CRACA Needs You!
Its that time of the year again. Time to pick the 2009 CRACA Board Members. This is your chance to get involved and make CRACA better than ever. Board Members will be chosen at the November 19th member's meeting at Elmers restaurant. 6pm dinner starts, 7pm meeting starts with a presentation by Larry Brandt on a new Columbia River cruising destination.
The nomination and positions available are:
Nominations:
- Commodore- Jim Turner
- Vice Commodore- Jeff Schefstrom
- Secratary/Treasurer- John Kerrigan
- Cruise Officer- Doug McClary
- Rear Commodore- Alden Andre
Available Positions:
- Communications Officer
- Safety Officer
- Historian
and the officer descriptions are as follows: (this is taken right out of the CRACA Charter)
ARTICLE V —— OFFICERS
The officers of The Association shall be regular members in good standing. Officers may serve in more than one position providing that the Executive Committee consists of at least four members.
Commodore shall:
- Schedule and preside at all regular and special business meetings, determine date, time and location of the business meeting, and prepare meeting agenda.
- Chair the Executive Committee.
- Call extra business meetings, appoint committees not otherwise provided for, and fill committee and protem vacancies.
- Present an annual budget for the coming year to Executive Committee for approval in December of each year.
- Rule on procedure and jurisdiction, authorize expenditures within the budget, and perform other functions as may be warranted for the proper management.
- Prepare an article for each newsletter before the 26th of each month.
- Oversee and coordinate the efforts of all-major committees and appointments.
- Represent The Association in relationships with other boating organizations.
- Approve and file the annual report to International All Catalina Alliance.
- Perform the duties of the Vice Commodore in his/her absence.
- Succeed the Rear Commodore
Vice Commodore shall:
- Schedule programs/speakers for business meetings.
- Perform the duties of the Commodore in the absence of that officer.
- Prepare an article for each newsletter before the 26th of each month that details time, place and other information pertaining to upcoming program/speaker/event; and in the following month, reporting details of completed activity.
- Writes thank you notes to speakers/presenters throughout the year.
- Chair the Entertainment/Activities Committee and communicate activities.
- Be responsible for marketing the virtues and benefits of The Association to new and existing members.
- Be responsible for the preparation and delivery of reader-boards, brochures, etc. for any boat shows and/or other events decided upon by the Executive Committee.
- Succeed the Commodore.
Secretary/Treasurer shall:
- Record and retain minutes of all business meetings and Executive Committee meetings, and other records. He/she shall also distribute ballots, notices of meetings, and prepare other communications as required.
- Maintain the membership directory and notify the Communications Officer of any changes in membership information before the 26th of each month.
- Receive funds and deposit them in the depository approved by the Executive Committee, disburse funds by check only as authorized by the Commodore. Prepare the annual financial statements and budget, and conduct other financial affairs of The Association as assigned. Submit financial records to the Executive Committee on a quarterly basis.
- He/she will insure that any member may inspect all books and records for any proper purpose at any reasonable time.
- Be responsible for all funds of the organization, receive and disburse all money subject to the budget and the will of the Executive Committee.
- Set up a checking account in the name of Columbia River All Catalina Association. All checks written will require the signature of an Association officer. Authorized signatures will be on file with the bank.
- Maintain and reconcile The Association’s accounts, filing whatever reports and/or returns that may be required by the International All Catalina Alliance and governmental agencies.
- Collect membership dues.
- Order burgees, Sweatshirts, T-shirts, etc., keep inventory and make available to the members.
- Responsible to maintain list of members receiving Mainsheet. Submit list quarterly to Mainsheet.
Communications Officer shall:
- Be responsible for a newsletter and website.
- Publish a newsletter once a month unless otherwise directed by the Executive Committee.
- Prepare and mail press releases, as necessary.
- Submit articles to Catalina Owner Magazine, Mainsheet, and other publications.
- Receive and edit all items for newsletter, to include articles about upcoming meeting(s), cruise(s), and other activities; reports of past meeting(s), cruise(s) and other activities; and items of general interest to Association members.
- Provide for the distribution of the newsletter to The Association’s members, other clubs or Associations, national/international Associations and local yachting magazines at least one week before monthly meeting.
- Organize a telephone tree for Association communications.
Cruise Officer shall:
- Create The Association’s annual cruising schedule, and after having it approved by the Executive Committee, submit it to the Columbia River Yachting Association by their due date.
