High Tidings December/January 2022-23
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Commodore Lou and the winter storm
Commodore Remarks
For those who missed the Annual Meeting, here is my speech celebrating outgoing Commodore Caroline Miller.
I would like to make a few remarks about our outgoing Commodore, Caroline Miller.
First, she was lucky in that she skipped the Rear Commodore position and managed to twist my arm to support her as Rear Commodore. Then the storms hit–Caroline you may want to wear some foul weather gear for this ….COVID-19! What the heck were we supposed to do?
Caroline kept a steady hand on the tiller and steered us through! She called numerous zoom meetings, and researched what direction was available from the State Governor’s Office and CDC.
Could we hold functions in the clubhouse? Could we run the launch? What about Junior Sailing School?
Working together with her Flag Officers and Board of Governors she developed the Threat Condition Matrix.
Threat Conditions–Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta –each with different levels of restricted club activities. What a relief when we passed through the other side of that storm!
Then the next storm hit us on the night of Tuesday February 22nd. We awoke Wednesday morning to find that what we can only describe as a Micro Burst, had descended on North Cove Yacht Club. A good many shingles had been blown off the roof, resulting in water damage inside the clubhouse. Our flag pole had broken and crashed through the deck railing and punched a hole in the Carolina skiff. The cupola windvane was found next door in the marsh.
Once again our fearless Commodore Caroline held a steady course, scrambled a team to make immediate repairs, work with our insurance provider (Chris Bazinet is our point man there.) New roof installed, railing and skiff repaired, ceiling water damage repaired.
With Caroline at the helm, there was no disruption to club activities. Our ship is not fully repaired from all the damage caused by that storm but we are well on our way.
It’s been my pleasure to serve under the steady helm of Commodore Caroline Miller. I think one of her greatest accomplishments is that, even with the storms we sailed through, she was able to build back the membership strength to where it is today.
I’m hoping for calmer weather ahead on my Watch!
Season’s Greetings!
I hope everyone is enjoying the holidays and that our boat owners have their vessels snugged and protected under tarps, canvas or shrink-wrap. We had an excellent member turnout at our fall club clean-up and shutdown. Potholes in the parking lot were filled, the grade was raised at the steps, whalers were hauled and stored along with kayaks, paddleboards and sailing dinghies. A lot of cleaning inside the clubhouse and of the grounds. Big thanks to all that participated!
The recent storm we experienced on December 22nd [Ed. note What is it about the 22nd??] that brought an extremely high tide. Luckily, no damage to the clubhouse or docks. Just a bit of clean-up of debris to do during fair weather.
Our new fiberglass flagpole is safely stored inside the club and will be installed early this spring using a large galvanized hinge plate that will facilitate raising and lowering when needed for severe storms or to replace halyards. We also received quote from a local contractor to replace the rear deck surface with Ipe boards and install new stainless steel cable style railing. This quote is much more reasonable than the previous bids. We are working on getting a more detailed breakdown for our BOG finance committee to review.
With the cold temperatures upon us we are starting to see ice form in North Cove and have turned on the ice propellers at the waterfront to protect the floating docks and pilings.
Thanks to Chris Bazinet and David Miller for assisting in deploying them. In the picture you will notice that the Old Saybrook Town floating docks are winter stored alongside ours protected by the props. The town pays NCYC a fee each year for the service which more than covers the electric cost to run the motors.
Big thank you to the members that stepped forward to fill vacant committee chair positions.
Activities: Melissa Clark and Lucy Driggs-Armstrong
Grounds: Bob and Cathy Murphy
Club House Reservations: Ann Chan
Moorings, Docks & Dinghy Rack: Chris Bazinet
Finance & Investments: Rich Peters, Peter Stump, Dan O’Malley
NCYC still needs a volunteer to fill the vacant “House Operations” position. If you may be interested please contact our Vice Commodore, Linda Tuzzio. The House Operations person ensures we have necessary supplies for the galley and restrooms, and directs the inside clubhouse work parties during the Spring Clean-up and fall shutdown. They are also the “go to” person for how the clubhouse interior is decorated, furnished, and maintained through the season.
"Now—bring me that horizon.” —Captain Jack Sparrow, The last line from “Pirates of the Caribbean”
Lou Vinciguerra
NCYC Commodore
Vice Commodore Remarks
Happy Holidays!
May this note find you settled in the warmth of your cozy home.
The inside of the clubhouse is in excellent shape for the winter, thanks to the many hands that made light work. The Steward’s office is spotless. Every drawer in the kitchen was emptied and cleaned. Clean ovens, clean cabinets, clean floor. The main room houses the new flagpole, dinghies, and grills for the winter. Everything is washed and sparkling.
