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Gentle Breeze for TTL Week Two

By Mike Ferring on September 17, 2019 in Racing Updates

Jeff Bryant rounding a mark in his Sunfish. Photo: Mike Ferring

That’s the gentle way to describe the generally breeze-less race day (9/15). It didn’t prevent a dozen Lasers, a few Sunfish, Clay Poulson (his own fleet of one Portsmouth) and the Juniors from testing whether they could still move. They did it enough to lay down a few races.

Results? Here they are and here’s that story.

When Dave Christensen retired from race scoring in the spring, Mark Howell bravely volunteered to score both lakes until the club could come up with another answer. Fleet Captain Scott Richards recruited Joel Hurley to score, evaluated various computer scoring programs, and has settled on Sailwave to replace our existing software (which is quite complicated).

The goal is to post results quickly after race days, ideally the same day as the races. That’s gotten off to a rocky start, since we had no results to show for the first two TTL race weekends for 10 days, but Joel hustled to catch up.

See, it’s important to stay low in light air to avoid any aerodynamic drag. Photo: Mike Ferring

Joel Hurley winds up for a roll tack at the mark. Photo: Mike Ferring

Stacey and Dave Haggart coaching the juniors. Photo: Mike Ferring

Lori Aoki’s Sunfish in the sparkles of a Sunday afternoon. Photo: Mike Ferring

Clay Poulson at Fireball Worlds

By Mike Ferring on August 28, 2019 in Member Interest, Racing Updates

Clay Poulson. Photo: Mike Ferring

Fireball sailor Clay Poulson travels the world for his import business and manages to race Fireballs all over the world as well. This warm August he’s racing at the North American and World Championships at Pointe Claire Yacht Club of Montreal.

Clay finished 29th out of 40 entries in the North American Championship and 33rd (and first from the U.S.) out of 42 entries in the World Championship.

Results here.

Ian Dobson and Richard Wagstaff of the Royal Thames Yacht Club won first place.

Rounding on the trap at the Fireball Worlds in Montreal.

A mass start for the 2019 Fireball Worlds in Montreal.

AYC Sailors at Viper Worlds

By Mike Ferring on August 26, 2019 in Member Interest, Racing Updates

Action at the Viper Worlds off Long Beach. Photo: Sharon Green

AYC sailors were two of the 41 entries in the Viper 640 World and North American Championships this last week (8/20-24) at Los Alamitos Yacht Club in Long Beach. Mike Hester finished 32nd and Tony Chapman 34th and Mike is looking for a recommendation for a good fiberglass repair place, saying his boat was broadsided during the start to the last race.

Tony’s boat was crewed by Edward “Buttons” Padin and former AYCer Lucinn Sahali, who’s now living in the Monterey area. Mike’s boat was crewed by John Mayall and Ruta Bandziulis.

The Viper website reported, “Marcus Eagan, Andrew Eagan, and Jackson Benvenutti (Mandeville, LA) [won] both the Goslings 2019 Viper 640 World Championship and the 2019 Viper 640 North Americans. Hosted by Alamitos Bay Yacht Club (Long Beach, CA), the four-day Championship consisted of 13 races in atypical Long Beach conditions – light, 8-10 knots except for the final race on Day 2 and the last two on the final day when winds were mid to high teens. It was a regatta where sailors were faced with a wide range of conditions and those atop the podium had to be capable of dealing with them all.”

Full results here.

Ace sailing photographer Sharon Green (ultimatesailing.com) shot some of the action and collected random shots of some of the sailors, including Mr. Chapman.

Tony Chapman, photographed at the Viper Worlds in Long Beach. Photo: Sharon Green

Buffing Boats for Fall Action

By Mike Ferring on August 24, 2019 in Education News, Racing Updates

Part of the executive team overseeing the fall boat preparation at Tempe Town Lake. (l to r) Grant Younger, Russ Hasty, Marc Danner and Mike Bernard. Photo: Mike Ferring

A large group of volunteers turned out at Tempe Town Lake Saturday, August 24, to prepare the Arizona Sailing Foundation (ASF) boats for fall classes and the AYC Adopt-a-Boat program.

