PORTLIGHT
P O R T L A N D Y A C H T C L U B M O N T H LY October 2014
Volume 64, Number 8
Sailing the Central Salish Sea
Sue and Wylie Grabisch
W
the bottom (we enjoyed unbelievably perfect weather
our entire vacation in the Salish Sea). We were fortunate enough to tie up at the reciprocal dock in Port
Ludlow.
The following morning the
engine would not turn over.
After some diagnoses and
phone assistance from Noel
Broderick at 7am, we stuck
a paper clip into the fuse
holder, which kept blowing
the fuse. The engine fired,
and we were on our way
for a 6 1/2 hour trip down
the river (we eventually
replaced the starter while in
DesMoines). Upon turning
the corner to head north, it
was a sailor’s delight to discover a 10 to 15 knot southwest wind, which helped our speed motor sailing. What
wasn’t so pleasant was the 8 foot westerly swells at 6
second intervals, which made for a very uncomfortable
corkscrew ride.
The trip from Port Ludlow to Des Moines where we
had secured moorage for a month was also on a flood
tide with glorious 80 degree temperature. We spent
the month of July in Des
Moines with trips back
and forth to Portland. Des
Moines is comprised of
retirees, old hippies and
old bikers, all walking their
dogs. The promenade, pier
and park at the waterfront is a hub of activity....
Saturday market (great
kettle corn), Wednesday
concert in the park, fishing
and crabbing off the pier,
Anthony’s restaurant at the
South end of the marina
with a great happy hour on
the upper deck which starts at 4. Des Moines is somewhat centrally located for cruising the center sound with
destinations to Quartermaster harbor(about 7 miles),
Gig Harbor (14 miles), Blake Island( 8 miles), Bremerton,
Port Orchard (about 15 miles) Poulsbo (20 miles).
e left PYC on Whisper June 27th for our
journey to the Central Salish Sea with
crew members Doug Ness (PYC), Robbie
McNaughton (PYC) and Brian Hedges (former PYC).
We tied up at the Longview Yacht Club 3 hours and
45 minutes later, which is fast for a sailboat thanks to a
21/2 knot current. Longview is one of the friendliest and
most accommodating yacht
clubs on the river.
After 17 hours of this frivolity, we arrived at the “Hole
in the wall,” a small opening between the mainland and
Tatoosh Island, on a strong ebb – not the preferred tide.
However, we had a mission to fulfill: a request by Dan
Dickson to deposit some of his ashes at that location.
He and his family had spent time on the island when his
father was based there in the Coast Guard.
The 7-hour trip to Port Angeles was spent sleeping and
eating. The next leg of our trip from Port Angeles to
Port Ludlow was crewed by Doug Ness and myself on
a flood tide and 75-degree weather transiting Admiralty
Inlet at 8 1/2 knots through the water and 14 knots over
Sue and I
headed for
Gig Harbor.
When
approaching
the entrance,
be sure to
approach
it from the
south particularly at
low tide as
Continued on page 10
The Portlight page 2
October 2014
Important Meeting Announcement
The Open Moorage Design Committee invites you to
attend two informational open moorage design meetings
scheduled to provide information, answer questions and
hopefully give you the information you’ll need to make an
informed decision about the Open Moorage Design plan.
Please make plans to attend one of the following informational meetings to be held on October 11th at 10 am
L et ter
A
or October 14th at 6 pm. Mr Frank Bocarde, Mr. Dick
Dyer and Past Commodore Rod Wells will be your hosts
for these meetings.
A Special Membership meeting will be held on October
22nd so the membership can vote on the new open
moorage design. Please watch for your formal notice of
that special meeting to arrive in the early part of October.
from the
C ommodore
By Gil MacGregor
utumn has clearly arrived.
The trees have started losing
their leaves; the morning
sun arrives later in the day and fades
away sooner. Before you know it,
it will be time to start wearing warm
sweaters and jackets as we continue
to travel up and down the beautiful
Columbia River.
various scotches and how to properly enjoy them.
