1. sports
2. sailing

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S A L T S P R I N G I S L A N D S A I L I N G C L U B TellTales V o l u m e 3 4 • N u m b e r 1 • N e w Y e a r 2 0 1 5 Obviously,
participants in
the New Year’s
Eve cruise to
Montague this
year went a
little wiggy.
Isn’t this a great
new look for
Derek Hill, Kim
Laidlaw and
Iain Leckie?
More photos on
page 8.
Calendar January 2015 S 4 11 18 25 M 5 12 19 26 1st 1030 1st 1230 6th 1900 18th 1030 16th 1030 23rd 1700 T 6 13 20 27 W 7 14 21 28 T 1 8 15 22 29 F 2 9 16 23 30 S 3 10 17 24 31 Hot Rum Race New Year’s Club Social Board Meeting Ben Mohr Rock Race Season’s End Race Pub Night-­‐Member Host T 5 12 19 26 F 6 13 20 27 S 7 14 21 28 Groundhog Day Race Board Meeting Channel Islands Race All-­‐Club Boyz Cruz SISC Winter Craze-­‐Leg 1 SISC Winter Craze-­‐Leg 2 General Meeting Our new Board for 2015 had its first meeting in
December, and it was great to see the familiar
faces of many returning Directors. I thank our
outgoing Board members for their service to the
Club, and for helping make the transition smooth
for their successors.
We have some great new talent on the Board this year, and I
would like to welcome Paul McManus, Derek Emmerson and
Betsy Johnston to the executive.
Paul McManus has been working closely with outgoing Vice
continued on page 2
PHOTO ABOVE: JACQUELINE SUTTON 1st 1230 3rd 1900 15th 1030 21st-­‐23rd 21st 1125 22nd 1030 24th 1900 T W 3 4 10 11 17 18 24 25 by Patrick Beattie
Happy New Year to all! I hope you had a great
Christmas and New Year’s celebration.
February 2015 S M 1 2 8 9 15 16 22 23 Commodore’s Report 2
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SALTSPRING ISLAND SAILING CLUB TELLTALES building her Social Committee and putting on
many successful events. Betsy joined SISC in 2011
and has been very active in Club life, both as a
volunteer and as First Mate aboard the Beneteau
473 Merriweather.
Commodore’s Report continued from page 1
Commodore, Wayne Tepper, throughout 2014 as
House and Grounds Coordinator. This year they
are switching roles and Paul will lead the dedicated
House and Grounds Team as Vice Commodore.
Paul joined the Club in 2011, and skippers the
Monk 36 Trawler, Ara’s Ark.
Already the new Board is hard at work covering the
needs of the Club. I was so excited to see such a
great turn out at the Christmas Party and Boat
Light-up. It was a great event and congratulations
to the light-up winners.
After three years of tremendous accomplishments
as Rear Commodore, Bob Jones has passed the
baton to the capable hands of Derek Emmerson,
who contributed as a Foreshore Team member.
Derek has been a member of SISC since 1999, and
has skippered his Hughes 31 sailboat, Oracle, in
some of the 2014 Club races.
As we move ahead I would like to welcome
Connie Brett to the position of Information
Systems Coordinator. Connie will be heading up
the new Info Systems committee, and will work
with Database Manager Norbert Schlenker on
developing a new comprehensive, secure and
shareable Club database. This will help us in many
management tasks, and allow members to access
up-to-date roster information year-round. ■
Betsy Johnston takes over as Staff Captain from
Lynn Clark, who did a great job for two years
New Year 2015 Meet Your 2015 Board of Directors Patrick Beattie Commodore Eric van Soeren Past Commodore Paul McManus Vice Commodore Derek Emmerson Rear Commodore Kevin Vine Fleet Capt Racing David Roll Fleet Capt Dinghy Perry Ruehlen Fleet Capt Cruising Betsy Johnston Staff Captain Deb McGovern Secretary Norbert Schlenker Treasurer Rod Macdonald Wharfinger Silk Questo Communications D ir 2 SALTSPRING ISLAND SAILING CLUB TELLTALES New Year 2015 2014 Award Winners Major annual Club awards were presented at the Commodore’s Banquet on November 15th and at the AGM on
November 25th.
