June 2017

MeeShee at SunsetPhoto courtesy of Dick Risk

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2017 Flag OfficersCommodoreLee Nell

Vice CommodoreBill Morse

Rear CommodoreRick Martin

SecretaryLinda Bagby

TreasurerMichael Oertle

Assistant TreasurerRay Weber

Fleet CaptainJonathan Gillespie

Board of DirectorsBoard Members 2016-2017

Joel HeyneDick RiskJennifer RogersMarty Southard

Board Members 2017-2018

Jeff SternJoey DaleLisa GlaserJohn McLeod

Immediate Past CommodoreRichard Walters

Windword Newsletter published monthly.Submissions deadline Wednesday following the Monthly General Meeting. Email submissions to Jen Rogers:windword@sailbcyc.org

Commodore’s CornerSubmitted by Lee Nell, 2017 Commodore

View this newsletter in full color online at www.sailbcyc.org

Flag Officer, Board and other BCYC member phone numbers and email addresses available to club members at www.sailbcyc.org

Boca Ciega Yacht Club & Anchorage4600 Tifton Drive South • Gulfport, FL 33711727-321-7295Mailing address for ALL payments by check:Boca Ciega Yacht ClubPO Box 530848 | St. Petersburg FL 33747

Good news, Folks. We’re finally seeing some progress around the building again. The new walls for the workshop are up, and they should be finished by the time this is published. Before you know it, the building, the sheds, and the hoist will be painted and should look really nice. Finally. As soon as we can arrange it after that, we are going to replace the decking out back, move the smoker, and figure out how to get a more weather-proof roof over that area. It’s going to happen, I swear it is. It’s gonna happen.

The bad news is that within the coming month, the clubhouse is going to be largely out of commission for a few days. It’s time to seal the park-ing lot, which will help extend its life. That will require new striping, and all together, we will probably have to stay off of it for at least a day or two. Also, when the painters do the porch floor (we think), we will have to let that cure for several days before we walk on it. That means our only access to the clubhouse will be through the kitchen door. We’ll try to coordinate these projects so as to minimize the inconvenience, but some will be un-avoidable.

Fun Day was a great success again this year. We served over 500 hot dogs and tons of sodas, had kids’ games outside, we raffled off more than 80 do-nated prizes, and 11 members gave sailboat rides on a day when the wind was blowing like stink. Certainly, an exciting time was had by all.

BCYC continues to be one of the sailing-est clubs around here. Three of our members were crew on the overall winning boat in the Bone Island Regatta race to Key West two weeks ago, and the one BCYC boat took first place in the true cruising class on corrected time. Our club weekend races last weekend were excellent as well. The weather was great, with the winds filling in as the day progressed, and we managed three really good races. I believe in at least two of the races, although Mark’s race boat led the whole way, the pack of cruising boats crossed the line just seconds apart. Very exciting.

If we want to keep this club going, Folks, we need volunteers. There are many tasks needing to be performed and fewer and fewer people avail-able to do them. Please come and really get involved with your club. It’s a great way to meet other members, and knowing that you’re helping keep this club running is very satisfying. Whatever your interests and talents are, your club can use them. Every job, big and little stuff alike, helps us remain a vibrant club.

We still need a webmaster. Joey has graciously agreed to handle this in the interim, but we need a full time webmaster to run this thing for us. It’s a huge job, but a necessary one. Please, any of you with tech abilities, we can really use you. We’ll help you get started.

A good way to get your feet wet for a fun project is to take over and man-age BCYC’s entry for the Gulfport July 4th parade. This is something we’ve done for many years, and it’s always a great time, for us and for the City. Plus, it’s another way BCYC can be involved in and part of the Gulfport community. Please volunteer to help out with this. Let me know or contact Activities Co-Chairs Lisa Glaser or Barb Meyer.

June BirthdaysSubmitted by Trish Dale

BCYC Merchandise for SaleSupport BCYC and Look Good Too!

Our display case at the club gives you a sampling of items from our ever-changing inventory. They are available for purchase at monthly club meetings and at some work days and club events.

Please text, call or email Patty Tishuk at 727-488-4167 (ptishuk@gmail.com)

and she will try to accommodate your schedule within reason.

