san francisco model yacht club nautical news ......2012/06/06 · award will be presented to the...
TRANSCRIPT
SAN FRANCISCO MODEL YACHT CLUB
NAUTICAL NEWS
Mailing Address:
S.F.M.Y.C.
450 Taraval ST. PMB 235
San Francisco, CA 94116
VOLUME 114 JUNE, 2012 NUMBER 6
June 02 Saturday 1300 Infinity 54 class, race 3
June 03 Sunday 1300 M class, race 3
June 05 Tuesday 1300 ODOM class, race 4
June 07 Thursday 1300 RX class, race 4
June 09 Saturday 0930 Board of Director’s Meeting
June 09 Saturday 1100 General Membership Meeting
June 09 Saturday 1300 Star 45 class, race 3
June 10 Sunday 1300 36R class, race 3
June 16 Saturday 0900 SFMYC Tug Fest
June 17 Sunday Father's Day
June 23 Saturday 1300 X class, Virgil Cup, Classic X, race 4
June 24 Sunday 1300 Santa Barbara class, race 4
June 30 Saturday 1300 Santa Barbara class Col. Bart Cup/AMYA. Region 6
Championship, day 1
Celebration BBQ following races, open to . all sailors, friends, and family.
Please advise us of your new address when moving! On the Web: Http://www.sfmyc.org/
TIME CRITICAL MATERIAL - - - PLEASE FORWARD IF MOVED.
The Nautical News is published on a monthly basis by, and serves as the newsletter of and for the San Francisco Model Yacht Club, a NON-PROFIT, TAX EXEMPT CORPORATION.
This page is intentionally left blank.
JUNE, 2012 Vol. 114 No. 6
2012 OFFICERS
Commodore
Bob Heacock
Vice-Commodore
Lee Duvall
Secretary
Don Ciucci
Treasurer
Jeff Brooks
Power Squadron Officer Bernard Price
Sail Squadron Officers
Freesail: Mike Stobbe
R/C Sail: Rich Styles
Directors at Large
John Garis
Drew Marshall
Til Mossi
Ed Shoenstein
John Strebel
Historian
Jeff Stobbe
Nautical News Editor Jim Harvey
The deadline for items for the Nautical
News is the 20th of each month.
Send to Jim Harvey
([email protected]). The editor
reserves the right to edit submissions,
based on space available.
COMMODORE’S CORNER
In the last issue of the Nautical News, I mentioned how lucky we are to
have our beautiful clubhouse and our lake. Indeed, living in the San
Francisco Bay Area, we’re also blessed with a temperate climate, no
killer tornados, no ice and snowstorms, and no broiling summers. And
we also live in an area where creative genius of every kind flourishes,
from the Silicon Valley technology companies to the digital art wizards
at Pixar in Emeryville, to the hundreds of artists of all kinds in
Petaluma and Santa Rosa.
It seemed as though all that creative genius came together at one place
at Maker Faire 2012. From textiles to robotics, from wood and steel
crafters to, yes, model boat builders, it was all there to see. The San
Francisco Model Yacht Club and the Western Warship Combat Club
combined their efforts to build a 40 foot by 70 foot “lake” at the Faire
for our respective fleets. The theme for the Warship Combat Club was
“Angry Battleships”, a take-off on the popular video game “Angry
Birds”. It was really something to see when up to a dozen scale
warships blasted away at “convoy vessels”, and each other, with ¼ inch
ball bearing “ammunition”.
In the morning, the SFMYC ran a kid’s event called “Race ‘n Shoot”,
in which parents loaded ping pong ball ammunition into “guns”
powered by mouse traps, and the kids piloted R/C PT boats to a target
ring at the far end of the lake. The first child to get three balls in the
ring got an “Angry Birds” plush toy. The “Race ‘n Shoot” is so popular
I’ve heard that kids “make” their parents take them to Maker Faire just
so that they can play this game.
