Cedar Point YC Home Page and News

Spring 2013 Cleanup a Huge Success - Posted on Wednesday, May 01, 2013

Cedar Point members can definitely deliver outstanding results when asked!

During past cleanups, 30 to 40 people showed up on any given weekend. However, because of the tremendous damage caused by super storm Sandy, we needed all the help we could muster this year to restore the club to a respectable condition.

Last Fall and on the last two weekends in April, over 60 volunteers reported for each cleanup and made an outstanding effort to remove tons of sand and other nameless items delivered by Sandy. Never in all my years of managing the cleanup have so many members come forward and gotten the job done in such record time. Thank you one and all for supporting the cleanup efforts over the last few months.

Some members took their usual assignment of “Beach Patrol” and collected several large bags of “junk” from our beaches. They even traveled over to the far side of the inner harbor to collect a large bag of items that were hiding there during the winter months.

Nancy Helmig took on the playground and directed a team of volunteers in sifting the sand to remove thousands of rocks and other unmentionable items. The team also made significant progress in re-assembling the playground equipment. At the end of the day, the playground looked 100% better than it did earlier in the year.

Gary Helmig and Nelson Stephenson led a team of “leaf blowers” to blow the sand back into the Sound. They worked with another dedicated team of members using rakes and brooms to clean out the grass and the drystall areas. Over a dozen volunteers worked in conjunction with the blowers to remove many loads of sea shells and other miscellaneous items from the lawns and the dry stall area.

Mark Berns was the team leader for removing stones from the sand and new dirt surrounding the clubhouse. Some eight members, under Mark’s direction, removed thousands of stones. The objective was to make it as smooth as possible before adding topsoil and grass seed. This specific duty was accomplished over both weekends and the results were impressive.

CPYC staff, led by Trey Lang, did a great job having all the resources available when the members arrived to work. Justin, Mat and Mike were everywhere helping with planting, watering and moving many loads of fresh soil around to spread on the grounds. They continue working to spread the remaining loads of topsoil and to plant the grass seed. When we see the beautiful grass growing this summer, we can thank everyone who pitched in to spread, rake, rake, rake and plant.

Patti Cole assembled a small but dedicated team (Storm and Jane) to clean the clubhouse windows. They worked hard and removed every hint of dirt from the sills as well as cleaning the glass. At the end of the day, the windows were sparkling.

Likewise, Mike and Paula Lindberg led their team cleaning the galley, which needed hours of work to bring it up to acceptable standards of cleanliness. As a reminder, members are asked to make a sincere effort to clean up after using the galley.

As usual, the planning, selecting and purchasing of plants was done by Peter and Sheri Forster. Sheri did extensive research on the best varieties for CPYC’s coastal environment. She then developed a detailed plan of exactly where the plants would be placed. More importantly, on cleanup day itself, Peter and Sheri assigned and managed over 30 members on the proper soil preparation. Peter and Sheri have given countless hours to each cleanup and the grounds look impressive because of their efforts. CPYC is indeed fortunate to have them in our membership.

Another team, led by Chris Pollack and Tom Little took on the rose plants directly in front of the clubhouse. The roses had to be trimmed back and then new plants were placed along a 300 foot section. Once those projects were complete, several loads of fresh top soil were carefully placed among the plantings. Looking out onto the harbor from the upper deck, the rose bushes and other new plants add a colorful background to the overall beauty.

Again, special thanks to all members who made the effort to come down to “reclaim” our club. We faced a major challenge to repair the damage from Sandy and we met that challenge. That commitment is what makes CPYC a very special club; a club that enjoys sailboat racing—but also a club whose members know and appreciate the importance of volunteerism.

Dale Greenwood, Cleanup Chairperson

Lightning Southern Circuit Update - Posted on Sunday, March 10, 2013

Family and friends -

In honor of the conclave to elect the Bishop of Rome this coming week, we should talk a little about Original Sin. In the sailing context, being over the starting line early in the first race of the series is about as close as to Original Sin as one can get. And so it was today for us. We recovered in the first race to a little better than the middle of the fleet, only to witness those we had passed catch back up in a puff on the beat that filled in from behind (file under: Only in Savannah, or on the Charles River). We maintained our position near the front of this pack, finishing 21st. The second race was much better: after noticing a wind trend on the run we worked the right side of the course on the second beat back to 3rd, which is where we finished. We stand in 9th of 41 right now, with up to 3 races to be sailed tomorrow. A few more details below, for those who might care.

