Congratulations AYC

The final tally is in and AYC is up just over 2,000.00 from Windermere Regatta proceeds! Thanks to all that made it possible, from Chef Dave Thomson and his crew on the beach to PRO Commodore and all around get it done guy Chuck Tidrington on the water. Please patronize our sponsors Windermere, North Harbor Diesel, Cap Sante Marine, Skyline Marina, and Granvilles. Also Ten Spoon wine is available locally through Compass Wines. This was probably our best ever, great wind, parties, and only one protest! Congratulations to all the winners especially our very own Steve Orsini and crew, wish them luck @ Gran Prix!!!!

Seeker & Passepartout Neck & Neck...

It has been brought to our attention that we have not one but TWO (2) AYC boats participating in the 2008 Victoria-Maui Yacht Race. In addition to Passepartout, Seeker captained by Ken Greff is participating as well. Our deepest apologies!

If you haven't been following the race, here is a picture of their current positions (Passepartout in the top track and Seeker in the lower one) - with both being approximately 1700 miles from the finish.



If you want to track their progess and that of the rest of the fleet you can use this link. Stay tuned!

4th of July Raft-Up...

The tide will be in and the fireworks will be great! Come join a no-host raft-up Friday evening, July 4th off Anacortes Marina in Fidalgo Bay outside of the control area. Plan on meeting around 8:00pm, although if you arrive earlier you get to pick the spot!

We will be monitoring VHF channel 72 in case you get lost! If you have been following the news, this may very well be the last big show in Anacortes due to the difficulties associated with large fireworks into the country...

See you there...

Adventuress Aground in Wasp Passage...

In case you don't listen to the news, the schooner Adventuress (133-foot historic sailboat) ran aground at about noon in Wasp Passage between Orcas and Shaw Islands in the San Juan Islands while sailing on a school trip. This unfortunate mishap was reported on CNN, Kiro 7, Seattle Times - just about everywhere (must be a slow news day).

The Adventuress was scheduled to participate in the Victoria, B.C., Tall Ships festival Thursday through Sunday and the Tacoma Tall Ships Festival July 3-7, where it would also celebrate its 95th birthday.

Vessel Assist was able to free the vessel a couple of hours later on a rising tide. It then motored under its own power to Friday Harbor for inspection.

Monday Update from Passepartout...

Here is the Monday, June 23 update from Passepartout at the following position -

47 35’ 59.96 N
125 14’ 20.04 W
1.6 knots
140 degrees

From Pete & the rest of the crew of Passepartout by satellite e-mail -

"The aft head failed a few minutes before the start (heads only fail when they are full). We had good wind (20 to 30 knots from the west) for the first day. We found two holes in our #2 jib caused by a stanchion. Worse we suffered a 4 ft tear in the leach of our main. There was so much water flying around we couldn't get tape to stick to the sail very well so we hand stitched it. It seems to be holding but it makes us nervous. Both of our dorade vents (fwd and aft) were turned forward and we did not think about the effect. Three bunks took a lot of seawater before we discovered the problem.

We followed Turicum all day. We could stay with them but we couldn't pass them without our main. We rounded Duntz Rock about 9:30 PM at the start of the ebb. Seeker and Blackwatch are behind us (we could see them most of the day yesterday but we could only see Turicum this morning.

Right now we are about 32 miles west of Destruction Island with our #2 Symetrical spinnaker up (the largest we have - our #1 is not legal for racing so it is not on board) We have 2.8 kts of wind from the west. We are thinking of auditioning for "The Ryme of the Ancient Mariner."

Passepartout needs 15 kts of wind to be competitive. We are searching the weather charts for a gale."

Passepartout Rounds Cape Flattery...

If you have been following on the web, Passepartout rounded Cape Flattery and is now in open ocean. The following image lists the track of Passepartout and Strum (a faster custom 50' race boat).

You can track the progess of Passepartout and the rest of the fleet by using this link. We hope to have some on-board reports posted later this week from Pete and his crew!

Vic-Muai Race Starts Today...

Our very own Passepartout is participating the the 2308 mile 2008 Victoria to Maui race. The race starts this morning at 1000 off Victoria and finishes some 12-15 days later off Maui.

The crew for Passepartout consists of the following intrepid mariners:

Pete Shainin - Skipper, Navigator
Andrew Nelson
Ann Hansen
Chris Crookes
Clay Adams
Kris Moa
Frank Shriver
Marlene Bolster

You can track the progess of Passepartout and the rest of the fleet by using this link. The entire club wishes Pete Shainin and the entire crew of Passepartout a safe and successful journey.

For the 'L" of It...

In this era of radar, GPS, AIS and instant international communications we ask ourselves how a daylight collision between two major vessels at sea is possible.

This picture is of the MV Alpha Action and MV Wan Hai 307 - both of their bridge crews swore they were keeping a vigilant watch and could relate with precision what they were doing when the vessels were five miles apart.

It would seem their vigilance turned into monotony which likely explains this disaster!

