Bilge Pump: June 2011

The Board of Trustees held its May meeting on Monday the 9th.  While there are a number of important issues in front of the Board, we continue to be pleased with the lack of drama and plan to keep things that way.  Please see the minutes for the official version. Meantime, here is an overview:

After John Rogers’ Treasurer’s Report, the suggestion was brought up to more heavily promote Clubhouse rentals.  The rental is a bargain to the member and is probably one of our most underutilized areas of potential revenue.  Bill Field jumped right in and volunteered the first blurb in The Bilge Pump.  Any other thoughts of simple ideas to increase revenue are always welcome. 

The results of the electrical study are in and the committee will review it for recommendations later in May.

The 520 project continues to be a mess.  The most likely scenario is for new floats to the sculptures, (old fountains), then it ties into the existing road for an extended period of time!  Gary Stone continues to do a wonderful job monitoring the progress (?) of 520.

P/C Dave Krows and Eric Wood were kind enough to volunteer to head the Shoreline Revision Sub-committee.  They will monitor and advise on the new shoreline regulations working through the state legislature.  Big thanks to Eric and Dave!

Wouldn’t it be nice to eliminate the need to submit copies of your state registration!  Trust me, the office agrees with you and the Commodore has submitted an application to be able to look up State registrations online.
 
Our next meeting is Monday, June 13th at 7:00.  Our meetings are very interactive and opinions are expressed and heard, so please come by.  Meantime, Happy Boating!

Tom Johnson
Board Chair 

We continue to prove the nay-sayers wrong. Volunteerism does still work and it works rather well here at our club now. In fact, it really is growing. Nothing can build our pride and our club more, than personal commitment and team-work to preserve and to make our great club even greater. Our pride and worth show every time we get together. I sure see a lot of happy people doing even some pretty hard or miserable tasks. The May work party consisted of about 15 persons, and we welcome new member Dan Richards, his wife Teresa and their two sons. To jump in right away… now that’s the way to make membership worth something.

We’ve done many small repairs, replaced more rotting planking on dock 2, re-hung some lighting, and done more attention-getting painting. Please note the bright red paint at the fire safety apparatus. We’ll be adding some reflectors to some of that equipment as well. Fires present some very special challenges to visibility. Night-time fires render most non burning things almost invisible. In any event, the attention-getting paint that Ron Stevenson and Wolfgang Werner are applying is making this marina seem like a much more polished facility that is maintained by people who really care. Appreciate them. They make a big difference that’s seen by fire officials, too.

I get many questions about “holes in the roofs” and when we are going to install the coming smoke vents. That does come, not this coming year, but the one following and the year after that. On that schedule, we will be pretty much complete with our compliance project for code changes of Chapter 94, passed by ordinance in 2005. We’ll do the program with one year to spare on our compliance calendar. We all should be really proud of the club for stepping up to the plate and making ourselves much safer and better protected and for saying that the safety of fire fighters, as well as our property, matters to us. They will certainly fight for us, as they note how we are now fighting for them. Well done to Queen City Yacht Club… The undisputed leader.

Let’s talk just a little more history but in a different light than last month. It is true that Queen City has a marvelous history of volunteer effort. Members really did band together and build the clubhouse facility at Winslow, doing almost all of the effort except pouring the concrete slab and foundation. Yes, members, including Dr. Hurlbutt, even cut the roof purlin and joist logs and notched them to perfection. I am told Dr. Hurlbutt used the precision of his best surgeons’ hands for that task. It went faster for some others. What a proud experience for him to see that he could do work like that and for everyone who participated. Sharing in all manner of out of character work, is a great way to build club character.

We built the floats for Winslow as well. The first set was built at the U-dock and towed over. Another set was built in the early 80’s at the work floats and then towed over. Members have done substantial projects all over our premises. It sounds almost impossible to think of the dimension of projects we’ve been willing to do. It’s also true that times have changed and people’s demands on their precious time have changed, and while the dimension of the undertaking maybe can’t be what it once was, Queen City is still very willing to get together and accomplish greatness. I see it on the docks, the grounds, Winslow, and I really enjoy it in the wonderful things the House Committee does each Tuesday. We see a major declaration of US, with each year’s Pride of Queen City, too. I know a lot of you can’t actually be here all the time, but do know that so very much really is happening here.

Next committee meetings: June 28, and July 26 at 6:00 PM

Next work parties: June 11, July 9, August 13 at 8:30 AM

Arthur Mauldin
Docks Chairman

that the third deck can be rented for only $605.00?
That’s right. Now that might sound like a lot of money but, compared to other venues, it is dirt cheap. The third deck can accommodate a lot of people, and it can also easily accommodate a combo or band on the corner stage. There is a fireplace for atmosphere and a view out the big windows that can’t be beat.

You have the choice of bringing in your own food or, if you wish, our chef par excellence, Willie Williamson, and his staff will provide vittles that will have you and your guests smiling from ear-to-ear. With Willie, use of china, glasses and silverware is complimentary.

