The Chowder Chatter Newsletter of the Caloosahatchee Marching & Chowder Society

A Premiere Sailing Club of Southwest Florida

Next Full Moon December 25 December 2013

C o m m o d o r e ' s M e s s a g e

Can it be that December is already upon us!!! I am looking forward to cruising over the

Next few months, and hope we’ll be joined by many members. It’s my primary form of realization!

The November meeting had a great turnout and it was so nice to welcome back some more of our

members who have been away. And we had so many guests as well. Welcome to all!

Less I forget, many thanks to all the folks who manned the CMCS Booth at the Ft. Myers Boat

Show. Bob & I were on station Sunday. We had a great time meeting and sharing with passersby

about our great organization. Several of the guests at Nov.’s meeting dropped by because of

their introduction at the Boat Show.

CMCS is working its way towards years’ end ~ we have the new Slate of Officers and Directors

introduced and posted in this edition. December meeting we will be voting these volunteers into

office. ~ The Calendar Committee has been hard at work putting together the 2014 edition. ~

That said, our Dues are due NOW and need to be in by November 30th. Members risk not making the Directory if we don’t

have your dues paid. Sorry, there has to be deadline!

First weekend of December (7th) is the Commodores Dinner. I hope to welcome most of our members to

that social. It follows the Commodores Cup that day. A plentiful BBQ dinner is being provided at a cost

of $10 per meal AND we will be celebrating our veterans. Please have your reservations in by Dec. 1.

Speaking of the December ~ This month’s membership meeting is a very full agenda. Members are asked to “share” by

providing non-perishable food items OR checks made to the Cape Coral Caring Center. We are also requesting unwrapped

toys for needy children in our community also thru the Cape Coral Caring Center. CMCS will be providing an entre’ and ask

members to bring Pot Luck items to share. I know we have lots of creative cooks! We will be toasting the holiday season

with carols and celebration.

Please note on your calendars ~ the Annual Change of Watch has been changed to Friday January 10th , and we are holding

it at the LaVenezia Ballroom in Cape Coral. An invitation is included in this edition of the Chowder Chatter. As the Board has

agreed to subsidize a good portion of the expense, we are able to hold the cost to $20. Per person. This is an event for ALL

MEMBERS and hope everyone who can will join us for this evening of celebration and fun. There is dinner, dancing and we

even get to get dressed up!!!

Going through my check list, (checking it more than twice) hope I haven’t missed anyone or anything! It is such a privilege to

lead a group like CMCS! I know you will step up when asked. It is really important to recognize that CMCS truly is the

leader in SW Florida amongst the boating communities.

Fair Winds and I’ll look for all those new CMCS burgees while we’re out enjoying SW Florida waterways.

Bev

Commodore Bev Duff

2

The LBC Holiday Party will be at Kathleen Vances's home.

6021 Silver King Blvd. #204. Cape Coral on Dec. 12th at 7PM

Each person has to bring a wrapped gift of $25.00 value for our Pirate Swap!

BYOB, a hors d'oeuvre or dessert to share.

RSVP to Kaathleen Vance or RoseAnn Hoffman

Directions to Russell & Kathleen Vance’s Condo at Tarpon Point Marina

6021 Silver King Blvd., Unit 204, Cape Coral, FL

From Cape Coral Parkway take Pelican Blvd. South to the end. At the stop sign, continue straight, and cross over El Dorado

Pkwy. onto Rose Garden Road. Follow Rose Garden Road to Tarpon Point Marina. Turn left into Tarpon Point – you will see

the fountain with the big Tarpon, and signs for the Westin and Pinchers Crab Shack. Proceed to the guard the booth and

keep to the right (no need to stop). You are now on Silver King Blvd. Follow Silver King (watch out for 2 speed “humps”) to

a large traffic circle. Keep to the right. The first building on the left is 6021 (Gold-colored high-rise). Turn left and go

up the ramp into the guest parking area under the building. There is parking for 8 cars, 4 left and 4 right, and also 2

handicapped spots. Go to the front doors and see silver panel with building directory and keypad. Keep pressing number

“3”, scrolling through the directory to “Vance”, then press the “ # ” (pound key) to call our unit (it rings our home phone).

We will signal the door open. The elevators are marked with the unit numbers that they service. You want to take the

elevator that will bring you to units 103 – 1103 or 104 - 1104, depending on which lobby you entered. Enter the elevator

and press the button for 204, and come on up. If you don’t see a button for 204, you are in the wrong elevator. Our

home number is 471-2757 and our cell number is 239-850-5235. In case there is no parking under the building, there

is a large garage that services the hotel. There is also parking near Pinchers restaurant. Please call us on our

cell (239-850-5235) if you have any problem parking. Please try to car-pool if you can!

