Salty Dog Sailing Club

of Denver, Colorado

February 2021 Newsletter

By

Volume 40 Issue 2 – February 2021

Commodore’s Log

Diana Bliss

There’s a tradition of the club coming up on February 11th at 6:30 PM on Zoom.  It’s called the Landlubber’s Celebration where the old board recognizes some of our members for funny, heroic, or unusual stories that have happened in the last year’s sailing season. Since we had COVID-19 going on, it was a shorter season this year. We usually have a banquet but this year we will still honor club members in this celebration. So put your thinking caps on and send your stories to Marilyn or Bobby. I will be sending out the Zoom invite for our meeting on February 11th later.

Also, Shane has updated the sailing schedule adding more Saturday sails! Look for it in this newsletter. So, he will be calling for coordinators to make this sailing schedule a GO!!

We are also in need of someone who has a garage or basement that they can store our club’s paper products and supplies for weekend and day sails. Peppi has been doing it for at least two years and Tom P. for many years before that. If you can help the club out, please call or email me.

Thanks, and see you at the meeting!

-Diana

Next Upcoming Event – Landlubber’s Celebration Thursday Feb 11th, 6:30pm

Membership Report

Cliff Randall

We are currently at 22 new and renewed members with several inquiries from Meet-Up.

New and renewed members will get a Salty Dog bandana at the next club sail.

We are having more business cards made and I encourage everyone to take a few to hand out to anyone interested in joining the club. The cards should be available at the next in-person meeting.

-Cliff

Other Club News

Bobby Olsen -2020 Vice-Commodore:

Salty Dog 2020 sailing stories needed

I need your 20-20 hindsight on great (or good) stories on the 2020 sailing season for the Landlubber’s event. Make your notes and send them to me at SaltyDog37@gmail.com.  If have a story, but are having difficulty putting it into words, then call me @ 303.521.8589 and we can work on it together.

YouTube videos – on sailing or other NON-cat videos

We need some interesting videos for the Landlubber’s meeting. If it is on sailing, that’s great. Travel or adventure is also good. If someone is interested in putting together a collage of Salty Dog pictures, that would be nice to have. Send any ideas to me at SaltyDog37@gmail.com.

Brooke Mooreland – Treasurer:

Discounted State Park Passes

Salty Dog Sailing Club Members, Friends, and Friends of Friends:

Colorado Sail & Yacht is now taking orders for 2021 discounted State Park Pass Vouchers and is inviting you to participate. The cost per pass is $63, for an $80 annual park pass. The process is the same as last year.

The vouchers will be valid from March 2021 to March 2022 and can be turned in at Park Offices or most Park Entrances for an Annual State Park Pass. The vouchers.  Your park pass will be valid for one year from the time you turn in your voucher for your annual pass. The club will take orders through the end of February, and the vouchers will be mailed in mid-March.

Order now for the cost of $63 by visiting  https://csyc.org/colorado-state-park-pass-vouchers/ or mail a check payable to CSYC to:

Brooke Moreland
24 Mountain Pine Dr
Littleton CO 80127

Tiffany Jordan – Newsletter:

Salty Dog Club sailing pics needed

Send us your pics! You’re proud of them and want to show off all the fun and amazing things we do on the water. If you have any pictures of sailing that you are willing to give us permission to use freely in our newsletters, marketing, etc., please send them to newsletter@saltydog.org.

Classifieds:  

Boat for sale

A Boston Whaler model Harpoon 4.6 sailboat was donated to a church and is for sale. The 1981 15’ boat and trailer appear to be in good condition. The asking price is $1600. If you are interested, contact Zeke at 303-883-2321.

Articles for next issue are due on the 25th. Please send to newsletter@saltydog.org

December 2020 Newsletter

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Commodore’s Log                                                      Marilyn Allen

Greetings Salty Doggers –

I hope you’re all staying well during this crazy time.  It’s certainly making for a different holiday season.  Andrea Lewis has cooked up a fun Zoom Holiday Party for us, and it should bring some fun to our December.  Be sure to attend the December meeting (via Zoom) on December 10 at 6:30pm.

I apologize for missing the November Annual Meeting and thank Bobby Olsen for stepping up as Vice Commodore.  My Time Share in Cabo was calling, and I’ve got to say, it was pretty wonderful to get away from COVID and politics.  Cabo felt very safe health-wise with precautions even more stringent than here.

