Luff Letter Concord Yacht Club

Knoxville, TN

July 2018 No. 532

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

Navigating This Issue-

Commodore’s Notes

1st Vice Commodore’s Notes!

Spring Series Update & Race

Schedule

Sea Scouts News

Sail Camp Recap

Melges 14 Nationals

Adult Learn To Sail– May 2018

Rear Commodore News

Secretary’s Report

Boats/Items For Sale

Important Bits & Pieces

July Birthdays

Save The Date

Board Members/Contacts

PLUS MORE!

www.concordyachtclub.org

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An update from the East Dock replacement vendor:

12-29 June: replace old floating dock pieces with new pieces

2-12 July: install utilities (power and water)

No final completion date, but if this installation schedule holds, the dock should be completed

before August.

Neil Quigley

Commodore East Dock Replacement Update!

Ahoy, Race Fans,

I’d like to give a brief recap of the Spring Racing Season and tell you about a change that we’ll make to the Keelboat racing format.

On Saturday, the 23rd, the Keelboat Fleet sailed their last races of the Spring Keelboat Series. We had fun on the days when we raced, but unfortunately, the defining characteristic of this past Spring was bad weather, which in turn had an adverse effect on participation. Of the nine Saturdays on which racing was scheduled, we could only sail on four of them. On more days than not, it either rained or the wind didn’t blow. Oh well, there’s nothing we can do to change the weather. The best that we can do is to acknowledge that it’s a factor, sometimes positive and sometimes negative, and move on. Nevertheless, competitors did have a good time on the days when the weather cooperated.

Here’s the top finishers of the Spring Keelboat Series:

Combined Fleet: 1st – Johnny Ballatin

Non-Spinnaker Fleet: 1st – Chuck Meyer

2nd – Mark Van Doren

3rd – Max Dawson

4th – Ron Mitchell

5th – Rod Meryweather

6th – Carol Rech, Rebecca Bryant, Jerry de Laurentis

7th - Erik Lundin

8th – Jerry Lawson

Mark Van Doren

CONT’D

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We also completed the inaugural Keelboat B-Fleet Series. The B-Fleet initiative is an attempt to ease inexperienced sailors into racing. Several CYC members volunteered to be coaches and sailed with B-Fleet sailors on their boats. Sailboat racing can be intimidating to novices, especially the starts where boats are jockeying for position within the confines of the starting line while trying to comply with right of way rules and keep track of the starting sequence. It’s the sort of thing that people need to practice a few times to get the hang of it. But after they get a few starts under their belts, a lot of sailors will tell you that the start is the most fun part of the race. The goal of the B-Fleet was to offer novice sailors a fun way to learn how to race in an environment with other sailors of roughly the same experience level. The emphasis was always on learning, not as much on the competition. I think that everyone who participated will tell you that racing has made them better sailors. It drives participants to develop skills that they might not work on if they were just out day sailing by themselves. One of the other benefits that I think the B-Fleet sailors experienced was the camaraderie that comes with joining the racing community. Sailing is just more fun if you can share your experiences with your crew and your competitors at the end of the day.

Unfortunately, the weather was also a problem for the B-Fleet. Of the ten weekends on which races were scheduled, we only got to race on four of them. Nevertheless, eleven skippers and their crews participated and all who were involved felt that the Series was a success. Even though competition was not the primary focus of the B-Fleet, I want to recognize the Top Five finishers:

1st – John and Debbie Hodges (enjoyed it so much that they bought a Holder 20)

2nd – Bob Morris

3rd – Sigrid Johnson

4th – Andy Dixson

5th – Erik Lundin (he’s since cleaned the bottom – he’s gotten a lot faster)

