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Scuttlebutt Club Newsletter - 2008For complete pdf of the Scuttlebutt (including the Commodore, Vice Commodore & Rear Commodore reports)... click here |
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February 2008 |
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Opti Regattas, Come Join the FunReported by Nick Haile Hello, opti sailors! Last year I went to five opti events. Only on two occasions did other people from our club come! You guys really missed out on a lot of FUN!!!!! Some of the regattas are for the SAYRA* Junior Championship Series. All of the events had Red, Blue, White and Green fleets participating. I want to tell you about the regattas I went to ... The first event I went to this year was the Rock Paper Scissors Regatta in Birmingham, Alabama. It was sailed Labor Day weekend. The conditions were a little light, but the competition was fun. The highlight was the rock paper scissors tournament and breaking open geodes with a hammer! An added bonus was Tom Coleman coaching the green fleet. Wes Parsons and Zettler & Devin Quinn were also there from AYC! The next event was the Board Bash at Lake Norman Yacht Club near Charlotte, NC. (September 22 and 23) The conditions were very light and the competition was fierce. The highlights were that they had a slide show of on-the-water pictures, and at around eight o’clock they had karaoke. This was a SAYRA* event. The third event I went to was the Southeastern Championships at Lake Lanier Sailing Club (September 29th and 30th). This is not a beginner regatta I tell you! The conditions were heavy and, the competition was really fierce, with opti sailors from all over the country. I had to drop out on Saturday because of the high winds, but it was a great learning experience. It was a USODA** event. The regatta I went to next was the Halloween regatta at Augusta Sailing Club (October 13th and 14th).The conditions were light and the lake was almost empty, but there were 23 optis there. This was my first time sailing at this club, and it reminded me a lot of AYC. This was a SAYRA* event and open to many classes. The last regatta I went to was the Midlands Regatta in Columbia, SC (November 3rd and 4th). The wind was about perfect and the competition was really good. There were about 25 optis there. The trophies looked cool and they had lots of water in their lake, but they were rebuilding their clubhouse, so the trophy presentation was in the parking lot. It should be really cool next year! This was the last SAYRA* event of the year, and it was also open to many classes. *SAYRA is the South Atlantic Yacht Racing Association. Check it out at ** USODA is the United States Optimist Dingy Association. Signed, |
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Calling all Junior Sailors!Registration for junior training is now open for all classes this year! Register now for Junior Training. Don’t miss your opportunity to sign up! In spring, we will hold intermediate and advanced classes for Opti’s, Lasers, and 420’s. Also, new for this year, the Opti sailors will be able to participate in the monthly races held on Sunday mornings that previously had been for Lasers. Please mark your calendars. This is a great opportunity for young sailors to hone their skills! |
Adult Sailing ClassesSaturday Series : Adult Beginning Sailing Classes : Sunday Series : Adult Beginning Sailing Classes : Participants in this class will learn how to sail a boat safely and enjoyably. Low key but expert instruction will allow even people who have never been on a boat to feel secure on the water. Each class will include sailing together in the club's two person 420 class sailboats as well as on-shore instruction and encouragement. The total purpose of this class is so that everyone at AYC will understand what is going on in boats and will feel themselves to be an integral part of the sailing community. Both Saturday and Sunday classes are from 9am - 12noon. As the size of the class is limited by the number of boats we have available, registering early is a must. We accept both club members and nonmembers, strictly on a first-registered-and-paid, first enrolled basis. The total cost for an AYC member to enroll in all the Saturday or all the Sunday sessions is only $35. For non-members the cost is $150 with a $25 discount if more than one family member enrolls in same session. To register, please click here If you have questions, please contact Peggy Davis, Adult Sailing Director |
Photo Op!AYC Junior Week -- June 8 - 13
Nancy Molitor will continue to serve as Photography Director and will offer a mini-clinic to coach volunteers in the not-always-fine art of shooting kids in boats. If you would enjoy spending at least three full days at Junior Week with your camera, contact Anne Maassen at 770.427.6952. |
Midwinter's Anyone?Laser Midwinter's East, February 20 - 24, Clearwater, FL |
AYC Commissioning 2008 - TRUE BLUEIn many cultures the color BLUE is thought to attract water and, particularly, rain. We all think Lake Allatoona could use a little more "blue" and so we ask that you wear some version of the color blue to AYC Commissioning. Please, look through your closet and pull out something blue ... navy blue, aquamarine blue, sky blue, turquoise blue, royal blue ... any kind of blue ... and WEAR it ... to Commissioning! There will be more details to follow, but here's a start: Atlanta Yacht Club Commissioning 2008 Please mark your calendars and survey your wardrobes. |
Dhow SailingReported by Darryl Allardice One aspect of sailing that I particularly enjoy is the fact that it is intertwined with many aspects of history and culture throughout the world. My wife Tracy and I experienced this recently on a trip to East Africa. Our journey began in Rwanda where we trekked thru Volcanoes National Park to see the endangered mountain gorillas, followed by a 10-day safari in and around Serengeti National Park (Tanzania), and ended at the coastal spice island of Zanzibar. While there were many wonderful parts of the trip, some of the most memorable scenes I can recall involved sailboats - "dhows" to be exact.
