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Here we are, Spring at last! The tides

are increasingly higher with the winds moving more and more from the south. What a won-derful season it will be. The day trips to the various eateries, some by car due to weather, and the overnight trip all have been success-ful. We can only look ahead to keep the mo-mentum going, the trips safely fun-filled, and the inclusion of the many new members into our on-water activities. The perimeter canal dredging has been ongoing and now will allow many of the boats toward the end of Monaco Dr. access to the lock and the harbor. We can only hope that some dredging of Alligator Creek will allow us less stressful boating in the future.

The many hours spent by our officers and committee chairs have made my job more rewarding. I want to thank each and every one for a job well done. Barbara Frisch, with the help of Gary Brewster, succeeded in get-ting our directory compiled and published with some new advertisers and a new printing company. This was done with a lot of appre-hension after the effects of Charley. Remember - Boating’s Alive in 2005

Frank Wiechec, Commodore

BURNT STORE ISLES BOAT CLUB, INC. May 2005 Volume 18, Issue 2

Commodore’s Homeport

Frank Wiechec, Commodore

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Well, here we are! It’s May, the cold weather is long gone and summer will be here before we know it. It is a time for reflection on both what has happened to date and what the future might bring. When looking back, we can be thankful that, post Charley, the weather has not been all that bad even though several events had to be cancelled due to the winds. We would also like to take a moment and thank everyone involved for both heading up and participating in the BSIBC sponsored educa-tion and safety events which were conducted January through April of this year. Kudos are in order for Bill Van Ooyen and Mary Will who graciously served as instructors for our education classes. Approximately 70 of our members participated in these classes with the feedback from those in attendance being over-whelmingly positive. A word of thanks is also in order for the Boat Club volunteer members who helped with the vessel safety inspections. During the course of two Saturdays in April, a total of 57 boats were inspected. Arrangements for one-on-one in-spections have been made for 10 additional vessels. Credit for helping with this endeavor goes to Len Harris, Eric Munoz, Max Reese, Ed Sleight, Sue Sleight and Eileen Leming who assisted USCGA members in performing the inspections. Looking forward to spring and on into our summer period, a word of caution is in order. With the nice weather and warming waters many of us will get to use our boats more of-ten. It is also a time, however, when thunder-storms and stormy weather can appear at al-most any time. As boaters, we need to take

heed and keep both our boats and ourselves prepared. Highway signs that we see saying ….. Stay Alert / Stay Alive.. can be brought to bear in this situation as well. For us this means that we should know in advance the weather forecast and be prepared to handle whatever comes our way. This includes becoming knowledgeable about boat handling do’s and don’ts in heavy sea conditions. It also means that we have to be observant of pending weather conditions and prudent in determining when it is safe to go and when it is not. Here’s hoping that everyone has both a safe and fun filled boating season during this excit-ing period of the year. Jack Leming, Vice Commodore

Jack Leming Vice Commodore & Safety Officer

Grandma’s Attic

Kathy Schrader is our Grandma in the attic.

We have a tremendous shortage of items for babies and toddlers. Please call Kathy at 505-0658 if you have something to loan or if you need an item for visitors.

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Over the past 3 months a combination of cold and windy weather had a huge impact on the fishing, both in the harbor and offshore. In mid-March the fishing really picked up. The snook are moving out of the backcountry and have started to show up on the flats. Redfish are plentiful and the trout have started to hit on top water plugs. With the water temperatures in the harbor in the low to mid-seventies and the cold fronts receding, white bait have started to show up. By the end of the month, if the water tempera-tures stabilize, cobia and tarpon action will get underway. The Red Tide that hung around off-shore for the past 3 months is slowly dissipat-ing; thus, the close offshore fishing should start to pick up. Our Spring Inshore Tournament will be held on April 28th just prior to the Snook season closing on May 1. In January, our Fishing Club enjoyed two pres-entations. Dean O from Reel Inc. spoke on offshore tackle and techniques and one of Dean O’s inshore guides spoke about flats fishing. At February’s meeting we had an in-house presentation from Max Reese, George Weaver and Nevin Colver on artificial lures and tackle for inshore flats fishing. In March, Fred Bader

showed us how to sharpen knives. Currently the BSIBC fishing team is leading this year’s Gold Cup competition with 99 points. The Isles Fishing Team has 64 points and the Punta Gorda Fishing Club has 43 points. Please remember to take a camera with you and photograph the fish full length with a measuring stick placed beside it. Have you visited the Boat Club’s web site lately and taken a look at the Fishing Club Tab? If not, log on and see what’s out there. Please provide feedback to Tom Murphy, our Boat Club web site guru, or to me. If you have recent photos of fish you have caught, please e-mail them to me with a brief description, (length and weight) and I will have Tom post them. Tom, thanks for your time and dedica-tion for a great Boat Club web site. Once again I appeal for your suggestions and ideas to keep our meetings informative and of interest to the membership. Please call or e-mail me and I will see what we can arrange. Remember, guides are tough to get at this time of the year as the spring flats season is under-way, and attendance at our monthly meeting needs to grow. Len Harris, Fishing Club