Dick Dyer is working with Chef Brien to make Scotch
Eggs as well as other delicious taste treats. Please bring
a friend and enjoy a taste of Scotland.
The CRYA closing day ceremony is October 4th and
will be once again hosted by the Dolphin Yacht Club in
Camas. This is a fun-filled day with competitions in line
tossing, best hors d’oeuvres, best decorated dinghy and
the cannon firing ceremony.
October is going to be a busy and informative month
at the yacht club. Please plan on attending one of two
informational sessions about the new Open and Closed
Moorage design and construction schemes. Join Frank
Bocarde, Dick Dyer and Rod Wells on October 11th at
1000hrs or October 14th at 1800hrs to get your questions answered. On October 22nd there will be a special
meeting held at the Portland Yacht Club for the membership to vote on the Moorage update proposal. Please
watch for your official meeting notice.
If you have walked the open moorage marginal walk
lately you might have noticed some orange paint on the
walkway. No, this was not the work of some misguided
graffiti artist but rather it was Dick Dyer and Don
Etter. The orange stripes represent the proposed locations for the head walks of the open moorage.
October 11th is the date slated for the semi-annual
“Scotch and Cigar” night. Join us for a night of scotch
tastings hosted by Walter and Kevin Witschard, who
have just returned from a trip to Scotland where they
toured several Scotch distilleries. They will have pictures to share, stories to tell and they will discuss the
What would a conversation about October be without
a mention of Halloween? You will have two chances to
dress up and wear your favorite costume this October.
October 24th-26th Glenn Moragne, Lynae Forbes,
Greg Allison and Valerie Hettman will once again host
the PYC Outstation Halloween Cruise. This cruise is
always a fun time and a great chance to try out that new
costume. If you cannot make the cruise but love to dress
up for the holiday you will get another chance at the
Halloween Cookout scheduled for October 31st at the
club.
The PYC Bylaws are written by the membership, for
the membership and it is only the membership that can
change, add or remove them. If you feel that there is a
need to modify a Bylaw it is up to you to present that
modification to the general membership during the
Annual Membership meeting. The Annual Membership
meeting will be held on Monday, November 24th. If you
want a Bylaw change to be considered this November
you must have your bylaw proposal, in the format you
want it presented to the membership, to Secretary/Treasurer John Colby no later than October 16th. John will
need to ensure that your proposal is added to the Annual
Membership meeting notice that will be sent to the
membership by October 23rd.
In recent months some of our PYC members dragged
their anchors into the next moorage. For some it might
have been an expected venture while for others it was
totally unexpected and seemingly senseless. Every time
the club loses a fellow shipmate we grieve their loss, but
I’m confident that in time we will all sail together again.
Stay safe, friends and see you at the club and on the water.
www.portlandyc.com
The Portlight page 3
Swap Meet & Car Show
On Saturday, August 23rd, the annual Classic Car and
Vintage boat show was held at PYC. Although the event
has traditionally been held on a Friday night in conjunction with a cookout, this year’s event had been scheduled
for Saturday, so event coordinators staged as scheduled.
Added to the day’s activities was the Swap Meet in the
morning, followed by the show. Many members displayed their treasures and sold and bought items.
The Baconator (bacon Bloody Mary) was a favorite
among the attendees, as was the cost of the beer, just
one quarter. Members and guests ordered lunches
throughout the day from the “burger bar” special menu.
According to chef Brien, almost 18 lbs. of bacon was
consumed, and the galley depleted many provisions
October 2014
Gil and Nancy MacGregor
before ceasing meal service. “We were turning tables,
just like a restaurant”, said Brien. The gross sales for
the galley was the largest for a one-time, made-to-order
meal service prepared by our galley, grossing nearly
$1,100.
Although the show had fewer cars displayed than previous years, there were some first-time automobiles to
be admired, including a Nascar race car, whose proud
owner, Joe Spaziani, would occasionally fire up the
engine. Loud? Yes!
