feb 15 telltales · there22 have been some changes to the board. dave roll has stepped down from...

Valentines Victoria, Liz,

Karen, Aly and Laura

were just five of the sweethearts who enjoyed a

“cook’s day off” at the Skipper’s Choice Potluck.

More pictures on page 6.

TellTales Vo l u m e 3 4 • N u m b e r 2 • F e b r u a r y 2 0 1 5

Commodore’s Report by Patrick Beattie

1

Well, Spring is coming. As I write this article I am reflecting on what a great time I had at the Skipper’s Choice Potluck. Great food and great people – and what a fun networking game that Laura Dafoe set up. Thank you to Staff Captain Betsy Johnston and her crew. There have been some changes to the Board.

Dave Roll has stepped down from Fleet Captain Dinghy and Bruce Stenstrom has taken on the role. Bruce is working on forming his committee and, as well, is in the final stages of hiring the instructors for the upcoming Sailing School. I am working with Bruce to insure that the Junior Program is revitalized. I hope to see a lot of Juniors out on the water this year. If you are interested in helping with these two programs please let Bruce or myself know. continued on page 2

S A L T S P R I N G I S L A N D S A I L I N G C L U B

Calendar

PHOTO

ABO

VE: SILK QUESTO

March 2015 S M T W T F S 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31

1st 0930 Walker Rock Race 3rd 1900 Board Meeting 13th 1700 Meet & Greet Pub Night 14th-‐15th Spring Regatta 29th 1030 Round Prevost Race

February 2015 S M T W T F S 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28

1st 1230 Groundhog Day Race 3rd 1900 Board Meeting 15th 1030 Channel Islands Race 21st-‐23rd All-‐Club Boyz Cruz 21st 1125 SISC Winter Craze-‐Leg 1 22nd 1030 SISC Winter Craze-‐Leg 2 24th 1900 General Meeting

2

SALTSPRING ISLAND SAILING CLUB TELLTALES February 2015

2

Commodore’s Report continued from page 1 Perry Ruehlen has stepped down as Fleet Captain Cruising. Thanks to the great work of Jen Healey, the Club Cruise planning for the year is underway. The plan is to have the Club Cruises set up with the hosts in place very soon. I am still looking for a replacement for Perry. If there is anyone that would like to fill this Board position, please contact me at any time. I am very pleased with the progress that Eric van Soeren and his committee has made on the zoning issues of the Club. Connie Brett is hard at work with her Information Systems committee on the upgrades to the database system which we hope will be in place in September . I urge all members to come to the General Meeting on Tuesday, February 24th at the Lions Club Hall to hear all the reports from each of the Board members. ■

NOTICE

Saltspring Island Sailing Club General Meeting

Tuesday • Feb 24, 2015 • 1900 hrs

To be held at: Lions Club of Salt Spring Island

103 Bonnet Avenue

Agenda:

Call to Order by Commodore Patrick Beattie at 1900 hours, and confirmation of a quorum

1. Adoption of the Agenda

2. Commodore’s Remarks

3. Minutes of Annual General Meeting November 25, 2014

4. Treasurer’s Report: Norbert Schlenker

5. Officers’ Reports: a. Vice Commodore – Patrick Beattie b. Rear Commodore – Derek Emmerson c. Fleet Captain Racing – Kevin Vine d. Fleet Captain Dinghy e. Fleet Captain Cruising f. Wharfinger – Rod Macdonald g. Staff Captain – Betsy Johnston h. Secretary – Deb McGovern i. Communications Director – Silk Questo j. Past Commodore – Eric van Soeren

6. Old Business a. Formalization of Zoning – Eric van Soeren

7. New Business

8. Adjournment

3


1

It is my privilege this year to join the Board of Saltspring Island Sailing Club as Vice Commodore for 2015. I have been a member of the Club since 2011, and served last year as Coordinator, House and Grounds, which was a great introduction for my new

