the american yacht club newsletter issue 10 · october 2015 the american yacht club newsletter...

FROM THE MASTHEAD BarryGluck, Commodore

October 2015 The American Yacht Club Newsletter Issue 10

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I am writing this Masthead on a wet and windy evening, andthe forecast is for more of the same over the next several

days. I’m not complaining, though—a little rain at the end ofthe month won’t dampen what was a beautiful September. Ihope you had the opportunity to get out on the water and enjoyit.

With the Red Pepper on the hard this season, I was so gratefulto Don and Jan Sestini for hosting Tammy and me on SwampFox as part of the “Share a Sail” day earlier this month. I alsohad the pleasure of getting to know fellow Swamp Foxcrewmates Thayer and Gina Phipps, who did a great joborganizing the event.

I found myself back on Swamp Fox the following weekend aswell, for the annual Chet Young Regatta, we had anotherbeautiful day of sailing, an energizing pre-race breakfast, and aterrific catered dinner. Steve Dewey and Mark Friend alsohosted a Pizza and Movie night in September, featuring the filmMorning Light, which tells the true story of a rookie crewcompeting in the Transpac Race. The ever-popular Apple Piecook-off and Chillifest was held on Wednesday evening,October 7.

While we will be winding down the season, we are not done yet.The Closing Day work party will be held on Saturday, October17. Please keep an eye out for the Constant Contact alerts forfurther details.

Also, please note that due to the Columbus Day holiday, ournext General Meeting will be on Monday, October 19 (the thirdMonday of the month, not on the usual second. This meetingwill be held in the clubhouse, even though it is after closing day.The October General Meeting is actually a very important one,as it also serves as our Annual Meeting in which members willvote on the slate of Officers presented by the NominatingCommittee. Please plan on attending and exercising your rightto vote.

If you are planning on storing your boat, mast, or any otherpersonal property at the club this fall and/or winter, please notethat there are new yard storage policies this year. ConstantContact alerts have been sent out with the details, and theannual invoices that just went out also have information aboutthe new policies.

Finally, we have set the date and location for our AnnualCelebration Saturday evening, November 21 at: Ashworth bythe Sea on Hampton Beach. Invitations will be mailed outshortly, and Constant Contact alerts with additional details arealso forthcoming.

Wishing you fair winds and following seas,

Barry K. Gluck, Commodore

Joyce Stoehr photo


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Chet Young RacePhotos by Joyce Stoehr

Fleet: Racing

Starting Time 13:25:00

Place Class 1 Yacht Club Skipper Type PHRF TCF Time Corr. Time

1 Kalani AYC White Sabre 38 114 0.98 14:56:52 1:29:56

2 Banzai AYC Brown J 37 75 1.04 14:54:14 1:32:48

3 Terrapin Station AYC Pratt Frers 30 135 0.95 15:03:44 1:33:41

4 Prime Time AYC Johnson E-27 222 0.84 15:17:41 1:34:53

5 Ayacucho AYC Stoehr Tartan 30 186 0.88 15:14:09 1:36:24

6 Squibnocket AYC Jacque J-80 114 0.98 15:08:39 1:41:28

Fleet: Cruising

Starting Time 13:35:00

Place Class 1 Yacht Club Skipper Type PHRF TCF Time Corr. Time

1 Swampfox AYC Sestini BI 40 186 0.88 15:22:25 1:34:52

2 Peregrine AYC Mertinooke S2 30 207 0.86 15:40:21 1:47:38

3 Classy Lady AYC Hewey 195 0.87 15:49:59 1:57:46

4 Kestrel AYC Colwell Cal 22 177 0.89 16:16:01 2:23:58


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…and DinnerPhotos by Homer Shannon and Joyce Stoehr


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Essex Back Beach - Labor Day WeekendA number of AYC members took the opportunity to visit Essex Bay and enjoy the beaches there over the long holiday weekend. TheCastle Neck River anchorage was crowded with boaters from all over the area but there were no incidences and everyone enjoyed afine time.

A Soaring SightSubmitted by Nancy Cornell

On a warm day in late September, I was gardening in thecourtyard when I noticed a large raptor soaring over the

river to the east. Fascinated with the beauty of a soaring bird, Iwatched as it came ever closer, circling and dropping lowerwith each turn. Once it was close enough, I could see that it wasa juvenile bald eagle.

