clew

       MARCH, 1998                                                 Volume 29, No. 3
41206 Friendship Court, Mechanicsville, MD  20659
Editors:  Julian Tsai and Judi Johnson
Phone:  (301) 373-8473
E-mail:  tsai@mail.ameritel.net
SECRETARY

DRAFT MINUTES
BOARD OF GOVERNOR'S MEETING
FEBRUARY 5, 1998

OFFICER'S AND BOARD OF GOVERNOR'S PRESENT: John Weir, Jan Buckler, Ron Hoile, Rod Schroeder, Karen Donehoo, Dan Watters, Rick Farman, Jim Young, Kris Dennie-Young, Maggie Weir, Jerry Taylor, Barbara Herbig, John Herbig

The meeting was called to order at 1950 hours by Commodore John Weir.

Commodore - One item of new business was raised by Commodore John Weir. John presented a motion to appoint John Herbig as the Publicity Governor. The motion was approved by the board members. He reminded all governors that they need to think well ahead on their Clew articles as the lead-time for an event can be as much as a month and a half. John stated that establishment of an SMSA library will be included on the agenda for the March 5, BOG meeting.

The December 4, 1997 minutes were approved with one correction, and the January 8, 1998 minutes were approved as presented.

Rod Schroeder presented a SMSA 1998 Budget Progress Report to board members.

Vice Commodore - Jan offered to help out any of the governor's that might need assistance with getting their programs organized. Jan recommended that a committee be formed to discuss ways to improve and overhaul the existing SMSA website. The architecture and management of the website needs to be addressed. This activity will fall under the pervue of the Publicity Governor. Jan requested that everyone review the 1998 Operational Schedule and inform her of any corrections or changes.

Race Governor - Jerry Taylor reported that a meeting was held to discuss the 1998 racing program and many club members were able to attend. The race circular is being developed, and the family class will be addressed in the publication. Three green book pages were prepared and submitted. Jerry provided an update on the status of the race committee boat. The engine heads have been removed and are being checked to determine what repairs need to be made.

Cruise Governor - Rick Farman announced that a cruise planning meeting took place at the clubhouse on January 31, with over 40 members in attendance! The group discussed cruise destinations for the upcoming season, which included creating longer cruise distance plans. Rick would like to add to the SMSA web site a review of websites of interest to club members.

Junior Governor - Jim Young reported that he received the first donations of the year for the junior program. This revenue came from donations given to the Junior Sailing Program donation box which was displayed at the cruising meeting held at the clubhouse. Jim announced that there would be no junior kickoff meeting in February. He stated that he had attended the CBYRA junior planning meeting held in January. As a way of keeping members informed, Jim plans on posting local events of interest to the junior sailing community in the Clew. In addition, a flyer announcing junior sailing events will be included in the red book. Jim attended Mike Ironmonger's community sailing meeting to discuss plans for the upcoming summer sailing program. Jim recommended that junior members of the club be transitioned into Wednesday night, Thursday night, and weekend races. A meeting took place at the clubhouse on January 24, to discuss boat maintenance for the junior sailing fleet. Jay Hanks and Frank King examined all the boats to determine their current functionality. A swap meet is being organized for May 9, at the clubhouse and junior members of the club are needed to assist with traffic flow and parking. Proceeds from the rental of tables will be given to the junior program.

Women's Governor - Barbara Herbig announced that plans are underway for basic sailing training courses. Two sessions of eight classes will be held. The courses will be open to members and non-members. Non-members will be charged a fee to include the cost of a textbook and supplies. Member textbooks will be available for a minimal fee. Barbara has developed a preliminary schedule for the classes and other SMSA training. She has provided this information to the Facility Governor and it is included in his schedule. Race committee training will take place on April 11, 1998. The training will cover race committee management for Wednesday and Thursday night races. An instructor's name has been given to her for a Navigation seminar. Additional training including Navigation may be added in the future. Training and Women's Programs will be posted on the website.

