Mock-up of a sign you'll see near Lake Pleasant. If you help.

Here’s a great three-fer:

1. Keep the highway to Lake Pleasant clean.
2. Have a good time with your AYC pals.
3. Spread the good name of the Arizona Yacht Club

Come and join us!! We’re looking for a few volunteers to walk 1.5 miles of State Road 74 (Carefree Highway) as it approaches the Pleasant Harbor turn. We’ll do it Saturday morning, May 19, starting at 9 am and we’ll cap it off with lunch/brunch/beer at Wild Horse West Saloon. AYC will buy lunch.

If you can help, please get in touch with Peter Lehrach at peter.lehrach@cox.com or 602.741.2016.

Here’s the deal. To earn the road sign shown in the photo, AYC needs to bag debris four times a year. We’ll provide the bags, gloves, high visibility safety vests, water, and lunch afterwards for our first pick-up. ADOT requires that volunteers be at least 12 years old and that they wear sturdy shoes.

We’ll make this 2-3 hour activity fun, and I’m sure you’ll feel good about improving the environment while making the drive to Lake Pleasant better for everyone.

CLICK HERE for the PDF Version

It’s May, end of the line for the 2011-2012 AYC year and time for Congratulations and Thank Yous!

• Congratulations to our Fleet Champions and best of luck to them in the Championship of Champions – the AYC Championship!
• Thank You!!! to all the sailors and their families that do so much to make our club so great, from the Board of Directors to the volunteers that all made 2011-2012 a great year of sailing in the desert.

REMEMBER TOO…IT’S TIME FOR THE PARTY!  Our AYC Membership meeting 5/8/2012 has no program.  We’ll be counting votes  election of our new board and for Bylaw changes.  You’re welcome to stop by and socialize and help with the counting.

And then we’ll hope to see you at THE PARTY to recognize the “Changing of the Guard”, to announce the election and Bylaw results and to celebrate 2011-2012 together!

Check it all out in this month’s COMPASS POINTS!

1. Commodore’s Corner – Thank You AYC!
2. Get Ready for “THE PARTY”
3. Bob Worral Takes Line Honors - Greg Jackson 3-peats at Tall Cactus
4. Arizona High School Sailing Champs: Luke Marino and Jack Griffin
5. Congratulations to AYC Fleet Champions
6. Trash Talk – AYC Keeps it Clean – Join in the Fun 5/19 at Lake Pleasant
7. Not What You See from Cruise Ships – Martin Lorch Shares San Jaun Sailing
8. Fleet of the Month – Thistle
9. For Sale! Want Ads!

May 2012 Calendar of Events

• SATURDAY, MAY 5
• AYC CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP Races at Lake Pleasant
• TUESDAY, May 8
• 7:00pm Election Vote Count at Tempe Rolling Hills – Caddie Shack
• SATURDAY, MAY 12
• 6:00pm THE PARTY! Food! Music! Friends! Fun!!!

Wow! What a year! We had our share of “headwinds” and “windshifts” but all in all together we—your Board and all of us volunteers—turned out another fabulous year of desert sailing.

As I write my last “Corner” it’s time to say thank you to recognize a few of our more outstanding successes from AYCs 2011-2012 sailing year:

1. OUTSTANDING MEMBERSHIP MEETINGS!  Maryellen and Mike Ferring, you turned out an exceptional series of programs with national and international sailing stars and experts together with our own local cruising experts.  Thank you Maryellen and Mike!
2. CRUISING FLEET CONTINUED RESURGENCE!  Michael Parker, you continued sharing your love of  “non-buoy” racing and cruising with us all, all to OUR benefit with the Governor’s Cup, Tall Cactus, and don’t miss the upcoming Catalina Cruise in July!  Thank you Michael for keeping the cruising fleet activities growing!
3. RACING, RACING, RACING!  Trey Harlow, you MORE than just delivered on the water, you also delivered in the “Delivery Room!” We all know racing is by far racing what we do the most of in AYC (despite having a new little sailor in the house) Trey and many, many volunteer hands on RC, on boat maintenance and elsewhere made for another excellent year of racing.  Thank you Trey – and Nina too!
4. HAPPY BIRTHDAY REGATTA!  Joe and Katherine Motil you two together with a host of volunteers including new and long-time members and even non-members provided the entire Southwest with another great celebration of our Club and of “winter” sailing in the desert.  Thank you Joe and Katherine and all involved!
5. ARIZONA SAILING FOUNDATION-ASF: John Mayall, George Tingom, Lisa Lake, Leo Bauman, Greg Dean and a cast of US Sailing Certified Instructors and other “Just happy to be on the water” volunteers continued this great legacy of the Arizona Yacht Club. Our ASF classes continue to overflow and the ASF team continues to ensure our passion for sailing is passed on to many new sailors every year thanks to their efforts.  Thank you ALL!
6. “VIRTUAL” VICE-COMMODORE:  Thank you Rob Gibbs and Mike Ferring and “yours truly”  for combining to fill the vacant Vice Commodore role and deliver club communications – i.e. our website and Compass Points.  And, yes, we may have missed a topic or a deadline here and there, but by and large we kept up the great AYC tradition of excellent, frequent and comprehensive coverage of all things happening in and around the AYC and ASF.  Thank you Rob and Mike for all your extra efforts!
7. “MY” BOARD:   Thank you each and every one of you for your guidance, your engagement, your TOLERANCE of me and my many faults and frailties.  Together, we did a job that we all can and should very proud of.   I am.  Thank you all!