It was low tide and it appeared as though the bird had spotted inthe mud something that looked tasty—probably a crab. On itslast pass, I thought it was coming in for a landing on the eastbulkhead, not twenty feet away, but at the last minute it dippeddown and perched on a rock below the porch.

I grabbed my phone camera and snapped a quick shot as thebird flew off and disappeared, empty handed, so to speak. Alas,I have a great picture of a rock and lots of mud, but no bird. Butin my mind’s eye, I can see it still, and it was thrilling to watchan eagle hunt for prey, so close and right at the AYC.

Annual AYC InvoicesBy AYC Collector, Homer Shannon

By the time this article is printed in the October Sailorgram,you will have received your AYC annual bill for dues,

mooring fees, and locker fees. You may notice that the due dateon your invoice is penciled in with the date of 11/1/2015.

Due to an unexplainable QuickBooks ‘glitch,’ the due date forthis year’s batch of invoices printed as 11/1/2015, 10/31/2015 or10/1/2015. In all cases, the invoice date is correct but somehowthe one-month due date did not carry forward correctly on allinvoices.

Invoice payments are due by 11/1/2015, or a late penalty of$25.00 will be assessed. As always, if there is an issue withyour invoice or unusual circumstances regarding payment ofyour invoice, you are welcome to contact me so that we canwork out a resolution. I can be reached [email protected].

mailto:[email protected]


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Having procrastinated until late July, choices for bareboatsail charters were quite limited this summer. I initially

intended to sail Maine, but availabilities directed me to two 30-foot boats at Narragansett Sail Charters in Barrington R.I.,brokered by Swift Yacht Charters in Sudbury.

I chose the Saber 30 over the Pearson 303. The charter was$1,850 plus a $150 "cleaning fee." This is more than I paid formy first boat in 1972, but$2,000 is about standard weeklyfare for 30-footers nowadays. Itook umbrage with the "cleaningfee" and I asserted I'd alwaysreturned boats cleaner than Ireceived them.

"Does this mean I should leavedirty dishes in the sink?” Iinquired.

Hope Swift replied, "Youshould seek out a differentcharter agency. It doesn't soundlike our policies work for you.”

Fortunately, Rob Lawnsby ofNarragansett Sail Charters also replied and suggested that Iconsider the cleaning fee as a "turn around" fee where the boatgets pumped out, fueled, watered, and detailed. OK, I thought.That’s easier on the ego.

In 1982, I sailed a Saber 30named Sabrina, a demo boat,from Falmouth Foreside, Maineback to Independence Wharf,Charleston, where the newowner lived aboard that winter.We were sailing in Decemberand got caught in a snow squall.I recall sweeping snow off theforedeck and jib. I sailed on thatSaber for two years and grewquite attached to the boat.

Many Sabers of that era hadproblems with the honeycomblayer in the deck absorbing water and becoming spongy. Evenso, Pretty Slick, the charter we got from Narragansett, had realcurb appeal--new Hood Vextron sails, a new beige canvas, darkgreen hull and solid decks.

We set out at 2:00 p.m. (as dictated contractually) and had 15kt. Northeasterlies for a fast run south to Conanicut Marine in

Jamestown, just past the 121' vertical clearance at NewportBridge. I had made a reservation for a $40 mooring. We hadtrouble distinguishing Conanicut's mooring area from the twomiles of boats moored in that area, the sun was low andreflecting on the water creating blinding glare. The youngfellow on the VHF gave directions like "head for the condos,"but under these conditions, they were indistinguishable from allthe buildings onshore to a first-timer.

Jamestown has numerousrestaurants and a good marinestore, where we bought thebinoculars we had forgot topack. We dined at Sympaticos,where staff and comestibleswere excellent and relativelyinexpensive, as were restaurantsthroughout the Rhode Islandand Connecticut ports wevisited.

That evening we found that wehad a short in the wiring for themain cabin. I texted Rob aboutthis and he insisted he'd send

down his best boat tech, Todd, in the morning. Todd didn't getto us until 11:00 a.m. but was done with the repair by 11:30.(The problem was a defective lamp.)

We sailed for Block Island, 25 miles upwind, with 15 knotwinds. Tacking until 4:00 p.m.,we were off Point Judith, stillabout 12 miles from ourobjective. Marsha was queasy. Ithought the seas were prettycomfortable, but I find thatfolks not on the helm succumbmore readily to la mal de mer.After three hours of motoringwith running lights on, wepulled into New Harbor, a.k.a.Salt Pond, where the "oldvillage" is located on the westside of the island.

