rat pack casino party Volume 86 • Number 3 · because of the amazing raffle prizes. Throughout...

sou’wester • march 2013 • page 1

SCYA Manning Regatta......................... March 2-3John Massey Memorial .............................March 9MSG/RMC/Social Committees ................March 13Club ABYC/St. Pat’s Party .......................March 15General Membership Meeting .................March 22Easter Brunch .........................................March 31CISA ..................................................... April 13-17General Membership Meeting ................... April 19Spring Spruce Up ................................. April 20-21

s as as as as a vvvvv e t h e d ae t h e d ae t h e d ae t h e d ae t h e d a t et et et et e

March 2013 Official Publication of

Alamitos Bay Yacht ClubVolume 86 • Number 3

Jeff Merrill photo

Tracy Conn (equipment) photo

casino partyrat packStephanie Gwinn photos

Step aside 2013, because the ‘60s just rolled in and all the cool cats are in town!

The Rat Pack of Saturday February 9th was one for the books. All attendees were dressed to the nines and ourbeloved Yacht Club was spruced up to match. The night began with a greeting from a pristine, canary yellow 56

Chevy Handy Man 150 from proud owner Jordan Hermansader which was parked outside the main entrance to ABYC andproved to be the catalyst for the night’s pictures. Upon entering the club between red ropes and walking up the stairs,guests were instantly surrounded with the ambiance, energy, and entertainment of a 1960’s Chicago nightclub. The candles,

black curtains, glowing martini glasses, and classy décor all played a part in thetransformation. The cheers from the blackjack tables instantly energized the wholebuilding and the buzz around the raffle prizes kept everyone going back to the tablesto win more tickets. The packed bar area was brimming with ladies in long satingloves and men with classy ties and polished shoes. And in everyone’s hand was amartini glass filled with an expertly made drink from your favorite bartenders – Reggieand Suzanne. To supplement the amazing drinks was food that was equally asdelicious. Circulating on trays were individual-sized chicken pot pies along withmushrooms stuffed with crab. On the serving table there was a fresh salad andpiping hot mashed potatoes with tender beef cutlets on top. Everyone was goingback for more! (Sorry about your diet!)

The ultimate kicker for the transformation ofABYC into the Chicago nightclub from the pastwas Tim Gill, Chris Williams and The All-Stars.With music that sounded like it came to life fromyour old record player, this band was the “beesknees.” They got everyone on their feet to

dance the night away. Ladies in twirling dresses were swept around men in sharpsuits and everyone was wearing a smile, even during the closing song – a rendition ofNew York, New York which was fit for the closing of a big band nightclub and onlybarely audible over the chorus of voices singing along.

A honkin’ round of applause to the man who put it all together, from the idea tothe implementation and who looked good doing it: Kelly Whitlow! Growing off of lastyear’s successful Rat Pack, this year’s event was even bigger and better – especiallybecause of the amazing raffle prizes. Throughout the night the baskets in front of eachprize were filled to the brim as people exchanged the chips at the blackjack tables forraffle tickets. There were 20 unique, coveted prizes that were generously donatedfrom our sponsors: John Gresham, Aquarium of the Pacific, Wendi Vodhanel, Shirley Klein, Mary Riddick, Viento YAgua Coffee House, Bela Mogyorody and Jenny La Force, McKenna’s On the Bay, Schooner or Later, Ed Spotskeyand Lori Van Skyhock, Bonnie Robertson, Trish Clay, Kathy Robinson, Naples Locker, La Palapa Del-Mar andJennifer and Steve Kuritz. We couldn’t have done it without you thank you so much!

Don’t miss next year and start planning for RP3!Theresa Cornwell ...continued page 8

Commodore’s Compass .................................... 2Manager’s Corner ............................................. 2Vice Verses .................................................... 3-4Rear View .......................................................... 4Fleet Captain’s Log ........................................ 4-5Membership ...................................................... 5Junior Sailing..................................................... 6Pages of History ........................................... 9-10Fleet News ................................................. 12-15

i n s i d ei n s i d ei n s i d ei n s i d ei n s i d e


compasscommodore’s

cornermanager’s

SHARE THE WEALTH

I had the privilege of participating on race committee for Mid-Winters last month. I was glad I could make it. What seemed like it would be first rainy, then windless, turned out

to be a beautiful weekend of sailing, proving once again, what a great location, and what greatevents we have for sailing and racing.

As spring hits us in the next few months, you will have plenty of opportunities to enjoyracing, sailing, and socializing at the club. Junior sailing is back in full swing, fleet races arebeing held, we have the always popular Easter and Mother’s Day brunches get your reservationsin early), Twilights will be starting in a few weeks, and finally we have the Raft-Up Party andOpening Day in early May.

Racing, sailing, enjoying the beach, fiddling with your boat, or just having a relaxing afternoon by the bay are allthings we enjoy. What makes them all more enjoyable is to share them with friends. With all the fleet racing, youth classes,and social events coming up, now is the time to share the club with that co-worker, neighbor, or even the in-laws who canappreciate what we enjoy about the club and sailing. I would encourage everyone to show off your club, and encourageyour family and friends to share in what we have, bring them by, and introduce them to our sport, and our club friends. Yes,the club house is fantastic, and Long Beach is the best sailing venue in the world, but it’s the people (that’s you and me, andthe rest of the membership) that make this club great. Let’s make this club even better and stronger by sharing a bit of ourwealth.

I look forward to seeing you at the club.Cheers,Mike

I can’t remember a stranger weather pattern here in Southern California in many years, if ever.

We’ve gone from eighty degree cloudless skys to frost on the windshield, highs in the fifties chillers; all this within a week’s period of time.

It still amazes me that regardless of the weather conditions, excluding extremeconditions, sailors still come to the club, support our Regatta’s and head out for an afternoon ofsailing. Midwinter’s was a perfect example. Quite frankly, there is not enough foul weather gear toget me in a boat once the weather dips into the sixties.

