conveniently located at: 37˚ 46’ 47.5” north - 122 ... 2013.pdf · wavelength official...

W A V E L E N G T HOFFICIAL NEWSLETTER OF THE SOUTH BEACH YACHT CLUB VOLUME XXI ISSUE 32 MARCH 2013

CONVENIENTLY LOCATED AT: 37˚ 46 ’ 47 .5” NORTH - 122˚ 23 ’ 16 .2 ” WEST

v i v e t e l e n t e , n a v i g a t e c e l e r i t e r

PHOTO: © LEONARD GREENWALD

SOUTH BEACH YACHT CLUB

T H E S F B A Y A R E N A

WAVELENGTH MARCH 2013

C O M M O D O R E ’ S R E P O R T

Next month we hit the 25th anniversary of the first organizing meeting for SBYC.

Today our club is as large, vibrant, and financially successful a place as our founders could have hoped for. I hope you will vote to approve the operating and capital budgets that our treasurer and staff commo-dore Pete Hamm sent you a couple weeks ago. We have gone too long purchas-ing old boats for our water pro-grams. Our water programs aren’t just racing, but also cruising, youth sailing, and special events such as the America’s Cup and activities such as our 8 Bells flotilla. You helped us raise and set aside a good chunk of funds last year to change this situation, on top of a very strong financial performance brought in by the dues increase, America’s Cup events, and great club management. We also want to keep setting aside funds for key things such as the Access Dock in front of the clubhouse (aka Racer’s Ledge). That’s important to deal with our long-term concerns about storage on Pier 40 and its inaccessibility, as well as to improve staging of water activities for all of us, particularly sailors with disabilities or limited mobility.

I hope you are as proud as I, of what our officers, committees, and membership have accomplished toward our strong 2012 financial results and an even stronger 2013 anniversary year that’s planned. Your vote authorizes us to move ahead with purchases and savings this year. Please take a moment to vote at the member meeting or via the absentee ballot emailed or mailed to you. I also ask you all to extend a very special welcome to our new club steward Curtis Lew. We all owe a debt of thanks to vice commodore Bill Adams, secretary Janelle Van Rensselaer, and head officer Hugh Coppen for concerted and suc-cessful teamwork to recruit Curtis.

There was close competition for the position, and we have great expecta-tions for Curtis. Beyond that, enjoy all the great events we’ve got lined up on the water and off. It’s going to be a great year!

R A Y H A L L

P A U L O L I V A

It’s no surprise that folks think that S.F. stands for America’s Sports Focus. Are we ever! Who would of thunk back in Novem-

ber ’86 that this brand new marina in the sleepy backwater of San Francis-co Bay would turn out to be a front row seat to the sports center of our fair city? Seven hundred empty berths and 700 seagulls greeted us as we tied up in berth F-43 on that sunny day. The fishing pier had no hand railings and was off limits to all… except me, and you’ll find the pictures I took in the SBYC history scrapbook. There was no grassy berm, no row of trees along the parking lot and no restrooms – thus necessitating a three block ride to the nearest gas station facilities.

Where the ball park free viewing area is located now there was a Muni bus unit repair facility and other obscure operations going on in a two story building. The 135 year old wooden sailing ship restaurant Dolph Rempp sat with its rump on the ramp. The word on the street was that the termites hold-ing hands was the only thing that kept it from falling apart. Harbor Master Carter Strauch, rest his soul, welcomed us with open arms as he gazed out over the harbor full of empty berths located in the bad part of town. What to do? What to do? Then he had an epiphany “When in doubt, FORM A YACHT CLUB.”. Yacht Club? Oh yes, yacht clubs attract all sorts of BBQ’s, races, cruise ins’, cruise outs’ and people milling around doing whatever it is Yachties do. In this way other boaters

will be introduced to our swell facilities – concrete docks, water, electricity and dock boxes – compared to their splintering wooden, tee-ter-totter docks back at their harbor. It worked, and how. If Carter could only see us now. This is where the action is. It worked slowly at first, and yes, it took the 1989 earthquake to knock down the Embarcadero freeway, and nice things started to happen in the ‘hood. I like to think that we were one of those nice things. Because of our alliance with BAADS, our youth sailing program, the use of our facilities as a voting station, we truly earned the loges seats in the San Francscio Bay Arena. The only thing we have left to accomplish is for the San Francisco Giants, the Niners and the Warriors go to the World Series, the Super Bowl, and the NBA Championships and host the America’s Cup races and Dancing Bear to win the Jazz Cup all in the same year.