Looking forward to a great time!

Ladies Bridge Club

Rose Ann Hoffman

COMMODORE’S DINNER ~ CAPE CORAL YACHT CLUB SATURDAY * DEC. 7

TH @ 6 PM UNTIL …

COST OF $10. PER PLATE

DINNER OF BBQ CHICKEN AND RIBS WITH ALL THE FIXINS’

BEVERAGES ARE BYOB

This year, the Commodore’s Dinner is falling on a very historical date to our nation.

I invite all our Club members to join with me to celebrate our Veterans on this evening.

Reservations are required with the date drawing very close ~ Please Email or phone me at:

ArgusGdn@comcast.net OR phone 239-278-3733 with your name, number attending before Dec 1st. Your payment of $10 per person will be accepted at the door

Cruising Report

3

Macomber Book Cruise- Kim & Judy

The Going North Cruise materialized as promised. However, only two of the 5 boats

signed up went . Avanti and Alborada enjoyed calm seas as they motored to Useppa, Venice

and Longboat Key. We were once again blessed with great weather for this Cruise as we re-

turned by way of Marina Jack's in Sarasota and back to Useppa before heading home.

Judy and Charles Tomlins were our Cruise Leaders for the Halloween Cruise. Eight

Boats participated in the Cruise. Judy Judy, Tanglefoot, Chase The Clouds, Brown Eyed Girl,

Mental Floss, Winstar, Sweet Baboo and Wayward made up the Fleet. The Tomlins', as usual

had Great prizes for their numerous games and activities. We finally had great weather on

this Cruise after the previous two years washouts. Good job Charles and Judy.

Kim Brown and Judy Anderson were our Cruise for the Bob Macomber Book Signing Cruise. This cruise

always has a lot of Land Cruisers enjoying the festivities at Woody's in St. James City.

Michael Cain and Linda Raymond are our Cruise Leaders for the Turkey Day Cruise. We will once again

head to Pelican Bay for this Cruise. Some will eat at Cabbage Key on Thanksgiving, while others will stay on their

boats. Hopefully we will have good weather for this Cruise.

The Holiday Cruise is actually the first Cruise in next year's Cruising season. Carolyn Wilson is our Cruise

Leader which will wind up in Fisherman's Village after a brief stay in Pelican Bay. The Marina has been booked up

but there is plenty of room in Pelican Bay for those interested.

Fifty two club boats have participated in at least one Cruise this year. Yours could be number 53!

See you on the water.

Ron Maddix, Rear Commodore of Cruising

Vice Commodore of Cruising

Ron Maddix

What a clear and delightful break from Summer. Trust Me!!! showed up off York Island and staked out a corner.

It was a busy anchorage with the folks out of Davis Island arriving about the same time. In the beginning it

looked like we would be out numbered but reinforcements arrived. Tiki, Bridgette O’Toole, Chase the Clouds, and

Barefeet were in place Friday night. While the actual event that evening went on for hours, the synopsis is that

Doorley’s Fine Old Barbados Rum XO is indeed a fine sipping rum. Saturday dawned and brought a few more

boats to the anchorage – Dolphin Dancer, Samphire and Freestyle. We dinghied in to Woody’s where Cheeks had

staked out prime dock space with their powerboat – hereafter to be known as the ‘Dinghy Dock’. Pfaff’s showed

up in the largest sailing dinghy (Wayward) I’d ever seen but it did fit alongside the Dinghy Dock. The land inva-

sion seemed larger than usual- guess being pushed against Thanksgiving this year made driving the easier choice.

I am sure the following misses many, but among the crowd were Vances, Gordan, Carol Pim, Waite, Stiers,

Tomlins, Haunholters, Cannings, Roakes, Lawson/Perkett, Aguilera, Misenheimers and Maddix’s. Those of you who

missed the sign in sheet –there wasn’t one. Maybe next year, as clearly I can’t keep track of it all. In any case,

after much partying it became clear that even though Bob was in a skirt he was not going to show his ‘South Pa-

cific Underwear’ no matter how many books we bought. So the dinghies took the trip back down the Monroe ca-

nal. Chase offered a venue for a brief rum tasting revisited. Doorly’s XO won again and we retired happy.

4

Summerset

Thank you to our 48 yacht name t-shirt sleeve sponsors. We reached our goal for the

48ty Summerset Regatta.

