Eagle Harbor Yacht Club, Bainbridge Island, WA Visit our website at www.eagleharboryachtclub.com
March 2016
View From the Bridge…
Commodore’s Report
As I said at the Annual Meeting, it is a great honor to be serving as Commodore this year and to follow the super leaders that have preceded me. I hope to keep the Club on the even keel it has been on and to introduce a couple of new programs during the course of the year. One of those new programs will be a WOMEN’S BOATING BASICS course put on by member Maureen Baker. This class for women taught by women will help those members who wish to gain more confidence on the water with boat handling, navigating, rescue techniques as well as returning to docks or places of safety in the event that they are suddenly in charge of the boat. Further and more advanced courses might be available if desired. In addition, we are going to assemble a NAUTICAL BOOK GROUP within the Club for those who wish to exchange information on books related to boating or perhaps meet to discuss such books as The Boat Who Wouldn’t Float, Girl at Sea, The Boys on the Boat, The Curve of Time, Cruising in Seraffyn or any of the other great adventures or perhaps even practical books related to boating. If you are interested in facilitating such a group, please let me know by email.
In This Issue
View from the Bridge
Coming Events
2016 Cruise Plans
Welcome Aboard— New Members!
About Safety
Special Thanks
Membership Benefits
Coming Events March 18— 3rd Friday Wine Tasting April 15 — 3rd Friday Trivia May 13—15
Poulsbo Shakedown
We’ll continue our THIRD FRIDAYS in March and April and then again in the Fall. February was a relaxed dinner supplied by the Club on the 19th with you supplying the sides or desserts and your own beverages. March 18th is going to be a special boat wine-tasting evening as well as dinner of course, with details to follow. Just be sure to put these dates on your calendar.
EHYC Officers Commodore Allan Bogutz Vice Commodore Linnea McNair Rear Commodore
Yvonne and I now have our new boat, “Paloma,” and are looking forward to a great deal of time on board this summer and lots of time at the various cruises that are listed elsewhere in this newsletter.
Dave Kircher Past Commodore David McCaughey
-Allan Bogutz, Commodore
Secretary Laurie Isenman Treasurer
Vice Commodore’s Report Happy rainy season everyone. PLEASE remember to check your boats regularly as we slog through this season. I say this with the new experience of water on the cabin sole of my boat (some 4 1/2 inches above the bilge). It happened in under two weeks! Fortunately, I caught it and have ordered a new bilge pump which will be installed this week. Also ordered a handy little dehumidifier which will drain directly into my sink. Most importantly, I closed the hatch which I have used for years as a vent. My boat is oriented in a different direction now and my “vent” turned into a funnel for water to enter Fair Lady. This was a very messy, smelly, and frustrating situation BUT I caught it in time!!
Candy Kanter Director Brian Coggan Director Scott Isenman Director Doug Fernandes Quartermaster Billie Dunstan
Somewhat water-logged, Linnea McNair, Vice Commodore
Rear Commodore’s Report Denise grew up in Illinois and I grew up in Connecticut. I have loved boats since I was a little boy helping manage the ski tow rope on our friend's Chris Craft on Long Island Sound. My first boat was a day sailer, a Flying Junior. After that it was an outboard ski boat, then a Chaparral cuddy cabin, and then two outboard fishing boats. We bought our first cruising boat, an Albin 28 Tournament Express --Amazing Adventure-in 2010 after my second retirement. The main purpose for the Albin was to serve as the "mothership" for Denise's solo kayak adventure to Juneau, Alaska. As she made her way to Desolation Sound and beyond, we discovered how much we enjoy cruising and our friendships at Eagle Harbor Yacht Club. Although we have lived on Bainbridge Island for 10 years, we’ve felt much more a part of the Island after joining the Club. -Dave Kircher, Rear Commodore
