High Tidings April, 2024
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Vernal Equinox sunrise at north cove
Upcoming Events
Saturday April 13, 9:00 AM – Annual Spring Clean Up at the Club
Saturday April 13, 10:00 – Membership Event at the Club
Wednesday April 17, 6:30– Outer Light Planning Committee at Myrcene Brewery
Saturday April 20, 9:00 AM – Rain Date for Spring Clean Up
Saturday April 20, 2:30 – Cruising Club Meeting, Acton Library
Saturday April 20, 5:00 – Happy Hour (Post Cruising Meeting) at Penny Lane Pub, Old Saybrook
Thursday April 25, 6:00 – Thursday Night Racing Skippers Meeting at the Club
Commodore Remarks
Wow, we have some creative spirit in this club with that April Fool’s edition! Hope you all enjoyed it and no worries…none of it is true.
Well…. as a native of Hyde Park, New York maybe singing Old Blue Eye’s famous song at sunset as I finish out my second year at the helm could be something ????
Kudos to our highly talented magazine editor Debra Paulson.
Spring is here!!! Flowers are blooming and birds chirping as we wake up our cherished vessels, gently pulling back the covers and start prepping and anticipating our launch dates!!!
If you have a cove mooring don’t forget to have your mooring tackle rigged and ready for inspection by the Old Saybrook harbor master no later than April 7th. If you haven’t touched your tackle since it’s been hauled, you really need to untangle it, inspect that your chain links are not rusted and necked down such that they are no longer sufficient to hold in a storm, check that your shackles have stainless steel wire seizing in place and your buoy bottom has a fresh coat of anti-fouling paint. When the harbor master inspects tackle he will hit your mushroom anchor with green paint if it’s good to go; and if not, he will try to paint the parts that do not pass with yellow paint, alerting you to what needs to be corrected.
Thanks to our Activities Committee and Chair Melissa Clark, we had a very well attended event at the Highliner tavern in Westbrook. What a neat place with train memorabilia all around and close to the tracks as the trains rolled by. They allowed us to bring in our own apps to a table and have a semi private event.
Next up on the calendar is Saturday 0900 April 13th where we have work parties to:
Clean up the club grounds from the debris of winter storms
Put bottom paint on the whalers, skiff, launch, and William T
Remove all the boats, paddle boards, and kayaks out of the clubhouse
Bring out the gas grills and deck furniture
Do a general clean-up of the inside of the clubhouse
Store the winter dock ice propellers,
Clean and spruce up the landscaping plantings
Clean out the drainage swale on north side of our property that helps keep our parking lot dry
Dust and polish trophies
I know I’m missing a bunch of other tasks but there is a lot to do and many hands make it easy. Thanks in advance to our various chair persons that plan and direct the efforts.
Mark your calendar– this year we have combined the Club Commissioning event on May 11th with the Spring Meeting. The Spring Meeting in recent years “thankfully” has been a very easy event with no controversy or voting on changes, so the Board thought to combine them on the same Saturday. The Spring Meeting will be held first at 1600 (4:00 PM.) We expect it to last approximately 30 min, then have a recess as we assemble for the NCYC Commissioning ceremony at 1700. Any non-member guest should be directed to walk around to the back of the club until we finish our Spring Meeting. We will post a sign at the front entrance while the meeting is in progress.
Let me call out thanks to the efforts of Rich Peters and Chris Bazinet for constructing four new box seats, to Deb Paulson and Cathy Murphy for sewing the new cushions for these seats, and to Suzanne Miller for sewing the pillows. Inside these boxes we are able to store “out of sight” the parts and pieces necessary to run our very popular junior sailing school. They look great and also add more seating for club events.
Thanks also to Launch Chair Elio Betty who has the open cover set up to continue launch restorations and keep her in top condition. Reach out to him if you want to assist.
Also thanks to Tom and Julie Tydeman who have been fixing up the Club’s O’Day daysailor. Our plan is to have it moored at the dock, shoulder seasons, and on a flats mooring during the season, for member use (after some initial instruction for new sailors) and also as a platform for adult sailing lessons.