Thank you to the many people who assisted with the
event; Chairs Joe and Penny Spaziani, Frank and Barbara Tillman, Keg-meister Tom Kerns and the PYC staff.
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PORTLIGHT
PORTLAND YACHT CLUB
2341 NE Marine Drive, Portland, Oregon 97211
503-285-1922 (ph) • 503-283-4960 (fax)
office@portlandyc.com • www.portlandyc.com
Committee – Mike O’Bryant, editor; Sandy O’Bryant, graphic design;
Nancy MacGregor, Mary Ann & Skip Nitchie and Jim & Shari Sinclair
Officers and Trustees
Commodore
Vice Commodore
Secretary/Treasurer
Rear Commodore
Trustee
Trustee
Trustee
Trustee
Trustee
www.portlandyc.com
Gil MacGregor
Larry Justice
John Colby
Larry Cirotski
Dale Richards
Mary Stainsby
Terri Entler
David Stuckey
Al Parr
(sail)
(power)
(sail)
(power)
(power)
(sail)
(sail)
(power)
(power)
The Portlight page 4
October 2014
Manager Departs
On September 23, 2014 the Board of Trustees ended Mr. Dennis
Yamnitsky’s 18 month employment as manager of the Portland
Yacht Club. We wish him well in his future endeavors.
The Board is actively searching for a new manager and it is hoped
that this search will be both fruitful as well as expedient.
Commodore
Gil MacGregor
Scotch & Cigar Night
Saturday, October 11th, 7 p.m.
Tasting & Hors d’oeuvres
Optional Cigar
$30
purchases available
Heavy hors d’oeuvres featuring
authentic celtic foods
Presenters:
Dick Dyer
Celtic musical entertainment
Walter Witschard
Scotland travelogue presentation
Kevin Witschard
Kilts encouraged!
www.portlandyc.com
The Portlight page 5
October 2014
N ew M ember P rofile
By Mary Ann Nitchie
Randy and Jennifer Duncan — Randy and Jennifer
were very active
members of PYC
when their children were small.
As they entered
High School, the
Duncans eased
off of boating
to focus on the
activities their
kids were involved in. Their boat, the 46' Grand Banks
Rhapsody, has been moored in the Seattle/Olympia
area until recently, when she was relocated to Saltpere
Bay. Randy is an attorney. He and Jennifer live in Lake
Oswego. Welcome back!
New Members
If you haven’t submitted a photo
for the newsletter or roster, please send a
headshot to Mary Ann Nitchie
(mary.ann.nitchie @comcast.net)
or Sandy O’Bryant (sandywo@comcast.net)
Cruising News
I
Dave & Terri Entler
hope everyone had a wonderful summer cruising. I
wasn’t able to attend the Upriver cruise but I understand everyone had a wonderful time. I would like
to thank Cornie and Bill Stevens for all their assistance
in organizing the event. I really appreciated their help.
More recent was the Labor Day cruise. We had about
26 boats in attendance including several new members.
Saturday afternoon we held an Iron Chef contest with
the secret ingredient being tomatoes. Judges Dave
Entler, Terri Entler, and Laura Cirotski had a tough call
with all of the succulent dishes presented. Even with
some bribery attempts of wine, tequila shots, and hard
cider we presented Sam Dubay the winning prize. Sam
prepared a very colorful, and tasty salsa dish. I want to
give special thanks to the Erdahl’s for helping Dave and
I. Marilyn and Gary spent hours cleaning the outstation
in prep for the cruise. We all were very grateful for their
assistance.
We want to thank Bob Martin for organizing the annual
Beacon Rock Cruise. Highlights will be in a future issue
of Portlight.
But the cruising season is not over. This month is the
Halloween Cruise. Oct. 24-26th. We hope many of you
come down with your favorite costume. Glenn Moragne,
Lynae Forbes, Valerie and Greg Allison are organizing
another great event. For details see page 9 in this issue.
In November we have the Leftover Cruise the weekend
after Thanksgiving.
It has been a wonderful year of cruising and we thank
everyone that helped out.
will resume meeting on 2nd and 4th Mondays, starting Oct.13.
