sou’wester • july 2005 • page 1

by Chris EricksenPhotos by Rich Roberts

Photo boat skipper - Churk Hardin

Official Publication ofAlamitos Bay Yacht Club

Volume 78 • Number 8

August 2005

Junior Sabot Nationals .................... August 6 - 11O’Day ............................................. August 16 - 21Welcome New Members/Meeting ......... August 19Sou’wester Deadline ............................. August 19Multihull Regatta ............................ August 27 - 28Labor Day Regatta ...................... September 3 - 4I-14 North American Champs . September 10 - 11Adopt a Beach ................................September 17Charity Regatta ...............................September 25

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Junior sailors in both Naples Sabots and Laser Radials made for a healthy turnout at the one-day 2005 ABYC Fourth ofJuly Regatta.

There were a total of 135 boats in 15 fleets representing about 20 classes on hand for the event, sailed on a picture-perfect summer’s day, Saturday, July 2.

Out on the Ocean Course, run inside the breakwater, PRO Bob Anderson handled six one-design fleets and twoPortsmouth divisions, one for monohulls and one for multihulls. The big fleets were the Lasers, with 20 full-rigs and sevenRadials on the course. ABYC’s own Bob Falk scored a strong win with one first-place finish and nothing else lower thanthird. Chris Winnard of CalYC was second, just ahead of Peter Drasnin of Westlake YC. ABYC Lasers Chuck Tripp andVann Wilson rounded out the trophy winners in that order, and one point apart. Matthew Wenner of Cal YC was the bestamong the Radial fleet, with a score identical to Bob Falk’s in the full rigs. Bradley Schock of Huntington Harbour Yacht

Club was second.Cal 20’s also had a good turnout. Doug and Stacie McLean duked it out with

Don Zinn and son Andy (the latter of CBYC) all day, with the Zinn’s managing two winsto Doug and Stacie’s one. But the McLean’s finished second in every other race andcame away the winners. The family theme continued as Ryan and Ron Mudry ofABYC came in third and Mike and Ron Wood of ABYC finished fifth. ABYC’s KeithIves was fourth.

Nine Finns came to ABYC for the day and had a clinic from an old master:Henry Sprague, who has been winning Finn regattas in five decades. His four bulletswas not challenged by anyone, although DougSeverance and Jeff Case tied on points but fin-ished second and third, respectively, on the

tiebreaker.Two Portsmouth divisions were organized from the odds and ends of other

one-design entries. ABYC’s own Dan DeLave with Eileen Haubl outsailed fellow HobieTiger Scott Miller of Mission Bay YC for top honors in the six-boat Portsmouth multihullfleet. And ABYC’s Mike Shea, sailing his C-15 with Chris Hill, led three other C-15’sand two Tempest’s in the six-boat monohull Portsmouth fleet with two wins and twosecond-place finishes. Vince Paternoster and Wayne Lewis of CalYC were second intheir C-15. Also sailing C-15’s were two sailors with a long history of racing at ABYC,back after a long time away: Ole Eichhorn and Mark Elliott teamed up and finished third.

Olson 30’s came to town—well, four of them, anyway—on the heels of sailing in Ullman Sails Long Beach RaceWeek the weekend before. Bill and Mark Bernard from California YC was tops on a tiebreaker over CBYC’s Aaron Feves.

Commodore’s Comments ............................ 2Manager’s Corner ........................................ 2Membership ................................................. 3Junior Sailing ............................................... 5From the Pages of History ........................... 4Long Beach Race Week Photos............. 6 - 7Driftwood ...................................................... 8Hails From the Fleets ............................ 9 - 11Scuttlebutt .................................................. 11

i n s i d ei n s i d ei n s i d ei n s i d ei n s i d e

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c o m m o d o rc o m m o d o rc o m m o d o rc o m m o d o rc o m m o d o r e �e �e �e �e � s c o m m e n t ss c o m m e n t ss c o m m e n t ss c o m m e n t ss c o m m e n t s

Since the July issue of the Sou’Wester there has been much to report on. Long Beach Race Week in late June debuted with great success. The partnership with Long Beach Yacht Club worked out very well; 127 boats in 13 classes were on the line for a fantastic

3 day regatta. This will become, I project, a tradition. In the future it will grow in prominence tobecome a signature event for both clubs.

The Centennial Transpac went off as planned with starts on July 11, 15 & 17; ABYCwas well represented. Staff Commodore Jerry Montgomery is Commodore of Transpacific YCthis year and was busy organizing every aspect. You see, in 1997, Jerry was the overall winnerof Transpac, so it’s his time ‘to give back’ by staying shoreside this year. Members that I sawon the line were Eric Conn (Chasch Mer), Dave Robertson (Incredible), Mike Pentecost (Mag-nitude), Bob Lane, Keith Ives, Jared Morford, Chuck Stevens (Medicine Man), Dave Johnson,Scott Atwood, Rob Rice (Plan B), Ed Feo, Jim McLeod, Dave Thompson (Tabasco/Alamitos

Bay Syndicate) and Wendy Siegal (Willow Wind). I’m sure I missed some of our members. If I missed you, buy me a drinkat the bar. You can see from the names above that our members don’t just sail small boats. Dave Thompson promised towrite an article about the race from his point of view from an ultralight 35’ (ID35) for next month’s Sou’Wester.

