[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.

Let me tell you about another cruise. This one took place July 6-9 2006. The game plan was to sail from Brunswick to St. Augustine on Jack Sterrett’s 33-foot Gib Sea, Martini. Sailing on this memorable cruise was Jack, Lynda, Charlotte and myself. We were hoping to sail during the night and arrive at St. Augustine sometime Friday. Then we were going to break the return trip up and stop in Fernandina, then back to Brunswick on the Sunday. Well you might want to ask how was your trip……..Not too good. Remember the saying “Red in the Morning sailors Take Warning”. I was thinking of this as Charlotte and I drove down to Brunswick on the Thursday. The skies were red as were driving down. The forecast was for a chance of rain in the afternoon. We cleared St. Simon’s channel and were heading south under light winds, 5-10 mph and seas were 1-3. The winds gradually picked up during the next few hours as well as the seas. The wind was coming out of the south and we were not making good time. The winds were now 15-20 mph seas 2-4 feet. It was really a great ride and everyone was having a great time. Still not making much progress. A cloud was building to the North, the chance of rain was going to be a sure thing, and it would appear. Winds were still 20-25 with gusts 30 mph. Seas were building as well, running about 4-6 feet. The cloud to the North was still building and getting rather dark. We decided to make a run into Ferindina. We started the motor and decided to motor sail with just the main. We were making good time, but so was the cloud to the North of us. The entrance into Ferindina is well marked. Once we made it to the channel we took down the main and we were about six miles to the marina, where we would spend the night. Unfortunately, the cloud to our North, was only about 5 miles to the Marina. I am not sure if you have ever seen the photograph on the Internet where a freighter is headed into a storm cloud that looked to be very black and very low to the surface. Well, if you have, I want to tell you, we met the sister to that cloud. We were well down the channel motoring when the storm hit. The temperature dropped at least 20 degrees and the wind was now out of the North. We could not see any more than two boat lengths in front of us. The rain was horizontal and it hurt. Lightning was a abundant. I know you know, if you hear thunder and count 1000 and 1, 1000 and 2, etc. that tells you how far the storm is from you depending on how far you counted. We were so close, I counted 100, and even before I could say 1000, the lightening hit. We could hardly see the instruments, it was very dark and the salt-water spray was constantly getting in your eyes. We did manage to see the wind gauge and it registered 45 mph. We all thought it was higher than that and it was. There was no way we could make the marina, even though we had been there before and knew the lay of the land, we could not see. So we motor about 300 feet to the north till we saw a red flashing light and then we turn around and headed south about 300 feet till we saw a white light. I am not sure how many of these round trips we made, but the storm lasted for 30 long minutes. Once it let up we were able to motor to the marina. Our plan was to spend the night on the boat but the forward cabin was really wet. The forward hatch was not closed all the way. We ended up walking to a Hampton Inn. This was about two blocks from the marina. Nobody had a dry place on him or her. I wish we would have gotten a photograph of the four of us in the lobby checking in. The lady checking us in gave us towels to dry off with. The rain stayed with us on Friday and we stayed at the marina. We met a guy on one of those Hunters that you pay so much a month, I believe it was $430 per month, that is all you pay and you sail 7-8 times during the month. Really a nice boat, anyway we told we came in last night in the storm and he said according to his wind gauge, he clocked the winds at 62 mph. On Saturday the winds were 20-25 so we took the intercostal back to Brunswick. As the day progress the weather improved. Lessons Learned: Pay closer attention to the weather and believe what they say. Probably start the motor sooner if you are trying to out run the weather. If you sail on the ocean, you need a dodger. I have a newfound confidence in the boat and the crew. Greg Phillips