The CANNON
Galveston Bay Cruising Association
In this issue...
From The Commodore
PHRF Galveston Bay Quarterly Report
Texas Race Week Returns to Galveston
GBCA T-SHIRTS are back!
Rum Race Wrap Up (so far)
Race to the Border is a Success!
True Cruising Stories - Part III
Sailing Simply Fast
Galveston Bay Cruising Association (GBCA)
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GBCA Burgees ON SALE.  Pick up 2 or 3 for the low low price of $22.  Please contact Chris Kelley for more info!
 
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Upcoming Events
 
LYC Heald Bank
June 20 -21, 2009
 
HYC Leukemia Cup
June 27 - 28, 2009
 
HYC Women's Regatta
July 11, 2009
 
Rum Race 4
July 18, 2009
 
Texas Race Week in Galveston
July 23, 24 and 25, 2009
 
LYC Bay Cup II
August 1, 2009
 
Rum Race 5
August 8, 2009
 
GBCA Single Handed/ Mixed Doubles Regatta
August 15 - 16, 2009
 
Board of Govenors
Commodore
 
Vice Commodore
 
Treasurer
 
Secretary
 
Rear Commodore
 
Fleet Captain
 
Past Commodore
 
 
Board Members
 
Newsletter
 
 
Become a Member of GBCA
 
Senior or Crew Membership available. For more information, contact Emma Browning.
 
For an online form to sign up to be a member of GBCA, click here.

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The Cannon
Galveston Bay Cruising Association

June 2009

From the Commodore
by Kevin Box
 
kevinBIt's mid-June now and spring has metamorphopaused into a summer in search of some shade and a fan.  The good news is that it's always cooler on the water and there is something on the calendar for everyone for the next 16 out of 19 weekends.  Check http://gbca.org/calendar.html, formulate your strategy and "trim for shade".
 
The first three Rum Races have been very well attended.  The most encouraging aspect has been the number of new boats and racers coming out after graduating from the Basic Sailboat Racing Seminar.  Thanks to Brian Hawboldt and Jim Tyson for presenting the engaging classroom session.  
 
Texas Race Week is shaping up to be another great event.  Imagine a super-sized offshore Rum Race with a super-sized palapa bar pool party, every day for three days and you start to get the idea. 
 
The new Discussion Page is up and running thanks to the hard work of Kevin Bednar.  See it at http://discussion.gbca.org/index.php  Sign-up and check out the new features.
 
This month also features the first of the PHRF-GB Quarterly Report, a Race to the Border wrap-up and yes, part three of six of the True Cruising Stories. 

PHRF GALVESTON BAY QUARTERLY REPORT
by Tim Broadhead
 
We are currently working on a re-design of the website to make it more user friendly for applications, appeals or just reviewing submitted data. 
 
Jim Tichenor attended the PHRF National meeting last month and reported a push to have all clubs very carefully follow their procedures and processes in protest and appeal hearings. It should be explained to all participants in the race entry and instructions that any recourse against hearing committees will be directed to U.S. Sailing, not to the local club or committee individuals. Seems there is a litigation frenzy sweeping the sailing scene. 
 
The good news is that in this tough economic time the number of boats making application for ratings has remained steady, reflecting a still healthy sailboat racing scene. Currently Galveston Bay has 186 members.
 
In November of 2008 a new PHRFGB rule was adopted:
A motion was made and passed to adjust the ratings for vertical battens in mast roller furler main sails.  We now give a +12 second credit for an in mast roller furler main sails with no battens and we still will do that.  If you have vertical battens in a mast roller furler main sail we will now give a +6 second credit.  The board thought the extra sail area that could be added and the ability to shape the sail better would make a difference in the boats performance.  In addition other PHRF committees are also adjusting ratings for these types of sails. 
 
Submit any questions or comments to your PHRF committee at [email protected]
 
 
GBCA's TEXAS RACE WEEK RETURNS TO GALVESTON 
by Kevin Box

TRW Art 2009

 
Mark your calendars for Thursday, July 23rd as the Galveston Bay Cruising Association returns to Galveston Island for Texas Race Week 2009.  This year's event will again see three days of challenging offshore yacht racing designed to put boat preparation, crew work and tactical skills to Texas' ultimate test.
 
Texas Race Week encompasses three days of offshore sailboat racing on a variety of courses.  The starting sequence for each day's racing begins at 11:00AM.  The races will start and finish inside the jetties at East Beach near Houston Ship Channel marker 11.  The course will take the fleet on a 15-30 mile offshore route around RC dropped marks and fixed marks such as oil and gas platforms that generally lasts 4-5 hours.    
Kathy Rodgers, Texas Race Week RegattaChair, is pleased to be working again this year with the Galveston Yacht Basin which plays an important role for Texas Race Week participants.  "The GYC staff lends a special touch to the post-race parties held around the pool and palapa bar where sailors relax, collect daily awards and relive the day's experiences with friends old and new." 
 