We accept cash or checks only. Checks to be made payable to BCYC. Thank you and smooth sailing!

www.sailbcyc.org

Are we missing your birthday? Please edit your member information in Wild Apricot or contact Trish Dale.

Sheri Ogorek ............................................................June 2Ken Shur .....................................................................June 2Judy Trehy ..................................................................June 2Phil Purvis ...................................................................June 7Trish Dale ....................................................................June 8Megan Arata ..............................................................June 9John McKey ...............................................................June 9Mark Rother ............................................................ June 11Mary Hood .............................................................. June 13Calvin Matthews ................................................... June 16John Duke III ........................................................... June 18

Larry Fiorenza ........................................................ June 18Karen Trowbridge ................................................. June 18David Henshaw ..................................................... June 18Rand Valentin ......................................................... June 18Gary Rhoads ........................................................... June 19John Utley ............................................................... June 23Chris Richards ........................................................ June 24Wendy Shelton ...................................................... June 25Marty Southard ..................................................... June 25Larry Vance ............................................................. June 25Steve Schoen ......................................................... June 26Picot Floyd............................................................... June 27Joe Gierlac ............................................................... June 27Doug Fuller ............................................................. June 29Jennifer Rogers ..................................................... June 29

BCYC gear goes everywhere! Send us a photo of you wearing BCYC gear on your travels and we will feature it here.

BCYC on the Canal du Midi in southern France.

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Thanks to Our Photographers!The most popular part of the Windword each month is the club photos, candid and otherwise. We want to thank all of you shutterbugs out there who send us such great material. This newsletter wouldn’t be the same without you.

This month’s contributors are: Ruth Peterson, Tony Angel, Samantha Ring, Susan McQuillan, Matt Maloy, Dick Risk, Cathy Talisman, Joye Swisher, Sheree Annen, Sheri Ogorek, Lee Nell and Dan Chesnut.

Thanks to you all!

BCYC Web Site Be sure to check our web site regularly to sign up for events; for What's Trending Now and calendar updates, weather and tide links, full-color Windword online, Wild Apricot membership features and more.

Free Marine ClassifiedsDo you have any marine related items you want to purchase, trade or sell? Take a step up from the club bulletin board. Email windword@sailbcyc.org

Submit payment to: BCYC Treasurer, PO Box 530848, St Petersburg, FL 33747 Checks made payable to: BCYC

Questions or ad specs: Lee Nell, 215-518-7671, leenell3@gmail.comSubmit artwork (PDF preferred) to: Jennifer Rogers, windword@sailbcyc.org

For Sale: 31 ft Bombay clipper $12,000 29 HP engine 200 hr ready to go sailing AJ Pope 352-359-3926

www.sailbcyc.org

For Sale: 44' Bombay Explorer. Fix-it-Upper. Parts for Lehman Diesel need to be installed (have parts). Hugh deck with lots of room for friends/family. Spinnaker, roller furler jib (couple of sails for jib), main sail needs replacing. Best offer over $10,000. On anchor in Boca Ciega Bay outside of Gulfport Marina. Contact Ann at ann.new44@gmail.com or Ray at 727-557-5885 (captray44@gmail.com).For Sale: Honda 2000 gasoline generator. Like new condition. Very low hours. $800. Call Larry 727-420-9061.

For Sale: MINT JULEP, a 1978 Herreshoff 22. You have seen her at dry slip #43 or in wet slip on B dock. A classic friendship sloop from the 30’s, but with a fiberglass hull & deck, with a 2014 4 stroke 5hp Mercury Saildrive. Many have said she is the prettiest boat in the harbor, yours for only $9,900. Trailer avail. for $600. Rand 727-742-8531.