❶ The Commodore’s Award for 2014 was
presented by Commodore Patrick Beattie to
Silk Questo in recognition of her leadership in
developing and executing the Club’s
communications program and media.
❷ Past Commodore Eric van Soeren
❶
❷
presented The Past Commodores’ Award 2014
to Hugh and Karen Preddy. Among their
many contributions to the Club were six years
of Wharfinger duties, including relocation of
boats during our Marina Renovation Project.
❸ The 2014 New Members’ Award
recognizes Bruce Stenstrom for his enthusiastic
volunteer work as Sailing School Coordinator.
Bruce wasn’t able to attend the banquet or
AGM, so will be presented his award at a
future suitable occasion.
❸ ❹ Top racing awards for 2014 presented at the
Commodore’s Banquet by FCR Kevin Vine included the
overall Points Trophy, won by Roger Kibble and the Round
Saltspring Trophy for top finishing SISC boat, won by Craig
Leitch. (See page 4 for more honours at the Racing Awards Night). ❻
In addition, three hard-working volunteers
were cited for their contributions in 2014
and presented with flowers. They included:
❺ Volunteer Coordinator Wendy Vine;
❻ Membership Officer Susan Castle; and
Clubhouse Booking
Coordinator Candace
Brochmann.
❺ Congratulations to all the
winners, and a sincere
thanks for their efforts on
behalf of the Club. ■
3 ❸
❹
SALTSPRING ISLAND SAILING CLUB TELLTALES New Year 2015 Racing Awards Night 2014 PHOTOS: SILK QUESTO A festive and well-attended Racing Awards Night
was generously hosted by Derek Hill and Betsy
Johnston on November 29th. A potluck dinner was
followed by presentation of hundreds of racing
trophies – well, dozens anyway – including the
entertaining ritual of nominations for the Broken
Tiller Award. Various inexplicable disguises such as
wigs and masks added to the merriment, giving
credence to the suspicion that one must be crazy to
race boats. For a complete report on who won what,
with pictures and captions, click here to visit the
2014 Podium. The Feast
Kibble Cup
s
Channel Island
vost
Round Pre
Round Saltspring
Gate Crashers
The Broken T
Jack Langdon
ortla
Moresby-P
4 iller
nd
Round Penders
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SALTSPRING ISLAND SAILING CLUB TELLTALES New Year 2015 Racing Forum by Kevin Vine, Fleet Captain Racing
Captain Betsy Johnston and her team, featured hot
rums and an excellent lunch. Presentations of
various types of rum prizes were handed out to
Martin Herbert, Vincent Argiro, and Kevin Vine,
who sailed (“drifted” might be more apt) into first,
second, and third places respectively.
The season on the water tapered
out as only a handful of boats
turned up to brave the elements
for the Season’s End Race and
the Snowflake Series. The
“elements” – as it turned out –
were pleasant surprises, as races
days featured a bit of sunshine,
no rain. The wind, on the other hand, did taper
out as the season drew to a close.
Organization for the 2015 Season is pretty much in
place. The 2015 Racing Calendar has been
published on the website. The new schedule
accommodates the Vancouver Island Racing Series
(VIRS) races and the IOM regatta dates. Our own
races have been adjusted to fit the schedule better,
with the hope of being able to add some Saturday
events as the season progresses.
By contrast, the Racer’s Awards Night, which
was kindly hosted by Derek Hill and Betsy
Johnston was enthusiastically subscribed by over
50 people, who showed up for a great evening of
wonderful food, drink, camaraderie and fun, as
the nearly two dozen awards were handed out.
You seen a taste on page 4. For the full shot of
award winners and photos, go to the 2014 Podium
page on our Club website.
Saltspring Island Sailing Club’s Race Instructions
have been updated and are now published on the
website. Racers are all encouraged to give them a
read through!
Communication with the racing fleet takes place
through an email list that currently has nearly 70
subscribers. Emails come out a couple of times a
week with racing news, reminders, results, stories,
anecdotes, links, and photos. If you’d like to tune in
to what’s going on with the SISC racing group,
email racing@saltspringsailing.ca and let me know!
Congratulations to Electra, Imp, and Kay D who
had a great 2014 racing season, and finished
within a few points of each other for the overall
Points Trophy.