Class and Fleet trophies will be awarded at the Saturday evening banquet, with the Spinnaker Fleet winner receiving the Larry Kevan Memorial Trophy.  As usual, the Texas Navy Cup will be hotly contested.  The Texas Navy Cup is awarded to the skipper with the best cumulative score over three Texas offshore events: the Lakewood Yacht Club Heald Bank Race, the Houston Yacht Club Freeport Triangle Race and GBCA's Texas Race Week.  Since the scoring for the Cup includes all the races of the TRW, a strong showing there will usually determine whose name is engraved on this perpetual trophy.
 
 

 
GBCA T-SHIRTS ARE BACK!
 
GBCA Logo shirts are back!
 
Get them at the next rum race party
 
$10.00 each
 
Women's and Men's styles in popular sizes
 
RUM RACE WRAP UP
by Jim Powers 
 
RUM Races 1-3
 
The 2009 GBCA Rum Races (TGIF to traditionalists) started a week earlier than planned, on May 23, to accommodate Lakewood Yacht Club's need to reschedule the Heald Bank.  This worked to our advantage, as May 23rd was also the day GBCA held its 2nd Basic Racing Seminar, and each of the participants at the Seminar held in the morning had the opportunity to get on a boat as crew later that day and participate in a race. Unfortunately, the wind did not show up and MOJO was the only boat to finish the race within the time limit. The rest of us elected to head to the party early for hot dogs, beer, rum and popcorn while watching the Lacys' photos displayed on the club's new TV.
 
Race 2, on May 30, featured more wind and for many boats, two spinnaker legs. And of course, a great party after the race. The top finishers in each class:
 
Spin:
1. KICKS
2. Stinger
3. Surprise
4. Kenai
5. Aeolus

Non-Spin:
1. Sabani
2. Whistler 2
3. Be Easy
4. Dolcetto
5. Big D

SOS:
1. French Connection
2. Silver Bullet
3. Selah
4. Mental Floss
 
Race 3 on June 13 had great wind but a slightly smaller turnout than the first two races since many boats and crew were recovering from what appears to have been a very successful Race to The Border. Top finishers were:
 
Spin:
Parrot Tales
Heartbreak Hotel
Kicks
Andale
Stinger

Non-Spin
Sabani
Be Easy
Dolcetto
Whistler
Big D

SOS
French Connection
Silver Bullet
Mental Floss
Selah
 
 
There will be a break in the action for a few weeks. Race 4 will be July 18.

 
ANOTHER SUCCESSFUL YEAR FOR RACE TO THE BORDER!
by Kathy Rodgers
 
First of all we wish to extend many thanks to the 2009 Race to the Border Sponsors:
 
Higgins, Smythe & Hood Yacht Sales
South Padre Island Convention and Visitors Bureau
Intergulf Corporation
Hayes Rigging
Davis Marine Electronics
Blue Water Ships Stores
Laguna Madre Yacht Club
Sea Ranch
Pirate's Cove
Puerto Del Sol, Mr. Albert Welbel
City of Port Isabel
Colonel Bill Maples and Mrs. Cathy Maples
 
This year the RTTB Race Committee had fun working their way down to Galveston's East Beach area where we normally set up for the offshore races starting at Marker 11 in the jetties.  Once again, the sandcastle contest was underway at East Beach with traffic backing up to Broadway, and to top it off, good 'ol Hurricane Ike had completely reshaped the starting location on the beach.  Now where did that observation deck use to stand?  Needless to say, we found the location, marker 11 and the boats, so RC set up and began to check-in the 31 boats entered this year.  The starts all went smoothly with no over-early calls, so all was good in RC- land!  We got them off successfully, packed up and started our way to South Padre to finish the racers.
 
If you weren't able to make it down to South Padre you missed a heck of a good time!  With boats finishing early due to great conditions, the Monday Welcome Party at Laguna Madre Yacht Club (LMYC) was packed with sailors and rum!  The Mayor of the City of Port Isabel, Joe Vega, Port Isabel City Manager, Ed Meza and Puerto Del Sol developer, Mr. Albert Welbel were all present at the RTTB Welcome.  It was with great pleasure that GBCA Commodore, Kevin Box was able to present Mayor Vega with a GBCA Logo Shirt!  This was a momentous occasion for LMYC, GBCA and the RTTB Race Committee as it expressed the positive interests between Port Isabel city officials and the Texas sailing community for future collaboration in coastal racing destinations.  We hope this is a start of a long and successful friendship for all.
 