Unable to find the orange moorings described in our guidebookwe grabbed a blue striped white mooring ball and set to diningal fresco in the cockpit with our lovely mahogany table toppropped on a single chrome post. Then to bed, as we’d had along day.

(Continued on page 6)

Chartering Southern New England (Part One)Submitted by Peter Flynn


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Tuesday, we had hours of torrential rain.I read the entire That Old Cape Magic, played with my Garminhandheld, flossed twice, showered on deck in the rain, looked atMarsha lovingly, and enjoyed watching a free-range, inflatablefloat pass by and proceed downwind the length of the pond.Once the weather cleared that evening, we went ashore to dineat Dead Eye Dick's (highly recommended by a local, but notreally anything special). I'll never forget Dick's though, becausea woman at a table near us dropped her wine glass and got glassin her eye.

In the bright, still morning, we busted out of New Harbor about8:00 a.m. andheaded for Mystic via Watch Hill. I never diddetermine exactly who owned the mooring we stayed on. I wasdisappointed that we had to drop Montauk from our float planbecause of the rainout.

We had a 5.5 knot sail on a SW toward the R.I. south beachesbut didn't make the Watch Hill passage. I decided to motorrather than tack south and away. Surprisingly, the motor didn't

want to start. I tacked and sailed another 10 minutes and wentthrough the routine again. The 18 hp Westerbeke diesel (atsome point replacing the original 13 hp Volvo) turned over, butagain no start. After four well-spaced attempts, it sputtered tolife.

Once behind Fisher Island we had a light, 10-knot Southwester.We planned meeting Rob at Mystic at 4:00 p.m., as he alreadyhad plans to pick up his grandkids, and we needed a pump forour inflatable. This time the engine started quickly, and wemotored up the winding but well-marked, gorgeous MysticRiver. Rob sent us to Brewer's Marine Mystic, where we had afree slip and discounts on other items. Brewer's Cove Haven,Barrington, from where we departed, is an associate and hasarrangements for limited reciprocity with Narragansett Charters.

After showers, we took our freshly inflated launch under theswinging Amtrak bridge to downtown Mystic, dining at theAncient Mariner. The food was good (and inexpensive), but notas good as David's or Glenn's, our local faves. Mystic Pizza isstill there, but I read the owner is doing time for tax evasion.

After a good (engine) start, we headed left at #6 towardStonington, Connecticut the back way, which takes you well inview of the beautiful shoreline, motoring in flat water at about 3knots for 1 1/2 hours to a Stonington Marine mooring. The costwas $40.

An hour after taking the mooring, as we were finishingsandwiches and salad, the engine alarm came on. The key wasoff, and the engine had been shut down for well nigh an hour. Iopened the engine compartment. It looked sooty and the fuelpump was clicking, sounding like a solenoid. I turned off thebattery and called Rob. He said he'd send Todd again.

At about 6:00 p.m. Rob himself showed up. Rob is 66 years oldand owns Narragansett Charters, the sailing school and abrokerage. Todd, it turned out, was in the hospital initiallydiagnosed with Lyme disease. On top of that, another chartererof Rob’s had brought in a 38-footer with the main sail jammedinto the mast where the charterer had winched it, bendingstanchions in the process.

Rob wriggled into the engine compartment of our boat throughthe starboard locker. First he found the exhaust manifold waspartially detached. Amazingly, he recovered a nut in the bilgeand tightened the three other nuts which were loose. Before hegot out, I assisted him in bleeding the fuel lines. Now the enginestarted easily.

While in the locker, Rob also installed a replacement gas tankfor the stove, the first of which had run out. As the sun set, hewas still trying to find, ultimately unsuccessfully, the short thathad caused the alarm to sound. He came out covered in greaseand soot. And the cockpit was equally disheveled.

Rob is incredible. He never swore, never seemed rattled; he justmoved from one problem to the next. Once he finished with us,he went back to Barrington and went up the mast on the 38-footer and worked on the jammed main until 2:00 a.m.

We planned that in the morning we would motor out and thenturn the batteries off while sailing. We didn't need the batteriesto operate the stove. After a hearty breakfast, we motored incalm for Watch Hill and, anticipating Southwesterlies, weprepared for a 23-mile sail to Narragansett Bay and onwards.

