High Tidings September 2023
/The Cruising Issue
Upcoming Events for September
Wednesdays ongoing – Grill night. Join for a drink or dinner
September 2 – September 4 . Labor Day Cruise to Mystic Seaport
Tuesdays beginning September 5 at 5:30 at Club– Meditation facilitated by Caryl Horner
September 8 – Friday through Sunday Launch service begins. Check calendar for times.
September 9, 4:00. BYO Pizza and trivia night
September 16 – September 17, Mattituck Wine and Bike Cruise
Mondays beginning September 18 at 6:00 – Restorative Yoga at Club with Cheryl Miller
Commodore Remarks
Mother Mother Ocean… I have heard you call… Wanted to sail upon your waters since I was 3 feet tall…
Jimmy Buffet
That’s my lead in for this year’s club cruise. What a great time we had and so inspiring to see more members joining the cruising fleet. A large gathering at “The Oar” Block Island. Not sure how this came about but a crowd on the lawn outside the oar was cheering folks as they maneuvered their dinghies into the dinghy dock trying to avoid the rock at low tide, which is a challenge. As we came in some folks on the dock were asking if we were part of that group, I dodged the question, then he said they’re yelling “Commodore” !!! Oh well …. Luckily we had a good landing. Also, a great gathering at Coecles Harbor Marina. We were anticipating gas grills but were saddened when it was charcoal grills only and the ship’s store had already closed.
Vice Commodore Linda took charge and approached the neighboring group which was Shinicoset Yacht club from Groton. Yes, they had an extra bag and chimney starter and we were GTG.
Some members came out just for a weekend and a few stayed for the full two weeks. Personally, once I’ve lived on boat for two weeks I don’t want to return back. Just a touch and go to for food, water, fuel, laundry, and back out.
Next up is the Labor Day cruise to Mystic Seaport. Always a fun time. Then the Wine cruise to Mattituck, which is centered in North Fork Long Island wine country. One of my favorites, you can bring your bikes or easily rent bikes in town. Anchor at the head of the Harbor or get a slip at Strong’s marina. It’s a one-hundred-yard walk to “Love Lane” (very romantic), which has a New York City flair of cheese and chocolate shops, great breakfast, and a couple restaurants. Then the wineries…. Best to ride out to the further ones and hit the close ones on the return home. There is a brewery as well which typically has live music, as do several of the wineries. Hope you all are enjoying the boating season and can stretch it out as long as possible.
Vice Commodore Remarks
Thank you, David and Ann Chan, for leading us on a fun-filled club cruise! Rob and I managed to make most of the ports of call. Rainy weather kept some people away and others headed home, as planned, after the first week. We had some sunny days which made up for the rain. Our Commodore, that old salty dog, was the last one to come home after fetching the final destination port, Sag Harbor.
Another highlight, one we missed out on, were the Millers and Peter Stump’s family riding horses on the shores of Montauk. I would be interested in doing that next year.
The people make the cruise and we had a great group. It is always interesting to gather at 5 pm in a new port of call and see who arrives. We were never disappointed. Dinners, drinks, a cookout, farmer’s market, beach, hikes, and meeting up on someone’s boat made for the best of times.
We have a couple of more short club cruises left in the season and I hope you will join us.
The clubhouse looks great, thanks to Rich Peters. We have some new novels and a seafood cookbook on the corner bookshelf. Help yourselves. We could use a few more good books if you have them.
Open position for next year: House Operations Chairperson. Responsibilities include maintenance of the clubhouse, responding to calls for repair or replacement, ordering supplies, and regular checks of the clubhouse. Contact any board member if interested.
