san francisco model yacht club nautical news s.f.m.y.c. · the damage to the sailboat was major....
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SAN FRANCISCO MODEL YACHT CLUBNAUTICAL NEWS
Mailing Address:
S.F.M.Y.C.450 Taraval ST. PMB 235San Francisco, CA 94116
VOLUME 114 October, 2012 NUMBER 10
September 30 Sunday 0930 Wooden Boats on ParadeOctober 6 and 7 Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Concert, roads closedOctober 08 Monday Columbus DayOctober 13 Saturday 0930 Board of Directors MeetingOctober 13 Saturday 1100 General Membership MeetingOctober 13 Saturday 1300 36R class, race 6, end seasonOctober 14 Sunday Nike Marathon, park closedOctober 20 Saturday Breast Cancer Walk, park closedOctober 21 Sunday OpenOctober 28 Sunday 0930 Fishing Boat Gambler
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The Nautical News is published on amonthly basis by, and serves as thenewsletter of and for the San FranciscoModel Yacht Club, a NON-PROFIT, TAXEXEMPT CORPORATION.
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October, 2012 Vol. 114 No. 10
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
As Edward R. Murrow used to say before his broadcast, ‘and now the
news’. My Commodore’s Corner this month is news, and more news.
So, let’s get started.
Our fourth annual Swap Meet will be held following our regular
monthly meeting on Saturday, November 10th. We’ve invited four
other Bay Area model boat clubs to participate. You just never know
what you’ll find at the Swap Meet, whether it’s that tool that you never
knew even existed, to those parts that you’ve been scouring the internet
to find, or that kit you’re interested in, but couldn’t afford. It’s also a
great opportunity to socialize with other club members, and find out
what’s going on in the rest of the model boating world. We’ll have
tables in the clubhouse for you to display your wares, and we’d also ask
that you voluntarily donate 10% of your proceeds to the SFMYC to
help defray the costs of the event.
For the first time in a while, we’re going to be having some openings
on the club’s Executive Board. Two of our “Directors at Large”, Ed
Schoenstein and Drew Marshall, have indicated that they’d like to
resign at the end of the year. Power Squadron Officer Bernard Price has
served as our P.S.O for three years, and thinks it’s time for a new
person in that office. Vice-Commodore Lee Duvall has also said that
he’d resign if someone else wanted to serve in that position.
We’ve appointed a Nominating Committee to find members who’d like
to join the Executive Board. The members of the Committee, and their
contact information, are:
Don Ciucci (650) 355-9519 [email protected]
Til Mossi (415), 681-0110 [email protected]
Jeff Brooks (415) 681-9030 [email protected]
Craig Carter (415) 752-3736 [email protected]
It’s been said many times before, that this is YOUR club. Please don’t
assume that “someone else will do it”, lest we go into next year without
club officers in key roles. I’m thinking of the old Army recruiting
poster, with the picture of Uncle Sam, captioned “Uncle Sam wants
YOU”, repurposed as “The SFMYC wants YOU!
Rod Carr has written an interesting article for this newsletter on
developing and sustaining club memberships. Rod has been active in
the formation of numerous clubs, as well as providing sails for
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numerous classes of model yachts for over 40 years, Rod holds AMYA membership number two, and was
inducted into the AMYA Hall of
Fame in 2001. He points out the importance of outreach activities, such as doing shows and events, and sailing
our boats in public venues, like we do at Spreckels Lake, which are necessary steps to building club
memberships. I’m happy to report that we’ve gained 26 new members as of August of this year, but we must
continue our outreach efforts, because we’re competing with so many other activities and hobbies for people’s
time and money.
Club member Michael Fischer is taking the lead in introducing a new class of R/C sailboat to the SFMYC. He
and two friends have built Victorias, an affordable class that we can race, and use to introduce new members to
R/C sailing. Whereas an Odom costs at least $650.00, you can build a Victoria for about $200.00. This is ideal
for new members who don’t want to make the substantial investment in an Odom, for a hobby that they’re just
beginning. Michael has secured a grant of $500.00 from the San Francisco Foundation to our club for the
purpose of obtaining Victoria kits. Thank you, Michael. I’d also like to thank Wooden Boats on Parade
Chairman, and Vice-Commodore, Lee Duvall and his dedicated crew of volunteers for putting on an excellent
Wooden Boats show. A wonderful time was had by all.
I’ll see you at the lake,
Bob Heacock, Commodore
The San Francisco Model Yacht Club has made special arrangements with Captain Josh, owner of the
sailing yacht “Ruby” for our members to see the World Series of Sailing on the water. The dates are from
August 21st to August 26
th. The ‘Ruby’ will depart from the Ramp Café, at the corner of Mariposa and
Illinois streets, near Mission Rock, at 12:30 PM, and will return at 3:00 PM. The cost is $40.00 per
person, which includes lunch. To make a reservation, call Josh at (415) 272-0631, or go to
www.rubysailing.com. for further information. Captain Josh says to mention the SFMYC for the ‘special
treatment’.
