March 2019 No. 540

LUFF LETTER Concord Yacht Club

Knoxville, TN.

Latitude: 35º50’55.27”N Longitude: 84º09’4.809”W

1st Vice Commodore’s Notes

Racer’s Edge - Pgs 2—7

B-Fleet Update - Pg 8

Insurance/Boat Storage - Pgs 9 & 10

Social Chair Notes - Pg 11

Dinghy Captain Message - Pg 12

Secretary’s Report - Pg 13

2019 Winter Series Standings - Pg 13

Sea Scouts - Pg 14

Important Bits & Pieces - Pg 15

Crazy Weather Week - Pg 16

Boats/Items For Sale - Pg 17

A New US Sailing Judge! - Pg 18

March Birthdays - Pg 19

Save The Date - Pg 19

Contact Information - Pg 20

Navigating

This Issue

www.concordyachtclub.org

The Pot

‘Of Gold

at CYC!

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Mark Van Doren

With the Keelboat B-Fleet Series set to kick-off I thought this would be a good time to review the racing rules that we’ve covered so far. Fortunately, CYC member Josh Wright has made this easy. He found and contributed this graphical summary that reviews the basic rules that will cover at least 90% of the situations that you’ll find yourself in at CYC. For the other 10%, just don’t hit anybody and we’ll discuss it later. It takes actually racing and applying the rules on the water for them to solidify in your head, but if you understand these concepts, you’re well on your way to enjoying sailboat racing at CYC.

As a reminder, if you’d like to contribute an article to be published on a racing related topic, feel free to send it to me. If there is a specific topic that you’d like to see addressed, let me know and your question may be the basis for a future article. Enjoy the summary of the basic racing rules. Thanks, Josh.

Mark Van Doren

CYC 1st Vice Commodore

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Want to Learn to Race Sailboats? B-Fleet is Coming Soon!

What’s the Keelboat B-Fleet? It’s a racing series that CYC is going to sponsor on eight Sunday afternoons starting on March 31st. The target audience is sailors that understand how to sail their boats but have little or no experience racing. We also want to encourage members to participate as crewmembers if you don’t have a boat that you want to skipper. Our goal is to teach members how to race in low-key and high-fun environment with more of an emphasis on learning than on serious competition. Johnny Ballatin and I will teach two Learn to Race Classes prior to the Series as a primer and we may have more classes as the series progresses if there is a demand for them. We also hope to be able to put experienced racers, who will function as coaches, on your boats with you, at your request.

If you are interested in participating in the Keelboat B-Fleet Series, send me an email at 1stvc@concordyachtclub.org . Let me know if you are a skipper with your own boat, or if you want to be a crewmember on someone else’s boat, or if you are an experienced racer and are interested in being a coach.

Here’s the schedule of B-Fleet events:

March 26 & 28 - Learn to Race Classes in the classroom below the patio. Each class will go over the same material, no need to attend both classes

March 31 – Keelboat B-Fleet and Dinghy Series Races

April 7 – Keelboat B-Fleet and Dinghy Series Races

April 14 – Keelboat B-Fleet and Dinghy Series Races

April 27 & 28 – Rocky Top Regatta, B-Fleeters are welcome to participate

May 5 – Keelboat B-Fleet and Dinghy Series Races

May 12 – Keelboat B-Fleet and Dinghy Series Races

May 19 – Keelboat B-Fleet and Dinghy Series Races

June 2 – Keelboat B-Fleet and Dinghy Series Races

June 9 – Keelboat B-Fleet and Dinghy Series Races

All B-Fleet races will begin at 1:30 pm. Be on your boat, on the water, and ready to go. We’ll shoot for having three races each day, weather permitting.

I look forward to another successful Keelboat B-Fleet Series and I hope that we can introduce more CYC members to the incredibly fun sport of sailboat racing.

Mark Van Doren

CYC 1st Vice Commodore

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Update on Insurance and Boat Storage Compliance

I want to shout-out a big “THANK YOU” to all of the members, about 40 of you so far, who have recently complied with the Club’s efforts to enforce the longstanding requirement for members to cover their property stored at CYC with liability insurance.