The 2015 Season has now begun. New Year’s Day
turned out to be yet another lovely mid-winter
day, and eleven boats
showed up for the Hot
Rum Race (photo right).
The breeze was virtually
non-existent, and it took
an hour and a half (give
or take) for the fleet to
finish the less-than-twomile course!
Nevertheless, there were
several exciting moments
as the closely grouped
boats threaded their way in ultra-slow motion
around the course.
What’s Next?
Ben Mohr Rock Race
Sunday, 18 January
A simple course: Start —
Ben Mohr Rock buoy (P)
— Finish
The Hot Rum Social, organized by our new Staff
5 PHOTO: PHILIPPE E RDMER Ground Hog Day Race
Sunday, 1 February
This event features a
bacon-egg-pancake breakfast prepared by the
willing hands of several of the skippers before the
fleet ventures out to the race course: Start — Batt
Rock buoy (P) — Welbury spar (P) — Finish. ■
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SALTSPRING ISLAND SAILING CLUB TELLTALES New Year 2015 Staff Captain’s Report by Betsy Johnston
December was a busy month for my tenure as Staff
Captain to begin, and for lots of volunteers to help
out! The social events committee of Aly Markert,
Karen Laidlaw, Laura Dafoe, Alex
Golder, Julie Mills, Ruth
❷ Humberstone, Nancy Bortz, and
Louise Devlin met on December 3rd to
plan the 2015 calendar and the events.
❶
Christmas Party and Boat Light-up
The first actual event, the Christmas celebration with
potluck dinner, was very well attended by 85 festive
members! The clubhouse looked terrific, having been
decorated a few days before by: Aly
Markert, Ruth Humberstone,
Arlene Dashwood, Julie Mills,
continued on page 7
❸ ❹
PHOTOS: SILK QUESTO ❾ CHRISTMAS CHEER ALL AROUND
❶ Rob Denny and Tony McEwan ham
it up ❷ An appreciative crowd
❸ Colourful Christmas angels Liz
Anderson, Karen Tepper and Dorothy
Finnigan ❹ Several new members
attended, including Christopher
Cheeseman and Gillian Taylor ❺ New
member Scott Cadenhead and friend
❻ New Associate members William Cote
and Jean Marie Panepinto ❼ Hungry
partygoers descend on the potluck table
❽ Diane Lugsdin and Susan Castle get
into the spirit (or is that spirits?)
❾ Jodie Hawley, Nancy Bortz and
Louise Devlin make merry!
❺ ❻ ❼ ❽ 6 2
SALTSPRING ISLAND SAILING CLUB TELLTALES New Year 2015 Secretary’s Report ❶
continued from page 6
Karen Laidlaw, Nighean Anderson, Nancy Bortz and myself.
The mulled wine and potluck food contributions were delicious
and volunteers Laura and Ruth, Karen Laidlaw, Debby and
Peter Brouwer, Pauline Spencer, Nicky Arnoldus and Gord
Dafoe helped make the whole event run smoothly. Colleen
and Lorne Shantz judged the
boats that were lit-up for
Christmas. Louise Devlin
supplied the prizes for the
many winners.
❶ Commodore Pat Beattie
emceed the light-up
prizes. ❷ Bob Jones and
Dorothy Finnigan won
first prize for the
beautifully decorated Oasis (photo above). ❸ Silk and
David Questo won second prize for Mystic’s lights.
❹ Merriweather (Derek and Betsy), ❺ Second Wind
(Eric and Julie van Soeren), ❻ Blue Peter (Derek and
Jenny Barrio), ❼ Ruby drue (Russell Logan), and ❽ Nest Egg (Kim and Karen Laidlaw) all won prizes
for their decorations.
❷ ❸ ❹ ❺ New Year’s Hot Rum Race and Luncheon
The weather was perfect for the race (except for the
wind) and we had a wonderful luncheon (see photos
on page 9). Attendance was somewhat low because
of the flu. Only 53 people made it, down almost
30 people from last year! Aly Markert organized
lots of volunteers to prepare, serve and clean up.
Julie Mills, Alex Golder, Debbie Brouwer, Glenys Prince,
Gaye Gardiner, Lynda Ardern, Jackie Truscott, Karen Laidlaw,
Jodie Hawley, Patricia Marlatt, Marilyn and Michael Dawson,
Marilyn’s sister Barb Wright, and Gyle’s sister-in-law, Bev Morris all
worked diligently. Aly and Iain, Nancy and RB, and Alex helped take
down all the decorations and made the clubhouse shipshape for 2015.
