All Wet, February 2007

Happy Valentines Day!

This is my first ever attempt at creating a newsletter –as well as the first newsletter of 2007! There is so much to do and say that I really don’t know where to begin. First of all, I’d like to ask all members to help by contributing articles about sailing, unusual occupations and talents of various members, funny stories about teaching or sailing, or photos that are accompanied by some kind of caption. I would also like your suggestions about the kinds of things that you would like to see included in the newsletter, such as an upcoming events column, announcements, classified ads, member feedback… whatever! The club requires volunteers to work, and so does the newsletter. I will try and get better at the graphics involved, which is a definite challenge at present. I need to set a deadline for submissions and currently, I was thinking that the 20^th of each month would be good. If you have something you want me to include, please send it to me by then. Thanks to Doug Roether for his contribution this month!

Photo courtesy of Doug Roether

What’s in a Name??

Lots! That’s why I am so confused by the name of TASCA’s newsletter, “All Wet”. I mean, what kind of a sailor is all wet? I think he must be a very poor sailor because he spends all of his time in the water. Or maybe he is just green or new and hasn’t found his sea legs yet. Did he tie his knots incorrectly causing the boat to capsize? Maybe he tried rigging the boat from the standing position. How about “he was rigging the rudder and ooops --- over he went!” Or, maybe every time he gets excited in a race he turtles the boat.

Names effect our perceptions of people and things. In Japan, a sports drink manufacturer came up with the name “Pocari Sweat” for his drink. Needless to say, it is not selling as much as “Aquarius”. In Korea in the old days, it was not uncommon for parents to name their children names like ‘pig shit’ or ‘stupid fool’. The reason for this was that before modern medicine, many children died of illnesses before the age of 3. Therefore, so that the child would be spared an early death (the Gods would never select a child with an ugly name) parents and/or fortunetellers would burden the child with some kind of disgusting name.

At any rate, I would like to suggest that we come up with a name that is more befitting a sailing newsletter. Perhaps something like the “TASCA Telltale” or the “TASCA Tack” or even “Windward Ho”. I’m open to all suggestions. Maybe we could even have a newsletter re-naming contest. That is, of course, if the name “All Wet” is not written in stone.

Crazy Doug Roether, a TASCA member since 1996, borrowed Vincent Mcquire’s tech boat, loaded it onto his pick up truck, grabbed his partner Vanessa Ford, and set off for North Truro, which is about three miles from Province Town, (for anyone who is unfamiliar with the tech boat, they are apparently for the slightly more experienced sailor  --formerly used by TASCA for teaching).They set sail to Province Town where they had lunch with a couple of very pleasant young ladies they met on the beach.  Then, after stocking up on beer and cigarettes, they set sail to watch the dolphins and sea lions. The weather was fantastic and they bounced along with the aid of 20 – 25 mph winds. The fine weather, friendly people, and breezy conditions made for a peaceful and relaxing holiday. This year, Doug is planning to take Juliet, his Cal229 boat up to Lake George.

Photo courtesy of Doug Roether

I’m in awe of TASCA. This is not even the beginning of my second year with the club, but already I know just how lucky I was to meet Barbara Reisch when I did. I just did a quick survey of sailing clubs in the NY area and was flabbergasted to see that 2 hours of instruction in a group setting costs $125.00 and ranges all the way up to $1,800 for basic sailing plus cruising course. TASCA, bless them all, offers basic sailing for $275 and instructor, skipper dockmaster and cruiseskipper training,  all for free! There really isn’t a better deal to be found.

• Monthly Meeting at Queens Borough Hall, 2nd fl. conference room- Feb. 22 (Pot luck party has been cancelled)

• Instructor Training Course – Feb. 20 to Apr. 24^th

• Florida Rendezvous May 4 – May 7