Fishing Club Len Harris

2005 Canal Cleanup

June 7

September 6 December 6

Contact Max Reese Chief Garbologist

639-3570

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The website www.sunline.net/boatclub has seen some sig-nificant changes in the last few months. Much more content has been added to appeal to all boating interests. • The tide tables are still there in that con-

venient single page landscape printout. Ma-rine weather forecasts and weather radar have been added with coverage for Punta Gorda and Key West.

• There is an all new Ship’s Store page with

current prices for all BSIBC clothing and accessories. The Ship’s Store page also has a simple order form that you can print out and make your selections.

• There is a new Cruising info page with

links to information on waterfront restau-rants with charts and directions, and marina information for the Florida Gulf Coast, the Okeechobee Waterway, the Florida East Coast and The Bahamas. The cruising page also has a link to information about South-west Florida anchorages with directions and aerial photos for anchorage approach.

• Speaking of photos, check out the photo

pages. Paul Bankson and others have been snapping away and we have caught up with most of the 2004 photos. The 2005 photos are also coming online and we should be up to date as you read this message.

• Len Harris and the Fishing Club have been

contributing a treasure trove of information that required a whole menu of its own. The Fishing Club page has links for What’s Bit-

ing, Boat Maintenance, Tackle & Tech-niques, Safety and Health, Tournaments, Recipes and so much more. If you are into fishing, you need to check out these new pages. The new hit counter at the bottom of the fishing page says it all, the fishing pages are hot!

Lastly, we plan to continue the evolution of the website to include new and useful content for our members. Please don’t hesitate to contrib-ute information and other content that you feel will be interesting. If you like to write, give us some details about your recent cruise, where you anchored or what marinas and restaurants you visited. It’s details like this that will add to the enjoyment of all our members. You’ll note that the recipe pages are pretty lim-ited, so send in Mom’s favorites for fish chow-der, and how you prepare and grill Mackerel, etc, etc. If you caught the “big one” take a pic-ture and send it to us with your story so we can show everyone how it’s done. Best wishes for an active and safe boating sea-son. Tom Murphy, Webmaster

Website Master Tom Murphy

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We had our organizational meeting for the coming year in November. With the help of the great volunteer cruise directors, we believe we have put together a full year of luncheon and overnight cruises. Some of our past favor-ites were damaged by the storm, but we have found new ones to take their place. I would like to thank Howard Elkin for his help in getting me started as your new Fleet Cap-tain. He is a hard act to follow! I would also like to thank all who came forward to volun-teer as cruise directors. Our Change of Watch dinner dance was a great success through the efforts of Dot Minzer and her social committee. It was a very nice evening of good food, music and friendship shared. Our first four luncheon cruises were very well attended. My trip to Porto Bello at Burnt Store Marina, Bob Gurreri’s trip to the Lazy Fla-mingo and Jack Leming’s outing to the Fishery were changed from boats to cars due to the weather. The change of plans didn’t stop us from having three enjoyable afternoons. Mac McDermott won the weather prize! We had a beautiful trip by boat to Barnacle Phil’s. The wind was down and the sun was shining. A beach walk was enjoyed by some, as well as good food and beverage. My many thanks to Dot Minzer and her social committee, Bob and Kathy Gurreri, Jack and Eileen Leming and Mac and Carolyn McDer-mott for getting our year off to a wonderful start. I would like to urge all of our members to par-ticipate in our outings. If you don’t have a

boat, we will do our very best to arrange a ride on a member’s boat. Thank you, Paul Hillebrand

Log Book Paul Hillebrand, Fleet Captain LOG BOOK

BSIBC Historian

Paul Bankson The 2004 BSIBC Album is available for anyone who wishes to bor-row it. All of the events in the album are also available on CD’s. You can view the CD’s on your computer. If you have a DVD player that will read “jpeg” files (most of the newer ones do), you can view them on your TV set. You can also borrow albums dating back to the mid - 90’s, as well as CD’s for some events in 2002 and 2003. To borrow any of these items contact me @ 505.5552 or @ bankson2@comcast.net

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Upcoming events ! Cut this page out and save it!

