In This Issue

Commander’s Message…………………………….…...1-2

Chili Cook-Off …………………………………………3

From your Education Officer……………………… . 4&6

Gale on the Bay……………………………………... 5&6

PAGE 1

Scuttlebutt Newsletter

America’s Boating Club® Door County Squadron

© United States Power Squadrons®

THE

DOOR

Vol. XII, Issue 10

November 2018

COMMANDER’S MESSAGE

What fun the Chili Cook Off was! This

was our first time at the Sevastopol Town Hall. Definitely a keeper!

Thank you, Dolores, (and John) for a fun evening.

Karen and I have just returned from the District 10 Fall Conference in

the Dells. The Fall Conference is reflective of accomplishments since the

District Change of Watch this past April. It is also typically focused on

education. This Conference was intended to be more social and fun. It

was!

My Commander’s Summary to the Council and

Conference

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

We added 12 new members this year.

In support of transitioning to our “new brand”, we have incorpo-

rated high resolution ABC graphics in both our newsletter, letter-

heads and newly remodeled website. We are “living the logo.”

The mantra of BoatLive 365 is: boating is serious fun. In support, we

have promoted BoatLive 365 at Boat Shows and Marina Fests, in addi-

tion to every VSC.

We’ve had 2 opportunities to execute Jump Start.

We graduated 3 Navigators:; Rex & Linda Pope and Dan Balch. We

are hoping to get the Prince back. (We did it!)

We added one new vessel examiner; Mike Wember. We completed

222 VSCs compared to 219 last year; very good for 6 VSEs. Lou

Pasquesi hit over 100 for his 5th year.

The Boating Safety Vertual Trainer unit for the Door County Mari-

time Museum, Tower of Exhibits, Level 4, Recreational Boating, has

been paid for ($16,224). Delivery is scheduled for end November

2018.

A Facebook Page was established for the Door County Squadron

https://www.facebook.com/DoorCountySailAndPowerSquadron/.

(CONTINUED ON PAGE 2)

The Prince is Back!!

( Alan, the Prince, Bob, Kevin Shutes (last owner SEO Minnetonka)

It goes without saying: If it wasn't for

Alan, the “Prince” would not be here. But

special thanks go out to our JN & N grad-

uates; Rex and Linda Pope and Dan

Balch. And thank you, SEO Steve, for

your encouragement and guidance.

Our two automated radio check systems continue to func-

tion flawlessly at the Sturgeon Bay and Deaths Door Mari-

time Museum host sites.

CONCERNS

While membership appears to be moving in a positive direc-

tion, leadership is not. Our Door County Squadron con-

tinues to struggle with succession.

A critical mass of smaller squadrons may necessitate merg-

ing.

I’m very proud of what our “Little Squadron That Could” has

achieved. Thank you all for your support and dedication. Alan

will be calling for Merit Marks shortly. Given our achievements,

lets make sure you don’t miss any recommendations.

Successful squadrons such as ours reflect upon the success of

their districts. Here are some of the success stories that were

shared in the Dells this past weekend by D/C Dave Fine.

The National Governing Board Meeting this August in Min-

neapolis , hosted by D-10 , was a huge success.

D-10 America’s Boating Club roll-out.—branding is on

10/11 Squadron Websites (91% vs 43% National).

Living the Logo has been adopted by National.

.New members– achieved 100! Goal = 68

Communication is up with Monthly Top 10 and quarterly

Communicator newsletters.

Jump Start is gaining traction.

VSCs —completed 1382! Goal = 1272. Record! #6 in the

USPS.

Civic Service is alive and well in D10! 935 volunteers donat-

ed 8,104 hours! .

District 10 is the only district showing growth— 2.2%.

However, we lose approximately 14% annually.

Goals, Goals, Goals: We have SMART (Specific,

measurable, achievable, relevant, time bound) goals; smarter, clear,

pure and stretch goals: Goals, Goals, Goals. But when

you peel it all away, we really should be listening to the advice of

our friendly Water Rat, the little extrovert in The Wind in the

Willows, who said, “There is nothing – absolutely nothing – half so

much worth doing as simply messing about in boats.”

Let’s make a pledge next boating season to have fun and play more

on the water. See you at the Holiday Party!

Cdr. Bob

COMMANDER’S MESSAGE (CONTINUED)

PAGE 2

THE GREAT CHILI COOK-OFF

Modified Betty Crocker Chili Con Carne Recipe By Julie Keating 2 lbs ground beef

2 medium onions chopped

1 can (1 pound 12 ounces) tomatoes

1 can (14.5 ounces) tomatoes 1 can (8 ounces) tomato sauce

2 or more teaspoons chili powder

Pinch or more crushed red pepper

1 can black beans

1 can northern beans

Cook and stir ground beef and onions in large skillet until meat is

brown and onion is tender. Drain off fat. Stir in remaining ingredi-

ents except beans. Heat to boiling. Reduce heat and simmer

(uncovered) about 45 minutes. Stir in beans; heat. About 6 serv-

ings.