- Find hosts for each of The Association’s scheduled cruises.
- Assure that members are notified of cruise arrangements, including last-minute changes.
- Assure that new cruisers are made to feel welcome and, when desirable, are connected with a buddy boat.
- Before the 26th of each month, submit articles to Communications Officer detailing cruise plans, host boat(s), etc. for the next month's cruise(s) and reporting highlights and names of boats and/or members who attended the cruise(s) the previous month.
- Record and maintain information regarding participants for cruising awards.
Rear Commodore shall:
- Act as host/hostess at meetings and other activities, making introductions, welcoming guests and new members, and providing name tags as desirable.
- Before the 26th of each month, submit biographies of guests, new and selected existing members.
- Serve on the Entertainment Committee.
- The immediate past Commodore shall serve as the Rear Commodore. Any regular member may fill this position should the immediate past Commodore be unable to serve.
The following positions are open to regular and associate members of good standing:
Safety Focal shall:
- Promote safe boating education by submitting articles to the Communications Officer before the 26th of each month outlining safe practices.
- Provide for Vessel Safety Check of member’s boats.
- Give safety presentations at general meetings.
Historian shall:
- Maintain The Association’s scrapbook with photographs and other memorabilia.
 Commodore
By Alden Andre', C38, Fly Bye
<No Submission>
Vice Commodore
By Jim Turner, C30, Fat Cat
Since last month’s newsletter, the Catalina 380 we purchased in July arrived home, and we sold “FatCat”, our former Catalina 30. FatCat was purchased by, David Rubin & Ann LaBray, who will be joining CRACA, so please give them a warm welcome!
Our thanks and appreciation goes out to our close friends and club members who helped us get the boat home. Whether you were a member of the first or second crew, or offered encouragement and assistance, thank you! I’m happy to report that this last trip went much better than the first. The sea and weather conditions were significantly better, as was our preparation. Would I do it again, you bet!
Rhonda and Lola met me in Astoria for the cruise up-river and home. We spent a pleasant first night at Cathlamete, followed by the next at St. Helens, and then arrived at Hadley’s Landing for the scheduled September club cruise. We had a great weekend with everyone and especially enjoyed Doug and JoNell’s christening ceremony for their Catalina 309.
As you may imagine, this month has had its ups and downs and been stressful on occasion. I apologize for not making time to line up any speakers for meetings yet. But to honest we just finished closing on the sale of our Catalina 30 last Friday. I am excited to announce however that Larry Brandt will be doing a 15 min presentation on an exciting new Cruising Destination right here on the Columbia River! I hope everyone can make our Nov 19th members meeting at Elmers in Delta Park to hear this one.
So it begins… We are already busy making the Catalina 380 ours. We’ve agreed on a new name and are fussing with color, font and graphic options. Do you think there can possibly be anything that needs to upgraded that can keep me busy and out of trouble this winter?
-Jim
Secretary/Treasurer
By John Kerrigan, C30, Magewind
<No Submission>
Communications Officer
By Justin Albano, C22, Velitas
Catalina Prices Go Through The Roof!
Economic news has been inescapable these last couple months and the sailing industry is no different. With Petroleum prices out of control, Catalina’s cost of goods sold has been steadily increasing and the increase is trickling down to the buyers.
Roger Londberg, owner of River City Sailing (RCS), Oregon’s authorized Catalina Yachts dealer has reported that Catalina has recently raised it’s base prices on average of 7% over last years models. That means after these in stock models are gone, the C387 will go up around $13,500 next year, and the pretty new 309s sitting at the Tomahawk Bay Marina will increase a little over $6,500!
These prices are not expected to change, despite the recent drop in gas prices, until the 2010 models are released sometime in late fall 2009. Your guess is as good as mine as to whether they will go up or down at that time.
-Justin
Safety Focal
By Larry Brandt, C36, High Flight
The “Figure 8” Crew Overboard Procedure – Part Deux
This is the second installment of a newsletter reiteration of the COB presentation I gave at the CRACA Rendezvous.
In last month’s newsletter, I explained Points-of-Sail, but deferred an explanation of how these become the building blocks of an easy, repeatable, by-sail-alone method of returning to a person (or in our family, perhaps a cat) that has gone overboard. The written description described here is abbreviated for publication, but covers the essence of the life-saving procedure.