Linda Tuzzio
Vice Commodore
The 2023 Club Cruise
Fleet Secretary ANn Chan and Fleet Captain David chan show off their new t-shirts that commemorate the 2023 ben franklin cruise
From the desk of the Fleet Captain:
The 2023 NCYC Annual Cruise has been christened
The Ben Franklin Cruise
With the spectacular lightning shows the cruisers experienced nearly every third day of cruising, Ben Franklin would have had a great time flying his kite. Nobody needed flashlights to confirm that the anchor was still holding in the gale force winds; the flashes from the lightning show illuminated the masts of neighboring boats and the shoreline clearly. Thoughts of donning our life vests while hunkered in our cabins were consistent throughout the fleet. Distance settings for the anchor alarms were increased with confidence as the sway of the vessels on the chart plotter resembled the pendulum of a grandfather clock. In fact, the thunder was consistent with the hourly chimes! Under the ever-watchful command of the captains of our cruising fleet, the fleet came through without any major incidents or accidents. For sure, the rain events allowed us to spot the leaks in our vessels. On the bright side, there was no need for any deck washdowns.
Happy hours were greatly appreciated especially the evening event at the Ram’s Head Inn with lots of ice & libations. Many thanks to our always hard-working Port Captains; without them it will be a very uneventful cruise. From pancakes to farm visits to yacht club visits to farmers market to horseback riding to numerous specially prepared meals at restaurants to mud slides to specialty drinks to a BBQ with borrowed charcoal, our port captains made sure we had a wonderful time with a great cruising family.
Cruise 2023: The Best. The Worst. The Most Memorable.
Cheryl and Mark Miller–Kairos
Best - getting to spend 9 days onboard with our adult son and spending time with wonderful NCYC friends. Doesn't get any better than that!
Unforgettable - the sunset on Saturday night in Watch Hill and horseback riding in Montauk. Deep Hollow Ranch is where we did the trail ride from and it is the oldest continuously operated cattle ranch in the US! Riding along the beach with views of Block Island was quite memorable.
Could have done without - rain at some point during five of the nine days we were cruising, and being abruptly awoken at 2:30 AM when a storm with exceedingly strong winds (Whimsea clocked a 39 knot gust) swung our boat and rolled me in my bunk. Fortunately, the lightning didn't strike anything near us and the mooring held in place despite the repeated wild swings.
Amy Vinciguerra – Serenity
Best moment – discovering a live band playing on the beach the night we stayed in West Neck Harbor.
Most Embarrassing – trashing our jib during the one moment we tried to do a Tigress Race.
Unforgettable – following past commodore Jenkins to a lovely secret anchorage at.. [REDACTED]
Melissa Clark – Scoundrel
Best – The abundance of wildlife! And Ram’s Head
Could have done without – Too much rain and leaks!
Pete Stump – Hippogriff
Best – Amelia Dawe is now a confirmed blue-water sailor. She stood watch for three hours piloting Hippogriff between Block and Montauk with skill and awareness. She guided us through several tacks, kept track of marks and other boats, and did a FINE job of it all. We are grateful for her effort all through this cruise.
Worst – The weather and rain frequently invading our travels along the way.
Memorable – Our horseback ride at Montauk was very good with beautiful trails and beach scenery. What a blast and bounce for me!
Ann Chan – Akvavit
Best – Being with like-minded people.
Worst – The squall the last night in Coecles Harbor.
Most memorable – Turning Deb Paulson’s boat around 180 degrees at the dock in Block Island
Linda Tuzzio – Sea Horse
Best – The impromptu dinner at The Barn on Block Island with the six of us!
Most embarassing – Leaving my cell phone in the store at Block Island! Got it back four hours later!
Most memorable – Watching a raccoon forage for seafood on the shore as seen from the Jenkin’s boat deck.
Keeping It Fresh
Veteran cruisers share their cruise provisioning tips
Fridge/Ice Box
Freeze everything perishable that can be frozen, such as sausages, meats (you can freeze in marinade!), cartons of egg beaters (the seasoned ones are quite tasty). They won’t stay frozen, but will help keep the fridge/icebox cold. You will use the perishable things in order of their perishability - don’t overstock unless you have great faith in your refrigeration! You can count on picking up some fresh fish, eating out, or restocking during second week.
Chill everything else that you will be putting in the fridge/icebox (don’t put room temp beers and seltzers in if you can help it)
If you can, bring the temp of the fridge/icebox down before loading it up - put ice in the night before - especially if it’s hot. Re-use the sturdy Arizona Iced Tea jugs to freeze ice - just make sure to leave space for expansion! I leave one at the bottom of our icebox to keep things from falling out of reach. Block ice lasts longer than cubes, of course, but everyone likes cubes in drinks.
