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Wednesday, 15 Apr 2015
Volume XV Issue 52
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From the Commodore (Charlie Hazard, skipper - Music Maker)
Friends,
I’m excited to start getting back out on the water again. I had a good trip down to Deltaville Saturday and was able to bend
sails onto Music Maker and get her Bimini installed, which Ray Boisvert repaired over the winter. If you need canvas repair
done I highly recommend Ray, he replaced the plastic window in the canvas that
allows me to look up at the wind-indicator atop the mast head, the old plastic
Quantico Yacht Club
window had split after 6 seasons. In addition he repaired my head sail and also
2015 Executive Board
manufactured a winch cover for me. Next week Music Maker will be in the water
with a new coat of bottom paint. I hope to have her pier side at Quantico by 26 April,
Commodore
Charlie Hazard
if the weather cooperates!
At the end of March the QYC hosted the Boy Scouts, from Stafford, Troop 907 to
Vice – Commodore
Art Corbett
conduct sail training before they traveled south to Florida for a week long cruise
aboard a 50 foot sloop. The boys were provided a good weather overview from
Secretary
Ken Beutel and a hands on session for knot tying and reefing by our Vice
Ian Shortle
Commodore, Art Corbett. Additionally they learned the points of sailing, theory of
sailing, man overboard procedures and proper VHF radio use, including the correct
Treasurer
format for making a May Day call.
We also had good discussions on emergency
Jim Wallace
procedures aboard a boat, how they should be discussed frequently so when an
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emergency arises there is a plan to act quickly and efficiently. This is right in line with the Scouts motto “Be prepared”.
Below are photos showing Ken and Art providing instruction to the scouts. A great opportunity for our club to pass along the
love of boating to the next generation, thanks Art and Ken for making the investment!
Our next big event will be the
Potomac River Festival
scheduled for 2 May. In
addition to hosting the
Second Annual Ocean
Research Project Regatta, we
will also be having a Kayak
relay race. Our goal is to get
30 teams signed up to
participate in the Regatta.
Upcoming Events
17 Apr
QYC Monthly Meeting
18 Apr
QYC Spring Cleaning Day
24-26 Apr
Annapolis Spring Sailboat
Show
2 May
Potomac River Festival
23 May
Colonial Beach Cruise
The Kayak race will support the Semper Fi Foundation, which provides
support to our Wounded Warriors. I have been working closely with Team
River Runner, which is providing all the equipment for the relay race. In
developing the plan for the Potomac River Festival I’ve had several good
meetings with both the MCCS staff and the Quantico Town Mayor. I think
this will be a great event for the Yacht Club, Town and the Base but I’ll need
assistance in making sure it runs smoothly. If you are able, please come to
the meeting on the 17th of April ready to discuss how you can help support
the event. In addition to the ORP regatta and the Kayak relay race, the
USCG Auxiliary will be on site to provide boat safety inspections and
training. I have been able to take advantage of this service over the last 4
years and it is a great service they provide, so if you want to get your safety
nd
check knocked out, the 2 of May will be a perfect opportunity. Additionally, the base has kindly offered the services of a
Chaplain to support both the flag raising ceremony and a blessing of the fleet. So whether you’re going out to race in the
ORP Regatta or plan to stay pier side, if you want your vessel blessed please send me an email and we’ll make it happen.
Also, I’ve had several of you volunteer to take people out on the river for sunset cruises starting at 5:00 pm. This is a great
opportunity to show folks what a great resource we have in the river and the facilities, so if you are willing to help in this as
well please give me a call or email me.
Our meeting this Friday has a full agenda, some items on the agenda include: an update on the long range cruise in July, our
first cruise to Colonial Beach over the Memorial Day weekend, the Potomac River Festival plan, membership cards signed and
distributed to our members, discussion of our Spring cleaning day, scheduled for 18 April, the latest news on the QYC’s license
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and certification, and I’m hoping to have a guest speaker discuss the Semper Fi
foundation and how it supports our Wounded Warriors. So as you can see, we
will have a full plate for the meeting. Finally, I want to take this opportunity to
thank Shay Seaborne and Deb Beutel for all the work they have done in support
of the Potomac River Festival. Your assistance is really appreciated and will be
key to making the Potomac River Festival a success. I look forward to seeing you
on the 17th and 18th of April for our monthly meeting and the spring house
cleaning at the club. I’ll see you on the docks!