One of the loftier tasks we will tackle next year is clearing out the attic. Surprising finds await us!
Wishing you a peaceful 2023,
Linda Tuzzio
Vice Commodore
Membership:
The following families are posted for membership:
Lois LeSieur and Bill Thomas
Old Saybrook, CT
Lois: Retired / NT Designer
Bill: Semi-Retired / NT Designer
Proposed by: Kathy Reddington
Support letters: Miller, Mason, Pavlos
Boat: ComPac Cat ’20
Boating: Have sailed on off over 45 years.
Skills/interests: They enjoy the welcoming camaraderie of ‘nautically inclined’ people. Club amenities are a plus. At ECYC, they lent a hand maintaining and enhancing the Clubhouse. They are happy to help.
.
Carol Quimby-Bonan
Old Saybrook, CT
Child: Blythe Bonan (1997), Bliss Bonan (1995)
Proposed by: Caroline Miller
Support letters: Miller, Mason, Chan
Boating: Sailed as a child in California
Skills/interests: Carol has been fortunate in her life to have had the opportunity to enjoy and participate in all manners of water sports: sailing, boating, kayaking. Carol has been away from this for a bit but now that she is back in coastal CT, she is eager to reconnect with the all the activities the club and members offers.
Junior Sailing
Winter means that planning for Summer 2023 is underway. From hiring instructors to opening registration, the Junior Sailing Committee is hard at work. As you start to think of ways to get involved at NCYC, the junior sailing committee is always happy to have new members join the fun!
Tuition for NCYC members is $540 (20% discount off of the non-member $675 fee) and registration for club members opens in January. Last summer we filled up by the end of March and we anticipate another full season.
2023 Sessions dates are:
· Session 1: June 26 – July 7 (no class July 4th)
· Session 2: July 10 – July 21
· Session 3: July 24 – August 4
Stay tuned for an email announcing that registration is open!
Melissa Mason
Jr. Sailing Chair
Cruising News
We are looking forward to our scheduled Saturday March 11, 2023 Cruise Meeting at the Acton Library in Old Saybrook from 3:30pm to 4:45pm. All are welcome, cruisers, weekenders, overnighters and of course, overlanders & landcruisers. We will want to have different programs for 2023 and are looking at different itineraries to support our members. Please bring your thoughts, ideas & suggestions as we plan for 2023 – it is our club and our cruises. We will have our usual happy hour after the meeting – the upstairs at Penny Lane Pub has been our favorite but please let me know of any other well deserved alternatives. Possibly the Surfridge Brewing Company East in Centerbrook.
SAVE THE DATE
When: 3/11/2023. 3:30pm to 4:45pm
Where: Acton Public Library, Old Saybrook
Subject: 2023 Cruises
After meeting happy hour to be confirmed.
David Chan, Cruising Chair
Weather Station at NCYC
The existing club anemometer is spinning, but not telling us anything, and we have weather instruments on the wall that are very nautical, but not working.
So, a new weather station has been installed at the club. The data collection unit is currently mounted on a piling at the north ramp dock. This collects information and sends it to a console on the desk in the stewards’ office, which connects via WiFi to the Weather Underground website.
Club members can now go to the WU site to get current data from the club dock. Users of the Weather Underground app or those using the WU website can find our station, which is called KCTOLDSA58. WU has chosen to name this Old Saybrook Center Station and has placed it on the map at the middle school. In the future, perhaps before the start of the season in the spring, we may try to change that, and if we do, the location and name may change. In the meantime, over the winter we expect this to be in operation.
Jon Mason has placed a link to our station on the club website. At the WU website at the link, you can scroll down to get historical weather information and can select a daily, weekly, or monthly report, from the time it was first installed.
Chris Bazinet
Thursday Night Racing
It’s a cold wintery Friday night. A cold northerly wind is leaking through my bedroom windows, causing the curtains to flutter, and the 1935 model Utica Cast Iron Boiler (converted from coal to oil) to strain itself to keep the house at a temperature where I don’t see my breath rising above my bed. Luckily, my computer is generating enough microwaves to keep my fingers nimble enough to type this article. Meanwhile, in the attic I can hear the pitter-patter of mice running through the eves searching for a warm nesting spot to sleep, dream, and procreate. Good luck to them. I know how they feel.
With all of the above going on, and months of long, lonely cold winter nights ahead, one can only dream of two things: Thursday night racing, and oh yea, Southwest Florida!