For Sale: West Marine SB-275 Wood Floor Inflatable Sportboat (Dinghy), 9 ft., 2-person. Includes two paddles. Made in France by Zodiac; 2008. Model Z24818. Registered in FL. $500 or best offer. Minn Kota (Johnson Outdoors Marine Electronics) Endura C2 Transom-Mount Trolling Motor, complete with Bat-tery Power Center with Integrated Circuit Breakers, Dual Accessory Ports, External Battery Posts, and Built-in Bat-tery Meter (12-Volt Battery Not Included). Never Used. $200 or best offer. Dick Risk, dickrisk@yahoo.com

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Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

To avoid scheduling conflicts, please contact Secretary Linda Bagby for calendar updates. Phone 907-947-0705 or email: secretary@sailbcyc.org

July 2017

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2 3 4 5 6 7 8

9 10 11 12 13 14 15

16 17 18 19 20 21 22

23/30 24/31 25 26 27 28 29

Board Meeting 7:30

Sea Scouts(every Wed 5pm)

Windword Deadline

General Meeting 8pm

Work Day 8:30 amPot luck Dinner 6 pm

Spring/Summer PHRF Racing Series Skipper Mtg 12 pm

Sunset/Full Moon Rise Sail Out 5pm

Tuesday Night Racing(every Tues 5pm)

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

Twin Dolphin Cruise 9 am

Twin Dolphin Cruise

June 2017

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

Board Meeting 7:30

Sea Scouts(every Wed 5pm)

Windword Deadline

General Meeting 8pm

Work Day 8:30 amPot luck Dinner 6 pm

Spring/Summer PHRF Racing Series Skipper Mtg 12 pm

Sunset/Full Moon Rise Sail Out 5pm

Tuesday Night Racing(every Tues 5pm)

Intermediate Celestial Navigation

Class 8 am

Twin Dolphin Cruise 9 am

Twin Dolphin Cruise

Intermediate Celestial Navigation

Class 8 am

Youth Sailing 9 am

Youth Sailing 9 am

Youth Sailing 9 am

Youth Sailing 9 am

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Last to First in the Blink of a PHRFSubmitted by Lee Nell, SV MeeShee

The 8th Annual Bone Island Regatta started at 10:00 a.m. from Sarasota on Wednesday, May 10th and from Naples on May 11th. Organizers announced that the race would be over at 2:00 on Friday, May 12th whether racers had crossed the finish line by then or not.

MeeShee’s crew spent the night before the race at Ma-rina Jack’s in Sarasota, after a champagne toast to our happiness for being there and to our hopes for a good race. Thanks to Alex Brown for delivering our crew and for shepherding us around in Sarasota. After a slightly harrowing trip out Big Sarasota Pass the next morning, the race got underway.

BCYC was well-represented in this race in every sense of the term. Joel Heyne, Mark Requa, and Jennifer O’Donnell sailed on the monohull winner, Mother Ocean, a 40 foot O’Day in the Spinnaker class. That boat and crew won line honors and first in class, and was the first monohull to finish. Tactician Joel Heyne kept

Mother Ocean very close to shore where he knew the wind would be, and they finished in 41.5 hours.

My own boat MeeShee, a Catalina 34, was the only BCYC boat entered this year. Our All-Star crew included Steve Conn, Juli Jacoby, Sheri Ogorek, Larry Brown and Michele Porter, all of whom have previously partici-pated in this race, and all of whom are great sailors. Our silent partner/crewman, Rick Ogorek, land cruised to Key West with Cary so she could cruise home with us and so he could chauffeur the working crew members home on Sunday. We had a blast. It’s Key West after all.

We were third over the line at the start, and keeping

pace with the boats in our class when the wind started getting fluky. Most of the other boats were having similar trouble finding the wind, but MeeShee just does not like light air, so we did not progress well from one patch of breeze to another. The other Catalina 34 flew a spinnaker, which helped her progress significantly but which cost her dearly in the PHRF rating. Throughout the race, we had at least some minimal wind that kept us going at a knot or two. So even though that was frustrating, it was not as bad as some of the other years when there was no wind at all.

On we sailed, finally getting some wind in the after-noon only to see it drop off on Wednesday night. On Thursday morning we could not seem to escape from Marco Island, no matter what we tried. We stayed near shore to get the sea breeze, but we were not in far enough to catch the land breeze that propelled Mother Ocean along. Again, the other boats were having similar trouble until we finally picked up the sea breeze again in the afternoon.