Lots going on around the club these past few months; we had the front wall/pedestrian gate area rebuild, and it looks great. Reggie, Rick and I tore out the old linoleum floor in

the kitchen, cleaned up the concrete floor and put a coat of paint on the kitchen walls. The front office continues to be a workin progress, and I’d like to thank Mike Wood for loaning us the beautiful Ken Hodges paintings that now hang proudly on thewalls.

I love the fact that so many members replied to our recent survey on what you would like to see new, or improvedaround the club. The comments have been honest, constructive and mostly supportive of how we operate here at ABYC.There’s always room for improvement, and with your input and support, we can facilitate the changes for a better clubexperience. My doors always open for your comments or concerns as well.

I hope everyone has had a chance to meet our newest employee Eric Redmond. He has simply taken charge ofgetting our whalers into the best condition they have been in since I started working at ABYC. Eric is a man of few words, buthis work ethic speaks volumes. If you haven’t’ met Eric yet, take a minute to introduce yourself and take a look at his“workshop” in the East Yard.

March is almost upon us, and for me thatsignals one thing.. SPRING TRAININGBASEBALL. I make my annual pilgrimage toScottsdale (my nineteenth year) March 14th for fourdays of baseball, fellowship and and the occasionalbeverage. Then it’s back to another year at theplace I call my second home, ABYC...it really isthe place to be.

Kelly

Save the Date ~ April General MeetingFriday, April 19th

Hosted by the Junior FleetSpeaker: Sydney Bolger

Women’s College Sailor of Year 2012 and former ABYCjunior, Sydney will speak on transitioning from high

school to college sailing, international youth sailing andher 2016 Olympic campaign.


2012/13OFFICERS & DIRECTORS

Commodore Mike Baumann

[email protected] Commodore Jennifer Kuritz

[email protected] Commodore Chuck Clay

[email protected]. Staff Commodore Jon Robinson

[email protected] Captain Latham Bell

[email protected] Jeff McDermaid

[email protected] Program Dave Michaelis

[email protected] Chuck Tripp

[email protected] Paul Anctil

[email protected]

Treasurer Nicole Peoples

Junior Commodores Kevin Baumann/Kevin Leddy

Fleet Surgeon Karen Rice

Judge Advocate Tom Ramsey

Fleet Chaplain Don Reiman

Port Captain Dave Myers

Sou’wester Editor/Layout Sharon Pearson

[email protected]

Weekly Reader Glenn Selvin

[email protected]

ABYC Phone (562) 434-9955

Homepage www.abyc.orgEmail [email protected]

Sou’WSou’WSou’WSou’WSou’Wesesesesestttttererererer DEADLINEDEADLINEDEADLINEDEADLINEDEADLINEMarch 22, 2013 is the deadline

for the April Sou’Wester.

Help us tHelp us tHelp us tHelp us tHelp us to Help yo Help yo Help yo Help yo Help you!ou!ou!ou!ou!Please keep your e-mail address currentwith [email protected] to receive allof the weekly news and events. Thank you.

versesvice

...continued page 4

Many thanks to the Social Advisory Committee for such a great Rat Pack Party! Steve and

I had a great time! It was so much fun to see everyone in their finest party clothes dancing, gambling and having fun. I tried my best to break the bank gambling and won

a lot of raffle tickets – but didn’t win any of the fantastic raffle prizes. Oh well, I guess I’ll have towait for the Charity Regatta raffle or next year’s Rat Pack Party to try my luck at winning.

There has been a lot of progress on the Chair project. We sent three chairs out forrefurbishment and got bids within a very wide range ($50 - $200/chair). As of writing this article,we have received back two of the three. The chairs are on display upstairs. The plan is for theChair Committee to assessing the quality of the work vs. the quotes and to make a recommendation

to the Board for approval. Each of the bidders has said they would work on 10-20 chairs at a time, so if everything goesaccording to plan by early summer we should see our upstairs looking sparkling and fresh.

Kelly was able to get the front perimeter wall repaired near the gate. There was a ficus tree with shallow roots thathad grown under the wall and made it unstable. This required rebuilding a six foot portion of the wall. The repair alsoincludes an upgrade to the gate and locking mechanism. Eric fabricated a wheel to help support the weight of the gatemaking it much easier to open and close and the locking mechanism has been replaced. Please note that you will needyour gate card for access to the club when the club is closed.

The wall patching project has been stalled by the rain. We’re hoping for a two-day stretch of sunshine (when thereisn’t a regatta or other event at the club) to patch the wall. The goal is to get the patching complete before Spring SpruceUp so that we can paint the wall. We’re starting to look like the bad neighbor at the end of the block, so we need to cleanup the curb-side appearance of the club. I think a little paint will make all the difference.

Planning for the Upper Deck project is underway. We are targeting a weekend in March to get started. If you havestrong knees and back and wood working skills, we need your help. We plan to sand down the existing boards, replace theboards that are rotten and paint. Much easier said than done – I’m sure those of us working on the project will need liquidrefreshments at the end of each day!

Thank you to everyone that has responded to my emails about cleaning up the yard! We’ve made considerable


The Chucks...Hardin (left) and Clay

logfleet captain’s

viewrear

...from page 3vice commodorem o r e

progress in the keel boat yard cleaning up and making us mobile. Next stop, the dinghy yard. If you want to avoid gettingan email, please stop by your boat and give it some TLC. After the rain, there is a lot of water sitting in boats, so avoid thatgreen slimy mess and come bail out your boat! And, why not go sailing and enjoy a burger on the patio at the same time?

