![](3D"RudderMay05_files/image002.jpg")
![](3D"RudderMay05_files/image004.gif")
=
___________________________________________= ___________________________________________________________
OFFICERS
COMMODORE....................=
.......................... John
Davis &n=
bsp; lastdraft@hotmail.com –
770-228-5973
VICE COMMODORE...............=
..................... Jeff
Morrow &=
nbsp; jlmorrow@alltel.net – 478-956=
-4209
TREASURER....................=
...................... Linda
Garoffolo &nbs=
p; ling44@aol.com – 478-742-3556
CRUISE COMMITTEE.............=
....................... Bob
Horan &n=
bsp; bob@horan.net – 478-929-1377
SECRETARY/RUDDER EDITOR......=
........
_________________________________
Next Meeting
The May 2005 meeting on May 19th will be a=
t Lucky China Buffet,
______________________________
Minutes of March ̵=
6;05
Meeting
As
I was a little late for the meeting (went to the wrong Ryan’s.D’=
;oh)
it was already underway when I arrived. Himself, el Commodoree recommended =
we
begin planning for next year’s Cherry Blossom Regatta now so that it =
will
be a bigger, better more productive event. Madame Treasurer, Linda reports a
loss on the ’05 Cherry Blossom, but can’t be sure of the total =
as
we still have shirts and hats to sell. Hint, hint. Crusie/Race, and all thi=
ngs
logistical Committee, Bob Horan passed out certificates for the winners of =
the
Spring Race held at Lake Juliette on 9 Apr 05. Bob continued with a run dow=
n of
upcoming events: the OSYC Sinclair 21, the Mug Race, and the BEER Cruise. F=
rom
there Bob gave an account of his experience at the Morgan Reunion at St
Petersberg, Fl, of which there is an article included in this edition.
___________________________________________= _____
<=
u>Commodore’s
Corner:
People
told me, “John, you should race. It will make you a better sailor.=
221;
Well, they were right, if cursing is part of the criteria.
On
the 7th of May the Mug Race was held in
This
was a race to see if you could withstand perpetual slowness with no wind. N=
ot
one of the above list finished the race within the time limit. In fact not =
one
mono-hull finished the race within the allotted time and only three catamar=
ans
finished at all, out of close to 200 starters in the race.
The
race usually averages in the range of 8 to 10 hours. After about 4 hours of
sitting many of the sailors decided that there was no chance of finishing. =
Then
when the first call came in to the race committee “My boat is abandon=
ing
the race“, it was like everyone was racing to be among the first to q=
uit.
Sitting out in the water watching snails doing the backstroke passing by was
fun at first, because I had never seen a snail do the back stroke before, b=
ut
soon the novelty wore off and I starter to mutter less than pleasing statem=
ents
to the wind gods. Within a few more hours the mutterings had changed to out=
and
out screams at the wind gods complete with obscenities. So, if cursing is p=
art
of becoming a better sailor, then racing has certainly made me and many oth=
ers
in the race much better sailors.
A
prospective member of the club, Bo Scott, was the leader of the mono-hulls =
to
finish the course. Ron and I had our trailer at the end of the race, so we
never quit and continued to the end. We were still DNF, but good things hap=
pen
to those who are patient. About 5:30 the winds picked up, we popped up the
spinnaker and sailed for hours in the mid 6 knot range. We sailed into dock
about 15 hours after the start of the race.
___________________________________________= _____
<=
u>Sailors’
Quotes:
How
serene to be alone on a well-loved boat on an easy beam reach in smooth wat=
er!
William
Robinson
I
wriggled into my sleeping bag and gave the wood by my ear an approving pat.
Damning all hotel rooms, I went to sleep.
Charles
Landery
Waves
are not measured in feet or inches, they are measured in increments of fear=
.
Buzzy
______________________________
<=
u>“Lettitor”
from the Editor:
For my contribution this month=
I
continue a series of aptly defined Sailing Terms. This month will begin with
terms beginning with D thru L, with some terms particularly of use to those=
of
you currently enrolled in the Coast Guard Auxiliary Coastal Navigation Cour=
se.
