SAN FRANCISCO MODEL YACHT CLUBNAUTICAL NEWS

Mailing Address:

S.F.M.Y.C.450 Taraval ST. PMB 235San Francisco, CA 94116

VOLUME 112 JUNE, 2010 NUMBER 6

June 05 Saturday 0900 TugFest combined with Ken Reilly MemorialJune 05 Saturday 1300 36R class, race 3June 06 Sunday 1300 Santa Barbara class, race 4June 06 Sunday 1300 Infinity 54 class, race 4June 08 Tuesday 1300 ODOM class, race 4June 10 Thursday 1300 RX class, race 4June 12 Saturday 1300 M class InvitationalJune 13 Sunday 1300 X class, race 4, Virgil CupJune 19 Saturday 1300 Classic X, race 4June 20 Sunday Father’s DayJune 26 Saturday 1300 M class, race 4June 27 Sunday 1300 Star 45 class, race 4

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The Nautical News is published on amonthly basis by, and serves as thenewsletter of and for the San FranciscoModel Yacht Club, a NON-PROFIT, TAXEXEMPT CORPORATION.

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JUNE, 2010 Vol. 112 No. 6

2010 OFFICERS

CommodoreJim Forbesjandjaforbes@earthlink.net

Vice-CommodoreMary Rose Cassa

SecretaryJim Harvey

TreasurerEric Hansen

Power Squadron OfficerLee Duvallleeduval@juno.com

Sail Squadron OfficersFreesail: Mike Stobbemwstobbe@comcast.netR/C Sail: Jason Spillerspillerjason@yahoo.com

Directors at LargeDon CiucciEd ShoensteinBob HeacockTil MossiDrew Marshall

HistorianJeff Stobbe

Nautical News EditorJim Harvey

The deadline for items for the NauticalNews is the 20th of each month.Send to Jim Harvey(ja_harvey@yahoo.com). The editorreserves the right to edit submissions,based on space available.

COMMODORE’S CORNER

There’s an interesting article in this quarter’s issue of “ModelYachting,” the official magazine of the AMYA. I point out thisarticle, because there has been much discussion in the last coupleof months regarding the charging of batteries in the clubhouse.The article deals with the use of lithium polymer (LiPo) batteries.While LiPo batteries represent a significant improvement inbattery technology, they are not for use and / or installation byamateurs.

Because of previously reported fire and explosion problems withlithium batteries, the board has explicitly forbidden the charging oflithium batteries in the club house, whether they are attended ornot. The action of the board seems prescient, because as the articlepoints out, “Overcharging can likely result in a fire and / or anexplosion.” This prohibition notwithstanding, members willundoubtedly take advantage of the improvements in lithiumbatteries. The article provides some valuable information on thesafe use of them. For those of you who are not members of theAMYA, and thus do not receive the magazine, I will leave mycopy in the clubhouse the next time I am there for your reference.

The members attending the May meeting enjoyed a greatpresentation by Dennis Rogers on the proliferation of smallplastic debris in the world’s oceans. In August 2009, Mr. Rogerssailed on an expedition to the North Pacific aboard the iconic tallship the Kaisei, which was one of the two research vesselsinvolved in a project to assess the impact of such debris. Thanks toMary Rose Cassa for arranging another in our series ofinformative and enjoyable nautical programs.

The members voted to host another swap meet as we did last year.Last year’s event was successful, and enjoyed by all. This year’smeet is scheduled for Saturday, October 9th. This is our normalmonthly meeting date. Barring unforeseen circumstances, theOctober membership meeting is cancelled. So, round up all themust have stuff you got at last year’s meet (and haven’t used), tomake room for the must have stuff you will get at this year’s meet.

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I would like a volunteer to chair this year’s swap meet. If you are interested, please contact me, and I willprovide the information necessary to get the ball rolling. Chairmanship for this event should not prove to betoo time consuming.

There will be neither a board, nor general membership meeting in June. The next meeting of both bodies isscheduled for Saturday, July 10th. The newsletter, nonetheless, will be published as usual.