Jennifer

...continued next page

CLUB ABYC has been alive and well these past few months! If you missed the first CLUB

ABYC of the year on January 25th, you missed a great time. The evening was kicked offwith Jesus’s famous taco bar with cheese enchiladas, well-seasoned ground beef, crispy

taquitos, and his famous home made chips.Steve Bloemeke had his 50th birthday party and asked Kelly Whitlow to bring in a special

chef, the legendary Cajun Vic, to cook up some of the same gumbo and biscuits that top bluesguitarist Walter Trout made famous through his song, “Victor the Cajun!”. Along with the gumboand biscuits, Cajun Vic also brought along some tasty Crawfish Jambalaya that had folks comingback for seconds and thirds! Needless to say, everybody had an incredible time eatin’ and visitin’with Cajun Vic, who is a decorated veteran of the US Army and an actor in some very popular

movies. Former member Bob Pace has teamed with Cajun Vic to create a food manufacturing company using Cajun Vic’srecipes from his popular Huntington Beach restaurant. I’ve heard his Seafood Pasta and Southern Sherry Chicken aregreat any time of year! Cajun Vic is available for catering and can be reached at 714-851-6502. Make sure to follow “CajunVic’s” on Facebook.

Mr. Good Day was the music entertainment of the evening with their ABYC debut, and they packed the house withcool blue-zie/Reggie style. They respected the venue and did not play too loud so everyone could still sit and enjoy themusic and carry on a conversation by the fire or in the bar. Keep an eye on the next featured entertainment for CLUBABYC!

Next up was Rat Pack and what a great night it was, we had a great 56 Chevy Handy Man 150 that set the catalystfor the evening making the backdrop for the couple pictures. Once you went up stairs, you were sent back in time to the60’s with the cool tunes of Tim Gill, Chris Williams and The All-Starts. Everyone was all dressed up and ready to dance thenight away with their dates on the packed dance floor. Couples that took a break from dancing were over at the Casinotables trying to win as many chips as possible so they could be cashed in for raffle tickets to try and win one of the manyprizes donated by our sponsors. Many thanks go out to Kathy Robinson, SAC and Kelly Whitlow for putting on the event.Last year we had about 80 people and this year we topped out at 108! So if you feel like you missed out on a great time toget all dressed up and enjoy some good food, dancing to some great music, and enjoyment of your club that was transformedto a Chicago nightclub…you did so make plans for next year!

The February general membership meeting was well attended and was put on by Steve Smith and the laser fleet.The featured program for the night was the story of the Battleship USS Iowa and Crew This premier United States NavyBattleship is the last lead ship of any class of United States battleships, and was the only ship of her class to have servedin the Atlantic Ocean during World War II. The USS Iowa also served in the Korean Conflict and is now on permanentdisplay in San Pedro. The evening presentation was be given by Mr. Mike McEnteggart, former USS Iowa crewmemberand current Public Affairs Officer for USS Iowa BB-61.

Remember it is YOUR CLUB! Come down and enjoy all of the great events that are coming up!“ABYC is THE place to BE…”Cheers,Chuck

How lucky are we? It is cold and miserable everywhere but ABYC!Maintaining the largest privately held fleet of Race management vessels on the west coastis a truly daunting responsibility! Thank goodness there are many ABYC members that

have stepped up to help out!Bob Anderson and friends have taken command of the Patience, thank you guys! The

Patience will be hauled out after Manning for its bi-annual inspection and refitting.Chuck Hardin is working diligently on our whaler fleet. He is currently installing fixed bumpers

on the boats with the assistance of Chris Peoples – splicer extraordinaire!


reportmembership

...from page 4fleet captainm o r e

Two dollies have been built and tested for the bay whalers. One more will be constructed soon as well as three forthe 17’ whalers. These dollies have already allowed us to scrap two very old trailers with the goal of having only one roadtrailer for each size boat. We will continue to store the outrage whalers on their trailers. Getting rid of the trailers allows usto not have to maintain insurance and registration. The dollies will be stacked on each other when the boats are being used.This will mean more room for member parking in the lot!!!

During the week only one of each size boat will be in the water, thus allowing them to be worked on by Rick and Ericso that during an event they function flawlessly!

All of the boats are having electric bilge pumps installed so that our feet do not get to wet and so that we can easilyrinse them off after they are used.

Dave Myers and George Caddle continue the wonderful stewardship of the race management equipment! Rememberif you use it put it back in its place so it is there for the next event.

Our good friend Martyn is currently rehabbing the bay marks and they will be back in place in the near future! Alongthose lines, Rich Vaught has offered his expertise to have the marks and their tackle cleaned on a rotating basIs! NO MOREMARINE BIOLOGY EXPERIMENTS on the marks!

Thank you to all of our members who have volunteered to help the club!Latham Bell

Thanks to everyone who participated in the membership survey which went out with the February bills. We are stilltabulating the results, but we are encouraged because we had great participation. February 1, 2013 also marked thekickoff of the Fleet Membership Challenge. I am happy to report, that the Laser Fleet has jumped out to a early lead

with 6 points. Next comes the Lido Fleet with 3 points. All the other Fleets are either dead in the water or ramping up slowly.Remember, this year the challenge is only running for 3 months so lets get it in gear. If anyone has some suggestions orwould like to participate on the MSG committee, which meets once a month, please contact Ed, Dan, or Chuck.

Please extend a warm welcome to the following new members who have been approved for membership:Richard Lewis Jr. Regular Hank Baars (sponsor)Ted Squilanti Regular Gabe Ferramola (sponsor)Noah Greenberg Regular Dan Milefchik (sponsor)

Thanks again for all your support.Chuck Tripp, Dan Milefchik, and Ed Spotskey

Kent & Connie Blasie

Mark Schulten & Lisa Petrie

Alex Krondracke

Stacie StrawTed Squilantai


perspect ivea junior

(junior sailing)the bay clogger

The Spring Program is off to a thunderous start with high school sailing practicingtwice a week and Sabot practice every other Sunday. This month, ABYC sentsix boats down to the Sabot Midwinters in Newport. For several of our sailors,

this was their first away regatta and they all did very well! RJ Ivory placed 8th overall isSabot As, Ryan Ayale placed 9th in the B fleet, and Katherine and Barrett Grubbsplaced 5th and 7th respectively in the C2 fleet. The conditions for the regatta werebeautiful; sunny and warm with surprisingly lots of wind! Congratulations to all ourcompetitors! As of this writing the high school team is arriving in San Franciscogearing up for the next high school regatta. This time we have sent two teams,Wilson High School and Long Beach Polytechnic will be competing from our program.We wish them the best of luck in the upcoming race.