We were at R6, one mark short of Watch Hill, when the enginedied again. The voltmeter was flat. The engine would not start.A two-to-three knot tide was pushing us (Continued on page 10)

(Continued from page 5)

Chartering


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The AYC Executive Committee, in cooperation with theYard Committee Chair, has established the following policy

changes in order to more effectively manage the AYC yard thisfall and winter.

After the club is put to bed on Closing Day (Oct. 17th), theYard Committee will hold two Yard Storage Application &Space Assignment Days on:

Saturday, October 24th (9:00 AM to 1:00 p.m.)

Saturday, October 31st (9:00 AM to 1:00 p.m.)

All members who wish to store boats or any personal itemsincluding but not limited to dinghies, kayaks, canoes, masts,gear, etc., in the AYC yard after Closing Day (October 17th)must do the following:

You must attend one of the two "Yard Storage Application &Space Assignment Days" listed above. If for any reason youcannot attend, you must send a surrogate. No exceptions.

You must bring the following to the Yard Storage Applicationand Space Assignment Day:

• A completed AYC Yard application which can bedownloaded from the "Members" section of the AYCwebpage (www.americanyachtclub.org)

• A Check (or printout showing proof of electronic payment)for Yard Storage. Fee schedule and instructions are includedin the online Yard Storage Application.

A placard will be prepared by the Yard Committee on the dayyou attend, which you will then attach to your property.

The Yard Committee will then assign a specific location to you,which you will then move your boat or property to. The YardCommittee will assist if necessary.

Any boats or other personal property that is not accountedfor after the October 31st Assignment Day, will be removedfrom the AYC to an impound location. Any towing and/orstorage fees shall be at the owners expense.

For questions contact: Paul Morin Yard Committee Chairman,(978) 270-2204

New Fall & Winter AYC Yard Storage PolicySubmitted by Paul Morin

Photos by Homer Shannon

CLOSING DAYSATURDAY

OCTOBER 178:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.

All members are requested to attend. Manychores are necessary to close the buildingsand grounds for winter preparations.

Please bring tools, work gloves, rakes,clippers, wheelbarrows, etc., and lend ahand.

Coffee , pastries, and a fantastic lunch isalways provided for volunteers.


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Beware – Dead Storage!By Homer Shannon, AYC Collector

Late this summer, the AYC Executive Committee faced a serious problem: More than a half dozen members had boats in the yardthat were in violation of the summer-storage yard policies. The Executive Committee directed me, as collector for the club, to

invoice each of the offenders with a $300.00 dead-storage penalty.

When I went to create the invoices, I found a somewhat different story. Some boats had paid summer storage though they were notreally dry sailing boats; one boat had changed hands, so who, technically, was guilty? There were other factors. I took thisinformation to the Executive Committee, and after further review, all of the dead storage charges were dropped. However, this issuebrought a significant club problem into clear focus: Members do not understand the yard policies regarding summer storage and thedefinition of “Dead Storage”.

The rules regarding use of the yard are spelled out in “Section III” of the House Rules. Without delving into all of the rules, the keyrules regarding summer storage and dead storage are as follows:

• Winter Storage is for the period from November 1 to May 31. (There are important changes to the Fall/Winter Yard Storageprocedures this year. Please take note of the separate announcements regarding these new policies.)

• Summer Storage is for the period from June 1 to October 31.

• Summer Storage is for boats under 25 feet.

• Summer Storage is only allowed for boats that will be used throughout the summer—i.e. “Dry-Sailing”.

• Summer Storage boats MUST be launched and used at least once during the summer.

• Any boat in the yard, not registered for Summer Storage by July 1st is considered Dead Storage.

• All boats—including kayaks, canoes, dinghies, etc. and any other personal property (even masts)—require the submission of acompleted yard application and payment of the appropriate yard storage fee. NOTHING should be left in the yard without firstcompleting the yard storage application. There is a place on the form for any miscellaneous item, if it has been approved by the YardCommittee.

• Any unidentified item left in the yard is considered Dead Storage. So, put your name on everything!

• Dead Storage is penalized by a $300 fee.

With the upcoming changes to our property due to the Rails to Trails expansion, the AYC is going to lose a significant portion of itsyard. This is going to put more pressure on proper use of the space remaining. There simply is no room for boats, trailers, and otheritems that do not belong in the yard. It is the Executive Committee’s intention to enforce yard violations more strictly and beginassessing dead storage penalties. Beware! Follow the rules and avoid an unnecessary fee.

Late one foggy night two boaters collide head on while trying to navigate a narrow inlet channel. Both their boats were damaged,disabled, and slowly sinking.