I got the incredible gift of actually diving with 20-30 Humpback Whales.  Awesome!

A big welcome to all our new board members and Thank You for stepping up.  There WILL be a smooth transition of power and I’m confident some new plans and approaches will make our club even better.   There were reports from all board members EXCEPT Dave Westfall as Webmaster and yours’ truly.  Dave has done a tremendous amount of good for the club with his work on our website and Meet-Up.  We have new crew members and boat owners because of his efforts, and, of course, the great follow up of our Membership Coordinator.  Please see his report in this newsletter.

A BRIEF COMMODORE’S REPORT – This was a challenging year because of our friend COVID, but despite it we had great sailing events with good attendance and lots of fun.   At our Board meeting last January, the board became very concerned about our future when we saw the state of our treasury and upcoming expenses.   Additionally, our membership numbers were down, primarily because of the closing of Chatfield.  We voted to raise dues a small amount and focus on increasing membership.  I’m happy to announce that because of successfully doing both, the treasury is now solvent and in good shape. We reviewed our Financial and Policies documents to clear up some confusion over compensation.  We more clearly defined responsibilities of both crew and captains.  THAT was really complicated but will provide more concise documents for the new board.

The Salty Dogs future is  bright.

Our membership is up and we have new boat owners who are injecting lots of enthusiasm into the club.  The two long trips, Lake Mac and Dillon, were both successful.  Thank you to all the Board members who contributed their time and talents to the club.  Each and every one played a big part in our success.

Looking forward to seeing lots of you at the December Zoom meeting and party.

The business meeting will be VERY short, to allow lots of time for fun.

See you soon –

Marilyn Allen, Commodore

Membership Report                                                              Ronni Willcox

During the month of November the Salty Dog Sailing Club has welcomed three new members. We all give a hearty Salty Dog salute to Marty and Nick C from Strasburg and Tiffany J from Denver !

This brings the current club membership to 59.

If you would like to renew your membership before December 31, 2020 you can SAVE $5 per member on your single or double membership fee for year 2021.  A SAVINGS of $10 per couple!

Do that soon at our On-Line Payment link: https://www.saltydog.org/membership/

You can also download the club membership application:

https://www.saltydog.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/SDSC-Membership-form-2020.pdf

The club requires every member to complete both sides of an application each year.  Please send your application to the incoming membership director, Cliff Randall, to his home address on my roster.

If you prefer, you can send a check along with your membership application directly to Cliff.

Have any questions about membership? Send them to membership@saltydog.org.

Webmaster Report                                                                 Dave Westfall

SaltyDog.org has gone from the Bottom to the Top of the Google Search Engine Results Page (SERP) for “Denver Sailing Club”. We’re #1!

Our Google Analytics report shows monthly website visitors have increased from 20 to 200+ per month !

That’s 2,054 website visitors in the last year, up 47% Year Over Year, despite the Global Pandemic …

That has resulted in new Salty Dog Members (see Membership Report, above) !

Posting the SDSC Newsletter as a Blog Post on the Website for Prospects is helping our SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and New Member Recruiting !

From the Editor                                                                        Ira Greenberg

It has been my pleasure to oversee this newsletter for three years now.
I’ve enjoyed getting to know our members, helping to organize events, keeping the information flowing.
I’d like to extend a warm welcome to Tiffany Jordan, our incoming editor.
Wishing Tiffany and the entire incoming Board our Best for continued success in 2021 and Beyond !

Welcome to the New Board for Calendar 2021:

Commodore               Diana Bliss
Vice Commodore      Mark Graas
Membership              Cliff Randall
Secretary                    Ellie Watson
Dry Land                    Andrea Lewis
On The Water           Shane Brouillette
Newsletter                Tiffany Jordan
Treasurer                  Brook Moreland
Webmaster              Larry Moreland

Christmas at Sea Poem                                              Robert Louis Stevenson

This poem, by Robert Louis Stevenson, published in 1888 captures perfectly the pathos of the sailor leaving home in this poem; he can even see the house where he was born – where his aging parents are lamenting a Christmas spent without a son, a foolish son he surmises… who is away from home, at sea.