Find some plastic baskets or containers to help organize the ice box and keep small things from getting lost. Keeping an organized icebox isn’t easy but you don’t want to have it open any more than necessary.
Dry Goods
Keep an eye out for shelf-stable options as you shop before the cruise. Trader Joes has interesting options for appetizers. We always bring that dense german pumpernickel - stays fresh as long as the package isn’t opened. Shelf-stable dairy or oat/nut/soy milk is a must. Come up with a few “emergency meals” such as pasta and sauce, Dinty Moore stew, dried soup mix (this makes a good lunch after a cold rainy passage!). A tasty veggie chili can be made with salsa, diced tomatoes, beans and hominy, all canned. Packs of pre-cooked rice are handy. All these can stay on the boat for the season. Kodiak pancake mix can be made with milk and eggs if you have, or water if you don't, and can be used as a baking mix if you want to be creative (peach coffee cake anyone?). Jiffy muffin mixes and a six-muffin foil pan can make the boat smell good and a simple meal more special. Our propane oven works great - just leave plenty of time to pre-heat or your bottom will get burned!
Produce
If you have a garden or know someone who has, get some mostly green tomatoes as well as mostly ripe ones - they will ripen through the cruise. Same goes for plums and peaches - get them hard to ripen as you go. Produce can be stored in a hanging basket or a picnic basket - onions, garlic, potatoes, fruit, blueberries, zucchini and cukes, but keep an eye out for soft spots and use icebox if you have room and need longer storage. In the icebox: I get a head of iceberg for sandwiches - seems to stay crunchy and good. We like cooked greens and use kale, chard or collards early in the cruise. Coleslaw mix is sturdy! If you put berries in the icebox, put them in a ziplock. Blueberries clog the drain hole don’t ask me how I know.
Happy cruising!
Laurie and Janet
Block Island Clam/Miso Soup
Recipe by David Chan
Portion to your desire the following main ingredients: Clams/miso soup base, wakame, tofu, clams, shitake mushroom
Prepare your favorite miso soup with wakame/bonito flakes/miso or equivalent. Add in small cubes of tofu. Add in sliced, dried shitake mushrooms. Bring to a simmer until mushrooms are soft. Add in chopped clams & liquid. Simmer until done.
Boil Shanxi noodles or equivalent until firm (al dente). Rinse with cold water. Return to boiling water. Drain & mix with sesame oil & soy sauce to taste. Set aside.
Portion noodles with soup, or enjoy soup and noodles separately.
Upcoming Cruises
Looking ahead, we need to make our reservations for our Labor Day Cruise to the ever popular Mystic Seaport. Please be sure to mention that you are with NCYC for our slip grouping. Peter Stump is our hard-working Port Captain for our cruise visit to Mystic Seaport either by sea or by land. After Mystic, there’s still the much-desired Wine Cruise to the North Fork to consider. Please let me know if you want to be our Port Captain to lead our always thirsty cruisers. Initial plans are to dock at Strong’s Marina in Mattituck. Slips are available as well as anchoring opportunities.
Green Boating
Earlier this season, Tom and I joined Sailors for the Sea, sailorsforthesea.org. Like many others in NCYC, we were concerned about trash in and around our beautiful waters, and we wondered what we could do to help. Sailors for the Sea seeks to educate boaters on their environmental impact as well as give them ideas and suggestions on how to be a greener boater. Turns out, small actions can have big impacts!
In general, we try not to use single-use plastic water bottles (difficult, but not impossible) and we try to use environmentally safe cleaners on Airbus. Simple Green works well for bug and scuff marks on the gel coat, and Peppermint spray is amazing for keeping spiders out of the boat–and it smells great!
We also replaced paper plates and plastic utensils with reusable plates and utensils several years ago on Airbus, and added a recycling bin aboard to store any cans, bottles and plastic. If we see some trash floating in the water (mylar balloons are often sighted) we use this as an opportunity to practice our man overboard drills and it’s fun to scoop up that Happy Birthday sign! When cruising, we often go to shore with a trash bag, in addition to our cooler of drinks. We make a game of collecting trash – once we find ten pieces, we pop open a beer (sometimes Tom thinks five is plenty!)