And lastly, let me thank all of you in the AYC that brought me into the club 10 years ago with such joy, passion and commaraderie.  Thank you for your trust to allow me to be your Commodore this past year.  Thank you for your kind words—and your challenging requests ,  and for making this such a great club and great “family” of people who make sailing in the desert so wonderful for all of us!

Fair winds!   Arrr!

Emory Heisler
AYC Commodore

NOTE: Bring green folding money for the cash bar. No credit cards.

What it is: The AYC End-of-Year Party and Changing of the Guard
Where it is: The Fiesta Inn, 2100 South Priest, Tempe
When it is: Saturday night, May 12, with cocktails at 6, dinner at 7 and dancing as late as you and the band can hack it.
Why: Congratulate, Recognize, Award, Celebrate!
Dress code: Business casual or whatever moves you. (Dave Christensen can wear his flip flops.)
The band: Los Big Grandes with sailor/guitarman Chris Smith

Los Big Grandes with Chris Smith on the right.

Oh, sure, we’ll pass out some awards and swear in the new board, but mostly it’s a time to have fun with your sailing pals, enjoy a nice dinner and rock out. We promise to keep the speeches to an absolute minimum and the fun to an absolute maximum.

The band is led by J/80 sailor Chris Smith, the band coyly called Los Big Grandes, and they’re huge. Muy humongous gigante. Rock and roll. Yes, they’re loud, but we’ll have room for people who just want to talk, too. But come dance.

The dinner: You have a choice of four main courses, all including salad and dessert.

1. Citrus Marinated and Grilled Chicken Breast with Mango Pineapple Salsa
2. Roulade Medallions of Pork Loin stuffed with Apple Chutney and topped with Demi-Glace
3. Oven Roasted Fillet of Halibut with Basil Butter topped with Tomato, Kalamata Olive and Red Onion Balsamic Relish
4. Chile-Rubbed New York Strip topped with Mushrooms, Onions and Bacon Ragout. Served with Merlot Sauce

Registration is closed for this event.

Children? Bring them! We have chicken fingers or mac & cheese for the kids at $14.95, cheaper than a baby sitter and more fun by far.

Questions? Contact Mike or Maryellen Ferring.

The entrance to The Party. The bar is just to your left. Belly up.

The room before we've filled it with tables and Maryellen has decorated it with centerpieces. The band will be off there to the left.

The 2012 Tall Cactus Regatta and Siesta is now in the books.  Mike Parker will be posting pics and video of the beautiful sailing conditions and the picture-perfect downwind sailing first leg of the regatta, followed by pictures of the finish line busted open by a Catalina 22: Spirit, driven by Bob Worrall. Bob was closely followed by Greg Jackson’s Viper, flying down the canyon with spinnaker flying just 15 seconds behind but “adjusting” in over Bob for a 3-peat victory!

The racing was followed by the fun and food by all including some rattlesnake sitings and the Bean Pot was duly awarded to the Spin Fleet representative after a fierce battle (and a bit of skulduggery by the Non-spin fleet).

Mike offers a great BIG thanks to Patty Rosky for the encouragement and moral support all day, to Bob Worrall for tending the steaks and salmon, to Kyle Clark for the use of his dinghy, and all the folks who made it a pleasure to share a fine meal and fireside chat (minus the fire) in to the late afternoon.

2012 High School Champions Jack Griffin and Luke Marino

Luke Marino and Jack Griffin slipped past last year’s champs to grab this year’s High School Sailing Championship, held at Tempe Town Lake Saturday, April 21.