Click on this link to read the poem: https://poets.org/poem/christmas-sea

Dry Land Activities                                                            Andrea Lewis

                                          Ideas, suggestions, please let Andrea Lewis know   

                         Andrea – Dry Land Coordinator   dryland@saltydog.org      

 

On The Water                                                                     Shane Brouillette

******    Like to Propose or Coordinate a 2021 Sail ?    Contact Shane Brouillette – onthewater@saltydog.org     ******

December  2020 Meeting

Thursday December 10 – Meeting / Holiday ( ZOOM ) Party … 6:30 PM, via ZOOM – Link to be provided

Will start with Monthly Meeting, then on to Christmas Quiz – Have Paper / Pen handy by your screen

Please wear your best Xmas Hat, Ugly Sweater, Glittery Earrings, and your preferred Beverage.

( Due to Unpopular Demand, we will NOT be doing Secret Santa )

 

 

Charter in Belize –

Day Sails or Over Night Charters
Neftali & Tammy Lemus
Belize Sailing & Adventures

011-501-610-0226

+1-501-610-0226

http://www.xsitebelizesailing.com/

November 2020 Newsletter

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November 2020 Newsletter Header

 

Commodore’s Log                                                                               Marilyn Allen

With only 2 more sailing days on the calendar, I guess we can say the season is over… at least in Colorado.  There are lots of warm weather places that are welcoming us, with some restrictions, so keep your eyes open for charter opportunities, and bring your mask and ever present hand sanitizer.

Twelve of us intrepid Salty Dogs joined Andrea Lewis for her latest Dry Land adventure — GO-KARTING!   It was a ball and we maneuvered and occasionally slammed around each other, trying for the best time.

Earlier in October, Shane organized an end of season sail at Chatfield… a beautiful day and a fitting end for a good season, IN SPITE OF our friend Covid.  We usually have 10-15 participants at the sails and everything from howling gales to glass flat lakes.  Hopefully, next year we’ll be a little less restricted, but considering the Covid challenges, I think we had a very good season.

Much thanks to all the coordinators and boat owners who shared their time and boats with us and thanks to Gary Kieft for putting the sailing schedule together.

IMPORTANT –

By the time you get this, I will have sent out ballots for our 2021 Board.  Our November meeting will be back to the Zoom format and the new board will be announced at the meeting.

PLEASE EMAIL YOUR VOTES BACK TO ME NO LATER THAN NOV. 3

(should be an easy day to remember)

There will be no voting at the meeting.  We need to have a quorum and we need to have votes, so please don’t overlook this.

And ‘Thank You’ to the fine Salty Dog members who have offered to serve next year.

IMPORTANT #2 –

We have two members competing for the On the Water Position.  They are Shane Brouillette and Gary Kieft.  Please vote for 1 of them on the ballot.

HOLIDAY PARTY –

We had hoped to be able to have an in person gathering, but with the spike in Covid cases, it’s just too risky.  Let’s plan for a Zoom get together on our December meeting night.  Bring your food, beverage, and some funny holiday attire from the waist up and we’ll visit and catch up.

Wishing you all a good Thanksgiving.

We ALL have things to be grateful for, even though perhaps this year won’t be the ideal.

Be sure to attend our November meeting.

We’ll announce the new Board, talk a bit about plans for 2021 and have a great guest speaker.

Vice Commodore’s Log                                                                       Bobby Olsen

November Meeting Agenda

6:30 – Meeting called to order / Greeting and review of the Agenda

6:35 – Business meeting

  • Election of Officers
  • Officer Reports
  • Ideas for meetings and events in 2021

7:05 – Speaker – Jim Schoendaller, Author and sailor

7:25 – Announcements

7:30 – Adjourn meeting

About Our Speaker – Jim Schoendaller

Jim SchoendallerJim is your typical active Colorado native. He is a former national skating champion, an expert skier, a certified scuba diver, a world traveler (5 continents so far), an accomplished ballroom dancer, and a gourmet cook.

Like all of us in landlocked Colorado, he is also into sailing.

He is an ASA Certified Instructor and has been teaching with Victoria Sailing School on the J22’s for 12 years.

Unlike all of us, he is a published author. His first book, 180 Degrees Magnetic, was published in December 2019. It is an action, adventure, sailing, sci-fi thriller set in the Bermuda triangle.