My favorite Slow Cooker Chicken Chili Recipe By Patsy Stierna

2-14 oz. cans petite diced tomatoes, drained

2-7 or 8 oz cans tomato sauce

2 lg. skinless boneless chicken breasts (1 & 1/2 lbs)

1 cup chicken broth 1/2 cup yellow onions, diced

1 lg. green pepper, diced

1-14 oz. can corn, drained & rinsed or 1 pkg. froz corn

1-14 oz. can black beans, drained & rinsed

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. dried oregano

2 tsp. chili powder (1 tsp. for a less spicy chili)

1 tblsp. ground cumin

1 tblsp. minced garlic

4 oz. brick-style light cream cheese (or full fat)

Put in 4 qt. or larger slow cooker. Stir to mix. Cook 6-7

hrs. or set on high for 3 hours. Remove the chicken and

chop or shred into pieces, then return to the slow cooker

and stir, Stir in the cream cheese until fully melted and

combined. Add salt & pepper to taste. Cover the slow

cooker and cook for about 10—15 minutes more.

Serve topped with cilantro, shredded cheese and crack-

ers.

This was our first attempt at a chili

cook-off. With thirteen people and

seven different chili dishes to sample,

it was a busy night. When all were

eaten and enjoyed, two chilis were

voted best and the recipes are print-

ed below. We welcomed first-time

event attendees —David and Kath-

leen Quirsfeld and celebrated John

Hermann’s birthday. Wish you could

have been there.

All lined up and ready to go

Happy Birthday, John

Welcome David & Kathleen Quirsfeld

Grota’s, Keating’s and DeNoto’s

First place winner, Julie Keating and Terry

PAGE 3

FROM YOUR EDUCATION OFFICER

PAGE 4

Ahoy Everyone,

If you are like me you periodically come across an article in the

paper. or on the news. about someone that went out to enjoy

themselves in the beautiful natural world and to refresh their

spirits only to have that outing turned into tragedy because the

beauty lulled them to not being vigilant to the danger that can

lurk beneath.

For example, an older man and his wife were hiking off trail at

Peninsula State Park last month when the husband ventured too

close to the bluff and fell to his death. The area the couple was

hiking in was Eagle Terrace which features a spectacular view

but also a hundred foot drop. There are plenty of guardrails

along the designated trail but not so when venturing off the trail

to get a closer look. I’m sure that this was a case of underesti-

mating danger while being lulled by beauty and serenity.

The lure of adventure and the thrill of conquering danger is

another pathway to potential tragedy when we are lulled by

beauty which, like a Siren singing to ancient mariners, makes us

forget about or minimize danger.

In May of 2017 a young Marine. home on leave. and his buddy

were out for a kayaking adventure off of Cave Point in Door

County. According to the Green Bay Press Gazette,

“At 11:30 a.m. Friday, a call came in for two kayakers in distress

about 100 yards from shore. The kayaks the men were in cap-

sized; the water temperature was 43 degrees.”

One of the kayakers was described as "a boy everyone could

love and who loved everyone. His adventurous spirit found its’

home in the outdoors, where he plotted his hunt, hung his bow,

welcomed the challenge and cherished his moments.”

The other kayaker joined the U.S. Marine Corps after graduat-

ing from high school. He was described as “an adventurer who

was always drawn to do whatever someone suggested … a

true daredevil at that. No jump was too much for him, he never

turned down a good dare. He loved spending time with family

and friends.”

There are several things people should know about kayaking

before going out onto the water, said Ken Braband, a state

education director for the American Canoe Association. Bra-

band also teaches during the Door County Sea Kayak Symposi-

um. “You have to get to a certain knowledge level before going

out on the Great Lakes,” he said.

There are two main types of kayaks; a recreational kayak and a

touring or sea kayak, Braband said. Touring kayaks have air-

tight compartments in the front and back of the vessel, he

said. If the kayak capsizes, it will not fill with water the same

way a recreational kayak does. He recommends people learn

the different types of exits from a kayak in the event it capsizes.

“It’s a lot of different techniques that anyone who kayaks on the

Great Lakes should learn,” he said.

He also recommends people look into wet and dry suits de-

pending on water temperatures. “A dry suit will offer more

protection this time of year”.

In both the case of the older hikers and the young kayakers,

spectacular beauty and a sense of adventure led to tragic conse-

quences. The lesson for all of us as we enjoy our love of boat-

ing is to not to ignore the little voice in our head that asks us

“what if “ questions. When we ask ourselves those questions

we can anticipate unexpected consequences that will help us to

prepare for the danger when taking risks. Taking risks thought-

lessly is stupid. Weighing and preparing for danger when taking

risks is smart.