Ray Hall – Dancing BearPaul V. Oliva,

Catalina 310 Time & Tide


March finds us with a new-ly hired Club Steward, Curtis Lew, who comes to our Club with an

excellent resume of experience work-ing with private clubs in the Bay Area in a variety of positions with manage-ment responsibility. Most recently he has been Club Supervisor at the Pacific Union Club in San Francisco.

His normal working hours will be Wednesday through Sunday 10am-6pm, supporting our Flag Officers, handling the administrative duties of the Club and communications with members. Please join me in welcom-ing Curtis to our Club.

Our Calendar for the month is filling with great events, beginning with the Bay Bridge lighting ceremony. For those who would like to raise a glass to the spectacular lighting of the Western span of the Bay Bridge on March 5th, the Club will be open for dinner during the ceremony The March members meeting will be Friday March 8th. You must make a reservation for dinner! There will be limited seating for dinner which will be offered to the first 106 mem-bers and guests who register. The meal is free to members and $10 for non-members and guests.

St. Patrick’s Day will be celebrated on Saturday evening the 16th. Gerard Sheridan will host this party with tales of Irish folklore, a wonderful Celtic Band and the traditional Irish Corned Beef and Cabbage Feast. The evening will be $40 if you register before March 10th and $50 thereaf-ter. A pub breakfast will be offered on Sunday morning the 17th. This month’s Wine Pairing and Sharing will be on the 28th and will feature California Pinot Noir and a lovely Lamb Dinner, prepared by Debra Phairas. Our Easter Brunch will be on the Sunday the 31st. Expect sparkling Mimosas and Eggs Benedict! We are planning for an outstand-ing Opening Day party, including a Napa Valley Vintners wine tasting and the PICYA members as guests the evening of April 28th. We are looking for members to participate in event planning. If you have interest in developing your planning skills, you will enjoy the camaraderie of the event committees. Contact Lynda Maybruck to discuss your special skills and interests and find an opportunity to contribute.

V I C E C O M M O D O R E ’ S R E P O R T

B I L L A D A M S


S P L I C E T H E M A I N B R A C E

O ur South BeachYacht Club has the greatest group of volunteer bartenders – aka our

Officers of the Day! We appreciate everything they do every single day we are open. Once a year, however, we get to hold our OOD Appreciation Day to celebrate them, and to thank them for serving the club so well throughout the year. It was only when I was shown a ‘Wavelength’ from October 1994, when I was HOOD for the first time, that I realized that was the year that we held the very first OOD Appreciation Day!

On Saturday February 23rd, we held the 2013 OOD Appreciation Day – and as always it was a well attended and very happy gathering of about 45. We invited seasoned ‘pros’ like Steve Severaid, Nicole Miller and Bill Adams to demonstrate how to make some of the drinks OODs often get asked to serve, including Mojitos, Margaritas, Cosmos, Manhattans, Bloody Marys and Dark & Stormys.

There were then a number of wines to be tasted before the OODs sat down to a great lunch prepared by Chef John and served to the tables by Vice Commodore Bill Adams, Secre-tary Janelle van Rensselaer and the HOOD. Caesar salad was followed by a choice of prime rib or a wonder-ful cioppino and then dessert. That’s when the fun really began – the now infamous Cocktail Contest! Each table was challenged to produce a cocktail for the judges using only the weird assortment of liquors put out on the bar (e.g. Peanut Butter & Jelly flavored Vodka!) donated by our distributors. The judges (the last three Vice Commodores, Tim Weir, Steve Severaid and Bill Adams) took more time soliciting bribes and favors from the highly competitive teams than ac-tually tasting the concoctions, which was too bad because there were some very tasty presentations!