6th – Ed MacFawn

7th – Tom Sayres

8th – Max Dawson

9th – Frank O’Hara

10th – Tom Sears

11th – Mike Brown

After the last race of the season on the 23rd, we had a meeting in which we discussed some new ideas for keelboat racing. Going forward, we may have another B-Fleet Series next Spring if there is enough interest. We’ll discuss that again after the first of the year. In the meantime, to level the playing field and make our competition more fun for our competitors in boats with a higher handicap rating (boats that are slower by design), we are going to split the non-spinnaker fleet into high and low handicap divisions. This will be an experiment. We’ll evaluate it after the Fall Series and decide then if we’ll continue to do this. The split will be based on the boats’ PHRF ratings. We won’t be adjusting boats’ handicaps or placing people in one fleet or another based on their experience. One of the concerns will be where to draw the line between high and low handicap fleets. There are a couple of boats that could go either way but we’ll get it sorted out. Experience has shown that the more different boats are and the bigger the spread between the higher handicap boats and the lower handicap boats, the more difficult it is for the boats with high handicaps to be competitive. By grouping the high handicap boats together in their own racing fleet, the competition will be more realistic for them and they’ll have a better chance of earning trophies. I hope that this will make racing more fun for skippers that are typically at the back of the pack because their boat wasn’t designed to be a racer. Most of the sailors who participated in the B-Fleet sailed boats that will fall into the high handicap category. I think that this new category will be a good fit for our new racers. The amount of participation that we get from all of our divisions; spinnaker, non-spinnaker high and non-spinnaker low, will drive whether fleets get their own starts or not.

I appreciate all of the participation that we’ve had in the CYC racing program and I can also appreciate that sometimes we have conflicts and can’t make it to the races. My boat was down for bulkhead replacement for most of the Spring season. Once again, I want to extend an invitation to anyone who would like to try racing to come out and join us in any of our Regattas or the upcoming Fall Keelboat Series. If you are new, let me or Johnny Ballatin know, and we’ll try to find a coach to sail on board with you. Or if you want to crew for an experienced skipper, we’ll try to find opportunities for you.

CONT’D

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So, here’s what’s on the racing schedule in the near term:

July 4th – Fourth of July Regatta – dinner and fireworks afterwards

September 1 & 2 – Labor Day Regatta

September 15th – Fall Keelboat Series begins

September 29 & 30 – Tennessee Valley Challenge Cup Regatta

October 20 & 21 – Halloween Regatta

All of our regattas are open to keelboats and dinghies. If you have a dinghy, you can also come out and race in the keelboat series races, you just won’t be scored. But you’ll have the fun of passing a bunch of keelboats and seeing them off your stern.

Lastly, I want to thank everyone who has competed in our CYC Racing Program and thank all of those who have served on Race Committees. Johnny Ballatin deserves a special round of applause for scoring all of these races and doing a lot of other work behind the scenes. Lauren Ballatin puts in a huge amount of effort in coordinating all of the communications that hold the racing program together. She sends out the email blasts and publishes articles like this in the Luff Letter.

I hope to see a bunch of you on the water for the 4th of July Regatta. Skippers’ meeting will be at 10:30, first start at noon. The Notice of Race and the Sailing Instructions are available on the CYC website and are posted on the bulletin board at the club.

