Next Dinner Meeting: Tuesday, April 16, 2019

IVAR’S Salmon House, 401 NE Northlake Way, Seattle

5:30pm – Meet and Greet

6:45pm – Dinner in the Banquet Room

Topic: “It’s EZ to paddle from your yacht”

Speaker: Steve Scherrer, Kayak, Canoe, and SUP (Stand up Paddleboard) Ambassador and Instructor

Reminder, we have two NEW menu choices, thanks to the team at IVAR’s Salmon House (see below).  Steve Scherrer is joining us all the way from Ocean Park, WA and is going to show us how Paddle powered vessels (Canoes, Kayaks and SUPs – Stand up Paddleboards) can be a super friendly way to get out on the water and a great addition to bigger boats. REMEMBER: Please use the Comments box in your RSVP on Evite to advise how many people and which dinner menu choice each would like.

Steve Scherrer started paddling a canoe in Boy Scouts in 1966 and has been in around and on boats ever since. With his wife, Cindy, he has lived on-board and sailed a number of sailboats over the years. He was a co-founder of Alder Creek Kayak and Canoe in Portland (1986-2004) He worked as a kayak designer and instructor for Confluence Watersports (2004-2014) and has spent the past five years traveling the country with his wife and dog, Piper, as SUP ambassadors and instructors representing a number of manufacturers. He is presently an American Canoe Association SUP and Kayak Instructor Trainer Educator.

Paddle powered vessels (Canoes, Kayaks and SUPs – Stand up Paddleboards) can be a great way to get out on the water.  Adding them to your yacht, as toys and transportation, is easy once you understand the basics.  We’ll discuss many of the options available and look at the joys and challenges of each. We’ll have an example of a highly portable, inflatable SUP to show off, and will go over some of the basics of paddling. Learn how Paddling and Yachting go hand in hand!

A couple of things arrived in our mailbox this past month that the board thought would be worth sharing:

1) The Schooner Adventuress will be in Shilshole Bay Marina on Sunday, May 6 and offering public sails 3pm – 6 pm.  For details see https://www.soundexp.org/  They will also be in the marina for the Shilshole Boatfest happening on June 9.

2) The other item was an invitation to the 75th running of Swiftsure International Yacht Race. See http://www.swiftsure.org/ for details.

It’s April already! Can you believe that?  Looking outside yesterday you could believe it was spring.  Looking outside today you wouldn’t think it was.  I’ll miss this month’s dinner meeting for the first time ever.  Are you one of those people who don’t make many or any dinner meetings?  You should come if at all possible.  It’s great to see everyone, have a glass of wine, hear about other people’s adventures on or off their boats.  Maybe you have a great story to tell.  Maybe you can share that story with the club as the speaker for the meeting.  I know Roger would love for you to tell your story to everyone.  Don’t be shy; it’s not as difficult as you think.  Speaking of participation, we need someone to step up and volunteer to be the Vice Commodore, Rear Commodore and a couple of other spots for next year.

Remember that you are a part of this club; step up and make yourself a vital part of our club.  We cannot continue without the help from all of the members.  Think about it, please, and let an officer or board member know if you’re willing.  Thanks everyone, I’ll be thinking of all of you while I’m in Cabo San Lucas.

Cheers,
Ken McKenzie

Duke’s Files Application for Shilshole Restaurant.

Last May Duke’s Chowder House and the Port of Seattle announced the plan to open a new restaurant at Shilshole Bay Marina. Duke’s was awarded a 20-year lease to build the restaurant and an outdoor seating area overlooking the marina.

Duke’s has filed the official land use application to get started on the project.

The location of the planned 3-story building is the grassy area in the central plaza area, just to the north of the Leif Erikson statue and south of the marina building.

While the project won’t displace any parking spots, the restaurant’s construction — combined with the ongoing upgrade of the marina’s restrooms and a paving project — will disrupt parking at the marina. Restaurant construction is expected to begin around the middle of this year with the Duke’s grand opening slated for mid-2019.

April Event. 

Yellow Fest – Blake Island.

With Dave and Sam Krause at the helm, SBYC celebrated the arrival of spring and Easter under sunny skies on the beach at Blake Island Marina State Park.  Twelve boats and 25 cruisers came.  We renewed friendships, sang songs, played music, ate and drank, hiked the island, and enjoyed a relaxing and rejuvenating break from our busy city demands.

Especially, we want to thank Sam and Dave, as they are passing their Captains’ baton to the club. Dave began this welcome tradition many years ago. Where would SBYC be without a Yellow Fest?  Sam and Dave will no longer head up the Yellow Fest festivities, but SBYC resolves to continue to honor their sterling example of demonstrating how to enjoy the important things in life.  Long Live Yellow Fest!

May Event

Burger Burn at Kingston Marina – May 18 – 20, 2018.  

This event is accessible by boat as well as by car.   Saturday, the Main event is Happy Hour followed by a Potluck dinner, which will take place on the docks.  Everyone brings a main dish, a side to share, their own beverages and utensils.   Larry and Sharon Clark organize a fierce game of croquet in the afternoon, so practice your putting.   A spontaneous Happy Hour Friday is optional.   Seven 40’ slips have been reserved so call and make your reservations early. Email cruisechair@shilsholebayyachtclub.org , for more information.