Rear Commodore - Ron Hoile thanked John Herbig for volunteering to take over the Publicity Governor position. Ron mentioned that governor's should be planning ahead as much as possible to provide information in the Clew newsletter to announce upcoming activities planned for the club.

Membership Governor - Maggie Weir announced that club renewal memberships are still coming in with approximately 75% having been received. The form to apply for membership to the club has been included on the SMSA website. Three new memberships were presented to the BOG and a motion was presented and approved to welcome these individuals to SMSA.

Social Governor - Kris reported that the SMSA Birthday Party will take place on March 7, 1998 at the Tavern at the Village in Wildewood. Kris proposed the idea of having a 1998 opening day ceremony T-shirt created. The shirt would be offered for sale on opening day. John Weir stated that he would check with Jane Crawford to determine how this had been handled at former opening day ceremonies. A motion was presented to move the annual awards banquet to occur on an once a year basis in January vice December. The motion was voted on and approved.

Publicity Governor - John Herbig stated that publicity is everyone's responsibility and is asking that all club members help with promoting SMSA to the local community. He recommended that a brochure be created to advocate SMSA. John Weir recommended that John work with members of the Solomon's Business Association to assist with this effort. John reported that SMSA has been added to the cruising and racing clubs on the bay section in the Spinsheet magazine. John recommended that the website address for SMSA be added to all club publications. In addition, he suggested that a webmaster be assigned to manage the website.

Facilities Governor - Dan Watters announced that the 1998 clubhouse schedule is now included in the SMSA website. Dan requested that all BOG and club members, that have scheduled clubhouse events, please confirm dates and events currently included on the schedule. Dan reminded everyone that he is the point of contact for scheduling all activities occurring at the clubhouse. It was recommended that the clubhouse schedule be included as a regular part of the Clew.


The next Board of Governor's meeting will take place at 7:30 p.m. on February 5, 1998 at the SMSA clubhouse. All members are welcome to attend.

The meeting was adjourned at 2335 hours by John Weir.

Submitted by Karen Donehoo, Secretary

CRUISE

The cruise program planning meeting was held at the clubhouse on January 31. Over 40 members joined together around a blazing fire to set the schedule for the coming year. Thanks to all who volunteered to be cruise leaders. Highlights from the schedule include the Mowbrays' one week cruise exploring the Wye River, the Walkers' two week cruise of the southern bay, and the Hoile's one week cruise crisscrossing the middle bay. With a Memorial Day cruise to the Choptank, a 4th of July cruise to Reedville, Labor Day Cruises to both Crisfield and Ragged Point, and a Columbus Day cruise to Oxford the schedule provides something for everyone.

After a light lunch, many remained to discuss their plans or share their experience concerning cruising to New England or heading South for the winter. It appears there may be a half-dozen club members who are thinking of going South this fall. If you were not at the meeting and are interested, you should give Gail Parmentier a call. Only three or four boats expressed an interest in heading to the Block Island/Buzzards Bay area this summer, probably three weeks beginning June 27. Call Rick Farman or Jay Green, if you have an interest in joining.

Now, let's just hope that El Niño doesn't rain on our parade.

Submitted by Rick Farman, Cruise Governor


SPRING ONE WEEK CRUISE

For years Ellie and I have been reading about the beauty of the Wye River on the east side of the Eastern Bay, but have not managed to find enough time to really explore the creeks and branches of this interesting backwater. We have visited the Wye but only to anchor overnight, so we decided to try something a little different from the usual SMSA cruise routine this year. Our plan is to spend at least 3 full days in the Wye River. Each night we will raft up and anchor in a different creek or cove depending on what we as a group determine at the time. The schedule in the yearbook is meant to provide a suggested plan. If we want to split up, we can, or if one wishes to forego the Annapolis area and spend another day or two in the Wye, he can do that too. If some prefer to spend time at Kent Narrows or Saint Michaels they can. I promised Ellie a lunch at the Crab Claw on one of the days, but if you do join us please bring your dingy so you too can explore this unspoiled region of Maryland's Eastern Shore. Wye Island itself is primarily a Natural Resources Management Area. The Wye Oak State Park is nearby and there is also the campus of the University Of Maryland's Wye Institute. We been looking into opportunities for activities ashore, and will report them in later articles.
        
