BIRMINGHAM

SAILING CLUB

The Hornblower

September 2011 Hornblower posted in PDF format

Hornblower Archives

The Hornblower is our semi monthly club news letter. Following are archived PDF versions of the Hornblower. You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view the following files.

Download the current version of Adobe Acrobat Reader here.

2011 - June

2010 - January

2009 - September

2008 - June

2007 - February - March - April - May 2007 - June 2007 - September 2007 - December 2007

2006 - February - March - May - November

2005 - February - March - April - June - November

2004 - March - April - May - July - October - December

2003 - March - April - August - October - December

June 2008

COMMODORE’S COMMENTS

By Loy Vaughan

As a committed sailboat racing enthusiast over the last 37 years, I have traveled to the four corners of the continent racing my Thistle. I have experienced close to 75 different yacht and sailing clubs from the San Diego Yacht Club to the Sayville Yacht Club on Long Island and from the Oak Harbor Yacht Club on Whidbey Island north of Seattle to the St. Petersburg Yacht Club on Tampa Bay, but I always point out to my comrades that our own BSC is by far the best sailing bargain anywhere in the country.

Why is BSC such a bargain? For starters, we owe a great debt to the vision of our founders who sacrificed the enormous sum of Five Thousand 1964 dollars to purchase the BSC property that is invaluable today. Through the years that vision continues to thrive through the hard work of our membership. Unlike the San Diego Yacht Club and the St. Petersburg Yacht Club, we don’t have employees. We have a strong membership consisting of volunteers who dedicate their time and resources to make BSC the best sailing experience anywhere.

As your 2008 Commodore, I have the pleasure to serve alongside fifteen other volunteers who form the BSC Board of Governors and Committee Chairs. Not only do you find them in monthly board meetings, but you also will find them volunteering for club work parties, regatta organizers, substitute race committee, regatta clean-up chores, and many other tasks above and beyond the call of duty.

There is a saying in volunteer organizations such as BSC: “We are a volunteer organization. If you see something you would like to change, volunteer to get it done.” I would hope that every BSC member will become better acquainted with the BSC Board members whose names and contact information you will find listed on the website at www.birminghamsailingclub.org/contact.asp. Feel free to contact any one of us if you have ideas and suggestions for a better BSC; and then volunteer to help make it happen. We welcome your input.

One current project is to make BSC a closer-knit community by posting the pictures of each member in the Members Pages of our web site. The idea is to help everyone to put names and faces together so that we can feel more comfortable seeing and talking with other members while at the club. The first pictures to appear will those of our board members. We will have volunteer photographers at the club to take your picture or you can submit your own picture for this project. Please email yours and your spouse’s photograph to Past Commodore, Jim Sisson pastcommodore@birminghamsailingclub.org who is heading up this project.

BSC is an incredible bargain, but you have to come out to the club to enjoy it. Plan to sail the next Sunday races or the next One Day Regatta on June 14th. Bring the whole family. Sail your boat or jump on board and crew with someone else. With gasoline prices north of $4.00 per gallon, the beach just doesn’t make sense any more.

See you on the water,

Loy

BSC Third Thursdays

Learn to Race (Better) Seminars on the Third Thursdays of April, May and June

Next meeting June 19th

At UAB Marshall Conference Center (between UAB soccer complex & Medical Center Inn on 11th Street South)

Every BSC member from the rank beginner who has just learned to sail to the experienced club racer will benefit from attending.

Presenters will include David Reich, Mike Neilson, Harry Reich and Loy Vaughan. Greg Fisher is a tentative guest presenter for a future seminar.

We will take you around the race course from the perspective of the rules, the strategy, and the tactics. We will allow for questions and discussion at every stage.

Pre-race preparation
Understanding wind shifts
Starting line and starts
Windward leg
Mark rounding
Leeward leg
Finish line

Drinks and snacks will be provided

BSC Member Photographs

Each member’s photo will be added to the online database of members. Please send a photo of yourself and a photo of your spouse to Jim Sisson pastcommodore@birminghamsailingclub.org. Also, please submit photos of other members that you may have (flattering photos preferred!).

