We had 16 members at the work day. In addition several members worked a few days before and after on some of the projects. Ken Griffin and Ronnie Young moved the hot water heater to the basement and George Thorpe repaired the tile floor near the urinal in the men’s bath room. Special thanks go to Arlene for preparing the lunch for the other workers. One of the projects was to cap off a water spigot that was recently discovered outside the fence near the lift. In the process of doing this, a water line was cut and that had to be repaired. At the same time a cut off valve was installed that turns off water to the outside spigots at the lift, picnic area and pavilion. This valve will be left in the off position during most of the winter months. If anyone needs the water turned on to these areas, the valve is located in the ground near the fence in the lift area and is covered by what looks like a partially buried wooden box. Several people have expressed an interest in tackling some club projects during times other than scheduled work days. I will be posting a list of projects later and anyone interested in doing some of them can contact me or Howard Gregory if any special supplies or materials are needed.

Saturday is a scheduled work day. We sill start about 9 AM. Some of us will be there a little earlier. Come when you can get there. The usual lunch will be provided. Check out the list below and bring appropriate tools to tackle the project of your choice. We should be finished shortly after noon so come prepared to spend the rest of the day sailing of hanging out. The forecast right now, for what it is worth, is for a high of 59 degrees around 3 PM and winds of 6 to 7 mph. January 27, 2007 Work Day Projects (subject to change) 1. Repair Seawall near Swings 2. Electric Outlet under Porch 3. Inspect B, C, and D Docks, Determine what needs to be done and make a materials list. If materials are on hand for minor repairs then fix. 4. Move water heater to basement 5. Repair flat tire on Grill 6. Clean refrigerator 7. Tile in men’s rest room 8. Organize basement, identify items which appear to be abandoned, combine like kind supplies. 9. Repair tile floor around the front door. 10. Add cut off valves at the base of the outside water faucets. 11. Clean Gutters 12. Clean Rest Rooms 13. Mop and clean Kitchen 14. Mop and clean Main Hall 15. Wash Windows 16. Prune bushes 17 Raise walkway approaching A Dock (trip hazard). Bring needed tools including but not limited to the following: 1. Shovel and rakes, hoes, axes, saws. 2. Plumbing Tools 3. Gas Blower 4. String Trimmer 5. Carpentry Tools

A quick check of the NOAA site reveals a Saturday forecast for sunshine, moderate temps (in the 50’s) and wind 10-15. Sounds like perfect sailing weather to me. Skippers meeting at noon with racing to follow. Both racers and non-racers are welcome. Crew positions available on various fun and fast boats. And if you happen to feel like coming out and running the RC barge, many thanks will be lavished upon you.

In the midst of a flurry of day-sailing activity last Saturday afternoon, potential racers had a very brief informal meeting while watching Bill rig his boat and quickly picked Saturday January 20th to kick off the OSYC Frostbite season. A reminder email will be sent out the Wednesday preceeding morning based on the weather forecast for the weekend. Based on the high level of weekend activity at the club so far this year, we’re expecting a record turnout.

Please watch your mail box for your 2007 OSYC annual dues statement and get a check and your updated information form back to me as soon as you get a chance. 2007 dues are $240 and the 2007 slip fees total $200. Checks should be mailed to OSYC, C/O Jay Harrell, 2710 Henderson Mill Rd, Atlanta, GA 30341. Payments are considered 30 days late as of February 1. Thanks, Jay

From time to time members store left over food in the club refer/frig and occasionally it stays in there for a long time. The refer/frig is cleaned out by volunteers and if is sometimes hard to tell what needs to be thrown out and what should be kept. To help out these volunteer cleaners, it would help if, when you leave food, you would put your name and date on the container. This will help them distinguise between personal items and those that are invertory from the last club event and also identify left overs which may have been forgotten by their owners. Your cooperation will be appreciated.

