High Tidings July 2023
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Upcoming Events for July
Monday evenings – Jr. Sailing Racing
Wednesday evenings – Grill Night – Join for a drink or dinner
Thursday evenings – Thursday Night Racing – be at the dock by 5:00 if you want to join
Friday evenings – Join with your friends on the deck
Monday through Friday 8:30 to 4:15 – Jr. Sailing
Tuesday July 11 6:00 pm – Activities Meeting
Wednesday July 12 6:00 pm – Cruise Meeting (Happy hour at 5:00)
Friday July 14 6:00 pm – Potluck Bingo
Sunday July 23 – Outer Light Classic ECSA Race and afterparty
Sunday July 30 – 4:00 pm – Christmas in July/Yankee Swap
Commodore Remarks
NCYC on Steady Course and Speed!
A lot is happening at NCYC. Our new deck and flagpole are complete, with the pin rail made by club member Dave MacVaugh installed, so all is finished with those big projects!
Thursday night racing is underway; grounds landscaping, clubhouse, and launch are all in Bristol fashion, and Junior Sailing Program is in full swing! If you are bringing your boat to the dock and concerned about the fleet of beginner OPTIs sailing in front of the club, you can hail the junior sailing instructors on CH 72 and they will shepherd the flock out of your way. You can also hail the launch drivers on 78 and they will pass the word.
What do we see on the horizon at NCYC? Grill nights are happening on Wednesday nights, it’s a fun time mid-week to gather and socialize. Not everyone who attends grills; some bring take-out or pizza and enjoy the deck and sunset. The next Club event is our very own Outer Light Classic Regatta on Sunday, July 23rd. This is an Eastern CT Sailing Association (ECSA) regatta that has been hosted by our club for many years. Amy Vinciguerra is at the helm of the Outer Light Committee and is coordinating the race and party. All members are welcome to attend with purchase of entry. The Outer Light Committee will be looking for a little more help on the day of, so please watch your emails for opportunities to sign up. All racers: don’t forget to sign up for the Essex Rum Challenge the day before on July 22nd. Two local ECSA races in one weekend!
The next event by our hardworking Activities Committee is Potluck Bingo on Friday July 14, at 6:00 pm, followed by “Christmas in July” on Sunday July 30th. I believe there will be a fun Yankee swap/white elephant type gift exchange; read further for more on this and watch your email for details. The Club Cruise starts on August 5th. This year, the cruise is staying relatively local, so hopefully some smaller boats can drop in and out for a few days of rafting and beach parties.
I’m now going to make a pitch about fuels in small engines. We had a hiccup with the Honda outboard for the RHIB. It’s at Greg’s outboard for repair, no spark in one-cylinder, clogged carburetor. Thanks to a donation few years back from Enrique Rodriguez, we have a backup outboard–an 8HP 2 stroke Yamaha which has been stored in the shed. You may have seen this engine hanging inside the shed for the past few years. When Enrique donated the engine, I ran the engine then disconnected it from the tank and let it run until it quit emptying the fuel lines and carburetor bowel. Then I drained the tank and added a 1/4 gallon of stabilized ethanol-free fuel. Ran the engine again for 10 minutes to be sure all ethanol was out of the fuel system. When we needed the engine this season it started right up on the second pull! Ethanol clogs carburetors on small engines if they are not run on a regular basis. I have been using ethanol-free fuel in all my small engines, chain saws, weed whackers etc. ; they all start up with no issues. You can buy ethanol-free fuel at hardware stores and Tractor Supply. Expensive but worth it.
A reminder that the Yamaha on the RHIB is a two-stroke engine and needs 50-1 gas to oil mix ratio. The same is true for the Evinrude on the William T. If you’re adding fuel from our fuel storage locker (which is a green box with lid next to the dumpster,) there are two 2-1/2-gallon jugs labeled 50-1 mix fuel for William T and Yamaha.
Enough talk about fuel?