After three light-air races in the morning, last year’s winning team of Alexia Lorch and Scott Soethe were just two points behind Luke and Jack. After a lunch break, the wind picked up and everyone headed out for one more deciding race. Luke and Jack won, sealing the championship.

Luke is a Washington High School student in Arizona’s Glendale district. And Jack is a student at Ward Traditional Academy in Tempe. They were awarded a perpetual trophy that they can display at their schools and were given individual trophies to keep.

The high school championship is run by the Arizona Sailing Foundation (ASF) and was organized by George Tingom. The Principal Race Officer was Arizona State University student Gerald Byrnes.

While the championship isn’t limited to students who participate in ASF’s Tuesday after-school sailing class, both Luke and Jack are in the program. Three years ago, Jack also won the most improved junior sailor award as part of the ASF Opti Program.

Information on the ASF high school class is available here.

George is already planning the next championship and says that unless a special Tempe event forces a date change, the event will happen Saturday, April 15, 2013.

The annual AYC Championship Race will be Saturday, May 5, with the first gun at 9:30.

This face-off pits 8 fleet champs against each other in Thistles at Lake Pleasant to see who can hold the Big Cup for the next year. The captains include reigning Champ Martin Lorch (who qualified again by winning C22), Thistle winner Trey Harlow, PHRF Spin’s Norm Anderson, PHRF Non-Spin’s Greg Woodcock, Sportboat’s Mike Ferring, C14 winner Alexia Lorch, Buccaneer champ Matt Davis, and Laser winner George Sheller.

Thistle fleet captain Ben Doane volunteered to be the PRO for the event, sailed round-robin in 8 Thistles. Ben and Trey were kind enough to share their boats and their sailing and tuning tips with the other competitors during an informal orientation at Lake Pleasant Sunday, April 29. In a mixture of light and puffy air, a pack of non-Thistlers tried to identify too many lines while stumbling over the center trunk of the boat and hiking on the too-skinning gunwales, while being guided by the comforting hands of Ben and Trey. This could be interesting.

Race documents can be found here.

Spectators are welcome to watch the race and Ben says he’s still looking for a few more race committee members. Contact him at this email address.

A gaggle of geese check out Martin Lorch on board the 34-foot boat.

Martin Lorch took us on a seven-day tour of the Sunshine Coast in British Columbia, Canada, at the next membership meeting, Tuesday, April 10.

The scenery is as spectacular as the pictures suggest. Martin put us on board a 34’ Beneteau, departing from Nanaimo on Vancouver Island, BC. From there the names and the adventures got even more fascinating: across the Strait of Georgia to the Sunshine Coast, to Secret Cove just north of Sechelt, Pender Harbour, then through the Agamemnon Channel to Egmont and the Skookumchuk Narrows (the mouth to the Sechelt Inlet), then through Saltery Bay, around Hardy Island to Van Anda on Texada Island, and across to Powell River and to Lund, Copeland Island, Bliss Landing which is at the entrance of Desolation Sound. Returning to Nanaimo by way of Scottie Bay on Lasqueti Island, through Sabine Channel, back to Pender Harbour/Garden Bay.

Thank you Martin nfor sharing this extraordinary adventure with us at the April 12 membership meeting!

The Sunshine Coast. What's another word for "breathtaking"?

The Thistle is a 17-foot open dinghy designed for racing and daysailing. The sail plan consists of a main, jib, and spinnaker. The large sail area makes the boat fast in most winds.

The original boats were built in the 1940′s, constructed of wood and are still very competitive. Thistles are now built with fiberglass hulls, but still use wood for the rails and gratings. The boats are fast and beautiful.

The Thistle class is a national organization. It’s broken into districts throughout the United States, each district made up of several fleets located in separate cities.

Fleet 127 (part of the Southern California District) in Phoenix, Arizona has 12 boats, including new boats built in 2000, older wooden boats, and everything in-between. Our skippers have just as wide a range of experience from novice to very experienced.

If you’re interested in racing or daysailing please Contact Fleet Captain Trey Harlow for more information. Or click to the Thistle national site.

To place an ad, contact Web Master

The restored 1949 motor yacht Euphrates.

For Sale: Euphrates, a beautifully restored, 1949, 40′ Matthews wooden motor-yacht.  Available for fractional ownership in Newport Beach, California.  She is the product of a ten year restoration.  Re-powered with twin GM Crusader V-8s, all new plumbing and wiring.  Modern galley.  Sleeps four adults.  An elegant classic.  Teak, mahogany, leather, brass and chrome abound.  All is polished and gleaming.  She is a member of the Classic Yacht Association.