❼ ❻ PHOTOS: SILK QUESTO Coming Up – January Pub Night
Our first Pub Night of the new year is scheduled for January 23rd, and
we’re looking for a couple of members to volunteer to host. It doesn’t
have to be elaborate – just appies or snacks for 30 or so. Please contact
me for more information if you’re interested. Call, or email
staff_captain@saltspringsailing.ca. ■
7 ❽ SALTSPRING ISLAND SAILING CLUB TELLTALES New Year 2015 Wigged out on New Year’s Eve! by Betsy Johnston
On the annual New Year’s Eve cruise to
Montague, four boats – Merriweather, Minke, Wind
Dancer and Nest Egg – braved the cold weather to
meet and celebrate bringing in the New Year.
Participation was down because of the virulent flu
so many came down with over the holidays.
PHOTOS: JACQUELINE SUTTON It was a beautiful clear afternoon and night. The
10 of us had a fun time on Merriweather. We had
decided to make it a wig party as you
can see in the photos, which made it
hilarious. We shared appies and had a
potluck dinner with lots of spirit and
spirits.
NEW YEAR’S FUN
(from top) Around the potluck
table (l to r) Art Munneke, Iain
Leckie, Aly Markert, Betsy
Johnston, Alex Golden, Tony
Meek, Kim Laidlaw, Ben and
Jacqueline Sutton; Ben and
Jacqueline; Art, Jacqueline and
Betsy; Aly and Tony. Tony Meek built a fire at the nearest
campsite where we twirled sparklers,
drank champagne and brought in the
New Year – Winnipeg time! ■
MID-WINTER
PUB NIGHT
Friday • January 23rd • 1700 hours
at the clubhouse
Hosts wanted!
Please contact Betsy at 538-5541
8 SALTSPRING ISLAND SAILING CLUB TELLTALES New Year 2015 New Year’s Day Yo Ho Ho ❷ ❶ ❸ ❺ ❻ ❼ ❿
❽ ❾ ❶ Hot Rum Race winners Vincent Argiro, Kevin Vine, Tony Meek and Martin
Herbert show off their rum prizes ❷ Jackie Truscott and Roger Kibble show off their
rum ❸ RB and Nancy Bortz give a rum salute ❹ Martin and Vincent enjoy rum
handwarmers ❺ Some of the fabulous galley crew (l to r): Jodie Hawley, Julie Mills,
Karen Laidlaw, Barb Wright, Patricia Marlatt, Marilyn Dawson, Betsy Johnston and
Arlene Dashwood ❻ Heinz Vitovec and David Questo toast the rum ... ❼ ... as do
Kim Laidlaw, Russell Logan and Lisa Halstead ❽ Cheryl and Chris Gadsby en route
to the rum ❾ Paul McManus, Don Dashwood, Gyle Keating and Kevin Vine have
already been into the rum ❿ How about some healthy salads to go with that rum?
9 PHOTOS: SILK QUESTO ❹ 1
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SALTSPRING ISLAND SAILING CLUB TELLTALES New Year 2015 International One Metre Report by Martin Herbert, IOM #27
The International One Metre sailors have finally
made the big time with two of its members
receiving nominations for the (un)coveted
Broken Tiller Award. Lawrie Neish assisted
Derek Hill in nominating Roger Kibble,
providing photographic evidence of an event
that might have been called “boarding,”
“dismasting,” “bursting’” or “bruising”.
as well. Kevin also
shared some of the
photo’s with the
racing group and
Matti Troyer is
thinking of building
one as his final
project at the
Landing School, a
very well-regarded
boatbuilding school in
Maine.
The photo was taken by Roger’s son Steven at
Sunset Pond and captured the aftermath of
Roger launching Lawrie’s boat, toppling over,
and dismasting it – tearing the jib, submerging
his radio and twisting his knee. This should have
won the award on many levels, but as we know,
Roger is slippery and seems to have nine lives.