To view members photos go to the web site to Members Pages > Member Photos. You must login with your last name and the password: “BSC”. If you don’t particularly like the photo we have for you please send us a better one.

If you wish to opt out of the photo project please send an email to that effect. We will honor all requests to opt out.

Reunion regatta

The Reunion Regatta is coming up Saturday July 5th. Skipper’s meeting will be at 11:30 with the first signal on the water at 12:30. Races will be followed by free hotdogs, hamburgers, pasta salad, smores, and the now famous American Flag jello and fresh fruit cake, as well as plenty of soda and beer. The purpose of this regatta is to get together with current and old friends, and enjoy a day at the lake. If you know where any past members are, please ask them to on come down. Many people have left the club for one reason or another, and we want to give them the chance to come back and see what the club looks like now.

My only request is that you RSVP to me so I know how much food we will need. You can email me at webmaster@birminghamsailingclub.org.

SAILING NEWS

Many thanks to Pauline Nielson for sending this article. Pauline also noted, “You can email your Senators and Congressman requesting that they support S 2766/HR 5949 “The Clean Boating Act of 2008” through the BoatBlue website: www.boatblue.org/takeaction.aspx or go to www.congress.org/congressorg/home/ , enter your zip code under My Elected Officials and follow the instructions. That's an easy way to email your representatives.”

US SAILING News

Court Ruling Poses Threat to Sailors: Sailors need to act NOW to avoid pending permit requirements

Over 18 million recreational boats – including yours – could soon be required to comply with a new permit system if Congress does not pass the Clean Boating Act of 2008 before September 30th. Due to a 2006 U.S. District Court decision, the federal Environmental Protection Agency is required to design and implement a discharge permit system for every vessel in the country before September 30, 2008. Current federal legislation, Senate Bill #2766 and House Bill #5949 "The Clean Boating Act" would reinstate a 35-year permit exemption for recreational boats.

If legislation does not pass in the next 4 months, all of the boats that you own or sail will need a special permit, regardless of size or type. This means boat owners will be required to apply and pay for permits for Sabots, Lasers, Hobies, Mumm 30s, Cal 40s or TP52s, most likely in every state where they want to sail a boat.

The National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA) and BoatU.S. are spear-heading efforts in Washington D.C. to pass this legislation, but every boater’s voice is critical right now to successfully pass this bill.

“Time is short, Congress is distracted, and we must get this legislation moved in order to beat the clock,” says Margaret Podlich, Vice President of Government Affairs for BoatU.S. and a US SAILING member.

According to Scott Gudes, Vice President for Government Relations of the National Marine Manufacturers Association, “Recreational boats like 20’ sailboats shedding deck wash are far different from supertankers discharging ballast water. As crazy as it may sound, if we don’t get the Clean Boating Act of 2008 (S 2766/HR 5949) passed by Congress and signed by the President before September 30th, all recreational boats, even a Laser or a Hobie Cat, will be subject to an onerous and expensive new Federal boat permit program. This is why it is imperative to urge our elected officials to restore the commonsense EPA exemption that has existed for 35 years.”

Background:

In 2006, a U.S. District Court ruling canceled an exemption of the Clean Water Act for normal operational discharges of vessels. The original lawsuit brought against the EPA by environmental groups was focused on commercial oceangoing ships, their ballast water, and preventing the unintentional introduction of invasive species (like zebra mussels). However, the new regulations and permit requirements will adversely affect ALL vessels in the United States. The EPA is now developing the draft permits, which are expected to incorporate the water used to cool your engine, the water that crashes over your bow and exits your cockpit, grey water from sinks and showers, and clean bilge water. Existing environmental restrictions on the overboard discharge of raw sewage, plastics and garbage, and oil and fuel are not affected by the permit requirements or the proposed legislation.

Current Situation:

Because of the court ruling, the EPA is now developing a permit system for every vessel in the United States. This draft permit is scheduled to be released for public comment shortly.