Photos which I took at the Halloween Party in October 2006 have been posted. [PHOTOS->http://osyc.net/photos/2006-10-28%20Halloween/] If others have photos they would like to share, send them to me by [email->mailto:jimmy.harrell@riverside.net]

Notice!! {{{ During Winter Months The Water May be Turned Off Due to Possibility of Freezing Pipes CHECK TO SEE IF WATER IS ON BEFORE USING TOILETS (BY TURNING ON LAVATORY FAUCET)}}} TO TURN THE WATER ON Take the [T-Handle->http://OSYC.net/photos/Water/photo001.htm]tool hanging on the back of the storage room door and proceed to the [water meter->http://OSYC.net/photos/Water/photo002.htm] which is located next to the chain link fence near the street, about half way between the gate and the lift. Place the end of the tool over the valve which is on the street side of the meter and turn counter clockwise. OK to leave the water on until you leave at the end of the day. [Photos->http://OSYC.net/photos/Water/]

Its time to start thinking about the Pensacola BEER Cruise in June. Click on the link for more information. [BEER 2007 Web Site->http://bellsouthpwp2.net/b/s/bs_allen/index.htm] Send an email to [Ben Allen->mailto:bs_allen@bellsouth.net] if you want to be on the skippers list. Include the following information: Skipper, Vessel, Boat Type, State of Residence Some will arrive earlier than the official start and stay later. I hear that Bob Horan who is retiring soon will be down there for three weeks. Maybe he will let some of us join him. I would like to comple a list of OSYC members who might be planning to go. Send me an [email->mailto:jimmy.harrell@riverside.net], including your cell phone number, and I will compile an OSYC skippers list. Cell phones will be useful in keeping intouch during the curise as well as on the road. Never can tell when someone might need some assistance.

The forecast was for 80 degrees, partly cloudy and decent wind. A regular fairy tale for sailing in November, as we suited up in shorts and tee shirts and headed out to finish off the OSYC racing year. We choose the standard distance course – from the club around Hauck’s Reef and return. Sailing were Jay Harrell, David Huggins and Doug MacMillan on Jay’s Viper, Bill Shaw and Carl Saylor on Bill’s Viper, Jimmy Harrell and Calvin Smith on Jay’s Beneteau, and John and Sherry Davis on their O’Day. It looked like a normal day until we got past Erin Point. The wind was NW giving us a close reach up the lake with an occasional tack away from the shore. But I was busy getting the feel of my new boat and didn’t notice the big veer left in the wind direction. We were having a blast eeking out every bit of pointing and boat speed from each gust and lull, until I started looking for the island that marks the reef. It should be right there, yes? NO! We had sailed up the wrong creek. After sheepishly turning back downwind, we eventually caught Calvin and Jimmy – “Where ya’ll been?”. Grumble. We passed them before the turn at the reef, but not by much. Bill and his Viper were far ahead with the spinnaker up. But I had already been tricked by the wind once – we stuck with the jib and were rewarded. In the meantime we also watched what happens to a Viper when a spinnaker broach takes the mast horizontal. To wit: nothing, it just comes back up. And that’s with the heavy aluminum mast. (Note to Justin, the keel is heavy enough already.) Granted Bill and Carl were just out playing, but we still managed to beat them back to the finish line, then turned and did a bit of a joy ride to practice out spinnaker work. We obviously need more. Here’s the kicker: this year, the record run on Hauck’s Reef has been 1:41 for keel boat and 1:35 for a Thistle. We finished in 1:23, even with a detour and no spinnaker, and didn’t break a sweat. I’m wondering what we can do with a good wind. Bill finished a short time after us, and Jimmy some time later (I forgot to record the times.) John and Sherry suffered from a distinct lack of wind and got in somewhat later. Sunday dawned cool and howling for our final “fun race” of the season. Unfortunately, the howling died down to meerly “good breeze” by the time hit the water. Jay and Paul Bolinger took out the Viper, and Jimmy and Anastasia Bolinger and Bryan Jackson took out the Beneteau for a few cruiser quest points. Paul and I worked out a few more of the bugs with the spinnaker drop and I’m starting to have some hope for the one line retrieval system. It’s still harder than using a turtle, but it’s improving every day. And that’s all folks. The club goes dormant for the holidays, but we are already thinking about the ‘Frostbite’ series in January.