By the time you read this we will have hosted the Junior Sabot Nationals and the US men’s single-handed Cham-pionships. These are back–to-back events in mid-August and are important events being held at our club. ABYC is theplace to be. Our regatta participation has been up dramatically for most all events this year. It is showing in the amount ofnew members who want to be in a club where they can be a part of world-class regattas and sail with the champions.

Did I mention that Pete Melvin won the world championship for A Cats in Sangunet, France ? Way to go, Pete!Nicole (Vice Commodore) and the Design Committee have been doing a great job in implementing the changes to

the clubhouse and, more importantly, making the tough decisions. I mentioned last month all the committee members byname so give them a big THANK YOU. If you don’t agree with some of the changes, remember that they have done theirbest to represent the members, and that no matter what color, etc they chose, they could not please everyone. I (for one)think they have done an outstanding job.

Last but not least, please think about someone you know who would make an active member of the club and givethem an application. We have a very good promotion for new members and their sponsor, so get moving! We are doingvery well on membership; we could do better if everyone keeps membership in mind. How sweet it would be if there was a‘waiting list’ to join ABYC!

See you on the water and at the clubRon Wood

m a n am a n am a n am a n am a n a ggggg e r �e r �e r �e r �e r � s c o rs c o rs c o rs c o rs c o r n e rn e rn e rn e rn e r

TWO YEARS! I can’t believe it is already my second anniversary here! In many ways it seems like I have been here forever, but in others I can’t believe the time has passed so quickly. We certainly have seen a lot of change in the last two years.

Our most wonderful change will have August as its debut month as well. The clubhas been scrapped and sanded, filled and painted. It is like a woman in a beautiful newdress! The design committee worked hard to bring about this dramatic face lift to ouralready grand club house. It was exciting to see each new transformation as it took placelast month. Please be sure to tell each of the committee members how much you appreciatethe time and energy that they put forth to accomplish this in such record time! Never tell usagain that a group of woman cannot agree and make up their minds!

With August upon us again, we are also heading into our final full month of TwilightDinners. Please remember to come and enjoy the hard work that Jesus and his team put

together for you. His Mexican food has increased the Wednesday night income dramatically over last year! He is neverhappier than when he is cooking for all of you!

As I head into my third year I hope that the staff and I can continue to serve each of you in a way that makes thisa club you enjoy and can relax at each time you visit.

Theresa Laird, Club Manager

a d o p t a b e a ca d o p t a b e a ca d o p t a b e a ca d o p t a b e a ca d o p t a b e a c hhhhh

Cathy Black-Smith and I would like to remind you of the September 17th Adopt-A-Beach which is the National BeachClean Up Day. We really could have used more help in July, but six bags of Styrofoam is six less to pollute theocean. We’ll remind you again.The Adopt-A-Beach Committee: Bard Heavens, Cathy and Todd Black-Smith, Carol Reynolds, Alaine and John

Weiss, and Barbara Gabriel

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m e m b e rm e m b e rm e m b e rm e m b e rm e m b e r s h i ps h i ps h i ps h i ps h i p

The Board of Directors at its July 14th meeting approved the following matters:Richard and Vicki Vaught were approved for a Regular Membership and James “J.P.” Saunders was approved fora Junior Membership.The following were approved for Posting for Regular Memberships: Joel Arenson, Scott and Lilli Babcock, Jeremy

Davidson, and Jessica Costa, Frank and Cynthia Gasztonyi, Brian and Karen O’Callaghan. Iam Sammis, and Richard andBetsy Whiteley.

Joseph Kazane and Dugan Farrell were approved Posting for Junior Memberships. If any present Member has any reason why one or two of the above pasted persons should not become members

of our Club please let this be known to a Member of the Board of Directors before the next Board Meeting, August, 18th,2005 or forever hold your peace.

The Membership Committee

t h e b at h e b at h e b at h e b at h e b a y cy cy cy cy c l ol ol ol ol o ggggg ggggg e r e r e r e r e r ( a k a j u n i o r s a i l i n g )( a k a j u n i o r s a i l i n g )( a k a j u n i o r s a i l i n g )( a k a j u n i o r s a i l i n g )( a k a j u n i o r s a i l i n g )

Hello ABYC members! It has been a fun and really exciting summer so far with somany events to report on. As we charge through the busiest portion of our summer, we are finding that adding an extra day and an additional week to our program

has made a lot of difference. Our sailors competed in several regattas and have fairedtremendously well. Here are some of the updates from those regattas and a little moreabout our program!4th of July Regatta @ ABYC

This regatta was off the hook! I was extremely proud as ABYC sailors placed in allfive of the sabot fleets and won three of them. Not only that, but we had 19 sailors sail inthe regatta, 6 of which were doing their first real regatta! Congrats go out to our Lasersailors Max Clemmer and Chandler Kasper for representing us in the ocean classes aswell as Riley Gibbs, Palmer Luckey, Jake Scarborough, Dusty Starr, Alex Westland &Ashley Westland - our morning class racers who raced for the first time. Congratulationsto the racing team for an outstanding performance!Summer Gold Cup @ NHYC

We took a record 20 students down to Gold Cup this year and had students placein four out of five fleets as well as win two of them. This two-day regatta is the one ofthe biggest (over 100 sabots this year) and is the standard gear up for Junior Nationalsthat will take place here at ABYC August 8th – 11th. It seemed as though the studentshad a blast at the regatta cheering wildly for their teammates as they went up toreceive their trophies.