As a member of the RTTB Race Committee, I want to personally extend my special thanks to LMYC Vice Commodore, Colonel Bill Maples as he was extremely helpful in supporting me while trying to negotiate long distance in setting up the Welcome Party and handling other regatta event needs.  Bill and his wife, Cathy also donated the Miller Light Keg for the Lunch and Bonfire.  Roger That, Colonel!  I can't say enough about the help received by LMYC members this year.  Jim, Peggy, Margo, George, JoAnne and all the other members that helped carry RTTB racers to shuttle locations, prepare food for the Welcome, hang banners and fly the GBCA burgee on their flagpole!  THANKS to all of you!
 
South Padre was buzzing with RTTB parties as we finished all the boats and began SPI festivities with the Tuesday RTTB Lunch at La Quinta Resort Hotel followed that evening by the RTTB Beach Bonfire.  I heard that quite a bit of sand was kicked up out there along the beach that night!  Wednesday morning might have come a bit early for a few folks, but it didn't stop the Brunch at the Port Isabel Lighthouse and if you were smart you headed over to the Puerto Del Sol development for bloody marys and mimosa's!  Quite a view from the new condo's!
 
As always the highlight of the regatta is the Awards Dinner.  The La Quinta Ball Room was full of anxious sailors awaiting results of their expertise on the water.  Surrounded by good friends, great conversation and of course, plenty of rum, the results were presented by RTTB Regatta Chair, Xavier Valera.  Special recognition was given to Higgins, Smythe and Hood Yacht Sales who has been the RTTB major sponsor since inception of this regatta.  Without the support we receive from HSH and other sponsors these regattas would be difficult to conduct without passing the costs to the racers.  We simply cannot thank HSH enough for their continued support of RTTB.  We also surprised Xavier this year by presenting him with an appreciation award for his continued work on RTTB.  How was that Hershey bar Xav?
 
We also can't forget the many volunteers that it takes to get these regattas rolling.  To the Race Committee members that spent countless hours in meetings watching Xavier eat his candy: Eric Engelhardt, Kevin Hayes, Kathy Rodgers, Vicki Rhyne, Bridgett David, Michelle McBride and Chris May; to Kevin Box, GBCA Commodore for his support in preparations for the regatta and assistance with Regatta Network; to Kathlyn Bez, GBCA Rear Commodore for her support in supplying the RTTB trophies and novelty awards; and, to all the other supportive GBCA volunteers that lifted a hand during the start, finish and parties.  RTTB wants to thank all of you for making this another successful year in 2009!
 
Chuck Wielchowsky and Texas Ranger won the Marion Hayes trophy for PHRF Fleet.  Class winners were:
 
PHRF-A   "Kenai"  Chris Lewis
PHRF-B   "Texas Ranger"  Chuck Wielchowsky
PHRF Non-spin-A  "Cache"  Robert Giles
PHRF Non-spin-B  "C'est La Vie"  Thomas Sims
Multihull  "Abandoned Assets"  Jim Van Fleet
Port Aransas  "ARGO"  Ernie Lykissa
 
Full results  HERE

RTTB 2009 pic 1      rttb 2009
GBCA Fleet Captain Jim Powers carefully checks the line for         GBCA Race Committee spent the night awaiting
boats starting too early at the Higgins Smythe and Hood                 finishers at the El Cristo de Pescadores statue
Race to the Border                                                                       in South Padre
Mayor Shirt
Commodore Kevin Box tells Mayor Vega that, for this week, Port Isabel is "The Place to Race"
 
chocolate bar
 
RTTB appreciates Xavier and Xavier appreciates a giant Hershey Bar
 
 
Hayes Trophy
Past GBCA Commodore Kevin Hayes presents the Marion Hayes award to Chuck Wielchowsky and the Texas Ranger crew

TRUE CRUISING STORIES - PART III
by Kevin Box 
 
Tehuantepecers?
 
Our next leg would take us across the venerable Gulf of Tehuantepec with its well-deserved reputation for violent gales known as, you guessed it, Tehuantepecers.  Strong offshore winds blowing across the narrow isthmus between the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific raise sharp, treacherous seas for 100 miles offshore.  The winds can blow so strongly as to significantly lower the water level on either end of the Gulf.  Rumbo, the bartender from the Acapulco Yacht Club, told us he had once taken a trip to Chiapas, and been scared to death that the bus would be blown over the cliffs. 
 
Conventional passage making strategy calls for a course very close to shore to avoid the building seas.  This type of crossing is about 300 miles, whereas a rhumbline course across to Puerto Madero is barely over 200 miles.  After carefully checking the weather "prognosticos", which promised two days of mild weather, we took the shortcut.  We figured to limit our overall exposure by spending less sailing time in the Gulf.  At the slightest drop in wind, we would run the engine as well to keep speed on.  The "six knot rule" was in effect.
 