You can also have the club bartenders serve alcoholic beverages or, with a banquet permit, bring in your own. The prices of our drinks are very reasonable, though, so you might find this a very attractive option.

Weddings and receptions, birthday parties and company parties are but some of the events for which the club is an excellent venue. Check with the office manager for the details.

TACOMA YACHT CLUB DAFFODIL REGATTA: I would like to start off this month’s report by giving a big thank you to Captain Gary Halverson for taking charge of this Fleet Captain’s Cruise and bringing it to a very successful 3-day stay. Gary did a great job of planning and doing all the necessary logistical paperwork involved with this event and getting members of QCYC informed and signed up to attend. Later in this report I will also revisit Captain Halverson’s attempt to successfully dock his boat in the confines of TYC Basin.

Jacquie and I arrived on Thursday the 14th of April after a very comfortable cruise down to Tacoma. With the help of TYC members Jacqueline was moored in a very favorable portside tie in the basin. Later in the day we were joined by Captain Halverson, V/C Don Wilson, and Captain Scott McPhee, at which time the rains started in earnest and it was very cold!! Friday the rest of the fleet arrived led by Commodore Austin and followed by P/C Bob Yates, Captain Andy Gerde, Captain Dave Bedner and Captain Kent Soffel. While according to Captain Halverson we had originally requests from 18 boats (what happened to you all?) the 9 that showed up was still a good showing for QCYC. Saturday quite a few QCYC members made the drive down to attend the party, but I lost count of how many. As Friday came to a close there was a ray of hope of better weather for the week-end.

Saturday arrived and the weather did improve. Some sun actually showed up and Sunday’s weather was also looking good. This was the first time that I have attended this Tacoma event and I had a lot of questions in my head of how it all works. First on the agenda was decorating the flagship Grey Goose with 2000 daffodils which went fairly easily. Next came the annual trivia contest which was a hoot. I saw that many of the smaller yacht clubs in the area take this event very seriously! I know also what Daffy Drinks are and I must say they were yummy! Special thanks to Nancy Austin and her crew for the great job done on costumes for all the members who participated in this very fun contest.

Sunday ended up being the best weather of the week-end. It was very sunny and made for a good day for the Daffodil Parade of boats along the shores of Tacoma. TYC put on a really fun week-end for all their guests. If you couldn’t find something to do or eat or drink you probably don’t need to own a boat or be a yacht club member. My personal thanks to TYC for their hospitality and I for one am planning to attend this event again.

Now to Captain Halverson and his seamanship abilities. I’m not here to say that every boater is a master at the helm of their boat. Far from it! I’ve had my own difficulties as well as I’m sure most of us have had a few. After a short time of being tied up at the TYC basin Captain Halverson arrived escorted by 2-3 TYC dinghies. All was going well and we had lines from his boat and gave Gary the thumbs up sign. As he left the upper helm, so he stated, his knee brushed the electronic operated shifter and as he descended the stairs from the bridge his boat was moving forward. (His boat moves very fast at idle!) Past the point of no return, Gary rushed to the lower helm station but not before the bow of his boat was 5-6 feet inside the covered boat house directly in front of him with a moored boat behind the canvas door. Once at lower helm it was all reverse and over the dock behind him with his swim step and narrowly missing my right foot and crushing it! Luckily nothing seemed to be damaged except a nice 20” scratch on Jacqueline’s hull!! I had hoped to not to hand out any Screw-up Flags this year as Fleet Captain, but when you mess up the Fleet Captain’s boat you will pay for it other than just the repair job! So on the first meeting in May I presented my first Screw up- Flag to most deserving Captain Gary Halverson.

Sign-ups are going well for the next cruise to Kingston Cove Yacht Club on the 17th-19th June. If you want to attend be sure to make your reservation with Kingston Marina. See flyers around club and on-line.

Also the Summer Cruise schedule is out and on display around club and on-line. If you are planning to cruise with us to the San Juans please follow directions and make your reservations.

Steve Weiss
Fleet Captain

Well, Opening Day has come and gone. I can tell you that when George and Nancy asked Elin and me to chair opening day, we had no idea what we were getting ourselves into. Now that we have done it we really feel that it was a great opportunity to get to know the true nature of Queen City Yacht Club members and their families and friends. We are a terrific club full of volunteers with positive attitudes, great ideas and lots of energy. Even though the weather did not cooperate we had a great time with good attendance at all of our club-sponsored events.

Once again Paul Grimm and his brain trust came through for us with a great idea and a fabulous execution for Dave and Michele Bedners’ boat decorated as the ”Kalakala Trailer of the Salish Sea.” WE HAVE HARDWARE!!!!!

Special thanks to the following:

Andy Gerde, who was ever present and really helped out wherever he was needed.

Judith Pippin, who organized 20 bartenders into numerous shifts serving somewhere on the order of 1500-1600 drinks… we are a thirsty group.

Bill Field, once again organized all the ticket sales and created all the tickets, selling around 800 of them for the various meals served.