Sail Fast and Sail Often,

Mark Van Doren

CYC 1st Vice Commodore

Photos courtesy of Jerry & Christin Lawson and Lauren Ballatin

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Sometime, days around Mother's Day, a thief, or thieves, took two fittings off the wooden boom of the Sea Scouts' mahogany Thistle. The boat is understood to have been sailed by Ray McCleod, making it of historic significance to Thistle sailors, as Ray and Sandy Douglas were partners in the boatworks that innovated the Thistle Class. Since these parts are irreplaceable, the youth would appreciate their return by mailing them to Ship 300 at 517 Idlewood Lane, Knoxville, TN 37923. If returned, no questions will be asked. All Sea Scout boat parts contain an identifying subtle mark. A nationwide search in the class for the missing parts was initi-ated. June is a busy time in Sea Scout Ship 300. An overnight cruise was enjoyed by crew the weekend of June 9-10. Sad that the breeze was light on Satur-day, although it improved on Sunday afternoon on the way back to CYC. A requirement in the advancement is to prepare a meal at sea. Thus the crew enjoyed a hot’n hearty Saturday dinner prepared under direction of Apprentice SS Robert Lakatosh, Ships Purser, of burgers, tomato, lettuce, onion, grilled buns and chips, fol-lowed by a stunning breakfast of scrambled eggs, grilled sausage and fresh fruit, plus juice and coffee pre-pared by Able SS John Walker. Sadly, the Ship reports a large home being constructed on shore of this favor-ite cove near the International Marina of Friendsville. Later, June 16, beginning early in the morning, the Ship youth and enthusiastic parents joined together, sand-ing and varnishing the rails, rudders, tillers, paddles and other wood parts of their Thistles. Teamwork ena-bled the task to be completed in the morning shade by 12:30 PM, adjourning for a group luncheon in air con-ditioning at Lakeside Tavern with ice water in chilled glasses – much appreciated when the temp at CYC was hotter than hot sauce. Due to various family vacation plans, the Ship decided to take an hiatus in July, meeting next on August 3rd at 4:00 PM.

Boy Scouts of America, Knoxville

(865) 588-6514

ship300sails@yahoo.com

The flotilla with an awning for protection against an

unusually hot early June day. R to L: Sea Scout Helms 27, G

Hubbell's Mariner, Skipper Tim Brown's Beneteau.

Breakfast on quiet waters. Note youth in for a morning swim.

Robert Lakatosh (not pictured by working

diligently, Mrs. Kara Lakatosh)

Cole Smith (not pictured but working diligently, Mr. Shannon Smith) Sunset at the end of a

beautiful day

L-R: Sanding and

varnishing Dr. Don

Lakatosh, Ian

Smith, and Robert

Lakatosh

Photos courtesy of George Hubbell

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SAIL CAMP is over for another year, and what a year it was! Our 25th anniversary was totally sold out with waiting lists for all three weeks. A total of 148 campers were registered. Our new fleet of Fusion sailboats was a great hit and proved to be excellent training vessels – stable, quick, responsive and robust enough for campers. We had a great staff led by Ryan Knight and Myra Loveday, and everyone had a really good time. Ryan handled the on-water training and staff organization, while Myra organized a wide variety of shore activities such as build-a-boat and a really cool visit from the local fire department. New campers may face a steep learning curve when it comes to sailing, but these guys really learned what it’s like to drink from a fire hose. Winds were typically Loudoun, although each week had its share of wind. And we actually had good wind one Friday afternoon so that the campers could show off their new skills to the parents (although many campers seemed more interested in the rather spectacular boat fire up the lake). We have a variety of fund raising activities planned – primarily the TVCC auction, and have collected a lot of really interesting pieces for you to bid on. Keep a watch on the Luff Letter for further information. We also have special 25th anniversary hats ($20) and teeshirts ($10) for sale. Contact Jeff Gamey if you are interested. And finally, we owe a special Thank You to John Tyner for keeping our outboards running in spite of two lost props, and to Dany Kopp who made a special appearance to train the new TAs in outboard operations. Also, to Tom Sears and Brian Nicholson for volunteering their boats for the staff party. Thank you to everyone who helped make this even happen, and we’ll see you again next year. Jeff Gamey | Sail Camp Director Mobile +1 (865) 599-0820 | Jeff.Gamey@tetratech.com www.concordyachtclub.org/education

Photos courtesy of Jeff and Eileen Gamey

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First Ever Melges 14 U.S. National Championship: Tight Racing and Tons of Smiles