The next few weeks will be very busy for the ABYC Junior program with regattas on just about every weekend untilmid-April. First the Sabots will be racing here on March 3-4 for the Manning Regatta followed by Spring Gold Cup inNewport the next week. The following weekend the High school teams head to Santa Barbara for the fifth of five regattasto determine who goes to the championships in April. We are very excited about the growth of the high school programover this past year and look forward to our teams doing very well at the end of the season.

It’s not too late to sign up for the Spring Program! Our next Sabot clinics will be on March 3rd with clinics continuingevery other Sunday until Memorial Day Weekend! Email Matt at [email protected] if you’d like to join in!

Matt Beck

I’m a sophomore at Long Beach Woodrow Wilson HighSchool and sail on the High School Sailing Team. Thisweekend my team and I sailed in the Golden Bear High

School Regatta in Clipper Cove located on Treasure Island inSan Francisco. My Team consists of Steven Hopkins (senior),Sawyer Gibbs (my brother), and Gentry Bell (freshman). Welaunched out of the Treasure Island Sailing Center.

On the first day of the two day regatta I woke up to findthe flags of our hotel room blowing hard in the wind. Thatdidn’t last, as the day progressed the winds became variableand shifty. With that and the cold water it wasn’t awesome butSawyer and I managed to prove ourselves by ending the daywith a 2-14-13-1 even with my hiking strap breaking in thesecond race and my request for redress getting denied weended the day on a great note! On Sunday the wind was light in the morning then died and built from the west. It was a nicethermal breeze of around 13-17 knots in the puffs. The race committee was able to get two sets in by the end of the day andour results really showed improvement on day 2 with an 11-2-1-1. We dominated the final set of the day and the onlookerson shore were cheering! It was a great feeling to do so well and sail with my brother even though we had a few brotherlylove moments between races. Everyone on our team this weekend in my mind did a fantastic job. The Scores of the A andB divisions are combined to give the total score for the regatta. We all learned new techniques and how to capitalize on ourskills. Overall, Wilson VAR ended up in sixth place, exceeding my expectations and hopefully qualifying us for the PacificCoast Championships. We are sitting right now as the 8th best High School Team on the west coast.

Riley Gibbs

In the Midwinter Regatta all four of us and Taylor Milefchick sailed in the Lido A & Lido B fleets. It was a great experienceto be competing against adults. Adam sailed with Ryan, and both had fun on the water, while getting 3rd overall on thefirst day. Nora and Taylor had a lot of fun as well on the first day, doing pretty good. The second day, Nora took the place

of Ryan with Adam because of the wind and ended up 3rd overall with a close last race. Adam passed the baton to Sammyafter sailing with Mr. Stu Robertson for more than two years and winning several regattas and Lido Nationals.

Sammy has taken over the crew position. Sammy and Mr. Stu Robertson ended up winning this exciting regatta byone point! We all gratefully appreciate Mr. Stu’s mentorship!

Nora, Adam, Sammy, and Ryan Elsharhawy


bellseight

On 11 February, Jim Kirk, a “sailor’s sailor” lost a tough battle against Myelodisplastic Syndrome. He was 62 years of age.Jim was a fixture on the Finn circuit in the 1970s and early 1980’s, with several appearances in the Olympic Trials

and Finn Gold Cup. Early in his career he sailed Lightings at the Buffalo Canoe Club and even coached at the U.S. NavalAcademy. Jim was also a pilot, competitive college (at Buffalo State) and masters rower, kayak designer/builder, andwindsurfer.

In the 1980s Jim moved to Long Beach where he became active at Alamitos Bay Yacht Club in the Laser Mastersfleet, the Congressional Cup, and volunteering during various class championships and club projects. Jim demonstratedthe most endearing reserve and mannerisms. You knew that he had your back and would be there to help if needed.

While of course he had great athletic ability, he was also an engineer with considerable fix-it skills, which he neverfailed to share. Jim really enjoyed going out of his way to help newcomers in the fleet with tuning and equipment or to offera place to stay to sailors and rowers visiting Long Beach. The best local Laser sailors sought him out as a training partnerbecause he always brought his “A” game- on time and ready to work hard.

True to form, rather than wait for the disease to further weaken him, he and his wife Ellen took to the fight to the Cityof Hope. He underwent two transplants with stem cells derived from cord blood. Neither transplant engrafted and after abrief interlude, Jim passed away; peaceful and aware.

Jim was a man of few words but a man of action...that’s how he lived life and he’ll definitely be missed in ours.(reprinted from Scuttlebutt)

cruise 2013catalina

Even though it is cold and possibly rainy outside when you read this, it is not too early to put the dates for the 2013ABYC Catalina Cruise on your summer calendars and start dreaming of warm summer days at Catalina. We will bestorming the Island this year on August 23, 24, and 25 at Two Harbors. Pat McCormick and Bruce Conn will be co-

chairs this year. (Bruce does not know it yet). Ask anyone who attended last years’ event and they will tell you that youshould not miss it!

Nicole Peoples will be returning to defend her first place finish Jalapeno’ poppers at last years appetizer contestand will be this years’ chief judge. We are still deciding if she can have you charge bribes on your account since she is nowthe club treasurer.

Rumor has it that some members are purchasing boats just to come on the cruise this year. We will leak moreinformation as the event gets closer.Ok go to your calendar and mark the dates before you put this down. Bruce and I expect to see you there!

Pat McCormick

of historyfrom the pages

Watch this space...history will be returning soon.

youthank

A special THANK YOU to member Brad Thompson for transferring the all the regatta data from the non-functioning scoring computer

to the new computer. If you need help with computerissues, Brad is the one to call.