And in the afternoon, young people and their parents were invited to
sail the Footy sailboats, run the PT boats around the lake, and sail some
club member’s powerboats and sailboats. Maker Faire is a golden
opportunity to put our club “Front and Center” to a huge audience. Over 100,000 people were there on Saturday, and over
80,000 on Sunday. Approximately 11,000 people got seating to watch
the combats, and they all exited the arena right past our display. I’d like
to thank all the club members who volunteered at this event. We put on
a great show! The San Francisco Model Yacht Club is such a historic organization,
with some of the finest craftsmen and women in the nation, and our
club has such a rich history to tell, that we’d be remiss if we didn’t
promote our club, its members, and our boats. Our focus in engaging
2
young people and their parents in our activities, such as the Youth Sailing Program sponsored by the San
Francisco Department of Recreation and Parks, and our PT boat competitions at Maker Faire, are the kinds of
things that will pay dividends for our club far into the future.
And while I’m promoting club activities, let’s not forget that we have the AMYA Region 6 Championship for
the Santa Barbara class coming up on Saturday, June 30th
and Sunday, July 1st. After the races on Saturday,
we’ll have a barbecue for all the participants. You can go to the club website, www.sfmyc.org, and download an
application. If you’d like to race, you must be an AMYA member, and your boat must be registered with the
AMYA. The deadline for applying is June 20th
, and we’ll waive the late fees as long as your registration is
postmarked by the 20th
.
How would you like to be an AMYA Region 6 Champion Footy sailor? We have the club’s six Footy sailboats,
and we have an AMYA Region 6 Footy Championship regatta coming up on Saturday, July 7th
, and Sunday,
July 8th
. We’d like to have some club members sail in this regatta. The sail numbers are 428 to 433. Pick a sail
number, and you could be a winner. The registration form for this regatta is also available on the club website.
As with the S/B races, you must be an AMYA member to enter. The Footies are already registered. The
deadline for applying for these races is June 29th
.
On the horizon is our big bi-annual event, Wooden Boats on Parade, which will be on Sunday, September 30th
.
As most of you know, Wooden Boats attracts hundreds of classic and modern yachts and boats from all over the
West Coast, and is not to be missed. Let’s hope we have better weather than we did in 2010.
I’ll see you on the lake,
Bob Heacock, Commodore
Power Squadron Report
Last month, the SFMYC, along with members of the Western Warship Combat Club (WWCC) put on an
incredible display of boats both on the water and on static display at “Maker Faire”! Between the dramatic
combat sorties run by the WWCC, our club Footy sailboats along with various power boats took to the pond
and introduced countless young people and their parents to our great hobby! Off of the water, Club members
enthusiastically shared their beautiful models with folks passing by the club booth! Thanks to all who
volunteered and made this event a huge success! The SFMYC TugFest will be on Saturday, June 16
th starting at 9:30 AM. This year we’ll be running two
courses, one being Tug and Barge which will test you and your tug’s ability to maneuver through a course
with an appropriately sized barge attached. The other being Team Towing with the Pacific Emanon which
will require teamwork between tugs to safely navigate our tanker through a fun and challenging course.
Awards will be given in Big Boat (>30”) and Small Boat (<30”) divisions. The Ken Reilly Memorial
Award will be presented to the highest-placing Springer in the event. You don’t want to miss this fun event!
A picture perfect day greeted us at the lake for the Predicted Log Regatta! 10 boats ran the ‘twice-around’
navigation course to see who could come closest to their individually predicted elapsed time- I must say, I
was very impressed by the accuracy of the estimating! What a great day!
3
Predicted Log Regatta Results
Place Skipper Boat Name Time Delta
1st Kevin Tang Rescue Bo Bo #2 + 0:0:11
2nd
Lee Duvall Miss Behave +0:0:14
3rd
Til Mossi Errant Wind +0:0:15
On the Horizon The “Boat Handling Challenge” will be held on Sunday, August 5th
, starting at 9:30 AM
.
The “Boat Handing Challenge” is made up of a single course with a series of obstacles designed to put your
boat handling skills to the test. Awards will be given in big boat (>30”) and small boat (<30”) divisions.
Participants last year had a lot of fun!
Bernard Price, PSO
R/C Sail Squadron Report
I need to remind all of the Santa Barbara and Footy Skippers that they need to send their entry forms and
entry fees in by the end of this month. All SFMYC Skippers who intend to race will need to have a
measurement certificate on file. John Super and I will be setting certain days when we will measure the boats
and complete the required certification for our file, and a copy for each boat owner. If you cannot be present
on any of the days we will be measuring, we will need your permission to certify any boat that is kept in the
clubhouse. Please email me and let me know. All certificates both club file and owners copies will be kept
for you to pick up at a later date.
