Bilge Pump: February 2011
1. Commodore's Report
Happy New Year!
I have to take time to thank my wife Nancy for all the decorations she made and the party coordination for our New York, New York New Year’s Eve party. The New York Deli made authentic grilled sandwiches and several side dishes that appealed to old and young. We had dinner, danced, watched the ball drop at midnight, Eastern Time, with a glass of champagne and I was home in bed by 11:00. Your Vice Commodore was out with the late night crowd, Myers and Hills, watching the Space Needle fireworks till 1:30 AM on Lake Union. Don then helped to clean up at 9:30 while Judy tried to sleep in. It may have been their new dog, Guido, that got Don up. Thanks to all the decorators and attendees. I’m sorry we sold out and had to turn some of you away, so get your reservations in early next year. Don and Judy Wilson (your next Commodore) always have a good party.
Has anyone noticed that around Christmas there’s a big boat (Windy I) that seems to be bristling with lights? Well congratulations to Kent and Carol Soffel for the “Best Lighted Boat” award for the 4th time from Argosy Cruises. He says he’s working on more and more lights for next year, maybe another generator?
Our Fleet Captain took us to the Garage (when I was a kid this was a bad thing) where 32 bowlers and a few spectators laughed and cried over how really bad we are at bowling. It was great fun. Look for one of these events in The Bilge Pump, on-line or see the flyers posted around the clubhouse and attend. I know this is way early but get your name in on the summer cruise. I predict sunny skies and calm breeze (sorry sailors), good crabbing and fun on this cruise. Contact Steve Weiss.
The new recycled oil tank is here and usable. It’s only for used oil, no antifreeze, bilge water, gas etc. We placed it by the laundry room so it sits on concrete, and we’ll be able to see any spills. A reminder that all the parking lot drains by the water actually drain into the lake, so no pouring of anything into them. We have some filter material in these drains to catch dirt and debris, but please don’t pollute.
The Boat Show will be over by the time you get this but then we have an open house on Feb 19 to get the invitees to see our clubhouse and meet some members. Come and help greet these people who are looking for a great club to join. See Chris Benson’s article.
The Nominating Committee, consisting of P/C Ed Jennerich, Board Chair Tom Johnson, P/C Bob Yates, Board member Barb Wood and Captain Mark Vanderwall, are starting their quest for the new Rear Commodore and two Board positions. If you have some ideas give them to one of these members. They will go through the selection process and bring the names for your vote before we take our summer break. Look for the notice.
It’s early but Opening Day is coming. Salish Sea is the theme. Dave and Michelle Bedner have volunteered to let us decorate their boat again and Paul Grimm will help someone who has a great idea about decorating for this event. I have started to receive requests for moorage for special need boaters during this event and if you know you’ll be gone during this time please let us know.
We are going to be having Port Orchard Yacht Club use our in-station reciprocal dock on Memorial Day weekend. They had been going to Meydenbauer Bay Yacht Club but that is a black-out date for them now and we’ll all be at Winslow that weekend.
Don’t forget the Sweethearts Dinner by the Bartons on Feb 12th and the Underground Tour by the Fleet Captain on Feb 19th.
If you haven’t been to a club meeting in a while we’re having entertainment at the second meeting of the month for the next few months plus there is discussion about the future 520 project, our electrical system work, other upcoming events and projects. You also can’t get a beer for $1.00 anywhere else and the bar needs your money (that’s what Andy says).
I look forward to seeing you.
George Austin
Commodore
2. Vice Commodore's Report
Well, the holidays have been survived and the New Year has begun so now we can get to work on the projects for the year.
The new waste oil container is installed and ready to use. It is double-walled and has been placed on the concrete pad near the bicycle rack. Placing it on the pad will be safer in case of any accidental spills.
The security enclosures at the bar recently were broken. The bartenders were finding them very difficult to handle, as they are very heavy. Andy Gerde spent some time researching the problem and found an excellent solution. It is a roll up door that is not only secure, but also easy to handle. Good job, Andy. The Board and ACC committee approved the change and it will soon be installed.
Thanks again to Captain Mike Cochran for manufacturing a “No Dumping” template to be stenciled at the storm drains. This will be done as soon as we have some drier, warmer days.
Captain Steve Barton, Program Chairman, has some great programs coming up. Be sure to put these meetings on your calendar, you will find them very interesting.