Book number two in the trilogy, Repel All Boarders, is at the publisher and will be available shortly.

Jim is going to share with us his experiences in sailing, writing, and mixing the two. It will be an informative and enjoyable presentation.

Membership Report                                                              Ronni Willcox

The Salty Dog Sailing Club happily welcomes four new members! We say a warm hello to Justin M and Colleen I, along with Andi O and Gino M.   Our club membership tops out currently at 56 sailors.

Our presence on Meetup, the Salty Dog Meetup Group, is also adding sailing enthusiasts who are interested in joining us for an outing.

If you have never received a Salty Dog complimentary tee shirt, please let me know and I’ll get one to you promptly. Every member is deserving of a tee shirt!

If you haven’t already joined or renewed, please do so soon at our On-Line Payment link: https://www.saltydog.org/membership/

Or, if you prefer, you can send a check to Ronni Willcox, Membership, 2955 Blue Sky Cir #6-206, Erie CO 80516.

Have any questions about membership? Send them to membership@saltydog.org.

Dry Land Event Recap                                                                          Andrea Lewis

What do frustrated sailors do when it is too cold to sail ? They do the next best thing and get into their go-karts and drive as fast as possible against their fellow Salty Dogs!!

Friday 23rd Oct was one of those freezing cold days, and so we were not sure how many Salty Dogs would brave the cold and come and join us at K1 Go Karting in the evening – but lo and behold … everyone who said they would, turned up and played!!

One race involved driving the course 12 laps and the object of the exercise was to do the fastest timed lap – it was not necessary to get past the flag first .. there were a couple of near collisions, as a few riders were more antsy than others ( no names mentioned 🙂

Great fun was had by all and the winner of the pack was Dan closely followed by Mathew.

After all that hard work we reconvened at “Living the Dream Brewery” for a well deserved beer!!

 

 

 

Sailing Schedule 2020                                                                        Gary Kieft

Great Job Everyone !!

                              It’s been a GREAT 2020 Sailing Season …

         Sincere Thanks to our Generous Boat Owners, Our Skilled Captains

                   Kudos to our On The Water Coordinator – Gary Kieft

                   Great Job under VERY Challenging Circumstances !!

 

MOB — A Cherry Creek Reservoir Instructive Sail Tale                    Michael Mason

I went sailing with my friend Marilyn, Commodore of the Salty Dogs Sailing Club.  Sailing was great. We had good wind, good company, and a beautiful afternoon.  We had a bit of adventure late in the day.

Placing fenders on the port side of the boat in preparation for returning to the dock, I somehow managed to violate the first rule of sailing,  “Don’t Fall Overboard”.  We were about a quarter of a mile from the dock.

I tumbled in and lost my new prescription glasses and my car keys.  My inflatable PFD inflated immediately.  I was now at the surface and  in no immediate danger.

Although this sounds amusing, MOB ( Man Over Board ) is actually a very life threatening situation.

The MOB is often injured, scared, disoriented, in saturated clothes that weigh much more than normal, and is unable to climb the slick sides of the boat or stern to get back in.

Marilyn is a very experienced sailor, as am I.  About a month ago we had discussed and practiced a few MOB techniques on an earlier sail on Cherry Creek Reservoir.  One technique we had discussed but not practiced involved removing the main sail from the mast while leaving it still attached to the boom.  The main sail halyard is eased (loosened) enough to allow the top of the now loose sail to be lowered in to the water next to the boat.

One of the first things Marilyn did was to return the boat near me and turn off the engine to reduce the chance of my being chewed up by the propeller.  She threw a large 20 foot dock line (rope) to me, and after a couple of attempts was successful.  Since I was being blown away from the boat, I tied the dock line around my waist with a bowline hitch to prevent my drifting away.  So now I was very safe…. temporarily.

No other boats at Cherry Creek were nearby in spite of it being a busy Saturday afternoon.  I blew my very loud rescue whistle with the international distress signal of 3 blasts many many times. . . . no one heard or responded.

I attempted to climb back into the boat using the engine mount as a ladder but even with Marilyn’s assistance, I was unable to get back on board. I have read that that is very common.