That’s the all I can muster for this month’s addition.
See you in at the boat yard or at the Club on April 13th !!
Best,
Lou Vinciguerra, Commodore
I must go down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide
Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied;
And all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying,
And the flung spray and the blown spume, and the sea-gulls crying
Sea-Fever
John Masefield
Astronomical News
This is your resident Astrophysicist Amy Vinciguerra with NCYC Hightidings Magazine. In the words of my Physics class "Warning! On Monday April 8th the sun will disappear! The moon will block 90% of the sun causing a solar eclipse! View the maximum coverage at 3:27 pm with a cool pair of eclipse glasses! Be safe, do not look directly at the sun, not even with sunglasses."
If you haven't heard yet, North America is about to be treated to a very special Solar Eclipse! Yes we just experienced one in 2017, but this time it will be different. There are two things to notice about the map below:
#1 the path of Totality for the 2024 eclipse is much wider, meaning that a larger number of towns will be in view of the Totality.
#2 the 2017 path was very far south of Connecticut causing only a 30% partial solar eclipse visible for us, compared to the proximity of 2024 where we will experience a 90% partial eclipse!
You might be wondering, "What does a 90% partial eclipse look like?" Well it is much more exciting than it sounds! Beginning at about 2:30 in the afternoon, the moon will begin to travel in front of the sun. Over the course of the next hour (2:30-3:30) the moon will block more and more sunlight from the sky. Sunlight will return as the moon leaves the path of the sun (3:30-4:30). The peak coverage in CT will be at about 3:30 which is when you'll definitely want to be viewing. In the image below, 90% coverage of the sun will look like the top right and bottom left corners. The only parts of this image that you won't be able to see in CT are the images of the sun in the middle row. The beautiful starburst (the sun's Corona) is only visible to those who take the trip to the path of totality (see map above). Even at 90% we will experience very cool phenomena special to a solar eclipse. The sky will darken similar to dusk, which can cause street lights and other automated lights to turn on early. The loss of sunlight also confuses wildlife, birds will start to sing as if the sun is setting, and deer can be seen moving to their nightly routes. All of nature will pause to witness this event.
You won't be able to see anything without proper eye protection. Looking directly at the sun can cause lasting retinal damage on any day. The best way to view the eclipse is to spend a few bucks on some eclipse glasses, but if you can't find a pair then there are some homemade options! Build an eclipse viewer with a cardboard box and a pair of binoculars or a mirror. With this method you should only be looking at the reflection of the sun which is much less bright.
The late Frank and Louisa Vinciguerra viewing the 2017 eclipse
Even though we have had the treat of two eclipses in the past 7 years, the next one visible in the US won't be until the year 2044!
More resources on the upcoming Astronomical Event:
Get exact timing info for your area on April 8th
Vice Commodore Remarks
I received a letter from the Essex Yacht Club inviting us to compete for the Sam Wetherill Club Trophy. It is a trophy given to the yacht club that has a combined best performance of its top three boats on the 140 mile race course. The race starts on May 17, sailing to Gay Head (Aquinnah) and returning to Old Saybrook.
It may be too late to put together a team on such short notice, maybe not! However, you may be interested in racing on another sailboat. If so, I encourage you to contact Essex Yacht Club.
I’ve been taking out library books to cut back on the piles of books I’ve collected but not yet read! I switch off every week, reading a library book and one I own. It’s also a nice walk to the library from our house. Recently, I’ve been reading about the history of our local towns. Fascinating! The libraries have local authors, historical documents, and history books. Old Saybrook is next on my list. Feel free to drop off any books you have for the club bookshelf.
Cleanup day is coming and we need all hands on deck to get the clubhouse ready for the season. I appreciate your time and efforts in advance.
I am looking forward to a great season at the cove. See you soon!
Linda Tuzzio, Vice Commodore
Membership
Can you believe boating season is just around the bend? This is the time of year things pick up for the Membership Committee. The first Membership Event held this season will be during the April Club Cleanup- April 13th @ 10 am. If you know anyone who is interested in NCYC membership, send me an email and I will reach out to them.