It's not too early to make plans for your participation in SMSA's 1998 Cruising program. Please join us and help make this cruise a very special event. Feel free to call us at (410) 326-1272 to sign up for this great cruise.

Submitted by Ken & Ellie Mowbray, Cruise Leaders


SEPTEMBER 5-7 CRUISE

Dear Cole's Point Plantation:

I am a member of the Southern Maryland Sailing Association, a sailing club of almost 200 sailboats headquartered in Solomons, Maryland. I would like to lead one of our many weekend cruises to your lovely large marina the long holiday weekend of this coming September 5 - 7.

We usually have between six and eight boats on such cruises, numbering no more than twelve to fifteen people. We would like to arrange for slips withing your lovely harbor for Saturday and Sunday nights, September 5th and 6th.

I understand that there are one or more wineries nearby. It would be fun for our group if, during the Sunday layover at your marina, a visit to one or more of these wineries could be arranged, either by them picking us up and returning us to our boats or even, perhaps, us arranging the rental of a van for transportation.

Submitted by Paul Grisso, Cruise Leader



RACE

RACE GOVERNOR'S REPORT

By the time you receive this, the Frostbite Series will be underway and before long the season wil be in full swing. All winters should be this quick and mild.

I encourage everyone to get their seasonal entry forms returned soon, so there's no delay with scoring. Remember, no valid PHRF certificate, no race fees paid, means NO SCORE!!

We have added the Vice Commodore's Race/Cruise to Cambridge to qualify for season high point. This brings the total races to qualify for high point to fifteen with eight races needed to qualify. This should allow everyone to be able to qualify.

We will have a dinner at the Cambridge YC at the conclusion of the Vice Commodore's Race/Cruise with members from the Eastern Shore Sailing Association (ESSA). This should be a nice event with details to follow. Thanks to our "unofficial liaison" with ESSA, Bill Hooper who has been very instrumental in making this happen.

Mark your calendar to attend the Race Committee Management Seminar on April 11, 1998 sponsored by the Women's program at the clubhouse. We will also have a RC Boat familiarization at that time.

Anyone interested in learning weekend RC duties, without being totally responsible, we have an Assistant RC Chairman sign up sheet with lots of slots still available.

Anyone interested in crewing or finding crew should check out our crew page on our web sight. Please pass the word on this to any potential crew.

Our RC Boat has major engine and steering problems. We are very fortunate to have Pete LaRoche under take this major project at a considerable savings to your club. It is too early for a diagnosis and we need volunteers to help. Please contact Pete if you can help out.

For those who could not attend the awards banquet, I am pleased to inform you that our Small Boat Coordinator, Don Behrens, was voted Member of the Year. Anyone participating in this program knows what a great job Don has done in getting it started and we are looking forward to another great year under Don's direction.

Please note that my new e-mail address is wgtaylor@erols.com.

For those who could not attend the planning meeting, please see the agenda for the meeting and any applicable decisions are in parenthesis.

Submitted by Jerry Taylor, Race Governor


SOCIAL

A good time was had by all at the Valentine's Day party. The Clubhouse looked great thanks to the decorating talents of Terry Farman and her friend Bridgett, Peggy Stanley, and Ronnie Spicuzza. The wine tasting was a lot of fun with quite a selection from which to choose and Shawn Stanley played just the right music for the occasion. The evening ended with a drawing for Godiva chocolates and a delicious decorated cake made by Maggie Weir! I want to extend a special thanks to Terry Farman for orchestrating this event, Rick Farman for taking care of the purchases that were required, Peggy Stanley for all of her help throughout the day, and Ronnie Spicuzza who helped to put this together even though she had another commitment for the evening. Thanks also to the many people that stayed to help clean up.