and challenging position. As a volunteer club, we are dependent upon the members coming forward and contributing in order for our club to be successful. House and Grounds is tasked with keeping the clubhouse and grounds in ‘Bristol’ shape and we have been fortunate to build an enthusiastic and productive H&G Committee to make that happen. Our major efforts in 2014 were focused on the refurbishing of the interior of the clubhouse with new paint, a new display of club burgees, a new site for the Past Commodore pictures and a general cleanup of bulletin boards and storage. The vestibule now presents a welcoming entrance to the clubhouse. For 2015 we will be continuing the improvement of both the clubhouse and the exterior areas. The downstairs of the clubhouse has been cleaned out and painted, creating additional usable space for the members. We will be expanding the existing storage cabinets and will repaint the floor during the spring when the weather has warmed up. This will greatly improve using the lower area for events such as the Sailing School and the Round Saltspring Race. The Club trophies have been sorted, with a new display cabinet planned in 2015 for the shelf going down to the basement for those trophies that don’t fit in the main display cases. One of the tasks which largely goes unnoticed, but is important to keeping the club looking ship-shape, are the walk-arounds which are handled by

Vice Commodore’s Report by Paul McManus

2

members of the H&G Committee. Paper towels, toilet paper, and hand soap in the washrooms, emptying waste baskets, dealing with garbage and recycling, checking light bulbs, tidying up the clubhouse are a few of the tasks they handle. These are done twice a week in winter, three times in the summer, with Casey de Jong, Peter McAllister and Michael Clark handling the duties. Thank you guys! The security code for the dock gate and washrooms was changed in January. I would like to remind our membership that the code is for the use of the membership, providing security for the docks and clubhouse, and should not be passed out to non-members. As Spring approaches, we have several events on the horizon. The Spring Work Party will be held on Saturday, April 18th and I would ask all members to mark the date on their calendars. It is a good opportunity to augment volunteer hours, as well as help keep the Club in good shape. More information on projects and tasks will be forthcoming as we get closer to the day. I had the opportunity to attend the annual meeting of Commodores and Vice Commodores from Vancouver Island Yacht Clubs with Patrick on Saturday, January 31st. It was well hosted by Maple Bay YC, with interesting discussions on the common problems we, as clubs, have to deal with. Issues such as declining membership, communications, PHRF challenges, and reciprocals all weave a common thread through each club and the exchange of ideas will be useful in helping SISC meet these challenges. I am looking forward to working with the Board, and our membership, in the coming year to continue improving our Club. With our wonderful marine docks and facilities we are indeed the envy of other west coast clubs and a desired destination for cruisers and visitors. ■

4


What an amazing second half of winter, flowers blooming in the garden and even saw honey bees this afternoon. Is this climate change or is the weather just screwing with us?

So when the sun comes out, it is followed shortly with the first questions about when the H2O will be coming on at the docks. The answer: this is still February and not California, so probably not until April first. I am happy to say that, outside of D Dock lineal, the Club has only two 30’ slips vacant. Our newest member, Greg Taylor, lucked out with purchasing a Hunter 28.5 and by-passing the waiting list to take the slip B 19 recently vacated by Steve Glavine, who has relocated to D 28 and has his new 35’ aluminum power boat arriving next month sometime. The deRoos, who have been on the waiting list for over a year and a half are moving into slip B 10 with their Philbrooks 41 sailboat. Maggie Snee’s Chariot has left, reportedly for the sales dock, and we wish good luck to Maggie for the future. A gentle reminder to all members that your slip finger is not meant to be an open air storage locker for collecting those miscellaneous boating items such as crab traps, canvas covers, long poles and odd collections of brushes, etc. You know who you are, so please tidy up before I have to ask you to. In closing I wish to thank all members for helping out where they can (often quietly and with little recognition), and for your cooperation. This all makes my job easier. If any member has a question regarding the docks and moorage and needs help with an answer, don’t hesitate to contact me. ■

Wharfinger’s Report By Rod Macdonald

5


1

Scottish Pub Night A big thank you to Jackie Truscott and Peter Grove for hosting the January 23rd Pub Night. Although I wasn’t able to attend, I’ve heard the it was an aptly themed Scottish party, complete with haggis ... single malt ... limericks ... Scottish songs and great fun had by all. The highlight was some

lively Scottish dancing under the direction of David Wood, with Philippe Erdmer beating time on the drum, and many kilts, sporrans and tartans swirling around the floor. Skipper’s Choice, With Love Sunday, February 15th was our (belated) Valentine’s Day Skipper’s Choice Potluck. continued on page 7