Also, Badges – If anyone needs a new Badge printed, send an email to Caroline Miller.
Caroline Miller, Membership Chair (c.d.miller@comcast.net)
Junior Sailing
(sung to the tune of “It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas)
It's beginning to feel a lot like summer,
At our sailing camp, we're all abuzz.
Amy's at the helm, with Alex by her side,
As registrations overflow, our spirits rise.
It's beginning to look a lot like sailing,
Everywhere you go;
With instructors hired, and boats inspired,
In our cove, they will gleam and glow.
Kids laugh and learn, the winds at their back,
Sails billow and hearts are all intact.
Optis and 420s, a picturesque sight,
As they glide through the water, everything feels just right.
It's beginning to look a lot like sailing,
Everywhere you go;
With instructors hired, and boats inspired,
In our cove, they will gleam and glow.
This tune has been stuck in my head all morning, so as I sat down to write my update I had to embrace it! The team has been hard at work planning another great summer for the junior sailors at North Cove. We have waitlists for the Opti classes in all three sessions, T-shirt designs for our limited-edition 2024 shirts are being finalized, and we’re reviving our Race Team program (including NCYC pinnies for the racers.) I am so extremely grateful for the dedication of our team especially Amy Vinciguerra (Program Director) and Alex Beauchene (Head Instructor) who donate their time in the off-season to plan, interview instructors, and brainstorm ways to grow and improve the program.
For anyone interested in joining the Junior Sailing Committee, keep an eye out for an email about a planning meeting in late April/early May.
Fair seas,
Melissa Mason
NCYC Junior Sailing Chair
And from Amy Vinciguerra:
Spots are filling up at NCYC for our 2024 season! Already we have a full list of Opti sailors ready to take lessons this summer. We have remaining spots in the 420 classes for our sailors who are 12-16 years old. With a full team of Instructors, next we are looking for our team of Junior Instructors. Any sailors age 14-18 who are looking for volunteer hours are welcome to join the team!
Last year we experienced a very exciting return to the travel racing scene. This season we are re-introducing the NCYC Junior Racing Team! This will be our team of sailors participating in travel regattas all across CT and RI! They will be participating in our Monday Night Racing series, as well as attending Wednesday evening skills practices to get ready for events.
The club is very proud to be teaching the next generation of sailors and competitors.
Activities
ALL ABOARD!
We had a great turn out once again for our March meet up at the Highliner III in Westbrook. It was nice fostering new friendships with new, old and returning club members, as well as renew old friendships. Isn’t the Highliner III a great little hidden trackside gem, with its train themed decor!? A fun place to sip a cocktail, watch the trains whiz past and imagine days gone by of train travel.
In my opinion, those bartenders make the BEST rum punch on the Shorline. If you didn’t try one, next time you swing through, get one! You won’t be disappointed. They are sweet, tropical and go down fast. BUT, JUST REMEMBER, they are a bar ONLY and those drinks creep up on you QUICK!! That’s why it was so nice that we could do our own snack set up! As usual, we outdid ourselves with all kinds of tasty treats. We had so much food that we offered it to the other patrons and received rave reviews! I hope everyone enjoyed themselves and is looking forward to opening the club up again!
I think we have a good mix of events for this season starting with the Derby May 4th. Again this year, please wear your hats! You were all so creative I’m looking forward to this years masterpieces! Please bring Kentucky inspired apps. (don’t worry I will share a website of Derby food ideas if you get stumped!)
May 4th is also know as Star Wars Day. (May the 4th be with you) Let’s see how many fans we have out there! If you have any memorabilia from the trilogy, extra points if you can incorporate it into your outfit.
See y’all soon!
Melissa Clark, Activities Chair
Off Shore Racing
Thursday Night Racing
Sailors get ready, Thursday Night Racing will start up again in June! It's time to sand, paint, and repair all those laundry list items to get your vessel in tip-top shape for the season!
A skippers meeting will be held on Thursday April 25th, 1800 at NCYC to relay all competitors' information. After party at the Rabbit Hole for casual discussion of the rules of racing.