June Event. 

June Dinner Dance – Brownsville Yacht Club & Marina – June 9, 2018

“Havana Nights” – Harry Castro and His Cuban Band.  Mark your calendars, it will be fun.  This event is accessible by boat as well as by car.

Dinner, Drinks, and Dancing, $40 per person.  We will reserve 12 boat slips, more if we need them.  An EVITE requesting a head count will be mailed this week; RSVP is required for this event.  Email cruisechair@shilsholebayyachtclub.org, for more information.

  “Reciprocals” are not about grade school math!

As we all are getting ready for our summer cruises, now is a good time to remember about one of the fun and valuable benefits of membership in SBYC: reciprocal yacht clubs.  Page nine of the 2018 club roster and our reciprocals web page (https://shilsholebayyachtclub.org/reciprocal) provide a list of all of the yacht clubs with which SBYC has a reciprocal relationship.   These clubs offer services to SBYC members when we visit those clubs.  One key service is the opportunity to get moorage at the clubs when you visit them, typically at a free or significantly reduced rate, although some restrictions may apply.  Many clubs offer limited amounts of reciprocal moorage space on a first-come first serve basis, so you’ll want to check their web sites or the centralized site for Yachting Destinations (yachtdestinations.org) for the specific conditions, limitations, and instructions about how to get access (e.g., most require that you fly your burgee while staying at their facility.)

Here are my top 3 favorite reciprocal clubs:

1) Totem Yacht Club in Tacoma – Not much to look at, but walking distance from the Glass Museum, Art Museum and a number of worthy restaurants accessed via stairs to S. 11^th bridge.

2) Silva Bay Yacht Club, Gabriola Island – A handy jumping off point for crossing the Strait of Georgia and for timing your passage through Gabriola Pass. It may only have 40’ of dock space available, but takes reservations. Decent facilities.

3) Vancouver Rowing Club, Coal Harbor, Vancouver, BC – An amazing location at the southern edge of Stanley Park and walking distance from a large variety of businesses along the waterfront. Historic clubhouse building with bar and great views of the Vancouver skyline.  And they take reservations!

We have a total of 40 reciprocal clubs to use from the Deep Bay YC in Bowser, BC to the Olympia YC, so make your plans to take advantage of this benefit and maybe meet some nice folks in the process.  Email our reciprocal manager (reciprocal@shilshole-bayyc.org) for the login information for Yachting Destinations so you can see the map with our reciprocals highlighted by little yellow flags.  Happy summer cruising!

Snowbird Race

February saw the last race of the 2017 – 2018 Snowbird sailboat race series. While the 2016-2017 series experienced gale for winds and torrential rains during several races, this year was comparatively pleasant with decent weather and winds each race. During the post race events at Ray’s Boathouse the skippers all expressed thanks and said the courses were set perfectly for the conditions.

I want to express how grateful the race committee is to Jerry Hillis. Jerry has faithfully offered his boat as the committee boat for many years and is the pillar our races are built on. Thank you for all that you do for the races, Jerry!

Thank you to the following people who set up the courses and ran race starts this series:

• Tom Madden
• Ken McKenzie
• Ben Lobaugh

And, of course, the wonderful people who worked on the committee boat. Without you no race could be successful! In no particular order, thanks to:

• Rubie Johnson
• Anne Girvin
• Mike & Sheryl Wytychak
• Michael (our token Aussy!)
• Jeff Booher
• John Sterry
• Nancy Merson

Lastly thank you to Shilshole Bay Yacht Club for faithfully supporting sailboat racing in Puget Sound!

Leukemia Cup

Dedicated to raising funds for research to combat blood cancer, the Leukemia Cup Regatta is a fun way to get you and your friends out on the water.  Since 1998 $30 million has been donated to research facilities at the UW and Seattle Children’s.  Survival rates have climbed 2-4x for many blood cancers through the research that has been enabled.  The Leukemia Cup Regatta itself has donated $2.4 million in Seattle and $62 million across the nation to combat blood cancer.

This year the Leukemia Cup again falls on the same weekend as the June Dinner Dance . As a club, we would still like to support this great event.  If you are not attending the June Dinner Dance consider registering for the Leukemia Cup.  If you are attending the June Dinner Dance and would like to support the Leukemia Cup as Shilshole Bay Yacht Club, talk to Ben Lobaugh for more information.

Washington Sails

48° North is bringing together yacht clubs all along the Puget Sound region to create an event designed to get people out on the water sailing through the Washington Sails event on July 7.  Washington Sails will be set up for brand new sailors and existing sailors who are curious about racing to learn the sport in a low pressure environment.  Sailors will learn the basics of racing without getting into the technical weeds.  Along with the training there will be a sailing component where sailors will put their new skills on display in a low intensity race.  SBYC will be working with CYC to coordinate activities in Shilshole Bay.  We would like to have a few boats from SBYC in attendance to represent the club.  If you are interested in joining the activities as a trainer or skipper please talk to Ben Lobaugh.