Dan Wilshin organized all the moorage for the visiting clubs and since we never heard anything it must have gone well.

Bruce Ramon organized shuttle service with 34 volunteers into numerous shifts.

Nancy Austin and her team organized the decoration of the club and purchased all the materials.

Butch and Nancy Scherrer with a crew served a great meal of brats and beer to 105 hungry people.

Elin and I as well as a great crew of Barbecuers served 201 steak dinners on Friday night. Tyee Yacht Club offers a steak dinner on Saturday Night and P/C Jennerich had ours on Friday and theirs on Saturday and he said “there was no comparison: yours was way better.” Go team!

We also served a spaghetti dinner to 189 people on Saturday night and some of best cooks in the club thought the sauce was the best they had ever tasted. Special thanks on the sauce go to Elin Storey, Mike Hillmann, Steve Weiss, Brian Barton and Stephanie Marcelynas: they started the sauce on Tuesday, May 3rd.

Brooke and Renee Kimes, as well as a crew of Tarettes, hosted the Sunday Brunch and even though it was Mothers Day, they served more than 180 a great meal.

Opening Day is a lot of work, but we had a great time working with all of our old friends and meeting a host of new friends. There were at least 150 volunteers for the various tasks. Thanks to all who helped and if we missed your name in the flyer in this issue of The Bilge Pump we apologize in advance.

Dick and Elin Storey

My, oh my, it has been busy out here (and it is baseball season)!
We had the annual Outstation Work Party in mid-April and the weather tried to behave.  For the most part, we had cool but dry conditions.  It only rained a little as we broke for lunch on Saturday.  We had 25 hard working adults and two kids roll up their shirt sleeves and take on a number of projects.

We rented a thatcher for the lawn – something that hadn’t been done in a long time.  It looks a little chewed up now but will be happier this summer!

A scissors lift was rented to aid in the cleaning of the beams way up high in the clubhouse.  With the new lighting, the dust on the beams was more evident and the time had come to do something about it, or grow crops up there!

The decision was made to not try and keep green paint on the railings and benches on the deck any more.  Under John Alving’s leadership, several guys helped replace many of the boards and benches.  They ran out of time, so this is a project that will be finished sometime this summer or during the next work party.

Cleaning, yard work and organizing was being done all weekend.  Wait till you see the VHS movies!  All duplicates were given away and now they are in categories that make them easier to find.  No more donations of VHS movies please - now we need some DVD selections.

The yard really took a hit with the cold weather in November and some plants needed to be removed.  Overall, everything looks great and the weeds won’t come back (in my dreams)!  Some new plants may need to be planted but we will wait until winter is over (what happened to Spring?).

The bathrooms, showers and clubhouse got a spit and a polish.  The Rutledges even tackled the nasty job of vacuuming the attic area.  That was no fun as that low overhead ceiling is a forehead bump just waiting to happen!

We are ready for the summer festivities and Memorial Day weekend is just around the corner!   Also, Eric is eager to show off the new horseshoe pits that Bill Bressler and he reworked.  I must say, they do look nice.  They’re even level!  Warning:  Eric may come unglued the first time a horseshoe hits one of the new 8x8’s.

We and the club THANK the following volunteers:

Doug and Cathlyn MacQuarrie,  John and Lynn Sipkens,  Mike and Pam Cochran and their two grandchildren,  Chris and Sandra Benson,  Doug and Jill Princehouse,  Greg and Marcia Sorknes,  Bill Bressler,  John and MaryLouise Alving,  Bill and Trish Anderson,  Dan and Marilyn Wilshin,  Eric Turloff,  Bill Ward and Tim and Nadeane Rutledge.

Bruce and Miriam Cullen had come over for a fun dinner out on Bainbridge. They didn’t realize a work party was scheduled and didn’t have “get dirty” clothes on board.  So Bruce generously gave the Club $100 to help with the expense of feeding everyone that weekend.  Thank you, Bruce.

The following weekend we helped Steve and Sonja Jones remove the last remaining old section of dock that was temporally tied up to the dinghy dock.  We needed to wait for a high enough tide that would occur early in the morning.  Steve once again scheduled the needed crane, semi-trucks and flagger, and diver to make this project work.  Thanks to Steve, the club saved a lot of money handling the dock removal this way instead of having Marine Floats take them away and dispose of them down in Tacoma.

Last July 4th weekend, there was a pick up meal at the conclusion of the weekend and the money was turned over to me to spend on the Outstation.  I knew just what to get but have had a hard time finding just the right one.  Finally after internet searches and shopping here and there, I found the perfect one at the Ace Hardware store here on the Island!  Oh, I guess I should tell you what I bought….a clock.  The old school clock with the electrical cord hanging down by the sign-in desk always looked awful to me.  I had a vision of something a little nautical, or at least stylish.  Anyway, look for it when you are here.  If you like it, tell me; if you don’t, tell Eric!

Winter moorage ended out here on May 15, so we expect to see the docks full of “Main Station” (and elsewhere) folks soon.

Barb Wood