All who are interested in joining the racing scene are welcome to attend! This includes any first time crew members, interested race committee volunteers, first time captains, or those who are just curious about what happens at these Thursday events!
Have any thoughts on this year's season? Contact Amy Vinciguerra amyvinci94@gmail.com or share your thoughts on the Discord server.
Old Saybrook Outer Light Classic
Registration is open and we have our first boat registered! The race is on! It takes a boat load of volunteers to put this event together and you can be involved in this rewarding event! The next meeting for the Outer Light Planning Committee will be held on April 17th, 6:30 PM at Myrcene Brewery in Old Saybrook. We look forward to seeing you there!
Clubhouse Rentals
I just thought I would give a few guidelines into what to do when you want to rent the clubhouse for a private social event. Many people know this, but many of the new members or members who have never thought about renting the clubhouse have any idea where to begin.
All the information I am going to mention here is also on the club website. I know that can be a challenge for some people, but I think most anyone can access a website and there is tons of great information on our website and the website master (Jon Mason and team) are always tweaking and adding to it. So feel free to check it out.
So, the club website is : northcoveyc.com
After you get that page, you go to the tab with the “Password Protected Page” in the dropdown menu under “Member Area”
This will lead you to putting in the Password which is : shh, it’s only for members.
Are you ready? The password is: YachtClub. [Ed. note: oooh, tricky…although It is case-sensitive.] Have your computer save it, so you don’t have to remember it.
Then scroll three-quarters of the way down the page, or you can read the whole thing, until you see-
Use of NCYC Clubhouse Facilities.
This has the fee breakdown and the necessary forms you need. Here you will also find my email, or whoever is in charge of reservations. You should get in touch with them first before you make any other plans and see if the clubhouse is free. You can often tell this if you first look at the club calendar. But just to be safe, check with the reservation chairperson, as sometimes events get added and are not always put on the website calendar right away.
If the day and time you want are free, you can send in your rental form to the chairperson and your cleaning deposit to our treasurer at the clubhouse P.O. Box address. The rental form has been streamlined, so you can fill it out online and just email it to the chairperson as well.
Then I email the treasurer and the website master, Jon and tell them to add the private event to the club calendar and the treasurer keeps the cleaning deposit check until after the event takes place.
Make sure you read the rental form in its entirety as it has many rules that must be adhered to. If you will have more than 20 people at the event, we ask you to include your fee with the rental form you send to me. If you think you will only have 19 people and 23 show up, you can leave a check in the clubhouse mailbox for the treasurer, on the day of the event.
The clubhouse is only supposed to be used for social gatherings such as; birthdays, anniversaries, or graduations and the like, not for an organization meeting of a club, group, or civic assemblage. And all members always have access to the club even during private events, although most members try to be discreet, when there is a party going on.
I hope this helps a bit and you are always free to text or call me if you are still unclear, but email is preferred.
Ann Chan, Clubhouse Rentals
Women on the River
It’s time for another season of Women on the River! Please consider joining this fun group. We start sailing end of May! Below is a brief description and dates that we hope to be sailing. Contact Cathy Murphy at cjhmurphy@gmail.com or call 860-227-7122 for sign up or additional information or questions.
Women On The River consists of women from North Cove, Essex, Corinthian, Pettipaug, and Hamburg Cove Yacht Clubs. We meet four times, on a Wednesday at 5:00, and sail the Ideal 18s provided by Essex and Corinthian Yacht Clubs. It’s an opportunity for women to get away from the old ball-and-chain share their love and excitement for sailing. The fleet consists of 12 boats, three women per boat. Women of all sailing abilities are welcome. There are enough skilled sailors from Essex and Corinthian to skipper the boats but if you are interested in being a skipper, that is encouraged also. After each session, we have a social hour. The events are rain or shine. We have fun activities and games planned if weather does not cooperate for sailing.The schedule for events is as follows:
1 st meeting May 22 at Essex Corinthian. This is a pot luck and BYOB. This will be a review of the Ideal 18’s. Weather permitting, we hope to sail.
