The Mainsheet - December 2022
COMMODORE’S COMMENTS
Fellow Members,
This month of December 2022 is the last “Mainsheet” that I will be sharing with you. Our Commodore for 2023, Pablo, will be taking the helm at AYC and keeping you informed! Thanks to all who contributed to this monthly blog throughout the year.
We started this year celebrating the past accomplishments, future planning, and asking for your suggestions. Our Opening Day was redesigned to make better use of our space. It made a good impression and was lauded by visitors from the other yacht clubs! The dock was in need of repair so our use was dependent on having it rebuilt in part, painted , and the fender stripe replaced. Michael and Marshall did great job and received payment from the landlord for materials used and a months free rent. Afterwards the improvements continued with the club, bar and patio beautifully remodeled, including lighting and ventilation. A great Nautical Library has been established with a donation of must-see-books. Please feel free to check these out by placing the card in the designated box. All this was done with minimal expense due to dedicated and careful management of club funds. I am grateful to all that came together to make it so.
Wet Wednesdays fees were changed to keep up with the times and were so successful that it was requested and voted to extend the duration of next season. Racers and non racers attended a “Rules of Racing Seminar Series” that in addition to LTRR2024 explanations, addressed using the rules for strategic purposes. It led to some interesting discussions and was most enlightening.
Information and planning meetings for upcoming cruises were held for the summer cruises. Cruisers were also treated to a Channel Islands Park Ranger presentation including information of available resources through the National Park Service for visiting the islands. It was very nice to bring to mind that we have such a great local place and that it’s being cared for! Thanks to all that researched and helped stage this educational experience.
Seemingly, all suggestions from members have been addressed. In all it is the races, the dinners , the activities, the new members that have kept our members engaged in the tradition and the present age of being a successful yacht club. I commend you all, well done! We will have the Commodore’s Ball complete with awards for recognition of exceptional individuals on January 21, 2023. Please be on the lookout for your invitation.
Moving forward to the coming year, I’m delighted to announce the acceptance for AYC Secretary position by Melanie Kemmann. Thanks to Staff Commodore, Gary Goodman, who has also accepted a position on the BOD. So with the now complete 2023 Bridge and Board, the club will be able to set on a good course to navigate the new version of a viable and vibrant Anacapa Yacht Club. I look forward to a refreshing journey!
Thanks Sincerely,
Angie Frausto Gram, 2022 Commodore
FROM THE VICE COMMODORE
There is so much to say: I have to thank you for the confidence that the membership has placed in me
by electing me to be the next Commodore for AYC. I am aware that the level of excellence that
Commodore Angie has set will make my task all the more challenging. She has done a great job of
leading us through the transition of our post-Covid existence. The fact that we did not close during that
challenging time is a testament both to her leadership and the resilience of Anacapa Yacht Club. She has
set a high bar. With your help and support I hope to honor her by attempting to provide a similar level of
commitment to the club.
I have a few goals for this year that I would like to share. I hope that we can agree on these priorities
and formulate a plan to meet and to exceed them. For the sake of convenience, I am breaking these into
categories that correlate with our Bridge and Board.
Membership
Responsible Officers: Pablo Crandall Plasencia, Commodore, Matt Speicher Vice Commodore, Marshall
Murphy, Rear Commodore, Melanie Kerrmann, Secretary
1. Increase membership to 50 regular memberships. We currently have approximately 35
members. We have seen an upturn in memberships. We need to make EVERY EVENT A
MEMBERSHIP DRIVE. Adding 15 new memberships is an attainable goal. We need to look for
ways to be present at all of the Marinas in Channel Islands Harbor. We need to be present at the
shipyards, and in any event that can bring bodies into the club. This must be our first, last, and
most important priority.
2. Increase Visibility at Events Sponsored by Other Clubs: We are a sailing club! Let’s Fly the Flag
at the many events sponsored by other clubs. Let’s look at this season’s opportunities and go
out and represent. If we are not visible, we are dead. If we are seen to be active and
enthusiastic, we are perceived to be a club worth joining!
