ColumbiaRiverCatalina.org		January 2008

Commodore
By Alden Andre', C38, Fly Bye

It’s a new year and it is ramping up to be a great year for the club. We have the Portland boat show this month hope to see you all there. I am excited to see the boat show to look at some new products I would like to install on my boat. I haven’t been sailing yet the month of Dec or Jan but have spent lots of time working on the boat. Every time I go to her, it seems something is broke and I have to fix it. I will be doing a monthly update with pics of some systems I will be upgrading and installing. I am very excited this year with our new cadre and expect to see great new things. Have a good month of Jan and stay warm and hope to see you on the water or at the boat show.

Alden Andre

Vice Commodore
By Jim Turner, C30, Fat Cat

We received enough response to book the Shanghai Tour (Portland Underground mini-tour) prior to our meeting at the Old Town Pizza Company on January 23rd.  The Shanghai Tour is scheduled to begin at 6:00 PM and will run between 30 – 45 minutes, with the entry to the underground right in the Pizza Company building!  The cost for the tour is $7 per person and anyone that wants to join us still can.  In speaking with several other CRACA members about the tour I’m finding that we are all really looking forward to it!

The Old Town Pizza Company is located at 226 NW Davis, Portland, Oregon 97209 (Between NW 2nd and 3rd Avenues).  With on street parking very limited downtown, I would suggest riding the MAX to the Old Town/China Town stop, which is about two blocks east of the restaurant.  We will probably park at the Lloyd Center lot adjacent to the Max line and ride the Max for free, since both locations are in the fareless zone.

Rhonda and I worked the CRACA booth at the Portland boat show and met a lot of nice boaters.  Interest in the club was good and we had a great time.  The new Catalina 309 that River City Sailing featured was especially nice, lots of great improvements, but a bit more expensive as well!

I recently signed up for Coastal Cruising under Power and Sail Course that Larry Brandt is giving in West Linn, mentioned in the last newsletter.  I hope others members consider joining me in taking the class.  I just may need some help since I hear that Larry assigns homework.  Hope to see everyone at the meeting on January 23rd!  Please bring some ideas for future speakers and events.

Secretary/Treasurer
By John Kerrigan, C30, Magewind

Well, I guess I'm settling in as Secretary / Treasurer (although getting used to the power and glory associated with such a lofty position is a bit daunting). After a lengthy battle, Kathleen Lewis and I were even able to prevail upon Bank of America to add me to the official CRACA bank account!

There have been dues payments trickling in but many of you loyal CRACAs still need to get these to me. Thirty bucks for a year of wild parties, nautical exploits and the scintillating web site and newsletter - what a deal! A subscription to Mainsheet is only twelve buck more.

I'd also like to report on a surprising discovery I made while digging around on the website: You DON'T have to own a Catalina to belong to CRACA! You're welcome to continue as an Associate member for that same, low cost of $30.00 a year. Yeah, I know the membership application doesn't mention this, but hey, if you want in we're happy to have you (expect, however, to get a small amount of razzing should you be the owner of one of those boats whose names begin with an 'H' or 'B').

Kathleen has also passed on a supply of really nice CR burgees, available for a surprisingly modest $20.00 that'd look great on your boat (or your chandelier if you're currently 'between vessels').

So, it's not too late to send along your dues or hand them to me at the upcoming meeting at Old Town Pizza on Jan 23rd from 6:30pm-9pm.

Communications Officer
By Justin Albano, New Catalinas Every Year!

Hello CRACA members,
I apologize about the late posting of this newsletter, as many of you know, we just had our big indoor boat show and it is always a lot of work before and during. A big thank you to John & Sharron Fulton, Jim & Rhonda Turner, Peter & Carylon Rose, Dave Thomas, Carl Sorenson, Alden Andre, John Kerrigan and Jim Elieff for donating your time and wonderful personalities to the betterment of CRACA. We had a great show, talked to lots of people, and had lots of interest in our club.

I am really excited for this month’s member meeting and I hope we have a great turn out. You Vice-Commodore has put together a great little tour for us, and I just hope that I don’t get shanghaied while we are down there. So, if I disappear and show up in Hawaii that will be my excuse.