One of the most interesting stories is 9-year old Rob Rice who has stunnedpeople from around the bay with his extraordinary finishes. Just over a week beforethis regatta, Rob got three bullets in the 4th of July regatta in the C2 division anddecided to move up to the C1 division for the Summer Gold Cup where he proceededto win with good measure once again. He is now an official B-Fleeter who just recentlygot a 2nd place trophy in the Dutch Shoe Marathon in San Diego! This is one 9-yearold you don’t want to mess with on the racecourse! Congratulations to Rob and the

rest of the racing team and thank you to the parents who towed the trailers down to Gold Cup and Dutch Shoe for us!Gold Cup Finishes:B Fleet had 28 boats, C1 Fleet had 21, C2 Fleet had 14 & C3 Fleet had 18

Jack Jorgensen – 2nd place B Fleet Rob Rice – 1st place C1 FleetSamantha Gebb – 3rd place B Fleet Kevin Baumann – 4th place C2 FleetAJ Robinson – 4th place B Fleet Savannah Robinson – 1st place C3 FleetLauren Bussey – 5th place B Fleet

Thank youThank you so much to those parents who have sacrificed their time to help us get so many boats down to these

regattas. We have had uncharacteristically high attendance at many travel events thanks to them. Those who havetowed this summer so far: Latham Bell, Brad & Sharon Bolger, Keith and Claudia Dodson, Doug Jorgensen, Julie &Brett Luckey, Jane McNaboe, Kathy Melvin, Tom Newton, Jon Robinson, and Denise Spagg. That is quite a list and wewouldn’t be able to do it all without them, so thank you! Thank you also to the many members who continue to donatetheir time and boats to our program to keep it growing and moving in the right direction. If you would like to donate yourboat to the program, please contact Brad Schaupeter at (562) 434-9955 or jrprogram@abyc.org

Brad Schaupeter, ABYC JR. Sailing Director

Sunny Scarborouth - 4th of JulyBoat Parade

4th of July Boat Parade

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August SOU’WESTER’s usually report on three things: championship regattas being held that summer, the Luau heldin conjunction with the Labor Day Regatta and who’s running for the ABYC Board of Directors.THIRTY YEARS AGO:Dale and Maxine Berkihiser chaired the 1975 Luau, according to the August 1975 SOU’WESTER. Stan Ray,

evidently a regular performer at ABYC in those days, would have a dance band upstairs while a rock band would play“downstairs for the younger set.” Hawaiian shirts were the uniform of the day, and dinner would be taken upstairs on tatamimats rather than tables. Cost of the Luau was $6.75 per adult and $4.75 for children 12 and under.

Five ABYC Juniors went to the St. Francis Yacht Club station at Tinsley Island to compete for the Nagy Trophy.“They were excellent at the dinner table, first in volleyball and track and second in swimming,” it was reported, but “finishedfourth in team racing. The team was made up of Ross Butcher, Keith Dodson, Bruce Golison, Jeff Jones and Jeff Merrill. Assomewhat of a consolation, however, Bruce Golison advanced to the area finals of the Prince of Wales sailoff.

“The ‘NEW ROOM’ finally has a name,” reported club Secretary Mel Hebert. You may recall the then-new “annexbuilding” or “new building”—the one between the parking lot and the lawn—had not been named, and a contest was held tochoose a name for the building. It is to be called the Quarterdeck, a name suggested by more than one member but firstmentioned by Staff Commodore Neal Dundas. Secretary Hebert also reported that mooring fees in the yard would increase25 per cent: it would now cost $15 annually to store a Naples Sabot, and a Coronado 25 would be $18.75 per month.

ABYC would be hosting the Lido 14 Nationals in August. It would be sailed both in the bay and in the harbor: eachboat and each division would sail both outside and inside during the Elimination and Championship series. The trophypresentation would be held at a dinner on the Queen Mary. On top of that, the Junior Sabot Nationals—then, as now, a hugeundertaking—was set to be in Alamitos Bay in August, co-hosted by several yacht clubs but run out of ABYC. Finally, ABYCwould be hosting the 470 Nationals in September, the first time the regatta had been held west of the Rocky Mountains; fiftyto seventy boats were expected to be there, including defending champion and Olympic hopeful Dave Ullman.

Former ABYC Juniors who became new members of ABYC included Jeff McDermaid, a student at UCI; PatMcCormick, a student at Cal State Long Beach, and Brad Ellerman, reported as “still in college” somewhere…also joiningwas James Davidson of Rossmoor with his sons, Gary (age 15) and Scott (age 12)…Dick Deaver of North Sails was topresent the film, “The Shape of Speed,” at the August general membership meeting; Commodore Ron Fox “recommendsthe film highly.”TWENTY YEARS AGO:

Photos of regattas and trophy winners graced both the cover and the center spread of the August, 1985 SOU’WESTER.Two International 14’s were on the cover, shown sailing the I-14 Nationals, race committee members Rod Ogilby, WinnieWills and Tick Weber were shown on the bridge of PATIENCE in one photo. Dave Dorrans was shown in a photo with ABYCjuniors Dana Riddick and Stacy Dumain while ABYC junior Mike Goyan was shown with Nicky Adamson of Chandler’sLanding YC getting the U.S. Doublehanded Youth Championship trophy from Dave Perry. And a boatload of pictures werefrom the Senior Sabot Nationals; included in the photos were Lee Berlinger, Clif Mathias and Judy Mathias, Mac Mills, MikeSentovich and Patty Reno.