Besides the swap meet in October, we have two other major upcoming events, The Steam Up on Sunday,August 8th, and Wooden Boats On Parade on Sunday, October 24th. These are don’t miss events, so markyour calendars.

In the meantime, continue to enjoy good sailing on Spreckels Lake.

Jim Forbes, Commodore

SFMYC General Membership Meeting May 8, 2010

Called to order at 1105 by Commodore Forbes.

Present: Mary Rose Cassa, Jim Harvey, Ed Shoenstein, Eric Hansen, Lee Duvall, Drew Marshall, BobHeacock, Til Mossi, Jeff Stobbe, and Mike Stobbe. Absent: Don Ciucci

Summary of Board Meeting: The key distribution procedure was reported and accepted.

Treasurer’s Report: The budget for 2010 was presented and reviewed and passed by membership

Reports of Officers & Directors: None at this time.

New Business: None

New Members: None

Good of the Order: Don Nash announced a swap meet for October 9 at 1000 to 1430 with South BayModelers here at the Clubhouse.

Dennis Rogers from Project Kaisei gave a talk with slide show presentation on the Pacific Ocean Gyre whichis the huge, Texas sized floating island of plastic and Styrofoam in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

The meeting adjourned at 12:30 p.m.

Respectfully Submitted: Jim Harvey, Secretary

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Little Joe

I would like to tell you about my favorite boat, Little Joe. Little Joe is a Marblehead and originally was aClub boat. When I bought Little Joe in the centennial year of 1989, at a Club auction for $225, it was leakingin both the garboard and in the bow and the deck was loose. I taped it up and sailed it despite its badcondition, and even then it had the look of a classic sailboat.

Before I rebuilt it I loved the way it sailed even though I had to walk carrying a turkey baster to constantlybail it out. In rebuilding it, I tore it all down and repaired the decks and leaks and I made all new fittings andI had them all chrome plated.

I then took it out every day for a month to tune it up. In the first year Little Joe and I won all the Marbleheadraces and it is still winning. Out of my six perfect scores, Little Joe has won two. It has classic bigoverhangs and it is beamy and it moves like a leaf floating on the lake in the wind.

Little Joe is the only Marblehead to win the Skipper’s Cup in 2008. I believe it is possibly the best boat inthe Clubhouse. I don’t know when it was built but probably in the 30’s and I don’t know who built it. I lovethat boat. When you sail a boat enough you become one with it. You know what it’s going to do.

When you sail Little Joe, you’ve got to yell at it. “Ya Baby! Go! Go! Go!” and pump your arms double time.Many have seen the stern of Little Joe as it smoothly slides away down the lake. Although it is an old

fashioned boat with overhangs, it does well against all the modern designs.

George Ferrari

Slippery Sam’s Larger Brother Broomex

Shipmates,Here are some X-Class plans for the first time builder. Like the 36R Slippery Sam this is a hard chine hullwith a constant deadrise for easy construction out of plywood. A person could build this hull out of a 1/8”door skin with a light covering layer of fiberglass cloth. I suspect the entire hull could be built for less than$50. I would recommend a larger jib to main ratio and increasing the draft to the San Francisco rule of 15”.Modernize the skeg with a deeper and narrower profile, with these small changes a very competitive and easyto build yacht should result. For a more beautiful yacht I would recommend planking the deck out of ½” by1/8” Alaskan Yellow Cedar and adding a small chine piece along the sheer. If you wish for the ease ofconstruction to keep a plywood deck it will have to be in two pieces to accommodate the deck crown andsheer curve. The deck could be detailed with inked plank lines like many of our club boats. I have written asmall pamphlet on model yacht construction if interested look for it on our website.