In regards to Thursday night racing, I went to check on my boat on early Christmas Eve Day, and found that the 70mph winds had knocked down two out of 4 jackstands. The boat was teetering on its keel from one loosely standing jackstand to another. I chickened out trying to get the other jackstands off the ground and onto the boat’s bottom. The wind was moving the boat so much, it occurred to me that the boat could fall on me, and well, perhaps I would become memorialized via a Saturday NCYC workday. Later on, I left a message with the boatyard manager about the situation. The boatyard manager and an employee came in Christmas Eve and put the jack stands back in place. Now, the boat is leaning to starboard, but at least it is somewhat vertically supported.
My winter dreams of Thursday night racing are mostly a recurring dream. The dream revolves around beautiful evenings with sunsets on Long Island Sound and enough wind to get Madaket moving along with the other boats. Sometimes, Madaket is out in front, and stays in front of the other boats. Sometimes, Madaket is getting beaten. Usually I wake up before that scenario plays out. Sometimes in a cold sweat. But even so, there is the fight to get the boat moving faster, or moving over a route that is shorter than what the other boats are taking. A route with less tide to fight, or more tide to push the boat faster than the other boats. Or a route with more wind. Also, there is the dialogue with my crew who presumably wants to win the race that we are in. Or, at least do the best that we can do.
If I am still asleep, the dream moves onto Thursday night dinners that await the racers when we get back to the clubhouse. Perhaps a tasty pint of beer with a grilled cheese burger and a salad. Sharing a meal with the other racers who recount the race tiller movement by tiller movement, tack by tack, gybe by gybe. Hold on-excuse me while I pound the ceiling to quiet the mice. “Hey you guys; I have an article to write!”
It’s the end of December, but May is coming fast. New subjects enter my dreams. What type of paint should I use on the boat’s bottom? Do the mouse chewed sails & canvases need stitching? Cleaning? What was that metallic engine noise I heard bringing the boat to the boatyard for the winter? What is causing the transmission to grind away? Is the boom full of water? Why was the disintegrating seacock leaking? Do the winches need greasing? Is the mast step deteriorating?
There is a lot to consider for spring preparations.
I am going to turn off the light now, and take a long winter’s nap. Maybe last night’s dream of pulling ahead of the fleet after being in last will continue. In any event, I hope that the mermaid I was following appears again in my dream…
Happy New Year everybody, and sweet dreams.
Joe Carroll, Thursday Night Racing correspondent
A Skiing Opportunity
Hello Ski Friends,
Terri and I have had a terrific first season with our boat Lucia at NCYC. It has been a pleasure meeting so many new friends.
I would like to share and invite you to look into an opportunity to enjoy a Ski lodge at Killington, VT. I have been a member of River Hills Ski Club for over twenty years. All of my children have been raised tearing up that mountain. This ski club also provides year round fun like golf, river tubing, hiking, and just random Vermont getaways. The 'vibe' is very much like NCYC. Show up for fun, show up for a work weekend or project, and meet new people with a common activity to enjoy. Please clink on the link to go to the website, or check out River Hills Ski Club on FB or IG
As with any club there are a few requirements:
-A sponsor is required (me).
-Attend three events including meetings and being a guest overnight.
-Initiation of $400
-Annual fee of $730
-Attend an annual work weekend out of the three scheduled.
In-season rates are $30 for a weekday or $65 for a weekend. This includes breakfast and Saturday dinner at the house.
Off-season is $15 a night.
We have a few introductory weekends coming up this season.
Contact me for details.
Rod Cross
203-240-1577
From the Chaplain’s Quiet Corner of the Cove
For Mary Oliver it was Mornings at Blackwater Pond, for you perhaps, it is mornings at North Cove. Regardless, “The past is the past, and the present is what your life is, and you are capable of choosing what that will be, darling citizen. So come to the pond, or the river of your imagination, or the harbor of your longing, and put your lips to the world, And live your life.”
May you receive many blessings in the New Year as you drink from the “ harbor of your longing” and fully live!
Happy New Year!
And Now For Something Completely Different…
The BlueTits are still at it!
Thank you to everyone who contributed to this newsletter. Our photographers for this issue are: Chris Bazinet, Frank Borzenski, Jean Golicz, David Miller, Deb Paulson, Kathy Reddington, Lou Vinciguerra, and Linda Tuzzio.
As always, if you have anything you’d like to put in the newletter, please email me or text me at 860-581-0713
Thanks so much!
Deb Paulson, Newsletter Editor