Next on the social agenda is the Birthday Party on March 7th at 6:30 p.m. at the Tavern at the Village. See the reminder complete with directions elsewhere in this CLEW. I hope to see you there!

April 4th marks the date for the Opening Day ceremony. Festivities will begin at 10:30 a.m. More details as we get closer to the date!

As always, please feel free to contact me with any suggestions you may have regarding our social program at youngjk@radix.net or 301-994-0547.

Submitted by Kris Dennie-Young, Social Governor

SUPPORT SCIENCE!

I am searching for a beat-out 30' (or so) pontoon boat that I can rent (or buy cheap) to turn into a drilling platform for coring that I will be conducting this year in Battle, Island, and Mill creeks. This is part of a USGS project on sea level rise in the Bay. My plan is to cut a 3'x3' open well in the plywood deck over which I will mount a 15' aluminum tripod for coring. It will also need to be modified to add proper fittings so that I can spud it into the bottom to keep it on each drill site. If you know of anything, please give me a call at (410) 326-4416 or email me at work at clarsen@usgs.gov.

Submitted by Curt Larsen

WOMENS PROGRAM

The sailing season is just around the corner and with that in mind, we have an aggressive training schedule already underway. The Racing Rules seminar will have taken place by now and I would like to send a THANKS out to Dan Trammel for conducting the event. Without the help of club members a lot of these efforts would not be possible.

We start March off in force with the first session of a Basic Sailing Skills Training. This training is open to SMSA members and families at a minimal cost to cover the expense of the book and other supplies. The course is ALSO open to Non-SMSA persons interested in learning basic sailing skills. There will be a $45.00 fee for non-members to cover the cost of the book and supplies. Any profit will be put back into the training program. The intent of including non-SMSA persons is in line with the club's charter which is to promote and educate sailing and sailing activities. With this approach, potential for new crew, and "new blood" (as quoted by Jerry Taylor), is greatly increased. A second Basic Sailing session will start in April. Please check the calendar for specific dates on these sessions and call me for more details, or to sign-up.

In addition to the Basic Sailing, there will be a Tides and Currents Seminar on the 21st of March. This seminar will take place with the help of Jay Hanks, and be held at the clubhouse from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. ALL persons are encouraged to attend as Jay will cover Tides and Currents in the local area and the Chesapeake Bay Region. This seminar will be beneficial to both racers and cruisers. As we all know, in the lighter air, these variables play a very important role in getting from point A to point B.

In April, training will kick into a higher gear. On April 11th, a Race Committee Management and Training class will occur. The time for the event will be 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. and will take place at the clubhouse. PHRF Race Committee and Portsmouth Yardstick (Small Boats) will be covered with a Familiarization of the Race committee boat to follow with Jerry Taylor. This training is again open to ANYONE.

On the 18th of April, a training seminar on Aerodynamics and Driving Tactics is planned. Dan Schneider will cover the aerodynamics involved in sailing and a discussion will follow on specific driving tactics. The times on this event are 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. and it will be held at the SMSA clubhouse.

With and active schedule in April, I would like to mention some other things to look forward to in May. The 2nd of May will include a Small Boat Familiarization/Open House. If you have been wanting to get a closer look at these boats or to get in one, be sure to attend. More details on this event will follow. The 3rd of May will bring Spinnaker Training. This training will take place on the small boats to familiarize would be trimmers. Since this training will require volunteer skippers and small boats, please call me to let me know if you wish to attend.

On the 19th of May, we will have a Foredeck familiarization and training. This training is intended to familiarize persons with the front of the boat. This will include, line identification, sail launch and takedown, spinnaker set-up, and sail changes. The training will begin with a gathering at the clubhouse at 6:30 p.m. and follow with on-the-water training. Persons wishing to volunteer their time and their boats are needed so please call me.