IS THAT A HAGGIS IN YOUR POCKET, OR ARE YOU JUST HAPPY TO SEE ME? ❶ The SISC Scottish Choir harmonizes on a

highland song or two ❷ Scottish dancing led by

David Wood and Jackie Truscott ❸ Jean Marie Panepinto and William Cote went plaid mad ❹ The tartans were swirling across the dance floor

❺ Russell Logan and Laura Dafoe take a reel

❻ No one gets into the mood of a party better than

Tony McEwan with his stylish tam ❼ Okay, Richard Ballantyne and Philippe Erdmer, ... what DO you really wear under those? ❽ The tartan queens looking bonnie!

Staff Captain’s Report by Betsy Johnston

PHOTO

S: COLL

EEN SHANTZ

❶

❷

❸

❺

❼ ❻ ❽

❹

6


SKIPPER’S CHOICE MOMENTS ❶ A peck on the cheek for Glenys Prince

from Derek Emmerson ❷ Lorne and

Colleen Shantz cuddle ❸ More kissing! This time it’s Gordon and Laura Dafoe ❹ Sweethearts Victoria Skinner and Dennis

Fortin ... ❺ ... and Sally Plunkett and Norm

Dinsmore ... ❻ ... and Sylvia and Hugh

Greenwood ❼ Skippers Derek Hill, Iain Leckie

and David Questo toast the evening ❽ Glenys Prince and Lynn Clark wear the sparkly “lip stickers” that found their way from the table decorations onto many sweethearts’ cheeks ❾ Tony McEwan and Keith Simpson mug for the camera ❿ Pete McGovern carves the delish ham.

2

Staff Captain’s Report continued from page 6 The clubhouse looked very romantic and festive with hearts and flowers and balloons decorated by Aly Markert, Karen Laidlaw, Sharon Hawke and Laura Dafoe. Their husbands and mine helped set up tables that added to the atmosphere with white

tablecloths, flowers and assorted Valentine candies and sparkles. Laura organized a game which added to the fun and mingling before we all sat down and enjoyed

the wonderful food contributed by all the “skippers”… well, a lot of the skippers actually made the delicious fare. Thank you to the organizing crew who helped clean up and to Suzanne Ambers, Keith Simpson and Nancy Bortz for pitching in. Coming Up Don’t forget our Meet and Greet Pub Night on Friday, March 13th, a chance to reconnect with old friends and meet our new members. ■

PHOTO

S: SILK QUES

TO, C

OLL

EEN SHANTZ

❶

❷ ❸

❺

❹

❼

❻

❽

❾

❿

7


2

have the first rush of eager participants signed up for this year’s event! Check it out at: http://saltspringsailing.ca/roundsaltspring/ Keith Simpson is working with our many sponsors, and Gail Beattie and her team are well on their way through the complex job of figuring the groceries out. The Lions Club will provide breakfast on Sunday. Bar “Commander” Kim Laidlaw has the beverages in hand. Merchandise “Diva” Louise Devlin is coordinating another great line of race wear. The budget is tight, but the Round Saltspring Team are finding ways to generate budget efficiencies that will reduce waste and redundancy, and ensure that all bases are properly covered. It’s been said before, but it bears repeating: Round Saltspring has always been very well received by the sailing community, who consistently and enthusiastically cite it as their favourite regatta, and that’s pretty high praise, given the calibre of the other events out there. Round Saltspring is SISC’s face to the world… but we’re not just another pretty face. We lead the pack when it comes to great sailing, organization, fun factor, and hospitality. Thanks in advance to all those who will be stepping up to lend a hand to make this year’s Round Saltspring yet another fantastic sailing event. Ben Mohr Rock Race 18 January — While the weather reports for the Ben Mohr Rock Race suggested a good breeze, the intrepid 7-boat fleet that started the race did so in pretty placid conditions. However, by the time it was over, it had gotten pretty exciting. Everybody finished by 12:30! What a blast of a sail! The fleet discovered that when a Flying Fifteen starts to plane, it makes a loud “Yahoo!” noise! continued on page 8

