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In this issue:
- Changing of the Guard
- Upcoming Events
- CSC News Flash
- In Memoriam: Bruce McLeod
- CSC Holiday Wish List
- Raft-up Dinner at Clipper Cove
- Way Back When ... Hank Rhodes
- Crusty's Corner
- Contacting the Editor: need work hours?
Changing of the Guard
After casting 18 Floating Bottles into the CSC electronic sea, I am transferring the editorial honor over to Mike Hummell. Mike will bravely steer the Bottle toward new horizons and I encourage our loyal readers to send him articles, share your stories, perhaps even start a column and match wits with Crusty. Meanwhile I look forward to spending more time sailing and engaging in swashbuckling adventures on Excomm.
Upcoming Events at Cal Sailing Club
Clinics and Workshops are open to all current CSC members. Send your ideas for future clinics and workshops to the [rear_commodore@cal-sailing.org]. Watch for notices posted on the CSC email discussion list and at the clubhouse for details on all upcoming events at CSC.
- December 6 Windsurfing Board Repair Clinic with Pauline Kuykendall. 10am in the boatyard (rain cancels). {more info}
- December 7 Dinghy Mast Clinic with Robert Towler. 1pm in the boatyard. {more info}
- December 7 ExComm meeting. 5:30pm at the clubhouse. Open to all members.
- December 13 Cruise to Oakland Estuary. Skippers Bob Hood and Kent Moriarty. 9:30am, advance signup required. {more info}
- December 14 OPEN HOUSE, 1 - 4 pm, weather permitting.
- December 15 Cruising Skipper Study Group Deadline. {more info}
- December 21 ExComm meeting. 5:30pm at the clubhouse. Open to all members.
- January 1, 2004. "Celebrate the New Year at the OutWithTheOldInWithTheNewNurseThatHangover New Year's Day Potluck Brunch" at the CSC clubhouse! 10:30am potluck brunch; 1pm the Annual Brian D. Howell New Year's Day Sail, weather permitting. {more info}
- January 4 ExComm meeting. 5:30pm at the clubhouse. Open to all members.
- January 11 OPEN HOUSE, 1 - 4 pm, weather permitting.
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December 4, 1:00 pm-2:17 pm
December 8, 1:00 pm-3:41 pm
December 20, 9:00 am-1:00 pm. (Club closes at 1:26pm)
December 22, 1:00 pm-2:39 pm
Do you miss out on workshops or cruise sign-ups because you learned about them too late? Join our listserve, an email discussion list, for announcements about club activities, lessons, and work hours. To subscribe send a blank message to [cal-sailing-subscribe@yahoogroups.com]
CSC News Flash
Special Discounts for CSC Members
Okay, everyone knows that CSC membership is an amazing deal because you can learn to sail or windsurf for only $50. The truth is that if you take advantage of one of the many discount offers below, your membership pays for itself in a huge way. As a CSC member you can purchase some amazing merchandise for as little as 14% of the retail price. So what are you waiting for? Treat yourself to some good gear at the end of the season. Buy holiday gifts for family and friends. But act quickly because quantities are limited. Contact Jane or Saul at [cscxtras@yahoo.com] to place your order. There is a $3 handling fee for each item and orders must be prepaid by check or cash.
Cal Sailing Club sincerely thanks each of our sponsors for these generous discounts:
DOUGLAS GILL www.gillna.com foul weather gear, fleeces, boots, and more. The latest closeout deals from Douglas Gill are hot off the press.
AQUATA www.aquatausa.com is offering amazing deals on their own labels and special deals from Magic Marine. Sale items include life jackets, sailing pants, sailing gloves, harnesses, bags, boots, rash guards, and sailing outwear of all types.
O'NEILL www.oneill.com wetsuits and accessories can be purchased at special prices.
SVENDSEN'S www.svendsens.com/store All current card holding members continue to get wholesale discount on all purchases at their store situated at 1851 Clement Avenue, Alameda.
BERKELEY BOARDSPORTS http://www.boardsports.com/ All current, card-carrying members get a 10% discount on all cash or check purchases (8% with Visa or MC) at their store situated at 1601 University Ave, Berkeley. Please support them--they supply most of CSC's equipment at wholesale!