In addition to that, Chris Redman, sailing with Jim MacLeod and Ron Olson, won the Governor’s Cup Regatta inNewport Harbor. While Mike Goyan crewed for winner Nicky Adamson in the doublehanded division of the U.S. YouthChampionships in Minnesota, other ABYC sailors included Darren Rosenberg and Scott Ramsey and Kevin Goyan andRussell Fox in Laser II’s, Stephan Svilich in Laser and Ron Rosenberg on sailboard. And Allison Jolly won the U.S.Women’s Singlehanded Championship for the Allegra Knapp Mertz Trophy on Lake Erie.

There were a whole slew of second-generation members joining ABYC the summer of 1985. They included Ed andMaryann Feo, son and daughter-in-law of Ed and Virginia Feo; Bill and Debra Leisy, daughter and son-in-law of Ernie andPat Marr; Chris and Pat Marr, son and daughter-in-law of Ernie and Pat; and Mark Wardle, son of Chuck Wardle.Club Historian Ann Exley ran an article about the founding of Alamitos Bay Yacht Club. The twelve men that met in S.W.Holmers’ boat shop at 62nd Place (then Pier Avenue) and Bayshore Walk included Mr. Holmers, Clarence Pasel, Sid Exleyand Ernest “Ducky” Woodman…nominees for the Board of Directors included Peter Baine, Don Brown, George Caddle,Jack Cook, Frances Grover, Mike McMahon, Vahan Skenderian and Jerry Tankersley along with incumbents Mike McDadeand Tom Ramsey…Paul Merrill, Senior, the father of Adra Kober, Paul Merrill, Jr. and Chas Merrill and grandfather to awhole slew of Merrill and Kober kids, passed away.TEN YEARS AGO:

The August 1995, SOU’WESTER had a picture of a Fireball on Huntington Lake on the cover. It was helmed byABYC junior Jesse Oliver and his crew Kevin Tominaga sailing the Fireball Nationals. SOU’WESTER editor Allison Jollyand husband Mark Elliot won the Fireball Nationals the same week. Howard Hamlin and Mike Martin were reported to havewon the 5-0-5 division of the High Sierra Regatta at the same lake, just ahead of Jolly and Elliot. This was on-the-spotreporting by the SOU’WESTER staff, no doubt!

The PHRF Fleet was sponsoring a very interesting event, a Man Overboard Race. As part of the event, a weighteddummy would be dropped in front of each boat during the race; the boat has to stop and recover the “man overboard” beforecontinuing the race. The event was open to any PHRF-rated boat from any SCYA yacht club would feature a raffle for the

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more than $2,000 worth of sailing-related gear donated by sponsors of the event.The Labor Day dinner would not be a luau but “a Caribbean evening” featuring a steel drum band, “good friends and

great food, all for the price of $10.00!” Nominees for election to the Board of Directors were Scott Atwood, Peter Baine, PatBixby (an incumbent), Steve Flam, Chuck Hardin, Al Landeck, Jim Morford and Al Smith (another incumbent)...new membersincluded Otis and Rhonda Tavlin, Larry and Clara Holmes, Rob and Mary Fuller, Rob and Maggie Waterman and SteveBrown.

Chris Ericksen, Club Historian

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And four Etchells—each with at least one Staff Commodore aboard—raced, and theracing was even: while two scored first-place finishes, each of them managed to finishlast in at least one race. Jerry Thompson and Jeff Littell of ABYC took three bulletsinto the winner’s circle.

While the action seemed to be on the Ocean Course, the numbers in the Baywere no less impressive: 64 boats in seven fleets, including six Naples Sabot divi-sions, under the direction of PRO Mike Baumann. Ten Lido 14’s gathered to contesttheir fleet championship, and the title went—yet again—to Freddy and Fred Stevens.Second place went to Lido Class President Tom Jenkins and crew Christina Campolmi—she the third generation of her family to sail on Alamitos Bay, as her mother and

grandfather were Geary 18 sailors—while ABYC’s Jon Bell with Lauren Hobson was third.The Senior Naples Sabot regatta, like the Cal 20 fleet, was a family affair—ex-

cept it was a battle of the generations, not a partnership. Sarah McNaboe finished in topspot ahead of her grandfather, John Ellis. Mack Mills was an untrophied third in the six-boat fleet.

The Junior Naples Sabot sailors, tuning up for the coming Naples Sabot JuniorChampionship to be held on Alamitos Bay this August, were out in five divisions. ChrisBarnard, the current Junior Sabot phenom, took three bullets in his winning of the 16-boatJunior A division. ABYC’s Shane Young was second, ahead of Jack Reynolds in third andMallory Schulter in fourth, both of San Diego YC. Coronado YC sailor Shane Bowmanwas fifth.

There was swimming after the trophy presentation of the Junior B division asJack Jorgensen of ABYC moved into the A fleet on the strength of his win among 10 boats. He won not a race but tooksecond in all three. Laura Newton and Lauren Bussey continued the ABYC sweep of trophies in the Junior B’s, finishingsecond and third, respectively and just one point apart.