She has a beautiful berth in Newport Harbor.  It is a bit like owning a cozy waterfront condominium in Newport Beach.

Fractional 10% ownership shares are being offered at $20,000, however, for members of the AYC a 10% discount is offered. In addition, partial, $5,000 non-recourse financing, on friendly terms is available.  There is a $3,600 yearly fee, per 10% share, covering professional management by PrimeTime Yachts of Newport Beach, all taxes, insurance, excellent professional maintenance and our beautiful slip in Newport Harbor.  Principal owner is a member of the Arizona Yacht club. The Euphrates website is, www.euphrates-newportbeach.com.

Contact: Bob Hersh, PrimeTime Yachts, 949 278 6764, robert@primetimeyachts.com, or Dick Strand, owner, 480 239 3810, schooner007@msn.com

ASF Boats for Sail! Check out these boats donated to ASF. Contact George Tingom, John Mayall or Emory Heisler for more information or to make an offer on any of these boats!

1974 Buccaneer 18

Flying Scott

 

Banshee

O'Day 22

 Buccaneer 18- 18ft dinghy. Good trailer. Good “starter” boat.
LINK for more information about Buccaneer 18 sail boats.
Flying Scot-19 ft day-sailor. Needs some TLC to be in racing shape.
LINK for more information about Flying Scot sail boats.
Banshee-13 ft dinghy. Similar to a Laser. Excellent sails. (dolly not included).
LINK for more information about Banshee sail boats.
O’Day 22-22 ft. Needs mast. Lots of TLC.
LINK for more information about O’Day 22 sail boats.

FOR SALE: Capri 14.2 – The boat is in very good condition – standard sails and rigging, a very clean trailer with a spare tire. Vintage of the boat and trailer is around 1996 or so – haven’t had a look at the data plate yet. Boat on trailer have been collecting dust for the last 4 years or so parked in our breezeway out of the sun. We have standard sails and rigging, we do have a tiller extension that makes sailing a bit more pleasant. New mast. Located Chandler and 101. Contact Mark Hardesty at 480-628-4122 for details. (1/5/2012)

FOR SALE: Catalina 22 – 1972 Catalina #1361, “Jammin” – Get it in time for the Birthday regatta & Spring series: Weight 2160 lbs as weighed at the 1996 Nationals, The third lightest out of over 60 boats weighed. 2 Mains, 2-150 genoas 1-jib,16-1in boom, out haul, boom vang, split back stay, new keel-winch,ladder.

CONTACT: Paul Liszewski – Cell 480-797-1631
(01/2012)

For Sale: Model 912 PowerWinch used to pull Mind’s Eye up onto it’s trailer. Comes with easy dismount platform, extended power cable, owners manual, etc. Pulls 3500 lbs direct pull or 6000 double line pull. The case was cracked in a couple of places, but has been repaired. It has worked great. Asking $50.
Contact Cliff Peterson, (480) 831 1241
(12/2011)
FOR SALE: 15 foot Javelin O’Day. Trailer raises manually like a dump truck to simplify solo launching. This day sailor is rigged for solo sailing. Jib has a roller furler. All rigging upgraded. Stern needs some maintenance. $350. Flagstaff.  Call Terry at 928-699-1138 or e-mail me at terryfemale@gmail.com(07/2011)
WANTED:  I am looking for a late model used Catalina 14.2 daysailor or equivalent, in reasonably good condition w/ a trailer. Please call Bob @ 602-788-1218 or email me at bobstropicals@qwestoffice.net
(08/2011)
      
FOR SALE: Martin 242 Team Gravity: Proven winner on the lakes and off-shore, five-year PHRF Spin Champion, fleet second place Coastal Cup (San Fran to Santa Barbra.)  Carbon mast, carbon spinnaker pole, 3.5 Nissan outboard, Vang Master, all Harkin blocks and cleats, running rigging arranged for super-fast sail changes and the best sail handling, spectra backstay with kicker.  Garage full of sails, off-shore racing equipment. Two-axel Aros trailer set up for ramp launching, stepping mast to stand rig.   $10,000  Rick Johnson 602-762-9797 TeamGravity@q.com (7/2011)  

      For Sale:  Hutchins ComPac 16. $4,500.00 Beautiful 16′ sloop. Perfrect for beginning sailors or old salts ready to downsize. Includes main, jib, trailer, 2hp Johnson outboard, many little extras. Cockpit seats 4 adults easily. 2 berths. Can be seen in Ft. Hills. Contact John Birkemo (480) 717 4012.   (6/2011)

To place an ad, contact WEBMASTER