June  14-­‐16   Father’s  Day  Cruise  –  Longbranch  Marina  

July   Commodore’s  BBQ-­‐  details  to  follow  

August  24  &  25    

Maritime  Festival  at  Thea’s  Park  in  Tacoma  Any  interest?      

Labor  Day  weekend    

   Home  cruise  and  BBQ  at  Oro  Bay  Marina  and  float  decoration.    Details  to  follow.  

Power  Up  and  Sail  On.  

Commodore’s  Message      

Dear  Oro  Bay  Yacht  Club  Member,  

Boating  season  is  here.  It  is  incumbent  on  each  one  of  us  to  make  certain  our  vessels  are  ready  and  safe  for  the  season.  This  is  one  reason  why  we  offer  classes  to  our  members  and  all  Islanders.  When  we  go  out  boating  we  need  to  realize  our  number  one  concern  is  safety  to  those  in  our  boat,  those  boating  around  us  as  well  as  ourselves.  We  probably  don't  anticipate  anything  going  wrong,  but  when  an  incident  occurs  such  as  a  breakdown  or  an  accident,  it's  good  to  be  prepared  as  best  we  can.  Check  your  life  jackets,  fire  extinguishers,  flares,  horn,  radios,  fuel,  charts.  Have  back-­‐ups  for  things.  Let  someone  know  where  you  are  going  and  when  you  expect  to  return.  Check  your  boat  insurance  to  see  if  towing  is  covered  in  the  event  you  breakdown  and  have  to  be  towed.  This  happened  to  me  several  years  ago.  I  was  under  the  Narrows  Bridge  when  I  broke  down.  I  called  Vessel  Assist.  I  was  towed  back  to  Oro  Bay  Marina.  It  took  3  hours  and  it  was  a  calm  day.  The  bill  was  $540.00.  It  is  much  cheaper  to  make  certain  you  have  towing  on  your  boat  insurance  or  have  a  policy  with  Vessel  Assist.                                                                                                                              Continued  page  2…  

 

“This boat that we just built is just fine – And don’t try to tell us it’s not. The sides and the back are divine – It’s the bottom I guess we forgot.” -Shel Silverstein, Where the Sidewalk Ends

Please  remember  –  the  Reciprocal  Moorage  at  the  Oro  Bay  Marina  is  for  visiting  Yacht  Clubs  only.    NOT  for  OBYC  Members!  

Upcoming  cruise  dates  

 

 2  

Lorem  Ipsum  Dolor   Spring  2016  

 

Nautical Origins of Everyday Expressions from Salty Dog Talk, contributed by Sandy Wepfer Bitter End The name given to the innermost end of the anchor rope, so called because it was secured to a set of 'bitts' or large pillars of oak bolted and fixed upright to the deck. In controlled circumstances an anchor rope is allowed to run out a measured amount until the anchor hits the sea bed, whereupon it is checked. However, if the water is a lot deeper than expected or things go wrong, then the rope will keep running unto the bitter end. After that there is nothing left! Ride the Storm To survive by patience and fortitude, as a vessel rides a storm. Impossible to go forward or run before it the ship lowers or shortens her sail and rides the waves until the storm abates. A vessel also 'rides' to her anchor, although this may be because the old-fashioned word for anchor was roding, thought to derive from roadstead, the area where craft normally anchored. The expression let her ride originates from here and was part of an official order to discharge the crew at the end of the voyage and 'let the vessel ride'.  

 

 Commodore’s  message  Continued…  

If  your  boat  isn't  in  the  water  yet,  go  over  it  thoroughly.  Clean  it  up,  check  your  zincs,  bottom  paint,  batteries,  electronics,  fuel  filters,  lower  units,  and  have  everything  ready.  Start  it  up  and  let  it  run  for  a  while  to  make  certain  it  does  run.  Don't  wait  till  you  have  it  unloaded  off  the  trailer  in  the  water  to  see  if  it  will  start.  Another  good  idea  is  have  a  kicker  motor  or  backup  of  some  kind.  

Check  your  trailer.  Grease  those  wheel  bearings,  check  the  brakes,  and  tire  pressure.      Many  times  our  boats  sit  all  fall  and  winter  outside  with  little  protection.  We  wash  them  off  and  dump  them  in  the  water  right  at  the  beginning  of  boating  season  and  expect  them  to  run  perfectly.  If  they  don't  we  can't  figure  out  what's  wrong.    

I  think  of  an  airplane  and  the  checklist  a  pilot  has  before  he/she  take  off.  Once  you're  airborne  it's  not  a  good  time  to  have  something  unexpected  happen.  Think  of  your  boat  the  same  way.  Even  when  we  do  everything  there  may  still  be  something  that  can  go  wrong.  Make  that  a  very  unlikely  possibility  because  of  your  attentiveness  to  boating  safety  and  details.  

We'll  be  having  our  next  class  on  proper  use  of  the  VHF  radio.  

Have  a  great  boating  season!  

Joe  Howells  

Newsletter  content  or  ideas?  It  is  the  goal  of  OBYC  to  have  a  newsletter  that  the  membership  will  find  useful.    If  you  have  ideas,  articles  or  photos  you  would  like  

to  share  –  please  contact:    

Sunny  Pepin  –  sunny@sunnyandsmiley.com  

Or  253-­‐884-­‐4016