Speaking of Cave Point, I took this video a few weeks ago of a

very tired and therefore “tame” cormorant that landed at my

feet on a rocky ledge there. Notice the waves behind the cor-

morant at the end of the video as they crash against the rocks.

This is a pretty typical day and probably similar to the one the

two kayakers encountered on that fateful day in May. What do

you think when you look at this scene? What was I thinking

about? Do you think I was thinking about falling while photo-

graphing the bird? Click here

(CONTINUED ON PAGE 6)

On 23 August 2018 we set sail on the Lanikai for our annual

cruise around the Door Peninsula. The Lanikai is a 1969 Pear-

son 300 sloop. It was originally purchased by my parents who

lived in Annapolis Maryland and sailed 25,000 miles before

being shipped to me 20 years ago. It is a very sturdy boat and

easily sleeps three or four crew. The boat is equipped with a

Universal four cylinder diesel engine installed in 1995. Lanikai

(which means beautiful sea in Hawaiian) displaces 10,000

pounds with 3800 pounds of ballast and is thirty feet long

with a beam of nine feet drawing three and one half feet. Our

crew consisted of myself, my son Richard and my brother

Michael from Iowa. My first mate Bonnie declined to join us.

Our original plan was to leave Sturgeon Bay Yacht Harbor on

Thursday 23 August and proceed to Bailey's Harbor Municipal

Marina but the weather forecast for Friday 24 August called

for 35 mph winds and 10 - 12 foot seas on Lake Michigan so

instead we sailed directly to Shipyard Marina on Washington

Island to avoid being trapped by the weather in Bailey's Har-

bor. We planned to do some day sailing in the Death's Door

waters Friday if weather permitted but as it turned out the

weatherman was right and we spent the day touring Washing-

ton and Rock Islands with a car the marina provided us.

We had an uneventful sail to Sister Bay on Saturday 25 August

and stayed at the Sister Bay Municipal Marina. On Sunday 26

August we sailed from Sister Bay around the west side of

Chambers Island to the Menominee Michigan Municipal Marina.

We encountered a couple of squalls between Chambers Island

and Menominee with thirty knot gusts and twenty-five knot

sustained winds but easily weathered them with a rolled up

storm jib and our main sail. Storms only lasted about twenty

minutes each and then the winds and waves petered out.

On Monday 27 August we awoke to heavy rain but the weath-

er forecast for our part of the bay called for ten to fifteen mph

winds in the morning increasing to fifteen to twenty-five mph

winds in the later afternoon with a chance of thunderstorms.

We felt if we left early we could be across the bay before the

heavier winds hit so we departed Menominee Marina about

0800 and motored in the rain in our foul weather gear and self

inflating life jackets to Green Can one on the western tip of

Green Island.

Here we put out our sails and headed for the mid-channel buoy

at the mouth of the Sturgeon Bay shipping channel on a star-

board tack with a course of 160M. Winds were already at fif-

teen to twenty knots out of the South and waves were about

one to two feet but the winds increased to twenty to twenty-

five knots as we crossed the bay so we reefed our jib down to

storm size. We were unable to keep our original course due to

the wind and wave action and at about two miles off Door

County we were five miles north of the mid-channel buoy. We

came about and began a port tack of 240M which would hope-

fully get us further South so we could head into the Sturgeon

Bay shipping channel.

A large thunderstorm came upon us from the South accompa-

nied by heavy rain, hail, thunder and lightning and winds in-

creased to forty knots with waves in the four to six foot range.

By this time it had become too dangerous to go on the deck to

try to lower the main sail and we had no safety lines rigged. We

only had a small storm jib out in addition to the main. At about

1145 we were about two and one half miles north east of the

Peshtigo lighthouse with the storm continuing as we attempted

to come about and head to Sturgeon Bay shipping channel. The

waves at this point had increased to eight to ten feet and com-

ing in very quick succession and gusts of wind were hitting forty

eight knots. As we came about the twenty- five year old main

sail shredded into rags and we temporarily lost control. A wave

came over the bow and popped open our forward hatch, inun-

dating our forward cabin. My brother went forward inside

(CONTINUED ON PAGE 6)

A GALE ON THE BAY by Dan Balch

PAGE 5

FROM YOUR EDUCATION OFFICER

(CONTINUED)

CLASS NOTES

Our students are in the fifth week of Piloting and are doing great.

We have discovered that the brain needs to take periodic breaks

so that it doesn’t burn out when mastering a new task. Some-

times, as teacher’s, we ignore that fact due to time or curriculum

requirements. The students have helped me to see that courses

should be flexible so that everyone has time to master content at

a reasonable pace for them. Consequently we have slowed down

the course a little to make sure all are mastering and retaining

each piloting skill.