In the Junior C’s, Brett Potter of Bahia Corinthian YC was tops in the five-boat fleet. Robert Rice of ABYC was a winner—and a swimmer—in the seven-boat Junior C-2 division with three bullets; Clayton Schulter of SDYC was second.And in the Junior C-3 division, Kevin Baumann eked out a one-point win ahead ofJake Scarborough in second while Riley Gibbs rounded out the all-ABYC trophywinners with a third-place finish—just one point back—in what was the most closelycontested fleet of the weekend.

The sailors made it back to ABYC nice and early, making for a leisurelyafternoon on the patio: the combination of wonderful weather and a clubhouse inthe throes of remodeling moved all activities downstairs and outdoors for theregatta. The Saturday-evening burger bash was oversold, but everybody whowanted to eat had something to eat; and those who needed to get on the roadearly so as to enjoy the rest of the three-day weekend did so.

Chuck Hardin served as regatta chair with Jim Bateman and Glen Selvin sharing the duties of Board liaisons. Theduty fleets were combined, too, as the Senior Sabots and Keelboat Fleets staffed gates, hoists and race-committee boats.Margaret Caddle managed the staffing and the protest committee. Evie Belisle and her team took entries and did scoringon the Bay, for the second regatta in a row from the Bay Barge anchored to windward (Whaler Five was used as the startingboat). Jim Morford handled the scoring duties.

Equipment was organized under the direction of ABYC Port Captain Dave Myers. George Caddle and Vern Petersenprepared PATIENCE while ABYC Director John Massey gave up his weekend at Catalina Island to ready the whalers. Andthe ABYC staff under the direction of General Manager Theresa Laird, did their usual great job.

Chris Ericksen

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sou’wester •july 2005 • page 6

l o n g b e a cl o n g b e a cl o n g b e a cl o n g b e a cl o n g b e a c h rh rh rh rh r a c e wa c e wa c e wa c e wa c e w e e k p h o t o se e k p h o t o se e k p h o t o se e k p h o t o se e k p h o t o sThank you, Rich Roberts, for the wonderful photos!

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d r i f t wd r i f t wd r i f t wd r i f t wd r i f t w o o do o do o do o do o d

WHO ARE YOU? WHO’S THAT?Let’s find out on August 19th!

The General Membership Meeting Program is for new and old members to meet each other, make connections andlearn about how to better enjoy your club. There will be no speeches and no blue blazers. There will be name goodfood, name tags, fun activities and representatives from fleets, committees and organizations there just to explain to

you who they are, what they do and what you can do.

Hula Dancers, Great Food, Mai Tai�sLabor Day Luau

Saturday evening, September 3rd

mmmmme m b e re m b e re m b e re m b e re m b e r s h i p s h i p s h i p s h i p s h i p ppppprrrrr o m o t i o n !o m o t i o n !o m o t i o n !o m o t i o n !o m o t i o n !

Hey ABYC Members! The Club is healthy and we are doing great! Let’s keep the momentum going. The moremembers we get… the more fun we will have. It is important to have plenty of friends, volunteers, and funds tohelp support all of our various programs and infrastructure.Here is something that might make it entertaining for you and the new member you sponsor:The #1 sponsor and new member each get 250 ABYC dollars. 50 of which is to be used only for Club mer-

chandise. The remaining 200 can be used for food, beverage, or Club merchandise. You will need to use these ABYCdollars within 6 months and they can’t be applied towards dues or mooring.

Think and look around you. Look to your crew. Look to your neighbors. Look to your competitors. Look aroundthe junior program. Do you know anyone that could or should be a member, but is not?

Remember: We need new members!If you have any ideas or questions, please contact me. ABYC is very strong and it is a team effort. You have

been very successful! Let’s keep it up, now is not the time to rest.Merle Asper, merleasper@verizon.net

Theresa Laird theresa@abyc.orgGeneral Mailbox (Lori) abyc@abyc.orgSheila Mattox shrila@abyc.org

Please note that ONLY Lorisees the general e-mail

account. This is not automati-cally forwarded to Theresa. Ifyou have something that youwant to make sure is sent tothe General Manager please

copy Theresa at the email above.

t o rt o rt o rt o rt o r e a ce a ce a ce a ce a c h u s bh u s bh u s bh u s bh u s b y ey ey ey ey e -----m a i lm a i lm a i lm a i lm a i l

a n na n na n na n na n n u a l gu a l gu a l gu a l gu a l g e n e re n e re n e re n e re n e r a l m e e t i n ga l m e e t i n ga l m e e t i n ga l m e e t i n ga l m e e t i n g

Friday, September 16th

VOTE!!!!

sou’wester • july 2005 • page 9

h a i l s f rh a i l s f rh a i l s f rh a i l s f rh a i l s f r o m t h e fo m t h e fo m t h e fo m t h e fo m t h e f l e e t sl e e t sl e e t sl e e t sl e e t s

Summer has been busy for ourEtchells. We ran one-day fleet regattas in both May and June that

counted as part of the 2005 Etchells FleetChampionship Series. May saw the re-

turn of Tom Corkett, who spent a lot of time in San Diegothis winter and qualified there for the Etchells Worlds out ofNewport Beach Fleet Six and was racing double-handedwith Wayne Rodgers. Another returnee was “The EtchellsFormerly Known as MY DOG SPOT,” owned by Jim Batemanand Kevin Ellis

Corkett leaped to an early lead, winning the firsttwo races handily, but it was the team of Jerry Thompsonand Jeff Littell, however, sailing with Randy MacLaren, thatwon the day: their second-place finishes in the first tworaces were consolidated upon with wins in Races 3 and 4.The Bateman/Ellis/Brown team started slowly, finishing infifth in the first race, but the cobwebs got worked out quicklyand they took second in the last two races to take third placeoverall. Sadly, the Dudley/Powell team (which also includedDave Morse) went the other way: they had a very strongfirst race but slipped through the day and ended up in fourthplace. John Chapman, sailing with Dave Myers and BeckyThompson, and Chris Wells, sailing doublehanded with RexJacobs, rounded out the fleet. Tim Carter and Chris Ericksenran races for the Etchells and for four Cal 20’s and fourFinn’s.