Cassiopeia Spotted in Alaska...

Walking the docks last week in Seward Alaska with my kids we were surprised to see our very own AYC Cassiopeia moored at the end of one of the floats! We were also surprised to see the large number of recreational boats in the marina, but after touring the Kenai Fjords National Park by boat I can see why - there are some great areas to cruise with some spectacular wildlife!

If you have a chance when you are visiting Alaska, be sure to check out Seward and the Kenai Fjords National Park - most certainly a national treasure.

Cassiopeia in Seward

Windermere Photographs Now Available...

For those of you that are interested, we have uploaded a MASSIVE number of pictures (more than 700) that were taken during the Windermere Regatta. If you look closely you will find pictures of nearly every boat that participated in this event, plus a few that didn't...

Many thanks to the photographers who submitted pictures, especially Dick Smith and Linda Walz...

Final Windermere Regatta Results....

The final results for the Windermere Regatta are now available in one of three ways:

1. Here....
   
2. In the Windermere section of the website
3. Under general racing results

Congratulations to all for a great couple of days racing, plus many thanks to the volunteers who helped put the event on!

Alcohol Server Training, July 12

Arrangements have been made for an "Alcohol Server Training" class to be presented to AYC members Saturday, July 12, 0900 to 1200 at the AYC clubhouse. This training is required in order to qualify as a volunteer bartender for AYC.

Training is by Len Riggs Co. and class 12 mixologist permits will be issued at the end of the class. The fee is $40 per AYC member and it will be paid by the club. Len Riggs will advertise this training so some non-members may also attend. Non-AYC members will pay their own way.

Ship Happens!

HEAD ON COLLISION CLOSES PORT>> Italian 56,800gt Ro/Ro M/V Grande Nigeria (built 2002) & 43,101gt Panamanian vehicle M/V Nada V (built 1984), both 200 meters in length & with thousands of automobiles, in collision -- Belgian port of Antwerp, blocking all shipping to/from Europe's 2nd largest port. Both ships still afloat on Western Schelde River outside Antwerp. One ship entering port while other leaving Antwerp but facts of accident still unclear. Rudder problem considered, as both vessels involved in frontal collision.

So now you have it - it is not just the Wednesday night racers who have trouble keeping their vessels apart!

New Wednesday Night Racing Pictures...

If you haven't seen them yet, check out this latest new set of pictures of Wednesday Night racing submitted by Richard Smith. These pictures were taken from Cap Sante head, which gives you a whole different perspective!

You can access the pictures directly here.

AYC Memory Lane...

Our very own Spencer Swain recently completed a brief history of the Anacortes Yacht Club, complete with numerous pictures, drawings and newspaper articles. If you haven't seen it yet, check it out here. Thanks to Spencer for preparing this insightful look back at the history of our club and its beginnings!

Best Windermere Ever

Check out the forum for the latest list of registered entrants! We have never had so many boats pre-registered; and never so many from out of town! Hey y'all AYC boats time to break out the bottom brushes and get ready! Let's not let all these out of towners sail away with our pickle dishes.....

Worldwide Shipping Lanes...

Ever wondered what the world's oceans look like when it comes to vessel traffic? The following image graphically displays worldwide vessel traffic with higher density routes being displayed in red, low density routes in blue, and no-density routes in white...

Based on this it would seem that there aren't many parts of our planet which remain untouched!

Vic Childs - Good News!

Vic Childs, our Past Commodore, friend, and volunteer par excellant, had successful throat surgery today in Seattle. He is likely to be home tomorrow. We are much relieved!

Guemes Ferry Near Miss

There was a very close call over the weekend involving the Guemes Ferry and a large power boat. Please be reminded that the FERRY has right-of-way in all circumstances.

Windermere Regatta update...

Trophies are ordered, T-shirts are being printed, and the karaoke box is getting warmed up!
We still have room for on the water volunteers both days and chili dog cookers Sunday.
Don't forget there is also a cruiser division; this is a great way to get started if you have never raced or haven't raced in a while and want to get back into it. Ratings will be assigned for those that don't currently have one. Likely the course will be there and back around a buoy or an island. Racers are signed up from as far away as Montana. Each skipper will qualify for a free haulout and pressure wash, five donated so far! Also bottles of wine for best broach, most sportsmanlike, best looking foredeck, and so on. Come join the fun!

Thanks to Windermere Volunteers...

Thanks so much to the AYC members that signed up to help out with Windermere last Friday night. The Hemmes will be photo boat. Warren and Linda Walz are committee boat, Jenkins are VIP boat with Captain Dick Britton. All kinds of members new and old volunteered to help cook , set up clean up bartend, and cook.

Please don't just see this as a "race " thing all are welcome and last year we generated over 3,5oo.oo dollars for the club. All proceeds go to AYC general fund. We need on the water help and would like to see all kinds of AYC members for Karaoke Friday night, Skits Saturday, and Trophies and chili dogs Sunday. Contact dave Thomson, Chuck T or Andy Schwenk or visit details on website to get involved...