Organization and Reporting:
Responsible officers: Mary Crandall Plasencia, Treasurer, and Melanie Kemmann, Secretary
1. Budget and Fiscal Reports: I would like to extrapolate a budget from past expenditures, then
formalize the process with a clear and concise budget that will serve as the basis for fiscal
reports, budgeted and extraordinary purchases and income. I feel that this is important as we
are the stewards of the membership’s dues. A clear statement of how these funds are used is
part of our due diligence and our commitment to the club’s membership. I would hope to see
the extrapolated budget in the hands of the Bridge by our January meeting. The bridge will take
this document and present it to the board in the form of a budget for 2023. The budget will be
tentative until approved by the membership at the next General Meeting.
2. Bridge and Board Meetings and Minutes: I would like to see our use of Google Documents
expanded to posting all documents and making these available to membership through the
webpage. All members should have access to Meeting Agendas prior to their approval. This
allows for members to communicate concerns, action items, and necessary documentation to
the board for consideration.
3. Update of Webpage and Social Media: The webpage should be interactive and fully integrated
with Google Documents. Information should be accessible to all members, with password
protection. Members should be able to contribute to the page, subject to the Secretary’s
curation, with ease. The YouTube Page, Facebook and Instagram Pages should be integrated into
the website. We should also consider a TicTok page for short films that can be shared by
members in real time with club events.
4. Expedited Reimbursement for Approved Expenses: Budgeted and Approved expenses should be
reimbursed with in 10 working days of submission.
Wet Wednesdays:
Responsible officers: Marshall Murphy, Rear Commodore, and Matt Speicher, Vice Commodore
1. Meals and Bar: The Vice Commodore and the Bar and Kitchen Manager will provide a schedule
of ODs for the dates. I am asking all members of the Board and Bridge to sign up for their turn as
OD at our January Meeting. It is my feeling that we must lead by example. Wet Wednesdays are
arguably our most important program. This provides us with visibility, brings potential members
into the club, and allows us to provide a service to the sailing community.
2. Race Committee: I am looking forward to a robust series of Wet Wednesday races. Under the
leadership of Marshall Murphy, I hope to see a newly formed Race Committee that will oversee
the logistics on the water. Again, I am looking to the bridge and the board to support this effort
with your direct participation.
Social Events and Facility Oversite
Responsible Officers: Matt Speicher, Vice Commodore, and Mary Crandall Plasencia, Treasurer
1. Saturday Dinners: A calendar will be circulated to the Bridge and Board to host dinners. At the
next general meeting, the remaining dates will be assigned. A conversation needs to be had
regarding attendance. I look to the Bridge and Board for your hearty support and participation in
all of these events. This is the time when we can gather for game nights, movie nights, special
presentations, and so on. We are a social club! Let’s be sociable.
2. Use of Facilities: We had begun to standardize facility rental. We need to complete this and
charge the community an appropriate rate. We also want to make the club available to
membership for formal and informal events. I am asking the Bridge and Board to address this at
its January Meeting.
3. Bar: I am asking the Bridge and Board to become bartenders to help facilitate this profit center’s
success. We need to have Wet Wednesday Coverage, as well as coverage for other events. This
means that we need to step up.
Cruising and Other Race Events
Responsible Officer: Marshall Murphy, Rear Commodore, Matt Speicher, Vice Commodore
1. Island Series and Other Races: We are a sailing club! This is our raison d’être. I will be
coordinating with Marshall to present a vibrant program of races, fun sailing days, club cruises,
and other events. These are ways to literally fly our flag and invite new people to participate and
become members.
2. Seminars and Presentations: Coordinating with our Vice Commodore, we will present a series of
seminars that range from basic navigation, to race rules, to [fill in the blank!]. These will
primarily take place on Saturdays in coordination with our regular meals.
I think that this is our make it or break it year.
We have the opportunity to rebirth Anacapa Yacht Club as an inclusive group of people that love the
ocean, boating, and to meet with like minded people. I want see us expand our outreach persons of
color, to LGTBQ, to young, to old, to all people that want to gather in an inclusive environment that
values each person as a vital part of the whole.
I am asking a lot. I will promise to work to these ends.