The wind dropped as usual on Thursday evening and stayed low into the middle of the night. Just when we were thinking we would have to decide in the morning whether to continue to struggle with low winds or just start the engine and get to the parties, the wind picked up again, this time for good. After that, we sailed well until we made the Key West channel, and we tacked into the wind the rest of the way.

Coming down the channel, we weren’t sure we would make the finish line in time, but we pressed on, deter-mined to do the best we could. Tactician Brown’s maps showed that we could sail well outside the channel markers, so we did that to reduce the number of tacks we needed in that channel. MeeShee had a bone in her teeth the whole way. The crew really rose to the task, tacking her quickly and maintaining speed through the maneuvers. We rounded the last markers and sailed across the finish line with just an hour to spare.

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Even though we knew we were the last to cross the finish line, the welcoming cheer from the organizers as we finished was a nice treat.

The Key West parties are always fun, they say, and this year was no different – hearing how the other boats did and trading exploits. And the drinks, of course. We learned that one of our class competitors had given up in the channel and started her engine (earning a DNF), reportedly because the crew was just tired of tacking so much. All of us on MeeShee were happy that we finished the race within the official time, but we arrived at the awards dinner the next evening convinced that we would probably get the pickle jar for coming in last.

As it turned out, however, we ended up winning first place in the cruising division based on corrected time. Saying that we were all shocked when we found out we won would be an understatement. The organizers also said we should get some sort of award for perse-verance, sticking with the race even when it was not clear that we could finish in time. But whatever. We did

it. We finished, and we got the first place trophy in our class.

More importantly, we had a great time both during the race and afterwards at Key West. Most importantly, the MeeShee crew parted as friends when it was time to return to our daily lives, taking with us some fond memories of the terrific time we had during the 2017 Bone Island Regatta. Thank you Steve, Juli, Sheri, Larry, and Michele. You guys are the best.

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What are the Sea Scouts Doing?Submitted and Photos by Ruth Peterson

They participated in the "29th Annual Tampa Bay Sea Scout Regatta" at Apollo Beach the weekend of April 28-29th…earning Second Place overall!

Congratulations for a job well done! They represented Ship 915 and BCYC quite well with their skills, seaman-ship, and conduct! AND they had a ton of fun doing so!

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FUNDAY with an emphasis on having FUN while serving. The scouts served in multiple positions around the club. A few scouts greeted people inside the clubhouse answering questions about the sea scout program. Others were fitting visitors in life vests, and escorting them to awaiting boats. The rest of the crew assisted in the boarding, cast-ing off , docking and disembarking of the club boats. We saw a lot of teamwork in action ! Thank you Ship 915! See pages 16-18 for photos.

And the CHUCKLE OF THE MONTH

Ian and Talib were skippering Magick Dragon on a recent, very windy evening! The windmill decided to tip over. Talib slipped into the water and proceeded to right the boat while Ian deftly avoided all contact with the bay, climbing calmly over and perching on the side…he never got wet!

Wednesday Evening Highlights

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Spring Sail School 2Photos by Samantha Ring and Dan Chesnut

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View this newsletter in full color online at www.sailbcyc.org

In the May Windword, our illustrious Flag Officer wrote: Paul Stifler, Annie Davidson and Gyb Spilsbury brought Gib’s new boat IMAGINE, back to BCYC in February. When they reached Boca Grande… Paul took the wheel and asked Gyb if it was OK to leave the crab pots on starboard. Gyb agreed with this decision just as they both noticed that the crab pots were painted green and IMAGINE went solidly aground. Gyb, congratulations— you now have a new flag to decorate your new boat.

But here's what really happened…Paul Stifler was on A Dock, alongside Steve Conn and Craig Smith, to welcome Gyb & Annie bringing SV IMAGINE to her new home. Annie Davidson was on the helm and Gyb on the bow, as Imagine grounded coming into Boca Grande’s Whidden Marina cove.

Red right return = Green port return, but without a pair-ing, who knew these green crab pots were actually local channel markers? At sunset, Annie not only brushed bottom but then repeated the crabpot-starboard approach for a more solid grounding of IMAGINE. Annie proudly shares the flag with Gyb Spilsbury for this 450nm delivery.