The winner, in a close vote, was “South Beach Breeze” whose creativity for their cocktail exceeded that for their team name “Table 2”.Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, the cocktail will never appear on our menu because other OODs subse-quently consumed all that was left of the weird liquors it was made from! All in all, the day was a great way to say thank you to our amazing OODs! Splice the mainbrace, y’all!

H U G H C O P P E N

Photo: © Tommy Bonbon


R E A R C O M M O D O R E R E P O R TM I L T S M I T H

Getting Ready: We are lucky to live where we can use our boats year-round; how-

ever early Spring is still the most likely opportunity to get our worthy craft ready for the season ahead so here are a few reminders.

• Of course the topsides, deck, hull, sail cover, bilges hatches, windows and interi-or are already clean.

• Scratches repaired, zincs good, rudder good.

• Pulpits, lifelines and chainplates perfect.• Fenders, ground tackle, cleats and win-

dows done.• Seacocks lubricated, thruhulls sound and

hoses double clamped.• Scuppers clean and draining.• All electrics and electronics at full capacity,

no shorts.• - Safety gear ready, check the coast guard

list, CO2 cartridge replaced.• New oil, belt tension correct, impeller

clean, fluids good, blowers fine. • Smooth operating head with all the right

connections. • Clean potable water, safe propane, fresh

fridge, clean shower drains. • Remember the ultimate goal is to keep the

water out and the people in. All finished! Congrats; time to enjoy a favorite libation with a favored boating buddy.

RACINGIsland Fever’s finale and awards ceremony is March 16, then longer evenings, fresh breezes, and daylight savings are all signs that SBYC’s Friday Night Series is not far away.

Practice begins April 19 race and # 1 April 26. We have a BOLO (be on the lookout) for additional race commit-tee members, if interested be sure to sign up and attend our Race Com-mittee Cocktail Party on March 11.

CRUISE-OUTCo-Chairs Kathleen Dunn & Diane Thompson Despite a busy AC34 season we are planning an ambitious and exciting Cruise Out schedule. Bill Adams is hosting a fabulous cruise out to the St. Francis Yacht Club April 5-7. This is an elegant event for 8 -10 boats In addition, the St. Francis Yacht Club has graciously invited all SBYC members to enjoy the facility for the weekend. Friday night’s dinner is a seafood buffet and Saturday is a prix fixe three-course dinner. Plus a potluck Sunday brunch dockside.

Barrie and Karen Wheeler are hosting the Corinthian YC May 11-12. We will Cruise In on Saturday. Kathleen Dunn will host a June cruise out to Alameda’s Ballena Bay. We will join them for Happy Hour followed by dinner and then a Motown event with a live band. Be prepared to boogie the night away. Roger Ladwig has agreed to repeat the Treasure Island cruise out July 26-28. We had a great time with bar-beques, flea market shopping, vodka tastings, Segway and Coast Guard tours. This year will be just as mem-orable. If you don’t Cruise In, join us by car on Treasure Island for the fun festivities! Belvedere, Alameda, South Bay and Half Moon Bay are in development as well! Come join us for an exciting 2013 Cruise Out season!

Pictures provided by Club Photographer Michael Drew


M E M B E R S G A L L E R YAll Hands on Deck Volunteering is the cornerstone of our club. All of our members are terrific and rarely say “no” when solicited to help. And for that we are so very grateful. We’d love to see more members “looking” for things to do for the club. For example: do you like cruise-outs? Offer to host one. Do you like to party? Offer to host a party/event…talk to VC Bill Adams. Do you like to be on the water but don’t want to race? Ask RC Milt Smith about Race Committee. Would you like to be a Club host (sometimes Bouncer) for an evening? Talk to me about being a Floor Cap-tain. You can always email me at [email protected] and I’ll direct you to the right person.

With all of that said, we frequently have “exceptional” volunteers. These would be members who go over and above the call of duty to support and develop activities at SBYC. At the February Members Meeting it was my honor to join our Commodore, Paul Oliva, in presenting Volunteer pins and recognizing two outstanding members:

Catherine (Cat) Reining has been a member less than six months and has never said no to a request for help. She has done everything from jump-ing into an auction meeting on her first day in the club, and thus holding several major roles on the auction, to cleaning and putting the club back

together after painting and floor re-fin-ishing. Of particular mention is her en-thusiasm for supporting the club. In most instances, she has not waited to be asked to help. She takes the initiative and ASKS what she can do to help. Cat epitomizes a SBYC member. Thank you Cat!