1

Round Saltspring Race Pete McGovern, as chair of this year’s event, reports that things are well in hand, and proceeding smoothly… Richard Ballantyne has

published the 2015 Notice of Race (NOR) and is making preparations for the start and finish lines. Silk Questo has the 2015 Round Saltspring website up and running. The posters have been produced and are being distributed to clubs up and down Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland. Online registration through Mark Strongman’s Effective Registration is now open, and we already

Racing Forum by Kevin Vine, Fleet Captain Racing

8


3

Racing Forum continued from page 7 Speaking of which, here’s an abbreviated version of Martin Herbert’s account of the event: Ben Mohr Rock Race – the first counting race of the season – was a mixed bag of conditions. The race was perhaps best summed up by Theo Woolcock, the youngest racer present and the only official carrier of a stuffed giraffe, as “squirrelly-whirrely!” Vincent Argiro’s excellent instruments had the gusts topping out at 28 knots during the race and the pre-race milling about saw the wind swing through 360 degrees several times. Nonetheless the start was nailed by Kaitoa hands down and although many boats were on the line Philippe Erdmer steered his yacht masterfully on a line of wind into a clear lead. The rest of the fleet split into groups, one favouring the Goat Island side of the harbour and the other playing the Saltspring shore, with varying results. Out past the Sisters there was promise of real wind on the water. Caliente moved forward, and took the lead. Oasis, with Bob Jones at the helm, played the middle and also moved up well. At the Sisters the wind filled in and the gusts were superb, with the fleet was closely packed. Just before Welbury spar buoy the wind swung round to a dead run, which brought on some impressive death rolls as boats tried clear Prevost Island without gybing. The rounding of Ben Mohr seemed an exercise of mass chaos. The wind had swung even further making Ben Mohr a lee mark with a beat to windward to get back to Captain Passage. Caliente rounded and tacked and went into immediate reef mode. Oasis and Kaitoa rounded overlapped, also tacking in rapid sequence. Next was Kay D overlapped inside Electra. A quick look under the jib revealed Kaitoa on starboard tack just three boat lengths away, generating a quick moment of panic until I realized we would cross her bow. When the

4

dust had cleared Caliente still held the lead but Kay D was in second, Oasis third and Velica in fourth. The rain now came down and the course went ghostly white, gusts singing in the rigging, as we slogged back up to Peile Point. Oasis regained second place and was snapping at Caliente’s heels. Just off Nose Point the wind went lighter, with Velica moving into third and Kaitoa also gaining. The rain stopped and the sun came out to round out the conditions of the day to “everything”. The distance between Caliente, getting line honours, and Wildfire, ably single-handed by Martin Councell, was very short. It was a tight and exciting race, and a great workout on the water, a fantastic opener for our racing season. Congratulations to the Ben Mohr podium winners: Martin Herbert’s Kay D, Bob Jones’ Oasis, and Gyle Keating’s Wildfire. Groundhog Day Race February 1 — The weather forecasters had a pretty bleak outlook for race day, but clearly, they had no idea what was happening at Saltspring. While there was a smattering of rain, the day only got better and better, and as the afternoon wore on, the breeze picked up and the sun came out. It turned out to be a great day on the water, preceded by a great brunch enjoyed by a great bunch of sailors! From my perspective, the day was a perfect example of what makes SISC exceptional. Every-body pitched in to do their part as a team, making light work of the heavy lifting, and having a great time doing it. Thank you to all. And to whoever it was who stayed behind to make sure all was well in the kitchen after the rest of us left for our boats … a special thanks! Once again, here’s the perspective from Martin Herbert, our resident scribe: Groundhog Day Race – What a great turn out for this fun event! Thirty six avid sailors and fourteen boats, the club was buzzing with activity. continued on page 9