Here’s a quick review of CYC’s insurance requirements, which apply to all boats stored at CYC, whether on land or in the water.

• Boat owners must provide a Certificate of Insurance from your boat’s insurer proving:

• Minimum of $100,000 of liability coverage

• Concord Yacht Club is named as a Certificate Holder or Additional Interest (this ensures that CYC will be notified of policy changes or cancellations).

Your insurer will need the Club’s address. Please use:

Attn: 1st Vice Commodore

Concord Yacht Club

P.O. Box 22781

Knoxville, TN 37933

• The Certificate must include the coverage period of your current policy.

• For boats that are stored in a slip or on a mooring, there is an additional requirement: Your boat insurance must cover Salvage or Wreckage Removal. Or, in other words, it needs to cover the cost of raising your boat should it sink. If your Certificate of Insurance doesn’t state that your policy covers Salvage or Wreckage Removal you’ll need to provide a copy of the portion of your policy that states that you have that coverage.

The Board has also revised the CYC Liability Insurance Agreement and the Boat and Trailer Storage Agreement. If you store a boat and/or trailer at CYC, whether on land or water, and haven’t completed the new versions of these agreements since January of 2019, you must complete the new forms. Members who store multiple boats at CYC must fill out a separate Boat and Trailer Storage Agreement for each boat. Here’s a link to the page on the CYC website where you will find specific links to each of the two agreements- http://www.concordyachtclub.org/join/slips-trailers-moorings/

CONT’D

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If you’d provide the insurance information that I’ve requested and the completed copies of the Agreements via email to 1stvc@concordyachtclub.org and Cc harbormaster@concordyachtclub.org , or place a copy in the 1st Vice Commodore mail box in the kitchen at the Clubhouse, I’d greatly appreciate it.

In the coming days and weeks we’ll start enforcing some of the policies that you’ve been hearing about relating to maintenance and appearance of our club, the boats and trailers on it, and problematic electrical issues. If this is news to you, please review the last month’s Luff Letter and the Board Updates that the Commodore has been sending to our members. Revised and new policies relevant to boat storage can be found in the CYC Handbook. There’s a link to it in the members area of the CYC website. Take a look at the Assignment of Boat Storage portion of Section F., pages 15-19.

On behalf of the Board of Directors, I thank you for your support.

Oh, one more thing. I’ve been reviewing a lot of insurance certificates and I’ve noticed that most of our members are paying too much for boat insurance, a lot more than I do. If you want the contact information for my boat insurance agent, send me an email. You’ll probably save some money.

Mark Van Doren

CYC 1st Vice Commodore

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Catherine Trapp

Get all of your Work Hours for the Year!!!!!!

How would you like to fulfil all of your Work Hours for the year, and have fun doing it?

Host the Commissioning Party and July 4th Party!!!! The Commissioning Party will be

held on Saturday, April 27th, and is the Club’s signature event. The July 4th Party will be

held on, WELL, JULY 4TH!

What does it mean to “Host” a CYC Party, you ask? It’s easier and more fun than you

might think!! Call me, or send an email, if you are interested!!!

Memorial Day Party Thanks to Gary Grimac and Joanne Stickley-Dohn for signing up to Host the Memorial Day Party! It

will be a great time with great food!!!!!

Party Reservations Committee (formerly Calling Committee) I am super glad to introduce the new Chair of the Party Reservations Committee, Angie Rossini!

Angie will organize the committee efforts with the individual Representatives by distributing party

information, maintaining member contact information, collecting members’ party reservations and

reporting those reservations to the party Host and Social Chair. THANKS, Angie!!!!!!!

Catherine Trapp

social@concordyachtclub.org (865) 607-7077

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Message from the new Dinghy Fleet Captain!

Hello fellow CYC’ers!