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Sea-Feverby John MasefieldI must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky,And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by,And the wheel's kick and the wind's song and the white sail's shaking,And a grey mist on the sea's face and a grey dawn breaking.

I must go down to the seas again, for the call of the running tideIs a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied;And all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying,And the flung spray and the blown spume, and the sea-gulls crying.

I must go down to the seas again, to the vagrant gypsy life,To the gull's way and the whale's way where the wind's like a whetted knife;And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow-rover,And quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick's over.

"We lost a great young man. We are all shocked and saddened by this terrible event. A service was held in Land O’Lakes on Saturday 5/13/2017. 14 of us made the trip and pay our respect to the family and say goodbye: Gerri and Tony Angel, Richard Walters, Cathy Talisman, Susan McQuillan and John McLeod, Gary Rhoads and Kathy Longacre, Nancy and Tom Bedinger-Neu, Dave Aamodt and Sara Douglas, Annie Davidson and Mike Pilert. That was a great showing from BCYC."

Cathy Talisman/Past Commodore

"Danny wanted to buy a sailboat and live on it so he figured he had better learn how to sail it first. By the time Sail School was over in October 2016, which was only 2 ½ weeks long, he had purchased Lucie and was living on her in Boca Ciega Bay.

John McLeod and myself took Danny “under our wing” and kind of adopted him. He was our “boat son” and we were his “boat parents”.

Danny was studying to achieve his Journeyman’s license. He was a hard worker, both at work and around the club on work days. He was a kind and respectful young man and was always there to help. He was always smiling, even when things were tough. He was an avid fisherman and free diver and he loved Lucie.

Danny passed away on Monday, May 8th, from complications that started with severe Sciatica problems. He will always remain in our hearts and will always be greatly missed."

Susan McQuillan

In Memory of Danny Bollinger

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Blessing of the FleetSubmitted by Guy O'Conner & Cathy Talisman

We had ripping and gusting wind for The Blessing. Nonetheless, The Blessing went on anyway:

One boat sailed by the Pier where Andy Bell and Guy were ready for the blessing, it was captained by Bob Calvillo with Phong Long and Asa Folsom as crew on Fanta-Sea.

Bill Morse on Idler and Sail School students were blessed while sailing in the bay. However, Andy and Guy had already given up and were in their cars get-ting ready to drive back to the club. Guy saw Idler approaching the pier, jumped out of the car, ran over to Rev. Bells' car. Stuffed a VHF through the window at Rev. Bell and said, "Quick, there's Idler! Say a blessing on channel 72!" Which he did. I don't know if Bill Morse knew the agenda for the blessing, or if he heard his blessing. Bill was busy teaching class while the Cap-tains meeting was being held on the porch. But he, his boat, and his crew of sail school students were blessed by Rev. Bell as they passed the pier in a stately manner on a broad reach.

Special blessings at their docks to:

SeaHawk

Sun Goddess

Koinonia II

Redemption Song

Mirage

The Rachel

Spindrift

Rum a Round

Celebration

Robbie Lee

……………………..

Amazing Grace on the hook in the bay, and other club boats in that vicinity such as Nikki, and Here and Now.

……………………..

And sailing in South Florida

Vive, Maine Event 2, and Invictus.

JUNE POT LUCK DINNER

CHICKEN CORDON BLUES BY THE SCALLYWAGS

LIVE MUSIC – DANCE PARTY

BCYC VERANDA – JUNE 17, 2017

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Who Put the “Fun” in Funday? Submitted by Nancy Bennett, Funday Chair

All the members of BCYC that participated…that’s who! We had close to 70 volunteers this year that made the day special for all those who attended. In addition to our regular club members we had the help of the amaz-ing Sea Scouts and I also have to give credit to Mother Nature. She gave us an absolutely spectacular (and unusual for this time of the year) day full of sunshine, low humidity and a high of only 75 degrees!

Funday by the numbers:

After all was said and done, we handed out more than 500 hot dogs, gave rides to over 150 would be sailors and raffled off close to 100 prizes to visitors and BCYC volunteers. Our sponsors this year were incredibly gen-erous in particularly, our friends from Masthead Sail-ing Gear, O’Maddy’s, La Cote Basque and Don’s Marine Salvage.