9


5

Racing Forum continued from page 8 Right off the bat the bar was set high as David Wood made everyone a most excellent omelet and the kitchen volunteers hit a home run, serving up a delicious brunch. My day was made at that point, and as there was no wind, I would have been happy to go home to my boatbuilding shop. However, I had enticed Paul Faget (the usual skipper of Ogopogo) over from Gossip Island to crew for me and his better half, April, came to sail with Philippe. So race we must. The Groundhog Day race is a reverse handicap, so all the number crunching is done by Philippe ahead of time and everyone starts at their own allotted time with the idea that everyone should then finish at the same time. It never happens, but the idea in intriguing. Rob Denny’s Sandpiper was first away in almost no wind, trying to eke out a lasting lead. Boat after boat started and 20 minutes later the mighty Caliente joined the race. Rob held the lead past Goat Island when Deryn Mor overtook. Kevin Vine had David Wood aboard and they hung on to the lead all the way to the Sisters. Then Imp came through to top spot, closely pursued by Radiant Heat. But as the wind increased, the others came up fast from behind. Electra led the charge to the left while Caliente and Imp went up the middle. Deryn Mor led a small group to the right, a risky choice. Kevin almost made this pay off, but at the last minute a huge “leftie” brought Electra in on a beam reach, making the mark at the same time as Caliente and Imp. After Batt Rock a backing wind soon had the spinnakers coming out. As usual with a building wind, the low rated boats were at the front while the slower boats did battle in the rear of the fleet. At Welbury Spar, Douglas Woolcock, single handing on First Draft, did an absolutely perfect spinnaker gybe. Caliente, crewed by Ian Leckie, Art Munneke and Pete McGovern, clawed back from a penalty turn to snatch the lead, charging to the Sisters on a tight reach.

6

Approaching the harbour, the last hundred yards to the finish line looked as flat as glass. As the top four – Caliente, Electra, Imp and Kaitoa – went in, spinnakers collapsed, were dropped, then re-hoisted. Next, Velica, Radiant Heat, Wildfire and First Draft went in and ground to a halt. Kay D and Deryn Mor brought some breeze with them, but didn’t move up, as Caliente found the wind again and took the crown. Kaitoa took second with Electra third. Not long after, the majestic Effervescence crossed the finish line with massive spinnaker pulling, to bring a rather enjoyable race to a conclusion. What had looked to be a complete bust at 11:00 turned out to be a fun day. Aboard the Kay D, I was delighted to sail with Paul, who brought his great racing skills. It was also good to see Coda out for her second race and see Hugh Greenwood enjoying himself. The racing fleet is finding its form. Thanks to Kevin for a steadying hand on the helm. Looks like it will be a great season. The Ground Hog Race podium winners were: Ole Anderson’s Caliente, Phlippe Erdmer’s Kaitoa, and Roger Kibble’s Electra. Congratulations! What’s next? By the time you read this, the next couple of events will be finished. Channel Islands Race was run February 15. The report is up on the website and will appear in the next TellTales. The weekend of February 20-23 gave racers the choice of the all-club Boyz Cruz, or the shorter co-ed SISC Winter Craze to Pender. Look for a report soon! Walker Rock (March 1) This long-distance race has been scheduled early in the season so that if it has to be abandoned because of conditions, it can be re-run at a later date. Vendée Saltspring (July 10-12) Maple Bay has indicated they will proceed with hosting this event for this year. We are awaiting further information and details from them. Don’t forget to check the website for upcoming events, racing details, and full race reports. ■

10


There’s been a lot happening on the com-munications front at the start of the year, with the Yearbook

editing and production under-way, promotional materials and website launched for the 2015 Round Saltspring Race, work on the Information Systems Committee to on an improved database system, Board projects, and website updates – whew! Now is the time to put up your hand if you’re interested in doing your volunteer hours in the communications field. We have lots of jobs to do, so give me a call at 250-653-4410! And please consider contributing your boating-related stories, articles or photos to TellTales and/or the website to share with fellow Club members. Give me a call, or you can email me at [email protected]. Thanks to our Board members and all of our other regular contributors and advisors, including Colleen Shantz, Martin Herbert, Wendy Vine, Michael Clark, Victoria Skinner, Roger Kibble, Gail Beattie, Steve Galvine and Ryan Preddy. And a tip of the cap to the invaluable Suzan and Ron Chamney, who are now busy on the Yearbook! ■