Patti Mangan had hardly signed her SBYC application six months ago, before we were asking for her design talents. She immediately started working on beautiful America’s Cup Club invitations, refining club logos, and consulting on a variety

of on-going projects. But, her most outstanding contribution so far is her re-design as the new editor, of WaveLength. You have to admit our Club-newsletter is gorgeous! Thank you Patti for raising the bar at SBYC.

L Y N D A M A Y B R U C K


E X C L U S I V E E V E N T S

BAY LIGHTS: an iconic light sculpture designed by international-ly renowned artist Leo Villareal. This stunning fine arts experience will live for two years on the San Francisco Bay Bridge West Span, starting with the Grand Lighting on March 5.

The Bay Lights is the world’s largest light sculpture, 1.8 miles wide and 500 feet high. Using 25,000 white individually programmed LED lights, Leo has created complex algorithms and patterns in a dazzling display across the bridge’s west span. Club members have enjoyed seeing the random illuminations dancing during installation. Dinner at the Club!

EASTER SUNDAY BRUNCH3/31 from 11:00 am to 3 pm

WINE PAIRING & SHARING3/28 from 6:00 to 8 pmBring a Pinot Noir from California, France, or Australia to pair with lamb! Register now!

ST. PATRICKS DAY WEEKEND LONG CELEBRATION

St. Patrick’s Day will be celebrated on Saturday evening the 16th. Gerard Sheridan will host with tales of Irish folklore, a wonder-ful Irish/Celtic Band callled Celtic Sands and a traditional Feast of Irish Corned Beef and Cabbage. Register now for $40 before

March 10th, $50 thereafter. A traditioal pub breakfast will be offered on Sunday morning the 17th - register for that as well. Brilliant!

The 25th Anniversary Committee has announced “Lasting Legacy” of camaraderie in the club. We all enjoy the Club’s friendly and casual atmosphere. The great people who make up the membership are what make the club really special. Some-times we hang out with the people we already know and there are many people we haven’t yet had a chance to get to know. The goal of the Lasting

Legacy Project is to create lasting friend-ships and a sustainable future for our club.

Take these 5 simple steps: 1. If you are a member with a badge number less than 1800, meet a mem-ber with a badge number over 1800. And vice-versa! This will be your South Beach Buddy. 2. Sign-up for the Lasting Legacy project on the form posted on the club bulletin board or by sending an email to [email protected]. Write down the activity you wish to do together with your buddy. You only have to do one thing on one day, unless you want to get together more often.4. Document your 2013 activity with a digital photo. 5. Submit the photo to the club web-site or Facebook page with a caption that includes the words “Lasting Legacy”.

At the end of the year, everyone who completes the Lasting Legacy project will receive a special recognition. Here are some examples of things people have already signed up to do: • organize a cruise-out together, and go racing together. • volunteer on Race Committee for at least one race• assist with BAAD’s All-Access Re-gatta in September- RC, safety boat drivers, dockside, in-club, sandwich prep, OOD’s, floor captains, etc. • help to organize special 25th Anni-versary toast at the member’s meet-ing in early May.• assist with the May/June 25th An-niversary Event talk to Eugene Hu.• assist with 25th Anniversary Progressive Boat Party Brunch on June 9th (talk to me). • Opening Day on the Bay— decorate Anabel for the parade.• a variety of help with the club• Solicit items for the Auction Event to be scheduled for early October. • help with the collections of photos, web, video, audio & graphics relating to the history of the club.• Hosting/assisting with a party or event, such as St. Patrick’s Day, Opening Day on the Bay, Mothers Day, 4th of July, Summer “beach” party, Jazz Cup party, Halloween party, Crab Dinner, Gift Exchange, Lighted Boat Parade, Officer In-stallation/Winter Ball, etc. (This