By the time the morning work party finished, the boats were washed and prepped for action. New covers went on several of the Catalina 14.2s. New sails are ready for the O’Pen Bics. New parts are in place for the Lasers. The safety boats have new Bimini covers.

Adopt-a-Boats help boost the entry list for both 14.2 and Laser, making them two of the largest fleets in club racing. It’s a great entry point for people new to the game to try racing without having to own a boat.

The ASF Adult Learn to Sail class begins Saturday, September 7 and Opening Day for Tempe Town Lake racing and race committee training is the following day, Sunday, September 8. The adult class, is now full.

Myles Danner washed the cockpit of most of the Catalina 14.2s. Photo: Mike Ferring

Both of the ASF safety boats got replacement Bimini tops. Photo: Emory Heisler

David Newland and Grant Younger sort through Laser parts to assemble a complete boat. Background: Scott Sharples and Mike Bernard. Photo: Mike Ferring

Logan Frenchak is getting involved in sailing and volunteered to help prepare boats. Photo: Mike Ferring

Monsoon Rain Didn’t Dampen Campers’ Spirits

By Rob Gibbs on August 5, 2019 in Member Interest, Social Events

A little late afternoon monsoon both Friday and Saturday didn’t keep the Annual AYC Campout from being tons of fun!

With a high temp of 80 and tucked in a stand of pine trees, Dairy Springs Campground was as hospitable a venue as you’d find to escape the Phoenix summer heat. The shelters included tents, trucks, and RVs. Kids brought their bikes and BB guns.

Breakfast was everything from low tech dutch oven to high tech butane stove cooking. The best part is always the BYO Meat cookout though! This year the grill saw beef steaks, brats, a ton of marinated chicken, a few pieces of salmon, baked ziti and meatballs, and even a cast iron skillet with Spanish rice! Desert was root beer floats, banana smores, pecan pie, and a few other things I’m sure I was too full to eat! Put it on your calendar for next year!

Ruth Beals Race October 12 at Lake Pleasant

By Mike Ferring on July 15, 2019 in Racing Updates

The all-woman Ruth Beals Cup Regatta will return to Lake Pleasant on Saturday, October 12, with the starting gun at 9:30 am. It’s for women at the helm in run-what-you-brung boats rated by PHRF handicap.

Race documents and registration available later in the year.

The race is named for the founder of AYC, Ruth Beals, and offers a chance for the women of the club to compete against other women. Men are allowed to crew, but not to get too close to the tiller.

There will be a single long-distance race, following the familiar course from a start/finish in the south portion of the lake, around Horse and Balance Rock and No-Name island (also called Bobcat), back to a finish line in mid-lake. It’s more or less the same course we’ve used for the Governor’s Cup and the Tall Cactus Regatta.

Cindy Pillote is the defending champion, teaming up with Bob Worrall in his C22 to win in light air one year ago. Maryellen Ferring finished second in her J/70.

August Meeting: Ocean Cleanup

By Mike Ferring on July 7, 2019 in Meetings

By Debbie Heisler

4Ocean, cleaning the stuff that’s clogging the world’s oceans.

How will we clean up the mess that’s destroying our oceans? At August’s monthly meeting, Emilie Johnsen of 4ocean will tell us how their organization is attacking this massive problem.

It reminds me of that phrase, “In for a penny, in for a pound.” Or “If you’re going to take a risk at all, you might as well make it a big risk.”

It seems to me that the founders of this ocean cleanup company made a decision to take a big risk in an effort to start cleaning up the ocean one pound at a time. 4ocean employs people to remove trash from the ocean and coastlines while inspiring and educating others to work for cleaner oceans.

Emilie’s August speaking assignment: “Marine debris as a global issue, why it’s important to everyone, and what we can do to help every day.”

She says, “Plastic doesn’t only impact the ocean and marine life but people as well; plastic pollution has become both an environmental and socioeconomic issue that we can change for the better.”

Emilie’s the Education Supervisor at 4ocean and oversees all education initiatives and programs. She received her Master’s in Marine Biology at Nova Southeastern University, and uses her knowledge of marine ecosystems, plastic pollution, and recycling to help the company represent as the global leader in marine debris solutions.