In Memoriam: Bruce McLeod by Saul Schumsky
Bruce McLeod's passing comes as a shock to all of us who knew him. He was a joyous soul filled with goodness and the playful things in life, a youthful 51.
Bruce was part of the weekday crowd that came to the club in the late 80's and early 90's. He was the type of person who would come to the club and look at what needed to be fixed before he would go sailing. If we needed a day leader, he pitched in. If we needed teachers, he taught. He had a wonderful ability to help people learn, from the most basic techniques to the most advanced. Try a swamped rudderless Lido man overboard sometime. Bruce did it for fun, laughing like a maniac in water up to his knees as he maneuvered the boat.
Bruce met his wife Diane through CSC and fell in love with her as they took Wednesday Night lessons together, and I spent many days and more than a few nights enjoying their company.
One afternoon while sailing the club's 505 Bruce and I were on a screaming reach - he was waaay out on the trapeze and I was hiking hard. A lull came just long enough to put us both in the water - but not long enough to capsize completely. I kept a hold on the tiller and mainsheet, and as the boat took off on a plane again there I was, being dragged along in the water, hanging on for dear life. I heard Bruce laughing - he was in the water, too, being drug along by the trapeze. He was laughing so hard at how silly I looked dangling off the side of the boat he was holding his stomach - which is a good trick when you're hooked up to the trap.
I laughed, too. There was a lot of laughing when Bruce was around.
This memory and the countless others with Bruce on- and off the water warms my heart. He loved sailing and relished every moment he spent on the water.
Bruce had a sense of curiousity and a thirst for knowledge that just wouldn't quit. He wanted to know everything - and he knew a lot. His inquisitiveness was only matched by that of his daughter Lucy. Lucy wants to Know Stuff, too. The joy Bruce got from helping her learn and grow was wonderful. As she learned things he looked as if he was gaining the insight for the first time.
Bruce, Bruce, Bruce.
May your next journey be as joyous as the memories you leave behind.
Funeral services for Bruce McLeod will be this Friday, December 12th, 3:00pm at the Chapel of the Chimes, 4499 Piedmont Avenue in Oakland.
CSC Holiday Wish List
Behold the 1st annual CSC Gift-Giving Guide! Listed below are the assorted gifts that CSC members would most like to see the club receive. During this generous season of giving, don't forget your favorite sailing and windsurfing club...
Real Estate Gifts
Dredge the South Sailing Basin! (the most popular wish this year). An area of wildlife/waterfowl habitat in our sailing area which we can explore with the kayaks. Waterfront property at various locations around the bay and delta so people wouldn't have to commute so far. A small lodge in Hawaii on one of the good windsurfing beaches, one in New Zealand, and one in the Mediterranean, exclusively for CSC club members.
Clubhouse and Boatyard Gifts
A beautiful new clubhouse, all expenses paid! A huge hot tub and sauna. Changing rooms with heat lamps. Bathrooms with hot showers. Heat inside the clubhouse. A cleaning service for the clubhouse. A window to Aruba. An Open House sail/sign. A ladder for the rescue skiff. "Footholds" on the dock to help people climb out of the water. A larger boatyard. A 40' container for long-term sail storage.
Hi-Tech Gifts
A web cam showing the windsurfing sail rack. A broadband internet connection for hosting live weather information. A daily web page for monitoring club status (open and close hours, dayleader, tide info, dock time, wind speed, and web cam). A talking key chain with daily proverbs dispensing Krusty's wisdom.
Windsurfing Gifts
New windsurfing sails. 200-300 spare windsurfing fins of different sizes and shapes. A harness line that doesn't have a stiff plastic shell around it, doesn't fall apart at the Velcro when I'm on the water, one that will easily swap from boom to boom, adjusts to my specs and doesn't "stretch out" while I'm cruising.
Sailboat Gifts
More Lasers on trailers ready to go and with fresh sails. A Megabyte (like the Laser but for bigger people). A good senior dinghy (a 29'er). A boat for overnight cruises with a real head, a sink and stove and a cabin we can stand up in! A more modern keelboat with weekly professional maintenance (Moore 24, Olsen 25, Express 27, Olsen 40, Santa Cruz 40, an old Columbia 50).