can include planning/buying food, cooking or serving food on day of event, promoting event and getting sign-ups, organizing the music/en-tertainment, decorating/set-up, and clean-up. You don’t have to do all of it—just whatever you feel capable doing) These events will have committees, under the supervision of the Vice Commodore Bill Adams..• Facilities maintenance• Race, Membership, Finance or Junior Sailing—join and show up for as many meetings as you can. • Floor Captains for an event or Members Meeting.• Assist Treasurer with monthly billings.• Children’s events—Easter Egg hunt, Pumpkin Carving, Holiday cookie decorating, etc.• Helping with many different America’s Cup-related activities. (Hosting guests in the clubhouse as well as other organizational support.)• Anything that you wish to suggest.


L A S T I N G L E G A C I E SL O R I A N N A K A S T R O P

http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Bay-Lights-to-shine-at-Tuesday-kick-off-4325233.php

RC COCKTAIL PARTY 3/11 from 6:30 to 8 pm


R E D B U L L Y O U T H A CBAY LIGHTS: an iconic light sculpture designed by international-ly renowned artist Leo Villareal. This stunning fine arts experience will live for two years on the San Francisco Bay Bridge West Span, starting with the Grand Lighting on March 5.

The Bay Lights is the world’s largest light sculpture, 1.8 miles wide and 500 feet high. Using 25,000 white individually programmed LED lights, Leo has created complex algorithms and patterns in a dazzling display across the bridge’s west span. Club members have enjoyed seeing the random illuminations dancing during installation.

The Red Bull Youth America’s Cup is scheduled Sept. 1-4 as one of the three attractions in the Summer of Racing. Five of the best youth sailing teams in the world have qualified for the Red Bull Youth America’s Cup following a grueling two-week Selection Series. The 12 crews, from 11 countries, were pushed to the lim-it as they fought for the right to compete in September’s races. National crews from Australia, Germa-ny, New Zealand, Portugal and Switzer-land, made the cut to advance where they will meet five crews supported by current America’s Cup teams. Double Olympic Gold medalists Roman Hagara and Hans-Peter Steinacher, the Sports Directors for the Red Bull Youth America’s Cup, made the selections after closely monitoring the teams on and off the water during the two back-to-back selection weeks. With the high talent level and extreme motivation of the crews, there were hard choices to make. “This has been very difficult,” Hagara said. “The level of each team is much high-er than we could have hoped for, which is good. But only five of them are able to race with us in September so today’s decision wasn’t easy to make.” Race results made up 60-percent of the selection criteria. Teams were also evaluat-ed on professionalism on and off the water, as well as on the training programs they have set up to develop their skills further between now and September. “We always said we were looking for the best of the best,” said Steinacher. “And that’s what we have now. I believe any of these five teams will be capable of winning in September.”

SBYC was home for these young athletes after a grueling day on the Bay. Chef ’s own barbeque beef ribs, chicken breasts and spicy sausage with baked beans soothed the hunger pangs! Kevin Wilkinson warmly welcomed the teams anytime during the next five months of training.

A lot has happened since our last report. It is a new year and your BOD wants to bring all of you up to date as of February 2nd, 20131. Port Staff and Advocates for SBH Reach Agreement - After many public meetings with stake holders and private negotiations among Peter Dailey, Director of Maritimefor the Port and Directors (BOD) of the Advocates for SBH, a 17 point agreement was reached. A vote of the membership authorized the BOD to attempt to finalize this agreement. The vote was Yes - 54, No - 7. The content of this agreement isavailable at http://www.advocates-forsbh.org on the Home Page.2. Port Staff/Advocates Agreement Not Submitted to Port Commission For Approval - It was expected that the first phase of increased berthing rates would be implemented at the beginning of 2013 after submission to the Port Commission forapproval. However the points of agreement were not submitted by Port Staff to the Commission, as expected. The reason for this is ex-plained on the next segment ofthis report. At a meeting with Ad-vocates on 01/17/2013, Peter Dailey explained that the Port Commission indeed may never vote to approve this plan.3. CCSF Response to AB 1484 Cre-ates New Bureaucracy as Successor to SFRDA - On 6/27/12, AB 1484 was signed into law by Governor Brown. This law established changes to AB 26 which dissolved Rede-