Sorry, but no…early this season we were having issues with the outboards trouble starting, not idling and lack of power when in gear. After some trouble-shooting I sucked some fuel from the bottom of the tanks, put it in a clear plastic container and found a considerable amount of water separating out. Fuel floats on water, so the pick-up for the engines was sucking up water from the bottom of the tanks. After I purged fuel lines and replaced fuel in the tanks the engines are now running fine. But the question remained, where is the water coming from? I checked a five-gallon jug filled this year from Sunoco station and found water in the jug! Can’t confirm how this may have happened but I alerted the station and have an email to the supplier asking to compensate us for bad fuel. We will see where that goes. On my last fuel run, I sampled the fuel in a glass jar before filling to confirm there was no water. Seems they have corrected the issue.
OK… now I’m done talking fuel. Many of you may already know all this but I hope sharing this experience may help some members new to boating and outboards to keep their engines starting and running smooth.
That’s all for now. Enjoy your club and sea time on your boats!
Lou Vinciguerra, Commodore
Vice Commodore Remarks
Books, Boats, and Beaches
Do you need a novel to read on your cruise? Are you looking for a new seafood recipe? Do you have a great book to share with others? You have come to the right place! We are revitalizing our bookshelf in the corner of the clubhouse. Take a book or two. Bring in what you have read. We have nautical books old and new, novels, mysteries, cookbooks, and a couple of children’s books.
A copy of ‘Where the Crawdads Sing’ is on the shelf. It is a great summer book but not light reading. It tells the story of Kya whose life begins in deplorable conditions. Stay with it, the book is worth finishing. I’d love to discuss the ending with you.
There is also a novel on the shelf by Elin Hilderbrand. A well known author, her novels take place in and around Nantucket. Have a chat with past Commodore, Joe Carroll. His Nonsuch is named Madaket, a place on Nantucket where he spends a lot of time and one that Hilderbrand uses as a setting in some of her books.
We continue to recycle paper plates, plastic utensils, and cans. Please place your recyclables in the blue bins next to the large dumpsters.
Our Commodore’s cookout and silent auction were a huge success. Many thanks to the Activities Committee and volunteers. I am looking forward to our next event!
Linda Tuzzio, Vice Commodore
Membership
The Membership Committee is pleased to Post Joyce Grossbard for Membership.
Joyce M Grossbard
Old Saybrook, CT
Joyce: Psychotherapist
Proposed by: Jean Golicz
Support letters: Chan, Mason, Miller
Children: Jessica (24)
Boating: Joyce has sailed for most of her adult life. She has a friend with a 50’ Gulf Star that she has sailed with both in Saybrook and back and forth to Maine. She has bare-boated in the Caribbean and sailed with Hal Kerr on the Acamar here in Old Saybrook.
Skills/interests: Jean and Stefan Golitz are friends, and she has been their guest at several NCYC events. The members that she has met have been delightful and very friendly.
Joyce has owned a home in Saybrook for over 40 years and is now making this her permanent residence. Joyce wants to engage with lovely people and thinks that the NCYC will be a place to make friends and contribute to a community.
Joyce is delighted to crew and is an active person who is always willing to help. She has a long history of volunteering (please speak with her about all she has done!)Joyce looks forward to helping plan and organize events. She has been an active member of the Rotary Club of Englewood, NJ for the past 15 years and served as the Membership Chair.
Jr. Sailing
Junior sailing has begin with a great first week! This year our program has expanded to hosting 27 sailors every two week through the summer, a total of over 80 junior sailors! The Junior Sailing team consists of 5 US Sailing trained instructors. Scott Soukup as Beginner Instructor (left), Alex Beachene as Head Instructor, Nadia Goodman as 420 Instructor, Stephanie Charbonnier as Intermediate Instructor (right), and Amy Vinciguerra as Program Director (not pictured).
Students of the program have been having a blast! They have enjoyed sailing on the river at the mouth of the cove, playing sail tag on the water, learning kinetics on light wind days, and getting used to steering with a tiller.
Intermediate Optimists sailing around green can #3 at the mouth of the cove
The first Friday of every session sailors take part in the “Sailing Olympics”, a fun collection of nautical competitions ranging from knot tying and anchor throwing, to man over board drills. On the last Friday of every session, we will be holding graduation ceremonies to mark the progress each sailor has made in the program.
The Junior Sailing Program will run for 5 more weeks every day from 9 am to 4pm. Feel free to stop by the club and watch the kids learn to sail, or volunteer to be a duty officer. I recently learned a little history of the club (by reading the yearbook) and discovered that North Cove has been offering three two-week sessions of Junior Sailing Lessons since 1994! Next year will mark 30 years of Junior Sailing at North Cove!
