Pirate Camp is Coming!!

Pirate Camp is coming up during the first three weeks of August. It was founded to give the kids of Anacortes Yacht Club a fun introduction to sailing. At Pirate Camp, kids learn the basics of sailing: how to rig and sail dinghies, basic knots, capsize recovery, and have fun on the water with other kids. They will spend three days on dinghies and have a chance to steer the boat, trim the sails, and take care of the boats. On Friday, we sail keelboats to "Scallywag" Island and kids get a chance to steer a keelboat, trim the sails (usually including a spinnaker), anchor, and ferry to the beach on a dinghy. All ages are welcome. The youngest kids have been in the 5 year old range, and teenagers are gratefully welcomed. Each boat with have a competent sailor on board, and a chase boat will always be at the ready! Add a little pirate fun, and we've got Pirate Camp! Each year the camp has grown, and we are limited by how many boats are donated for use, and how many volunteers are available to go out with the kids... so sign up soon, before it fills up!

Go to the website's Event Registration page for a printable registration form.

Wally's Tours on Wednesday

Wednesday @ 6:30 pm kicks off the Wally's Tours Racing Series. This series is named after Wally Schwenk. It is common for racing boats to have a "battle flag" to fly at regattas. Back in the days our family raced a SC-40 Ajax, and one day before Swiftsure regatta in Victoria, BC, with our "Wally's Tours" battle flag fluttering in the breeze, some government officials came to the boat to inform us we did not have the proper licenses to be running tours in Canadian waters. Wally and Girts decided it was time for some fun at the official's expense and nearly got the yellow boat impounded......So in the spirit of good times come on out! We are having a terrific season with as many as 28 boats split into A, B, and C divisions. Syndicat is on their way to an unprecedented 4th consecutive yacht of the year trophy proving that it doesn't cost a mint to have a little success if you know what you're doing. We have a "D" class for boats without a PHRF rating, just show us proof of insurance and join the fun! Each night after the race the BBQ is fired up and Northwest Rigging is sponsoring prizes for this series. You can click on "Racing Program" on this website to download the race packet for all the details. If you are a crew person looking for a ride or a skipper looking for crew simply post on the forums portion of this website or meet @ 5:30 by the flagpoles on the North side of the basin in front of the laundry and restroom facilities. If you are interested in helping out with Race Commitee call Andy Schwenk!

Solitary Sunday

The AYC's annual singlehanded race took place on Father's Day yesterday. 7 boats set sail for the red buoy located off Jack Island using the standard start line off the tanker dock @ 1130. Wild Dave Wagner was the first to get his spinnaker up and drawing in a light southerly. Cat Sass led the way all day long and Keith Rubin noted that all the controls seem a long way off when you're all by yourself. Tim Wenger flew his pink panty spinnaker and a gybing duel soon ensued with Good Enuf skippered by Colin Emsley and Celebration with Jim Bottles each looking strong at one time or another. The Wild Rumpus simply cranked the pole back and was the only vessel to risk shooting the gap between Huckleberry and Guemes Islands. Tiramisu with Tom Stockton at the helm and our treasured Treasurer Charles Webb played out to the East searching for breeze. The roundings were entertaining as the skippers became foredeck crew, mid deck, mast and pit people while creative lash ups on the tillers performed helmsperson duties. Celebration turned on the afterburners and flew to a first place finish. Wild Rumpus held on for second, and Split Arrow third. It's Wednesday buoy racing until The Northern Century Aug 26-28th so come on out and join the fun! The D class is open to boats without PHRF certificates and crewspots are ususally available especially on Syndicat!

Fast Women=No Cookies!

Six boats braved Junuary weather conditions in the annual Get Out the Boat Girls/Womens Regatta. Four races were sailed in a little under four hours. The Hassenfeffers with Wild Esther Wagner at the helm chose not to fly the spinnaker and took a beating in the windward/leeward buoy racing. Blackfoot the lone Bellingham entry learned that local knowledge of the bay is always valuable. Heron put a different lady at the helm each race and featured Mackenzie as the youngest skipper. Syndicat was able to muffle Walt long enough to slip into third. The yellow menace Wild Rumpus tallied 8 points and finished with bookends winning the first and last race. When the smoke cleared and the course was empty I realized in what has become one of my favorite traditions the Cookie Monster had not passed out chocolate chip cookies to each boat or at least not to the race commitee boat. They must have been reading up on sailing tactics instead of cookie recipes as Sarah Johnson and crew put the smack down on the fleet and put the little blue show in first place! Congratulations to all the competitors and thanks to Ed Kennedy for bartending duties and Colin Emsley for PRO and scoring.

Women on the Water!

Please print out and or bring the following info to the skipper's meeting @ the club Saturday @ 10:am!

Get Out the Boat! (g.o.t.b.)Regatta

Girls on the Boat/ Get off the Boat (singlehanded) Weekend

Skipper _______________________________________________________

Address/phone: ________________________________________________

Boat name: ___________________________________________________

Boat type: ____________________________ Sail Number ______________

PHRF rating: ____________________

Entry fee: $20

I am registering for:

• Girls (Saturday) 10 am- 3 pm

• Singlehanded (Sunday) 10 am until finished

Payment:

• Cash

• Check

I am in compliance with Coast Guard and PIYA category IV safety regulations and hold AYC harmless for any activities associated with this regatta.

