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In this issue:
- Upcoming Events
- Under Way
- Winter Sailing - What's It Good For?
- CSC Winter Reading List
- How Horatio Hornblower Taught Me to Sail Rudderless
- CSC Discounts and Deals
- Windsurfing Tip
- Crusty's Corner
- Contacting the Editor
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.
- Jan 4 excomm meeting, 5:30 pm
- Jan 11 Open House
- Jan 18 excomm meeting, 5:30 pm
- Jan 24 Winch Cleaning Clinic, 2 pm with Co-Port Captain John Mathias. Learn how to disassemble, clean and maintain the winches on our CSC keelboats. {more info}
- February 1 ExComm meeting. 5:30pm at the clubhouse. Open to all members.
- February 5 GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING. 7pm at the Berkeley Yacht Club, 1 Seawall Dr. at the Berkeley Marina (next to "O" Dock). Free, delicious dinner and dessert and a no host bar will be on tap along with reports from club officers. The agenda includes discussion and vote on increasing membership dues, and an update on rebuilding the clubhouse.
- February 7 Person OverBoard Round Table Discussion with experts Allan Champion, Dave Carey, Saul Schumsky, Alan Arrowsmith, and Peter Baczek, 2pm at the clubhouse. {more info}
- February 8 OPEN HOUSE, 1 - 4 pm, weather permitting.
- February 15 ExComm meeting. 5:30pm at the clubhouse. Open to all members.
- February 29 ExComm meeting. 5:30pm at the clubhouse. Open to all members.
- March 7 OPEN HOUSE, 1 - 4 pm, weather permitting.
- March 14 ExComm meeting. 5:30pm at the clubhouse. Open to all members.
-
Keelboat Motoring Clinic
Splicing Clinic
"Work-and-Learn" Sail Repair Workshop (includes work hour credit!)
"Work-and-Learn" Fiberglassing Workshop (includes work hour credit!)
"How to Teach Sailing" Clinic
Senior Skipper Written Exam Study Group
The club has late openings or early closings on 20 of 29 days in February, so check our Tide-Based Closure Schedule before heading down to the club. On the bright side, sunset starts the month at 5:30pm but ends it at 6pm. Spring is coming!
Stay Informed!
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]
Under Way by Gene B. Herman
close hauled
main tight
keel to mast
heeling right
craft trim
creasing wind
slow swell
sea smell
jib cleated
aft n seated
starboard tack
nothing slack
briny spray
under way.
Winter Sailing - What's It Good For?
Paul Herzmark and Will Lowe put up a spinnaker [see photo] to hasten
their return to harbor under light winter winds.
They make the observation that winter is an excellent time to practice
the mechanics of spinny deployment, as the lighter weather is somewhat
forgiving to those less practiced in said art.
CSC Winter Reading List compiled by Sherry Daniel
The good news about sailing and windsurfing in the Bay area is that both are year-round sports - no ice and snow, no hauling boats out of the water for winter storage. The bad news is that the winter season is rainy and it's either blowing 30 knots or more in a storm, or the wind is non-existent. So if you're looking for a winter sailing or windsurfing fix, get cozy in your armchair and read some of these favorite nautical books recommended by your CSC buddies. Many of these books are out of print but they can be found at your local library or purchased online as a used copy. I've compiled the whole list on Amazon if you want to take a look at descriptions and reviews of each book. CSC reading list on Amazon.com
Instructional Books
- Beginner's Guide to Zen and the Art of Windsurfing by Frank Fox
- "This is really a great book, absolutely the best instructional book."
"It is a great cartoon illustrated how-to book on windsurfing. Very funny and very instructional."
- Start Windsurfing Right by US Sailing
- "The only instructional book that I know of currently in print in the US market. It is the standard for certified windsurfing schools. I give it a so-so; no sex, no humor. You can purchase it from the US Sailing website or at Berkeley Boardsports."
- DK Complete Sailing Manual by Steve Sleight
- "The most complete book on sailing that I've found."