Thanks to everyone in our club community for your support. If you want to join our team, please reach out!
Melissa Mason, Jr. Sailing Chair
Amy Vinciguerra, Program Director
Outer Light Classic Regatta July 23
Our biggest sailing event of the year is approaching! The Planning Committee has been hard at work organizing the party, collecting advertising, fundraising, and getting boats registered. We have seven boats registered so far (more than our total in 2021!) North Cove will be hosting racers from Duck Island, Sachem’s Head, Thames River, and Mud Heads. These sailors will be completing not only for trophies at North Cove, but also for annual trophies from the Eastern Connecticut Sailing Association. Our Regatta count towards cumulative totals for racers who compete at multiple clubs throughout the summer. Our Regatta also counts towards the Long Sand Shoal Cup, a perpetual trophy given by ECSA to the boat who has the highest score out of the four regattas that take place in our area of Long Island Sound.
WE NEED YOUR HELP!
The Outer Light comes together every year with support from our membership.
Ways to get involved:
1. Register to race or help crew- The Outer Light is our premier race for the Eastern Connecticut Sailing Association circuit. Any Captains who wish to register to race should register their boat using the link button. If your boat is not ready to race, but you want to get in on the racing action, there is usually room to crew! Email Amy Vinciguerra and she will help find a spot for you.
2. Volunteer for food or set up to for the after race party. We are looking for set up, clean up, ticket sales, t-shirt sales, and food volunteers. There is an ECSA trophy for the club who hosts the best party! Help us bring home that trophy by volunteering for the party.
3. Mark your calendars for Sunday July 23rd to help us welcome these visitors and show some North Cove hospitality by attending the party. Party tickets are $20 per person. The party includes catering from Walt’s and other Old Saybrook restaurants, libations, and the awards ceremony. PLUS the raffle drawing for a Dyer Dhow! Reserve your party tickets HERE.
This year there has been a huge support from the Outer Light Planning Committee to make this year’s race the best yet! Hope to see you all there.
Amy Vinciguerra
Activities
Mmmm! Barbecue! The Commodore’s Cookout was a huge success, as was Fajita Night. Mike Boyle knows his way around a grill! If you didn’t make it, you missed out on a really wonderful evening. The chicken was fantastic!
And we held our fist ever silent auction to benefit the Outer Light Classic Regatta coming up on Sunday, July 23. There were some great gift baskets. People commented they were very impressed with the high-end quality of the items. A couple of the baskets; the “boat basket” and the “Scotch w/rocks” baskets got a lot of attention and the bidding got pretty contentious! Others said we should do this again next year as they really enjoyed perusing the items and getting great deals. In the end the auction brought in a very impressive $1,400.00! Amy Vinceguerra, Outer Light chairperson, was very pleased! This will help defray some of the costs to host this race. Thank you to all that donated to the baskets.
UPCOMING EVENTS
July 14 –POT LUCK BINGO
POT LUCK BINGO: Now that summer is on full swing and we are all in the cove, we are hosting an old fahioned Friday Night Pot Luck. Bring enough to share and your won set ups. After dinner, hang around for a rousing game of Nauti-Dime Bingo. (That’s G-rated NAUTICAL bingo.) Yoiu could go home with as much as $1.50 in dimes!! Doesn’t that peak your interest? This is a great family-friendly event so we hope to see the kids too. Sign up is going out this week, so please sign up early.
JULY 23 - OUTER LIGHT CLASSIC REGATTA
July 3. - CHRISTMAS IN JULY
CHRISTMAS IN JULY: This is an old-fashioned pot luck with a twist. Please bring a gift-wrapped item that cannot exceed $25 for the Yankee Swap. Gag gifts are allowed! If you have ever been to one of these swaps you know this gets to be a lot of fun! If you haven’t been to one before you HAVE to attend this one! Keep a lookout for the signup. Maybe there will be another signature drink?
See you on the water!
Melissa Clark and Lucy Driggs-Armstrong, Activities co-chairs
Cruising News
From the Fleet Captain’s desk –
The moorings in North Cove are slowly but surely filling up. Here’s the latest cruising news.