June 5, 12, 19 will be at Essex Yacht Club. Sailing followed by dinner. The cost for dinner is $30
There is no cost to join this group. We ask only that you pay in advance if you plan on staying for dinner.
Please contact me by May 1 if you’re interested in joining: cjhmurphy@gmail.com or call 860-227-7122 for sign up or additional information or questions.
Cruising News
It is April 2024 & the warming trend continues as we enjoy earlier sunrises and later sunset.
Our first cruise planning meeting will be Saturday April 20 from 2:30pm to 4:45pm at the Acton Library in Old Saybrook followed by our traditional happy hour at the Penny Lane Pub.
April 22 is Earth Day and prior to our cruise meeting there will be an Earth Day event at the Acton Library.
Barry Souza of Boat Wise will be holding a Limited Masters License class at the Shennecossett Yacht Club on 4/20 & 4/21. Please contact Boat Wise at 603-394-0412 for details.
Look forward to all our cruising ideas and praying for good cruising weather for our 2024 cruises.
See you soon,
David Chan, Fleet Captain
Grounds Committee
Calling all gardeners. Please join us for the April cleanup 4/13. We could use some skilled hands to prune , rake and get the planters ready for the season. Bring your clippers and any ideas you want to share for the club gardens.
Thank you!
Cathy Murphy, Grounds Chair
Reminiscences
by Joe Carroll
For most of us at NCYC sailing the Long Island and Connecticut coastlines has always been fascinating.
As a little shaver I motorboated and sailed to almost all the ports between Lake Champlain and Nantucket. My father would put all us seven kids and my mother into our boat and travel via the Hudson River to Long Island Sound, Block Island Sound, Elizabeth Islands, Marthas Vineyard, and Nantucket. As a lad I knew all of the buoys, shoals, lighthouses and ports along our cruising path. Ports like City Island, NYC, Southport, Darien, Glen Cove, Mt. Sinai harbor, Fishers Island, Gardner’s Bay, Block Island, Stonington, Cape Cod and the Islands. In those days (almost 60 years ago) weather forecasts were not so good. We navigated using dead reckoning by compass & charts, and our radio usually didn’t work. In heavy fog my father always told me to “trust the compass”. Usually because when I was at the helm we were five miles off course based on a bell buoy or some other navigational aid that we accidently come upon, and whose number we’d look up on a chart.
I have always had a great time on the water. However, many times our boat would set out on a beautiful morning, only to have the day turn really nasty and ugly with high winds, big waves, and torrential downpours and fog. It was during these times that my mother would gather the little kids down below, and break out the rosary beads as waves broke over the boat, and the boat broached onto its side in the middle of nowhere, but eventually righted and kept on going. In port, we seemed to find every sandbar on which to ground, and occasionally a rock which caused bent shafts, props, worn out cutlass bearings. We’d anchor and a 70 mph squall would hit us and cause us to drag up on a breakwater, or collide with other anchored boats. Or, other boats would drag into us, and carry us onto a shoal, or the beach. It was a lot of fun listening to my sisters cry and scream for their lives.
Unfortunately, based on these experiences, most of my brothers and sisters don’t sail or enjoy time on the water today. If I take them out for a sail on Madaket, and the wind builds up to 12 knots or so, I am requested to take them back to North Cove while they hide out in the cabin.