While we are all conscious boaters at NCYC, we can always do more, and as a group I believe we can make a bigger impact.
If you have specific boating practices or eco-friendly products you use, email me (Julie) at tjtydeman@gmail.com and we can spread the information through High Tidings. I look forward to hearing from you and sharing your ideas!
Thank you!
Julie Tydeman - Airbus
Activities
[Ed. note – oops, lots of paper and plastic here. We’re working on it!]
What a fun night the Ice Cream Social was! We were all busy enjoying the delicious ice cream with ALL the toppings!! Fresh pineapple, raspberries and strawberries along with some gooey hot fudge, m&ms and whipped cream over cold, creamy vanilla ice cream (Am I making you drool yet?) And a new favorite topping, rice Chex introduced by Pat O’Malley! They are like having tiny bits of cone on top! Delicious!
Since we had approximately thirty five people, we decided to have a fun game of nautical trivia. Each table was a team. Did you know that an old seaman's term for marriage is called double clewing?!
For those that missed it, we managed to save some of the ice cream for the upcoming Octoberfest!! Imagine hot apple strudel a la mode! Speaking of upcoming events, sadly we are getting close to the last of them. We would really like to finish strong so please join us for as many as possible.
SATURDAY SEPT 9. - Pizza Party Palooza! You bring your favorite large pizza to share.
See you all at the club!
Melissa and Lucy
Yoga is back!
Fellow club member Cheryl Miller will lead a restorative yoga class on Monday evenings from 6:00 to 7:00 PM starting on 9/18 through 10/16. This all-level yoga class will incorporate grounded movement, restorative poses, and pranayama (or breath) exercises, and will conclude with an extended Savasana (relaxation pose). Participants will have an opportunity to slow down, use props to facilitate longer holds, find stillness, and release tension from the body and mind.
Bring a yoga mat, a beach towel or blanket, and yoga blocks if you have them.
New! Meditation Group at NCYC
NCYC is inviting members to our new 8 week Meditation Group on Tuesday evenings at 5:30 PM beginning September 5, 2023 at the club, facilitated by meditation coach and NCYC member, Caryl Horner.
Chairs will be set up for meditating or you can bring a meditation mat/pillow if you prefer. There is no commitment to attend every week. Just join us when you can.
If anyone needs to learn how to meditate, you can arrive any Tuesday at 5:15 PM, and Caryl will provide individual meditation instruction, so that you can join in the group practice at 5:30 if you wish.
We will be setting up Zoom for the meditation practice to include those who prefer to meditate with us virtually. More info to follow on the Zoom details.
Herbal tea will be available after meditation.
By meditating together we will reduce stress and gain the many proven physical, cognitive and emotional health benefits of meditation. We will also have fun meditating together!
Belle 8 Race
Ladies, hoist your sails!
The Belle 8 race returns on Sunday September 10th! Come join us for NCYC’s Annual women at the helm race! This is an excellent opportunity for women to show their sailing knowledge, or learn how to race in a very friendly environment. There will be a skippers meeting at 10am before the race to reviews the course followed by a noon start off of the Outer Light. After the race there will be food ($5 per person) and awards (roughly 2:30-3pm weather dependent). Boats and female skippers can be arranged via discord, or reach out to Amy Vinciguerra if you need a female skipper, want to be the skipper for a boat, or would like to crew. 860-395-7625
Please register your boat to race by emailing amyvinci94@gmail.com
Membership
Please welcome into the Club the following new Members:
Joyce Grossbard
Alex and Loreen Yuknat
The following are posted for Membership.
Michael and Kathleen LeGeyt
Old Saybrook, CT
Kathleen: Occupational therapist
Michael: Orthopedic Hand Surgeon
Proposed by: Caroline Miller
Support letters: Pavlos, Cheryl Miller, Chan
Children: Alessandra, Mitchell, Kyle Jared, Hannah
Boating: They owned a small power boat 18 ft Sea Ray.