Concurrently, the boating and fishing community is working hard to pass federal legislation which would exempt recreational boats from the permit requirement. In the last few weeks, there has been positive momentum on S 2766/HR 5949 “The Clean Boating Act of 2008.” On May 15, HR 5949 was passed out of the House Committee, and on May 21, S 2766 was passed out of the Senate Committee. These bills have identical language, and they are now headed to the full Senate and House for votes. According to Podlich, “These are the bills that are most politically viable, and these are the bills we need help with nationwide.”

Donate five minutes!

Without a change in the law, after September 30, 2008, you will need to an EPA permit to legally operate each of your boats. Please invest five minutes now to contact your 2 federal Senators and your one federal Representative to ask for their support of S 2766 and HR 5949.

Boat Blue has simplified this communication process with an automated system, enabling you to email your local senators and representatives with just a few clicks at www.boatblue.org/takeaction.aspx.

“It only takes a few minutes, and we really need sheer volumes of support to get Congress’ attention and prompt action on this issue,” says Podlich.

LEARN TO SAIL CLASS

By Michael Papp

Our spring learn to sail class was successful. 18 people signed up, but only 8 people managed to show up for the final day of sailing. The students who showed up learned that even if there are thunderstorms all night you should still show up.

Special thanks to all the skippers who risked their boats and helped out with the learn to sail class: Jim Sisson, Sid Browning, Margaret Pittenger, Bob Blythe, Mike Neilson, Rick Scarborough, Richard May, John Eccles, John Gilliom. We can’t do it with out you. Special thanks to Sid Browning; without his efforts with the Flying Scot fleet, we might have had students left at the dock.

In the past month, we have had one person from last year’s learn to sail and 3 people from this year join the club. I hope they keep coming out and keep sailing.

SMALL BOAT SAILOR CERTIFICATION PROGRAM

By Michael Papp

Over the past 2 years, I have had several people ask that we offer some sort of certification for sailing. In response, I am trying out a pilot program this year for the US SAILING Small Boat Certification Program.

The US SAILING Small Boat Sailor Certification Record Book (“Little Red Book”) is used to recording skills learned and tested in dinghies, multihulls or small, open day sailing keelboats. Skills are “signed off” by a US SAILING certified instructor in one of two wind speeds. Upon completion of the skills in any one wind speed, the sailor can send their completed record book to US SAILING, along with the appropriate fee, and receive a US SAILING Official Logbook complete with a colorful, holographic-style sticker noting level of skills completed in one or more wind speeds. The sailor’s original record book will then be returned for further possible use.

This is the first level of sailing certification offered by US SAILING. We are asking for a $5 fee to cover the cost of the log book and to help support our sailing instructor certification program. Contact me if you are interested at (205.744.2566 [h]) or education@birminghamsailingclub.org

If there is enough interest this year, we will keep the certification program going.

Marsh Hartley Single Hand Race

May 25th marked the annual Marsh Hartlen Single Hand Race. We hold this race every year to remember a fine sailor, fellow club members and friend to many.

Dear BSC friends

I crewed for Marsh a couple of times. Being a cat. sailor, I had no idea how to handle to spinnaker - people, on land or in other boats, were probably laughing about my vain attempts to fly it, but Marsh never had a cross word, only a smile and words of encouragement. I hold precious memories of a special man who sailed, too briefly, through my life. Good breezes and friendship,

Dianne T. Davis

From Jim Binnings:

When I first joined the BSC Marsh, Windall, John, and Dave were the masters of single handing a Scot.

I was always amazed that while we all were fighting the breeze they would not only single hand their boats but fly the spinnaker and beat most boats. In Marsh's last days I remember him coming to the club and putting a chair by the launch ramp and just sit there and watch the races. I choked up more than once or twice seeing this. Come out and sail and honor the memory of someone who really had the spirit and love of sailing like we all do.....jimb

2008 Ironman

By Nelson Sharp

I hope as you read this article it helps you reflect back on the good time you had at the 2008 Ironman. If you missed the regatta, this article will not do justice, so don’t miss it next time.