In college, I was on the sailing team, and we would race mostly on Long Island Sound near Manhasset Bay, Larchmont Yacht Club, Port Washington or other western LI Sound yacht clubs-an easy sail for our colleges’ 42’ Christ-craft Comanche, and Shield sloops from the NY Maritime College where I went to college. In college, many times we would get caught in high winds, lightening storms, squalls. We’d get knocked down. We’d tear sails. Ruin rigging. We’d get lost. However, many times we’d win. In the winter we raced in frostbite races with nearby yacht clubs. We would interact with sailors like Cornelius Shields Sr. and Jr, Harry Anderson, Arthur Knapp, Clinton Bell, and guys with nick-names like Ace, Spider, Corny, Buss, Ceb, & Chappie. All great sailors who were consumed with year-round sailing and racing and members of Larchmont, American, Stamford yacht clubs to name a few. Many of my fellow sailing team members were also trained at Long Island Sound yacht clubs which had great Junior Sailing programs. So, many of us were used to dealing with adverse unpredictable situations on the water. Today, it seems like North Cove Yacht Club sailors don’t get ourselves into too many bad weather situations. Maybe because of the use of modern instruments, radios and cell phones that have instantaneous weather-radar reports reporting an incoming squalls or other imminent dangerous weather situations. Also, perhaps the weather isn’t as ferocious as it was when I was a lad. We had a couple of foggy races last summer, and I was able to follow my chart plotter to the marks. Fifty years ago we’d have to listen for gongs, or horns, or people talking on their boats in order to get a handle on where we were. For me, it’s a lot less stressful sailing today than it was decades ago. Of course, on LI Sound that could all change in an instant.
I believe that all of us at North Cove Yacht Club find our boats more than insurable pleasure. Our boats are a beloved companion with a soul and a personality and a name. The competition at our club does not make us become a slave to a sailmaker, or a boatyard. NCYC competition is not a boat and dollars match. It is fun and we normally don’t find ourselves in the middle of an unanticipated squall or tornado that can be physically taxing, and a risk to our sailing companions, including our boat. If sudden bad weather is forecasted we are normally about 3-miles from the Connecticut River and can make a quick trip into port.
Soon, I will be in the midst of making preparations for launching Madaket. This year I hope that my new hips cooperate, and that I have progressed in my healing enough to get my boat ready for launch, and racing. Although my hips and legs are still a little sore, I am progressing well with my physical therapy. So, I hope to see you all out on the water this June on Thursday nights. Any one who wishes to participate in Thursday night racing but don’t have a boat can crew for a skipper. There is a lot of opportunity for crewing on a boat, and now is a good time to read about sailboat racing if you want to actively participate this summer.
I hope all of you had a great winter, and are anxiously awaiting a summer full of boating.
Joe Carroll
Everglades Challenge
Everglades Challenge 2025 - Update!
[If that phrase above rings no bells at all, please refer to the March High Tidings (near the bottom) where it is introduced]
We’ve just begun adding reef points to the sails to make them compliant for the event; every sail needs two reef points. There are many more little jobs to do on the boat such as wiring, adding a manual and electric bilge pump, adding oarlocks and oars, sanding/painting, more painting, shut-off valves on the cockpit drains through-hull fittings, re-bedding deck hardware, building a small sprit, etc.. We are also still looking for a more centrally located location to work on the boat and trailer. Once the basic work is done we’ll be testing (sailing) and refining the boat/system as our ideas improve. Anyone is welcome to join in at any point. Input is welcome from all.
There is a list in the club Discord under the ‘swap meet’ section of items we need to get for the boat, hopefully second hand. If you have a basement full of old boat stuff, take a look at the list and maybe we can make a deal.
Watch the Discord for when our next conference call will be, all interested parties are welcome.
From the Chaplain’s Quiet Corner of the Cove
I was looking out the window this evening and noticed the Ospreys have returned to North Cove. Their faithful arrival every spring around the time of the vernal equinox reminds me of this poem by T. A. Conrad.
Soon as the sun, great ruler of the year,
Bends to our northern clime his bright career,
And from the caves of ocean calls from sleep
The finny shoals and myriads of the deep;
When freezing tempests back to Greenland ride,
And day and night the equal hours divide;
True to season, o’er our sea-beat shore,
The sailing osprey high is seen to soar…
A warm welcome to all the creatures returning to the cove this season, including the sailors and fishermen who “welcome the season with a song.”
And now some parting words from past Commodore Hugh Hunsinger
From the Editor
Thank you to everyone who contributed to this, the second High Tidings in three days! I really appreciate you all stepping up to the plate. If you have news, info, etc. you’d like to put in May High Tidings, please email me at debrasachs247@gmail.com and put “May High Tidings” in the subject header. Thanks so much!
Deb Paulson