J u n e28, 29 & 30


...from page 1rat packm o r eStephanie Gwinn photos


Rich Roberts photos regattamidwinter

A good finishing day for actors and Aussies

Once upon recent times the local sailingcommunity was warned that “the Vipers are

coming,” and now it’s fair to say they’ve arrived.Jim Sears is sold, even more so after

winning the eight-boat Viper 640 class by a singlepoint over class newcomer Kevin Taugher inAlamitos Bay Yacht Club’s share of the 84thSouthern California Yachting Association MidwinterRegatta Saturday and Sunday.

“It was fun,” said Sears, 46, an Emmy-nominated co-host of the award-winning talk show“The Doctors” who bought his boat only two yearsago and recently joined ABYC to compete in theclass.

“That’s why I joined,” Sears said. “This weekend there were several guys that had just gotten boats, but it was realtight racing.”

The Viper 640 website pitches that “at 21 feet long and only 748 pounds, the Viper 640 combines the stiffness of akeelboat with the acceleration and planing abilities of a dinghy.”

Taugher won the last two races, but Sears held onto second each time to net 11 points. Taugher, with three firsts toSears’ two, would have won a tiebreaker.

“It was fun,” Sears said.Asked if his TV career interfered with his racing, crew Rachel Ellis interjected, “It may be the other way around.”Other notable winners were Holt Condon of San Francisco and crew Reeve Dunne in 505s, Australian Phil Toth now

of Long Beach in Finns, Paul Galvez of Dana Point YC in International 14s, Matt Strube of San Diego with a seven-racesweep in A-Cats, ABYC’s Freddie Stevens and crew Dennis Allison with five firsts in seven Cal 20 races, Scott Miller andwife Patty of San Diego in Formula 18 catamarans and ABYC’s Jay Golison with a seven-race sweep in Laser Masters.

The temperature Sunday slipped more than 10 degreesfrom Saturday’s mid-70s and the wind took an unusualsoutheasterly turn but held steady at 7 to 8 knots and even kickedin with gusts to 15 at day’s end.

Also, veterans Stu Robertson and Bruce Golison had ashootout in the Lido 14-A class on the inside Bay course that sawthem tied going into the ninth and last race, with Golison owningthe tiebreaker with three firsts to two. Golison won the seventhand eighth races before Robertson clinched it in a six-inch photofinish.

Earlier, in the day’s first mark rounding, Golison had to doa penalty turn after crossing Robertson too close on port tack anddropped about five spots before fighting back to finish fourth.

Meanwhile, Sears held on tight. One of his three crew calledin sick Saturday, but he found local veteran Scott Dickson availableto join Rachel and himself, but only for Saturday, and he picked upShane Young for Sunday.

Then, with the wind up late in the day, he hit a mark, “andby the time we re-rounded we’d lost five boats,” he said.

He managed to regain second place—just enough for victory.Toth, now working for Ullman Sails here, represented Australia’s Mooloolaba YC and is just back to ordinary sailing

after a four-year Olympic campaign as crew on a Star that just missed going to London.You can’t miss him. At age 31, he is 6-7 and 228 pounds—pro linebacker size in the U.S.“I played rugby in Australia,” he said.The Millers, after figuring out the conditions, came on strong with a 2-1-2 Sunday to win the F-18s by two points.“In the first race we had a bad start, went right and got kicked,” he said. “Then we stayed on the left side the rest of

the day.”Crew collaboration was not a problem.“She’s been sailing with me for 30 years,” Scott said.Rich Roberts, Media [email protected]

Three classes cross courses on closing day

Jim Sears drives to Viper 640 victory


regattam o r e midwinter Bruce Wassen photos


sailingbeach

Your LB State Sailing Team continues to sail hard for you & the rest of Long Beach! Just inJanuary alone, your 49ers sailed in four collegiate regattas in three different venues. Thefirst was our very own Rose Bowl Regatta held off the elmont Pier. Your team sailed hard

against strong competition from the east & west coast alike. After a tough Saturday, your teamcame back strong on Sunday even winning a race and finishing a respectable 11th out of 30 teams{second on the west coast, again!}. The Sailing Team would like to thank Coach Steve Flam forcontinuing to support & coach us whenever he can. Whenever he’s available, we learn a ton!Thanks again, Steve!

After Rose Bowl, your team was off to Hawaii for the Rainbow Invitational on Oahu. Here, we soaked up the sun,checked out the North Shore big waves, hiked Diamond-head, tanned at Waikiki Beach & sailed hard against teamsranging from Japan to the west & east coast alike. We raced off of Sands Beach that sat right underneath the take off routefor Honolulu Airport. The racing was extremely tough due to winds that blew offshore & that shifted up to 90 degrees {nojoke}. But given the conditions, your team still finished 5th out of fourteen & had a blast!

Finally for January, your team traveled down to good ole’ Mission Bay for the Jeff Simon Memorial Regatta forsome cold water & stormy conditions. Here your team found more comfortably winds & finished 4th and 1st in two one dayregattas out of fourteen teams.

February found the Team busy as usual. Just this past weekend, your 49ers were invited to sail in a StanfordRegatta for Nor Cal teams. Unfortunately the wind didn’t cooperate & we only got in three light air races for the weekend.But your team still finished 3rd out of fourteen teams {behind two Stanford teams!}. Just this past weekend, with coach Flam& Dustin Durrant help, your Team won the South 3 & 4 Regattas down in Newport! Now we’re off to St. Petersburg, Floridato duke it out against the east coast at the beginning of March! Stay tune for updates!

Thank you, Fleet 6!We would like to thank Lido Fleet 6 at ABYC & all Lido sailors for supporting your Sailing Team! Fleet 6 was

generous enough to allow their first Lido clinic to be a Sailing Team fundraiser! That money will go a long way! Thanksagain!

High School CoachingShane Young & Mark Ryan of the Sailing Team are now coaching ABYC’s High School Sailing Program on

Wednesday & Fridays. I can write for both Shane & I that we’re looking forward to working hard for the juniors of ABYC! Thisis not only a great opportunity for Shane & I, but for us to share what we know of sailing the CFJ fast & to entice the juniorsto sail in college {wherever that may be}! ABYC is the place to be!