For my final note I would like to inform all of you that CRACA now has a page in Facebook. Facebook is a free social network that would allow us to easily pass along messages, post pictures, ask each other questions etc. You don’t have to post any personal information that you don’t want to and like I said it is free to sign up. You can sign up at www.facebook.com or if you are already a member go directly to http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=18947715159 

Safety Focal
By Larry Brandt, C36, High Flight

Sharpen Up the Crew
If you sail through the year with good, reliable crew, then you are one lucky skipper.  Whether your crew is your significant other, a family member or a friend, wouldn’t it be nice to say thanks for all the great times and hard work they invested in your cruising and racing - and sometimes even in boat maintenance - this past year?  I think we’d all agree on that one.
The question is how to say thanks.  My favorite crew is Daniela, my significant other.  But as I am a boat owner, the diamond bracelet that I would like to give her is well outside my budget.  I probably shouldn’t be reminding her that 2007’s bracelet budget was invested in a new autopilot, new cockpit canvas and a new innerspring V-berth mattress for High Flight.  You won’t say anything to her about that, will you?
So as skipper, what can I do? 
One idea is to make an off-season investment in upgrading their skills - actually an investment in your (plural) skills as a crew - that could make next year’s cruising or racing much more enjoyable for them.  Here are a couple examples…
If your crew’s docking skills aren’t irreproachable, why not talk to your local sailing school regarding an off-season tune-up?  A half-day one-on-one session with an experienced big boat instructor could well offer skipper and crew insights to an entirely new approach to that intimidating dock.  We instructors have secrets…and we’re willing to share.
Likewise, experienced instructors have secrets for anchoring.  Anchoring, properly done, should be an absolutely silent enterprise, using nothing but hand signals.  If the boat is a No Yell Zone, anchoring at the end-of-the-day becomes a reward that is enthusiastically welcomed by the crew, the day’s final achievement of peace and serenity.  Isn’t that why you bought the boat in the first place?  A short half-day tune-up may be all your boat’s crew needs to stop entertaining the moorage and start winning the admiration of the other vessels in the anchorage.  
Making the investment in a few inexpensive hours of off-season tune-up can make both skipper and crew more comfortable, and possibly safer, on the boat.  It’s a great way to say thank you.  And it’s win-win, because it’s a thank you that anticipates even more cruising pleasure in the coming season. Sorry about that bracelet thing, dear.

Historian
By Alex Andre', C38, Fly Bye

<No Submission>

Rear Commodore
By Eric Rouzee, C36, Legacy

<No Submission>

Happy New Year fellow members, well another year has come and gone and for me, it was a transition year. I went from Sailboats of Oregon to helping at a better Brokerage, River City Sailing, with Roger and Justin, Joe, and Shane. Great group of guys. A week or so ago I got a call from Salpare Bay wanting to know if I was interested in being the Harbormaster??   Of course I said "YES." so a few days later, after I presented my case, they hired me. I am over there now, and start work on January 2nd.  I have already asked if we could have our rendezvous, and they said no problem.  We have to lock in a date, ASAP, if that's where we want to have it. The cruise schedules should be out in mid February. The boat show is Jan 5th to 13th. Hope to see some of you there?   And also at the Pizza Party later in the month.

We have very enthusiastic board this year. They have some great ideas that will make 2008 a very fun year. 

The First CRYA meeting of 2008 isn't until Jan. 15th, so that info will be in January's Newsletter.  Hope Everyone had a very Merry Christmas & A Happy New Year.  James M. Elieff C.D.

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Catalina Newsletters of the Northwest

Checkout these links to Northwest Catalina newsletters and local racing:

Catalina 22 Fleet 20 of Portland www.c22pdx.org Sail Portland www.sailpdx.com Oregon Women's Sailing Assoc. www.owsa.net

Catalina Assoc.  of Tacoma and South Sound home.earthlink.net/~catss/CATSS Web Page.htm Catalina Association of Puget Sound capsfleet1.com/News Letters.htm Small Yacht Sailing club of Oregon (SYSCO) www.sailpdx.com/sysco.htm

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