- This is Sailing, A Complete Course by Richard Creagh-Osborne
- "Clear, simple, beautifully illustrated."
- Improve your Sailing IQ: The Dry-Land Workout to Improve Your Skills on Board by John Driscoll
- "Mostly I like it because it makes me think about how & why sailing works,
and it's in a Q&A form, but also because Peter Baczek & Ed Shirk like to disagree with it."
- Colgate's Basic Sailing by Steve Colgate
- "'Cuz that's just what it is, Basic Sailing, without a lot of other annoying crap."
- Royce's Sailing Illustrated: The Sailors Bible Since '56 by Patrick Royce
- "I loved this book 20-some-odd years ago 'cuz it's filled full of crap and trivia and has no logical order whatsoever. Now... I can't stand it. But I bet if I was starting out again I'd love it."
- The New Glenans Sailing Manual translated by James MacGibbon
- "The best book I've read for actual sailing knowledge. Among many other things, it has the best description of rudderless sailing I've read anywhere."
- Basic Sailing by M.B. George
- "A good book for novices."
- Sailing the Bay by Kimball Livingston
- "For practical advice on sailing in the San Francisco Bay."
- Waves, Wind and Weather by Nathaniel Bowditch
- "Here is a real "put them to sleep in the winter" book. It may be too elementary for most."
Non-Fiction
- Flying Cloud: The True Story of America's Most Famous Clipper Ship and the Woman Who Guided Her by David W. Shaw
- "I found this book to be extremely interesting and exciting about the journey
of this clipper ship from New York to San Francisco."
- Two Years Before the Mast: A Personal Narrative of Life at Sea by Richard Henry Dana
- "Recommended because of its Bay Area relevance."
- Sailing Alone Around the World by Joshua Slocum
- "Very whimsical and very entertaining. Slocum was the first man ever to sail alone around the world (1895)."
- By the Grace of the Sea: A Woman's Solo Odyssey Around the World by Pat Henry
- "Because if this woman can sail for eight years around the world by herself, at the age of 56, and on the verge of bankruptcy, then I can certainly learn how to right a capsized Lido in the South Sailing Basin."
- Maiden Voyage by Tania Aebi
- "Dad gives troubled eighteen year old daughter an ultimatum: either I'll pay for your college education or I'll buy you a sailboat on the condition that you sail around the world by yourself. Daughter chooses sailboat but doesn't know how to navigate."
- The Long Way by Bernard Moitessier
- "Moitessier competes in The Golden Globe Race (1968), and is winning but ignores the finish line and decides to continue sailing nonstop round the world."
- Alone Through the Roaring Forties: The Voyage of Lehg II Round the World by Vito Dumas
- "A memorable singlehanded sailing voyage around the world. One highlight is when Dumas tries to amputate his own arm to save his life."
- The Last Voyage: The Story of Schooner Third Sea by Harold Stephens
- "Impoverished writer sails the South Seas and encounters pirates and typhoons. Boat sinks."
Fiction
- Slashback : A Jake Lassiter Novel by Paul Levine
- "Now this is a great read. Sex, adventure, violence, romance, middle age crisis, Hawaii, and some great windsurfing worked in as an integral part of the plot."
- Hard Aground by James W Hall
- "Pretty good. It takes place in Florida and is about a windsurfer/board designer bum who solves murder mysteries. In addition to a bit on radical sailboard design, there is buried treasure, etc."
- The Sea Wolf by Jack London
- "The opening scene is (IMHO) the best in literature about San Francisco Bay sailing."
- Moby Dick by Herman Melville
- "Great stuff."
- All of the "Horatio Hornblower" books by C.S. Forester
- "Besides being great reads, they can actually be helpful in learning to sail."
"We expect to see one of these, soon, on the BIG screen, not just PBS, right mate?"
- All of the "Jack Aubrey/Stephen Maturin" books by Patrick O'Brian
- "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."