Signature: _________________________________________

Crew: ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Girls on Boats/ Everyone Singlehanded!

Saturday the 18th is the Get out the Boat Girls Regatta and Sunday the 19th is the annual Singlehanded Regatta. Skippers meeting at the club both days @ 10:00 am. On the water instructions on VHF 72. Both of these regattas were well attended last year and people are still talking about them. Males are permitted in the ladies regatta as long as they don't touch anything (on the boat) and a passenger is allowed in the singlehanded race if they promise not to be helpful. (Like most crew!) Come join the fun! If you are interested in coming out on the commitee boat for the Saturday Race contact Andy Schwenk 360 770 7035, Singlehanded Race will start/finish off the tanker dock and racers will record their own times then call Andy and leave message GPS time.

Windermere Regatta Wrap

This past weekend June 11-12 AnacortesYacht Club hosted their annual Windermere Regatta on Padilla Bay. 40 boats from as far away as Olympia, Idaho and Victoria ranging from 22' to 40' feet were split into 4 divisions. Six races were sailed during the two day regatta and live music and shoreside competitions kept the club busy till the sun went down and then some.The J-80 fleet (80 decimeters) were sailing their Fleet 18 Championships where the racing was tight and resulted in in a two way and three way tie in the final results. When the sails were stowed and the champagne flowed it was Dr. Chris White and co-skipper David Way sailing for Anacortes Yacht Club in first, Sheva and Excitable from Victoria were second and third. In the big boat fleet Teddy Bear skippered by Gray Hawken with three generations of Hawken family sailors on board finished sandwiched between two Bellingham boats;Vitesse driven by Tequila Dave Steffen in first and Extreme with Aussie Jack Gerity in third. Division 4 was the most diverse fleet with 12 boats. The Left Coast Dart which is manufactured right here in Anacortes ended up on top folllowed by one of the two female skippers Stephanie Schwenk putting her 1978 vintage SC-27 "Wild Rumpus" in second place and Blackfoot sailing for Bellingham Yacht Club and helmed by Mick Corcoran in third. Division 5 featured the closest starts and busiest mark roundings. Syndicat with Jerry Vanderveen of Mt Vernon at the controls dominated scoring only 8pts in a 5 race series. Kyle Saum drove his Ericson 29 which he has owned for 30 years to second with original sails and Port Commisioner Bill Short took third in the Lucky Duck. Next weekend AYC will feature the Womens Regatta Saturday and the Singlehanded Regatta Sunday.The sailors are allowed to use both hands.

WOW!!!! Wonderful Windermere!!!!

WOW!! WHAT A WEEKEND!! Kudos to the dozens of volunteers involved, too many to name but we all know who you are and thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!!!! Special kudos to Fred Abelman, PRO, and his crew in unbelievably difficult shifty light air conditions and to Andy Schwenk (and of course you know who behind him...Steph!!). WOW, what success for AYC!
We had lots of boats out, from far and near, and all had a fabulous time. And, in their honor, we present this short tribute....

LITTLE ANNIE was playing GO FISH with her TEDDY BEAR in a peaceful state of KINETIC KI in the land of PANGAEA. Suddenly a BARREL OF MONKEYS descended, some of whom were SURFIN' BIRD, HRAVEN (with his SON OF RAVEN) and a Russian called CRAZY IVAN. Together they formed a SYNDICAT to win her AMORE! So, they kidnapped LITTLE ANNIE and took her on a JOY RIDE which soon became an EXTREME, EXCITABLE, WILD RUMPUS!! While everyone was shouting "YEAH DOG" and "go LUCKY DUCK", HANDYMAN undid his ZIPPER and with a SWISH his OLE YELLER, SKYE ROCKETED causing quite a KYMODOCE! With this distraction going on an old HOERNDAG with a BLACKFOOT chased, with great VITESSE, back to the AYC, where after a GARGLE BLASTER he wined and dined her with HASSENPFEFFER (rabbit stew to those in the know), TIRAMASU and a MONSTER COOKIE. But seeing this CELEBRATION happening, EMOYEMI was so jealous he swept in on a DRAGONFLY, going "KAA, KAA" and took her off to UNCLE PERVY'S SANCTUARY (a cheap motel) where in FEARFUL SYMMETRY he had his wicked way with her while all the time she prayed to SHEVA!!!

Local Sailors SHINE!!!!

Kudos to AYC sailors...Rear Commodore Steve Orsini and wife Ginger, and racer Steph Schwenk and Race Chairman husband Andy.
The latter took first in Division and 6th Overall in the Delta Ditch Run in San Francisco Bay and read on about SteveO and Ginger in Vancouver:
Ginger and Steve sailed their Lido 14, sail number 6310, at the 42 Annual Vancouver Lake Sailing Club Regatta, on Vancouver Lake, near Vancouver, Washington on June 4th and 5th. They were a bit rusty not having sailed the boat since last fall. The first race did not go well as they came in 5th in the 8 boat Lido fleet. The bad part was that they were beaten not only by 6131, the first 6000 series boat that they owned, but by sail number 2953, their original "Pig in a Poke" boat from the founding of the Anacortes Fleet. That did it, they re-adjusted sail settings, got to roll tacking the boat and ran off a series of 4 first place finishes. By the next day, they had won the Lido 14 Division for the 2011 Regatta.

Now's the chance for all us to challenge them at WINDERMERE REGATTA this weekend!!!