Tank Top Fundraiser!Support your local & home grown Team by purchasing a CSULB Sailing Team Tank Top! We have small, medium

& large sizes & black or white tanks to choose from. Not only will you support you favorite college sailing team, but you’lllook good, too! Your purchase will help your Team to continue tosail hard for you! Tanks are only $20 & your purchase goes along way & does make a difference. Contact [email protected] or like us on Facebook {SearchCSULB Sailing Team}. Thanks for your support & Go Beach!

Thank you, MidWinters Sailors!The Team would like to thank again all the MidWinter

sailors that bought cookies & tanks! You support will allow theTeam to travel to more regatta’s & grow!

RecruitementHave a son/daughter that will be graduating from high

school in a few short years {hopefully}? Want them to experiencewhat College Sailing is all about? Then have them contact us &we’ll let them join in on our practices! Your CSULB Sailing Teamis interested in keeping LB sailing talent in LB! Spread the word:LB State has a Sailing Team & it’s not going away anytime soon! We practice Monday, Wednesday & Fridays from 1pm to4pm out of LBYC. Give us a shot, you won’t regret it!

Mark Ryan


the fleetshails from

“Racing rules, yes they apply to you” clinic was held in

February. Fleet Captain John Gresham looked far and wide to find someone with enough knowledge and skill

to teach the rules like they’ve never been taught before, and foundnone other than Mark Townsend, ISAF International Race Officer

and one of only 14 International Race Officers in the United States. Mark spoke toa class of 25. The lesson was followed by practice starts and races orchestratedwith the help of Martyn Bookwalter and Fleet Captain John Gresham.Upcoming Events: March 23 Lido clinic at ABYC, March 24 Harry Wood MemorialRegatta at BYC in Newport Beach, March 30 Fleet 2 Invitational at South CoastCorinthian YC in Marina Del Rey. Fleet 6 Twilights begin Thursday, April 4th, atABYC, 6:00 p.m. start.Racing Recap:SCYA Mid Winters: Saturday’s conditions were balmy, with warm light summer-like breezes. PRO Martin Bookwalter keptthe fleet on its toes completing 5 races Saturday which ended with Stu Robertson leading Bruce Golison in the A Fleet by 2points. Sunday’s conditions started out in typical Mid Winters fashion with a steady 15 knots and a threat of a buildingbreeze. But the wind got light and the leaders Stu Robertson and Sammy Elsharhawy were tied with Bruce Golison and DinaCorsi going into the 9th and final race which was a cruise up the bay. Bruce had a large lead rounding windward mark “G”, butStu kept fighting back and gaining on Bruce going into the final stretch. Rounding the “D” mark Bruce was still in the lead butdown to the wire and a photo finish at the club entrance. Stu won the race and regatta by inches. Fleet Captain JohnGresham and Melody Wong finished 3rd, edging out Kevin Thomas and Amanda Wayne by 3 points. The B fleet wasdominated by Michael Eisenberg from Del Rey YC in 1st place. Nathan Dalleska and his son Riley finished 2nd, one pointahead of Adam Elsharhawy and his brother & sister crew Ryan and Nora.2012/2013 BYC Sunkist Series Wrap-up: The BYC Sunkist Series last race on February 14th went out with a bit of awhimper. Wind predictions for the last day in the series of 4 races were universally dismal and turned out to be correct.

Mother Nature teased the participants of Race 4 when the breeze piped up toabout four knots after a twenty minute delay of the day’s racing. This breeze wasshort lived and competitors quickly found themselves searching the main channelfor small puffs of breeze. Walter Johnson and Karen Pierce found one particularlygood puff and distanced themselves from the rest of the fleet and maintained theirlarge lead for the rest of the agonizingly slow race. Overall Kim McRae and JudiGorski of BYC’s Fleet 1 won the series in the A fleet. Dave and Jeanne Smith ofABYC’s Fleet 6 won the series in the B fleet. BYC does a great job with theSunkist Series which starts with the CHOC Charity Race on the first Saturday ofNovember.Super Bowl Charity Regatta: January 27th dawned drizzly in Long Beach andmay have discouraged some travelers, but Marina Del Rey was spared the wetstuff and offered up a glorious day with nearly ideal winds for a great day of Lido

racing and fun. The two lap windward/leeward courses, set in the outer channel, provided a good workout in the 8-10 knotbreezes. The A Fleet saw lead changes and battles all day. Stu Robertson, alternating crew between Adam and SammyElsharhawy managed to win all five races. John Gresham and KevinThomas finished second and third, while Kimberley Adam and DanMcBrearty had moments of glory and a good time.Racing in the B Fleet was tight as well. Dale and Scott Gronewold, JimDrury and a MDR sailor were locked in a three way tie for first. TheGronewold brothers ended up taking home one of the coveted foamfootballs as their second place trophy. This regatta raised funds for TheCancer Support Community and Fleet Sixers were generous, as always.Thank you to Santa Monica Windjammers Yacht Club and Lido Fleet Twofor their hospitality.

Rat Pack:Fleet 6 Lido-14 Charter Boats. For any Lido sailing event at ABYC,Fleet 6 has 3 Lido 14’s available for charter. These boats are availableon first come basis for a fee of $25.00, (free for Juniors). If interested ina boat for a day, or sailing for a race/regatta, make your request withFleet 6 via e-mail at [email protected]

Lido-14 Class websites contributed to this article.Cindy Heavrin

International Race Officer Mark TownsendTeaching Rules

Dave & Jeanne Smith win Sunkist Series B Fleet

Lido-14 Fleet 6 Captain John Gresham and Treasurer CindyHeavrin draped in tickets won with luck and charm at theblackjack tables during Rat Pack. Amanda Wayne (who isstill sending out apologies for behavior she can’t completelyrecall) gave us all lessons in the proper care andconsumption of Martinis



Remembrance of Jim Kirk

Our dear friend, long time ABYC member and sailor, James Kirk passed away after a long brave battle with cancer and search for a matching bone marrow transplant, on February 9th,

2013. Jim is survived by his devoted, caring and charming wife Ellen. Jim exemplified the fine and goodtraits of a true sportsman and competitor. Jim was a fixture on the Finn circuit in the 1970s and early 1980’s, with severalappearances in the Olympic Trials and Finn Gold Cup. Early in his career he sailed Lightings at the Buffalo Canoe Club andeven coached at the U.S. Naval Academy. Jim was also a pilot, competitive College (at Buffalo State) and Masters rower,kayak designer/builder, and windsurfer. Seeing Jim and Ellen at the club over the last few months, they were alwayshopeful Jim would be back on the water. Looking to the future, Jim and Ellen even raised young puppies to turn over toGuide Dogs for the Blind.