The Regatta began with 37 boats…8 J-22’s, 8 thistles, 7 snipes, 6 scots, and 8 open. PRO’s Kent Irwin and David Glasgow earned their money on Saturday trying to decipher where the wind was going to come from. Not to say the wind was bad, it just came and went from different directions. The sailing did however come together for three great races.

As we pulled our boats out of the water on Saturday afternoon, we heard the sounds of a classical guitarist and flautist coming from the patio at the club house. The relaxing music, cold drinks and appetizers were a welcome site to all the sailors. The band even played for us as we ate a delicious Greek chicken dinner provided by Susan Phillips. After dinner, the fun continued with Jim Wright (Jukebox Jim) and our own Terry Waldron playing guitar into the night.

On Sunday, the wind blew and blew and almost blew me over. This was what Ironman sailing is supposed to be like. The awards ceremony was accompanied by hamburgers and hotdogs cooked by our Jr sailing program. The J-22 fleet was won by Freeman, followed by Cassady in second, and our own Bob Blythe in third. Taking the honors in the thistle fleet was Loy Vaughn, followed by Joe Hart, and Richard May in third. The snipe fleet had great support from out of town with Hodges, Dixon, and Bradley respectively. The flying scots winners were Fowler in first, BSC’s shining star Kevin Holland in second, and BSC’s Knost team member Margaret Pittenger in third. Open fleet was won by Andrew Phillips in his laser followed by Rick Scarborough in his buc and Birnbaum in third.

This event was fun; however it takes many volunteers to pull off such a production. I would like to thank Charlotte Priola and Rebecca Blythe for registration and merchandise sales, Susan Phillips for dinner and happy hour, Sally Morris for breakfast, and everyone on race committee.

Junior Sailing

By Kathaleen Rogers

420 Camp at LLSC

By Van Rogers

From May 27th to May 30th, I went to a 420 Camp at Lake Lanier Sailing Club. I was partnered with Daniel Postell, a junior sailor from LLSC. One the first day we learned basic boat handling skills on a 420 like tacks, jibes and sailing without a rudder. On the second day, we learned how to trapeze and fly a spinnaker. I’d never used a trapeze before. It was fun. On day three we practiced starts by X Island (name for a buoy). In the morning on the fourth day, we did practice races and starts and in the afternoon we held our mini regatta. Daniel and I came in first place. The camp was really good because I learned a lot about 420’s. I learned a lot about sailing with a partner. Daniel and I already knew how to roll tack because we have been doing this in our Optis. After a while, we work together better as a team and our sailing tactics improved. I had a great time and am very appreciative to the Postells for letting me stay with them for a week.

BSC Junior Sailors Take Home Hardware

It has been a busy spring for the BSC Junior Sailors. On April 19-20, Van Rogers and Davis Moers traveled to Fort Walton Yacht Club to compete in the Spring Fling Opti Regatta. Van Rogers received a 4th Place medal in the Gold Fleet. Davis Moers competed in the Green Fleet, bringing home a participation medal and the Best Effort Trophy.

Van Rogers 4th place Gold Fleet at Fort Walton

Davis Moers wins Best Effort trophy at Fort Walton Yacht CLub

Mitch Powell with 2nd and 4th place finish in Atlanta

On May 3-4, Van Rogers and Mitch Powell participated in the Atlanta Yacht Club Opti Regatta and Clinic. Van finished 2nd in the Blue Fleet and 2nd overall for the regatta, having three first place finishes out of eight races. Mitch started the regatta in the Green Fleet and then moved up to the Championship (Red, White, and Blue) Fleet on Sunday. The higher competition was no match for Mitch. He finished 2nd and 4th in two of the three races. In the last race of the regatta, Van and Mitch finished 1st and 2nd (out of over 20 boats), a first for the BSC Junior Sailing Program.