Skills/interests: Micheal and Kahleen are eager to learn to sail and make friends with similar interests. They are interested in taking sailing lessons with their daughter. They loved owning their power boat and have many great memories. They are looking forward to getting back into boating and joining the boating community at NCYC. They look forward to learning and being involved.
Thursday Night Racing
A few weeks back, the Thursday night race was cancelled due to impending thunderstorms. Undaunted, the intrepid racers decided to race the 420’s off the dock. (Be sure to listen to the audio.)
Reminiscences of a Nantucket Sailing Childhood
by Joe Carroll
As a lad sailing my 19-foot molded plywood Highlander along the harbor and other shores of Nantucket Island, the winds were frequently strong and shifty. When the wind was like this, I would get the boat settled down and sailing right, only to have the boat mysteriously jibe and tack on its own as the wind instantaneously and simultaneously changed direction multiple times. Sometimes the boat would stall in irons with the sails flapping away in 30 knot winds. Usually, Nantucket winds are 15 to 20 knots on most days, with the Hulbert Avenue mansions deflecting the harbor winds in every direction, and the hot sands and dunes of the beaches setting up their own cyclonic wind patterns.
Naturally, my other 11-year-old friends who would sail with me (Buzzy, Squirrel, John-Boy, Chaaarllie, “Drugs” Harrison [his name was pronounced using a Transatlantic accent-think William F. Buckley], Spider, Sharky, Maisie & Muffin) would sometimes appear to be, and even perhaps smell “frightened” as we sailed in these challenging conditions.
There was an ancient Nantucket man we called “Skipper”. He was born in a whaling ship tied-up to a downtown Nantucket wharf in 1873 and as a lad he attended the Admiral Coffin seamanship school in Nantucket. Skipper used an old oar as a walking stick, and he chewed wax made from oil taken from the case in the head of a sperm whale. Skipper was a part of Nantucket’s quahog royalty. There were other members of this royalty-old sailor guys-who hung out on the wharves talking about important things, like what fishing boats were smuggling pot and illicit drugs and outrunning the “Revenuers”. Occasionally, Skipper would dispense to the local youth advice on sailing since he saw that many of us had trouble keeping the wind in our sails.
Skipper would provide unsolicited sailing advice to me. “Jerry”-he called me Jerry back in 1963- “you must understand where the wind is coming from.” Skipper would dispense such knowledge in between expectorating “lungers” onto the rotted 1840 wood of the wharf. “Before you set sail, stand on the shore and simply look at wind indicators such as flags on boats and flagpoles. Look at the ripples in the water and determine where the wind that is causing the ripples is coming from. Determine how the wind is shifting prior setting out. Plan where you want to sail to, and how you are going to tack back and forth to get to your destination-a series of short tacks. If you are sailing downwind adjust the sail so that it is way out over the water at a right angle to the boat. The way that you adjust the sail is dependent on the course you sail. If you are heading into the wind and the sail begins to flap-you are sailing too close to the wind and need to change your course off the wind to get back to the proper sail angle. On the other hand, if the sail is out a little and isn’t flapping, the boat is sailing too wide and the course of the boat needs to change so that it is closer to the wind.”
Skipper also taught me about keeping an eye not only on the sail, but also on the ripples of the water beyond the bow. The ripples on the water are a prelude to a wind shift. When sailing in shifty winds practice steering a straighter course so that your boat won’t sail as high or as low as it may want to. Skipper also was an advocate of making rapid adjustments to the sail in shifty winds and keeping the mainsheet in your hand so that quick adjustments to the sail could be made whenever the wind changes direction. Difficult to do on a Catboat–the Nantucket boat-of-choice in Skipper’s day.
Skipper also talked about sailing in the fog & squalls, and using different current direction and velocities to augment boat speed; predicting weather by looking at clouds (cirrostratus, altostratus and nimbostratus & alto & cumulonimbus); and taught us how to read the Cape Cod barometer–clouds and a barometer are each used in predicting weather. I’ll cover Skipper’s 1840’s style training in future articles.