Sailfest New London 2023-July 8 & 9 with Fireworks on July 8 – Sailfest is back on the calendar. Drop me an email & I will tabulate the boats heading to Sailfest 2023. The list will be on our website & our launch captain’s desk.
Next Annual Cruise Meeting – Wednesday, July 12 at our clubhouse – Happy hour from 5pm to 6pm & the meeting from 6pm to 7pm. We look forward to the final details of our Annual Cruise and will also have a Q&A session on our ports & routing details.
We will need the Port Plans from the following Port Captains prior to our July 12th Cruise Meeting. Please send me the port plans so that I can include it in our itinerary for the July 12 cruise meeting. This is the latest:
Block, Day 1 – John & Laurie
Block, Day 2 - Walter & Suzanne
Montauk, Day 1 – Peter, Tyler & Megan
Montauk, Day 2 – Open right now – Suggestion: Sushi at Westlake Fish House – highly recommended
Coecles Marina, Day 1 – The other yacht club has booked Friday & Saturday – we need an alternative plan – Picnic/HH on the beach or Taylors Island or Lower Beach
Coecles, Day 2 – Open to ideas – Ram’s Head for Happy Hour & Dinner
Greenport – Open, No PC – free & easy, shopping & dinner (individual reservations)
Robbins Island – Lou & Janet
West Neck, Day 1 – Rob & Linda – Mud Slides & swimming
West Neck Day 2 - Open – No PC
Sag Harbor – Open, No PC
Labor Day Cruise – Please make your reservations at Mystic Seaport & mention NCYC so that they can group us together. Reservations are filling up & are cancellable.
Wine Cruise – More details to follow.
Look forward to our July 12th Cruise Meeting to confirm the details.
Cheers,
David Chan, Fleet Captain
Thursday Night Racing
Thursday Night Racing is in full swing, but our intrepid correspondent Joe Carroll is taking this month off from writing another engaging, and dare I say, endearing missive. It’s just pictures this month, folks. But definitely check out Amy’s whisker pole! [Ed. note: I’m thinking Alex as whisker pole for another silent auction fundraiser?]
Dedication for Klinki
On Sunday July 2nd one of North Cove’s 420s was dedicated in memory of Tanya Anderson’s father, David Anderson. The first of the four boats purchased this winter from Pettipaug Yacht Club to be given a new name. The boat is now named “Klinki” after the pre-historic Klinki trees that are being used in the Reforest the Tropics initiative. David Anderson was both a sailor and an avid environmentalist. David was especially proud of his connection with Reforest The Tropics (RTT), an organization based in Mystic, CT that plants forests of varying sizes in Costa Rica to offset carbon dioxide emissions of companies and individuals. He was a board member and driving force of the organization, personally donating to establish an RTT forest in Costa Rica to offset part of his family’s carbon emissions. To learn more about the Klinki trees and RTT visit: https://reforestthetropics.org/forests/
Women on the River
Women on the River it is a social group for women from the five local yacht clubs–Essex Yacht Club, Corinthian, Pettipaugh, Hamburg Cove and our own North Cove– who enjoy sailing. We meet one evening a week for three to four weeks to sail the Ideal 18’s at Corinthian and Essex Yacht Club. After sailing, we have dinner at Essex Yacht Club, play games, laugh and get to know each other. Wednesday, June 21, was the last meeting of the season for Women on the River and was hosted by North Cove Yacht Club. It was an opportunity for the group to use our 420’s and share a pot luck dinner. It was also a wonderful way for us to show off the club to members of other local clubs. This is the fifth year for Women on the River and the first time we have met at North Cove. The evening was a a big success and everyone enjoyed themselves. Several of the women got out in the cove and had a fabulous time on the 420’s. We had good wind so those boats were fast and fun! Thank you to members Frank Borzenski, Bob Murphy, Lou Vinciguerra, Caroline Miller, Kathy Reddington, and Maria Gilmore for helping to make this a memorable evening. A special thanks to our Sailing Instructor Amy Vinciguerra. If you’re interested in joining Women on the River for next year please contact Cathy Murphy at cjhmurphy@gmail.com. You do not need to be a proficient sailor to join; members have a mix of skills. The group can help build confidence, as well as enhance your sailing skills and it’s a great way to meet other women who enjoy the water.