So now let the thanks begin!

Preparations for Funday actually began the day before and big thanks goes to Sheri Ogorek, Ruth Anne and Charles Mitchell, Nancy and Thomas Bedinger and Jeri and Dave Maim for making sure the club house looked its best. Also thanks to Paul Stiffler for picking up the dogs and sodas and Russ Matter for putting up the signs around town so everyone knew where to find us.

A huge thank you goes out to all of our boat captains and crew members, who braved some pretty gusty winds, to make sure our guests were not disappointed. While my feet were firmly planted on the ground, winds gusted up to over 20 knots on the bay! Our captains also had the added challenge of avoiding some pretty

fast moving catamarans that were racing that day as well. So thanks to Mixer, Captain Sandbar, Lee Nell, Bruce Bingham, Larry Fiorenza, Shep Massar, Steve Conn, Matt Maloy, Chuck Greenslade, Bill Morse and Ralph Schuler and all your crew members for creating some pretty exciting memories for those hearty souls who chose to sail.

While the captains had to contend with high winds out on the water, the folks signing people up for boat rides had a lot to contend with under the tree of knowledge. Thanks to the patience and organizational skills of Jean Graham and Stan Morrow everyone who wanted to brave the winds, got a chance to sail that day.

Next up to all of the hard working folks who made sure we never ran out of hot dogs and beverages. Grill Master Paul Stiffler was ably supported by his assistants Gyb Spilsbury, Larry Lynch and Lloyd Gardner and made sure the grill stayed full while Lee Imperato, Jeri and Da-vid Maim and Lee Howell kept the buns full and flowing out to Pat Moore at the condiment table. While out on the front porch, Bob Potter and Suzanne Boohar made sure no one went thirsty.

Inside, the clubhouse was a hot bed of activity. But before guests even entered the clubhouse they were entertained by some amazing musicians thanks to Greg Foley. Upon entering the clubhouse, guests were greeted by the ever charming and welcoming trio of Patty Tishuk, Kathy Longacre and Ginny Quinn. Our emcee, Joye Swisher did a great job with the raffle and keeping folks entertained while Gerri Angel, Cathy Talis-man and John Mayer spoke to folks about all our won-derful club has to offer. According to John and Gerri, it looks like there were a few potential new members and sail school students who attended. And we had Ruth Peterson on hand with her trusty camera to capture it all for posterity.

The fun was not limited to the water and the clubhouse. Outside we had a special area set up the little ones. Gary and Tracy Rhodes got things all set up and Cary

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Nell and Deb Weber did an awesome job making sure the kids had a good time playing corn hole, matching ducks and coloring.

To keep traffic moving smoothly we had four awesome traffic “cops”; Geoff Robinson, Rick Ogorek, John McKey and Tony Angel. And while we had those four guys moving things along on land, Russ Mather made sure things kept moving out on the water and Karen Wacker, on hand at the hoist dock, to make sure boats had a smooth docking.

And last but certainly not least, a special thank you goes out to those who went above and beyond to help make this day a huge success, and helped me keep my sanity in the process, Melissa McCue, Sheri Ogorek, Lee Nell, Paul Stiffler and Jeri Maim.

Thank you again to everyone who participated and for making Funday 2017 a great day for BCYC and for the Gulfport community.

More Funday photos next page17

More Funday

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May WorkdayPhotos courtesy of Matt Maloy

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Rhumb Runner ReportSubmitted by Barb Meyer, RR Sailing/Racing Co-Chair & Captain Elect

May 17th and 18th were fun-filled days for the Florida Women's Sailing Association delegates and myself. Sheree and Joye traveled to Venice for an afternoon of kayaking and the FWSA Spring Luncheon. The spon-sors were the Bitter Ends of the Venice Women's Sail-ing Squadron and the Venice Yacht Club. The cottage where they stayed was at Eagles Point, located on the site of a historical Fish-ing Camp. It is now a community skirting the shores of Robert's Bay. Some of the original cottages were saved and refurbished along with a working water tower. It offers one of the best examples of lush native land-scaping I've seen. The cottages can be rented via homeowners. Beth Anderson was the gra-cious host to several women sailors from Dunedin, St. Petersburg, and our Rhumb Runners. For us Crackers it was like stepping back in time right into our grand-parents' homes. The club house boasted multiple brick and stone fireplaces, hardwood staircases, bead board, a massive screen porch and the unmistakable latched cabinets of an old Florida kitchen.