International One Metre Report by Martin Herbert, IOM #34

The International One Metre fleet is starting to gear up for the season, which starts off at the end of March with the Western Canadian Championship at Beaver Lake. Hosted by our Victoria sailing buddies it will provide good practice for our two West Coast representatives at the upcoming World Championship, to be held in Foster City, California, in May. Canada only gets two places at the Worlds and this year for the first time the West Coast is claiming both spots. Our Club sailors will be inviting some of the hot Victoria boats over to help train for this event. Peter Stevens from Victoria will be our #2 seed, and he is rigging a new Ian Vickers V9 that he has bought for the Worlds. Our #1 seed, Julian Laffin from Hornby Island, will be sailing a Graham Herbert design, Jive, for the event. On the local front, Mark Wallace is doing very well in the Zoom design that he bought from the Hornby Island fleet. The Zoom is Graham Herbert's fourth design and is a good all-round boat. Several have now been bought from the Hornby Club and all have performed very well, being both fast and reliable. Our usual winter weather has failed to produce great storms so we have been sailing mostly in light winds. Still, we have had lots of race days and have been trying our best to stay in the zone. On the building front I launched my new wooden IOM, three months after the start of the build. I enjoyed the process very much and was surprised at how stiff the wooden construction is compared to the Fibreglass boats I have built. The end result was that because of the stiffness I was able to build the boat much lighter. Here she is sailing. ■

PHOTO

S: MARTIN

HERBERT

Channels By Silk Questo

11


The Boatbuilding Corner By Martin Herbert

1

Boatbuilding seems to be on a surge this winter, which is pretty exciting for the Club. Several Club members have embarked on new building projects and other builds are ongoing. I will start with a quote from Hugh Greenwood, who is building a small dinghy for his new yacht Coda. “This is an Atkins design for a lap-strake pram, 6.5 feet long, using 6 mm marine ply and cedar transoms. The design is from the late 1920s. The demands of the sea have not changed much in the interim although there are many new ways of meeting them. This is the old way, which suits me well.” — Hugh Greenwood What you see in this picture is a whole lot of wood that doesn’t stay with the boat (but defines the shape), some wood that is the start of the boat, and some strategically placed holes for clamp ends to encourage the planks to conform to the design. The bevelled bow and transom are in place and the fun is about to begin. While I agree with Hugh that the sea hasn’t changed since the 20s, I would point out that boat traffic is up and the advent of powerful engines have brought about powerboat hull designs (or lack of design) that create massive wave forms. In the 20s sleek hulls and small engines left the water hardly disturbed – check out Bruce Grey’s lovely Ed Monk designed boat, Sojourner, next time you see it leaving the dock. So at 6.5 feet, Hugh’s pram is pushing the limits of smallness, but as you can see from the photo she carries a good beam and will also have the advantage of Hugh’s seamanship and boat hand-ling skills. Casey de Jong cut the bevels on the transoms of his new Nutshell Pram last week, so that boat is

2

coming along as well. Casey is making impressive jigs for all the bent parts so anyone contemplating a Nutshell would benefit from borrowing those jigs. I am looking forward to rowing this boat when she is done. Rob Denny’s massive 16-foot boat is also at the planking stage and is going to be a lovely yacht. Rob does meticulous work and his attention to detail is

impressive. She is a Paul Gartside design so will be a staunch, powerful boat. Lawrie Neish is embarking on a project to build several larger model boats from his youth and elsewhere in this issue is a photo of my newly finished wooden IOM. So clearly boatbuilding at the Club is alive and well. I look forward to seeing these boats launched and in use, and am very encouraged to see dinghies that aren’t rubber and can actually be rowed. ■

PHOTO

: MARTIN

HERBERT

Boating Essentials Course at Saltspring Island Sailing Club

March 17 – April 11, 2015 (7 sessions) This is a new intensive course that incorporates CPS Boating 2 and Boating 3 course material. Boating Essentials covers a wide range of topics, focusing on knowledge and skills to safely pilot your boat in all conditions. Course Fee: $210.00 (for SISC members). Please see the Club website for course topics, dates and times, or call Laura Dafoe for more details.