Race 1: Race 1 was governed by the fading frontal breeze and incoming sea breeze fighting to a near-standstill. After 1 general recall due to a massively boat-favored line, we took advantage of the squarer line to start near the middle. Multiple World Champion Tito Gonzales of Chile nudged up under us, dictating our start. We were caught just OCS and, after a delay on the VHF, went back and restarted in last. Our boatspeed felt pretty good, and we managed our lanes well, to catch about half the fleet on the first triangle. On the second (and final, as it turns out) beat, the frontal breeze became exceptionally spotty, and there was a point when the sea breeze, about 40 degrees to the right of the frontal breeze, hit the rear of the fleet before the middle, with many passing right over us (once again, see Rivers: Charles, and Skidaway). Ched noticed it first, simply saying "Jamie, look behind you," much the way action movie stars mutter sotto voce that "things are about to get interesting." We managed to hang when the fleet caught up to us, and we finished 21 out of 25* in Race 1 on a shortened triangle-windward course. [*After 25, the remainder of the fleet was scored DNF for missing the race time limit.]

Race 2: The course was reset into the Wilmington River as a windward/leeward, as the sea breeze initially was almost square to it. The current was at full flood, pushing us downwind, so the plan was to work the sides of the river. Our initial game plan was to start high middle (the line was very pin favored), tack out and work the right. A lefty about 10 seconds after the start stymied these plans, and we ended up working the left on the first beat, though not as well as we would have liked. As it turns out, the sides were about even - as long as you worked them hard, not venturing out into the river. On the run, we noticed a substantial right shift, and more importantly, all new pressure seemed to be coming off the marsh to the right. We committed hard right, never venturing more than about 15 boatlengths from shore, and we worked ourselves into 3rd, which we did not relinquish on the parade around the last 3 legs. If the first race was Original Sin, perhaps we started on the road to redemption in the second (though only perhaps, there shall be no assertions or jinxing).

We can have up to 3 races tomorrow, then it's down to Miami for Ched and up to the snowbound North for Mer and Jamie as they continue to pursue gainful employment. Jay Lurie and Tim Milhiser join Ched in Miami, then Mer and Jamie return for St Pete at the end of next week.

One final note: this event will basically be contained within 24 hours. Our first start was at 1300 today, and our "drop dead" final start time is 1400 tomorrow. With the gain of Daylight Savings Time tonight, those two points are exactly 24 hours apart.

As always, thanks for your moral support, and if you don't want to read these rants, just let me (Jamie) know!

Best -
Ched, Mer and Jamie

Sent from my iPad

CPYC Member - Dale Greenwood Co-hosting lecture @ Mystic Seaport - Posted on Saturday, March 09, 2013

Hello Mariners:

As many of you know, I will be co-hosting Dr. Drumheller's lecture at Mystic Seaport on April 4, 2013 with two presentations: 1:30 PM and 7:30 PM. For further details CLICK HERE

I met Doug last year while on an adventure cruise in Antarctica . We discovered our common interest in John Harrison, a clockmaker whose innovative timepiece was used in an epic, 40 year quest to solve the greatest scientific problem of the 18th century: Determining Longitude at Sea.

Dr. Drumheller will relate his personal, ten year effort to build a replica of Harrison's time machine and his plans to navigate the Atlantic with it. This exciting lecture will be held at Mystic Seaport's Treworgy Planetarium, including an introduction to celestial navigation by Jeff Dunn, the planetarium's supervisor.

You might enjoy a lunch or dinner at Mystic Seaport's Latitude 41 Degrees restaurant before the lecture. See the Mystic Seaport Newsletter below for more details about the lecture and the restaurant.

All mariners, including U.S. Coast Guard Academy Staff, Cedar Point Yacht Club, Essex Yacht Club and Stonington Harbor Yacht Club members, are encouraged to attend one of the lectures. You will have a "swashbuckling scientific adventure in the context of history and technology!" (quote from Sobel and Andrewes book: The Illustrated Longitude).

Regards, Dale Greenwood