After You, Air Boss, Anhinga, Antares, Avanti, Barefeet, Bentley, Bridget O’Toole,

Chase The Clouds, Dragon Fly Plus, Escapade, Fancy Free, 14 Tractors, Freestyle, Full

Tilt, Funwork, Gopher Baroque, Irish Miss, Jolly Mon, Judy Judy, Kestres II, Kra-

ken, Linheart, Little Desperado, Macushla, Mental Floss, Miller Time, Miss Cathleen,

Nurdle, Rum Daze, Sea Isle, Serendipity, Slo Dance, Sunday Silence, Tanglefoot,

Triumph, Tropical Storm, Trust Me!!, Vixen, WaWa, Wind Dance, Wings, Yachta

Yachta and the five super sleeve sponsors: Blue Skye, Celebration, Tipsea, Windy City

and Air Supply.

Corporate and yacht name sponsors reached an all time high. This support, combined

with sufficient Summerset cost control measures enabled your board to vote for and

designate $13,500 for youth sailing support. This is an increase of over $4,000 from the previous year. Distribu-

tions are being made from Tampa Bay to Marco Island. The amounts are based upon the amount and origin of the

sponsorships and yacht home port participation. Locally our support goes to the wonderful program of youth sail-

ing provided by The Edison Sailing Center. Stephanie and Ross Webb were presented with a $3,000 check at our

last meeting. These funds will be used to make a small dent in the cost of travel to regattas for some of their top

youth sailors and for families unable to pay to keep their children in the Edison program.

Starting in March the CMCS Grant Fund applications for the Edison Sailing Center’s two week summer

program will be available. They can be obtained from Marla Parker, CMCS 2013 Grant Fund Administrator. This

program is for deserving youth ages 8-17, grant value $200 each. CMCS has allocated 30 grants for 2014. The

goal is to provide financial aid to CMCS families and youth in order to promote sailing as a lifetime skill and stimu-

late youth interest in sailing, Marla can be reached at mparker579@gmail.com Information on summer programs

can be found starting in March at www.edisonsailingcenter.org.

Happy Sailing and Holidays

Steve

Vice Commodore of Summerset

Steve Romaine

Ladies

Day

Regatta

5

Slate of Officers and Directors for 2014

Approaching the 2014 Starting Line…

As of the November General Meeting, CMCS now includes nearly 140 memberships. Now as we close the 2013 year , and an-

ticipate the Change of Watch, it is time to welcome, and support, new CMCS leaders.

The following Nomination slate of 2014 Flag Officers and Directors was presented to the CMCS membership at the No-

vember meeting:

Flag Officers (Nominated to serve for 2014)

Commodore – Diane Fowler

Vice Commodore – Allen Fiske

Rear Commodore/Summerset – Steve Romaine

Rear Commodore/Cruising – John Reekie

Rear Commodore of Racing- Stan Dale

Fleet Yeoman – Diane Pfaff

Fleet Purser – Bill Cook

Past Commodore – Bev Duff

Four Directors (Nominated to serve for 2014-2015)

Ian Davis Kathleen Vance Dan Merriman Don Lawson

Four Directors previously elected, continue their term of office for the 2013-2014 year(s)

Erik Soronen, Mike Smith, , Rodger Pfeiffenberger, Stephanie Webb (assigned Steve Carpenter's 2014 term)

Elections will take place during the December meeting. The Credentials Committee, overseen by Commodore Duff, will

conduct the process. Special thanks go to those Board and Committee members who actively helped to identify new leader-

ship. ….This was a CMCS team effort .

We look forward to seeing you at the Change of Watch in January! Let’s go sailing!

CMCS Helps Caring Center With Food Drive

At the November CMCS meeting we collected 66lbs of food and $60.00 in cash and checks.

Thank you to all who have donated. Cash and checks (tax deductible) are greatly

appreciated as the money buys 3X the amount of food we donate.

At the December CMCS Holiday party we will be collecting food,money and toys..

Please bring a new unwrapped toy to be donated to the Caring Center. Your donated toy maybe the only one a

child receives this Christmas.

Thank you,

John & Susan Reekie

6

WOW – did we ever have a big crowd at our November Membership meeting! And – not only did we have LOTS

of renewals come in, we had many new members. And – for those new members who I may have missed intro-

ducing personally, my apologies. I’m hoping I have captured everyone below. If I have missed you – just let me

know. We’ll get you introduced to the crowd. So – let’s welcome ALL our new members since our last Chowder

Chatter.

Welcome new Crew member Gary Brown . Gary comes to us from Liverpool, NY, and is about to enjoy his second

winter here. Gary has not done much sailing but really wants to learn and is willing to lend a hand wherever he

can. He will be living in Ft. Myers December thru the end of April.

