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July 1st at OSYC

In the past few years we have gathered at OSYC to watch the fireworks display presented by the Milledgeville Country Club and this and a hot dog supper was put on the OSYC calendar for 2006. We are still planning to have the Hot Dog supper on Saturday July 1st but the country club had decided not to have the fireworks display this year. There is, however, a planned fireworks display scheduled at the Milledgeville Mall on Saturday, July 1st . {{{ {{Schedule of Events on Saturday}} Come to the club early and enjoy the lake. Chips and Salsa at about 3 PM. Hot Dog Dinner will be served at about 6:30 PM. Drive to the Milledgeville Mall after sundown and enjoy the Fireworks Display or watch the private displays around the lake. Return to the club afterwards and continue personal weekend plans.}}}

B.E.E.R. Cruise Trip Report, June 2006, Jeff Morrow

B.E.E.R. Cruise 2006 Well for those of you who didn’t make the trip to Pensacola Florida for the B.E.E.R. Cruise, you missed a great time. The winds were 10 to 15 knots during the day and around five at night, humidity was low and most of the time the skies were a picture perfect blue. I just can’t emphasize enough how great of a weekend it was. Also, our area was well represented with six boats from middle Georgia. Bob Horan and two crewmembers, Calvin and Grayson, Jimmy Harrell, Ronnie and Medra Hartley, Ken and Jennifer Griffin and ourselves. Our trip started late as usual and we pulled out of the driveway about 1:00 in the afternoon. Our trip was uneventful and we arrived in Pensacola about 6:30 local time. This of course was just when dinner was being served and we feasted on a Cajun style meal consisting of Shrimp Creole, rice, bread and corn on the cob. Good eating even for latecomers. There was much activity at the marina as many boats were in various stages of setup and launch. Once we had our fill, we began setting up the boat. It was nice to have everyone around and I even received help from Bob Horan’s crew (sorry, I can’t remember their names). Luckily, we were able to get one of the last slips at the dock. Afterward we chatted with several other cruisers before turning in for the night. Saturday morning was bright and clear with a nice cool breeze blowing. We decided to make a run to get a quick bite to eat and pick up some last minute items at WalMart. When we got back to the marina, it was clear our quick run lasted too long because everyone was gone. O-well, late again but we were on vacation and it just didn’t matter. After motoring out of Bayou Chico and into the bay, we set a southeast course toward the mouth of Santa Rosa Sound and hoisted sail. About three miles ahead we could see fellow cruisers making for the sound. So, with the wind astern, we decided to raise the asymmetrical spinnaker to make up lost time. Within the hour we turned east toward the sound and replaced the spinnaker with the jib. We made good progress east and after several hours we made our way into the anchorage just west of the Navarre Bridge. After dropping anchor in about eight feet of water it was time to head ashore. After inflating our dinghy it was time to head in for dinner. Linda boards easily but yours truly didn’t quite make it into the dinghy. So after my quick dip (with cell phone in pocket by the way) we made our way ashore. We dined with Bob and crew and had a nice dinner at an outdoor restaurant just along the beach as the sun began to set. The setting couldn’t be much better. After a walk along the beach it was time to head back to the boat. This time it was Linda that took a quick dip. Once back on the boat it was time for a quick shower on deck and then get ready for bed. The breeze was so nice and cool that all we needed to do was open the front hatch and ports and let natures air conditioning keep us cool at night. The next morning was gray with a light breeze out of the west-northwest, so we decided to stay on board and have a light breakfast. Jimmy was one of the first boats to leave with Calvin shortly after. On trying to start our outboard we found our battery dead. O-well, we’re off with a couple of pulls on the starter cord. The wind was light and fluky for much of the day and heading west proved slow going. However, the cloud cover burned off later in the afternoon, the wind piped up to around 10 knots or so and it was off to the races once again. Ken and Jennifer on their Hunter 260 and we on our 26 had fun racing to windward. We hung with them for a while but in the end they slowly pulled away from us. Once we reached Quietwater Beach we decided to anchor closer to the beach than the night before. Ken and Jennifer had anchored close to shore with anchors from bow and stern. We anchored just to their starboard also with bow and stern anchors in about three feet of water. Bob was just to our starboard with two anchors off the bow. Many other boats were packed close to shore as well. Making the short dinghy trip without incident we made our way to Flounders Restaurant. We sat with Calvin, Grayson, Ronnie and Medra and had a wonderful meal and great conversation then back to the boat (again without incident) for some much needed rest. We drift off to sleep with the cool evening breeze gently flowing through the boat. The next morning brought a fresh breeze from the north. Being anchored from the bow and stern with our beam along the beach we are in a precarious position. After some discussion with others around us it’s time for a morning dip to move the boats around so they are pointed into the wind instead of beam on. Again, Jimmy is one of the first to leave and others make there way out shortly after. Once we’re pointed into the wind we fire up the iron jenny and made our way out to the channel, then hoist sail and head westward toward Pensacola Bay. Once in the bay, everyone else heads west to the next anchorage at Sand Island but we decide that we would like a nice shower, electricity to charge our battery and dinner at another restaurant. So we make our way northwest back to the marina and away from the rest of the group. The next morning we ate breakfast and reluctantly pulled the boat out of the water. Then we began getting ready to head to Ft Walton Beach as I had a meeting I had to attend for work on Wednesday. As we were taking the boat down we kept looking for Jimmy to tie up to the dock, as he always left early to make his way to the next port of call. He must have slept in on Tuesday. Even though we stayed at a nice hotel in Ft Walton, both of us would have preferred to still be on the boat and making our way to some distant port. O-well, maybe someday we’ll head out. From the deck of Summer Breeze. Jeff Morrow