February 23rd Erden Eruc, Chief Exploration Officer of “Around-n-Over,” is a Turkish adventurer attempting a human-powered circumnavigation of the world. This includes rowing, bicycling and summiting the tallest mountains on six continents.
March 23rd Johari Vos M.H.D., a QCYC member, presents six solutions to a healthier life.
April 27th Bainbridge Fire Dept. has prepared a program regarding boat safety and fire alarms for your boat.
May 18th Richard Warren, local author and historian, will talk about the history of Dockton’s industrial past and the recently opened “Dockton Historic Interpretive Trail” on Vashon Island.
I look forward to seeing you all at the coming meetings.
Don Wilson
Vice Commodore
3. Rear Commodore's Report
Greetings.
One thing nice about February is that Opening Day is only three months away and the official start of boating season.
GROUNDS: Don’t forget to mark your calendars for our winter grounds cleanup on Feb 12. Captain Becky Garvie will be looking for volunteers to assist her in the grounds cleanup from 9:00 AM to noon. Please remember to dress warmly, and wear rubber boots, gloves and a hat. Bring a bucket for weeds. All other necessary tools will be provided.
• Volunteers can contact Becky at (425) 778-4823 or
• R/C Bob Stettner at (206) 372 -5819
The winter spruce-up will make our beautiful clubhouse and grounds look inviting as we get ready for our “Prospective Members” Open House which will be hosted by Captain Chris Benson at 10:00 AM on Saturday, February 19.
MEMBERSHIP: Our membership at the end of Jan. was 472 which includes 354 active members and 118 Sr. Life members. Our 2011 goal is to add 45 new memberships;:we are currently at 27 % of our goal.
As you may know, QCYC will have our usual booth at the upcoming Seattle Boat Show which will run from Friday, January 21, through Sunday, January 30. This year the Queen City Tarettes will be assisting at the Queen City booth. We welcome Tarette President Sharon Benyon and her team. It was nice to note that this will be our fourth consecutive year as a booth participant at the Seattle Boat Show. We also looking forward to some hot leads that we hope will bring new Queen City memberships. The Boat Show always presents us with a nice opportunity to meet Puget Sound boaters to exchange ideas, swap stories, and in general just enjoy messing around with boat stuff.
REMINDER: Chairman Chris Benson and I will be hosting an afternoon event for potential new members on Sat. Feb 19 from noon to 3:00 PM. The Queen City Tarettes also will be joining in to present the many benefits of their organization. If you have time, please feel free to join us to meet and show potential new members around the clubhouse.
SECURITY: At this writing there are no security issues to report either at the Winslow Outstation or the Seattle In-station club. However, we did have a security incident that took place on dock #2 and #3 on and around Dec. 18. The incident was covered by V/C Wilson in last month’s Bilge Pump and reported at the Dec. 22, 2010, Gen meeting.
As a follow-up under club security, Chairman Rod Hilden has provided the following basic tips on how to make our Vessel and Yacht Club more secure:
SECURITY TIPS:
Visit your boat on a regular basis, or if gone for the winter, make arrangements with another club member to check your boat regularly.
Keep valuables out of sight, and place covers over valuable mounted equipment (in both boats and vehicles in the parking lot).
Keep alcoholic beverages and liquor out of sight or covered.
Do not loan your access control card to others outside of your control, including vendors or contractors working on your boat.
Don’t block or latch clubhouse doors open, unless you will be responsible to close them.
Dock entry gates: don’t block or latch open for the convenience of your guests coming to your boat.
Don’t allow strangers (anyone you don’t recognize as a club member) into our clubhouse facilities or out onto the docks. Ask them to wait for the member they are meeting.
Call 911 and report suspicious activities or persons at our facilities to the local police department in Seattle or at Winslow (Bainbridge Island Police).
Ask strangers if you can help them, and then try to determine if they are legitimate members, guests or reciprocal yacht club members who are current with our club.
Don’t tear open envelopes left for our reciprocal dock guests and circulate the numeric entry codes to your guests and friends.
Report criminal activity to our security chairman, or to the office as soon as possible after you discover any criminal activity, damage or theft on your boat.
Be sure to file a police report, as this is not only necessary for your insurance claim, but it will also make us eligible for more frequent water and land police patrols.
Captain Craig Ranta and I will continue to look at the feasibility of CCTV cameras for our clubhouse facilities and other strategic locations at both Winslow and Boyer. We appreciate Rod’s proactive approach in watching over our club security and especially for the tips offered to owners on protecting their vessels.