The regatta on June 18 was pretty exciting. Gor-don Dudley and Jeff Powell, sailing with Greg Sims, lookedpretty hot, winning the first race but falling to second placein the standings going into the third race. However, disasterstruck when they managed to get their rig tangled up withJerry Thompson and Jeff Littell. Miraculously, USA1229’srig stayed in the boat, but the same could not be said aboutUSA531: the mast buckled at the spreaders. Fortunatelynobody was hurt, although Jerry and Jeff went in after thatrace to inspect their rig: the only evidence of the altercation

was marking on theWindex shaft made byGordon and Jeff’sbackstay.

With all the allthe excitement, the re-gatta went to TomCorkett. Tim Carter,sailing without his part-ner, scored third aheadof John Chapman.

With all this, the Fleet Championship Series standing arefirming up. The Thompson/Littell team hold the top spotwhile Ed Feo hangs on to second place on the strength ofhis domination of the Fleet Qualifier Regatta. The Carter/Ericksen and Dudley/Powell teams moved up and Corkettmade his appearance on the list

The Etchells fleet—well, most of it, anyway—tookMemorial Day weekend off to help run the ABYC Memorial

Day Regatta. Tim Carter and Jim Bateman were regattachair and board co-liaison, respectively, and presided overwhat turned out to be the largest Memorial Day Regattasince 1981. Kevin Ellis served on PATIENCE as OceanPRO; they had nine classes to run and did it with four whalerteams. On the Bay, Chris Ericksen was PRO, and two whal-ers rounded out the on-the-water teams. Thanks to all theEtchells fleet members who volunteered to run the regattaand thanks to all the non-Etchells folks who helped out, too.

In the truest tradition of the Alamitos Bay EtchellsFleet, four ABYC Staff Commodores turned out to helm thefour Etchells that raced in the ABYC Fourth of July Re-gatta. And while the regatta lacked in attendance, the funwe had more than made up for it. Racing was pretty tight,with boats usually close at mark roundings; in one round-ing, all four came around one of the breakwater marks withinabout six boat lengths. At the finish of Race One, where theOlson 30’s that started four minutes after the Etchells over-lapped the fleet, there was an exciting finish as two Olson’sand two Etchells all shot for the pin end of the line at thesame time. Gladly, nobody died.

Jerry Thompson and Jeff Littell, sailing with BobMais, grabbed three bullets to win the regatta; only a quickturnaround for Race Four for which they were late kept themoff the line at the start. Steve Moffett, sailing doublehandedwith Greg Montz, won the last match and took second place.The regatta marked the return of Paul Anctil to Etchellsracing as he joined Jim Bateman and Kevin Ellis for theday. Tim Carter and Chris Ericksen sailed with Tim’s daugh-ter, Courtney. These two managed to record exactly iden-tical scores; however, as Bateman/Ellis beat Carter/Ericksenin the last race, they won the tiebreaker.

Five Etchells have entered the Seal Beach YachtClub Pop Tops Regatta this summer, and at least two havebeen out every week so far. Jim Bateman, sailing with MarkTownsend and Chuck Hardin, came in as the winner in Mayand Jerry Thompson, sailing with Robin Townsend andRandy MacLaren, won in June.

And finally: in case you haven’t heard, there is anew ABYC Etchells, but it doesn’t live here: Bruce Golisonand Steve Flam purchased USA1285 and have joined afleet on Long Island Sound. Back in May, Steve and PatMcCormick picked up the boat, towed it from Michigan toNew York across the Canadian province of Ontario (askthem about their trip through U.S. Customs, by the way)and went on to win the 2005 Etchells Long Island SoundChampionship Regatta among 22 boats without ever hav-ing sailed together or in this boat before! What a feat!!Congratulations to them all.

Chris Ericksen

Peninsula Concert - FlightAugust 21st5:30 to 7:30

sou’wester •july 2005 • page 10

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4th of July Holiday Regatta

Last year seven Lasers launched to contest the 4th

of July Regatta. This year we launched 20 Lasersand seven Laser Radials . The ABYC Laser Fleet

is on the move!The deserving winner of our 2005 4th of July Re-

gatta, Bob Falk was kind to send-in this race report. Note:all you current and aspiring Laser racers, there’s a nicego-fast tip at the end of Bob’s report

The 4th of July Regatta featured a gradually build-ing breeze and a persistent right shift with plenty of shortbacks along the way.