velopment Agencies state-wide. To implement the requirements of this law, the City of SF created a Suc-cessor Agency to the SF RDA. The Successor Agency is named the Of-fice of Community Investment and Infrastructure. The OCII consists of two bodies: 1) Oversight Board and 2) Commission on Community Investment and Infrastructure. These two bodies will apparently have approval authority over what hap-pens with former RDA assets such as South Beach Harbor. A confer-ence call has been scheduled among Barry Hanson, Secretary for Advo-cates and Port Staff members Elaine Forbes and Peter Dailey to discuss what is now known about how the Port will work with the Successor Agency. The Port of S.F. remains the CCSF agency responsible for day to day operations of SBH. As it stands now, the Port has already begun to implement some of the points (such as new parking pass rules and wait list fees). Port Staff has advised us to continue to work with them for any matters that we believe need to be addressed. Advocates are referred to the RDA web site for more details on the Successor Agency: http://www.sfredevelopment.org.4. Port Staff and Advocates Meet On Scheduled Basis - As part of the 17 point agreement, Port Staff agreed to meet with Advocates on a regular scheduled basis. Two of these meet-

ings have been held, the most recent being on 1/17/13 as mentioned. These meetings should be helpful to keep your Advocates BOD (any any Advocates who wish to attend) current and provide a forum to raise face-to-face with Port Staff any issues of concern to berth-holders.5. Advocates Launch New Web Site - Many thanks to Bill Adams and member Gregory Sheridan for their efforts to establish and launch our own Site: http://www.advocates-forsbh.org All members who are on our email notification list have been established as registered members of the web site. This website will replace Facebook group for any questions,comments or discussions that members wish to launch. Some of these features are still in the process of being fleshed out so please have a little patience.6. Parking Stake-Holders Meet In Effort to Reach Consensus - The Port has agreed to defer implemen-tation of their plans to meter half of the Pier 40 Apron parking. Many thanks to John Mastory for organiz-ing stake-holders and scheduling a series of meetings to discuss and hopefully come to a consensus on how to best accommodate park-ing needs of berth holders, SBYC members and guests, racing crews, commercial operators, BAADS, Junior Sailing, etc.


H A R B O R A D V O C A T E SB A R R Y H A N S O N

The Bay Area Association of Disabled Sailors (BAADS) hosted a friendly regatta with Oracle Team USA sailors Brian “Puck” MacInnes and Sam Newton on Saturday, January 26 in McCovey Cove to raise awareness of sailing as an inclusive sport. Colorful Access Liberty and Access 303 boats lined the dock at Pier 40 ready to set sail, while dozens of the organization’s members and volunteers gathered in and around the area buzzing with excitement and last minute to-dos before the arrival of their special guests.

“We are honored and thrilled to welcome Brian MacInnes and Sam Newton from Oracle Team USA, the hometown team defending the 34th America’s Cup, to our humble club to sail with us on our Access Class sailboats…It is exciting, fun, and educational sailing, and we are thrilled that [they] are able to enjoy a day on the Bay with our members and volunteers.” said Fernanda Castelo, BAADS member and event coordi-nator along with fellow member, Carwile Leroy. A Skippers Meeting commenced at 11am on the dock with an introduction and welcome to MacInnes, Newton, and his guest, Elizabeth Marsh, who also par-ticipated in the regatta, which incorporated US Sailing race policies.

Race Chair and BAADS volunteer, Rommel Barrientos, along with South Beach Yacht Club (SBYC) members were the race committee. The sailors docked off at noon, followed by spectator and chase boats. Nine Access Liberty and six Access 303 boats raced in McCovey Cove. MacInnes sailed with BAADS member Margreta von Pein in a 303, while Sam took

a Liberty, and Marsh rode on a 303 with BAADS member Kevin Siemens. The race began with 15 kn. of wind, which increased to 20 kn. by Race 2 and up to 25 kn. by Race 3. The increase in wind made it a rocky and wet sail. Some mem-bers returned to the dock because of the

difficulty in maneuvering their boats. Despite the windy and wet conditions, they returned in a jovial mood. MacInnes joined BAADS members and volunteers at SBYC after the regatta for a Q&A.