In remembrance of Jim, the ABYC Laser Fleet has rededicated the District 25 Laser Radial Champion trophy as theJames A. Kirk Memorial Laser Radial District 25 Championship Trophy. We will truly miss our good friend.

Laser Masters Race at 2013 SCYA Midwinters RegattaOnce again, ABYC played host to Laser Masters in the Southern California Yachting Association Midwinters Regatta.

Eleven Masters ranging from; Apprentice (35-44years) to Master (45-54 years) and Grand Masters (55-64 years) gatheredon an unseasonably warm Saturday to testtheir skills. Prospects for a good day ofracing appeared dim as attendants at theCompetitors Briefing looked out on glassywaters and limp flags. Regardless, welaunched our boats and were challengedto even sail out of the channel against anadverse tide.

Once outside the channel things didimprove and despite all participating classesarriving late to the race course, the RaceCommittee (RC) was able to run four racesfor all classes in short order on what turnedout to be a beautifully sunny day with snow

capped mountains in the distance.On Saturday, there was no catching ABYC’s Jay Golison who ran

off a string of four bullets in marginal hiking conditions. Conor Gallagherfrom Mission Bay YC stood in second place with ABYC’s Sanjai Kohli inthird and your author in fourth.Photo by Rich Roberts, Boat Captain Chuck Hardin

Once the overcast burned off Sunday morning, the breeze was upand some of the Masters –your author included- debated the decision toswitch to the smaller Radial sail for the day (this option is allowed in Mastersracing). As we sailed out of the channel with the full rig, we were wonderingif we made the right choice in a chilly blustery breeze, but once outside thechannel the wind moderated, but the wind driven chop of earlier had not.The RC got things started right on time and we had two races in light winds.

In race two, PaulMiachika from theArizona YC, got off aneffective port tack startbut was unable to holdoff the wily Jay Golison who kept up his uninterrupted string of first placefinishes. Just as the RC was getting race three underway, a large freighterdecided to reposition itself just about on the starboard tack layline to theweather mark. This did hold things up for a period of time before the shipdropped anchor and the RC was satisfied the racers could make it to themark. Thankfully, the breeze picked up for the third and last race of theday. Jay, seeing the option of a port tack start, pulled it off in race three.Paul tried as well, but had to bail out to avoid a starboard tacker. Thebreeze held up to allow everyone to exercise their hiking muscles and

Rich Roberts photos...Chuck Hardin boat captain

Racing downwind on day one with Mt. Baldy in the background

...continued page 14

Close encounter at the mark. Craig Scheiblauer on theleft, Sanjai Kohli on right

Regatta winner Jay Golison with the Spruce Goose Domeand Queen Mary in the background


the fleetshails fromonce finished, have a quick sail back to the clubhouse.

Jay finished the regatta with a perfect score followed by Conor, Sanjai and your author. Other ABYC racersfinishing in order were; Charles Crockett and Robert Enrico. Many thanks to all our ABYC staff and volunteers for a wellrun regatta!ABYC Laser Fleet Hosts the February Membership Meeting

As we set out decorations and anxiously awaited the arrival of our speaker for the evening, the bar and dining roomwere filling up with members and guests for the February Membership meeting. A very engaging gentleman did arrivesporting a Navy Pea Coat and U.S.S. Iowa baseball cap who said he was to make some remarks about the Iowa during theevening. We were not sure what to make of his offer until we realized, our originally scheduled speaker, with his photo,video and spoken presentation was ill and would not be making anappearance. After processing this information and realizing we would indeedstill have a presentation about the battleship U.S.S. Iowa, we decided toenjoy the evening with fellow members and guests.

After wading through a pack of patrons to reach Reggie at the barand waiting in a long line for dinner, it was apparent we had a very goodcrowd for the evening. Jennifer Kuritz, substituting for a traffic-bound MikeBaumann, emceed the membership meeting. She reported on a project torefinish the dining room chairs and Dominic Meo presented his plan to offerthe use of a Tempest at reduced cost to some young people interested insailing and racing Tempests…a very interesting and generous offer on hispart!

Before we introduced our speaker for the evening, I gave a briefoverview of the busy Laser racing schedule for the coming summer. JorgeSuarez and I also announced the ABYC Laser Fleet was rededicating theLaser District 25 Laser Radial Championship trophy as the James A. KirkMemorial Trophy in honor of our recently deceased friend and Laser racer.

Our speaker for the evening was Mr. Jim Gauderman. Mr.Gauderman is a U.S. Navy Veteran and currently a docent serving on theBattleship U.S.S. Iowa now berthed in San Pedro. Jim is also a volunteerpolice officer in Seal Beach. Jim’s talk enlightened us about the history anddetails of the ship. He had the facts and figures handy to impress us all with the capabilities of this amazing ship. Heanswered numerous questions from an attentive and appreciative audience. Jim was accompanied by Ms. Diane Patalanoin charge of members and ticket sales for the Iowa. Ms. Patalano was also well informed and spent the evening minglingwith the crowd and offering discount admission tickets to visit the Iowa. I also want to mention we had a guest for theevening who was a crewman of the Iowa in the early 1950’s. His name is Paul Honey and he brought with him a collectionof pictures and manuals relating to his time and tours serving on board the Iowa. Also, an interesting coincidence wasmentioned that this day marked the 70th Anniversary of the commissioning of the U.S.S. Iowa.