Way to go BSC Juniors!!!

J/22 FLEET REPORT

By Vincent Priola , J/22 Fleet Captain

The second stop on the 2008 South East Circuit was the Ironman Regatta at Birmingham Sailing Club with eight J/22s competing. Racing got underway Saturday with clear skies and a 4-8 knot breeze. Bill Harshman jumped into the lead after a great start and never looked back to take the bullet in the first race. Galen Freeman charged back to take the next two bullets, but the racing stayed tight. One of Galen’s bullets came after he worked his way to the inside of a 5 boat pinwheel at the last leeward mark rounding. Galen made the rounding clean as a whistle, while the rest of us felt lucky just to escape without trading any paint.

Heading in after the racing Galen inquired about the availability of ice at the club. That could mean only one thing—a two-cycle blender creating Frozen Rum Drinks! After dinner ‘Juke Box Jim’ (joined by BSC member Terry Waldron) played guitar and took request. Intermittently the sound of the two-cycle was heard above the music. It must have been a hybrid, because the gasoline lasted longer than the rum—and the tequila—and the beer and carrots (don’t ask)—and several of the sailors.

Those who checked the standings Saturday night found Galen alone in first by 5 points. Wayne Cassady and his Kentuckians were in second, with Bob Blythe and Team Shazaam tied for third. However, only 3 points separated second from sixth—so anything could happen.

On Sunday morning the breeze arrived bright and early with a steady 10-15 out of the west. The courses were longer, but the racing stayed tight. In the two races on Sunday, Wayne Cassady and Bob Blythe took the bullets, but Galen finished near top in both races to stay in first place overall. Top 5 finishers were: Wayne Cassady second, Bob Blythe third, Vincent Priola fourth, and Team Shazaam in fifth.

Next stop on the Circuit is the Billy Bowlegs Regatta at Fort Walton Yacht Club. See you there!

J/22 2008 SPRING Series Standings
Rank	Sail No.	Skipper	Total Points	2/16	3/3	3/22	4/6	4/12	5/4	5/17-18	ADJUST -20 RACES	RACES COMPETED IN
1	540	Priola	72	10	6	18	1	13	9	19	-4	24
2	467	Blythe	69	11		18	4	11	7	21	-3	22
3	926	Team Shazam	51	6	4	11	4	11		16	-1	21
4	664	Smith, Fred	39		8	9			8	14		16
5	104	Smith, Bo	12	3		4				5		12
6	102	Proctor	5					5				4
7	416	Killion	0									0
Number of boats sailing				4	3	5	3	4	3	5	3

THISTLE FLEET REPORT

By Richard May, Captain Thistle Fleet 110

The Thistle Fleet has been rock’n and roll’n all spring both nationally and locally. David Reich (aka The Czar) traveled to San Diego for the Midwinter’s West and came in 17th overall. He also had two bullets in the match race qualifying. Mr. Commodore, Loy Vaughan, went in the other direction to Midwinter’s East in St Petersburg and had a top ten finish. The Fleet sent 7 boats to the South Atlantic Districts in Atlanta to qualify for nationals. We have also had boats participate in regattas in Jacksonville, Florida and Knoxville, Tennessee.

Locally we have had awesome attendance and competition with our own fleet starts in all the One Days. A unique event was the Snackdown Fleet Day we had with the J22s. Nine Thistles showed up to challenge the 22s. Fortunately it was a day built for Thistles, hot, no wind, and miserable. Lord Nelson Sharp hosted the Ironman and all anyone remembers is Loy had a perfect score to win while Joe Hart (still in High School and the future of Thistle sailing) had an impressive second. The other six battled it out for the remaining places.

We’ve also added two boats to the fleet. New member Guy Marcum brought 2808 to the club and Kent Irwin traveled to Annapolis to acquire 3469.

Communication has been improved since Loy set up a yahoo listsev. Now each member on our email list can post messages and have an equal voice. A listserv is highly recommended to all fleets.