Wednesday afternoon 28 kayaks and 4 paddleboards set out on a tour of several bays. It amazed me that so many type-A women could get together

and actually make it from point A to point B without racing…just kidding…there was definitely some racing going on.

That evening, Bitter End Sylvia Turner hosted a party at her home located on the ICW. It provided the oppor-tunity for Joye and Sheree to make friends and foster contacts for the Rhumb Runners.

The FWSA Spring luncheon is when the year's business is conducted. Delegates give reports from their respective clubs, the new officers are pre-sented for the following year, perpetual awards are given, dates and locations are announced for the FWSA annual regattas. BCYC will be providing the venue for the Rainbow Regatta April 9th, 2018. It will be hosted by the TI Tackers and Broad Reachers with help from the Rhumb Runners.

Examples set by the member groups of the FWSA have led to changes for the Rhumb Runners. Our calendar now starts and ends in May of the follow year. This best follows the sailing season. Currently we do not elect officers but request volunteers to come forward at the May meeting. 2017/ 18 Officers are as follows: Captain Barb Meyer, Co-Captain Sheree Annen, Secretary Cathy Talisman, Treasurer Sheri Ogorek. The Advisory Board consists of the officers and includes a member at large; Lisa Glaser. Sailing/Racing Co-Chairs are Paula Shur and myself. We would love to have someone or ones come forward to be the Social Event Chair or Chairs. The FWSA Delegates remain the same: Joye, Sheree and Cathy. All members are welcome and encouraged to attend the tri-annual meetings. Clearwater Yacht Club's Bow Chasers will host the fall meeting on Wednesday September 20th, 2017.

RR's will continue to meet over the summer but all on-the-water activities are TBA and informal. There is a sailing/kayak picnic trip planned for this summer. Dates for the Fall Sunfish/Pram series are in the works. We are the hosts for the October covered dish chaired by Patty Tishuk. With her at the helm the party is sure to be a blast!

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As we continue to grow and evolve please be patient as we aren't finished yet. We hope BCYC women who have expressed interest in the past will join us again and be a part of making this a successful women's group. It will be only as good as we choose to make it.

I will leave you with our mission statement. The mis-sion of Rhumb Runners is to provide venues for the women of Boca Ciega Yacht Club who are interested in sailing, social activities, community involvement, fellowship, and fun. Our commitment is to offer edu-cational opportunities that will build confidence and foster independence while promoting the sport of sailing. We welcome all women regardless of where their interests lie, both on and off the water.

Rhumbrunners continues next page >>

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More Rhumbrunner photos

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From the ArchivesSubmitted by Capt. Richard “Sandbar” Walters, Historian

Hello members,

Let yourself be transported to a time when the Boca Ciega Yacht Club was just a dream of some good heart-ed family mariners being forcibly set adrift from their home. The Sunshine City Boat Club (SCBC) on May 1st, 1965 were being told to vacate their clubhouse and grounds in the Vinoy Basin in downtown Saint Peters-burg. The city planners were making room for the HMS Bounty which they hoped to be a huge tourist attraction. The HMS Bounty was a 180-foot-long, 412-ton tall ship built in 1960 by MGM Studios for the 1961 movie “Mutiny on the Bounty” with Marlon Brando. The Bounty was the first ship constructed from the keel up solely for filming a motion pic-ture. The Bounty finally found its demise on October 29, 2012 and sank in the Atlantic Ocean after being pummeled by Hur-ricane Sandy.

The resourceful leaders of the Sunshine City Boat Club had already been talking with the City of Gulfport to lease a plot of land near the city’s marina. They saw great potential in using this plot of land but it was go-ing to take a lot of work to turn it into a yacht club with a substantial boat basin. The SCBC membership decid-ed to take the name of a yacht club that used to be in

the Gulfport area called the Boca Ciega Yacht Club. The first BCYC was active in the 1930’s and the exact location of this first club is unknown at this time. You can see the attached picture which shows the early Gulfport Marina and what looks like a building with sand around it.