The good news is that today our youth have the North Cove Yacht Club’s junior sailing program to teach them sailing utilizing modern training methods taught by certified sailing instructors. My generation may have a lot of fun remembering guys like “Skipper” guiding us with his oar and his bullhorn in the finer aspects of roll-tacking, and performing Nantucket flying jibes, and learning how to swim by being thrown off of a wharf into water that is over one’s head. Also, teaching we former minnows how to keep from getting run over by the Nantucket steamer (“Skipper said to pay close attention to the rhythm of the rotating prop and its escalating “swish-swish-swish” as it gets closer to your becalmed boat. If necessary, break out your whale-boat oar and start paddling like hell away from the oncoming steamer”).
Ah–those were great days–but we would have learned more under the watchful tutelage of Amy Vinciguerra.
Got to get going, need to monitor Hurricane Idalia that is now threatening Florida.
Yours for a fair tide,
Captain Carroll, Skipper of the catboat Madaket.
A Fond Goodbye
“You can’t direct the Wind, but you can adjust your Sails.”
I’m adjusting my sails as I am writing this to the members of the North Cove Yacht Club. My husband Bob and I joined the club in 2001, a mere 22 years ago. We were active in various ways through most of those years. Sadly, Bob died in 2020 but I continued as a senior member.
I have gradually realized that I have “aged” out of what I see are younger boaters and new members all around me– and I’m happy to see the new families joining and carrying on. To me, the NCYC has always been the best yacht club on the shoreline. We are lucky to have such a wonderful club house, gorgeous views, and a membership that all works together within their expertise.
But without a boat, one loses the “connection” with others that have so much to share about their marine experiences. I’ve tried to continue on my own, but something is missing. So, at the end of this membership term, I will resign. It’s been a good run and I wish everyone smooth sailing, fun activities, and good fellowship.
All the best to the membership, officers, commodores past and present. I will carry with me many good memories of the NCYC.
Fondly, Sue Wisner from Bittersweet, our 30 ft. Wanderer.
[From the editor: When I first took on the job as editor of High Tidings, I learned that Sue’s husband, Bob, had done the job before me. I quickly realized that he had done it with such aplomb and expertise that the bar was set high. But Sue always made sure to send me a note after each issue of my tenure came out, complimenting me on it, and telling me Bob would be proud. She’s a fine lady, and I will miss her.]
From the Chaplain’s Quiet Corner of the Cove
Sometimes, you need the ocean light,
and colors you’ve never seen before
painted through an evening sky.
Sometimes you need your God
to be a simple invitation,
not a telling word of wisdom.
Sometimes you need only the first shyness
that comes from being shown things
far beyond your understanding,
so that you can fly and become free
by being still
-David Whyte
For Sale
23' Sea Sprite Weekender Sailboat
5 HP Engine (2 yrs old) / Garmin GPS/ Ship to Shore Radio/100 Watt Solar Collector/New Bottom Paint/Includes new Spinnaker/Sink, Porta Potty, ice box , sleeps 4
Old Saybrook, CT- on a mooring
2900.00/ contact Bruce Sumner 203-804-8661 or basumner@gmail.com.
John Gardener design. Rowing/sailing 17 foot Swampscott Dory. It has all lines, rigging, mast, red sail, tiller, centerboard, padlocks and lightweight wooden oars by Shaw and Tenney of Maine. It also comes with life jackets and anchor. The trailer was new in 2008, and is still legally registered. Asking $4000 for boat and trailer, or best offer. If interested, please contact Elizabeth Gourlay at 860-271-6670
Follow NCYC on Instagram
@northcoveyachtclub
Many, many thanks to the club members who contributed to this issue! Photographs contributed by: Chris Bazinet, Elio Betty, Ann Chan, David Chan, Melissa Clark, Rob Hathaway, June Lee, Melissa Mason, David Miller, Caroline Miller, Cheryl Miller, Cathy Murphy, Deb Paulson, Laurie Pavlos, Lauren Peters, Pete Stump, Peg Sheehan, Stephen Sheehan, Linda Tuzzio, Julie Tydeman, Lou Vinciguerra, Janet Vinciguerra, Amy Vinciguerra.
Deb Paulson, editor