"Dream Big" Gifts
A huge endowment from Larry Ellison. At least $2 million in the bank so the club could operate off the interes. A day care program. A youth sailing program. Special drugs that make us forego insane projects.
Thanks to the following members for their gift suggestions: Sypko Andreae, David Anstice, Asma Asyyed, Beth Burstein, Mark Braganza, Sheldon Coad, Gary Farber, Paul Herzmark, Mike Hummell, Peter Kuhn, Pauline Kuykendall, Jim Lamb, Dan Pang, Joshua Polston, Joshua Posamentier, Dave Rabinowitz, Saul Schumsky, Leah Teitler, Jim Ulrick.
Raft-up Dinner at Clipper Cove by Sypko Andreae
In October we were really at the cusp of the seasons. The windy afternoons of summer were gone and the windless winter days with the occasional storm were just around the corner. The clear sunny weather seemed to go on for ever and there was just enough wind to sail. Blessed are the days one doesn't have to wear foulies, which is rare indeed on our San Francisco Bay.
One Friday evening we sailed with seven boats to Clipper Cove. It always amazes me how many people don't know about this wonderful little bay. But it is right there, between Yerba Buena and Treasure Islands.
We enjoyed the setting of the sun over Alcatraz on our way up, It grew dark when we entered the cove. We dropped anchor and one by one the other six boats tied up on either side of our boat, good old Daisy. That is how we wound up with this seven-boat raft, reason why it is called "rafting up". Everybody had brought dinner food and for the next two hours we had this very jolly floating dinner party with over thirty people attending. The light wind that had brought us here died down entirely. It was dark, but for the strings of lights on the nearby Bay Bridge. Then the Full Moon slowly rose over the bridge, turning the water under it into liquid gold.
In the mean time we enjoyed all this great food. "Who made this wonderful chicken?" "Whole Foods, I think." "Hey, there is Turkish food two boats to starboard!" Promptly half of us would migrate to taste the Turkish food. "Great pie three boats over to port!" So we would climb back over railings and life lines, trying to get a taste of the pie. You had to be careful not to trip over a line and fall in the water. Nobody did.
People stood around on the decks, munching thoughtfully, bowls filled to the brim with all kinds of food. People sat down and talked. People took pictures of people, or the moon, or the lit-up Bay Bridge. There were a zillion dessert choices, while fireworks popped up above Pier 39. Then it got a little chillier. "Hot chocolate with marsh-mellows!" "Where?" "Right here, in the cockpit." "Can I borrow your cup?" "Are you kidding?"
At 10 PM we broke up, probably to the relief of the other twelve single boats at anchor in the cove. But who wants to sleep on a lovely night like this? Boat after boat of our raft-up party untied and motored off. We were the last ones, lifted anchor and followed the other boats out of the cove under the clear, moonlit sky. Not a hint of fog. We headed NNW, past Treasure Island. Soon the wind came back and we raised the sails. With a nice westerly on the beam we took in the skyline of the city and admired the string of lights on the Golden Gate bridge.
Soon our foredeck lookout found the red flashing light at the end of the Berkeley Pier and we turned downwind. We played around with the sails, going wing on wing, keeping the genoa filled without a whisker pole by sailing way by the lee. On channel 72 we checked with Kent on our other Cal-Sailing boat, about half a mile behind us. If you tried hard enough you could see the tiny, dark silhouette of its sail against the lights of downtown San Francisco.
There we were, quietly gliding along, with a gentle breeze on the stern, while the Bay behind us turned into glittering silver under the moon, now high up above us. We scanned the clear horizon, identifying the lights of all the cities around us. We told stories, shared cookies. Then we found the Berkeley Marina harbor lights and picked out the center entrance. Red, right, returning. Finally home shortly before midnight. What a life!