LAKE GENEVA, Wis. (June 17, 2018) – Harry Melges IV earned the first Melges 14 US National Championship title, beating out the fleet of 36 boats at the Lake Geneva Yacht Club. After nine races, Melges beat out Eddie Cox by a two point margin. Young Chapman Petersen rounded out the podium. Peyton Ankers of Chattanooga, TN finished one place ahead of San Francisco’s Jennifer Canestra to earn Top Woman. Joey Plummer was the top finishing Blue Rig, and Victor Larimer earned the title in the Blue Rig. The regatta opened with two moderate breeze races on Friday. Sailing to the early regatta lead was Eddie Cox with a solid 2,3. Chapman Petersen used superior downwind boat speed and fished the day in second with a 5,1 followed by Harry Melges III in third with a 3,4. On Saturday morning sailors were greeted with a light 5-8 kt breeze for the first two races. Race Three saw Eddie Cox jump out to an early lead. Race Four was dominated again by Chapman Petersen. The early evening saw a strong 8-13 knot easterly fill across Lake Geneva for the next two races of the day. Race Five saw Harry Melges IV jump out to an early lead taking advantage of his excellent boatspeed in the moderate air. The start of Race Six pushed Michael Gillian into the leading position followed by Peyton Ankers and the always fast Clifford Porter; crowded mark roundings and big difference in pressure from left to right saw Harry Melges IV move up through the fleet and take the race. The real draw for these Melges 14 events is the class camaraderie. After a full day on the water, everyone enjoyed being a part of a fun family all together on land, swapping stories from racing and sharing laughs. Saturday night brought sailors back to the Lake Geneva Yacht Club for the a steak dinner before a night out on the town. “Not often do you get a regatta dinner like this,” said David Oliver.

Read the rest of the story HERE!

Submitted by our very own, Randy Schonagen!

Randy is now ranked 23 out of 40!! Go, Randy!

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Adult Learn To Sail Class May 2018

In May 2018, CYC hosted a Basic Keelboat Certification class, for beginning sailors with little to no experience. I’d like to give a shout out of thanks to all the people who make the Adult Learn to Sail program successful, and share their time and talent. Special thanks to: Bill Wickman, Instructor Dwight Guinn, Instructor Frank Larimer, Instructor Kevin Johnson, Instructor Mark Esch-Williams, Instructor Neil Quigley, Instructor RG Smithson, Instructor Sam Ruple, Instructor Ann Zimmerman Carol Rech, Instructor Candidate Dave Roberts Mark Oxley, Training Fleet Coordinator Sandra Ford-Johnson, Registrar The CSC and CYC Boards, and my very patient husband Jay Harkins for his woodworking expertise, and willingness to help with C-22 maintenance. Kerry Saltmarsh

Instructor Kevin Johnson works with two students as they secure docklines and fenders for a Catalina 22

Students and instructors from the May 2018 Basic Keelboat Class.

Another de-rigging photo following their 8th night of class

Instructor Frank Larimer

Securing haylard lines

Instructor Neil Quigley and three students de-rig the Catalina 22 “Hermione"

One of the many rewards of teaching is watching students discover the joys of sailing

In no time at all, they were sailing back into the slips

Photos courtesy of Kerry Saltmarsh

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NEW MEMBERS– June

Welcome aboard! Roelof van Der Meulen

Rick Robinson & Carolyn Rogers

Bryan & Sarah Dennis

Nicole Halloran

RESIGNATIONS–June

NONE

Debra MacTavish

Current Active Membership Count: 199 Active-150, Young Active-10, Senior-24, Associate-2,

Student-0

Membership Openings: 31

Honorary-13, Inactive-30

Need Work Hours?

Want to earn Work Hours on your own schedule?

Be sure to check out the list of projects on Signup.com!

Here’s what you do:

1. Go to the Members section on the CYC website, click on the Work Hours tab under Resources

2. Then click on “ Click here to Review Task List & Sign Up for Work Hours” on the left side of screen

3. You will be directed to the SignUp.com site. No login is necessary.

4. “View” a list of Tasks.

5. Sign up for a task by clicking on the green “Sign Up” button.

It’s that EASY!!!!!!

And, if you have any questions about a task, you can contact John at reacommodore@concordyachtclub.org.