Jeff Stobbe

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Freesail Report

36R Class, Race 2, April 24The 36R Class continued to have the strongest showing of the freesail fleets, with a turnout of eight boats

on Saturday, April 24. They included Ed Schoenstein, whose previously dismasted double-hoop "A" frame rigwas repaired better'n ever. It was a great day for sailing, sunny and cool, with westerly winds that were relativelysteady by Spreckels standards. That is to say, the wind only varied from due north to due south, but werewesterly most of the time. At 1:00 racing got underway in light to moderate breezes, but soon grew stronger andgustier. Despite the size of the fleet, the racing was done in pairs, so it was a fairly long day. The wind strengthcontinued to increase, until instances of submarining and broaching began to occur. During the transient periodsof north wind, the increased wind strength created vortices near the north shore, which resulted in severalunintended 360's, and often drove boats towards the south side of the lake. The conditions were exhilarating andchallenging; it was great fun. All boats came through to finish unscathed. Jason Spiller came in first, tied withMike Stobbe but having just piped him by about two feet in the last beat of the day. Colleen Stobbe came inthird, one point ahead of Stephen Ma. The social hour afterwards was festive. Jason, arguing cosmology, wasunable to reconcile how, in an expanding universe all the boats on the lake ought to be moving apart from oneanother, yet his boat and Colleen's, all by themselves in the middle of the lake, were inexorably drawn to collide.The complete results are:

1st Jason Spiller, 36R-24, Ruthless Robin 5th Jim Forbes, 36R-5, Banana Boat2nd Mike Stobbe, 36R-34, Black Magic 6th Ed Schoenstein, 36R-4, The Peanut3rd Colleen Stobbe, 36R-31, Grace 7th Julie Shryne, 36R-134th Stephen Ma, 36R-15, Skylark 8th Mary Rose Cassa, 36R-28, Manzanita

Classic X, Race 3, May 2The Classic X class held their Race 3 on Sunday, May 2. Current points leader, Jim Harvey, was not

there to defend his position. He and Kathy were sailing on the bay with Mel and Florence. Thus thechampionship series was thrown open to all challengers. Dennis O'Connor, Rod Tosetti, and Victor Scipistepped forward. The winds were not all that one might hope for: generally light and fitful, with occasionalcalms. However, it was a warm, beautiful day to be out enjoying the sport. The races were generally uneventful.Rod Tosetti took home first place. Dennis O'Conner came in second, with George Ferrari's boat and sage advice.Victor Scipi came in third. The post-race convivial centered around an analysis of how to get more out ofVictor's boat, which still has some untapped potential in it. With the season half over, the championship pointsstanding is Jim Harvey 9 points, Rod Tosetti and Dennis O'Connor 8 points each, Phil Durfee 4 points, andVictor Scipi 2 points. The complete results are:

1st Rod Tosetti, X-1, Primo2nd Dennis O'Connor, X-5, Mad Bob3rd Victor Scipi, X-42, Sophia

X-Class, Race 3, The Tofte Cup, May 8X-Class participation had revived with the Tofte Cup regatta, held on Saturday, May 8, 2010. Eight

skippers entered, including Stephen Ma who had borrowed one of Jeff Stobbe's boats to race. Although it was acool and cloudy day, the winds were quite good for X boats: medium to brisk, westerly to south westerly. Thewind appeared to be relatively well-behaved, but in fact was more shifty than it seemed as evidenced by thefrequent scattering of the fleet toward the south shore. Jason Spiller in particular had a couple of boards in whichhe despaired of ever getting his boat back in this lifetime. Phil Durfee, however, had no trouble coping with theconditions and sailed to a well-deserved first place with a near perfect score. Jim Harvey came in second with asteady performance. Only two points separated the next four finishers, but Mike Stobbe barely eked out a third

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place. With the season half over, the championship is still wide open with Jim Harvey, 16 points, Phil Durfee 15points, Mike Stobbe 14 points, and Jason Spiller 13 points. The complete results are:

1st Phil Durfee, X-101, Melanie 5th Jason Spiller, X-21, Storm King II2nd Jim Harvey, X-19, Kathy II 6th Paul Staiger, X-90, Mary II3rd Mike Stobbe, X-34, 'Spearment 7th Stephen Ma, X-37, Big Alma4th Jeff Stobbe, X-40, X-cess 8th Jim Forbes, X-4, Regulus