She’s clearly not afraid of the big risk, telling us, “From reducing our single-use plastic to learning how to properly recycle, we can help guide you in the right direction! The ocean is the resource of all life on Earth. In order to protect ourselves, we must first protect the ocean.”

The meeting is Tuesday, August 13, beginning at 7pm (but arrive early for dinner). Monthly meetings are now held at R.T. O’Sullivans at the corner of Hayden and Thomas. Both members and non-members are welcome to attend.

Over 90 People at July Meeting!

By Rob Gibbs on July 5, 2019 in Commodore's Corner, Events, Meetings

A combination of our Amazing Speakers – Rear Commodore Deb Heisler and Former Commodore and USCG Capt Emory Heisler – and our new venue at R.T. O’Sullivans we had a turnout of over 90 people last night at our monthly meeting! Deb and Emory relayed their experiences on delivering northerly and southerly routes, with destinations including New York Harbor, BVI, Bermuda, and even Nova Scotia. Many people had dinner and beverages and so far the feedback about the food and service has been positive.

Every member has gotten an email survey link on the event. Even if you didn’t go, please take a look and answer the applicable questions. We know that the audio system had a technical problem, so we skipped that question this time, but we’ll add it back in once we work to get that problem fixed.

AYC at Long Beach Race Week!

By Rob Gibbs on June 27, 2019 in Commodore's Corner, Racing Updates

Team Cactus League Helmsman Joel Hurley on the Port Tack Layline

It was a little like a mini-meeting of AYC at Long Beach Race Week this year.

The AYC boats that participated were:

Tony Chapman’s Viper 640 Little Wing
Mike Hester’s Viper 640 Nectar Sled
Mike Grijalva’s Newport 41 Shockwave in the PHRF Random Leg Fleet
Paul Liszewski’s Hobie 33 Rolling in the Deep in the PHRF Random Leg Fleet
Rob Gibbs’s Catalina 37 Team Cactus League

Conditions were light on Friday but by the Summer Solstice picked up dramatically. Afternoon winds Saturday and Sunday topped 20kts and even the big heavy C37s looked fast! The Vipers spent the whole weekend on the Ocean courses while the C37s whizzed around the marks behind the breakwater.

It takes 8-10 to crew the Catalina 37, and nine of Team Cactus League were from AYC. The team this year was Helmsman Joel Hurley, Main Trimmer Dave Rawstrom, Lead Trimmer Josh McClain, Trimmer David Newland, Grinder Matt Baker, Grinder Toby Ambrose, Pit Master Grant Younger, Mast Princess Heather McClain, and Bowman Rob Gibbs. Our local knowledge expert and coach from the Long Beach area was Matt Rustigan. There were shore crew as well…Kim OlsonGibbs, Andi Baker, and Kaitlin Bowen managed “on shore operations” for the team.

Paul Liszewski and crew.

Vipers crew with at least three and Mike Hester sailed with his daughter Sarah and John Mayall. Tony sailed with Amerson Woods and Glenn Van Hell from the Long Beach area. Unfortunately Tony had damage to his mast track and was not able to race on Sunday.

In the Random Leg Fleet, Rolling in the Deep had Owner Paul Liszewski at the helm and Arizona crew Sean Brown and Bre (owners of the Olson 25 Stargazer) along with Keena, Tyler, and Ann from the Long Beach area. Shockwave‘s crew consisted of Mike Grijalva and his wife Jo, Frank Grijalva, Ricky Gilchrist, Jim Brock and Kevin Edwards.

Everyone left tired and looking forward to next year – June 26–28, 2020. Make your plans now! Let’s add to the number of AZ boats that show up to this WORLD CLASS event!

New Home for our Membership Meetings!

By Rob Gibbs on June 18, 2019 in Commodore's Corner, Meetings

At the last meeting, the current management at Rolling Hills Golf Course asked us (and the LPSC) to remove our trophies and trophy cases and to remove our gear from their storage area. If you were there you noticed that there was a Golf League event scheduled at the same time as our meeting. They are making changes that will help them succeed as a Golf Venue and of course we want them to succeed!