Maria Papadopoulous-Moustakis, owner of The Java House Restaurant at Pier 40 and friend of BAADS, said of the regatta, “I thought it was just what we needed. It was inspiring for BAADS and for the rest of us. It was nice to see Oracle Team come down and show that they are also a part of our community…We loved seeing everyone so excited and happy.” With its home at South Beach Yacht Club, BAADS is a 501(c) 3 organization that seeks to make all aspects of sailing accessible. It provides sailing and race programs on keelboats and small boats to people with all types of disabilities. The 100+ members, all ranging from novice to experts, sail with a crew or by themselves on boats rigged with adaptive features to aid in sailing. Most of the members are accomplished sailors who have participated and placed in both national and inter-national regattas.

M A R G R E T A V O N P E I N


B A A D S W R A P U P

Skippering with Oracle Crew. Well, that lead’s a brag. Here are the facts. By the luck of the draw I got

Brian “Puck”MacInnes, aft grinder on America’s Cup team, to sail a 303 with me in the Awareness Regatta on Saturday, January 26. Imagine one of the best sailors in the world in a dink--with me, a sailor of barely three years of experience. Full disclosure, in the 2011 Herb Meyer Regatta I, with Jeff Breen crew, did come in second over four races with six 303s. The boat assignments pub-lished a couple of days before the regatta listed six names including mine assigned to six 303’s and two more 303’s assigned to Oracle crew + BAADS. I thought, we only have six 303’s so why not volunteer to be one of the + BAADS? I like to sail solo but sailing with one of the world’s best can’t be beat. I volunteered.

The plan evolved Saturday at the skipper’s meeting on the dinghy dock. The 303 sailors’ names went into the hat and the two names drawn got to sail with either Brian MacInnes or Elizabeth Marsh. Being a lightweight and having sailed with guys twice my weight, I suggested crews of fairly equal weights made for easier sailing. By the luck of the draw, I got paired with a guy twice my weight.

And what great luck that was! After two practice turns around the course, we’d devised hand signals for tack, jibe, come up and ease off. I was the skipper at the helm and Brian, tactician, had the sails. We were on water close to the rough-est I’ve experienced in the Cove in strong, mostly steady winds. Solo, I’d reef which we did on a practice. For the races, we decided reefing left us at a disadvantage at the west end of the course where the wind

slacked off. We shipped a lot of water and won both races. I owed him one for the water. You see, before we cast off Brian said. “Tell me a little about this boat.” I didn’t know what to say but mentioned that it wouldn’t tip over but it can ship a lot of water. ”We have a bucket?” he asked and I assured him there’s always a bucket in the boat. Come to look, I found the paddle but no bailer. I was already in the boat and I didn’t want to get out and go round to the dinghy dock to get a bailer... for that I owed him one. I owe Brian plenty for the experi-ence of sailing with him. Better than winning was what I learned. In close quarters in tight maneu-vers, we necessarily bumped against

each other. This guy is solid I said to myself. When as we sped upwind on a starboard tack, Brian adjusting the sails to my heading and signaling me

minute course adjustments, I said to myself, this guy is solid. He was so precise, I could feel the slightest wind change before I saw it in the jib. When solo, I was always too busy to concentrate on subtleties of wind and boat movement. In these two races with just one job, I could con-centrate on those tell tails and make the narrowest of heading changes to keep us trim. It was intense. Those two races constitute the most advanced sailing I have done. It was also a pleasure to gain this experience with such a solid crew.

© 2013 HELEN HOKE

A W A R E N E S S R E G A T T A


C H R I S T I N A K H O

© 2013 HELEN HOKE

— “It’s exciting, educational and fun sailing, and we are thrilled...”