In the event of an unexpected crew overboard, TIME is of the essence. Particularly, the first five or ten seconds following the overboard event. This is because the vessel is actually sailing AWAY FROM the person overboard, whose very survival could be at stake. Because waveage at sea (or even in the river) could preclude ever finding your loved one again, there is an essential priority of tasks that need to be accomplished properly and promptly. These are worth committing to memory, and practicing on the water until they are second nature to you and your crew. Note that the diagrams herein are not to scale.
Once a crewmember goes overboard, the person noticing must… 1. YELL, in order to call the remaining crew to action, 2. THROW flotation to the victim, and 3. SPOT, by designating a dedicated spotter. These three tasks should happen quickly, and set up the remaining boat handling steps of the COB procedure.
 1) YELL. This is to get the assistance of others remaining onboard. A crew overboard situation can be a life-threatening situation, and we can use all the help we can get.
2) THROW flotation. The boat is going away from the victim, so the opportunity to throw a Type 4 PFD or other flotation is rapidly receding. The thrown flotation has the added utility of marking the spot, which can be helpful, as a human head in waves can be extremely difficult to keep in sight.
3) SPOT. Appoint a crewmember to have only this ONE exclusive job: to keep the victim in sight at all times. This critical job must be done to the exclusion of all other activities. I like to train the spotter to keep their hand pointed at the victim at all times, as seeing this can give valuable information to the helmsman. The spotter should NOT do any other job until the victim is alongside.
 4) BEAM REACH. After the first three steps are accomplished, the helmsman should turn the boat the Beam Reach. This is the fastest point of sail, and should provide the velocity needed for the soon-to-occur tack. The geometry of the exercise requires the boat to stay on this point-of-sail for a minimum of two boat lengths. Often, five to ten boat lengths will work just fine, but recognize that the farther you get from the victim the harder it will be to keep them in sight.
5) TACK TO BROAD REACH. This is the maneuver that gets the boat headed back to the victim. During the tack, release the jib sheet and let the sail and sheets rattle. The remainder of the COB is done under mainsail alone, and letting the jib sheets trail to leeward will give the victim one more way to re-connect with the boat. This tack sets up a broad reach from which it is relatively easy (with practice and familiarity with your own boat) to identify and turn on to.
6)
CLOSE REACH TO VICTIM and LUFF. Close reach is the most maneuverable point-of-sail. It is the only point-of-sail on which you can have ample power (sheeted in), or no power (sails luffing). It’s like the accelerator pedal in a car. This is the point-of-sail you want to use when picking up a mooring buoy under sail, or when intending to stop a vessel at a victim in the water. Luff the sails to stop the boat to windward of the victim, and commence your retrieval.
Of course, there are variables in this process. Too little wind, or too high waves in the ocean may well require some flexibility. But on the Columbia River, this procedure will serve exceptionally well.
Many years ago, as a new sailing instructor, I took along a Pepsi can on solo sails on a Santana 20. Time after time practicing this procedure, I learned that it was highly repeatable. It’s obvious benefit is that in a crisis situation it avoids a jibe, needing only to tack. Practiced, as I did, it can reliably have the boat stopped upwind of a Pepsi can, letting one reach over and have the can onboard within 50 seconds. A larger boat will need more time, but can be equally successful.
Learn this important tool for survival, and you may well save someone you love.
-Larry Brandt
 Historian
By
Alex Andre', C38, Fly Bye
<No Submission>
 Rear Commodore
By Eric Rouzee, C36, Legacy
<no Submission>
 Cruising
Chairman
By Jim Elieff, C30, Fortune
Hey everyone,
Sorry about the lack of descriptions to go along with all these great pics, but I have been having some Internet issues. Hope you enjoy the photos, and don't forget our Nov 19th members meeting, 6pm at Elmer’s!
Catalina Newsletters of
the Northwest
Checkout these links to Northwest Catalina newsletters and local racing:
Upcoming Events
October
- 2nd - 3rd, Cruise to McCuddy's Landing
- 25th - 26th, Cruise: Government Island -East Dock
- No Meeting
November
December
See the calendar
The Columbia River All Catalina Association
newsletter is published once a month online at
ColumbiaRiverCatalina.org. Articles are the opinions of the authors
and don't necessarily represent the consensus of the Association.
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