Armcahir sailing

I have been vicariously following the adventures of various navigators. The internet is now ubiquitous and immediate. Anyone can have a virtual experience of a sailing adventure.

Zac Sunderland's blog: Zac is a 17 year old from California. (He just celebrated his birthday and hasn't updated the banner!) His goal is to be the youngest person to do a solo circumnavigation. I started reading the blog when he was in Mauritius. His forestay had broken and he had to limp into port to do repairs. The boat, Intrepid, is a 40 foot sloop. It was basically rebuilt as a family project.

A competitor for the title "youngest circumnaviagator" is 16 year old Mike Perham from the U.K.. Mike has experienced lots of problems with his autopilot. He has had to make several stops: Cacais, Gran Canaria I and Gran Canaria II, in order to deal with the gremlins. The boat, totalmoney.com, is a complete contrast to Zac's; a 50 ft. 'Open', designed for single handed circumnavigation. (Zac's mom refers to it as "the Million dollar yacht"!)

And now for something completely different: Darborn, a 'travel blog' from a Beneteau 373 cruising couple. This is of course very interesting to me. I certainly won't be competinting for title of the youngest solo circumnavigator, but I may be a snowbird commuting through the ICW. The blog gives you a real sense of the vie quotitien of a cruising couple. Ordinary events; real life. If you are thinking about doing a live aboard trip south in the winter then this blog will give you a good sense of what is involved and what your life will be like.

There are two great races going on as well. The Volvo Ocean Race has now completed two legs. Great coverage on the internet with a dedicated reporter on each boat. The videos are fantastic. I watched the start of the second leg from Cape Town live. My favourite video is the Chinese gybe by Team Russia.

The other marquee event is the Vendee Globe. The start from France was a bit rough and at least five boats had to return to port for repairs. Only two were able to restart. One of these was Derek Hatfield, the Canadian entry. I think most sailors in the Toronto area have made some contribution (however small!) to his effort. The fleet is now in the southern ocean. One of the leaders has just reported a demasting. This is a solo non stop race so video updates are not as great. Still great coverage with photos and podcasts.

Volunteers Unite

Last Saturday there was a meeting of the 'Sailing Committee'. The Yacht Club's board is making a concerted effort to reach out to the membership for input on various aspects of the club's operations. It was well attended, with members from the race committee boat crew, the dry sailing fleet, big boat crews, and cruising members (i. e. Jonathon). There were door prizes and food! The meeting was chaired by John, Vice Commodore Fleet.

This was a great opportunity to catch up with scuttlebutt: the winter racing campaigns of one of our more competitive boats, winter sailing holidays, and memberships changes. There was no discussion about how the Club will deal with "the Financial Crisis" and "the New Economic Depression". (What financial crisis? Perhaps 'Yachties' are not a good indicator of financial distress!)

The 2009 regatta schedule was discussed. The Spring Round the Island race will be on Victoria Day. It was suggested that a "Family Regatta" be held to encourage greater participation of non racing members. Stephen indicated an interest in being Race Committee Chairman. One of Stephen's concerns is the use of cinder blocks as mark anchors. He indicated that he would look into a more environmentally compatible mark anchoring method. Richard and Ann provided an update on the 2009 TAH Regatta. We will need to encourage the training of additional Principal Race Officers, especially now that Peter has resigned (for the second time!).

The Club requires volunteers if it is to work properly. Volunteer activity allows members an opportunity to use and develop their skills. It also provides a way for people to socialize and network. A club is primarily a social institution. A volunteer Race Committee has to be given a bit more slack than a professional RC. How do you penalize a co-member for some perceived transgression; e.g. protests? No one wants to 'bell the cat'. How do you deal with equally valid but conflicting approaches to problems? It can be messy; it will take a long time to build a consensus; difficult issues are avoided, if at all possible. Never the less things get done. We had a very successful 2008 season and given the evidence from the first sailing committee meeting, 2009 will be even better.