All of our class races have been averaging six boats per race in the past weeks. I truly think that we can do
better. Out of all the boats that are housed in our club house we need them all sailing either in races or just
for fun. If any club member needs help in fixing or preparing a boat just let me know and I will work with
you to help make your boat seaworthy and/or competitive.
Any Skippers that would like to race one of our Footy Fleet boats in the Regional Championship need to
contact me, so we can reserve a boat for you. Our Footy Fleet has been registered with the AMYA and will
be certified by the club. Skippers that reserve footies for the Regional Championship will need to fill out the
entry form and send in the required fee.
Race Results
Star 45 Class Race #1 Place Boat Number Skipper
1 5 Jim Forbes
2 7 Stephen Ma
3 29 Oscar Koechlin
4 318 Mary Rose Cassa
5 852 Tony Dodson
4
ODOM Class Race #3 Place Boat Number Skipper
1 42 Jason Spiller
2 103 Jim Hensel
3 198 George Pedrick
4 191 Michael Fischer
5 311 Jeff Brooks
6 0 Bob Benson
RX Class Race #3
Place Boat Number Skipper
1 31 Mike Rachoff
2 81 Jason Spiller
3 80 Jim Hensel
4 91 Bob Benson
5 13 Jeff Brooks
6 16 Rich Styles
Santa Barbara OD Class Race #3
Place Boat Number Skipper
1 759 Jason Spiller
2 922 Jim Hensel
3 1041 Sephen Ma
4 464 Rich Styles
5 828 Elliot Aldrich
6 443 Jerry Turney
The next few months are going to be hectic, with all the planning, scheduling and logistics involved with
having the Regional Championship Regattas for the Santa Barbara OD Class, and the Footy Class. I hope all
of our members can show their appreciation by participating and volunteering to help make this year one to
be remembered. I plan to help make next year even better, but I will need the help from YOU the
membership. All will turn out well if we function as a club united. We should all be proud to belong to The
San Francisco Model Yacht Club, truly the jewel of model yachting in the U.S.A.
Come out and have some fun, let's sail together.
Rich Styles, RCSSO
5
Freesail Report
36R Class, Race 2, April 29
The 36R Class continues to risk being undone by its own success: fifteen boats competed in race 2. Your
FSO opted to go with 3-boat starts, which proved to be a mistake. Despite decent winds, we were unable to
complete a full round robin, and the race was called at 5:00 pm with two rounds to go. It definitely appears
that 4-boat starts will be the norm for the 36R class this season. Four new or almost new skippers were
welcomed into the fleet: after a long wait for her boat to be completed, Yuri Sands was psyched up to enter
her first race. Dave Sands had had her out practicing a few times beforehand. New member Kim
McClintock, eager to try freesailing, was jumping in with no prior experience whatsoever, sailing a borrowed
boat. Jeff Brooks was also trying freesailing for the first time, assisted by his friend Kathy McCorkel, who
let Jeff rest his sore knee from time to time. And Thomas Czegledy, who enthusiastically joined the club that
same day, had previously freesailed only once before, at last year's 36R Invitational Regatta. Despite a
foggy morning, it turned out to be a beautiful sunny day. Light to moderate winds were coming from the
south and east of south. The Street Breeze was totally absent. The racing went off fairly smoothly, although
some running boats, over-corrected when the breeze was easterly, headed for the south shore each time the
wind reverted to southerly. Between the 3rd and 4th rounds, the wind did a major shift, with the westerly
Street Breeze returning and Spreckels Lake resumed its more normal wind pattern. Occasional collisions or
gear problems cropped up as usual, but everyone finished, and all had a good time. Our PSO, Bernard Price,
had a fantastic day, and sailed to first place. Mike Stobbe and Jason Spiller, having tied or very close points
standing all day, sailed to second and third spots. Stephen Ma garnered fourth place. The complete results
are:
1st Bernard Price, 36R-45, Breeze 9th Bruce Ettinger, 36R-53, Beamy Up
2nd Mike Stobbe, 36R-34, Black Magic 10th Ed Schoenstein, 36R-20, America II
3rd Jason Spiller, 36R-24, Ruthless Robin 11th Dave Sands, 36R-21, Unmentionable
4th Stephen Ma, 36R-15, Skylark 12th Mary Rose Cassa, 36R-28, Manzanita
5th Dan McCormick, 36R-16, Frisco Flyer 13th Jim Forbes, 36R-5, Banana Boat
6th Thomas Czegledy, 36R-42, Pandora 14th Kim McClintock, 36R-32, Ace
7th Jeff Brooks/Cathy McCorkel, 36R-29, Surprise15th Yuriko Sands, 36R-47, Kami Kaze
8th Colleen Stobbe, 36R-31, Grace
X-Class, Tofte Cup, May 6
As with the M-boat race last month, it was an unbelievably beautiful warm, sunny day at the lake for the X-
Class' Tofte Cup. Five boats raced, in light, unreliable west to southwesterly breezes. There was some
difficulty getting out of Heartbreak Harbor at times, but on the whole, it was a pleasant relaxing day to sail.