Zanzibar has at least one thing in common with AYC - it's a one-design community! The dhows are practically the only style of watercraft that you see. However, this design scales up from the smaller (15') personal boats to larger (40') commercial boats and they are all essentially the same. They are used in transportation, fishing, and even tourism. Being a single-sail boat, there is only one sheet. So its not crew-consuming to sail a dhow, unless you want to tack. The hardest part of sailing a dhow is tacking. This is complicated by the lateen rigging primarily due to the large yardarm attached to the mast and resting to either side. Its all too big and bulky to swivel about when tacking like a Sunfish so instead the yardarm must be "hopped" over the top of the mast to the other side, as the sail is passed around in front of the yardarm, a precarious task in itself. Needless to say they don't tack any more than needed.
That rounded out the group who spent nearly two hours plying the waters of the west coast of Zanzibar in a dhow, serenaded with local music, and watching the sun set quietly over the gentle waters of the Indian Ocean. The sailing was smooth, the winds gentle but steady, and the scene picture perfect. Here's to remembering our love of sailboats even in the off-season! |
Congratulations to the 2007 Awards RecipientsThistle Fleet Charlie Chase Award – Craig McLean & Family Y-Flyer Fleet Woody Orrell Trophy – Karl Andersen Snipe Fleet Bill Lynn Trophy – Clayton Dixon Laser Fleet Junior Championship Awards Outstanding Junior Award – Anna Lee Bradley Women's Championship Awards Club Championships Awards Goodwill Ambassador Award – Mike Carlson Sportsmanship Award – John Hill Outstanding Sailor Award – Amanda Hodges Commodore's Award – Means and Peggy Davis |
Ever wondered who some of the people are behind these awards?Traditions are carried forward from one generation to another, stories are shared about those that have come before us and made their imprint, but not everyone hears the same story or is present when those stories are told. We add new members every year to our Yacht Club family and if you don't attend the annual Christmas party / awards banquet, a name such as Charlie Chase, Bill Lynn or Woody Orrell is just another name. These are three individuals that made their mark on the membership of the Atlanta Yacht Club, touched many hearts and are honored every year in December when awards that were created in their memory are presented to current club members. For some, take a walk down memory lane as you read about the men below, for others I hope what follows provides you with some insight about some of the legends that still live on in the Atlanta Yacht Club. Bill Lynn Award : The Bill Lynn Award was established in the early 1990s by John and Kitza Muhlhausen in memory of Bill who was a leader, a sparkplug extraordinaire, a sportsman and a man who traveled all over the world enjoying and promoting the sport of sailing. Bill and wife, Gay joined AYC in 1984 not long after they moved to Atlanta for Bill's job. Bill was Vice President and Corporate Media Director for The Coca-Cola Company. Bill and Gay joined the Snipe fleet and regularly traveled to regattas all over the world. Bill was president of USYRU (now US SAILING) for three years and was the chairman of the International Classes Committee of the London based International Yacht Racing Union, the sports governing authority. He was a principal in the initial planning for the 1996 Olympic Games - Yachting in Savannah but died in a boating accident in the Bahamas in November of 1990 before the final detailed planning was done. Bill would have been the "Competition Manager" or #1 person with overall responsibility for the 1996 Yachting Games had he not died. Bill had competed in Olympic trail races series for the Star class over the years, ending with the 1968 Olympic trails. John Muhlhausen said "Bill may have been short in stature but he was a giant in the world of sailing. He was AYC's link to the international world of sailing and promoting the sport with a Corinthian spirit that was contagious. This special quality of Bill is what we wanted to honor and remember him by in establishing this perpetual trophy for Snipe Fleet 330." Congratulations this year to the Bill Lynn Award recipient, Clayton Dixon, son of Don and Jane Dixon and thanks to Means Davis, the Muhlhausens and Clayton for providing the information above. Charlie Chase Award : The inscription on the Charlie Chase award reads: "The wind is never too light, the water too cold, nor the day too late. Find a friend and let's go sailing! If you do your best you can't lose, and the day is going to be a fine one." The statement symbolizes the way Charlie lead his life. Sailing was his true joy. He loved to compete; he loved the Atlanta Yacht Club. If you were to judge his sailing career on his wins, it would not be very impressive. However if you were to judge on effort, he would be the hands down winner. He started his sailing career in 1956 and sailed through 1990. For the thirty four years he never failed to qualify in any series. His sailing ability was very good; he was simply not very aggressive. Rather than crowd the weather mark he would give way to his friends and try to out sail them on the next leg. I never remember a single protest. It is the intention of the reward, to recognize those that participate and is given in the name of a true sportsman. Congratulations to Craig McLean and Family for winning the Charlie Chase Award in 2007 and thanks to Buzz Chase, Charlie's son and Bill Tumlin for providing the information above. Woody Orrell Award : Reprinted from the Scuttlebutt published in December of 1971: "Woody Orrell loved to sail, and he did it well. He also, I think, loved living. He did that very well, too. In a very few years with the Atlanta Yacht Club, Woody became the man sailors asked about in other clubs, in other states. 