ColumbiaRiverCatalina.org		February 2004

From the Commodore
By Dale Mack, C30, Celtic Myst

When the snow visited us at the end of December, little did we know we'd face several days of snow and ice right dab in the middle of the Portland Boat Show in early January.   As the temperatures dropped below freezing, I thought how lucky a couple of sailing friends must feel, because they had just winterized their boats the weekend before the storm struck. 

While I knocked the snow and ice off the tarp covering my Catalina 22, and marveled at how heavy the stuff was, it was the sight of seeing my Catalina 30 sitting lower in the water at Tomahawk Bay Moorage that left the lasting impression that I'll remember this winter by.  Except for the cockpit, that was covered by a tarp, the rest of the boat on deck was totally featureless.  There were no portlights, there were to hatches, and there were no cleats.  The boat sat beneath several inches of snow, and the mast, rigging, and hull were encased in ice.  The sight was quite surreal when compared to our normally rainy winters.

Portland Boat Show

I want to thank everyone who volunteered to staff our booth at the Portland Boat Show.  Although the storm interfered with some folk's plans, causing them to wisely choose to stay home, we still had good representation in the booth before and after the worst of the storm.  We had ten (10) Catalina families sign up to receive additional information on CRACA and its activities after viewing the display and talking with association representatives.

For those that didn't get a chance to go to the show, CRACA was setup at the base of the stairs that led to the Catalina Yachts on display.  New to our booth this year was a digital slide show that played on a DVD player and was viewed on a small television placed at one end of the table.  We also incorporated a poster display and brochures from both our local Catalina 22 Fleet 20 and our local Catalina 25/250 Fleet 94.

I want to convey a special thanks to Bill Simon for providing the wire frame panels we turned into display towers, and Michael and Kathleen Lewis for bring down some of the items, like burgees, we used in the booth.

Boat  Show Survivors Party

I hope you'll join your fellow Catalina enthusiasts as we celebrate the promise of a new sailing season.  A pizza party will be held Saturday, February 21st at the Willamette Yacht Club.  Details can be found later in the newsletter.

CRACA Sponsors the 2004 Catalina 25/250 National Regatta

I mentioned in January's newsletter that several CRACA members who sail Catalina 25's and Catalina 250's had bid for and won the honor of hosting the championship regatta for the Catalina 25/250 National Association.  Since then the CRACA Executive Committee  has approved the expenditure of up to $200 in support of the event.

The regatta is scheduled for July 15-17, with a tour of the race area on the 14th, and some local cruising through the 20th.  Tomahawk Bay Moorage and the Willamette Yacht Club will serve as headquarters for the event.

Catalina 30's Racing in April

If you are a Catalina 30 owner, please consider coming out this year and participating in the Spring Regatta, April 24-25.  You can read more about the event later in the newsletter.  I and my crew had a blast last year, and we are hoping to see even more boats come to the line this year.

2004 Catalina Rendezvous

It has been suggested that the Rendezvous be held at Tomahawk Bay Moorage instead of at Coon Island so folks can drive in.  While the final location will be left to the Rendezvous Committee, below are some early thoughts.  If you'd like to volunteer to be on the Rendezvous Committee, please email me.

• Hold the rendezvous at Tomahawk Bay Moorage so folks can boat in or drive in to the event.
• Rent the Willamette Yacht Club for Saturday and Sunday
• Arrange with WYC and Columbia Crossings for boats to raftup and/or occupy slips near the floating clubhouse.
• Hold a dance Saturday night
• Conduct various fun competitions on Saturday (i.e. blindfold dinghy race, bucket dinghy race, etc.)
• Potluck appetizers, dinner, and dessert Saturday.  Potluck breakfast Sunday.  Or, look into the cost of including a BBQ dinner in the event.
• Door prizes
• Event shirts (perhaps t-shirts or polo's)
• Charge a fee to attend

Notes from the Secretary/Treasurer
By Kathleen Lewis, C42, Wind Raven

We now have 55 members. Please welcome two new members to our group:

Mike Moen and Olga Ginez of Troutdale

Catalina 30 (1981), Born Free, berthed at Rose City Yacht Club

Scott and Penelope Dwyer of Portland

Catalina 30 (1988), Emmanuel, berthed at Tomahawk Bay, F29

Two members that rejoined at the last meeting - welcome back

David Conrad and Yetta Exton of Oregon City

Catalina 22 (1996), Incommunicado, on trailer at home

Jim and Rhonda Turner of Vancouver

Catalina 30 (1986), Fat Cat, berthed at Steamboat Landing

Reminders

Burgees are available for $20 each.  The Mainsheet magazine (February issue) should be arriving soon for those that subscribed. Again, let me know if you ordered it and it doesn’t come.

Kathleen Lewis, email sewingmaven@msn.com

Reflections on the Seattle Boat Shows
By Dale Mack (Commodore), C30, Celtic Myst

Seattle Boat Show.  I visited the indoor show on a rainy Friday.  While still primarily focused on powerboats from trailerables to mid-size cruisers, this was the second year in which the show's organizers brought in several large sailboats.

A big improvement over past years was the grouping of displays that catered to the same clientele.  For example, all the sailboats, sail makers, riggers, etc. were located together in the same corner of the building.

The big draw for me is still the equipment booths and the opportunity to meet factory representatives from many of the major marine electronics companies.  Being there on a Friday when it was a little less crowded, gave the representatives more time to answer questions, which I liked.