- Books by Joseph Conrad
- "He was a great lover of the sea, so many of his books involve the sea and sailing. And he can be a wonderful read."
Thanks to the following members for their reading list suggestions: Alex Case, Sue Chang, Pamela Crawford, Sherry Daniel, John Durant, Isaac Gerstenzang, Neil Larsen, John Mathias, Ben Pink, Bill Prinzmetal, Patrick Twohy, and Caroline Vance.
How Horatio Hornblower Taught Me to Sail Rudderless by Alex Case
Many moons ago when I was trying to learn rudderless, Bruce Mcleod said the thing to do was to hang out up by the shrouds, capering and skylarking about while hanging onto the mainsheet. That worked wonderfully for upwind courses... but I couldn't get the boat to tack. At all. No tacks, not even one. So I'm hanging at home, reading one of the Hornblower books. The Big H gets a new command, and the first thing he does is get his dog-robber Mr. Bush to row him out a couple of hundred yards and circle the ship. Hornblower says to Bush: "Mr. Bush, when we go back aboard, shift some of the dunnage aft. She's down a bit by the bow, and that will likely make her unhandy in stays." I knew what dunnage was, and I knew what being down by the bow was, but it took me a minute to figure out what "unhandy in stays" was: Unable to make a tack. Ah.. Big Light Bulb goes off. Unable to make a tack 'cuz the ship is down by the bow... and I'm trying to tack standing by the shrouds, well forward. I put the book down, jammed to the club, took out a Lido, ripped out the rudder and sat well aft. Boat tacked like a charm. I got to where I could just shift my not-too-inconsiderable bottom about 8 inches to make the tack. Heee-hee-hee, score one for C.S. Forester.
CSC Discounts and Deals by Jane Morson
As a CSC member you can purchase some amazing merchandise for as little as 14% of the retail price through CSC. So what are you waiting for? Currently, there are fantastic new closeout deals from Douglas Gill, and an exciting new range of merchandise from Gul, with special introductory prices. 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.
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.
GUL www.gul.com A complete range of clothing that covers Dinghy, Sailing Coastal/Offshore, Kayaking and all Boardsports. All items have been offered to CSC at superb 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 www.boardsports.com All current, card-carrying members get a 10% discount on Windsurfing stuff for 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!
COPELANDS SPORTS www.copelandsports.com Card-showing CSC members receive 10% off at their EMERYVILLE store, situated at 5777 Christie Ave, on all non-sale items. This "team discount" applies to their "Performance Price" and "Special Buy" items as well.
Cal Sailing Club sincerely thanks each of our sponsors for these generous discounts:
Windsufing Tip by Cecil Sail
You got your
waterstarts down, and you are on a short board. However, you seem to bounce out
of control, spinning out. To make matters worse, other windsurfers go ripping by.
What is the problem?
Last summer Windsurfing magazine had some great tips at all levels of windsurfing (well worth the price of a subscription.) The photo, adapted from an article by Dasher (that's his name, just Dasher) shows the Yin and Yang of going fast, in control. The sailor on the left is going fast, in control. The bozo on the right is bouncing out of control. What is the difference? You want to go fast in high wind, and be in control: sheet in! (Check the photo).
Crusty turns over a new leaf
Clutching the last lucre of the holidays, Crusty lurches from the off-ramp towards his little home in the bushes.
He reflects on long hours spent lifting guilt from holiday revelers, selflessly serving as an object of pity so that others can feel Xian in the most Xian of times.
And delving back into days gone by, he muses on his long devotion to keeping drugs off America's streets by sequestering them safely in his own veins.
And what of his decades of service as a moral lighthouse for the youth of today, marking the reef of bumhood by lying passed out, pisspantsed, and puke-spattered on park benches?
Resolving to devote a little more of his life to me-time, and a little less to them-time, he sets aside a few of the motorists' bills, to purchase himself a sailing vacation at the club-hut next door.
Contacting the editor: Mike Hummell
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Copyright 2004, Cal Sailing Club. All Rights Reserved.