'Is Woody coming over? Say hello to Woody for me.' Woody brought the Y-Flyer Nationals to AYC. Woody got the fleet started again on the regatta trail. And Woody had heart trouble. A man can lie down and be waited on with a bad heart and die a little more each day; or he can, like Woody, live his life as fully as possible with grudging concessions to his illness. Woody held himself down to a career, a family, many friendships and three hobbies that I know of. One of them was sailing. His many friends voted him our club's Goodwill Ambassador trophy (1971) and his sailing won him the Y-Flyer season championship. It was the first season trophy he ever won, and sadly, the last. Woody died of a heart attack (his third) during the Beers Regatta, at the helm of his Blue Sailed Y. A new memorial trophy for the Y-Flyer season champion has been dedicated to Woody, not because he died, but because he lived so very well." Anna Froehlich provided the above and also informed me that there is an interesting story about the base of the trophy. In short, the base of the trophy was taken and made from a very old beam taken out of a church in San Salvador. There was a cannonball also buried in this same beam, in another section. It was determined that the cannonball was from the 1600s during a battle led by Sir Francis Drake. The artist of the trophy bought this beam and later made the trophy with part of it as the base. Congratulations Karl Andersen, the recipient of the Woody Orrell award and thanks to Anna Froehlich for providing the information above. |
In loving memory of past Commodore, Harold L. GilreathHarold Gilreath, past Commodore of the Atlanta Yacht Club in 1963 passed away on November 27, 2007. He was AYC's club champion in 1958, '59, '60, '62, and '63 losing to Ted Turner in 1964, but won again in 1975. Harold was an avid Snipe sailor and began sailing Snipes in 1944. He was the commodore of SCIRA (Snipe Class International Racing Association) in 1956. Harold built a Snipe out of plywood and detailed his adventure in a book titled "How to Build a Plywood Snipe". Harold was an aircraft engineer by trade and worked at Beech Aircraft in KS and at Lockhead Martin in Marietta, GA for over 20 years. He turned his love of sailing into more than just a hobby and as Woody Norwood put it "sailing was his vocation as well as his avocation". Harold was the owner of Gilreath Sails which later became Gilreath Sailboat Supplies. With his vast knowledge of boats, Harold became a surveyor and appraiser of boats. Means Davis remarked that Harold was a role model to him as he was growing up at the lake and said "he could teach all the tricks of the trade and then go out and beat you anyway!" |
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Please welcome AYC's new members of the Board of Governors : Bob McCormack, Jim Smither, Ian Elliott, Don Hackbarth and our new Treasurer, Tim Weber!
Thank you Russell Plunkett for taking the professional photos of AYC's Flag Officers and newly elected members of the Board of Governors! |
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Site Design by AYC clubmember ©1999-2008 Atlanta Yacht Club |
The Junior Week crew is looking for a few sporting volunteers to photograph our up-and-coming young sailors at this year's camp, June 8 - 13. A digital camera with a good zoom is needed; an SLR is preferred. Some photography experience is expected, plus a good working knowledge of your camera's capabilities.
The "dhow" is a beautiful, versatile design that evokes a sense of grace and nostalgia, a result of both its simplicity and its construction. The most striking aspect of its appearance is the lone triangular sail, lashed to a long yardarm hanging lateenrigged from the mast. The forward end of the yardarm comes to the point of the bow while the aft end is raised high in the air directly above the stern of the ship. It has such a distinct profile and geometric symmetry that it appears to be a perfect triangle of cloth gliding along the water. The physical structure of the boat consists solely of the hull, mast, and simple poop deck(?). The poop deck provides a resting spot for the long yardarm when the sails are down and conveniently also shades the captain from the beating sun. The hull itself is keel-less and very streamlined; while the earliest dhows were tapered on both ends, modern dhows have a square stern with a rudder and motor (for when they get our Allatoona breezes!). The profile is quite low and sleek. Much of the beauty of the boat, though, comes from the wood. Every part of the boat is hewn by hand and fit together perfectly over many months by the local boat builders. The wood is a deep rich textured brown, and when combined with the weathered canvas sail provides a classic, timeless image on the water.
Being land-locked since the beginning of our trip, we decided to get back in touch with our windjammer spirit, so we booked a sunset cruise. We knew it would be special, but didn't realize how special until we boarded the 20' dhow with 7 other people and realized we were the only paying passengers – everyone else was there to "work". Mind you, it doesn't take 7 people to sail a dhow, even allowing for the complexity of tacking. One passenger had a guitar strapped over his back so his role was easy to identify. Another passenger was our hotel's guest relations manager who apparently gets to do these activities for free under the guise of staying in touch with hotel guests' experience on hotel-booked activities. Another passenger was the tour guide, who offered tales of local history and lore. The guide also had an assistant who was wearing a tie and brought a laptop. It never left the laptop bag and he never assisted very much, so perhaps he was really just somebody's nephew who finished his workday at the office and wanted to get out on the water for the evening. Then there was the skipper and three crew members.