The free shuttle bus running between the indoor and outdoor shows continues to be a real convenience, and the free parking coupon for Safeco field with the online purchase of show tickets couldn't have been any easier.  I hope next year the organizers will again offer a single ticket good for entry into both shows, because even for the sailor, the Seattle Boat Show still has something to offer.

Lake Union Boats Afloat Kelly & Debbie Martin and Marlene Himes

Lake Union Boats Afloat.  The Boats Afloat show at Chandler's Cove on Lake Union continues to be my favorite show between the two Seattle boat shows, because it features sailboats, trawlers, and large power yachts. Both Admiralty Yacht Sales of Tacoma/Seattle and Performance Yachts of Bellingham (both Catalina Yachts brokerages) had come to the show with a C34, a pair of C350's, a C400, and a C470. Friday's rainy weather didn't reappear on Saturday as Laura and I walked the docks and climbed aboard the boats.  We also ran into fellow CRACA members Kelly & Debbie Martin and Jim & Marlene Himes (Jim was inside a Catalina when I shot the picture). In addition to seeing the latest from Catalina Yachts, it was also enjoyable walking through the offerings from companies such as Hunter Marine, Beneteau, C & C, Island Packet, J Boats, Jeanneau, and Tartan Yachts just to name a few.  On the powerboat side, well lets just says it was stunning, particularly the master suites on a couple of the larger yachts.

Catalina Newsletters of the Northwest
By Dale Mack (Commodore), C30, Celtic Myst

Checkout these links to Northwest Catalina newsletters and local racing:

Catalina 22 Fleet 20 of Portland

• www.C22pdx.org

Catalina Association of Tacoma and South Sound (CATSS)

• home.earthlink.net/~catss/CATSS Web Page.htm

Catalina Association of Puget Sound (CAPS)

• capsfleet1.com/News Letters.htm

Small Yacht Sailing club of Oregon (SYSCO)

• www.sailpdx.com/sysco.htm

Sail Portland

• www.sailpdx.com

Looking for Cruise Hosts
By Jim Elieff (Cruising Chairman), C30, Fortune

Commodore's Note:  As with many clubs there is lots that goes on behind the scenes that most members are never aware of.  One of those activities is our Cruising Chairman, Jim Elieff's, monthly attendance at the meetings for Columbia River Yachting Association (CRYA), of which CRACA is a member.

Catalina 30 Racing
By Dale Mack, C30, Celtic Myst

April 24-25.  If you are a Catalina 30 owner, or if you would like to crew aboard a Catalina 30, I invite you to participate in a casual, spinnaker-free weekend of racing out on the Columbia River between the Interstate Bridge and the I-205 Bridge.

The Spring Regatta

The Small Yacht Sailing Club of Oregon (SYSCO) will be running the regatta that weekend.  They are very supportive of one-design racing, and are particularly interested in providing a venue for new racers to come out and experience the sport.  To obtain a one-design start for the Catalina 30's, we need to bring a minimum of three boats to the starting line.

I and my crew raced Celtic Myst last year and had a wonderful time.  The regatta was the first time I'd done any racing on my C30, and compared to my C22 racing experience, it was a lot more comfortable;-))  To help jumpstart things, I'll be contacting as many C30 owners both inside and outside of CRACA in an effort to raise awareness of the event and an interest in participating either as a skipper or crew.

I will publish more details regarding the Spring Regatta in the March newsletter.  In the meantime, if you would like more information about local racing, checkout the Catalina 22 Fleet 20 website at www.c22pdx.org.

February 21.  February's general membership meeting has been replaced with a Boat Show Survivors Party.  CRACA will be hosting a pizza party and providing non-alcoholic beverages along with plates, cups, napkins, utensils, etc.  We have received permission from the Willamette Yacht Club, venue for the event, to allow CRACA members to bring their own beer and wine if they wish.

You're encouraged to bring your photo albums to share. 

For all of you who are 40 or younger this year--- listen up --- you need a boater education card.  If you are cited for not having one, the fine is now $94.00. Those of us who saw 40 pass by years ago and think we don't have to worry about a card, might be in for a surprise.  A provision of the law requires that there must be a card holding adult on board supervising youth 12 - 15 yrs old who are operating boats over 10 hp. Also, youth 12 -15 yrs need a boater education card when operating boats 0 - 10 hp alone.

The best place to get information about the Oregon Boater Education Card is the Oregon State Marine Board web site. Which is: www.boatoregon.com. Their phone is: 503-378-8587. The web site lists all the options for getting a card. They list classes, and on-line sites available for classes and to take the exam. The application can be downloaded.

I found the OSMB site very interesting because it has a wealth of information about boating.

The Oregon Marine Board has information about the program posted at:

www.marinebd.osmb.state.or.us/Education/index.html

Vessel Safety Checks
By Dave Thomas (Safety Focal), C30, Sunchaser

The Columbia River All Catalina Association Charter calls for a Vessel Safety Check (VSC) on all member’s boats in the interest of safety. For more information check out www.safetyseal.net

Michael Lewis and I will be available again this year to do vessel safety checks. A safety check can be arranged by contacting Michael at 503-981-7467, or myself, Dave Thomas at 503-682-2935. We will also be available to do a VSC during our cruises, as they occur during the year, and we will arrange a VSC weekend during the spring.

February

• 21, Boat Show Survivors Party @ Willamette Yacht Club

March

• 24, General membership meeting @ Rose City Yacht Club

See the calendar