Power Squadron Report
October is upon us and autumn is in the air. As the year begins to wind to a close, thoughts begin to turn to
next season. Already, our Club is preparing for the New Year by forming a nominating committee for the
upcoming election of Club Officers. I’ve happily served as your Power Squadron Officer for two years- I’ve
had a lot of fun and I hope you have too. It is now time for someone else in the Club to enjoy serving in this
role. If you are interested in being Power Squadron Officer next year, please let the nominating committee
know. If you are contacted by the nominating committee, I urge you to accept the nomination. Serving your
Club as an Officer is an important part of being a good club citizen and ensuring our Club’s longevity.
By the time you receive this report Wooden Boats on Parade will have happened and will no doubt have
been a great success.
Seamanship Reminder
Another collision happened on the lake involving a high speed boat and a sailboat since our last newsletter.
The damage to the sailboat was major. This is not a good trend we’re seeing on the lake this season. As a
reminder, please, always exercise good judgment and maintain solid situational awareness when operating
your boats on the lake. Know ahead of time where your boat is going – and know where the other boats are
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on the lake at all times. Remind the person next to you- Club member or not, to do the same if they appear
to be operating their boat in a careless way.
On the Horizon:
Fleet Day, our predicted log contest for military vessels will be on Sunday October 28th
. A potluck lunch
will be part of the festivities. The event begins at 0930 hrs.
The Navigator Regatta, a fun navigation course run in heats with the range of movement of the skipper on
shore reduced with each run through the course makes for an increasing challenge not to hit the marks!
Always a great event! Plan to be there Sunday, November 18th
!
Bernard Price, PSO
Cartoon provided by Michael Fischer from New Yorker Magazine
Freesail Report
36R INVITATIONAL REGATTA, AUGUST 19
Cool, overcast weather with plenty of wind greeted thirteen boats on Sunday, August 19, for the 36R
Invitational Regatta. Two visiting skippers participated: Helene Woolsey, of La Selva Beach, and Gary
Caballero, of Capitola, California. In addition, Alan Farnham, visiting from New York, and our own Julie
Shryne and Thomas Czegledy came out to observe the action. And action there was. There was a strong
westerly wind, which only seemed to get stronger still as the day wore on. The Street Breeze predominated,
however the Rhododendrum Breeze was also strong. Their confluence created some persistent eddies in the
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Sargasso Sea, which Bruce Ettinger can tell you all about. Getting out of Heartbreak Harbor was difficult
most of the time, but once past the first fifty feet or so, the wind was really very good; less shifty than is
typical, and quite strong. The heavier boats were on the verge of being driven under when running. Bernard
Price's lightweight was often close to popping up on a plane, but the wind was just shy of what it needed to
break out. The size of the field necessitated four-boat starts, and a lot of collisions resulted. These were
taken in stride, but undoubtedly affected the final results. The wind strength took its toll with minor gear
failures, but all skippers hung in there and there were no DNFs. Gary Caballero had the most serious
problem, with a slipping rudder that wouldn't stay aligned. Julie Shryne coached Helena, who made a very
credible showing for her first try at freesailing. There was an unfortunate incident on the last board,
however, when for the second consecutive event now, an electric hydroplane at high speed crashed into one
of the freesail racers. Missing the hull, the powerboat nearly tore off the control vane from Gary Caballero's
boat. The vane, and the vane mount were seriously damaged; the feather destroyed. Managing to avoid all
mishaps, Mike Stobbe sailed to win the day. Jason Spiller came in second despite his boat having sailed on
its side much of the time. Jeff Brooks, aided by Kathy McCorkel took third, and Jeff Stobbe came in fourth.
The complete results are:
1st Mike Stobbe, 36R-34, Black Magic 8th Helene Woolsey, 36R-32, Ace
2nd Jason Spiller, 36R-24, Ruthless Robin 9th Jim Forbes, 36R-54, Honey
3rd Jeff Brooks/Kathy McCorkel, 36R-29, Surprise10th Gordon Leighton, 36R-51, Bad News
4th Jeff Stobbe, 36R-42, Pandora 11th Bruce Ettinger, 36R-53, Beamy Up
5th Stephen Ma, 36R-15, Skylark 12th Ed Schoenstein, 36R-6, Knot Rocket
6th Bernard Price, 36R-49 13th Gary Caballero, 36R-45, Breeze
7th Colleen Stobbe, 36R-31, Grace
36R Invitational: Kathy McCorkel, Helena Woolsey (assisted by Julie Shryne), and Gordon
Leighton, ready to start the beat. Photo by Mike Stobbe
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36R Invitational: Collen Stobbe, Jason Spiller, and Gary Caballero begin their beat.