Discord for NCYC
At times we need to coordinate with groups of people, to have different groups for different purposes, and to have groups of different sizes. Not to mention notifications and discussions.
Using text groups does work–to a point. But it is hard to add or remove members on the text chains, they have a member limit, and it is also hard to keep different text groups straight if you have more than one.
To solve these issues, we have set up a NCYC Discord [Ed. Note; ridiculous name] – a communication program that runs on phones, tablets, and personal computers. It’s free and allows users to post messages, direct messages, photos, and videos within the discussion topics (called channels) that have been set up.
Currently in the NCYC Discord, there are discussion channels for the Outer Light Classic, Thursday Night Racing, Cruising Official Club Trips, Cruising Impromptu, Off Soundings Race, and the NCYC Magazine. More channels can easily be added. Thinking of heading to Coecles Harbor and want to let others know? Post it on Cruising Impromptu. Have some amazing photos of Thursday Night Racing that you want to share? Post them on the Thursday Night Racing channel. Have amazing photos in general that would be of interest for the NCYC Magazine? Put them in that channel. You get the picture.
To get access to NCYC Discord, you use this invitation link, https://discord.gg/5fx3kSX8 which is available until July 12. After July 12, please send an email to Chris Griffin or, you can get an invitation link from anyone who is logged into Discord.
The link leads you to a place to create a user name and install the software. Depending on whether you are installing Discord on your phone, tablet, or computer, the directions to install will vary. [Ed. Note: I could do it, and I am not a computer genius by a long shot. Or, there’s always that computer no-fail: ask a young person.]
It may seem intimidating at first but becomes natural to use with a little practice. [Ed. Note: he says optimistically, being a software engineer.]
After you log in, you can set your own notification levels. Don’t be alarmed by the wavy, cartoony characters in the “Lobby” area—the area that gets you in. They go away in the other channels.
The goal is to make communications easier for all NCYC discussions. Nothing beats in-person meetings at the club [Ed. because there’s beer] but Discord can help the discussions progress between them, keeping the ideas flowing.
Chris Griffin
And Another Way to Communicate
North Cove Yacht Club Members Forum
This is a Facebook forum exclusively for our yacht club members that you can use to post just about anything. If you have a Facebook account just click on the link below to join. As soon as we verify that you are a member you will be able to post. ( We recently had a guy try to join with the name Jib Sheet. Couldn't find him in the yearbook. ) There are currently 17 members and we are looking for more. You can also open an account strictly for the forum if you’re not a Facebook fan ( which I did and found some other boating forums that were also very useful )
https://www.facebook.com/groups/674559057251079
Summer Weed Whacking
Hello! Maybe you missed this in June’s NCYC issue. The club needs a little weed whacking every couple of weeks. Come anytime during the two-weeks following the date you have chosen. Use the Club's weed whacker.
Check the sign up below and take a week or two!
If you have any questions, contact Outdoor Chairs, Bob and Cathy Murphy
Club WiFi Update
Just a reminder that, thanks to Rob Hathaway for his donation and to Dan Ferrier for installing a new WiFi antenna on the east side of the clubhouse, we should have improved internet service in the Cove. Unlike the previous antenna, this one focuses more energy toward the water resulting in a stronger signal with greater range. If you haven’t, please give it a try while out on your boat and let us know how it is working. Connect to Frontier2976_EXT2.4G with the same password as the base station.
Also, note that we recently upgraded the clubhouse internet service to a fiber optic network which will give greater reliability and a huge increase in speed.
Chris Bazinet
From the Chaplain’s Quiet Corner of the Cove
Bend low again, night of summer stars.
So near you are, sky of summer stars,
So near, a long-arm man can pick off stars,
Pick off what he wants in the sky bowl,
So near you are, summer stars,
So near, strumming, strumming,
So lazy and hum-strumming.
-Carl Sandburg
One of my fondest memories is on the bow of Acamar looking at the stars. As you pass by her this summer, you too are close to the stars. Acamar is a giant star at the end of the constellation Eridanus. The name Acamar is derived from Ākhir an-nahr, which means "the end of the river". Thanks to our dear friend Hal, she remains in place, at the end of the river, a reminder that the stars are near in the summer sky.
Blessings on your own celestial navigations this summer!