John Unser

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You might be a sailing bum if: your bar tab equals your paycheck. you have a beer can crusher mounted

on your mast. you have at least one broken boat

part in your car at all times. you think of duct tape as a long

term investment.

Recipe Corner

This isn’t an endorsement, but I have found quite a few of these recipes, and they looked mighty tasty! And, I just thought the graphics were cute! Never heard of Sailor Jerry Rum, but I guess any old rum would suffice.

I’d love to know if anyone tries any of the recipes that will be featured in the Luff Letters!

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Boats/Items For Sale Now Online!

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

And, remember, if you have an item still for sale that was in a previous edition,

access the web page to verify your information, whether it is still for sale, has

been sold but is still listed, changes, etc., and email Lauren at

concordyachtclubcommunications@gmail.com with updates.

1981 Catalina 22 - $3500 Swing keel pop-top with trailer Highly desirable slide-out galley Full set of sails; main, jib, genoa and drifter 8hp Yamaha 4-cycle motor on boat 6hp Johnson 2-stroke on stand Cabin cushions & curtains professionally redone two years ago Contact John Grevin 233-7995 or cell 505-681-1656

1986 Catalina 25

$6500

For more information and pictures, click HERE

Contact Todd Lykins at Toddlykins@yahoo.com

Or (865) 407-9733

* Non CYC Member

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Important Bits and Pieces

An offer from fellow Member Tom Sears!

Hi! I would like to post a special for our members. I found two rolls, yes, rolls of green, heavy outdoor carpet in 4 foot width. Enough width to re-carpet bunks on boat trailers per running foot! 75% off retail! $15. For most boats. Will install. Call or Text (865) 388-4131.

Harbormaster Sigrid Johnson couldn’t make the races on June 16th, as she was in Hawaii for her daughter’s wedding. So, she asked the Hawaiian Wind God, Paka’a, to look favorably on Fort Loudon Lake for our Saturday races! Well, Paka’a must have been sleeping and didn’t hear the request! Thanks anyway, Sigrid!!!!!!

Bobby Parks sent this picture of what I would call “an unwanted resident” on the

dinghy dock at the West Dock. Thanks, Bobby!!! I got the heebie-jeebies just inserting

this picture into the Luff Letter!

I don’t know what kind of snake that is, BUT, it IS a snake!!!!

Eeeeeuuuuuuwwwwww!!

Ron Mitchell and Mark Van Doren, skippering the 2 San Juan’s, battling it out during the Keelboat races on June 23rd! Thanks, Sigrid, for capturing that moment!

July Birthday Wishes To:

Gabby Brown– daughter of Margaret & Mike Brown

Ira Pierce Jack Sitgreaves

John Keith

Mike Cox

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!

July 4th Party & Regatta– July 4

Labor Day Party - September 1

Labor Day Regatta - September 1 & 2

Fall Keelboat Series Begins - September 15

TVCC Regatta - September 28-30

TVCC Party & Silent Auction - September 29

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www.concordyachtclub.org

BOARD MEMBERS

Commodore Neil Quigley

Commodore@concordyachtclub.org

1st Vice Commodore Mark Van Doren

1stvc@concordyachtclub.org

2nd Vice Commodore Mark Esch-Williams

2ndvc@concordyachtclub.org

Rear Commodore John Unser

rearcommodore@concordyachtclub.org

Secretary Debra MacTavish

secretary@concordyachtclub.org

Treasurer Charles Sheets

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 Reservation Jaime Bridgman (Jan-Jun) Mary Beth Berry (Jul-Dec)

reservations@concordyachtclub.org

Harbormaster DRY SPACES (Trailer/Racks; Boat Lift)

David Martin Harbormaster@concordyachtclub.org

WET SPACES (Slips/Railway) Sigrid Johnson

Harbormaster@concordyachtclub.org

Calling Committee

Joy McMaugh-Payne goingdublin@msn.com

Board Meetings:

2nd Tuesday of Every

Month

CYC Clubhouse— 7PM

(Members Welcome)

Like CYC on