{{A short story about the 22-24 Sep 06 weekend.}} SW Wind blowing sometimes 2-4 and sometimes 8-12 and I have a 150 Jib up. The first challenge I encountered was trying to find the Treasure Cache on Airport Island. After anchoring the boat, I tried to carry everything I would need. I started walking in from the beach I thought was closest. It was close but about the time I got close to the cache, my GPS signaled “Low Battery” and shutdown. Back to the boat for batteries. OK I get close again but could not find it. I think maybe my GPS is off. I spread out leaving my carry back marking the spot. I walk around maybe 200 ft. circle. The only thing I find is a snake about 7ft away looking at me. Carefully looking further, No cache. I go back to my bag and verify the correct GPS settings. It should be right where I am standing. Time to look harder. Found it. Back to the boat, to finish my around the island sail. Second Challenge, Sailing to Goat Island. Great downwind run after rounding point by Sinclair Marine. Thought I would drop the 150 and put up the 100. Took forever to get the sail changed with boat always wanting to sail to shore. I started looking for Bulldog and the Shark shower on the way back. I was in a few windless coves before I figured out that I would not find the Bulldog but I was determined to find the Shark Shower. Finely at 16:30 I found the shower and turned up wind again to sail back to OSYC. That shower is not easy to find. Third Challenge, Getting back to OSYC after seeing the Shark Shower. Wind really got light for last mile and then it was light as I rounded the mark to find a good anchor spot. Finely by 8PM I arrived at a cove opposite Airport Island to anchor. Forth Challenge, Sailed to Hauck;s Reef and back trying to make good time to be a Sinclair Challenge. Rail in the water sometimes, but other times sails slack with no wind. Fifth Challenge, Final destination was to be Around Airport Is. I decided to sail from OSYC up through the narrow channel then around the island so I could come around the NE side ( Not much wind on this side) to anchor, go ashore and have lunch. I had to pinch though the narrow channel with a head wind and my 150 sail still up. It was very close and with board most of the way up just in case I got in thin water, I squeaked thru. Won’t try that again. Great weekend to sail on Lake Sinclair.

[2006 Wild Turkey Notice of Regatta->http://osyc.net/racing/WildTurkeyNOR.htm] [Final Results->http://osyc.net/racing/2006results/2006-Wild-Turkey.htm] {{Photos of Regatta}} [Saturday Races->http://osyc.net/photos/2006-09-23_24-Thistle_R/Sat] [Sunday Races->http://osyc.net/photos/2006-09-23_24-Thistle_R/Sun]

I am happy to announce that the club has received three new applications for membership, which are posted for review on the board at the clubhouse. 1. Roger and Joan Maxwell. Roger is a Real Estate Broker living in Apollo Beach Florida. They have a second home on Lake Sinclair and own an O Day 222. They are sponsored by Howrad Gregory and Bill Shaw. 2. Bryan and Marie Jackson. Bryan is the new Director of University Communications at Georgia College. The Jackson’s moved to Milledgeville from upstate NY and they are looking forward to a sailing season that doesn’t involve the lake freezing over for several months each year. (I warned them about the hot windless summer days on Lake Sinclair, but they moved anyway.) They own a Hunter 240 and are sponsored by Jimmy Harrell and Calvin Smith. 3. Paul and Anastasia Bollinger. Paul has recently returned from a tour of duty in Iraq and is now managing the campus restaurants for Georgia College. He is also a volunteer fireman for Baldwin County. The Bollingers own a Spindrift 15 and are self professed novice sailors, although Paul had no trouble driving my Beneteau around the race course last Sunday. The Bollingers are sponsored by Jay Harrell and Jimmy Harrell As potential members, all of these folks have been invited as guests of the club to all upcoming club events, so if you see them around, stop and introduce yourself. Fair Winds, Jay Harrell OSYC Secretary

High temp of 85 degrees, wind 5 to 10, and four boats on the line – a pretty good way to spend an afternoon. If you weren’t there, here’s what you missed: Jimmy Harrell did Race Committee because he’s sold all of his useable boats. Joseph went along on the barge because all he wanted to do was fish all day. Robert Bollinger came up on a jet ski to watch his brother sail and ended up helping on the barge so he could learn about racing. Greg Phillips broke his perfect attendance record by not showing up after something like a three year run at every race day. Bill Shaw showed up with the fastest, coolest boat Lake Sinclair has ever seen, but he kept trying to use the 425 sq ft sail to catch fish instead of wind and it’s going to be real hard to sail to that 70 DPN on our short courses. (But I want one anyway) David Schnieder demonstrated the proper way to capsize and right a Y Flyer without even getting his feet wet. And last but not least, the Griffins brought their race-prepped H260 up to speed and trounced Jay’s Beneteau 3 out of 3 races to take first place for the day. Next club race is Sept 30 and Oct 1: don’t miss it! And in the meantime, come on out for the Thistle Wild Turkey One Design regatta – we still need RC help and chase boats.