I want to thank George Mitchell for taking this piloting course as

a refresher. He is an example of what I have suggested— that it is

useful and will deepen understanding to take a course again if it

has been several years since you originally took it. George says

that he has learned a lot this way. Why not consider following

George’s example when courses are offered, to refresh and ex-

tend your knowledge, if it has been a long time since you took

the course the first time? I find that I also learn something new

every time I teach a course no matter how often I taught it be-

fore.

Fair Winds,

Steve

and secured the hatch. As we tried to roll up the remaining

storm jib the sheets got away from us tangling into a huge

knot and making it impossible to roll it up any further. We

tried to start the engine but could not hear if it was running

due to the shrieking winds and flapping sails but finally deter-

mined it was running and headed at a course of 160M to try to

get into the lee of Door County. We could only manage about

one and one half knots of speed due to the size of the waves

and it wasn' t until about 1245 that we finally began to feel the

lee of Door County and could increase our speed to four

knots. As we got close to the Sherwood Point light house we

were finally able to secure the remnants of our sails and pro-

ceed towards Sturgeon Bay. As we passed the mid-channel

buoy the sun came out although the winds continued at twen-

ty to twenty- five knots. We broke out some summer sausage

and beer and celebrated our return, reaching our pier about

1455.

Sailing season was over for the Lanikai and I am having a new

main sail built by Dorsal Sail and Canvas. along with the sun

cover on the jib. Will have to replace half the battens which

blew away and the jib sheets which were shredded. We have

decided to hold our annual cruise in July next year instead of

late August when the winds seem to have become less pre-

dictable the last two years. We have also learned not to rely

as heavily on the weather forecasts and to get our sails down

quicker on an approaching gale.

I thought this article might be of interest to the squadron due

to the the annual cruise to Menominee and how fierce the

gales can be on Green Bay.

GALE ON THE BAY

(CONTINUED)

PAGE 6

Make plans to attend the Holiday Party at

Crossroads at Big Creek

Friday 7 December 2018

Thank you to all of the members who contributed articles and

pictures. Please take no offense if your article was somewhat

changed or if your picture was not included in the Scuttlebutt.

Changes, exclusions and inclusions are made based on space.

Submit articles and pictures for the December Scuttlebutt by

November 30, 2018.

Send your comments, ideas and articles to:

dolores.e.hermann@gmail.com

The Door Scuttlebutt is published twelve times a

year by America’s Boating Club of Door County, a

member of District 10 of America’s Boating Club,

the United States Power Squadrons.

The Door Scuttlebutt can be found on the Squadron website:

www.usps.org/door

HERE’S WHAT’S NEW!!

Check us out on FACEBOOK - Go to your

FACEBOOK page and type in:

DoorCountySailAndPowerSquadron

In Google type https://www.facebook.com/

DoorCountySailAndPowerSquadron

Email your boating related photos and stories to Cynthia Weis—

weiscynthia@yahoo.com for posting and tell her if you would

like to include a comment. It is helpful to you to say you “like” the

site and be sure to give it a review.

PAGE 7

HAPPY NOVEMBER BIRTHDAY

1st—Quinn Brennan

3rd—Martha Alberti

5th—Bob Satterfield

15th—Dick Grota

15th—Julie Keating

16th—Bonnie Balch

17th—Sandy King

20th—Cynthia Weis

28th—John Powell Jr.

OFFICERS AND BRIDGE

Commander

Bob DeNoto

920-493-0287

bobdenoto@gmail.com

Executive Officer

John Hermann,

920-743-1675

john.c.hermann@gmail.com

Educational Officer

Steve Rank

920-743-5469

captainrank@charter.net

Administrative Officer

Open Position

Secretary

Lou Pasquesi

920-854-2214

lou.pasquesi@gmail.com

Treasuser

Cynthia L. Weis

920-559-3011

weiscynthia@yahoo.com

Member at Large

Alan Wentworth

920-336-3274

AWentworth@aol.com

=============================================

Commander’s Department

Chaplain Karen DeNoto Flag Lieutenant Craig Weis Merit Marks Alan Wentworth,

Executive Department Public Relations Open VSC Officer Lou Pasquesi Safety Officer John Hermann Port Captain Open

Education Department Adv. Grade Courses Steve Rank Elective Courses John Welch ABC Representative Bob DeNoto & Boat Operator Certification

Administrative Department Membership Cynthia Weis Cruise Planning Terry Keating Meetings & Programs Michelle Anderson Member Involvement Dolores Hermann

Secretary’s Department Newsletter Dolores Hermann Webmaster Austin Hermann Facebook Manager Cynthia Weis

Treasurer’s Department

Ships Store Cynthia Weis