Little or no running was required. There were a surprising number of instances of boats failing to tack off
the starting line, with subsequent grounding on the Skeleton Coast. Also, the breeze was southerly enough to
often lift beating boats into Turtle Bay. It's all part of the game, but when one is surrounded by such a
beautiful scene, it's impossible not to enjoy it. In one memorable beat, Mike Stobbe made what is probably
the record come-from-behind loss to Jason Spiller. Fluky winds had sent Mike's boat back and forth across
the middle of the lake, while Jason had forged ahead toward the finish line. However, Jason had been lifted
into Turtle Bay, and about 20 feet from the finish he coasted into dead air. Way back in the middle of the
lake, Mike finally caught a steady westerly and started charging. Both skippers stood at the finish line,
judging each boat's progress: Mike's 'Spearment making several knots, and Jason's Storm King II painfully
gaining one foot at a time at about 0.0001 knot. In the end, Jason's boat just nosed over the line about a half
boat-length before Mike passed him.
6
Our inimitable Dan McCormick took first place, a point ahead of Jason Spiller. Season points leader Dave
Sands came in third. The Stobbe brothers were vanquished. No skippers sailed for the Classic X class.
1st Dan McCormick, X-30, Mary 4th Mike Stobbe, X-34, 'Spearment
2nd Jason Spiller, X-21, Storm King II 5th Jeff Stobbe, X-43, Emily
3rd Dave Sands, X-76, Stars & Stripes
Shipyard Report
Three new 36Rs slid off the ways last month. Jim Forbes, Bernard Price, and Gordon Leighton all have new
boats. Indeed, the 36R fleet is growing at an astonishing rate. In the year 2002 there were none. The
SFMYC had no 36R fleet. Spurred by the adoption of the 36R Class for the 2003 US-UK Challenge Cup,
the SF fleet has just assigned sail number 54! Can you believe it? Fifty-four boats in ten years! I see a rosy
future for SFMYC freesailing. Keep them coming folks, and don't forget the 36R US Nationals will be in
San Diego on September 22.
Mike Stobbe, SSO
Jason Spiller and Dan McCormick ready to start the beat, X-Class Tofte Cup
Photo by Mike Stobbe
7
Dave Sands turning Stars & Stripes, the current X-boat season points leader
Photo by Mike Stobbe
The pond at Maker faire made by the SFMYC and the Western Warship Combat Club.
Photo by Rob Wood
8
SFMYC exhibit at Maker Faire.
Photo by John Blackburn
All-out war! Eight warships and convoy vessels at Maker Faire. Blue tape covers "battle damage".
Photo by Bob Heacock
9
"That's where it's leaking". Bernard Price, George DeSousa, Rob Wood, and Dave DeRuscio at
Maker Faire.
Photo by Bob Heacock
Western Warship Combat Club President Rob Wood and SFMYC Commodore Bob Heacock at
Maker Faire.
Photo by John Blackburn
10
Future member of the SFMYC and a Footy sailboat at Maker Faire.
Photo by Bob Heacock
11
12