Photo by Mike Stobbe
M-CLASS, RACE 5, AUGUST 25 Weather conditions for the M-Class' race 5, on Saturday, August 25, were very similar to what the 36R fleet
experienced the week before: cool, overcast, and windy. The wind was perhaps not quite so strong for the
Ms as for the 36s, but both the westerly Street Breeze and the southerly Rhododendron Breeze were in fine
form, with the same weird happenings where they met in the middle of the lake. Six skippers entered,
including Julie Shryne, trying out M-boats for the first time. Jason Spiller generously offered her Lil Bit, the
McMillan boat he has been using, and he dusted off the club's M-13, Lulu for himself. Julie showed her
gratitude by whupping his a**. Actually, a few years earlier, Jason had sailed Lulu for two class season
championships, but today was not to be his day. Some of the races were very close, while others were
scattered all over. Getting out of Heartbreak Harbor spelled trouble more often than not. In the end, not
counting Jason's performance, no one skipper dominated. The top five boats were separated by only four
points. Halfway through the last beat, Bruce Ettinger seemed to have the regatta in the bag, when his jib
sheet came off, allowing Mike Stobbe to sail past him to take an unearned first place. Bruce still retained
second, however. Jeff Stobbe came in third, Stephen Ma fourth, and Julie Shryne fifth. The complete results
are:
1st Mike Stobbe, M-50, Pocahontas 4th Stephen Ma, M-51, Fulcrum
2nd Bruce Ettinger, M-41, Shadow 5th Julie Shryne, M-12, Lil Bit
3rd Jeff Stobbe, M-43, Dart 6th Jason Spiller, M-13, Lulu
36R-CLASS, RACE 5, SEPTEMBER 16
The 36R-Class held its Race 5 under chilly, overcast sky (sunny and warm only two blocks east!) with brisk
westerly winds. Ten boats entered, thus three-boat starts were the order of the day. The winds were typical
Spreckels: dead at the west end, strong at the east end, with both the Street Breeze and Rhododendron Breeze
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in full effect. The wind was not perhaps so shifty as usual, however some of the shifts were huge,
particularly in mid-lake where shifts of 180 degrees occurred, and near the beating finish line just off Punto
Blanco. Those who could stay close to the north shore, in the Street Breeze, generally stayed out of trouble.
But from mid-lake southwards you'd better pray to the deity of your choice. Initially, the wind was quite
strong. Not quite so strong as to cause broaching or submarining, but close to it. Bernard Price's tiny little
five-pounder was in its element, and he was cleaning up. Jim Forbes was finally getting a handle on his new
boat, and he too was sweeping the field. Reliable performers Jason Spiller and Mike Stobbe were also doing
well. These four were leaving the rest of the fleet far behind. Stephen Ma, often a winner, had a rigging
problem, which gave his mast a forward tilt: actually a pretty alarming sight. The others were carried south
too often, or batted helplessly back and forth by the big shifts in mid-lake. Dave Sands came within one foot
(!) of the finish line on the final beat only to be turned back: nine points, poof! In the latter part of the
regatta, the wind began to weaken and become more variable. Bernard's boat faded. Going into the final
round, Jim Forbes had a 4 point lead over Jason Spiller and Mike Stobbe, who were tied. However, Mike
beat him both ways to eak out a 1-point victory, and Jason took third. The complete results are:
1st Mike Stobbe, 36R-34, Black Magic 6th Dave Sands, 36R-13
2nd Jim Forbes, 36R-54, Honey 7th Mary Rose Cassa, 36R-28, Manzanita
3rd Jason Spiller, 36R-24, Ruthless Robin 8th Colleen Stobbe, 36R-31, Grace
4th Bernard Price, 36R-49 9th Yuri Sands, 36R-47, Kami Kaze
5th Stephen Ma, 36R-33, Krispe 10th Bruce Ettinger, 36R-53, Beamy Up
36R Race 5, Mike Stobbe and Jason Spiller, on the run. “Isn’t blowing on the sails against the
rules?” Photo by Vivian Ettinger
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36R Race 5, Jason Spiller, Bruce Ettinger, and Yurie Sands beat up the lake.
Photo by Vivian Ettinger
2013 US/UK CHALLENGE CUP
The dates for next year's US/UK Challenge Cup have been fixed. As before, the 36R-Class boats will be
sailed, and two venues on consecutive weekends have been selected: June 8-9 at Gosport (next to
Portsmouth, south of England), and June 15-16 at Llandudno, in Wales. The plan is for the US team to
arrive at Heathrow on June 5. The English will meet us with transport, and do all the driving for us. They
have scripted a full week of activities, possibly including visits to Downton Abby, Hampton Court (sailing
A-boats with hip-waders in Rick Pond!), Greenwich, the Cutty Sark and maritime museum, and more.