As they each watched their boats slowly slip away beneath them, the first boater said, “You know, this is a sign that we should nevertake life for granted and that we should live it to the fullest.”

“You are right,” said the other boater as he opened a cooler and pulled out a bottle of bourbon whiskey. “Let's drink to living well forthe rest of our lives.”

The first boater took the bottle and, after a big swig, handed it back to the other boater who in turn quickly threw it into the river.

More than a little surprised the first boater exclaimed “You didn't take a drink!?”

“Naw,” said the other boater “I think I'll just wait for the Coast Guard to show up.”

In the DrinkSubmitted by Jim Grenier


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Super Moon - Super Low Tides!The “super moon” full moon and eclipse of September 27th featured really high and low tides. Dan Edson took these photos of theAYC docks 6:09a.m. on September 28th—good luck getting your dinghy off the dock! This was a minus 1.3 foot tide; the verylowest tide of the month was two tides later at 7:50p.m. on Tuesday, a minus 1.6 foot tide. The highest tides were the afternoon tidesof September 29 and 30: both were 10 feet.

Photos by Dan Edson


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Please send all digital* Sailorgram submissions [email protected]

Send all physical** Sailorgram submissions to:Homer Shannon, 15 Autumn St., Windham, NH 03087

Due date is the first of each month. Sailorgram will only be publishedwhen there is enough material to warrant it.

* Copy submissions must be in .txt, .rtf, or .doc format; image formatsmust be .jpg, .gif, or .tif

** All written matter must be typewritten; images can be photos,drawings, or other flat artwork. Artwork can only be returned if providedwith a self-addressed and stamped envelope.

American Yacht ClubP.O. Box 1360

Newburyport MA 01950Organized 1885, Incorporated 1890

Commodore Barry Gluck 603-382-8302

Vice Commodore Joe Puleo Jr. 603-876-4012

Rear Commodore Dan Pratt 978-388-3401

Secretary Joyce Stoehr 978-462-9083

Treasurer Len Johnson 978-388-0501

Collector Homer Shannon 603-880-4328

Measurer William Caron 603-437-3902

Membership Committee Tom Lochhaas 978-462-6311

Mooring Committee Don Sestini 978-682-1624

House Committee Dave Hewey 978-373-6038

Yard Committee Paul Morin 978-462-6533

Landscape Committee Nancy & Doug Cornell 978-474-4323

Regatta Committee Dan Pratt 978-388-3041

Entertainment /Activities Lon Sherman 978-388-3434

Sailorgram Jim Grenier 978-388-4445

Sailing School Jackie Morin 978-462-6533

Steward/Club House 978-465-9053

Online links to the American Yacht Club’s Constitution, Bylaws, House Rules, and member Directory are available online.To access these documents, go to http://americanyachtclub.org/private, enter the name “AYCmember” and the password“ayc2015xxxx (where “xxxx is this year’s gate code found on the back of your membership card).

backward toward R6. We quickly raisedthe main and, with minimal sternwise steerage, avoided beingpushed onto it.

We headed back to Stonington on puffs. I called StoningtonMarine on the VHF and apprised them of our situation. Theyoffered a mooring behind the breakwater far from the marina. I

(Continued from page 6)

requested our previous #31 mooring. I called Rob and informedhim we'd be abandoning ship.

Marsha expressed concerns about making the mooring undersail. The wind had come up by 11:00 a.m., but we made it onthe first approach.

Rob sent his C.F.O. Jim to pick us up and drive us back toBarrington. Rob worked out a compensation scheme whichrefunded roughly half of the fees. He was extremely apologeticand offered a free weekend charter in September.

Pretty Slick's owner had moved to California on business. PrettySlick was on the hard for a year and, knowing that isn't the bestthing for a boat, Rob made the difficult decision to put PrettySlick into charter. It seems that even a year out of the water hassignificant infrastructural consequences. Rob reports that the"engine harness plug" was corroded, accounting for theelectrical system and diesel engine failing simultaneously.

Despite the problems, we had a beautiful experience and havenothing but the highest regard for Rob, Jim, and Todd (whodidn’t have Lyme disease, but maybe pneumonia). NarragansettCharters is a classy operation with the finest kind of people.

Stay tuned for Part Two: Circumnavigation of NarragansettBay Labor Day Weekend.

Chartering




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the american yacht club newsletter issue 10 · october 2015 the american yacht club newsletter...

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