Mast - Religious ritual used before setting sail.
Mizzen - An object you can’t find.
Motor Sailer - A sailboat that alternates between sail/rigg=
ing
problems and engine problems, and with some booze in the cabin.
Noserly - What to call the wind direction when it come=
s from
where you're going
Ram - An intricate docking maneuver sometimes used by experienced skipp=
ers.
Rhumb Line - Two or more crew members waiting for a drink=
.
Sailing - The fine art of getting wet and becoming ill,
while going nowhere slowly at great expense.
Schooner - A sailboat with a fully stocked liquor cabin=
et in
the cabin
Sheet - Cool, damp, salty night covering.
Shroud - Equipment used in connection with a wake.
Starboard - Special board used by skippers for navigation
(usually with "Port" on the opposite side.)
Swell - A wave that’s just great.
Square Rigger - A rigger over 30.
Sloop - A sailboat with beer and/or wine in the cabin.
Tack – A maneuver the skipper uses when telling the crew what they=
did
wrong without getting them mad.
Yawl - A sailboat from
Zephyr - Warm, pleasant breeze. Named after the mythi=
cal
Greek god of wishful thinking, false hopes, and unreliable forecasts.
______________________________
My Second Morgan
Invasion
15-17
Apr 2005
By
Bob Horan
![3D"Text=](3D"RudderMay05_files/image006.gif")
The experie=
nce started
on Thursday, the 14th about 5:30, when I cranked up my antique 1=
972
Ford F250 4X4 and pulled up the street on my way to the 20th Ann=
ual
Morgan Invasion. It was smooth
going until I heard a loud bang while passing a semi tractor trailer 10 mil=
es
north of
Raising the=
mast
and launching was smooth and I took my time getting everything ready for
arriving at the Treasure Island Tennis & Yacht Club. Arriving at the Club, I was =
one of
the first 24s to arrive. The
evening was a mixture of good food and meeting sailors I had met last year =
plus
the new faces of new Morgan Yacht owners.&=
nbsp;
My daughter Linda arrived about 9:00Am on Saturday, and by then I had
also recruited another couple from
![](3D"RudderMay05_files/image008.jpg")
=
The sea loo=
ked
peaceful when we raised the sails and we soon decided we needed the 150% Ji=
b up
to sail well in the 8-10 kt. wind. When we arrived at the
starting line to find we had up too much sail, with the wind blowing about =
20. After changing sail and tack=
ing
back to the starting line we saw a Morgan 38, Tease, that had the top of their mast broken off. Nobody injured and no hull
damage. The start for us
followed shortly with us being on the wrong end of the starting line. We finally started 3-4 minut=
es
late. The wind was blowing st=
rong
and we had our hands full. Th=
e rail
was in the water a lot and we trailed behind the rest of the Morgan 24s.
We were on =
a port
tack when we heard and felt the crack.&nbs=
p;
I thought we might have broken a centerboard. Linda called back that the c=
hain
plate had pulled up on the port side.
I pushed the tiller and Leslee let up on the jib. I let off on the main and to=
ld Tom
and Linda to pull down the sails. &nb=
sp;
I cranked up the motor and forced Linda
Jean into the wind so they could get the sails down. We would be in serious troub=
le if
the mast came down. With the =
sails
down, I went inside to look at the damage.=
Not good. The chain pl=
ate
fasteners had ripped apart the bulkhead and was being held from pulling thru
the deck by the acorn nuts of the bolts. Back on deck I tied the outer
shroud to the jib track using some small line. We motored in thru the 4-6 ft seas
hoping we could get into some calmer water before the mast pulled the chain=
plate
and the jib track up. I
called the Race Committee boat on the VHF Radio to tell them we were
withdrawing from the race.
&n=
bsp; After
we motored thru John’s pass we all relaxed a bit, as we broke out the
snacks and drinks, since we had been too busy out there to do much of
that. Back at the dock =
we
surveyed the damage a little closer to find that the starboard chain plate =
was
also starting to show signs of fatigue.&nb=
sp;
Linda Jean would need so=
me
serious repair or replacement of the main bulkhead. The good part of this is that the =
mast
did not fall, no one was injured, and the cost of repair will be relativity
low, but would take months to fix.