Congratulations to Vann Wilson in winning thefirst race in a very light breeze. Vann is better known forhis outstanding speed in windy conditions, so it was niceto see Vann winning outside his normal condition. Vann

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h a i l s f rh a i l s f rh a i l s f rh a i l s f rh a i l s f r o m t h e fo m t h e fo m t h e fo m t h e fo m t h e f l e e t sl e e t sl e e t sl e e t sl e e t sKEEL BOAT FLEET ON WATCH

The last race for the Fleet Championship was run June 19th. Theseries comprises the races tak-

ing place in March, April, May and June. There is onethrow-out. If you miss more than one race, your chancesare very slim. After the June race, Bob Ware was de-clared our new Fleet Champion of 2006 who replaces ourold Fleet Champion of 2005 who happened to be BobWare. Congratulations Bob!

Summertime means great cruising for all of our members. Some will head South to San Diego, others

North to Santa Barbara and of course, most all toCatalina for the “Don’t Lift a Finger Cruise” organizedby Stephanie Munn and Merle Asper.

However, the cruise we will miss going on themost is Bard Heavens’ cruise in the waterways ofFriesland, a canton of the Netherlands. The Caddleswent on this cruise (different towns) two years ago andit was great fun. However, family plans precluded ourgoing this year. The countryside of Friesland is beauti-ful. Farms filled with green fields, cows and flowers.Towns large and small filled with cobblestones, friendlypeople and flowers. The waterways go through themiddle of the towns, after all, these provided the mainsource of transportation not too long ago. Normally youtie up in the center of town with all the shops just stepsaway.

Out on the waterways you will encounter manylocks that control the height of the waterways. Lockkeepers will collect their money by hanging a woodenshoe from a line and a pole. The sailboats you en-counter are primarily leeboards because of the shallowwater. The leeboards are huge especially on the 40 ft.and larger boats with one leeboard on each side.

Bard does a wonderful job of arranging thewhole affair. You catch a bus at Amsterdam Airport(arranged by John Ellis) and you are on your way to abeautiful inn/hotel right by a main waterway in the townof Jirnsum. Next morning it’s easy steps to the charterboats. On ‘Helios’ are Jane and Larry Kidd plus CarolReynolds. On ‘Aiger’ are Jeanne and Dennis Kasperplus Jinx and John Ellis. On ‘Irene’ are Marilyn andMike McMahon plus Lynn and Jim Drury plus Jeanneand Al Nelson. On ‘Adventure’ are Elaine and RonWood plus Barbatra Chapla plus Barbara Marks andBard Heavens. On ‘Indra’ are Pinky and Rowell Greeneplus Pat and Ed Heath. On ‘Iris’ are Judy and Jim Dyerplus Claudia and Steve Corzonkoff.

Please mark Friday, September 9 on yourcalendar for our next Keel Boat meeting. Hopefully thenew board of Chairmen/officers will be presented.

Bon voyage to all. John and George

The July 4th Regatta held July 2nd had all kindsof interesting fleet news, but not all of our sailors were inSabots. Sarah McNaboe took first place in the SeniorSabot Race and her granddad, John Ellis came in sec-ond. I don’t think there is another family at ABYC that cantop the Ellises for champion racers. Fred and FreddieStevens took a first in the Lidos and won the Perpetualalso. Jerry Thompson was first in the Etchells Fleet. ThoseTwilight practices really seem to give the Sabotiers theedge.

The winners for the June Twililghts were 1) BobWare 2) John Ellis 3) Mary Riddick and 4) MarkVredenburg. There were five twilights in June with onethrow out, but if you missed two races that threw you out.The Perpetuals for the A and B Fleet Twilights are awardedin September after the completion of the summer series.

July 10th, the regular Senior Race Day, saw JaneMcNaboe winning first place in a borrowed boat; DianneGonzales was a close second, Don Hodges was third;Sarah McNaboe was fourth and Jennifer Kuritz, the otherEllis took a daily first.

How great it is in the Twilights to have AndrewMcDade, Sheila Eberly and Erik Bakker joining us for thefirst time and the return of Jo Ann Pike, Bill Nicholson,and Brad and Sharon Bolger. We have a B Fleet formingand after Sidney Bolger’s success in giving some usefultips in June, Sarah McNaboe said she would give someguidance from the whaler also. So this is the time to re-start that Sabot. Come out Thursdays and find out whythis a such a great training ground for champions. Jesusalso cooks us some delicious dinners to enjoy with thoseAlalmitos Bay Sunsets that can compete with any sceneanywhere in the world.

Call Fleet Captain, Adra Kober if you have anyquestions.

See you on the Bay!Barbara Gabriel

sou’wester • july 2005 • page 11

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was able to pass me downwind to reach the leeward gate 1st, rounding the right-hand mark and sailing in clear air all theway up the left side to the finish.

Congratulations to Chris Wenner of Cal YC for taking the third race as the wind built to 10+ knots and for anexcellent and consistent regatta with all finishes in the top four.

Congratulations to Chuck Tripp for hanging in there during the light races and for dominating the last race in 12+knots. Chuck also gave me a very simple tip on my downwind technique. A little less windward heal and sitting a littlefurther back helped me “go with the flow” so I wasn’t fighting the sail. This helped me pass boats downwind in the last tworaces, plus a little luck on puffs and waves always helps!

