Empathy List Archives

      The Cruising Fleet had a mid-season meeting Friday night, June 15th. It was a very muggy hot night, so we met at the picnic tables on the south lawn from 8 – 9:25 pm. Fifteen members attended including         
      
      Lou Spitz                                John Michael         
      
      Deb Hertzog                           Patty Lukes         
      
      Ernie Schlesinger                   Joe Glogiewicz         
      
      Paul Kisala                             Tony Martin         
      
      Morris Azar                            Lee Luce         
      
      Howie Rinehart                      Matt Lydon         
      
      Vince Troia                             Tony Sasmaz         
      
      Lloyd Aanonsen         
      
                
      
      The following issues were discussed:         
      
      1. Request from a member: “Please consider Cruising Fleet purchasing remote moorings – NOT Block Island. Montauk is $600/year, Orient Pt, Jamestown, Port Jeff, Stonington, etc. all possible, and more likely to be used. “Discussion points – not that many members cruise the Sound, and $600 is 25% of the Cruising Fleet budget. It was not known whether the $600 was a one-time or annual fee. There was no resolution because all of the facts were not known. Locations discussed included Stonington Harbour, Oyster Bay, Northport and Shelter Island.         
      
      2.           “I'm sure a number of cruising fleet members, like me, don't have a dinghy, but might like to have one available when deciding to go off on a cruise for a week or two.  If there's enough interest, I thought we might get a couple or "fleet" dinghies that members could reserve for cruises over the course of the season -- perhaps for a fee to defray the cost of purchase and maintenance.  Worth a discussion to see if there's interest?”                    
      
      Discussion points           – the group felt that there were enough dinghies that could be borrowed for a cruise, and that buying a couple of Fleet dinghies might be too expensive. Not to mention the cost of outboard motors.         
      
                
      
      3. “Another suggestion would be to have available on our website the list of clubs where we have reciprocal privileges -- with contact information, etc., and perhaps some comments from members that have visited.”          
      
      Lee has made copies of all of the reciprocal yacht clubs posted on the bulletin board. She will contact Gary Schneidman and Eric Baumes to set up a new Cruising Fleet web site. If it could be interactive, then members could post cruising information when they wish too. Many yacht clubs still charge a mooring or launch service fee, so a reciprocal agreement with another Club doesn’t mean the services are free.         
      
                
      
      4. “Please have someone purchase decent radios for the Race Committee!”         
      
      Howie Rinehart reported this has been taken care of. The RC has new radios.         
      
                
      
      5. Proof of Insurance - all Cruising Fleet members, especially cruising Fleet racers, must have proof of third party insurance. Please send a copy of your insurance, or the company and identification number, to Fleet Captain - Racing John Michael. Note that proof of insurance is not just a Fleet rule, but a very important Club rule.         
      
                
      
      6. Combining Racing Divisions – The question of combining the non-spinnaker divisions #2 and #3 into one racing unit was discussed. This year it looks like Division #3 will have only three boats racing and that’s not enough to make a separate division. Division #2 has seven boats racing. The option of moving some boats from Division 2 into Division 3 was soundly rejected by those who would be involved. Paul Kisala was in favor of keeping the divisions the way they are, and actively trying to recruit new members into Division 3. Lee said she and Paul would look at what would happen to the scoring if the five Wednesday Night races to date were combined into one division. Since both Divisions race on the same course, one could assume equal conditions for the academic exercise. A major down side of combing divisions might be having more than 10 boats on the line, but John Michael felt the RC could make a longer line. He didn’t feel that more than 10 boats at one start was that excessive, especially compared to other fleets at other yacht clubs.         
      
                
      
      7. Outside Racers – Paul Kisala felt that the two or three Shattemuc boats that sometimes join us for Sunday racing should not be allowed. He felt they are taking advantage of our Club program without paying for the privilege of membership. Everyone besides Paul felt being open and inviting others to join our racing program was a positive thing for both the Fleet and the Club. This extends to boats from other yacht clubs, as well as non-member crews.         
      
                
      
      8. Cruising Plans – Fleet Captain – Cruising Joey G discussed the success of the two cruises to Bowline Point so far this year, the June 20-21st summer solstice cruise to Croton and the Clearwater Festival, the fireworks at Bowline on July 3rd, the potential cruise to Block Island in July, the Peekskill Fireworks on August 1st, and the Pier Party/Cruising Fleet BBQ August 8th.         
      
                
      
      9. Friday Night informal sailing - the last topic discussed was encouraging informal Friday night sailing at 6 pm. The plan is to sail for a while and then come in for dinner and socialize on the patio. Some nights we might have racing around the buoys, or maybe a challenge of “single-handed” sailing if the air is right some evening. The whole idea is to have fun on the water and enjoy our Club at the end of the work week. Watch your e-mail in-basket for information. We hope to see you all there.         
      
                
      
      Respectfully submitted,         
      
      Lee Luce, Cruising Fleet Secretary         
      
      June 19, 2015

wednightracing@maillist.nyackboatclub.org

Re: [CruisingFleetRacing] [Cruisingfleet] Cruising Fleet Meeting Minutes June 12, 2015