M-Class, Race 1, May 15M race 1, originally scheduled for March 27, was finally completed with a make-up race on Saturday,

May 15. The dreaded Bay-to-Breakers cyclone fencing turned out not to be any problem as only Motorboat Baywas fenced and that set 6 feet back from the lake edge. This was a lucky break because many, many boats tookthe long southward path. The "street breeze" had a much more distinct split than usual, and resulted in boatsstarting only a few feet apart being separated, with one carrying on near the north shore and the other heading toMotorboat Bay (or even worse, into "Turtle Cove"). There were seven entries, including one maiden voyage:Jeff Stobbe's black-hulled Shadow. With a curved sheer blending into the deck, it resembled a U-Boat more thanan M-Boat. The day was overcast and chilly, with light to medium brisk west wind, moderately shifty. Theracing was good, with several spectacularly close finishes (usually involving Jason Spiller). It grieves me to haveto report, however, on the grossly unsportsmanship-like behavior of one of our own. Ed Schoenstein, whose boathad taken the southern route, displayed such casual contempt of his opponent's efforts (mine) that he actuallystopped to buy a hot dog from the vendor at Motorboat Bay during mid-race. Nonchalantly consuming his mealwhile strolling toward the finish line, his boat won with no input on his part. Having finally escaped Turtle Cove,I at last reached the finish line to find Ed, smugly seated on the green bench with a damning mustard stain on hiswhite beard! Who would have thought a hot dog could even pass through a cyclone fence? The ghost of AlmaSpreckels saw to it that justice was served, however. Ed finished the regatta dead last, while I won first place.Jason Spiller came in second, and Gordon Leighton scored his first brass with third. The complete results are:

1st Mike Stobbe, M-50, Pocahontas 5th Jeff Stobbe, M-41, Shadow2nd Jason Spiller, M-12, Lil Bit 6th Victor Scipi, M-70, Austin Paul3rd Gordon Leighton, M-52, Lucky 7th Ed Schoenstein, M-25, Iberg4th Stephen Ma, M-51, Fulcrum

SFMYC at the Santa Barbara Nationals, ChicagoSFMYC skippers Rich Styles and Jason Spiller are trekking to Chicago this month to race in the AMYA

Santa Barbara Class National Championship Regatta. The event will be on June 12-13 at Chicago RC ModelYacht Club's Big Bear Lake. Jason and Rich are traveling by van, so the expedition will take 9 or 10 days. We allwish them good luck and expect a full report when they return.

Mike Stobbe, FSO

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Brass Screw

Well, fellow free-sailors there obviously is an etiquette in this sport of which I was embarrassingly unawareuntil Saturday, May 15. Iberg, my free-sail Marblehead, and I were roundly being defeated on beats and runs,so in the final race against Mike Stobbe we were feeling rather glum. Cold, and with limped wind, Ibergonce again rounded south to Turtle Bay to sulk in the calm. Ahead on the right, I spotted the hot dog standwith the cyclone fence between us. Undeterred by the obstacle, I ordered one necessitating its having to beforced through the fence. While pulling on it with my back turned on Iberg the insult seemed to motivateher. She stirred slowly and then sprinted to the East. Now with mustard dribbling down my arm,, I lickedand jogged along the south shore. My god, she was winning! What was I to do? Should I finish eating orretrieve her from the muck past the finish line. I did both. She then battered her sails like a proud and randyrooster.

So, don’t buy food from a sidewalk vendor in the middle of a race. The committee crowd consider it mostunsporting behavior toward a defeated competitor.I’ve learned my lesson, I was awarded the brass screw. By the way, Mike took the day.