The calendar doesn’t say “Fall” just yet, but the kids are back in school and at least the worst of the summer heat is behind us. So now it’s time to get back in the boat and do a little sailing. Things kick off with the first race of the Fall Series on September 10th (short notice, I know). If you’ve ever wanted an OSYC racing trophy, here’s the best chance in a while – two of our perenial winners are currently boatless and I’m sure they would be happy to crew on your boat for that extra edge. The rest of the schedule is below – mark your calendars and come on down, because we all know that September and October have the very best sailing that Lake Sinclair has to offer.

OSYC is a private club and membership is by sponsored invitation. Non-members are invited to attend events listed as “open” events. Pets are not allowed on club ground. {{{General race information:}}} {{Club Series Races:}} -Skippers meeting at noon, first race at 1pm. {{Two-day Regattas:}} -Saturday skippers meeting at noon, start at 1pm, -Sunday no skippers meeting, start at 1pm Race Committee may cancel a race day due to inclement weather, but racers must make their own decision to sail any particular day.

Lake Martin September 06: This is not a tale of trials and destruction. If you are looking to read a story of truck and trailer problems, launching fiascos, high winds and huge waves, storms and rain, or broken equipment, you will not find it here and might as well look elsewhere in the newsletter for more interesting articles by Jeff or Michael. Sorry Michael, I cannot seem to find all those fancy words you come up with when you write for the Rudder. We arrived on Friday evening, all two of us. John & Sherry had launched “Time Warp” already by the time I arrived at about 9 PM. (EST) Sherry cooked up some hotdogs while I prepared for launching. We had a hotdog supper on “Time Warp” while the ramp was still busy with late arrivals. By 10 PM I was back raising the mast and by 11 PM we were both floating and motoring to the back of the cove to anchor. There was a breeze in the morning while we slept late and even some wind as we departed the marina and headed out. By 10:30 the wind had dropped to a whisper and we were ghosting along at 1.5 – 2 Kts. It was 13:00 when we both were too hot, we were not moving and gave up, started our motors, and selected a nice anchorage to swim. It was nice spot on the South side of Wood Island. We swam for a while then had cocktail hour on “Time Warp”. By 18:15 it was time to cook supper and wouldn’t you know it, by 20:00 the wind was picking up blowing directly into our cove and the anchorage was getting rough. We weighed anchors around 20:30 and motored out to seek a more sheltered. We found a smooth protected shore a 1.5 miles away and settled in for the night. By 2 AM the wind had clocked around to where we were again swinging on the anchors in about 8Kts of wind. With a nice 5-8 Kt wind we sailed out the next morning hoping to get down the lake close to the Acapulco Rock. Once again by 10 – 10:30 the wind was again fading and by 12:00 we were looking for lunch anchorage. We found a nice place near two small islands after passing Sam Black Is. We swam some with John telling stories, & jokes, some funny and some scary, then lunched onboard “Time Warp” till about 14:00. (Ask John about the cigarettes & carpet sometime when you want to hear a good story) The wind had come up to maybe 5 Kts., so we decided to try to sail back to Sandy Creek area to arrive by 17:00. It was not more than an hour, with absolutely no wind, very hot, and lots of waves from the many power boater, we cranked up our motors and motored back up the lake. It was probably 5-6 miles of motoring but we arrived at a place that I will say is one of the prettiest sections of the lake. With the wind coming up to sometimes 6Kts and then back to almost 0, we sailed a bit around the islands in Sandy Creek then started looking for an anchorage about 18:00. By 18:30 we had found what I would say is a perfect anchorage: Deep enough, secluded enough and yet not far off the main part of the lake. It was a very quiet place and plans were made to try to use the morning winds to get back to Wind Creek the next morning. We motored out to the main channel the next morning, just after 7 AM with a nice 5-8 Kt wind. Cool temps and the nice wind made for the best sailing we had all weekend. We sailed past Young Is, Wood Is, and then up the river almost to Wind Creek before the wind slowly died and by 10:30 we were both motoring into the marine to pull out. The loading of the boats went pretty smooth with only one of us getting wet by a misstep on the ramp but no injuries, just got wet. By about 12:30 I was pulling out of Wind Creek with John and Sherry about 10 minutes ahead of me. It was a smooth trip home for me with only the summer heat and no AC in the truck to live with. Bob Horan

