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5/11 - Anacapa Clinic - 1421 - This rescheduled and FINAL clinic of the season is for those looking to gain access to Anacapa for day sailing. Its' also a great opportunity to get out and go sailing with Captain Dan and other members. Plus you get to sample Chris' famous "on da boat" gourmet lunch. $75 per person. Meet at 9:30 AM for a prompt departure. 2 spaces remain

5/16 - Full Moon Frolic - 6PM - Bodacious - 1421 - And more if needed. Go for a sunset sail and back at the docks to party. Contact Dwight Landis for more info at dalandis@atec-online.com

5/22-6/1 - Captains Cruise to French Polynesia - A group of intrepid members travels to the South Pacific for 10 days of exploration and to decide where to go next year :-)

6/21 - Annual Summer SailStice Open House - We need a Captain for each boat. Most of you know the drill. Fun, frolic and merriment of course. Beginning with a 2 hour sail for prospective members and current members at noon. Followed by a dock party BBQ with the famous Red Hots from 2pm on. Make plans to celebrate the longest sailing day of the year!

August Reminder - We are planning a flotilla to Santa Cruz August 9 & 10. If you would like to participate, now is the time to reserve the dates. Team up with another member to share the weekend time. Offer crewing spots to other members. We'd like to see all boats participate with as many members aboard as possible!

November BVI/N2C - Are you planning to graduate this fall? SailTime corporate has taken over the N2C program beginning with their first trip this June and is running a trip Nov 3-10, 2008. Being from the Left Coast, we are also planning a trip we are calling BVI side b. The current working dates are November 8-15 and even though this will not be the N2C we have run for the past 4 years, it will have a slice of N2C for those of you who want to graduate on this trip as well. Look for hard dates and a complete plan as soon as we return from the May trip. That will give you the chance to compare both November trips and decide. We are now going to annually plan a "Captains Cruise" somewhere in the world each Spring and a BVI "graduation" trip for new bareboat charterers each Fall. We choose the dates we do based on getting "low season" pricing.

New SailTime Video Selection



Sancerre Sailing Speed Run to Anacapa

NOTICES

Welcome New Members! David and Diane Quintana join Imagine this month.



Wet Wednesday Racing Series - Wet Wednesday is a fun, after work, racing series that runs from May to October. The gun kicks off the race at 6pm and is followed by a fun BBQ, bartended by Yours Truly at the Anacapa Yacht Club. This year, Owner of 1421, SK, has entered 1421 in the series and invites SailTime members to join in as crew. This is a great opportunity to learn all about racing in a casual atmosphere. If you would like to be a part of it, let Chris know and I will put you in touch with SK for details.

Mainsail furling and unfurling Update - We have also uncovered two interesting sidebars to this ongoing situation:



1) The boom vang must be loose when furling and unfurling. This allows the boom to ride up and down to give some flexibility to the lateral pulling out or in of the sail.

2) At least 50% of the time we find the sail jammed it is because the mainsail halyard has been slackened. So, if, by accident, one of your crew or you releases the main halyard clutch in the cockpit instead of the mainsail sheet or the mainsail outhaul - which are all right there next to each other - - - > it needs to be retensioned. This can only be done with the mainsail unfurled and head to wind.

We are going to cable tie the halyard clutches on all the boats to prevent this from happening inadvertently and see if this helps this situation further. Stay tuned.

USCG Boat Boardings - Member Cesar Garcia on Varekai reports that he was boarded recently. He was told by the boarding party that they have a mandate to do much more of this these days. Check your boat log book to see when the last time your boat was boarded. The boarding report is in the front pocket of the log book in the nav table. If it has been in the last 90 days they say you can show that to them and they will move along and leave you alone. Also point out our safety inspection stickers on the port side of all boats. Be friendly and courteous. They will do their job usually pretty quickly.

Maintenance Notes - Last month all boats had their annual voluntary Coast Guard safety inspections. Additionally, we went up the masts and checked all the rigs for proper tensioning of the shrouds. We also check for any stress cracks, missing parts, etc. This is just conservative boat management. We really want those big sticks to stay pointed up ! Most of the engines are nearing the time for their annual major tune ups. We will catch those over the next few weeks.

Current Membership Space Availability - Tell your Friends!


• Imagine - 1 spaces


• Rainbow - 1 space


• Varekai - 2 spaces


• Bodacious 1 space


• 1421 - FULL

Ahoy!
Henry the Navigator and I took a qualified 106 instructor on an adventure on Sancerre last month. Despite gale force winds and nasty seas, we did the deed and I am now certified to teach 106, Advanced Coastal Cruising. The interesting thing to note, is the 104 I teach is nearly the 106 qualifications. So, as always, you can expect that 106 will be a fine notch in your belt of experience and seamanship. Like 104, 106 is a multi day cruise to the islands.

You can read about 106 here: Strandard Advanced Coastal Cruising I recommend that those of you who are certified through 105 allow for at least a dozen outings on your own that include a couple island adventures before tackling this standard. I look forward to helping you fill another page in your book !

On May 11th, we are making our final run to Anacapa. This is worth doing, just for the lunch itself. But in between, you'll learn how to navigate a course, cross the shipping lanes safely, reef down for Windy Lane and perform at least one anchoring. If the weather and time allows, we circumnavigate the island and we almost always see a whale, dolphins and sea lions. Once you have taken an Anacapa Clinic you are then allowed to go there on your own. Even if you have done it before, it makes for a good and inexpensive refresher to get your season off on the right foot.

Captain Dan - YouTube Rock Star!