GREEN FLASH LUNCH May 11, 2005

Reservation Deadline: Call NOW Cruise Director: Howard Elkin

MAD SAM’S - CANCELLED June 2, 2005

Mad Sam’s is closed and will be replaced by condos

SANIBEL HARBOR RESORT at PUNTA RASSA June 22, 2005

Reservation Deadline: June 8, 2005 Cruise Director: Joe Lakatos 575-9615 or Paul Hillebrand 505-2828

PELICAN BAY - 3 NIGHTS June 28, 29, 30, 2005

Reservation Deadline: June 23, 2005 Cruise Director: Ed Minzer 673-7742

CABBAGE KEY LUNCHEON June 29, 2005

Reservation Deadline: June 27, 2005 Cruise Director: Mac McDermott 639-7762

Continued on page 7

BLESSING OF THE FLEET Rescheduled to May 15, 2005

Reservation Deadline: Call NOW Cruise Director: Frank Wiechec 505-5763

Nav-A-Gator May 17, 2005

Reservation Deadline: May 11, 2005 Cruise Director: Paul Hillebrand 505-2828

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MATLACHA DINNER CRUISE July 27, 2005

Reservation Deadline: July 17, 2005 Cruise Director: Bob Gurreri 505-0435

TWEEN WATERS - 4 NIGHTS August 22, 23, 24, 2005

Reservation Deadline: July 21, 2005 Cruise Director: Ed Minzer 673-7742

Upcoming events Continued !

The following events will be advertised in later issues of the Up-the-Creeker

CAYO COSTA PICNIC - AUG. 13 TWEEN WATERS - 4-NIGHTS - AUG. 22 (In this issue)

TWEEN WATERS SMALL BOATS - AUG. 23 DON PEDRO OLD FASHION PICNIC - AUG. 31

BOATS WITHOUT POTTIES & BBQ - SEPT. 5

CAPE HARBOR - 2-NIGHTS - SEPT. 13 RUM RUNNERS - SEPT. 14

RUM BAY - SEPT 27

FLEET CAPTAIN’S DANCE - OCT. 5 PALM ISLAND - 4-NIGHTS - OCT. 27

LEVEROCKS - OCT. 29 Continued on page 8

SOUTH SEAS - Cancelled REPLACED with PALM ISLAND

July 18, 19, 20, 2005 Reservation Deadline: July 1, 2005

Cruise Director: Bela Klarik 575-2161

4TH OF JULY PARTY July 4, 2005

Reservation Deadline: June 26, 2005 Contact: Mary Ann Hughes 637-7855 or Fran Koon 505-9810

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Coming Events Continued

GENERAL MEETING - NOV. 8 UNCLE HENRY’S MARINA - 3-NIGHTS - NOV. 9

CHOOCHIE BOYZ - NOV. 10

HOLIDAY PARTY - DEC. 4 BSI LIGHTED BOAT PARADE - DEC. 15

PGI DECORATIONS & HARPOON HARRY’S - DEC. 20 NEW YEAR’S EVE CELEBRATION - DEC. 31

CHANGE OF WATCH DINNER - JAN 18, 2006

♦ Assemble in the canal area near the homes of Len Harris, Corby

LeSiege, and Don Hallman.

♦ As in the past, we will divide into groups and proceed past Frank

Wiechec’s dock, where the minister will be located. There will be

no anchoring or docking. Each boat will pass individually, be rec-

ognized and leave after being blessed. There will be ample room

to turn further up the canal to return home.

♦ Please fly our Club burgee if you have one.

♦ Use VHF channel #72 for directions & communication - low fre-

quency.

♦ The time for the blessing ceremony has yet to be determined.

♦ Commodore/Cruise Director: Frank Wiechec 505-5763 or (cell)

628-6678.

♦ Skippers’ meeting: May 13, @ 10:00 am 618 Maltese Dr. More de-

tails, final plans and donations for the minister will be at meeting.

BSIBC’s Annual BLESSING OF THE FLEET

RESCHEDULED to Sunday, May 15, 2005

No boat too big or small.

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The maximum number of boats is 12, so please carry as many pas-

sengers as possible. Reservation deadline is May 4th. Plan to drive

to the restaurant if the weather precludes going by boat, as the res-

taurant has made arrangements for extra food & staff. The Green

Flash is a great trip, by boat or carby boat or carby boat or carby boat or car. By car, drive to Sanibel and turn

right onto Periwinkle. Follow the Sanibel-Captiva Road to 15183

Skippers’ Meeting: May 10 at 10:00 AM 3650 San Sebastian Ct. Cruise Director: Howard Elkin 833-0740 dewarsduo@comcast.net

Come by Boat or Car By Car: Entrance to resort JUST before Sanibel Toll Bridge, on right. There is a

sign. They will have valet parking. Ten boat limit at docks.

Tarpon House Restaurant Lunch will be at their restaurant overlooking the pool. We will have 4 hours there to enjoy lunch, use the pools, shop in the boutique and

have drinks poolside.