My name is Chris Schmitz and I am reaching out as the new Dinghy Fleet Captain. I’m excited about the racing this season

and hope to build a dinghy fleet within the club that has several boats on the line for each race. There are plenty of dinghy

owners to accomplish this. I have ideas on how to build the fleet - from a dinghy fleet meet and greet at the club, to

regular articles in the Luff Letter on a variety of topics, to getting commitments from other dinghy owners prior to our main

regattas on their intention to race or not, to just being a regular participant myself. If any of you have ideas as well, please

share. I’d love to hear them.

Below is an article I wrote last year on the benefits of racing in general, and specifically why I love dinghies. I think it still

provides good insight, particularly if you are new to the sport. Be on the lookout for more articles like this over the next

several months.

The first benefit to club racing is simply getting to know your fellow members. Particularly those active in racing. These

tend to be the faces you see most often at the club and they are also very knowledgeable. Everyone I have met has been

fantastic and more than willing to share tips or pointers or just have a friendly conversation. The more members you meet

and get to know, the more fun and enjoyable the club becomes both on and off the water. Secondly, I’ve heard other

members say “they need to practice” or “learn to sail better” before they race. And that seems logical! But the truth is

nothing has taught me more about how to sail my boat than racing. When sailing against other boats you quickly know

when you’re doing something right or wrong, and usually a fellow racer or two will give you tips on how to improve.

Another reason some sailors get nervous about racing is the rules. They can seem complicated and no one wants to foul

someone else. But, the best way to learn the rules is again to race. I’ve found that for the most part fouling others is rare

when sailing in a relaxed setting. If you’re worried about it, you can usually just stay away from your competitors during

the race. Eventually, you’ll become comfortable and get faster (I’m still working on the faster part).

We’re lucky to have several racing options at the club. There is the regular Keelboat Series on Saturdays, and the new B

Fleet Keelboat Series and Dinghy Series on Sundays. All are great opportunities to learn and have fun, but I really love

dinghy racing. Why? For one, no crew (or few crew) needed. Most dinghies can be sailed singlehanded or require no more

than 2 other people at most. The benefit to this is the freedom to go sailing whenever you want without having to depend

on others. Secondly, dinghies are forgiving and easier to learn. In general, they are simple to sail and can be launched and

retrieved quickly. Capsizes on singlehanded dinghies are common and nothing to be afraid of so long as you wear a PFD.

And being small and maneuverable, collisions are easier to avoid too. Finally, (and maybe most importantly) dinghies can

be a cost effective way to own and race a boat. There are many used dinghies on the market and the effort and time to

maintain and store them is relatively small compared to most keelboats. Dinghy sailing is tons of fun and a fantastic way to

learn to sail and race.

I’ve been a member here for less than year but I’ve already gotten a ton of enjoyment out of the club. I’ve done that by

being an active member and participating in as much of the racing as I can (both dinghy and keelboat). I hope to see all of

you out there on Sunday March 30th at 1:30 for the start of our Dinghy Series or participating in the Keelboat B Fleet Racing.

Get out there and have fun!

If anyone has questions or would like to try my boat out, I can be reached at schmi008@gmail.com. I have a sporty little 13 foot single-hander that I love. I’d be happy to schedule a time to meet at the club and let anyone take it for a spin.

Chris

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Debra MacTavish

Current Active Membership Count: 209

Active-157, Young Active-12, Senior-25, Associate-2,

Student-0

Membership Openings: 21

Honorary-13, Inactive-30

NEW MEMBERS- January

Welcome Aboard!

Shawn Groves

Barry & Donna Sharpe

RESIGNATIONS- January

2019 Winter Keelboat Series

Well, as of February 24th, a grand total of 5 races were conducted in the Winter Series. Yes, it has been a

bad winter for racing– no wind, cold temps, rain, and more rain, and still more rain!!!!!