Racing Rules of Sailing for 20132016.
http://www.sailing.org/tools/doc
uments/ISAFRRS20132016Final%5B13376%5D.pdf
Renew your PHRF:
http://www.phrfchesbay.com/
Charlie
Dockside Recruiting (Art Corbett)
As we all know, the strength of our club is in its members. QYC is blessed with active and creative members who have the
boating knowledge, racing and cruising experience and a strong spirit of comradery that makes for a fun club with a vibrant
schedule of activities. Everyone has different talents, but collectively, our club is rich in boating lure and well prepared to
safely promote “community, competence, cruising and competition” that are prominent in our compass rose logo. We learn
from each other, and every meeting and cruise is a valuable opportunity to socialize with good friends and drink from the fount
of knowledge and experience—since we are all both smarter and more talented after a few beers. We have much to share
with the wider Quantico boating community, and we need to begin actively recruiting to maintain a healthy club that replaces
those who transfer duty stations, move on to deeper ports or swallow the anchor.
When asked why he robbed banks, the famed larcenist Willy Sutton is said to have replied “Because that is where the money
is.” Quantico is a tight knit, but comparatively small community. In order for us to grow and maintain our club we need to
advertise our presence and convey a strong spirit of hospitality dockside, since that’s where the boaters are. We need to
make other Quantico marina patrons aware of the rich opportunity QYC offers and how QYC membership can help them
become better and safer boaters and have a more enjoyable time on and off the water.
The onset of the boating season offers a unique recruiting opportunity. The docks will grow busy with patrons de-winterizing
and preparing their boats for summer fun. When lending a hand or a tool, be sure to strike up a conversation about QYC and
invite new friends or old acquaintances up to the club for a meeting or social. QYC has much to offer. We need to share the
benefits with others to maintain our legacy.
Our first Cruise of the Season will be on Memorial Day weekend to Colonial Beach. We have made this location an annual
event in recent years, as the town and marina are optimum and the destination is in range of both sail and power boats. We
have QYC reservations for about a dozen boats, but as always, call to make your particular reservation so they know your draft
and power requirements and can group us together. In the spirit of recruiting, invite a friend to join us. They need not be a
member just yet—if you can drop the lure, a fun cruise to a new location can set the hook. Hope to see you there.
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Is it Time to Update your Electronic Charts? (Jim Wallace M/Y Inspiration)
Now that spring is here, at least on the calendar anyway, it’s a good time to take a look at your charts and evaluate how old
your chart data actually is. Most of us are probably using some kind of electronic charts, whether you use a chart plotter, cell
phone, nautical GPS, or any other electronic aid to navigation, it is important to know a few things about your chart data.
Some of us still use paper charts, and if you do, you know that updating them can be very tedious work. Electronic charts,
though, can be much easier, however they have longer update cycles than the paper variety.
Unlike paper charts, which can be updated weekly, electronic charts usually have a period of time between revisions.
Commercial chart data providers, like Garmin, Raymarine, Navman and Furino, are usually updated once or twice a year. One
manufacturer surveyed recreational boaters and determined that most of us are updating our electronic charts about every 3
years.
Updating the actual electronic device is fairly easy. You can download an update and upload it to your device via thumb drive
or SD card, or you purchase a new SD card with latest data. Most manufacturers have an exchange program for the older,
out of date SD cards, which may result in a small refund for your old card. To update your data card, you merely need to
know the correct code for the data you desire, and then take yourself to your local outfitter, like West Marine, to purchase the
new card and exchange the old one.
If you are using a PC based navigation system, then updating your charts is relatively easy. You can usually get your initial
charts on DVD, and these can be easily updated online. If you are using the NOAA charts, then the updates cost you
nothing… That’s right my friends, they are free. However, most chart plotters are not compatible with NOAA charts and
require one of the available chart data cards to update. NOAA charts can also be downloaded to your computer in pdf format
and printed at home, so you never have an excuse for not having a chart. See the NOPAA website for more information:
www.charts.noaa.gov
NOAA charts come in vector or raster versions. NOAA raster charts are called Electronic Navigational Charts (ENC) and raster
charts are called Raster Navigation Charts. Among several PC based navigation systems, Cap’n, MaxSea, Rose Point,
Fugawai, and GPSNavX are examples. Mac users also have applications that can use raster charts as well.
So whatever you currently use, think about how often you should update your electronic chart data. It is also a good idea to
back up your electronic navigation system with good old paper charts, as these do not need GPS or electricity to work. You
just need to have them handy and know how to read them. Many boaters use both, especially when navigating in unfamiliar
waters. One good technique is to use the chart plotter to vary the scale to continuously zoom in and out to keep your current
position situational awareness at its best, while using the paper charts, with a weighted marker, to continually plot your
position along your route. This paper back up method allows for an instant position report, should you lose your chart
plotter, GPS, or ship’s power for some reason. Having a paper chart also lets you see the “Big Picture” at all times while you
use the zoom function for close-in navigating.
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I use both when I am in unfamiliar waters, which is just about everything outside of the confines of Marine Corps Base
Quantico. As my good friend and long time sailor once said about navigating the Chesapeake Bay, “there are those who have
run aground, and those who will.” I prefer to try to avoid that fate, if at all possible. Hopefully, using all navigation aids
available will keep me in “good water” at all times.