Remember that the Marcy Series Races are on the Schedule for June 6 and 7. Please call me to let me know if you intend to participate. I would like to help those skippers that need crew and those crew that need skippers now and not at the last minute.
In addition to the Women's races, cruise, and the training, we will be holding a Sunday Afternoon's at the Clubhouse. This event/meeting will run in parallel to the Junior program and will include on and off the water events. It will focus on Women's sailing activities and issues. The hope is to bring in guest speakers and discuss topics on Women's sailing and have on-the-water practice. All are welcome to attend so encourage your crew and friends to attend. Specific dates will be forthcoming so watch the website and the Clew.

They say that March comes in like a Lion and goes out like a lamb. I think that this months message does the same. The success of the women's program and SMSA is dependent upon the members of this club. It will not be a successful venture unless you are involved. Please attend the training and encourage sailing with your family and friends. This club started with a letter and invitation from three persons who loved the sport and wanted to encourage it. We are fortunate now to have a solid organization filled with a lot of GREAT people who love to sail. I encourage you, and invite you, to get involved and make it a better club this year. Till' next time...

Submitted by Barbara Herbig, Women's Governor

MEMBERSHIP

Membership renewals have slowed down considerably: about one quarter is outstanding. Check your Clew label for "membership category 1998", signifying that you are paid up. Otherwise, get your check and form in before you are dropped from the mailing list and membership roster, which is to be included in the 1998 Yearbook. I encourage all of you who have e-mail addresses to include them; we could save a lot on postage by sending e-mail messages instead of postcard reminders.

On February 5, 1997 the BOG considered the applications of Marilyn and Tom Vollman, Doc and Paivi Burke, and James and Gayle Troan for membership and voted in the affirmative. The Troans have the distinction of being the first applicants to file on a form downloaded from the SMSA website; thank you Ron Spicuzza! Other applications for membership have been requested and posted.

Lost members: Does anyone know the whereabouts of Luis Blondet, John Ham, or Paul Tipton? SMSA mail is no longer getting through to them.

SMSA members receive a discounted rate when renewing BOAT/US memberships. Our rate is $8.50 if you include our group # GA82233S on your renewal form.

Submitted by Maggie Weir, Membership Governor
JUNIOR PROGRAM

It has been a busy start of the year for the junior program. Already we have had maintenance, training, community sailing, and CBYRA meetings. All of these will be discussed below. I want to thank the cruise governor Ric Farmen for putting out a Junior Program can at the cruiser's meeting. He collected fifteen dollars that day and we collected another seven dollars at the Valentine's party. It may seem like a small amount, but over a year it can add up! Expect to see these cans show up at all our events!! I have included a survey to be filled out and sent back; please spend a little bit of time and don't forget those non-club member friends who may have an interested child. SMSA still has a junior member category and I welcome all interested parties. We are still on the lookout for available boat to purchase as a "safety boat"; keep your eyes peeled.

Junior Program Kickoff Meeting

We held our junior program kickoff meeting at the clubhouse on January 24. Jay Hanks and Frank King joined me for the maintenance meeting and we made good use of the time by inventorying the Optimists and El Toro's. We identified repairs to be made and any parts to be ordered. Jay offered to make some racks to store the boats on, sent me some plans, and he will get started later this month. The racks will be moveable for summer storage at the beach and winter storage behind the junior shed. The second part of the day was a discussion on the several planned events for the juniors this year. Jay, Frank, John and Maggie Weir, John and Barbara Herbig, and I discussed the summer camp, Sunday afternoons, high school teams, and regional competition.