The second day, after passing under a thunderstorm with waterspouts forming, we were visited by that international sailing good luck charm, the "chi-chi" bird.  Fully 60 miles from the nearest land and well ruffled, she took refuge in the cockpit.  After reviewing the biology text onboard it was determined to be one of Darwin's finches, the insect-eating variety.  It was identified as female owing to its drab color and complete lack of song.  She immediately established a search pattern for food and water, which was repeated time and again, ending each time in the ritual "pecking of the toes".  Tiring of her foraging in my toes for insects, we fed her with Ritz, snack mix, and water from a bottle cap.  After food, water and a good preening, she took up a position on one of the primary winches, and was thereafter referred to as the "winch finch".  Occasionally, she'd hop on the loaded jib sheet and hone her beak to a knife-edge.  She would fly around the boat every hour or so, looking for some familiar landmark and finding none, would return to the winch.  The winch finch would continue to peck the toes even though we fed her.  I guess she still had a taste for a good bug.  She stayed until we were about 15 miles from land.  We were safely across the Gulf and she, smelling the barn as it were, returned to the trees
 
It was about this time that I heard the call on the radio in broken English.  "Tall ship, tall ship, this is Mexican navy warship, come in, over."  The only radar contact we had was 10 miles away and appeared to be a shrimper.  Obviously we were not being hailed, so I optimistically ignored the call.  "Tall ship, tall ship, this is Mexican navy warship, come in, over."  "This is United States sailing vessel Star Chaser, are you contacting us?  Over"  "Yes, hello, prepare for us to come on board please"  "Uh, we're almost to Puerto Madero.  Why don't you inspect us when we're anchored there?"  "Yes, you will probably be inspected when you arrive to Puerto Madero by the Mexican navy there, we will board you now."  I began to wonder if that little bird had somehow snitched us off to the Armada.  She seemed kind of nervous, like she had something to hide.  Who hasn't heard the phrase "a little bird told me..."
 
As I was about to try again to put them off, Justin called from on deck, "Uh, they're coming".  The shrimp boat had matured into a full-fledged gunship that had sent its launch speeding towards us.  We hastily put out port side fenders to guard against the impact.  Justin took a couple of quick pictures through the window.  I had heard of Federales being camera shy and confiscating film.  We didn't want to find out what action would be taken with a digital camera.
 
A Mexican Navy launch differs from the crude pangas used by the primitive coastal fisherman in that it is painted gray and lacks a brand new Yamaha 90 hp motor.  It still requires a steady "motorista" and constant bailing offshore.  This means that with a gunner fore and aft, only two out of six were left to come aboard.  Our two "guests" stepped aboard wearing new non-marking soled tennis shoes.  I suddenly felt less hostile.  These were college boys having a chance at an "exercise" that were totally different from the Puerto Angel punks who had previously worked us over.  I sent Justin down with the inspector, while I chatted with the other on deck, filling out the report.  It turns out that they were from Salina Cruz and couldn't enter Puerto Madero turf.  That was the reason for the high seas inspection.  That and the fact that they were desperate to get a break from their ship, an ex-US Navy vessel donated from the Pacific Northwest fleet with no air conditioning.
 
After a thorough inspection, including a good sniff at our jumbo-sized spicy spaghetti sauce seasoning mix (just add tomato sauce!) from Sam's Club in Acapulco, we received our parting gifts.  Two lollipops; one grape, and the other shaped like a beer mug, complete with foam.  It was pineapple flavored.  We proceeded to Puerto Madero. 

winchfinch           finch2
               The "Winch Finch" on her perch                               I assure you, Ms Finch, there are still no insects there
 
Next Time:  Puerto Madero
DOLPHINS IN THE LAKE
Photo by Colleen Schlosser
 
 
Dolphins in Lake
 
bsailinglogo 
SAILING SIMPLY FAST
by Alan Bates
 

BSailing provides you with access to performance sailing.  Join for an unbeatably low annual fee which provides unlimited access to the J/80 (26') and J/105 (34').  You can learn to race in local regattas and enjoy fast, fun, cruising all year long.  Complete instruction with as much coaching as you need-more than a weekend course, you can have enough practice with professional instruction until you are ready to sail on your own.  This includes spinnaker training.  Sailing a J/Boat with the asymmetrical spinnaker is without comparison.  Come for a free demo ride-Contact Alan Bates-281.212.7348   Please visit  www.bsailing.com 

 
placetoraceburgee

The Galveston Bay Cruising Association (GBCA) is a non-profit corporation established in 1947 to promote the sport of yacht racing on Galveston Bay. GBCA hosts a full calendar of sailing events throughout the year and presently maintains a membership of over 175 racing sailors.

Members include World Champion
Sailors, Olympic Hopefuls and alumni
of the organization include an Olympic
Silver Medallist, and America's Cup Sailor.