Marilyn was able to lower the main sail into water rescue position with minimal coaching from me but undoubtedly with a few curses from me.  With the loose main sail lowered into the water, I was able to swim into the hammock-like pouch of the mainsail without much trouble.  I did need to undo the dock line that was securing me to the boat, and that was somewhat concerning.

So there I was in the wet pouch of the mainsail.  It felt very comforting to be in the hammock-like folds of the sail where I would not sink or drift away. The sail also offered wind protection!  Marilyn proceeded to hoist the mainsail halyard up using the winch, and the mainsail sort of rolled me up the port side of the boat, as we had seen in the you tube videos but had never practiced. Then the halyard  jams! By doing a sort of pull up on the side of the boat, I was able to unweight the sail enough for Marilyn to lift it about a foot more.  That gave me enough height to crawl onto the deck of the boat, wet, cold, shaking, and near hypothermic. The rescue was not elegant but it worked!

Here is a video of a commercial product that illustrates how the sail rescue lift works. Note that we left the mainsail attached to the boom:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-z4MU-uUAYY

I finished rigging the fenders on the port side of the boat and Marilyn drove us back to the dock.  As we proceeded, I found that I had packed a fleece coat in my sailing bag and changed into that.  I enjoyed the warmth!

We properly secured the boat at the dock and walked up to our cars.  Oh poop! My car will not open as my keys and fob are at the bottom of Cherry Creek Reservoir !

Marilyn drove me back home and neighbor Gail had keys to unlock my house. I now had access to a spare car fob and house key.  Marilyn drove me back to get the Toyota and all is now well (after pizza and wine).

Both Marilyn and I are safe due to experience, cool heads, a bit of luck, and training.
Wear that PFD, Salty Dogs!
More adventure than I had expected on Cherry Creek Reservoir!

Fair winds and following seas,
Michael Mason

Announcements

Like to Coordinate a 2021 Sail ?    Contact Gary Kieft – onthewater@saltydog.org

 

November  2020

              ****         VOTE                 2021 Board Members                   VOTE         ****

Tuesday November 12 – Annual Meeting … 6:30 PM, via ZOOM – Link to be provided

Saturday November 21 – Indoor Bowling – Punch Bowl Social
65 Broadway, Denver CO 80203      303-765-2695        $12 per go
We will pay at the door, but please let me know if you intend on coming so I can provisionally reserve enough lanes.
Please call or text Andrea Lewis email dryland@saltydog.org                                           

December  2020

Tuesday December 10 – Holiday Party, Time TBD, via ZOOM – Link to be provided

Interested in Buying A Yacht in San Diego?

The Membership Director has recently received this message from a yacht salesperson based in San Diego:

“I just moved out to San Diego from Denver and have embarked on a new career in the yacht brokerage business.  A lot of Coloradans like to buy boats in San Diego to use as a warmer weather winter getaway in the marinas that are walkable from the airport.  With that I can help!

My office is right next door to West Coast Multihulls and Seaforth boat rentals in Sunroad Marina, which have charter and educational opportunities your members might enjoy whilst I help them find the perfect yacht!

If members are interested, I can send a business card to any member that might want to look into owning?”

Cheers,

Nathaniel Barré, Yacht Consultant

619-313-3664

nathaniel@aglyachtsales.com

www.aglyachtsales.com

September 2020 Newsletter

By

September 2020 Newsletter
Volume 39, Issue 9 September 2020

denver sailing club

Commodore’s Log                                        Marilyn Allen

Greetings Sailors –

Being on the water has really been appealing to many of us as we decompress from some very hot and smokey days.  I can guarantee life is better on the water!

Sail Boat Rigging SketchThanks to Gary’s organizing skills and with help of some generous boat owners, we’ve had some fun events.  Our Weds night sail went from howling gale to lovely evening sailing.  While the TGIF sail was a great way to end the week, we had NO wind, but got a great chance to socialize.

There are still some sailing events planned through early October, so hope to see you there.  The Dillon sail over Labor Day sold out quickly, but we’ll be sailing after our September meeting, plus other things are on the calendar.  Take a look and sign up on line and pay early to guarantee your seat.

It’s not too early to begin thinking about who you’d like to have running your club next year.  Elections of officers takes place at the November meeting.  Many of us on the Board will be retiring and thinking it’s time to let some other folks have their chance to support the club.  Being a board member does not require a huge amount of time – maybe 2-3 meetings a year and some on-line discussions.