To register, call Laura Dafoe 250-‐537-‐8804

12


Cruising News by Silk Questo, from information contributed by Jennifer Healey

1

If the spring-like weather we’ve been enjoying this winter is making all you cruisers dream about getting out on the water, we’ve got good news! The Cruising Committee is hard at work planning a full season of Club cruises for 2015. While there are still lots of details to nail down, here is the cruising calendar so far. If you’re interested in helping out or leading a cruise, please contact Jen Healey. Please watch the Club website for more details! Easter Cruise – April 3-6 This year the Easter Cruise will be led by Patrick and Gail Beattie, who are planning activities for a weekend at Winter Cove on Saturna Island. This sheltered area is a great spot for a Spring cruise which is sure to include an Easter Egg Hunt. May Long Weekend Cruise – May 15-18 The annual cruise to free up space at the docks for the Round Saltspring Race will be a Round Saltspring Cruise in this year. We will start with a stop at Russell Island with Happy Hour on the beach and a late start on Saturday morning to watch the racers (if they head around the island in a clockwise direction). We will continue clockwise around the island and plan to return to the Club on Monday the 18th. Jon and Jennifer Healey will lead this event. Pub Cruise – Dates TBD John and Diane Lugsdin are planning a fun Pub Cruise and details will be available when they return from their current travels. It is sure to be great fun!

2

Open Boat Cruise – Week of Aug 10 The week of August 10th has been chosen for the summer Open Boat Cruise for 2015. This cruise for small boats and mother ships is becoming a club tradition and gaining popularity every year. Rob Denny and the other organizers will have more details later. Read TellTales or visit the Club website for final plans, or contact one of the Open Boat Cruisers.

Family Cruise – Dates TBD Perry and Lyall Ruehlen are planning a Family Cruise, including fun activities for children. This will be a good chance for grandparents as well

as parents to cruise with other families. Dates and details will be announced in TellTales and on the Club website. Cruise to Hidden Spots Close to Home – Dates TBD Jon Healey is planning a Summer Cruise to little-visited places close to home in the Southern Gulf Islands – spots which people may not have discovered before. Once the dates for the Family Cruise and Pub Cruise are confirmed, dates and itinerary for this trip will be determined. Please call Jon or Jennifer at 250-537-1222 if you have suggestions or are interested in joining us. New Year’s Cruise – Dec 31-Jan 1 Once again a hardy group will gather at Montague Harbour to welcome in the New Year, returning to the Club to share in the Hot Rum Race and Social on New Year’s Day. This always-fun, self-governed cruise is attracting more boats every year. ■

Parting Shots If this scene isn’t immediately familiar, let this be your introduction to a handy and fun destination just to the south. Here are some clues: it features a large, modern marina steps away from Anthony’s (yum), close to a supermarket, and a quick walk to downtown. The redeveloped waterfront of this working harbour includes lots of public spaces, such at this park where you can enjoy free concerts in the summer. To get there, you’ll need to navigate Guemes Channel. For a chance to win a club gear gift certificate, send your guess to [email protected]


New Year contest winner…

TellTales is a publication of the Saltspring Island Sailing Club

152 Douglas Rd, Saltspring Is, BC V8K 2J2 www.saltspringsailing.ca

© 2015, Saltspring Island Sailing Club all rights reserved.

TellTales Next Issue Deadline: Tuesday, March 10th, 2015

The winner of our last contest in January was Bruce Logan, who identified Deer Harbor on Orcas Island. This is a lovely marina, or if you prefer, there’s also good anchorage in the harbor. I’ll leave prize envelopes for Bruce, and December winner Julie Mills, in the clubhouse members’ slot this week!

Editor’s Log We’re recently back from our trip to New Zealand’s north island, where we spent most of our three weeks on, or around, the water. Almost every day we were either sailing, or at a beach, or exploring a harbour, or on a ferry, or poking around a maritime museum, or hanging out on a dock. That’s my kind of vacation! Auckland proudly bills itself as the “City of Sails” (photo above), which just sounds like a touristy marketing slogan ... until you’re actually there. They aren’t kidding about the sails! From maxi racers (including America’s Cup competitors) to dinghy fleets, there are sailboats everywhere. The Kiwis are mad for racing, and they have the wind to do lots of it. In a future issue of TellTales, I’ll take you on an armchair sailor’s tour of New

Zealand in photos. As glorious as NZ is, though, nothing beats our own home cruising grounds. We’re still #1! Silk Questo Editor | [email protected]

PHOTO

S: SILK QUESTO

feb 15 telltales · there22 have been some changes to the board. dave roll has stepped down from...

Documents