Commodore Paul Oliva 415-235-5185 [email protected] Commodore Bill Adams 415-425-5099 [email protected] Rear Commodore Milt Smith 925-285-2897 [email protected] Janelle Van Rensselaer 650-303-8236 [email protected] Pete Hamm 650-854-1887 [email protected] Membership Chair Jack McDermott 415-314-4218 [email protected] Hugh Coppen 415-644-5774 [email protected] Captain Barrie Wheeler 707-938-9442 [email protected] Sailing Kevin Wilkinson 650-333-7873 [email protected] Out Directors Kathleen Dunn 925 -947 2325 [email protected] Diane Thompson 925-765 8805 Chairman Owen Bramlett 650-341-9962 [email protected] Editor Patti Mangan 415-272-2053 [email protected] Masters Marilyn/Brian Smith 415-225-4850 [email protected] Commodore Cristina Rubke 415 533 0276 [email protected] Beach Yacht Club Curtis Lew 415-495-2295 [email protected] Harbor Master Jim Walter 415-495-4911 www.southbeachharbor.com

SOUTH BEACH YACHT CLUB FLAG OFFICERS AND OFFICIALS

Monday March 4 Noral ORC 1830 - 2030 Tuesday March 5 Bay Bridge Grand Lighting Ceremony 2000 - 2100Thurs/Sunday March 7~10 10th Annual SF International Ocean Film FestivalFriday March 8 Members Meeting 1800 - 2200Saturday March 9 Sea Scavenger Shoreline Cleanup 1000 - 1200Sat/Sunday March 9/10 Big Daddy Regatta, a Bay Area classic. RYC Sunday March 10 Sunday Streets / Embarcadero 1100 - 1600Monday March 11 Race Committee Recruitment Cocktail Party 1830 - 2030Saturday March 16 Island Fever Race #5 & Awards 1200 - 1500Saturday March 16 Book Club ~ Mortality by Christopher Hitchens 1500 - 1700Saturday March 16 St. Patricks Day Party 1800 - 2300Sun/Mon/Tuesday March 17~19 World Baseball Classic AT&T Park 1700 - 1900Sat/Sunday March 23/24 Richmond Yacht Club Cruise In 0800 - 1700Thursday March 28 Wine Pairing & Sharing 1700 - 1900Sunday March 31 Easter Sunday Brunch 1100 - 1400

SOUTH BEACH YACHT CLUB EVENTS CALENDAR

visit www.southbeachyachtclub.org for details and reservations


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SOUTH BEACH SAILING CENTER

at thebeautifully renovated Pier 40 in San Francisco

Adjacent to South Beach Harbor and AT&T Park • Close to dozens of fantastic restaurants and shops

Come Visit Us Today!

WINNER: 2010Pier 40, South Beach on the Embarcadero • San FranciscoCall Toll Free 888-828-6789

(415) [email protected]

www.boatdetailing.com

Washing �• Waxing �• Varnishing

�“I visited the boat yesterday.I seriously did not recognize her.

She is stunningly beautiful and I am very happy with the work that was done.It was like coming hometo an entirely new boat.�”

�– Chris VandervertCatalina 30

Winter project you�’vebeen wanting to do?

10%DISCOUNTon Interior Woodwork

& Interior Cleaning

[email protected]

415.543.1887

Custom Yacht Upholstery!

Industrial Fabrics Association International Outstanding Achievement Award – Marine Interior Upholstery

www.SouthBeachRiggers.com

South Beach Riggers

• Mast• Rigging

DO IT ONCE.DO IT RIGHT.

PERIOD.

415.331.3400

• Fabrication• Hydraulics

Come see us in Sausalito399 Harbor Dr., Sausalito, CA 94965

9am - 5pm M - F

• Insurance Work• More…

mailto:[email protected]















http://www.southbeachharbor.com

http://www.southbeachyachtclub.org

http://www.facebook.com/groups/58724366941/

...to form a sociable community of persons having common interests to promote yachting on San Francisco Bay, to provide a common bond for recreational boaters and their families, to sponsor and encourage yacht racing, to encourage family participation in boating, and to enjoy the beauty of San Francisco Bay and its environs.

OUR MISSION

South Beach Yacht ClubPier 40 on the EmbarcaderoSan Francisco CA 94107

conveniently located at: 37˚ 46’ 47.5” north - 122 ... 2013.pdf · wavelength official...

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