Come and join me!
Fair Winds and Following Seas,
Pablo Crandall Plasencia, Vice Commodore
BIRTHDAYS
“Every birthday is a gift. Every day is a gift.”
—Aretha Franklin
Here are member December birthdays. Happy Birthday everyone!!!
Sarah Turner 12-11
Lamyai Listing 12-14
Pam Halford 12-15
Marsha Landreth 12-16
Dinners and Social Activities in December:
Saturday – Dec 03: Christmas Potluck & White Elephant Gift Exchange
Saturday – Dec 10: Parade of Lights
Friday – Dec 16: Joint Board Meeting and Dinner
Monday Night Football
White Elephant Gift Exchange!
YOUR WEAKEST LINK
You have just anchored in a previously unvisited spot. It was a nice cove at 11:00, but now at 3 AM the wind is gusting to over 30 knots and the beach is in your lee.
It is reassuring to know you have premium vessel insurance but the simple fact is that your anchor and rode are the best insurance you can invest in. So let’s take a minute to look at some interesting facts.
Anchoring with all chain is an advantage as it will not chafe against unseen submerged rocks but more costly and more weight in the bow. I have pulled up my anchor in what I had thought to have been a good spot only to find that only one strand of a three strand rope was attached.
All chain will have more cantenary action but should be used with a nylon rope bridle as a shock absorber.
I feel the most important,(and most overlooked) factor is the working load of the anchor shackle and chain. If we use as an example 3/8 chain, high test (HT grade 43) is rated at 5,400 pounds working load. 3/8 BBB is about half that. The surprising fact it is almost impossible to purchase an anchor shackle from your local chandlery that will come close to matching the rating of your chosen chain. Most times it is a special order.
Swivels are a good choice, (check the rating) of you will be anchored on a single hook for an extended period of time. The vessel may do a series of 360s with wind and tide causing the chain to become twisted and skip out of the winch gypsy. If a screw type shackle is to be used, put the (D) rounded end through the anchor and the pin end end through the chain. This will overt potential failure of the shackle.
As a final thought when choosing new chain, make sure your wlnches gypsy matches your chain size. Laying it in the gypsy teeth won’t give you accurate information. It is better to run several feet through it and make certain it doesn’t skip out, better to buy a few feet to check rather than several hundred feet.
Hope any of this information helps, happy anchoring !
Michael Gram, AYC Rear Commodore
Two Harbors Race overall winner, Dave Trude
Two Harbors Race #3 Non-Spin Winner: Chuck Manley
AYC AT BAJA HA HA
with Melanie Kemmann
As a fellow Anacapa Yacht Club member, I had the welcomed opportunity to sail in the Baja Haha race from San Diego to Cabo San Lucas on “Silver Linings” a Beneteau Sun Odyssey 45 captained by Mark LeFevers. Our crew left San Diego October 31st proudly flying high our club burgee at the start line. The six person crew rotated shifts with two people taking on watch at night. We arrived in Bahia Tortuga on November 2nd. We were welcomed and participated in the annual tradition of playing a baseball game with the local community. On November 5th we left for the second leg. After sailing for 36 hours, we arrived in Bahia Santa Maria on November 7th. The locals came to celebrate our arrival by hosting a beach party with traditional food, music, and drinks. Leaving November 9th for Cabo San Lucas we arrived on November 10th. While underway, we were treated to having two whales breach next to the boat making it a memorable and exciting sail. We had good wind on this last leg, hitting 11 knots of boat speed while sailing wing on wing with spinnaker. Silver Linings won first place in our division, Huevos Rancheros, bringing home some golden pride for AYC!
IN CONCLUSION,
This year has been filled with challenges, satisfaction, and fun that as AYC club members we crossed paths and shared. Please feel free to continue to share your boating and social interests with others by sending announcements, your pictures, ideas , and any content you wish to be put in next month’s MAINSHEET to mainsheet@anacapayachtclub.org by DECEMBER 26, 2022. Thanks to Linnea Von Wissmann, Mike Gram, Angie Frausto Gram, and Melanie Kemmann for providing the photos.
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