There is no need to lecture ourselves further on how important it is for each of us to be mindful of these important security tips. However, please remember not to allow our gate security system to be compromised by blocking the dock access door open.
I apologize for the length of this month’s article, but it seemed justified on the heels of the two unauthorized entry incidents that happened in December.
In closing, all the best to Queen City members. Lois and I look forward to seeing you at the club soon.
Bob Stettner
Rear Commodore
Bourbon Appreciation Night
SATURDAY, APRIL 9
COME TO THE PARTY
BLUEGRASS, BOURBON, CHICKEN & WAFFELS
WITH
DYSFUNCTION JUNCTION
A SEATTLE BLUEGRASS BAND
AND THEY ARE COMING TO
QUEEN CITY YACHT CLUB
5:00~ BAR OPENS
ENJOY DISTINCTIVE BOURBONS & WHISKEYS
A MINT JEULIP OR LYNCHBERG LEMONADE
6:00~ DINNER IS SERVED
WILLIES FAMOUS SOUTHERN FRIED CHICKEN AND TRADITIONAL SOUTHERN WAFFELS & some surprise sides!
GOOD FOOD, GOOD DRINKS, GOOD MUSIC
ADVANCED TICKET SALES $20.00 PER PERSON INCLUDES FOUR PREIMUM DRINKS, DINNER & ENETRTAINMENT
$15.00 DINNER & ENTERTAINMENT OR, $25.00 @ THE DOOR FOR THE WHOLE SHEBANG,GET OUT THE SEAR-SUCKER SUITS AND THE HOOP SKIRTS, DENIM IS EXPECTED & BIB OVERALLS WILL BE CONSIDERED “FORMAL” WEAR
contact BRUCE RAMON FOR MORE INFO
Children's Easter Egg Hunt & Party
Docks Committee
Opening Day is just around the corner and the season for progress with the docks grows short even as the days grow long. This winter we need some extra efforts from members to continue with maintenance of this important facility. When we can have some special work parties, we will let you know via broadcast email. In the meantime, there are monthly work parties already scheduled for Feb. 12, March 12, April 9: the second Saturday of the month. Work parties commence with breakfast and discussion at 8:30 and work on the docks at about 9:15. An afternoon lunch is provided and we try to wrap it up by 3:00 PM or so. We need people willing to head up several projects on the docks. Committee meetings are the 4th Tuesday at 6:00 PM. Feb. 22, March 22, April 26.
We need to get ahead of some of the rot in the planking on the docks. Chuck Gould and Mitch Garton have so graciously volunteered to lead this sizable and endless task. They need your help whenever we can make a work party happen.
The new waste oil disposal tank is in place, near the laundry room. You are reminded that it is here for waste motor oil only. Please be cautious not to spill any oil and to carefully clean up any if you do. It not only stains the concrete but could induce more costly cleanup like we’ve already experienced. If you find the gauge showing that the tank is nearing full, please report it to the office at 206-709-2000.
With hiccups and strikingly momentum-less fury, our cleat replacement project exists. Bob Maruska and Bill Brunkhorst have worked to create a standard and most of the parts are now on hand. It would be terrific to get a team together to have at this important project for a while. New cleat mountings really are important.
Your Fire Code Compliance Committee, needs to meet fairly soon. Committee members are asked to let me know the best time for that. There are still issues to plan and it important that we periodically remind ourselves that it’s a job that’s not yet done. The club has done remarkably well with progress toward meeting Chapter 94 requirements. The big project remaining is the installation of smoke vents over two years’ time starting 2012 or 2013. Your committee has successfully argued for a change in the plan that has reduced the requirement by almost 30%. You should be very proud of that effort.
Speaking of fire (which we all despise even thinking about) it’s important to understand a few things about “modern fires.” All those wonderful plastics, of which most everything is made, present very different hazards than were present in fires of the good old days. The energy release is magnified many fold as these resins burn very hot and very fast, igniting additional material at an astonishing rate. The growth of fire is so hugely enhanced. The nature of the fire itself is very greatly changed and I suspect that fact is a part of the need for some changes in how we prepare for fire and most certainly in how it is dealt with. You are also warned of the very toxic nature of the smoke that is released. Wood smoke is wood smoke. Plastic smoke is rich in some very poisonous compounds. Don’t breathe that smoke. It shortens lives, even in small doses. Again the nature of fire in our manmade stuff is so very different than in days of the past. Perhaps a little awareness of that can make you just a tiny bit more safe.