What’s up for now? How about Smackdowns, Throwdowns, Fleet Championship series, Nationals, The Pumpkin, food, wine, song and fun guaranteed for all!

FLYING SCOT REPORT

By Sid Browning, Flying Scot Fleet 118 Captain

The Birmingham Sailing Club’s Scot fleet doubled it’s participation since last year at this time. Since our first club race in February this year until the Ironman Regatta, we have had 36 Scots in the water. A comparison of the identical time period in 2007 shows only 18 Scot sails.

It appears from the race results that our fleet is sailing more consistently this year, which is good. If you are a member of Scot Fleet 118, come out and sail with us. If you aren’t a member, come out and sail with us anyway.

I can’t point to any one item or event that has increased our fleet’s sailing participation this year, but several things taken together have helped. One procedure has been to ask the other fleets for assistance in providing crew on our fleet days. Of course, we need to be open to crewing on other boats on their fleet days to be fair. That way each fleet can increase its participation on the fleet days.

Another item affecting Scot Fleet 118 is that we are moving to a new district being formed within the Flying Scot Sailing Association, FSSA. As a member of the Gulf District, we were located in a corner of the district and not close to any district level events. The new district, as yet unnamed, will encompass Georgia, Tennessee, Northern Alabama and a small area in South Carolina. Our membership and participation in GYA events is unaffected by our move to a new FSSA district.

The advantage of our new district will be to encourage competition between clubs that are located within an easy driving distance. One issue we have had in the past is that Scot Regattas occur on the same weekend. By putting our regional clubs in the same district, we can synchronize our schedules to avoid those conflicts thereby increasing participation at all the clubs.

For a listing of events of interest to Scot sailors, take a look at our fleet page on the BSC website.

SNIPES

By Michael Papp, Snipe Fleet 828 Captain

Georgia State Snipe Championships

Valdosta Yacht Club dock and club house at sunrise.

I had the opportunity to sail in the Georgia State this past February at Valdosta Yacht Club in Lake Park. Light winds and very shifty winds carried 17 boats around Long Pond for 2 days of racing. Apart from their lake being only one of three natural bodies of fresh water in Georgia, they also have the most efficient way of launching a large number of boats. Using 2 four wheelers specially outfit with trailer hitches, they were able to launch the whole fleet in less than 20 minutes. Special thanks to Laura Graham for making the trip to sail with me. It was a great race, and I hope to go back next year.

Snipe Fleet at Ironman

For the first time in my memory, we managed to field a Snipe Fleet for the Ironman. Special thanks to the Atlanta Yacht Club Snipe Fleet for sending over so many boats. We hope to see a larger fleet with boats from more clubs next year. I am sure word will spread about Nelson’s legendary party.

Website Update

By Michael Papp, WebMaster

Updates continue to be made to the website. Some new features being worked on now include:

Position descriptions for the various committee chairs and officers
Pictures of club officers and committee chairs to help you recognize who’s who
Pictures of members

Please remember, if you need to update your contact information (email, phone number, or address), use the update information form in the members only section, or email your updates to the Treasurer, Sid Browning.

We have also set up an email listserv for our members, to make it easier to send messages to everyone. Currently only subscribers can send messages to the list. You may subscribe as many email addresses as you would like. Your email address listed in the membership database has already been subscribed. If you change your email address, you will need to have it updated.

To subscribe to the email list, send a mail message to imailsrv@birminghamsailingclub.org with the following in the body of the message:

subscribe members your_full_name

To unsubscribe from a list, send a mail message to "imailsrv@birminghamsailingclub.org" with the following in the body of the message:

Unsubscribe members

Let me know if you have any other questions.

Final Thoughts

If you have an article or picture to share with all the BSC members, please email to hornblower@birminghamsailingclub.org

Race Committee Assignments

Please check the upcoming race committee assignments and special events http://www.birminghamsailingclub.org/schedule.asp

For more information or to submit articles, contact:Mike & Pauline Neilson - photo - (205.591.8683 [c]) or hornblower@birminghamsailingclub.org