{{{ {{Bill Shaw’s Report}} }}} Once again, the OSYC raft-up proved to be very popular with the members. There were 8 or 9 boats in attendance, each with 2 or more people aboard. We even got Howard to land and come ashore this time. We went to the back side of “Goat Island” and pretty much had the island to ourselves. The water was deep enough for most of the boats to pull in, drop a stern anchor and tie up to trees on shore. Ronnie cooked up some great hotdogs, some even got introduced to “one” of my Daughters veggie dogs. (I don’t think anybody had two veggie dogs.) The Phillip’s brought another batch of their special homebrew, frozen bourbon, gosh that stuff sneaks up on you libation. We need to get them to put the recipe on the web site. We all ask how they make it, but it is always after we have had a couple tests, so of course nobody remembers. Grayson, once again, assured that everybody gained a few pounds with three delicious deserts. I know personally that all three were good. We will make these get-togethers a regular event next year and will look into scheduling at least one more this year. How about after one of our Saturday fall races? {{{ {{Grayson’s Report}} }}} Jonathon Schnider, David’s teenage son, and Dexter Davidson, Calvin and Grayson’s 7 year old grandson were the only children present. Jonathon enjoyed the water, while Dexter bobbed on his “Hornet” bounce tube that was attached to the mother ship under the watchful eye of “Gray Gray” while Papa Calvin and the club members solved the problems of the world with the help of the “sailors’ punch” that Greg and Charlotte brought. Bill and Ronnie were our excellent chefs and we all dinned well. Sparklers were brought to lighten the shore, but as darkness was descending and John and Sherry Davis were the only ones to “gunk hole “, they were lighted and enjoyed back at the club. Here is a list of the members or boats that enjoyed the cook out: The Club Barge, Calvin, Grayson and Dexter, Greg and Charlotte Phillips, Howard Gregory, Ken and Jennifer Griffin, John and Sherry Davis, David and Jonathon Schnider, Ronnie Young’s power boat with Ronnie, Bill, Kay and daughter Sarah Shaw, Al Haulk, Jeff and Linda Morrow, Ronnie Hartley. It was a wonderful summer evening, and we were all glad that the day was not spent in the hot sun waiting for a puff of nonexistent wind to push us around a mark! Fair winds and a following sea, [CLICK HERE TO SEE DAVID SCHNIDER’S PICTURES->http://osyc.net/photos/2006-08-26-RaftUp] [CLICK HERE TO SEE Grayson Smith’s PICTURES->http://osyc.net/photos/2006-08-26-RaftUpGrayson]

{{August 26 -Club Raft-up}} Between 5 and 6 PM the club barge will be loaded with grills, drinks, etc and find a perfect beach. Watch the barge and the other boats to see where the meeting place will be. Participants will gather at the selected area around 6 PM for swimming and socializing. Before he leave the dock someone needs to be sure that Howard has the shrink wrap off his anchor and has it ready to deploy. Hot dogs will be served whenever the cooks get them ready. The last raft-up was a great success so make plans to attend. If you do not have a boat suitable for going to the rendezvous, there should be room for you on the barge. {{September 9 – Club Work Day has been canceled}} {{September 10 – Fall Race Series Begins}} Fall Series Race Number 1. Winds and temperatures have not been kind to our racing schedule this year. Lets make an effort to have good participation for the fall series.

Work starts at 9am (some earlier), and hotdogs will be served around noon. Bring yourself and your tools for some general clean-up and minor repairs. {{Work list so far…}} – Clean and Organize Basement – Finish Pressure Washing Dock B – Pressure Wash Dock C – Rub Rail on Dock C. – Repair retaining wall near swings. – Fill hole near water meter. – Pick up debris from along fence between gate and lift and place in dumpster. – Spray Roundup on the fence vegetation all the way to the point.