I was truly gratified to see the turn out we enjoyed for the February Membership Meeting. The main dining area andthe fireplace area were full to capacity as well as the bar. In fact we needed to add more tables and chairs to accommodateeveryone. I am grateful to the ABYC Social Advisory Committee for their assistance setting up the meeting, especially, LoriVanskyhock and Sue McDannel who showed up Friday afternoon to put on the finishing touches. We also enjoyed servingassistance from Will Vrooman, Vann Wilson, Dave Schack, Chuck Tripp, Jorge Suarez, Bruce Johnston, Dave Myers, PattAnderson as well as Bonnie DeMoss and, joining in from the Ca 20 fleet, Patty Nash who were tireless with the clean upand bussing duties. Of course the ABYC staff, Jesus, Roberto, Reggie and Sheila made sure the members and guestsenjoyed another night at ABYC.ABYC Laser Fleet 2013 Championship

As we have for the past few years, the ABYC Laser Fleet will determine our annual fleet champions based onperformance in ABYC hosted regattas and participation in hosting a regatta and membership meeting with other fleetmembers. Both full-rig and Radial fleets determine a champion and these two winners have the option of representing thefleet in the following year’s ABYC Club Championship regatta. For 2013, points will be counted for participation and orperformance in; the February Membership Meeting, E.E. Manning, Memorial Day/U.S. SAILING O’Day ChampionshipQualifier, 4th of July, Labor Day/Laser District 25 Championship, Charity and Turkey Day Regattas. Points are also awardedfor membership in the Laser Class.

2013 promises to be a busy Laser Racing Season with the Laser Midwinters West, California Laser Masters, LaserNationals, Laser Masters Pacific Coast Championship and Laser Masters Nationals all on the West Coast in California.With other summer regattas and ABYC events, there has not been this many opportunities for high caliber Laser racing inour area for quite some time. Come join us!

Steven Smith, ABYC Laser Fleet Co-Captain

Mr. Paul Honey and his picture collection recallinghis service on the U.S.S. Iowa



The Fleet to Be In!

Nirvana RC boat owners, get ready for Opening Day, Saturday, May 4th. Time to get the boats out,

washed and tuned up for the new season. For boats that need work, Eric Conn and Don Shirley are ready for help and tips. Please come to Opening Day with your boats or post them on the

Club’s notice board for sale. We often get skippers looking for boats. Opening Day 2008 saw 20 boatsracing. We hope to do better this year.

We are sorry to lose Jim Kirk. He was a great competitor for Racin’ in the Basin the past two years.Opening Day is coming in two months. Are you ready?Don Shirley

Our first Sabot Sunday of 2013 was held on January 13th with five sailors and our brave group of

volunteers on the race committee battling the cold weather. The Sabot fleet sends a huge ‘ thank you’ to John McNaughton, Don Wilson and Bobby Ware, the Barge crew; and Ryan

McNaboe on the whaler. Three quick races where held in a nice breeze, results were Jane McNaboe1st, Paul Anctil - 2nd.

Our next Sabot Sunday will be held on March 10th. We will be sending out an ‘E-Vite’ to help plan for racing anddinner. Please join us!

Jane McNaboe

The Barge Crew’, John McNaughton, Bobby Ware, andDon Wilson

John Hauck with his new Sabot

The 2013 edition of the Midwinter Regatta was not so wintery as clear and sunny skies greeted the

sailors Saturday morning. Nine Cal 20’s entered and sailed 4 races on the first day and 3 racesand day 2. Shoreline Yacht Club’s growing Cal 20 fleet found Risa Scott and Robert Moberg taking

8th. David & Debby Miller reported having a great time on their new boat Magic Bus for 7th. Lee Smith with hiscrew Mossy Kennedy sailing Berzerklee took 6th. Lickety Split, with Ron & Mike Wood at the controls and not

even sailing on Sunday, captured 5th. Matt Rustigan with crew Mike Ryan sailing Horton took 4th overall. Steve George withclass champion Chuck Clay as crew took home a 3rd place trophy, and John Merchant and Rob Fuller sailing Breakfast Clubwalked away with 2nd. Finally, Freddie Stevens with Dennis Allison had an impressive string of bullets for a clear overall winsailing Odie. Congratulations to Freddie & Dennis and all the sailors!

Next up is a March 16th Fleet Race. These are usually a shared race committee event with the Etchells fleet. Bythe time this article comes out, this race will be only days away, so if you haven’t already, let Fleet Captain Steve Georgeknow your intention to sail. Once one boat throws their hat in the ring, more are sure to follow.

Next on April 28th is our Fleet 1 championship. Serious bragging rights involved here. Mark your calender and planto participate! Undoubtably, the best of the best will converge for the highly competitive Fleet 1 Championship.

Once again, Cal 20 Nationals will be hosted by our friends at Cabrillo Beach Yacht Club on August 16, 17, and 18.Several years ago we traveled to San Pedro for this regatta and really enjoyed their choice of racing venue outside and westof the entrance, in addition to the wonderful people and clubhouse. Call, email, or text your crew or skipper now, and markyour calenders.

Make sure you are on Fleet Captain Steve George’s email blasts, and…See ya on the water,Dan Bates/Jeff Ives


PRSRT STD

U. S. Postage

PAIDLong Beach, CAPermit No. 685

ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED

Alamitos Bay Yacht Club7201 East Ocean BoulevardLong Beach, California 90803

Drink of the Month“The Commodore’s Fat Frog”

Wicked Blue, Bacardi Orange,Smirnoff Ice

Reserve by March 24thAdults $19 ~ Kids (under 12) $10

(Age 5 & under eat free!)After March 24th

Adults $25 ~ Kids $15

Sunday, March 31stChampagne Easter Brunch

Club ABYC St. Patrick’s Day Style!

March 15, 2013

The Time:

Party Starts at 5PM And Goes Til Closing!

The Food: Corned Beef Tacos Beans Salad

The Entertainment: Rick Eng

The Drinks: Commodore’s Fat Frog Reggie’s Specials

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