![](3D"RudderMay05_files/image010.jpg")
=
![](3D"RudderMay05_files/image012.jpg")
=
We had dinn=
er and
then the awards ceremony started. &nb=
sp;
We knew we would not get any trophies for the race but wanted to see=
who
did them in the 4 classes.
During the awards, Linda Jea=
n
received the under 40, “=
;Most
Pristine and Innovative Morgan Yacht Award. Pristine Classic”. So we did go home with
something. Many asked if I wo=
uld
return next year, and my reply was “ I will return to skipper one of =
my
Morgan 24s next year for the 21st Annual Morgan
Invasion”.
The return =
trip
home was uneventful. Arriving=
home
at 8:10 PM on Sunday evening after leaving the
<=
u>We Was
Mugged…
By
Yeah,
we was mugged all right, but it was worth every minute of it. Even though t=
he
actual Mug Race itself was a bummer, the sail down (up) river to Palatka an=
d then
back to the Rudder Club after the race was most excellent.
Ron
Katz, John Davis,
Friday
was spent fine tuning and attending to all those things you never seem to h=
ave
time for in preparation for the Big Event on Saturday. The Mug Race is a 41
mile drag race down the
Saturday
morning arrived, and the forecast hadn’t amazingly improved any. It w=
as
going to be a long day. It was a no win(d) situation. Out of however many b=
oats
(170 to 200+) only a few (3 or 4) managed to make it to the halfway point in
time (6:30 PM) and then continue on to finish the coarse before the 8:15 PM
deadline. And wouldn’t you know it, the wind picked up to a good 10 m=
ph
breeze at about 6:30 PM.
Apart
from the race, Pete and I had a really good sail down to Palatka and then b=
ack
up to the Rudder Club, the majority of it at night, which made for some very
interesting sailing.
![](3D"RudderMay05_files/image014.jpg")
=
John, Ron, Warren, and Pete befor=
e the
race
![](3D"RudderMay05_files/image016.jpg")
=
Kil=
lian and
Ashley (If there had been ANY wind,
the=
se two
would Certainly have won.) =
&nb=
sp;
![](3D"RudderMay05_files/image018.jpg")
=
Pete at the helm of Key Mist
______________________________
Please contact me if you would
like to place an ad in the Rudder. – W. Hughes
______________________________
The RUDDER i=
s the
official publication of the Lake Juliette Sailing Club. Statements and opinions appearing =
herein
are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent (and probably
don’t) the group position of the Lake Juliette Sailing Club.&n=
bsp;
The Editor reserves the right to plagiarize and edit all material for
publication and to publish only that material which is felt to be in the be=
st
interest of the LJSC. So, there! Any sniveling twit who is offended by the
contents is cordially invited to submit their own material. Other info is
available at www.ljsc.net and/or www.lakejuliettesailingclu=
b.org .
|
LJSC Calen=
dar of
Events for 2005 |
|
|
May 20-24 |
BEER Cruise, Pensacola F=
L.; http://home.earthlink.=
net/~benallen/ |
|
May 28-30 |
Memorial Weekend Cruise;=
|
|
May 28-30 |
Sinclair Open Regatta |
|
Jun 4-5 |
Sea Scout Cruise on |
|
June 19 |
Teresa's Race |
|
July 2-4 |
4th of July
Weekend; |
|
July 30 |
Commodore's Cookout; Hos=
ted by
Commodore John Davis |
|
Aug 6 |
Sea Scout Day Sailing on=
|
|
Aug 20-21 |
Moonlight Cruise on |
|
Sept 3-5 |
Labor Day Weekend Cruise=
; |
|
Sep 24 |
Treasure Hunt |
|
Sep 25 |
Rodeo |
|
Oct 8-10 |
October Cruise (Columbus=
Day
Weekend); St |
|
Oct 29-30 |
Halloween Regatta - OSYC=
OPEN;
http://www.osyc.net/=
|
|
Dec 3 |
Christmas Party |