Ed Schoenstein

Shore LeaveAn occasional note on nautical museumsby Mary Rose Cassa, Vice Commodore, and Ed Schoenstein, Director-at-Large, San Francisco Model YachtClub

The Center for Wooden Boats, Seattlehttp://www.cwb.org

The Center for Wooden Boats, located at South Lake Union in Seattle, Washington, offers rentals, events andmore – right in the heart of the city. They offer free boat rides on Seattle's Lake Union every Sundayafternoon, and have many boats available for rent from their livery of classic wooden sail and row boats. Inaddition, the Center offers many adult and youth workshops and sailing classes, a large library in theBoathouse, and an online museum where visitors (and virtual visitors) can learn about some of the boats intheir collection.

The CWB’s mission is to provide a gathering place where maritime history comes alive through directexperience and small craft heritage is enjoyed, preserved, and passed along to future generations. The CWBbelieves that it is essential to preserve the skills and stories associated with wooden small craft by teachingworkshops, organizing events and regattas, and igniting a passion for wood and water in young and old alike.

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The Center for Wooden Boats, Lake Union, Seattle Beetle Cat on Lake Union, Seattle

Last February, Ed received a unique invitation to visit the Center for Wooden Boats. This meeting had beenarranged by his niece. Ed got to meet with the staff, Mindy Ross and Emma Levitt. A volunteer, ScottRohrer, presented information to on their new free-sail pond, a 100-foot diameter pond built especially for aunique youth program for middle school children. These students undertake to build a model “R” boat -approximately 36 inches - with parental help. The Center has an old tradition of having such a program.Mindy, Emma, and Scott took Ed to the construction site for the pond, which is quite impressive withsubmerged lighting and a recirculating system.

Ed took the opportunity to invite Scott and any other members of the Seattle Model Yacht Club to comedown and participate in our 36-R invitational on August 22. We would provide boats for them. If you meetanyone from the Seattle group be sure to give them the red carpet treatment as they did for Ed.

Project Kaisei at May Meeting

Dennis Rogers, a marine educator who was one of 25 volunteer crew members of the tall ship Kaisei duringthe 2009 voyage to the North Pacific Gyre, was our guest speaker at the May meeting. Onboard the KaiseiDennis was the sailing crew leader and participated in ship to shore outreach and communications. He is anocean enthusiast who enjoys connecting the public to the natural world. He has a background in marineeducation, public outreach and curriculum development, and enjoys surfing, fishing, diving, swimming, andsailing.

During his presentation, Dennis described the “Plastic Vortex,” or what is sometimes referred to as the“garbage patch,” which is within an area that is technically referred to as the North Pacific SubtropicalConvergence Zone. Floating patches of plastic debris have been reported by sailors and fishermen, but no onereally knows how big this area is. The Plastic Vortex is a problem because plastics and other wastes in theoceans can kill marine life and, by entering the food chain, can have a negative effect on people’s health andsafety.

It is estimated that over 60% of the plastic and other wastes (including rubber and aluminum) in the ocean

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comes from land-based sources, and once in the sea, they are at the mercy of the tides, currents and windsbecause they are buoyant. Over time through exposure to the sun and heat, some plastic materials candisintegrate into ever smaller pieces due to weather and ultra-violet light.

For details about Project Kaisei, refer to the April Nautical News or read “Voyage to the Eighth Continent” atwww.voicesoftomorrow.org.

Trolling the Web

Trolling the Web

Commodores InnStowe, Vermont“Your home away from home”http://commodoresinn.com(Be sure to check out the photo gallery, with more photos of model yachts.)

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How many model-yacht-friendly hotels do you know of? Not many, to be sure. In addition to offering year-round vacation accommodations, the Commodores Inn is home of the Stowe Yacht Club, whose membersare dedicated to the sport of model sailboat racing – primarily Soling One Meter and East Coast 12 Meter.Members of the Stowe Yacht Club race at the Commodores private 3.5-acre lake every Monday andWednesday at 4:45 from May to November, weather permitting. Guests are invited to watch the races andmay have an opportunity to participate. Special regattas attracting skippers from all over the country are heldthroughout the season on selected weekends. Check out the Stowe Yacht Club website(www.stoweyachtclub.com) for more information.