Spring Series Final, June 11-12

Turns out the dog days of summer beat us to the punch, with heat in the 90s and no wind. So we wrapped up the spring sailing season in true southern style. That is, over a dozen sailors spent the day sitting on the porch swing watching the jet skis carve up the glassy smooth lake while sipping cool beverages, and spinning tales of great sailing trips to windy places. {In anticipation, Jay Harrell had previously written:}
Heads up! There has been some confusion about the schedule, so here it is: The final two races of the Spring Series are this weekend, June 11 and 12. Come join us as we wrap up the Spring Season at OSYC and get ready for the dog days of summer.

Club News

{{{ {{Property Assessment}} }}} We just received the new Annual Assessment Notice for the club property. The revised value is $446,400, up from $267,000. The reasons given were: C2 – New Accessory Improvement added. SC – STRUCTURE CHARACTERISTICS CHANGED It’s noteworthy that they did not cite Comparable Sales as a reason. It doesn’t seem reasonable that the seawall and dock alone would nearly double the value of the land. The deadline for appeal is July 3. The Board if Trustees is discussing whether we should appeal and on what grounds. {{{ {{Raft Up Tentatively Planned for July 15}} }}} We will have a party on the lake. We will locate a secluded cove on the lake, motor or sail to the location, anchor or raft up, swim and frolic in the water, and feast on low country boil. There will be more on this later. {{{ {{Use of Club Facilities by non Member Groups}} }}} Occasionally, non-member groups, such as Boy Scouts, the thistle regattas, and church groups, have been given permission to use the club grounds and facilities. Although these events sometimes incur costs to the club, we have not charged or been reimbursed for these costs. The Trustees are in the process of formulating rules for permitting these events and recouping costs associated with the events, such as costs for paper supplies and gasoline for the committee boat. {{{ {{Trailer and Boat Parking}} }}} There have been several informal discussions about how to improve the parking situation at OSYC. The Trustees are working on a solution and if you have ideas, talk to one of the board members.

Motors Stolen from OSYC

During the week of May 21st we had 2 outboard motors stolen off of boats at the club. One of the boats was in the water, the other on land. Both motors were 9.9 HP. One was a Mercury and the other a Johnson. We suspect that the thieves came by boat, but are not sure. We have been very fortunate to have had very little theft and vandalism at the club for the past number of years. The club property is very vulnerable to thieves during the week due to minimal usage during that time. I would ask that each of you on your next visit assess your boat’s for susceptibility to theft. Does your outboard have a lock on it? ( Both stolen motors were not locked) Are your hatches locked? Are there any valuables laying in the cockpit? There is no way to stop a determined thief, but if we make it more difficult to get something, maybe they will move on down the lake. I hope this is an isolated incident and that we will have no more problems, but we should all be more aware of the chance of thefts and take actions to reduce our venerability.

Notice of Race, May 27-28

The Oconee Sailing and Yacht Club will hold races 4 and 5 in its spring racing series this weekend. The weather forecast for Saturday the 27th call for mostly sunny skies and winds from the WSW at 7 with a high temp of 90 degrees. Sunday the 28th will be much the same but the winds should clock around to come from the SW. All in all, good racing weather. Ya’ll come race! Also, we need race committee volunteers for both days. All you need to do is show up and follow the directions. Not a difficult job at all. If you are willing to serve, please e-mail me (dougmacmillan@pineschurch.com) or call me at 478-731-4603. I’ll meet you at the lake and walk you through the whole process. Our club will only be as strong as we make it. See you on the water! – Doug MacMillan, 2006 Race Chair

Sinclair Open Regatta, May 20-21

Reasons to come to the Lake Sinclair Open – Friendly, easy-going racing on beautiful Lake Sinclair – Just 95 miles from Atlanta [(directions)->http://www.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=N+33+08.697,+W+83+13.153&ll=33.144451,-83.218689&spn=0.687608,1.60675&om=1] – Entry fee only $10 – Dinner only $3 each – Y Flyer one-design fleet, plus Portsmouth dinghy and keelboats {{[Notice of Regatta and Schedule->http://osyc.net/racing/SinclairOpen/SinclairOpenNOR.htm]}} Camping is available on the club grounds and hotels are nearby. No pets please! [Directions to the club from Google->http://www.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=N+33+08.697,+W+83+13.153&ll=33.144451,-83.218689&spn=0.687608,1.60675&om=1] [List of nearby hotels->http://www.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=hotels+near+N+33+08.697,+W+83+13.153&ll=33.144451,-83.218689&spn=0.085951,0.144882&om=1] Contact Jay Harrell (Y-2398) at jay.harrell(at)riverside.net or 770-559-0776 for more information or to register to attend.