EHYC CRUISE SCHEDULE 2016 May 13-15 Poulsbo Shakedown: Captains Scott and Patti Mohr Co-Captains: Jon & Kay Root Notes: Make reservations directly with Port of Poulsbo under EHYC June 17-19 Edmonds Art Fair: Captains: Candy and Jeff Kanter, Denise and Dave Kircher, and Linnea McNair Notes: Make reservations directly with Edmonds under EHYC July 8-10 Roche Harbor and points North: Captains: Allan and Yvonne Bogutz Co-Captains: Scott & Laurie Isenman Notes: Make reservations directly with Roche Harbor under EHYC Sept 9-11 Gig Harbor and points South: Captains: Ron & Lori Knoebel Co-Captains: Joe & Billie Dunstan Notes: Make reservations directly with Arabella’s Landing under EHYC Each of the Cruise Captains will send out flyers about their cruises well in advance. Keep these dates on your calendar and we hope to see you at one, two, or more of our 2016 cruises. Flash Cruises: Flash cruises are “unsanctioned” cruises with the club. An example might be Thursday night the Marlers decide to anchor in Manzanita Bay on Friday night. They would contact me with all the particulars (like where they will be anchoring, dates, times, etc) and I will send an e-mail to the club. No reservations needed - just show up if interested and have fun. As the Cruise Director, I will take responsibility for getting Flash Cruise info out to the club. Send the info to me and I will immediately forward it onto the entire club. Happy Cruising! Linnea
Club members welcome Herb and Willie Stark who just joined us in February. Herb & Willie own Willie’s Tug, a Ranger Tug 31 Sedan.
About SAFETY……...by Scott Isenman Flares – You can't live with them, and can't live without them, right ??!!?? Let me start out by saying that there’s nothing I like about flares - the reason we have them, the fact that they are dangerous, toxic, and expensive, plus the necessity of having to replace them frequently. Add that to knowing that you can't test them to know if they’ll work when you need them and what’s to like? A little personal story: When we bought Float Plane 3 years ago, it had every flare on board from when it was delivered new in 1993. I didn't want them around, so I checked on how to get rid of them. Short of soaking them in water and then putting them in the dumpster to pollute a landfill, the only way to get rid of them, because of the quantity, was to meet the bomb squad and transfer them!! I did this "just cuz" and other than having to meet at a prearranged time and place, it was a non-event, but it certainly illustrates that these things are a poor solution for the need. Shouldn’t technology be able to find a solution? Enter the "Electronic Flare"…. The Coast Guard has created a compliance standard for devices of this type. Currently there is a single very prominent one on the market: the Sirius Signal SOS Distress Light (https://siriussignal.com) This hand-held device with an LED strobe that flashes the SOS semaphore not only eliminates all of the negatives of the old-fashioned flare, but it adds some great additional features: It works for 6 hours on a set of 3 "C" batteries It is visible for up to 10 miles It is waterproof It floats upright to continue working while in the water It has a handle with a wrist strap The handle is designed to fit in a rod holder It is safe for anyone to use, even children It can be tested any time to ensure it is functioning It never needs replacement! And since it only meets the requirements for the nighttime visual distress signal, it comes with the international day flag for distress to meet daytime requirements. The list price for these is $99, but they were featured at numerous booths at the boat show for $89. I suspect that there will be even better prices coming in the near future. I picked one up recently and while effective, they are incredibly simple, so I can't imagine that their cost of manufacture is very great. But imagine that for the cost of 2 or 3 sets of flares, you can have this permanent solution and stop poisoning the environment! I’ll bring mine to upcoming events for those who may be interested and would like to try it out.
EHYC Member Benefits Hey, don’t forget that in addition to the companionship of a great group of people, EHYC members enjoy the following benefits:
Discount at Fisheries Supply...At the register tell them that you’re on the “Eagle harbor Yacht Club account”.
Discount at Doc’s Marina Grill….Present your membership card for a 10– 15% discount.
Purchase EHYC monogrammed goods through Lands End...See EHYC website for details.
Reciprocal Privileges at other yacht clubs...All EHYC reciprocals are listed on yachtdestinations.org
EHYC Boaters’ Exchange! More news on where to sign up and post items coming in next month’s newsletter.
Your ideas, photos and contributions are welcome!! Newsletter editor Lynn Heath can be reached at lynnheath51@gmail.com.