This leads directly to IOM winter news –
boatbuilding. This year I have challenged myself
to build a wooden IOM. I chose one of my
brother’s designs, Calypso, and started with the
drawings on Nov 1st. It was so much more fun
building in wood than fibreglass that the boat
progressed rapidly. I am in the final stages of
sanding the hull in advance of varnishing and
hope to have the boat sailing by February. An
Italian IOM blog got wind of the project and
asked for pictures, so I sent Massimo a series of
step-by-step shots which he updated on a regular
basis. I copied some of these to my brother and
he was so enthused that he started to build one
The other great news about winter sailing is the
“Storm Watch” where a good blast of wind
brings IOM sailors down to the docks hoping for
#3 rig sailing. Last week Mark Wallace and I got
some good nose diving #2 rig sailing and had fun
till our fingers stopped working. These little boats
love a breeze and the grounded seaplane pilots
told me some years ago when I was sailing in
Ganges that the wind was topping 40 knots. The
boat was in perfect control with the only fear that
of the helmsman being blown off the dock. We
are also continuing our weekly practise races
leading up to the first major regatta in March, the
Western Canadians held on Beaver Lake. ■
10 PHOTOS: MARTIN HERBERT He managed to wiggle out of this, and four other
nominations for fiascos in oversized boats as
well. It was a tour de force performance. On his
last nomination he pulled the rabbit out of the
hat, and nominated your humble reporter for the
sin of “boatbuilding”. I was on the point of
protesting this call when I realized that Roger,
ever innovative, had changed the tone of this
award. I quickly accepted the Tiller and might
have become the first winner to claim the trophy
who is very proud of the reasons for the
nomination.
Other members have
expressed interest in the
boats since our successful
club IOM Team Race (won
by Ole Anderson, Iain
Leckie, Derek Hill
and Betsy Johnston)
so I am planning to
host an open workshop in January
where all the mystery
of building will be
laid out. When a
date is set there will
be an invitation sent
to Club members.
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SALTSPRING ISLAND SAILING CLUB TELLTALES New Year 2015 S U M M E R M E M O R I E S F O R A W I N T E R ’ S D A Y Small Boat Cruise – Part 1 By Martin Herbert, Fireball #1205
The 2014 Small Boat Cruise, a five-day event, was
the most adventurous yet. Ably organized by Rob
Denny and Casey De Jong, the cruise was a lovely
mixture of long sailing legs and stopover respites
in idyllic locales.
reefed main and full jib. You can just see Carmen
through the window in the jib.
Our second guests were Matt Law and Danelle
Hames (below left), seen approaching the first night’s
destination, Russell Island, in their Dufour 34,
towing the Chester Yawl that Matt built last winter.
Matt and I are childhood friends who have raced
against each other for 40-some years and this
picture is taken from my Fireball, the class of boats
that we used to race.
This year we has an assigned mothership for each
of the small boats which made for ease of food and
gear storage for the small boats and opened up
venues where beach camping was not allowed. It
changed the tone of the event to one of sheer
luxury. The added benefit of this was that the
number of spouses increased dramatically and
raised the bar on the cooking as well.
Just astern of Matt’s boat is Eleanor Point and as it
came abeam we both hoisted spinnakers and raced
to the anchorage. My secret weapon was
Rosemary, former US National Champion in
Fireballs, and her spinnaker handling pulled us
through to the lead. Who says cruising is dull?
We had two guest boats and one interloper. The
most rugged of these were David and Carmen,
who camp-cruised in their 16’ sailing canoe and
led the way on day one in a yummy breeze,
charging out into the white caps with obvious glee.
Below, they are pictured leaving the dock under
As for the interloper, we will get to him later.
Anchored off Russell Island (below), the wind now
gone, Matt rows Nighean and Rob ashore for a pot
luck dinner on the beach. At anchor are two of the
three Rob Denny boats on the cruise, Sandpiper and
the Enterprise. Because they were camping, Dave
and Carmen were on Portland Island while we
enjoyed the food and a fabulous sunset.
continued on page 12
PHOTOS: MARTIN HERBERT 11 4
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SALTSPRING ISLAND SAILING CLUB TELLTALES New Year 2015 us. Another
fabulous
meal
unfolded,
stories told
and many
laughs
shared.
Small Boat Cruise continued from page 11
Despite all of us having 15 photos of the sunset I
am going to let you picture it in all it beauty. Well
done, good imaginations.