Mug Race in Jacksonville

This coming weekend is a big out of town event for OSYC sailors. Eleven members are planning to travel to the St. Johns River, Florida to participate the the 53rd annual Mug Race sponsored by the Rudder Club near Jacksonville, Florida. Be prepared for a lot of bragging and lying when we get back. Those planning to go are: -Bill Shaw, Ronnie Hartley, Ronnie Young racing Bill’s S2 -Calvin Smith, Ken Griffin and Jimmy Harrell racing Calvin’s Tristar. -John Davis and Pete Ekstrom racing Jonn’s O’Day 240. -Ashley Saylor in her Raider. -Paul Keller in his Railder. -Carl Saylor sailing ? For more information check this site: [Mug Race Book->http://www.rudderclub.com/2006MugRaceBook.pdf]

Trip report: AYC Open Regatta

You may have noticed a bit of wind at your house last weekend, right? You may have remembered that I was up at the AYC Open sailing a Y Flyer, too. Oh boy. So when my normal crew had “other plans”, I sought out a random partner via the grapevine and ended up crewing for Fred Dorr using Karl Anderson’s boat. Very nice arrangement – Fred is very experienced and very good. Lots of local knowledge. And Karl’s boat was first rate. Saturday comes and the wind is really blowing. Remember that time we took the Capri out on Pamlico sound? But more wind. People were having trouble leaving the dock. Snipes almost flipping, Thistles almost swamping. We sailed out and proceeded to smash our way around the starting line, while getting thoroughly soaked from head to toe. It was a blast – the boat was really flying and spray was going everywhere. My jacket and bibs were working. I was running the timer, trimming the jib, hiking hard and watching traffic. We got a reasonable start, but being too heavy guys with “plenty” of wind, we out-pointed and out-paced the boats nearby and after a few tacks were near the front. Fred picked the left side perfectly and stayed on the lifted tacks. We rounded the weather mark in second place. Had a bit of trouble with the whisker pole due to the wind, but by the gybe mark we had left behind the following boats and were gaining on the leader. The pole gybe went fine – it was the main that caused the problem. I think we were focused on catching the boat ahead, but that didn’t work out. The bow caught under a wave, and that was all she wrote. Darn near pitch-poled. Turns out that Y’s turtle very quickly in 20+ mph wind and are difficult to right. Water wasn’t warm either. We ended up back at the dock for the day, after a rather long swim. I think we were the first boat to flip, but certainly not the last. I ended up separated from the boat and rode back on the rescue boat – we righted a couple of other boats and picked up two other swimmers on the way. That night the camper shook with the wind, but by morning it seemed calmer. At least relative to overnight. Turns out the wind had just clocked a bit and we weren’t as exposed. I got to the dock, and Fred said his ribs hurt too much to sail (I have a big bruise on my arm). Since I was dressed in full gear, I jumped on the rescue boat (a cut-down Carolina skiff). The fleet had shrunk substantially. The first flip came before the first start when a Snipe decided to head back in and didn’t make the tack. We pulled in a mother and cold daughter in shorts and tee shirt, and proceeded to try to right their boat right in the middle of the starting line while the committee went ahead with the starts all around us. And that was only the beginning. Before long boats were flipping left and right. Seemed to be the gybes that got them. We towed one snipe with a snapped shroud (but upright!). We would have rescued more, but the motor sucked in a rope and we couldn’t drive very fast. There were 4 or 5 rescue/safety boats running around. By the end of the race only 4 Y Flyers finished (out of 20 registered), plus 3 Snipes and 3 Thistles. I know that two of the Thistles had swamped at least once during the race. 10 boats left – at least an 80% attrition rate, but the Y’s finished the most boats. Despite the large quantity of flipped boats and swimming racers, as far as I know now one was hurt and no boats suffered more than minor damage. Compliments to AYC for putting so much safety on the water and pulling off a fun regatta in trying conditions. It certainly was fun and I’m ready for more! Jay

Dock Rebuild Report and Call for Volunteers for a Weekday Workday on April 26

We had 20 members at the work day on Saturday March 25. In addition to the regular club maintenance projects, we made progress on the A dock rebuild project. We also buried the electrical line to B dock which was cut during the seawall project. We ran out of lumber about the same time we ran out of time and energy. The project is complete except for the two outer finger piers which are almost finished and two of the other finger piers have not been started. My time estimates in the past have not been very reliable, but I think we can finish the dock A rebuild project in one or maybe two more workdays. With about an hour or two of work the electricity to Dock B should also be complete. {{Several members of the ROF group will meet on Wednesday, April 26 at about 9 AM for another Weekday Workday.}} If you are available and would like to join us, let me know via email(jimmy.harrell@riverside.net) or phone (706-484-1405) or you can just show up. We will provide sandwiches for lunch.