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Corinthian News: April 1999
Welcome to the 1999 LGCYC Sailing Season!
Another North Country winter has passed and it's time to remove
the tarps and start the commissioning process for the last sailing
season of this millennium. The Board of Governors, Officers and
Committee Chairs have been meeting to plan another summer of sailing
on Lake George.
OPENING EVENT The first event of the year will be our annual
Opening Event to be held at the Harris Bay Yacht Club, on Saturday,
May 22nd at 5:30 PM.
RACING CLINIC On June 6th we will be having a Racing Clinic,
again at Harris Bay Yacht Club, beginning with classroom instruction
at 11 AM. On-the-water activities will begin immediately after lunch
(bring your own) to test your newly acquired knowledge. We also
plan to have a training boat on hand to let new members and "unattached"
crew get an opportunity to see what racing is like.
RACING SERIES The following week, on Sunday June 13th, we
will begin the Racing Series. The 12-race series will have additional
events on June 27th, July 18th, August 8th and 22nd, September 12th
with "Make-Up" races if necessary on the 26th of September.
CRUISING EVENTS For those of you just wanting to relax and
enjoy a non-competitive sail to one of the many overnight anchorages
on the Lake we will have three Cruising Events. The first of these
will be on July 10th and is schedule to overnight at French Mountain
Point. The second will be on the 24th and will anchor at Fan Point.
The final cruise will be the Commodore's Cruise on August 14th and
its destination is the Harbor Islands.
OPEN RACES We will sponsor four races open to the public.
Starting with the venerable TI RACE on June 19th. In its 26th consecutive
year, it is an endurance event that starts just off Yankee Yachting
Center and travels north to Ticonderoga then returns. It has taken
as little as nine hours to complete and has also been known to exceed
26 hours. You're not a "true" Lake George sailor if you haven't
participated in this grand event.
The second open event is the WOMEN'S RACE scheduled for August 1st
at 11:20. As the name implies it is an opportunity for female skippers
and crew to compete unencumbered by masculine influences.
Immediately following the Women's Race is the SINGLE-HANDED RACE.
The skipper cannot blame his crew for a poor finish in this event
as he is racing alone. The final "open" event is the AROUND THE
ISLANDS REGATTA. This non-spinnaker event is designed to provide
novice sailors with an enjoyable first racing experience. Scheduled
for August 29th, at 11:20 AM it is late enough in the season for
novice skippers to get a feel for their boats and confidence to
compete with more seasoned veterans without the pressure of setting
and flying a spinnaker. This is just an overview of the season.
More details will be forthcoming in future newsletters. There are
sure to be additional events and activities to add to the calendar!
Membership Update
The Board of Governors and Officers of the Club have established
as one of the goals for 1999 to increase membership. To accomplish
this we feel that additional, and better, promotional material will
be needed. Our current financial situation is positive (approximately
$300 in the bank), but will not support any significant promotional
efforts.
The Board and Officers also felt that Membership Dues and Racing
Fees represent a good value for what you receive. To that end we
felt that a modest increase in the dues and fees is necessary. So
here are the 1999 Dues and Fees:
Racing Membership: $105
Cruising /Social: $50
Newsletter Only: $5
Ti Race Entry Fee: $40
Commissioning Hints
Well, you get the blue tarp off the boat and scrape off the leaves
that somehow found their way into the cockpit. You scrub down the
boat and get it nice and clean. What next? Here are some suggestions
for reducing problems once you launch:
- Check your standing rigging and turnbuckles. Run a rag over
each shroud and stay to check for broken strands. Check turnbuckles
for deformation and replace cotter pins and rings.
- Check your spreaders. Most use clevis pins that are often overlooked
for wear. Check the spreader tips especially if you uses spreader
tip boots.
- Check for cracks or wear around your chainplates.
- Check your pintles and gudgeons to ensure they are secured to
the rudder and transom.
- Check all through hull fittings including the cockpit bailing
system.
- Check all navigational lights (its easier to fix these on land
rather than waiting to do it on the water).
- Check the fire extinguisher to see if it is fully charged.
- Check for frayed halyards and other running rigging.
- Clean and lubricate your winches.
- Check the integrity of your stanchions and safety lines.
- Check to see if your mast is straight.
- Check battens and sail hanks.
- Check all blocks.
- Put your wind indicator on the top of you mast before you step
the mast.
- Check for gel coat blistering and get it fixed before you launch.
- Check your anchor line and the integrity of the line eye and
shackle that connects the anchor to the line.
- Tune your engine and if you didn't do it last fall, drain the
tank and get fresh gasoline.
- Be Careful!
Safety and Seamanship
In a few weeks we will all be getting out on the water. As you
know Lake George isn't all that warm in the middle of summer and
it's downright cold in the spring.
Most of us haven't had the opportunity to get our sea legs back
from last season (unless you were lucky enough to go south for some
sailing adventure). There's a pretty good chance some one will end
up in the drink during spring launchings and initial sails.
Hypothermia is a serious matter. The water in Lake George will not
be above 50 degrees for a while and a standard rule is if you are
in 50 degree water for 50 minutes you have a 50 percent chance of
survival. If your body temperature falls below 95 degrees you will
begin to lose manual dexterity. At 87 degrees you lose consciousness.
What can you do?
Prevention is the first step. Wear shoes that can grip your deck.
Wear your life jacket and fasten it properly. It won't do you any
good if you lose it when you hit the water. Wear adequate clothing.
You may think it will just weigh you down in the water, but if you
have on a life jacket it will not contribute that much weight and
it will insulate you from the cold water. You may have to shed some
of the bulkier items like sea boots.
If you feel you are about to go in, grab onto anything you can to
prevent it. A broken stanchion or bruised body are preferable to
going into very cold water with an unknown outcome.
Obviously, let your crew know what is happening so they can assist.
If you go in, get into the fetal position to conserve body heat
and energy. You'll need it to get back on board. Your crew should
throw you anything that floats. Take advantage of it.
Once you get out of the water warm up gradually. Remember that your
extremities will be the coldest part of your body. Recent studies
indicate that if you try to stimulate blood flow with vigorous exercise,
hot coffee or a hot toddie, you might just get your heart to pump
all that cold blood to warmer internal organs and cause greater
damage.
The proper procedure is to first remove all the wet clothes and
dry off. Get to a well insulated area away from cold surfaces. Getting
into a sleeping bag is an excellent technique. Apply warmth. This
could be another person, warm water bottles or heated towels (warm
being about normal body temperature). These should be placed around
the groin area, chest, under the arms, around the shoulders and
head. A warm non-caffeine drink would also be appropriate. Medical
attention may be warranted. So call the local emergency squad for
assistance.
(This information was generously borrowed
from the Annapolis Book of Seamanship by Rousmaniere and publications
from the American Red Cross.)
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