The next day we set off in light wind for
Brentwood Bay and Daphne Island. It was a long
sail in such a light wind but fortunately by the time
we were abreast of Piers Island the wind started to
build and we had a good spinnaker run down to
Moses Point. I had not expected two days in a row
with good wind in summer and I was feeling quite
blessed.
We dropped spinnaker and rounded to a beam
reach across the mouth of Deep Cove in a building
wind. By the time we got to Pat Bay the wind was
delightful and the perfect angle of a deep beam
reach. We could be planing along at 12 knots,
perfectly dry as the spray was being flung sideways
by the chines. I had forgotten what a fun boat the
Fireball was to sail.
So that takes us to the half way point of the Small
Boat Cruise. Much more fun to come but perhaps
we will save that for later in the winter. ■
Once past Pat Bay the wind lessened and swung
ahead so we had to beat into Brentwood Bay.
Daphne Island is set very close to the shore and is
difficult to see – but what a beautiful place it is,
especially after a good hard sail. Our clever cruise
organizers had booked us for two nights so we
were set for another good meal and a day of
playful rest in small boats the next day. Casey
joined me for a jaunt around Brentwood Bay in the
gusty wind just for the fun of it.
Calling all Valentines
Rob’s family are the long time owners of this
island and the house has the best sailing library I
have ever seen. Dave and Carmen got to stay in
the guest house and Carmen did the most amazing
“Happy Cabin Dance” when she saw the luxury of
the place.
And now for the interloper. Late that afternoon
Blue Peter sailed up the bay and anchored off the
Island. Beautifully handled by Derek Barrio, it
was a delight to see it dance in to the anchorage
and come to rest. While a 33-foot boat can hardly
be called a small boat it was great to have him join
Skipper’s Choice Potluck Dinner
Sunday • Feb 15th • 1800 hrs
12 PHOTOS: MARTIN HERBERT The next
day saw a
flotilla of
small boats go up to
Tod Inlet, some even went ashore to
participate in an extreme sport. I believe it was
called hiking, but I managed to avoid it, instead
sailing around Daphne Island with Nighean (above,
in the spacious crew’s quarters on the Fireball), dodging
in and out of moored boats and checking out the
crazy cross section of sailing vessels afloat in the
harbour.
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SALTSPRING ISLAND SAILING CLUB TELLTALES New Year 2015 S U M M E R M E M O R I E S F O R A W I N T E R ’ S D A Y Joys of Anchoring By Michael Clark
Once we were out of the small
bay the winds died down,
heartbeats declined and we felt
safe again – but it was sure still dark! We then spent
a long slow passage on radar to Powell River as we
felt that Lund would be too congested to find two
slips late at night.
Lessons learned: Do not anchor on a steep
underwater slope; use two stern lines; have a preplan memorized in case you have to maneuver out
in the night; avoid rafting; and be sure you know
the weather forecast for the local area before you
anchor. And ... do not anchor on the sunset side of
the Copeland Islands just so you can dance to
“Jump” as the sun goes down. ■
Safely anchored, we passed the evening swimming
in the warm incoming tide, enjoying drinks and
appies before dinner, and even a small dance party
to the music of the Pointer Sisters classic “Jump”
on the foredeck. The ladies thought this was quite
grand – especially that beautiful sunset.
VHF Radio Course – ROC(M) We retired below and watched an old classic
movie, Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, until about
11 pm, when we came on deck to realize that we
couldn’t live there anymore either. The wind had
shifted to the north and was blowing about 15
knots. Our stern line was hanging limply in the
water and the rocks to the north looked awfully
close, and seemed to be getting closer. Time to go!
at Saltspring Island Sailing Club Radio Operator’s Certificate Maritime (ROC-­‐M) Jan 13, 15 and 20, 2015 Completion of this course will earn the required Radio Operator’s Certificate Maritime (ROC-­‐M) for operating a VHF radio transmitter onboard your boat. All sessions run 7:00 pm to 9:30 pm. Course Fee: $75.00 (for SISC members) Call for details. But it was sure dark and we were, of course, tied
together. We learned pretty quickly that two boats
tied together do not steer very well – and as Selyna
Rose’s plotter was taking a long time to boot up
and show the course out. We dropped E-ticket’s
200’ of stern line, Lynn pulled up the anchor and
13 To register, call Laura Dafoe 250-­‐537-­‐8804 PHOTO: MICHAEL CLARK we cleared the rocks while
Dennis gave us a compass
course. But getting the two boats
disentangled was a challenge
until Victoria cut off the fender
that was snagged in Selyna Rose’s
gear. And then we had to get the
dinghy, which was being towed
backwards, on to the davits.