Our major repairs contractor should be on site as you read this. The work is scattered around the marina this year and should be completed during the first half of March.
Arthur Mauldin
Docks Chairman
now available at: docks@queencity.org
Fleet Captain St. Patrick's Day Cruise
Fleet Captain's Report
As of this writing of my report we just concluded the Bowling with The Commodore party held at The Garage. We had a great turn-out of some 40 people and a really fun time was had by all. The Garage did a fantastic job of helping me put this event on. I want to thank all members of the bridge for participating in this Fleet Captain “cruise.”
The big winners were Commodore George Austin in the men’s over 55 group, Tony Stempak in the men’s under 55 group, Shari Pywell in over 55 women’s group, and Karen VanWagenen in the under 55 women’s group. Congrats to all!
It should be noted that Karen beat her husband in all three of their games, and Barb Wood gave Eric a real run for his money, but came up a little bit short.
Now let’s turn to upcoming Fleet Captain planned “cruises.” On February 19th I have scheduled The Underworld Tour which is an adult orientated underground tour of old Seattle. Please read about it in The Bilge Pump, online, and also posted at the club and call or e-mail me to sign up. In March I have planned our annual St. Patrick’s Day cruise to Lake Washington. Yeah! A real cruise with boats and everything! Be sure to see this in the February Bilge Pump and it is now available on-line. The next cruise will be to Tacoma Yacht Club for their annual Daffodil Parade. My assistant, Capt. Gary Halverson, will be mainly responsible for this cruise and we will have info. posted in early March for this April 15, 16, and 17 cruise.
Looking further ahead to June we will be having a cruise-in to Kingston Cove Yacht Club hosted by our good friends in Kingston. I am trying to reserve mooring space now, but it looks like each of us who want to attend will have to make their own reservations. More on that at a later date. I have made progress on our summer cruise to the San Juans. The stops will include LaConner, Sucia Island, Roche Harbor, Stuart Island, Deer Harbor for the first week and then continuing on to Princess Louisa Inlet. As of now I am making good progress toward reservations for moorage and will have more details as we get closer to summer.
Thanks to everyone for their support and I am looking forward to warmer temps. and getting back on the water this spring and summer.
Steve Weiss
Fleet Captain
House Committee
I would like to give thanks to P/C Jeff Ewell and Orinn Phillps for stepping up and performing the house duties while my ankle was on the mend. With their help in replacing and repairing problem areas this kept our club in top notch condition.
If any captains find a condition or problem area tell Deborah in the office or there is a job board next to the walk-in refrigerator to write down any problems that come up.
It has been brought to my attention that grease has been put down the drain which goes into the septic tank. This prevents the floats and pumps from functioning properly. If the floats get clogged up this requires a special truck to come out and drain the septic tank in order to remove the grease. So please do not put any form of grease down the drain.
Thank you
Jim Damery
House Chairman
Lighted Boat Parade
Well, as always, you never know what kind of weather you are going to have in December. It’s just part of living in the Northwest. We had a very nice Friday night, no wind and a perfect evening for the parade. Approximately 25 vessels participated in the parade which is average for a Friday night. At the request of one of the neighbors near Chism Park we altered the course slightly to accommodate her Christmas party. I have had several requests to bring the parade down to the East Channel Bridge, which we will take a closer look at this year. Saturday night was a little different story. We had record rainfall. The boat count was 45 vessels on Lake Union when we started and we were down to 20 by the time we got to Kirkland. Visibility was very poor and a lot of vessels turned around when they got to Lake Washington. From Kirkland you could not even see the 520 bridge.
I would like to thank everyone that participated this year and of course the lead and turn boats. Lead boats were provided be Ron Voegeli and Chuck Gould. Our turn boats were provided by Dick Timmerman, Dave Nelson, George Austin, Kelly Stocklin, Jess Hill on Jesster (with two s’s, sorry) and also Bob Yates, Kent Soffel and at the last minute Paul Bennett. Thanks Paul. I always enjoy doing this event. It feels good to see all of the festive boats and it appears that there are many people on the shoreline that enjoy it too. It also gives me a good reason not to decorate the house. Now the only problem is I have to take the lights off the boat or maybe I should just leave them on year round. Just kidding.
Randy Jamerson
Parade Chair