But what is best for Rolling Hills isn’t necessarily the best for the AYC. The board has come to the decision that it is time to part ways with Rolling Hills. We wish them the best, but we feel there are other options that will better fit our needs.

I’m pleased to announce that we’ve been working with R.T. O’Sullivans at the corner of Hayden and Thomas to have our meetings there.

Why did we choose this location?

Not far from our current location.
Easy access to the highway.
A great, affordable Regular Menu.
Amazing specials (Tuesday’s are 2 for 1 Burgers!)
Flexible space that allows us to have our regular meetings or scale up to large meetings when we need it.
An in house AV System that allows us to mitigate noise issues and easily have speakers and presentations.
Plenty of parking.
The management and staff are really friendly and glad to have us there.

We are holding our next “Dog Watch” Happy Hour there on Thursday the 27th of June starting around 5:30 pm as they always do going until whenever! (The kitchen closes at Midnight and they kick everyone out at 2 am!) We hope you come out and check it out!

Our next General Membership Meeting is on Tuesday the 9th of July and will be held at this new location.

We will be soliciting feedback via email survey from all members about their experience in order to work with RT O’Sullivan’s management to make this a great change for us.

Your feedback will determine if we stay or if we go, so please come out and support Your Arizona Yacht Club as we make this very important change.

THANKS

Rob Gibbs
Commodore
Arizona Yacht Club

Catalina Flotilla – 19 July

By Rob Gibbs on June 18, 2019 in Cruising News, Sailing News

Avalon Harbor

The Second Annual Officially Unofficial Flotilla to Catalina Island will be July 19th this year. Last year we had some great fun meeting up with some of the more traveled of our membership in Descanso Bay before being given a great spot in Avalon Harbor. Some of the best wind I’ve EVER had going to and from Catalina to Long Beach.

The closest location to depart from is Long Beach but the other options that are a single day would be Marina Del Rae, Huntington Beach, or even Dana Point. For those more adventurous, the trip from San Diego is an overnight sail. You can trailer your boat over and launch in several different locations in any of those harbors, but if you are so inclined to charter, there are several different places to charter from but here are some of the more popular and known ones: Marina Sailing, Harbor Yacht Club, and Sail Newport Beach.

For those who haven’t ever taken to the ocean, the sail to Catalina Island is a GREAT way to get a feel for what it’s like to sail in open water. It is truly one of the easiest sails to begin your blue water sailing resume with. For those who are blue water veterans, it is a great weekend getaway from the Arizona heat and a welcome return to friendly waters.

A flotilla is a very loose thing…so if you are going to be on the island for any reason during that time you should let us know! If you are sailing over, we can look out for one another and schedule a call in to ensure everyone is all good.

If you think you are going or if you might go but would like more information please take a moment to fill our this form and we’ll get all your questions answered!

Sorry. This form is no longer available.

Avalon, Catalina Island, California

Your Commodore’s Party!

By Rob Gibbs on May 19, 2019 in Commodore's Corner, Events, Social Events

The Commodore’s Party is so named because the Commodore puts it on, but it is about you…the membership of the club. More than most, our club is our members. It is the friendships we build and the memories we make. The Commodore’s Party is a celebration of what makes our club as great as it is…YOU!

Here are some pictures:

Isabella Hutchinson, last year’s High School Champion relinquishes the perpetual trophy to her brother Reese, this year’s Champion.

After everyone toweled off and changed after enjoying the pool, the program started with awards given by the Arizona Sailing Foundation. Mike Parker, the Sailing Foundation President, awarded the following:

Heavy Lifting Award – Larry Green
High School Championship Trophy – Reese Hutchinson
Wayne Jason Tucker Outstanding Junior Award – William Steenken
Jerry Linderman Most Improved Junior Award – Ethan Wei

Colin Gibbs earned the top spot for the Junior Racing Fleet and got is name on the new Perpetual Trophy for the AYC Junior Champion.