After many weeks north of
Desolation Sound aboard Selyna
Rose, Lynn and I, accompanied
by Dennis Fortin and Victoria
Skinner on E-ticket, were heading
south and decided to anchor in
the Copeland Islands. We had
been there many times but
always in the wee harbour on the
east side of the island where it
gets equally dark but is well
protected from wind and offers
good stern tying potential. But
that west side enjoys the long summer sunset, so
that is where we decided to stay the night in one of
the few small indents that can hold one boat each.
That did not pose any problem as E-ticket could tie
alongside Selyna Rose and we only then needed one
anchor – and one stern tie line to hold us off the
north side of the indent.
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SALTSPRING ISLAND SAILING CLUB TELLTALES New Year 2015 Secretary’s Report by Deborah McGovern
Happy 2015 everyone! Although
this year is pretty quiet so far as
new member inquiries go
(although that can change
quickly, as soon as the weather
improves) 2014 was a very busy
year for membership.
career and a young family, Bruce jumped in with
two feet to help with the Juniors program. Bruce
quickly took on the role of Sailing School
Coordinator, perhaps little knowing how much
would be involved.
Along with Dave Roll, Fleet Captain Dinghy, plus
the instructors and many member volunteers, Bruce
has been a large part of the reason this year’s
Summer Sailing School was so successful from a
safety, quality, budget and of course, fun
perspective. It was a particularly challenging time
for the program as many changes were being made
to the various segments of the Junior Program. In
summary: number of classes held:18; number of
young sailors who got to enjoy learning to sail: 114;
amount of community goodwill gained for the
Club: priceless.
A total of 18 new members (12 Regular and 6
Associate) have been brought on board during the
past year. This has been off set by about a dozen
resignations. Membership therefore remains
remarkably steady. In total, the Club now has 185
Regular Members, 17 Associate Members, and 4
Juniors. It is especially nice to see the several
younger couples with families join and to have our
Junior members, like Matti Troyer, “graduate” to
full Regular membership when they reach age
nineteen.
A note on membership cards and Yearbook
packages: Despite several reminders there were still
34 envelopes not picked up from the clubhouse
lobby by members in 2014. This represents a
considerable loss in materials and volunteer time in
putting them together in the first place.
It’s also been great to see many new members at
recent events including the recent AGM. There
were also several new faces at the sold-out
Commodore’s Banquet too.
During the interview process the volunteer
requirement of membership is strongly emphasized
and we do our best to highlight the skills and
interests of each new applicant. Then it’s Wendy
Vine’s job to match those skills with the
committee area they best fit. And a fantastic job
she is doing of this. We are now involving new
members more quickly so that they feel a part of
the running of the club early in their membership
and get to meet other members.
This year we will have the membership cards ready
for pick up at the clubhouse early in the New Year,
just as soon as we have the firm membership listing
to send to the printers to produce the cards. Rather
than sorting the Yearbooks into large, individually
addressed envelopes, once they are ready they will
be handed out at the clubhouse. Please remember that
it is still the Members’ responsibility to pick up their cards
and Yearbooks at the clubhouse.
To encourage this involvement Nick and Vicky
Hodson donated the New Member Award to
recognize outstanding contributions from new
members. It was the Membership Committee’s
privilege to select the new member who has
contributed the most to the club within the last 24
months. This year the award was awarded to
Bruce Stenstrom. Bruce and his partner Kiran
joined in March 2013. Despite the demands of
A note on TellTales distribution: Starting this year,
printed copies of TellTales will no longer be mailed
out! Up to now we have been printing out colour
copies and hand mailing about a dozen copies of
TellTales each month to members who have limited
web access or have requested home delivery. With
the rise in postal costs, in future, although we will
not be mailing out TellTales, a few copies will be
available for pickup at the clubhouse instead. ■
14 SALTSPRING ISLAND SAILING CLUB TELLTALES 2015 Boat Show Season! Take Advantage of this Great
Offer to Members!