Without a board, there will be no club.

Even if you don’t consider yourself a leadership type of person, please volunteer.  Your skills are needed and appreciated.

Board members in the following positions are definitely retiring:

Commodore, Vice Commodore, Membership, Webmaster and Secretary/Newsletter Editor (these positions are being combined for 2021 – that year’s board can determine if that change is permanent ).

All positions are elected positions and everyone is welcome to submit themselves or a friend as a nominee.

A huge thank you to those who have served.

See you on the water.

Marilyn Allen, Commodore

Membership Report                                                                             Ronni Willcox

It’s September already and the sailing season is coming to a close but the Salty Dog Sailing Club welcomes back two former members !

We say a hearty hello to Paul L and Steve D.

With our two newest members our club membership currently numbers 51 sailors.

Our Salty Dog Meetup Group is also still attracting members who are interested in sailing with us.

If you’ve joined, either now or in the past, and haven’t received a Salty Dog complementary tee shirt, please let me know and I’ll get one to you promptly. I don’t want to leave anyone out!

If you haven’t already joined or renewed, please do so soon at our On-Line Payment link: https://www.saltydog.org/membership/

Or, if you prefer, you can send a check to Ronni Willcox, Membership, 2955 Blue Sky Cir #6-206, Erie CO 80516.

Have any questions about membership?  Send them to membership@saltydog.org.

On The Water                                                                                             Gary  Kieft

Greetings from Gary Kieft, your sailing coordinator of 2020.  Many active members of our club have kept this season booming with well populated club sails.  Much has been going on this year, and we have gotten bunches of you to keep showing up at a lake.  It has been an enjoyable role coordinating it all.  Thanks for trusting … designating me this year.

Thanks to all for showing up with food, drink, vessels, good cheer;  for making our club and our activities successful.

Thank you Michael Mason for spreading sailing lore and our love of reading, by your generous distribution in July of more Nautical, Mariner, Sailing-themed books and magazines!  I am half-way through my first of many Sail magazines.  I like the storehouse of adventure, history, and tips they have.  One tip I am trying to remember, applying to lengthy journeys, was to have a knife sharpener along, for when you have big problems and lots of cutting to do!   … I’ll let you know when I make some progress in Pirate Hunter of the Caribbean!

Our August 21st T.G.I.Friday Cool-Down Sail proved popular to ten sailors last week.  Ken Sweet provided his unnamed boat to the club this evening for the first time in 2020.  Thank you Ken!

Our nautical enthusiast Cliff has provided Valkyrie a few times at Chatfield, getting in his opportunity to sleep off-shore.  Thanks Cliff for that dear boat.  New member Mark Graas has enthusiastically brought one of his two boats to many sails also.  Thankfully I have gone with him even more times, since twice this season we had breakage (a side-stay and a forestay) on our pre-meeting sail after which we couldn’t use the boat after the meeting.  Good to meet you Mark.  Thanks for offering the boat many times and conducting those never-ending repairs!

Fellow Dogs, I count five sails remaining on our schedule!  Get out while the going is still hot.  It is surprising that this summer will soon have concluded.

Thursday September 10th “Monthly Meeting Sail”, 5:30 p.m. dinner.

Sunday September 13th “A Sunday on the Water”, 4:30 p.m.

We always have dinner before the Monthly meetings.

Bag-lunch it, or enjoy seaside cuisine at Seagulls Restaurant Thursday evening.

Ordering at the to-go window has been the method.

For Sunday, bring food and hydration for yourself, or to share afloat.

BRING  – Your usual provisions:  Sunscreen, swimsuit, PFD, sailing book, food, hat and water.

Gary Kieft.   onthewater@saltydog.org

Dry Land Activities                                                                                            Andrea Lewis

We are planning on going GoKart racing at K1 Speed, Littleton CO 80125

This activity is for novices, beginners and experts … all to be plenty of fun.

Please let me know if you are interested so we can nail down a date in October and get it on the official calendar.

We can’t hold a date with K1 Speed until we have numbers.  Sign-ups will determine date and price.

Please respond to Andrea at dryland@saltydog.org  

 

Faire Winds