CBYRA Planning Meeting

I attended the CBYRA Junior Planning Meeting in Annapolis on January 31. This was a very informal and informative meeting, although a little disheartening to me, because of the maturity of the other junior programs. In order for our juniors to be competitive with those programs we need to start younger, and have a program for both singlehanded and doublehanded competition. We also need to have the volunteers and dedicated parents to take our juniors to compete against those teams (Enough of the soapbox!). I am preparing our entry for the Redbook (junior equivalent of the green book). There are several opportunities for the U.S. Sailing Level I dinghy instructor course this year; most are finished by the end of June. I don't know if we have any current SMSA qualified instructors; if we do please let me know. If you are interested, call me and I will give you the dates and places. Here are some dates to put on your junior calendar:

CBYRA SEARS, BEMIS, SMYTHE Area C qualifiers       AYC 6/23-24
LEITER Clinic and Regatta (JR Women only)       TAYC 6/27-28
BAY OPEN CHAMPIONSHIPS       FBYC 7/29-30
ANNUAL REGATTA       WRSC 9/5-6
SMSA ANNUAL REGATTA       SMSA 9/26

This is by no means an inclusive list, please call me for the full schedule. Most of these regattas use Lasers, 420's, Optimists, and Bytes. AYC has three 420s for sale ($2600 ea) and six Optimists ($1200 ea).

Community Sailing Program

I attended (with several other SMSA members) a community sailing meeting hosted by Mike Ironmonger (head sailing dude at SMC). Mike intends to add a lower cost daytime sailing camp to his residential program. The primary objective is to teach sailing and boating fundamental to area youth. Currently the program is scheduled for June 29 to July 17 with a 36 person maximum (using 18 SMC Flying Juniors). I suggested that this program should be a feeder to our Wed/Thur/Sat/Sun programs, that we not send the kids on their way, but (pending interest) match the kids up with our boats and programs so the interest doesn't go away. More on this later.

Sunday Afternoon Sailing

As I mentioned previously, I would like to bring back the Sunday afternoon sailing sessions for club members. They will be structured around the US Sailing/Red Cross and would lead to certification of our juniors. We would use our El Toro/Optimists as beginning boats and then solicit the use of club dinghies and big boats for more advanced training (spinnaker/racing/etc). I am still asking for volunteers to assist me with this program. This should start in early May and continue until October with breaks during major SMSA events.

High School Sailing

I am soliciting any volunteers to help lead a high school team. I know of at least three kids at Leonardtown High School that could start a team (minimum of four for a team). I believe that Ryken is starting a team. SMC is hosting a regatta in April and we need to get this underway. Mike Ironmonger has tentatively agreed to allow a team to use his boats on a not to interfere basis with his team. Please call me if you are interested.

Summer Day Camp

I have decided on a three week camp similar to last year's format. It will follow the SMC camp described above. I will be looking for a US Sailing Level I instructor for this camp. My target attendance is twelve kids; however I am two boats short right now. More on this later.

Submitted by Jim Young, (Junior Governor) email:youngjk@radix.net

EDITOR's NOTE

For expediency, we prefer that you e-mail CLEW articles to Tsai@mail.ameritel.net. If you must use snail mail, a printed copy and a disk containing the file should be sent to 41206 Friendship Court, Mechanicsville, MD 20659-3807. You may also drop articles off at our home or offices……Just call for directions. In order to get the CLEW published by the first of the month, we request that all submissions be received by the 15th of the prior month. Please contact us if you have corrections, suggestions, complaints, compliments or questions of any nature. Julian Tsai and Judi Johnson, 301-373-8473.


CLASSIFIED ADS


Advertisements will be removed after three months. Please contact the editor's if you wish to rerun your advertisement. Please notify the editor's when the item is sold so we can remove the advertisement.

FOR SALE
Laser II for sail. In great condition, with main, jib & trapeze. Ready to add spinnaker gear. Comes with trailer. Must see. Contact Chuck & Jane Crawford, (410) 326-4566. **Great two person Thursday night boat!**(dec97)

Thistle for sail. Boat is fiberglass (17'), with wooden mast. Serious inquires and reasonable offers entertained. Contact Sandy Sweikar (301) 872-4055 for more info. **Great Thursday night boat!** (dec97)

Frers 33 - 1989 Best & most completely outfitted 33 on market. Race - Cruise in style and safety. Truly a proper yacht, Low 60's. 703/836-6608. cstanwick@aol.com, (mar98)



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