Jan 21 – 25 BC Place/ Granville Island vancouverboatshow.ca Group Discount
on Pacific
Yachting
Subscriptions
Just $24
for a Year
Jan 23 – Feb 1 CenturyLink Field/ South Lake Union seattleboatshow.com Apr 30 – May 3 Victoria’s Inner Harbour (BC Yacht Brokers Assn) bcyba.com Victoria Harbour Boat Show New Year 2015 SISC members who
enjoy reading Pacific Yachting are
being offered a group discount rate.
$
24
Regardless of your past renewal date, you can take
advantage of this reduced price of $24* per year (tax
included), which will take effect from your present
expiration date. If you are not already a subscriber,
you will receive your first issue in spring. Plus, if you
include your email address in your order, you can also
receive the electronic edition at no extra cost.
Member Notice! Time to Update Your Yearbook Listing Our 2015 Club Yearbook will soon be going into production, and we’re requesting the help of all members to make sure all the data in the 2015 Directory of Members and Boats is correct and up-­‐to-­‐date. This includes current contact info, email, and vessel particulars as well as your address. Please check your listings and submit any corrections needed to Club Secretary Deborah McGovern no later than January 30th. This will help us keep our Club database updated and accurate. The Yearbook will be published at the beginning of April. * regular rate $48
To participate, your cheque for $24.00, payable to
Jim Linklater, must be received by February 13,
2015. Mail to:
Jim Linklater
188 Wilkie Way
Saltspring Is, BC V8K 2J4
Questions? Call Jim at (250) 537-2632, or email
link@saltspring.com. Remember!
Deadline for receipt of your
cheque is February 13th
Please note: Pacific Yachting will not accept add-ons
after the group order has been mailed.
Thanks for your cooperation! 15 SALTSPRING ISLAND SAILING CLUB TELLTALES New Year 2015 Parting Shots Another favourite summer port-of-call south of the
border is this snug harbour just a few hours from SISC.
Besides excellent docks and facilities, including a small
store and friendly snack bar on the pier (Mmmm,
breakfast croissant sandwiches in the morning, ice
cream cones in the afternoon), there’s a historic,
family-run restaurant just a short hike up the rural
road. Here’s your only hint: both the harbour and the island
its located on are named after animals. For the first prize of
the year, send your guess to telltales@saltspringsailing.ca
Editor’s Log
Nov-­‐Dec contest winner… Happy New Year to everyone!
I’m in the 11th hour throes of crossing off the essentials on my “todo” list and packing for New Zealand, where we’ll be sailing the
Bay of Islands for part of our visit.
I have a couple more tales lined up for later in the winter (if
Martin’s promises are to be believed, and I know he loves to tell a
good tale), and I plan to steal a few adventures from Tanya Van
Ginkel’s Mexico cruising blog to share. Plus, I have a pretty good
pirate story myself (good pirates, of course). And
then, there’s New Zealand – gotta be a yarn or
two ahead Down Under.
So put your writing caps on, and tell us a story!
Silk Questo
Editor | telltales@saltspringsailing.ca
We quickly got five correct answers identifying this favourite haunt of local cruisers: the historic Maria Mahoy home on Russell Island, now part of the Gulf Islands Marine Park. If you haven’t visited when a volunteer family member is on duty to welcome you, don’t miss it next summer! The lucky winner by a roll of the dice is Julie Mills. I’m now away until February 1, but will get your prize to you then! TellTales is a publication of the Saltspring Island Sailing Club 152 Douglas Rd, Saltspring Is, BC V8K 2J2 www.saltspringsailing.ca © 2015, Saltspring Island Sailing Club all rights reserved. TellTales Next Issue Deadline: Friday, Feb 6th, 2015 PHOTOS: SILK QUESTO We’re starting off the new year with a couple of fun membersubmitted cruising stories from last summer. Let’s have more! If
you have an interesting cruising tale to tell – whether recent, or
even from the distant past – please consider sharing it with your
fellow members. It could be informative, adventurous,
educational, gripping, poignant, hilarious, nostalgic, exotic ... any
kind of story you like to tell, or read about. Don’t worry if you
don’t see yourself as a writing “pro” – free editing is included!