But, in spite of Mother Nature, here are the current standings:

1st Place– Johnny Ballatin

2nd Place– Chuck Meyer

3rd Place– Rod Meryweather

4th Place– Mark Van Doren

5th Place– Phil Spurlin

6th Place– Max Dawson

Photos courtesy of Max Dawson

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This month has been an eventful one at Sea Scout Ship 300! On the first Saturday of February, six Sea Scouts learned how to do CPR as well as the Heimlich maneuver and became CPR certified by Red Cross instructor, Sea Scout leader, and Sea Scout mom, Kara Lakatosh. Later in the month, they cleaned the Helms 27, teaching the scouts to “inspect what you expect” – a Sea Scout motto. The scouts learned navigational skills such as how to find directions with the shadow of a stick and take bearings. In addition to this, the scouts sailed the Helms 27, gaining proficiency in their sailing skills.

BSA, Knoxville

(865) 588-6514

ship300sails@yahoo.com

Ty Cox enjoying winter sailing

Enjoying hot chocolate after being out on a

chilly afternoon: L-R Ty Cox, Cole Smith, Jake

Dalton, Boatswain Robert Lakatosh, and Ian

Smith

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Important Bits and Pieces 1st Quarter Due$ and Fee$

If you chose the

payment option for

Club Dues, your

next payment must

be postmarked or

received by March

31, 2019

Avoid unnecessary late fees by making

your payment on time

CYC Logo Items for sale!

CYC Logo Items Available Online at Coral

Reef Sailing. Click HERE

Burgee - $28.00 License Plate - $5.00

Want a burgge or license plate??

Send an email request to purchase

either item to

concordyachtclubcommunications@

gmail.com. Arrangements can be

made accordingly.

If you shop on Amazon.com, please consider

making your purchases on Amazon-Smile!

SAME products, SAME prices!

BUT, your purchases made via Amazon-Smile can help

benefit our 501(c)3, Concord Sailing Center. Doesn’t

cost anything extra!!!!!

Instead of going to Amazon the usual way, enter

through www.smile.amazon.com and chose Concord

Sailing Center as your favorite organization. All of the

same items are available at the same prices,

but when you purchase most items, Amazon

will send .5% of the purchase price to our

sailing program.

Support CSC by starting your shopping at

smile.amazon.com.

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Crazy Weather Week!

Steve Cole ready to go check

the boats!

LOVE the outfit!!!

Where can we

find those bungee

suspenders???

Wading to

Dave’s

Dock!

Photos courtesy of Tom Sayres, Maureen Murphy and the Club Camera

Check out Mother Na-

ture’s wrath! She’s

been mighty darn fickle!

A special THANKS to

Colleen Montgomery, CYC

Member and employee in

River Management at TVA,

for keeping us apprised of

the lake levels!!!!!

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Boats/Items For Sale List Online!

Boats/Items For Sale can be found on the CYC website here- http://www.concordyachtclub.org/ ,

Members tab, Sailboats For Sale section. Hyperlinks to the original Luff Letter ad are included. The Luff

Letter will still contain the new items posted for that month, and the website page will contain ALL

items for sale.

FOR SALE

50 foot shore power cord. 30 amp rated, Hubbell brand with twist lock terminals. $30.

150 foot of galvanized, 3/8" chain. Very good condition. $75

Call Steve Litherland

865-934-8906

1993 Hunter 23.5 Compact Cruiser

$5000

Well maintained Hunter 23.5 with “Cruise Pac”

on Galvanized trailer. Water ballast to minimize

towing weight of less than 3,000 pounds includ-

ing trailer. Boat has been out of water every

winter with mainsheet, sails and cushions kept

indoors when not in use. New outhaul, reefing

line, tiller stay, lazy jack lines, halyard sheaves,

compass, and hatch boards. Solar panel added

to keep battery charged without requiring shore

power. Fully battened main with 110 percent jib

giving 236 square feet of sail area. Swing-up

centerboard reduces draft from 5.6 feet to 1.5

feet.

Contact: Bobby Parks

bobby@teamparks.com

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Tom Hudson - US Sailing Club Judge

Congratulations to fellow CYCer, Tom Hudson, for earning the US Sailing Club Judge certification! And, Tom

is the only person in Tennessee boasting this title!