Jack Buckley and Barbara Deagle joined us at the meeting. They’re from Quincy, MA and are retired. Jack was

an engineer and Barbara was a teacher. They enjoy sailing around Boston Harbor, Mass Bay and Cape Cod. Jack

sailed solo to FL from MA and has many stories to tell. Can’t wait to hear them! They will be joining our events on their 25’ Vancouver

named Escapod.

David & Mika Filkins stopped by at the CMCS booth at the Ft. Myers boat show and came to our November meeting and joined. That’s

great! Dave was in the steel distribution industry, and they’re from Chicago. They’ve been here about a year. Dave started out as a

dinghy sailor and started “keel boat” sailing about a year ago and is eager to learn.

James and Amy Gallagher joined at the November meeting too. James is an Engineer and Financial Planner; Amy is a Pilate Instruc-

tor! They have a 32’ Beneteau named Friend Z and are looking forward to joining us in our cruising and racing events.

Larry Jack also met a few of you at our November meeting, and joined as a Crew Member. He has sailed all over the US, east and

west coasts, and looks forward to crewing with our members.

Tanja Koster participated in the Ladies Race and met a lot of you at the “After Party” at Diane & Ray’s house. I believe Tanja said

she was looking for a live-aboard boat and is also very interested in learning about celestial navigation. She absolutely loves sailing.

Barry & Julie Long joined us from Houston, TX. They have been in the Ft. Myers area for about 2 ½ yrs. Barry is semi-retired and

has experience with gas & diesel engines. Julie is soon to start work at Lee Memorial and is experienced in training and website devel-

opment. They can’t wait to get out on their 35’ C&C named Free Spirit in CMCS events.

George & Pixie Noyes have a 38’ Island Packet named Silver Sea. They live aboard part of the year and have made at least two trips

sailing around the Eastern Caribbean, and did most of their sailing in the Salem, MA area. Pixie is an RN and George was a Respira-

tory Therapist.

Frank Wiedman joined as a Crew Member. He sold his last boat, Morgan 30/2 in 2012 – raced it for 29 years. He’s a member of the

US Power Squadron and Long Bay Sailing Association. He and his wife, Lynn, moved here from Stowe, VT and are enjoying the Florida

weather. Frank is retired from EE/Technology Management Consulting.

Liz Bear Wik joined as a crew member and said she has a boat that can be used as a Committee Boat. Thanks Liz! I’m sure you’ll be

getting a call.

---

IF this Chowder Chatter gets into your hands before 11/30/13 and you HAVEN’T yet renewed your membership for 2014 …. Please get

it to me “in a hurry”. I have been told that the calendar will go to press without you and we don’t want that to happen. I have

truly noticed that most of you do refer to the printed version so it is to your benefit to renew on time. (We will have updated

rosters online at cmcs-sail.org.) For those of you who have renewed already – thanks so much for getting it in early!

I wish you all the very best holiday season and look forward to a great 2014. Thank you all for your help as I finish my first year as

your Fleet Recruiter. It has been fun and it has given me a chance to get to know you all a little better. I’m finally starting to put

faces with names!

Fleet Recruiter

Jean Andrews

MEMBERSHIP and RECRUITMENT

7

The Officers and Directors of CALOOSAHATCHEE MARCHING AND CHOWDER SOCIETY

Cordially invite all members of the organization and their guests to

The Change of Watch and Awards Dinner Friday, January 10th at 6:00 pm

at La Venezia Ballroom

4646 SE 10th Place

Cape Coral, Florida

This is a semi formal evening to celebrate and congratulate

the Leaders of CMCS ~ please come join us!

The cost of dinner is $20 per person with a cash bar available

Music provided by “The Marshalls”

Please RSVP with payment to

Commodore Bev Duff @ P.O. Box 6717 Fort Myers, FL 33911-6717

no later than December 25, 2013.

Change Of Watch and Awards Dinner

CHANGE OF WATCH RESERVATION FORM

FRIDAY, JANUARY 10TH, 2014 6 P.M.

Number in your party Attending:_________

Each Dinner @ $20.00 X = $

Please provide names of the persons in your party:

________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________

Make check payable to CMCS and mail to

Commodore Bev Duff @ P.O. Box 6717 Fort Myers, FL 33911-6717

No later than December 25, 2013.

8

Now that Summerset is behind us we can fall back into our regular racing rou-

tine! There was a good turnout for the Festival of the Islands Regatta (15 boats) on

November 2 and the Ladies Races (6 boats) on November 9. After the FOTI, Brock

Johnson hosted a party at his home which was well attended by racers and friends.

