RIVER!