Skippers’ Meeting Tuesday, June 14 at 10:00 AM. Cruise Director: Joe Lakatos 547 Macedonia Drive 575-9615

or contact Paul Hillebrand 505-2828

Reservation Deadline: June 8th

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• Join friends for a three-day, three-night anchor-out at Pelican Bay.

• Walk the beach and search for shells.

• Join the Cabbage Key luncheon cruise.

• Lay back, look at the star-filled night sky & enjoy the peace and quiet.

Cruise Director: Ed Minzer

Skipper's Meeting: Friday, June 24 10:00AM

3432 Tripoli Blvd. 673-7742

Annual Pelican Bay Anchorage Three-Night Raft Out - June 28, 29, 30

Docking is on a “first come” basis, so we wish to arrive before 11:30 A.M. Cabbage Key is one of our area’s more interesting local restaurants. It’s easy to reach, but only by boat. Have lunch, look around and experience some of the local folklore. Skippers’ Meeting: Monday June 27th 583 Toulouse Dr. at 10:00am.

Cruise Director: Mac McDermott 639-7762 Reservation Deadline: June 27th

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PALM ISLAND - 3-NIGHTS July 18, 19, 20

Palm Island Marina has a great pool with a barbeque area almost at your dock. A short ferry ride away is Rum Bay Restaurant & Gulf beach access. Also, this is a great area for “dinghy exploring! There is space for 20 boats.

Dinner Cruise - Wednesday, July 27, 2005 - 5:00 P.M.

3930 Pine Island Road, Pine Island

South Seas Cancellation The July 4-night cruise to South Seas has been cancelled. Hurricane damages to the resort are delaying its opening until mid-February, 2006. While the marina may open in July 2005, amenities such as swimming pools, restaurants, trolley transportation, stores, etc. will not be available. To replace the cancelled South Seas Cruise, a 3-night trip to Palm Island has been planned.

Registration Deadline: July 1, 2005

Skippers’ Meeting: Friday, July 15, at 10:00 A.M. Cruise Director: Bela Klarik 5006 Ovideo Street 575-2161 or LDSLEIGH@comcast.net

∗ By Boat or Car ∗ Rain or Shine ∗ Sign up Early ∗ Space Limited ∗ Order from Menu ∗ Seating limited to

60 people ∗ 6 boat limit ∗ 25’ limit ∗ 2 1/2 ft. draft

Cruise Director: Bob Gurreri 505-0435

Skippers’ Meeting: July 26-10:00 A.M. 496 Macedonia Dr.

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Join in the fun! Restaurants: The Old Captiva House – T’ween Waters’ flagship restaurant – Opens daily for breakfast 7:30 to 11:00 AM and nightly for dinner 5:30 – 10:00 PM The Crows Nest Lounge – T’ween Waters’ night spot with casual dining from 5:30 to 10:00 PM featuring famous Monday night Crab Races and Tuesday through Sunday musical entertainment for your dancing or listening pleasure. The Canoe and Kayak – T’ween Waters’ quaint little luncheon spot right on the water adjacent to the marina. Enjoy your lunch and beverage while watching the wild life of the island watching you. Oasis Pool Bar – Seasonal lunch spot with full beverage service year round. PLUS… Beach, Pool, Canoe, Kayak, Bicycles, Tennis, Marina Store, and Shuttle to other parts of Cap-tiva

Tween Waters 4-Nights

August 22,23,24

Destination Cruise Cruise Director:

Ed Minzer

Skippers’ Meeting Thursday, August 18

10:00 AM 3432 Tripoli Blvd.

637-7742

Treasurer’s Report as of March 31, 2005 Income $ 7988.00 Expenses $ 3061.77 Net Income $ 4926.23 Checking $ 9803.17 Savings $ 5924.16 Sincerely,

Susan C. Hallman

Most income (Membership Fee) is received at the first of the year to pay for the expenses incurred during the year.

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May 17, 2005 COME BY BOAT OR CAR!

This is a great luncheon place and we always have a good time. Boats must be 25 feet or under. Skippers’ Meeting: Monday, May 16 at 10:00 AM 622 Brindisi Court Reservation Deadline: May 11, 2005 Cruise Director: Paul Hillebrand 505-2828 or paulandnan1@earthlink.net

NAV-A-GATOR

Paul Bankson & Bobbie Belokkur Barbara and Joe Lakatos

Jack and Eileen Leming

Thanks to Paul Bankson for the pictures!

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Nancy & Gary Brewster

Jane Amodeo & Belle Samuels

Geri & Richard Coates

Mac & Carolyn McDermott

Ted & Judy Johnson

Claudia & Tom Hovey

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Check out our web site:

www.sunline.net/boatclub

Maintained by Tom Murphy

575-2450 or zippertom@comcast.net

Up-the-Creeker Publication:

Lynn Stanleigh—575-2161 or ldsleigh@comcast.net