Thanks, Brock and Barbara, for opening your home (again) to the CMCS racers! Diane

Fowler and Ray Gherardini did a great job organizing the Ladies Races, including a skip-

pers meeting and after-race party. Thanks Diane and Ray, who again opened their home

to the CMCS racers.

Results for the Festival Of The Islands Regatta (two races), which was curtailed due to

a passing front in the early afternoon, are as follows: In the True Cruising Division,

Diane Fowler’s Windy City was first, followed by Bill Misenheimer’s Barefeet and John

Finnegan’s Miss Cathleen. In the Non-Spinnaker Division, John Churchill’s Nurdle was

first, followed by Gary Blessing’s After You and Steve Romaine’s Air Supply. In the Spinnaker Division, Forrest

Bank’s Midnite Rider was first. In the Multi-Hull Division, Art Monahan’s Kraken was first, followed by Robert

Libbey’s Anhinga and Erik Soronen’s TRIUMPH.

Results of the November 9th Ladies Races are as follows: First Place was Deb Rich’s Bentley (Tom better keep her

at the helm!) followed by Diane Fowler’s Windy City, Bev Duff’s Chase The Clouds, Holly Milbrandt’s Full Tilt, Joan Perkett’s Sunday Silence and Elise Missall’s Wind Star.

The Summerset Regatta was the last distance race of the season. This was a four-race series and a boat must

have competed in three of the four events to qualify for a series award. Trophies(*) are awarded based on the

average number of starters. In the Multihull Division, Art Monahan’s Kraken was first*, Ned Christensen’s Pas-sion III was second*, and Erik Soronen’s TRIUMPH was third. In the Spinnaker Division, Joel Andrews’ Macushla

was first* and Forrest Banks’ Midnite Rider was second. In the Non-Spinnaker Division, Brock Johnson’s Vixen

was first*, Steve Romaine’s Air Supply was second* and Tom Horner’s Bentley was third. In the True Cruising

Division, John Finnegan’s Miss Cathleen was first*. These awards will be presented at the Change of Watch Din-

ner in January.

There will be one more buoy series regatta – the Commodore’s Cup on Saturday, December 7, followed by the

Commodore’s Dinner that evening. This regatta is a Caloosahatchee Boat of the Year event.

Thanks to all who volunteered so far. Of course, we always need lots of volunteers for future events. Start

thinking now about which events you’ll be volunteering for! The future of our racing program hinges on volunteer

participation.

This is my last year as the CMCS Rear Commodore-Racing. Stan Dale will be taking over in January. Stan hopes

to embark on a slightly different approach to the racing program, relying more on volunteers and committee mem-

bers to spread the responsibilities around. I hope all will support Stan as you have me over the past three years.

Good Luck, Stan!!

Rear Commodore of Racing

Steve Roake

Racing News

9

10 9

Summerset GOLD PLUS Sponsors

11

C.M.C.S . CHANDLERY

Buy, sell, trade

Members, to advertise your boating-related items free in the CMCS Chandlery,

e-mail

Don Lawson, Chowder Chatter Editor at dplawson@mindspring.com

or use your roster for telephone information.

Your ad will be listed for 3 months unless you notify me to take your listing out sooner.

Non-members are welcome to advertise their items at a price of $30.00 for 3 months.

Business cards or business related listings sent in digital format only :

Members: 3 months, $25.00

Non-members: 3 months, $50.00

Is it time to renew your Boat US Mem-bership?

Remember to use the CMCS Group ID

# GA82335B

on your application,

and save half the price of your annual

membership fee

FOR SALE :

Cruiseair Carry On boat air conditioner for

$200

Gary Blessing

239-910-4610

I also do home décor sewing such as drapes, cornice boards, porch en-

closures and cushions.

FOR SALE:

Two large sail bags in perfect condition.

$40 each

Diane Fowler @ 850-4935

12

CMCS SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

December 2013

Dec 7 Commodore Cup Dinner—6 p.m. CCYC– Reservations Req’d.

Dec 12 Ladies Bridge Club Holiday Party

Dec. 17 Holiday Party - Election of Officers 6:30 p.m. CCYC

Dec. 26-Jan 2 Holiday Cruise

January 10 Change Of Watch and Awards Dinner-Reservations Req’d

WWW.CMCS-Sail.ORG

CMCS Chowder Chatter

c/o Don Lawson, Editor

1411 SW 53rd. Ln.

Cape Coral, FL 33914