Here’s Tom’s story:

I started judging back about 12 years ago. Somehow, a CYC Skipper I had been sailing with, Danny Kopp,

needed some help driving one of the Judge Boats here at CYC. And I got a taste of what it was about and

good hooked!

I have judged many events over the years. Here are just a few are:

Opti Team Trials

Opti Nationals and Regionals championships

This big event could easily see 300-400 boats at the line, and on water judging is mandatory for fair

racing.

Even Regional events drew 100-150 boats. So, a lot to keep your eyes on.

Word Sailing (ISAF) Youth World Qualifier Championship

Held a few years ago, this was a lot of fun for me and the other Judges, as the racers worked and

sailed very had to win a spot on the US National Team. Yes, a few protests, but that comes with the

job!

And, many, many other national championships, and regional and local races.

Last year was able to do the Flying Scott Woman’s North American Championship’s here in Tennessee. It

was a great event that I hope to do again in the future.

But big or small, most races have been rewarding and fun.

The fun thing is all the people I’ve met and worked with. Most Sailors I have met are fun and have stories

about Sailing and Racing. Some even signed the books they wrote.

Most of what I like to do concerns on water judging of kinetics. What’s that? Well, we all know that the

wind is what should move the boat, right? But, sometimes a sailor tries other ways to move a boat.

Obviously, learning the US Sailing Racing Rules is a BIG part of being a Judge. Lots to learn, lots to know.

Protest hearings do happen and knowing how to handle them fairly is essential. Protests can be a great

learning /teaching tool. I learn something new every time. So, it’s not a bad thing.

Being in Tennessee makes it harder, as we do not have the number of events that you need to get your

certification. I also took a few years off, so it did take a while. But I have passed out a bunch of CYC Burgees

in my travels! And, look forward to passing out more!

Save The Date Learn To Race Class— March 26 & 28, 6:30pm-9pm

Spring Keelboat Series begins - March 30 @ 1:30pm

Spring Dinghy Series begins - March 31 @ 1:30pm

Keelboat B-Fleet Series begins - March 31 @ 1:30pm

Commissioning Party - April 27

Rocky Top Regatta - April 27 & 28

March Birthday Wishes to:

Heather & Gabriel Green– children of Ed and Carolyn Green

Ed Green Jennifer Pierce

John Hodges John Storey

Mark Esch-Williams

If you would like to share your Birthday Month here in the Luff Letter, email concordyachtclubcommunications@gmail.com . Be sure to include the full name and Birth Month. And, that goes for the kiddies too!

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LET YOUR DREAMS SET SAIL…….

AT CONCORD YACHT CLUB

Like CYC on www.concordyachtclub.org

BOARD MEMBERS

Commodore Johnny Ballatin

commodore@concordyachtclub.org

1st Vice Commodore Mark Van Doren

1stvc@concordyachtclub.org

2nd Vice Commodore Dana Dawson

2ndvc@concordyachtclub.org

Rear Commodore John Unser

rearcommodore@concordyachtclub.org

Secretary Debra MacTavish

secretary@concordyachtclub.org

Treasurer Ed MacFawn

treasurer@concordyachtclub.org

Assistant Treasurer

David Valone

David_valone1@hotmail.com

Members At Large

Education John Swindeman

education@concordyachtclub.org

Social Catherine Trapp

social@concordyachtclub.org

Contacts

Luff Letter Lauren Ballatin

concordyachtclubcommunications@gmail.com

Webmaster

Elizabeth Spica ladyspica@icloud.com

Clubhouse Reservations

Carol Rech reservations@concordyachtclub.org

Harbormasters

Sigrid Johnson (Wet Storage) Neil Quigley (Dry Storage)

harbormaster@concordyachtclub.org

Calling Committee Angie Rossini

pq331@yahoo.com

Board Meeting

Update:

The March meeting will

be held on March 5th

CYC Clubhouse—6:30PM

(Members Welcome)