All in all, a fun one-day regatta, well run by the ABYC crew with conditions at times suitable for all sailors.In the Laser Radial fleet, we want to congratulate and recognize one of ABYC’s newest Laser Radial racers,

Cameron Summers , who finished a mere one point behind the second place finisher to secure third place in the seven boatfleet.2005 ABYC Laser Fleet Championship Series

There are no changes to the ABYC Laser Fleet Championship Series standings as the next “scored” regatta in ourseries will be Labor Day with Turkey Day the last race in the series.

The next big activity for the Laser fleet is support duty for the U.S. Sailing O’Day Championship Regatta hosted byABYC in August. We’ll all be cheering on ABYC’s own Kevin Taugher and Chuck Tripp who both qualified to race in thisprestigious National regatta.

Please contact me anytime via E-Mail, salaor@sbcglobal.net, phone at (626) 403-9533 or find me in the boatyardif you have any questions or are interested in getting your Laser back in the water. We can help you with rigging, pointersand lots of source material to help you get the most from your Laser.

Steven Smith, ABYC Laser Fleet Captain

ccccc h a r i t y rh a r i t y rh a r i t y rh a r i t y rh a r i t y r eeeee ggggg aaaaa t t at t at t at t at t a

The first of the events leading up to the Charity Regatta on Sunday, September 25th was a success .The SwapMeet at SlBYC along with the Pancake Breakfast and Hot Dog Lunch was great! Busy buyers and sellers made fora very great day, it stayed comfortable in the morning and by 2PM when it was time to close down it was just

beginning to get warm. NYCLB and LSF cooked the pancake breakfast and SlBYC the hot dog lunch. LBSSA andLBBOA both had booths as well as many others participating. That night the SlBYC Seabelles had their monthly dinnerparty and decided all proceeds would be donated to The Children’s Clinic as part of the Charity Regatta support. Thankyou!

The next event will probably be over by the time you read this but each year in August, Cerritos Bahia YCsponsors a Golf Tournament at Recreation Park South and it’s a little earlier this year - the 6th of August. It is always funand they have long drive and closest to the pin contests for both men and women. The golf is followed by a Burger Bashat their Club. I know it will be fun, it always is, CBYC are great hosts.

On August 20th the Long Beach Singles Sailing Association will be presenting a gourmet dinner at SlBYC for thefirst 50 people who reserve their place for the $50.00 dinner. The appropriate wine is served with each course and nearlyall the food is donated. The menu is posted on the Bulletin Board in the foyer. It’s really quite impressive. They serve itdressed to the T’s, Tuxedo shirt, black bow tie, cummerbund, Bermuda shorts and boat shoes. Sounds like a greatevening, great food and the gourmet dinner is another Charity Regatta event benefiting The Children’s Clinic.

The Charity Regatta is set for Sunday, September 25th with all racing venues set, ABYC, Bay classes; LBYC,One Design ocean classes as well as Catalina 37’s available for charter; SlBYC, PHRF Spinnaker and Non-Spinnaker;SYC ORCA, Cruising Class and Beach Cats. The committee hopes we have a record turnout for this 19th CharityRegatta. The Burger Bash, Trophys, Silent Auction and Drawing will again be held at ABYC. This community eventsupports a very special service provided by The Children’s Clinic to the under insured and uninsured children and theirfamilies in the greater Long Beach area.

Norma Clapp

s c u t t l es c u t t l es c u t t l es c u t t l es c u t t l e bbbbb u t tu t tu t tu t tu t t

Jay Shirley successfully completed U.S. Coast GuardBoot Camp in Cape May, New Jersey, June 29, 2005.His first duty station will be on 47-foot lifeboats on the

Chetco and Rogue Rivers in Oregon starting July 11.Congratulations!

Sou�Wester DEADLINE

Friday, August 19, 2005 is the deadlinefor the September Sou�Wester.

sou’wester •july 2005 • page 12

Photo by Ronda Nuzum

PRSRT STDU. S. Postage

PAIDLong Beach, CAPermit No. 685

Commodore Ron Wood

Vice Commodore Nicole Peoples Moffet

Rear Commodore Jim Bateman

Jr. Staff Commodore Kevin Ellis

Fleet Captain Glenn Selvin

Secretary Grant Hill

Directors

Volunteer Development Merle Asper

Special Projects Bard Heavens

Junior Program John Massey

2005OFFICERS & DIRECTORS

Treasurer George Kornhoff

Junion Rear Commodore Graham Bell

Fleet Surgeon Dr. Mick Shlens

Judge Advocate Tom Ramsey

Port Captain Paul Anctil/Dave Myers

Sou’Wester Editor Sharon Pearson

ABYC Phone (562) 434-9955

Fax (562) 434-2267

Homepage www.abyc.org

Email abyc@abyc.org

Alamitos Bay Yacht Club7201 East Ocean BoulevardLong Beach, California 90803

StanleyPark -

Vancouver

What: Stag Cruise 2005When: Friday September 30- Sunday October 2, 2005! You will behappiest if you get there on Thursday.Where: Corsair Yacht Club, Emerald Bay, Catalina Island.What to bring: Snorkeling Equipment, Fishing Equipment, 2 pairsof swim trunks (everybody needs a back-up), a towel that functionsas a bed roll and serape, a bag of olives (for snacking and nutri-tion), and flip flops of sturdy construction.Your Assignment: 2 months to go, your plans should be in finalcompletion.Remember: This is a great way to celebrate a magnificent life.Don’t sell yourself short by not making it.

Merle Willis Asper III, Stag Cruise Official

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