Mary Rose Cassa, Vice Commodore

Wooden Boats on Parade

Every other year, the San Francisco Model Yacht Club hosts a major model boating event called WoodenBoats on Parade. The date for this year's show is Sunday, October 24th, and the venue is Spreckels Lake,adjacent to our clubhouse in Golden Gate Park.

The purpose of Wooden Boats is to provide an opportunity for model boat builders and sailors to show ourskills and craftsmanship in a relaxed and non-competitive event. Some of our ship models are new buildings,some are decades old, but they all have in common that someone spent hundreds (or thousands) of hourscreating them. I know that many of these fine models sit on mantelpieces in our homes, or are in our garagesor workshops, and are seldom brought out to a show, but we, the club members, and the public certainlywould like to see them. Somewhere, among the hundreds of people who will stand behind the ropes and lookat our models, there's probably a few kids, or adults, who will say to themselves, "I could make one of those",and therein lies the future of our hobby.

Wooden Boats on Parade is open to all classes of radio control power boats and sailboats, as well as free-sailsailboats. Power boat events will take place on the South side of the lake, and free-sailing (non-radio control)sailboats will be exhibited on the North side of the lake. Among the featured events at the show will be aparade of fishing boats, a tug demonstration of barge handling, a Springer class R/C tug water polo exhibit,and for the kids, the Raingutter Regatta. There will also be a show of static ship models in the clubhouse.Boats made of mostly fiberglass or other materials are also welcome, but no nitro power please, due to noiserestrictions on the lake.

In this newsletter we have included a copy of the event flyer and registration form. Spread the word to thoseof your friends who share your interest in model boat building and sailing, and encourage them toattend. Registration is $10.00 per person, not per boat, and includes lunch. Early registration is highlyrecommended, and will reduce delays at lakeside.

Bob Heacock

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The San Francisco Model Yacht ClubPresents

WOODEN BOATS ON PARADE 2010

Join us for our eighth bi-annual event which will be held at beautiful Spreckels Lake on Sunday, October 24, 2010 from 9:00 AMto 4:00 PM. The lake is located at 36th Avenue and Fulton in Golden Gate Park.

This event is being held to promote the skills of building and handling model boats of all types by showcasing vintage model powerand sailboats, both running and static, all together in a relaxed, non-competitive setting.

It is open to all classes of model boats, sail and power, radio-controlled and static. No nitro power please.

If you would like to exhibit your models, contact event coordinator Bob Heacock at scooter281@sbcglobal.net or 415-821-7534for a registration form, or visit our website at http://www.sfmyc.org for more information and to download a registration form.Early registration is highly encouraged.

Ship models made mostly of fiberglass or other materials are also welcome.

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WOODEN BOATS ON PARADE 2010

REGISTRATION FORM(please print)

Name:_____________________________________________Phone:( )____________________

Address:__________________________________City:______________________Zip:____________

Club Affiliation:____________________________Email:____________________________________

Name of Model Class Length Channel/Frequency

(Use reverse side if there are additional entries)

WAIVER

In consideration of acceptance of this entry, I, the undersigned, intending to be legally bound for myself, agents,assigns, or representatives, my heirs, executors, and administrators, waive and release from any and all rights and claimsfor damages I may have against the City and County of San Francisco, Recreation and Parks Department, the SanFrancisco Model Yacht Club, all sponsors, staff and volunteers, their representatives, successors and assigns, for anyand all injuries, claims and demands arising from my participation in this event. I attest that my entries are structurally,mechanically and electronically safe and fit to participate in this event. By way of my signature, I also give photographyrelease permission.

Signature: ___________________________________________Date:__________________________________

SFMYC staff/witness:________________________________Date:__________________________________

Upon completion, mail this registration form with a $10.00 registration fee (lunch included) to:SFMYC, 450 Taraval Street, PMB 235, San Francisco, CA 94116.