Then the AYC Racing Awards followed. For the first time, there was a full fledged Junior Racing Fleet at Tempe Town Lake. The club has been gifted (by Rob and Kim -ed.) a perpetual trophy to award to the AYC Junior Champion. This year that Champion was Colin Gibbs.

And the most coveted racing trophy in the club, the AYC Club Champion Trophy, was won by Joel Hurley. Joel won the Laser Fleet championship at TTL and the Santana 20 Fleet championship at Lake Pleasant before taking the Championship Race on a Laser.

Joel Hurley wins the Club Championship Trophy. Next year Joel will volunteer to head up the Opti classes at Tempe Town Lake.

Every year we get to honor one individual for excellence in supporting and promoting the sport of sailing in our club. That honor is the AYC US Sailing Sportsmanship Award. This year’s winner, Emory Heisler, is a long time Club Member, past Commodore, US Sailing and ASA Instructor and all around great sailor.

Emory Heisler accepting the AYC US Sailing Sportsmanship Award

Dave Haggart gets the Blunder Bucket!

And finally, after three heated rounds of debate over who earned the coveted Blunder Bucket, this Spring’s honor goes to Dave Haggart who tried to launch his truck while retrieving his 14.2 at Tempe Town Lake, only to save it from the depths with the help of his son and a group of bystanders.

The last order of business was to thank this year’s Board of Directors and install the newcomers to the group. It’s been a great year and for those who are leaving their posts, the club thanks you very much for your service.

The members of the 2019-2020 Board of Directors:

Commodore: Rob Gibbs
Vice Commodore: Marc Danner
Rear Commodore: Deb Heisler
Racing Fleet Captain: Scott Richards
Cruising Fleet Captain: Heather McClain
Sr. Membership Director: Skip Kempff
Jr. Membership Director: Dave Henning
Sr. Staff Commodore: Mike Ferring
Jr. Staff Commodore: Bill Hutchinson
Secretary: Paul Wojcztak
Treasurer: Tony Chapman

Thank you for making your club one of the best in the country. We’ll see you on the water!

May Meeting – Pretty as a Picture

By Rob Gibbs on May 9, 2019 in Events, Meetings, Sailing News

We had so many photos from the Tall Cactus and so many people asking for them we’re doing a GIVEAWAY at the May Monthly Meeting of a gift card to Canvas Prints so you can take whatever photo you’ve seen on the website or floating around Facebook and turn it into something real!

Our Tall Cactus Photographer, Krisitin Lisson and our very own unofficial Club Photographer, Mike Ferring have agreed to, at no charge, give the winner any photo they want at full resolution so you can make it a keepsake forever.

We’ll have a slideshow of the full set of photos from Tall Cactus running at the meeting so come and enjoy seeing yourself and your friends on the water!

Oh, and the By-Laws require me to also mention that we are doing the official BoD Election Ballot Counting at the meeting as well. No spoilers, but there are some clear winners emerging!

Joel Hurley Wins Club Championship

By Mike Ferring on May 5, 2019 in Racing Updates, Sailing News

2019 AYC Club Champion Joel Hurley. Photo: Mike Ferring

Consistency did it. In six races, Joel Hurley scored no lower than third, turning 3-2-2-2-1-2 into the 2019 Club Championship.

Mike Hester kept it close right to the end, with three firsts and a second, but was dragged down by a first-race sixth place and fourth-race fourth. All the scores are shown below.

The game was played Saturday, May 4, in Lasers at Lake Pleasant. Five fleet champions and reigning Club Champ Scott Richards turned out for the event. In fact, the field included four former Club Champions (Hester, Haggart, Richards and Kempff). Three other fleet champions declined the invitation, saying they weren’t ready to race in a Laser.

Conditions were generally good for the regatta, with light to moderate wind and mild temperatures. This annual race-off to determine a Club Champion is contested in one-design boats and this time the Laser fleet provided the boats and most of the race committee (Bernard, Hasty, Newland, Sheller, Younger, Zornik). Mike Parker was PRO and Fleet Captain George Sheller was the organizer. LP Lake Captain David Newland provided his personal powerboat as the mark/safety boat. Maryellen Ferring brought the post-race eats.