Fair winds and calm seas-
Spring Update (Ray Williams)
So, it is April and the snow and very cold temperatures seem to finally be abating. While I remember in my early boating days
being able to stand on the ice in the marina next to my boat (Folks, do not try this at home! Remember I am a professional!) to
do some maintenance, it got pretty close to that this past winter. This is the latest in my 18 years of boating that I had dewinterized my boat. As I write this I have plans for tomorrow to go down and re-commission Te-Keel-La for another spring of
bliss and I am excited. This year I am planning on racing in seven races (ORP Regatta, Geico Cup, Governors Cup, Leukemia Cup,
Masters of the Potomac, St Mary's Blessing of the Fleet, and the QYC Frostbite Regatta.
Cathy and I are also planning on going on the QYC long range cruise to the bay. We are pretty stoked as we could not make it
last year. This year I was scheduled to teach in the 2nd summer session at
Mason, but when I asked my chair if I could move it to the 1st summer
session it got a quick approval. Dirty Little Secret: Most faculty hate that
session as it is 5 weeks at 3 night per week and is pretty exhausting after
working all day. But, as this was a sacrifice for boating I was game. Just in
case you were interesting in sitting in, it is an Electrical and Computer
Engineering class that looks at all the factors involving in moving data
across a network and what are the delays. This year we are going to go
pretty deep into this thing calls Long Term Evolution or LTE. If you know
what that is you are officially a geek.
Regarding Te-Keel-La we did absolutely no upgrades over the winter. The winter
prior I spent a few weekends with my good friend Ray Boisvert and his awesome
Sailrite sewing machine making new canvas for Te-Keel-La that we enjoyed all
last year. For re-commissioning the biggest job I think I have is to put fresh
polyurethane onto my hatch boards so they are looking spiffy. If possible we
may try and duck into Ft. Washington for a quick haul out and bottom paint, but
looking at my day job and Mason schedules this won’t happen for a few months.
One project I may do sooner than later is to change out my bow and stern light
bulbs with LED lights. I did convert some of my interior lights to LEDs last year,
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courtesy of Ken Beutel, and I like them a lot. I know Ray Boisvert changed his
and they are nice and bright while using little to no electricity. Hmmm...
And even thought you did not ask, I will tell you our twin grandsons are doing
great and actually left the Eastern Shore of Virginia to visit us for a week. It was
actually sad when they had to go home. Over Easter we had the whole clan
over and my brother and I posed with the boys. Just for reference Reagan is on
the right in both pictures with Brooks on the left. Now I just need to figure out
when they start their sailing lessons.
And speaking of sailing, on the 2nd of May we have the Ocean Research Project
(ORP) Regattas along with the Quantico Open House. Note I did not say the
QYC Open House as it is more than just us with the Marina and Town participating as well. In addition to our excellent sailboat
racing we will be having a kayak race as well as a lot of other events. The Notice of Race (NOR) is attached to this months
newsletter.
We are hoping to get 20 boats racing this year and I promise that we will
try and keep the action right off of Quantico to keep the crowd involved. As
always Quantico has some of the best water and conditions for racing on
the Potomac River, and it could be argued in the world.
And I would be remiss if I did not include some spectacular boat porn in this
months issue. So, how many of you have seen the new Gunboat G4
Catamaran. This is a cruising catamaran that has racing foils that makes is
haul donkey/horse hybrids across the water.
I am still regretting that I did not make it to San Francisco for the last
America’s Cup, but this is the outgrowth of all that research where foiling
sailboats is becoming a reality for all of us. You gotta go check out this video
- https://vimeo.com/124676763, it is one of the coolest things I have seen
in a while. For those of you not quite into the Internet a picture of the G4
foiling below is included for your viewing pleasure. While I am not ready to
go Catamaran yet, a laser with the foiling modification would be pretty cool.
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Note from the Editor
As of February I have taken over duties as the editor for this QYC Newsletter from Mr. Marty Spitek.
Thanks much to Marty for all of his previous work and for helping make this a smooth transition. I
look forward to hearing any feedback or suggestions from our readers, and we are always looking for
articles or pictures to include in our next edition. This newsletter is published monthly, approximately
mid-month. You may contact me at [email protected] anytime! Cheers, Bernie Rogan (s/v
Journey)
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Photo with Matt Rutherford after May 13th showing of “Red Dot on the Horizon”
AZIMUTH FACEBOOK GROUP
We communicate our activities in a number of ways to reach the widest possible audience. If you are
a FACEBOOK user, please join us at the FACEBOOK group AZIMUTH. To join, click on
http://www.facebook.com/groups/quanticoazimuth/ If you have a FACEBOOK account, send a “friend
request” to the AZIMUTH group. The AZIMUTH is a “closed” FACEBOOK group for our club and each
request will be evaluated and accepted by a group administrator. The group is not restricted to QYC
members but we do want to keep the membership limited to boaters related to QYC
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