Way Back When ... Hank Rhodes by Neil Larson
One memorable past Cal Sailing Club member was Hank Rhodes. In 1960, at age 40, he first learned to sail with El Toro lessons on Lake Merritt and soon afterwards he bought a 14' Snipe sailboat. At 41, Hank joined the Cal Sailing Club and moved up to owning a 25' Bear boat. At age 42 he bought a 42' cutter and started racing. At age 43, he bought a racing IC sailboat, 33 feet long and the hottest class on the bay in 1963. By then Hank had really mastered sailing as three years later he won the season championship and beat the Bay Area's legendary hot-shots Wosser and Blackhauler. During this time, he also owned and lived aboard a classic Stephens Tri-Cabin power boat. Finally Hank bought a 55' Phil Rhodes (no relation) design sailboat named "Senta" and at age 48 he sailed south for worldwide cruising with Fiona de Groot, another Cal Sailing Club member who was his companion and eventually became his wife.
Over the next twelve years, Hank crossed the Atlantic many times, visited over 60 countries, and most importantly, he won over 100 big boat races in the Caribbean, Mediterranean, and Europe with "Senta." He reported that over the 12 years of cruising he won enough trophies to sink his boat, and that the 12 years of cruising were the best 12 years of his life. To me, Hank's most memorable comment was, “Unlike some of the skilled experts in the club who can sail 7 days a week, as I have to work and can sail only on the weekends the only way I can become better is by extensive reading of everything nautical.” So this month’s article is dedicated to the arm-chair sailors in the Cal Sailing Club wanting to imitate Hank Rhodes and perhaps become better without getting wet this winter.
While sailors argue over who has written the all-time best stories about sailing, one consistent pick is Patrick O’Brian who wrote adventure novels about an English Man-Of War Captain set in 1800 (now featured in the current film “Master and Commander”) . I recently read all 19 of these novels and I believe that Patrick O’Brian wrote the best historical fiction ever … as he has ruined any future desire to ever reread my past favorites such as Tony Hillerman or Tom Clancy.
Another consistent favorite author for sailors is C.S. Forester who, besides writing “The African Queen” and “A Passage to India”, authored nine Horatio Hornblower novels (also set in the early 1800’s). I’m working my way through all of these books … and am now unable to say who the better author is.
Finally for years, I like many other sailors thought Tristan Jones (16 autobiographical books) was the best author of current incredible sailing adventures. However, he now stands at the top of almost every sailor’s bilge list … as it was later discovered that almost all he claimed happened to him was false. Unlike what you hear from the club's dock and bench sailors, his tales eventually were way too tall.
What is your favorite book about sailing or windsurfing and why? Send your top picks to Sherry and the next Floating Bottle will feature a list of Winter Reading to get you through the rainy season.
Crusty's Guide to Motor Repair
Winter is the time to either putt-putt on still waters or roar the motor straining to tug a dismasted sailboat off wave-lashed rocks. And CSC's motors have once again fallen prey to the usual suspects: crap in carb and salt in wires.
So Crusty's been working full time for CSC's eleven year old motor chair Riley, at wages measured in ever-expanding pupil diameters.
Crap in carb can be easily avoided by never refueling or running the motor in any but the most cleanly and dry circumstances. Salt in wires can be avoided by never running the motor in salt water. Needless to say, both diseases are as chronic as Crusty at CSC.
The cure for these diseases is compounded by two further maladies: corrosion and engineering. Corrosion ensures that bolts that went in at the factory will never come out, except in pieces. Engineering ensures that the bolts you want to remove can't be accessed without first removing others. Working hand in hand, these afflictions tax Crusty's near-endless supply of swearwords.
Corrosion can be avoided by removing every bolt from a brand-new motor and coating it with Never-Seize, a compound of grease, powdered heavy metals, and indelible stain that will give all your clothing that chic homeless look. Never-Seize slows corrosion so much that a motor that might have only lasted five years will now last seven. At Crusty's wage rate, that's a negative two century payback on the cost of removing, coating, and replacing all the bolts.
Engineering can be avoided by avoiding any brand that doesn't end in "a", "i", or "n". If you don't believe me, ask Crusty.
Contacting the editor: Sherry Daniel
Earn work hours from the comfort of your home by writing articles for the Floating Bottle newsletter. It's easy, fun, and you can fulfill your quarterly work hour assignment with just one article! Send me an email for details.
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