Return to London/Heathrow late on the 17th for your flight home or to continue your vacation as you wish.
It looks like there will be a big turnout on both sides, with perhaps 20-25 people participating. I guarantee it
will be a lot of fun. Graham Reeves <[email protected]> is organizing things across the pond.
Mike Stobbe, FSO
Membership Growth and Retention
Questions of membership growth and retention are relative to specifics of Club Membership, Class
Membership, or AMYA wide membership. Each group has its own goals, and they are not all the same. I
submit that membership is of most concern to individual clubs, because a minimum number of members is
required to maintain a viable racing program
A good question to start the discussion is who has the major responsibility for recruiting and retaining
members and why? I suggest that it is at the Club level where personal relationships, technical support, and
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social interaction can all be mixed together to maintain a viable racing program that is attractive to new
members and interesting enough to keep members returning year after year.
Over the history of my association with AMYA and with local clubs on both coasts that sailed both the EC-
12 and Victoria classes, I’ve gathered a substantial bit of information about what it takes to find new
members and retain them. A club’s budget for advertising and promotion is small, and needs to be spent
wisely. How many members were gained from publicity was tracked for years and provides an interesting
snap shot of a Club level activity.
How are new members found? In order of likelihood of turning up potential new members: A) Public
Exposure by Club Activities such as regular sailing at a publically accessible site; B) Booths/Exhibits at local
or regional Hobby Shows; C) Booths/Exhibits at Marine/Boat Shows; D) Other events, Mall Displays, etc..
Success with A) above seems to rest with establishing a willingness among the members to take a hand in the
activities that generate the steady stream of new skippers that are needed to replace each year’s losses. They
are the activities that are the most efficient in terms of the effort required to carry them out. So we will focus
on Skipper/Club outreach.
In the case of an EC-12 focused club, the class requires use of certified one-design hulls. All boats are the
result of a long term, laborious construction effort where the new skipper requires the assistance of several
current skippers. This produces a situation by the time the skipper has the boat ready to launch, he is very,
very likely already an AMYA member because his support group led him to join and register his boat. In the
case of the Victoria Class or other kit boat, the boat falls out of a box in pieces, and can be assembled rather
quickly with very limited support from local skippers, so the new owner is likely sailing long before he even
realizes that the local club may require AMYA membership registration of the boat.
A major concern is the means by which individual club members can be motivated to perform the outreach
efforts so necessary to a club’s viability and longevity. Appealing to statistics, while effective in illustrating
the need to deal with annual turnover of 15 to 20% of the club each year, is somewhat off putting as it seems
to lay the groundwork for a demand that skippers put down their transmitters and take part in some sort of a
formal marketing program. A somewhat better way of framing the activity is to appeal to the aspects of the
hobby that captured each skipper’s interest when he entered the sport; i.e.; the fun, technical and social
aspects of the activity. If a skipper can be introduced to the process of sharing his love of the sport with a
bystander, the process becomes less of a “cold call” marketing effort, and more of a welcoming or
invitational process that is going to ultimately bring new skippers and new friends into the club’s activities.
If we accept this sharing model of outreach activity what must the club itself do to support and enhance its
consistent employment and application? One of the key ways is to have one club member responsible for the
maintenance of a one page “flyer” that describes the club, gives member contact names and e-mail/phone
numbers, describes the boat the club sails, and gives a schedule of activities and their locations. Fleet
Captains are supplied with copies of the flyer, and each skipper is then expected to keep a copy of two in his
or her tool box, ready to give to anyone showing interest. Obtaining the potential new member’s name, e-
mail and phone number would be a bonus, but if the flyer sparks an interest the new skipper will usually be
motivated to reestablish contact and embark on his new hobby. Too much formality in the process, or too
much paper work and bean counting is generally counterproductive. The fellow in charge of the flyers can
tell from the number of copies he is replacing in member tool boxes how the outreach is going, and should be
encouraged to touch base with each skipper he encounters to insure that they are properly supplied.
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Past experience has shown that a key component of any outreach program is a stable, easily remembered
schedule of club activity such as a monthly regatta held at the same site, on the same day of the month (such
as the 4th
Sunday). This allows one to link a potential skipper that was met away from the lake, but can be
pointed to “10 AM, Green Lake at Meridian St on the 4th
Sunday”. It is surprising when someone appears,
having been given this information several months in the past, and just now finding the time to act on it.
R/C model yacht sailing is a social, value added activity. Outreach activities required to keep a club healthy
should mirror that attitude and atmosphere. If you enjoy letting a wide-eyed eight year old try out your boat,
it is only a next step to convincing his parents that we offer an outdoor activity with benefits far beyond
those found in the latest video game. To those who are receptive, the sport almost sells itself.
Rod Carr
.
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