On July 21, 1965 the directors of BCYC signed their first lease from the City of Gulfport for a period of 8/1/65 to 8/1/75. The club had quite a bit of work to accomplish in order to move their boats to this new location and building a basin was the top priority. On April 18, 1966 the West Coast Engineering (WCE) firm prepared the initial drawings for the club to obtain a dredging permit.

On the 21st of that same month the per-mit application was submitted to the U.S. Corps of Engineers at Jacksonville. On May 16, 1966 the basin plan was finalized to provide 39 boat slips on the east and north sides of the basin including a 20 foot easement around the basin for auto access on the

south side for an approximate 39 more slips. As you can see from the these photos there were two finger docks on the south side of the basin which we no longer have. Moving members boats to the yet to be completed basin took top priority and a temporary sea wall was constructed with broken cement and rock pieces which the city took an issue with.

In September of 1966 the basin was two-thirds com-pleted and a substantial payment was voted on, the exact amount is unknown. At the time W.C. Peterson

Gulfport Marina and future BCYC (circa 1962)

From the Archives continues next page >>

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First BCYC basin layout (circa 1967)

Mud Hole into Yacht Club (circa 1965)

was the Commodore and a lease with the city was amended to include a legal description of the basin and made retroactive to July 21, 1965. No drawing accompanied the legal description in the lease due to changes that were made from the original WCE drawing that were never up-dated. Getting permits for the docks and finding old city drawings turned into a fiasco but these historical events will be unearthed in the next article.

Keep making history.

Note: In the flyer on the page opposite, the basin layout shown was never used. (Date unknown)

From the Archives, continued from previous page

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From the Archives continues next page >> 25

Rear Commodore ReportSubmitted by Rick Martin, Rear Commodore

It’s been a couple of months since I submitted a Wind-word article so I have some catching up to do!

May means FUN DAY at BCYC so for the April work day we had a lot of activity in preparation for the big event!

It started at the March General Meeting. I had spoken about the upcoming Fun Day and the need to get the place spiffy. Linda Maloy mentioned in her report that she thought it would be a good idea to build a ramp out of pavers from the parking lot up to the walk on the west side of the building. We all thought maybe we would do a little planning, maybe some digging, but not really get it going until the next (April) work day. Boy! Did I ever underestimate the level of interest in this project!

The next day, there were pavers and sand being pur-chased and a concrete saw materialized seemingly out of nowhere and the project got started in earnest! We got it about 2/3 of the way done! Special thanks to our bricklayers and Don Rogers for the saw skills and Linda Maloy for the idea and the know how!

In April, we got the ramp finished in time for Fun Day with the help of Samantha Ring (who always wanted to learn to do pavers), Larry Allen, Dave Main, Lewis Brier, and Jim Barber, Louis Breyer, Matt and Linda Maloy, and Rick Ogorek.

In April, we had another project that wasn’t on the Radar. The floating dinghy dock was coming apart. Bill Morse volunteered to head that one up and got it patched up with the help of Chuck Greenslade, Dan Chestnut, and Dimitri Kanillitsas. They got is service-able again, but it will require further repair.

In April, we also did a good general clean-up of the club. This included cleaning and straightening the book shelves, cleaning the kitchen, cleaning the ceiling fans, and cleaning the bathrooms. Thanks to Marjorie Lofts, Tom Neu, Kathy Longacre, Gary Rhoads, Lee Im-perato, Rhonda Fuller, Nancy Bennett, Deb Weber. Also, we finally got the trophies polished! Thanks to Sheri Ogorek, Nancy Bedinger, Lee Imperato, and Gerri Angel.

As usual, Mixer was out with his chainsaw trying to tame the Brazilian Peppers with Greg Foley and Geoff Robinson hauling debris!

Of Course, Linda always has a Gaggle of Gardeners! Thanks to Ellie Zinner, Kathy Longacre and Gary Rhoads.

Tractor digging basin (circa 1966)

From the Archives, continued from previous page

FIrst Pilings of Club Basin (circa 1966)

More photos and history to come next month!

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