Announcements Watercrafters
Bridge has resumed for the season, starting on Thursday, Sept. 18.
www.portlandyc.com
The Portlight page 6
Labor Day Cruise
October 2014
photos by Skip Nitchie & Nancy MacGregor
Upriver Cruise
photos by Larry Justice & Skip Nitchie
www.portlandyc.com
The Portlight page 7
Classic Car & Vintage Boat Show
Cookout – September 5th
October 2014
photos by Terry Johnson, Gary Erdahl & Dale Mack
photos by Skip Nitchie
www.portlandyc.com
The Portlight page 8
October 2014
CLOSING DAY UPDATE:
Ken Kudrna, PYC Delegate to CRYA
Just a reminder that Closing Day is just days away. Please see the above ad for details of events and their schedule.
Lunch will be $8.00 and will be more than just a Bloody Mary or Pina Colada. The ultimate part is real food.
Dinner will be $10.00, and will be a pineapple teriyaki chicken rice bowl. Considerable transient moorage space will
be available and is provided by CRYA should you choose to come by boat. Dolphin Yacht Club, as the host club, is
making a huge effort to make this a bigger and better event than before. Come join us for a fun-filled day.
www.portlandyc.com
The Portlight page 9
Salmon Feed
S
unday, September 14th was an absolutely beautiful day in Portland, with temperatures in the
low 90’s once again. It was a great day to sit out
on the deck at PYC, have a cool drink or two and visit
with friends, and that is exactly what about 65 of us did!
Happy hour officially started at 4:30, though the bar was
actually open all afternoon, and soon all of the tables on
the deck were full of happy club members and guests
enjoying the afternoon.
At 5:30, Commodore MacGregor announced that dinner
was ready, and everyone headed to the dining room for
yet another terrific buffet dinner prepared to perfection
by our own Chef Brien! The buffet started with a gorgeous and oh so tasty salad – a combination of a Caprese
and a Caesar salad he called a “Capresar Salad” with
lots of fresh mozzarella bits, assorted colorful cherry
tomatoes sliced in half, a delicious Caesar dressing and
lots of fresh, crisp lettuce. Next on the table was a wonderful rice pilaf with a variety of colorful vegetables
and herbs, followed by a delicious summer vegetable
medley. The entrée was roasted salmon filets in a light
sauce, accompanied by a freshly made tomato jam.
There was plenty of food for all, and I saw a number of
people going back for more! Then, for those who still
had room for more, Brien served a fresh Pear Crisp with
October 2014
vanilla ice cream – it was scrumptious! In all, the food
was magnificent and everyone had a terrific time! Many
thanks to Chef Brien for producing such a marvelous
salmon dinner for us!!!
A special thanks, too, to Michelle Kennedy, who came
to the club early to help with the flowers, returning later
with her husband Joe and 9 family/friends to enjoy the
dinner and celebrate Joe’s birthday! Happy birthday,
Joe! I hope you enjoyed the party!!!
Mary Stainsby
3 Monkeys ­­on Golf Day
www.portlandyc.com
The Portlight page 10
Continued from page 1
it is very shallow on the northern entrance. Gig Harbor
has very limited transient dock space with reciprocal
moorage offered at the end of the bay at Peninsula Yacht
basin with 80 feet of moorage at 9 feet of water. Given
Whisper draws 10 feet, this was not an option for us. We
chose to anchor in the bay with easy access to the Tides
Tavern by dinghy. The weekends are a zoo of activity
with all types of watercraft navigating through 20 or so
anchored boats. By Sunday afternoon, it was back to 3
or 4 boats in the bay. After 4 1/2 days we moved on in
hopes of finding a mooring buoy at Blake Island. The
trip up the inside of Vashon Island to Blake Island was
uneventful. Deep water mooring buoys had been taken
so we followed the Bremerton Ferry to Port Orchard
Pass and headed for Poulsbo.
Poulsbo is located on Liberty Bay with a number of
marinas, both public, private and yacht club. The
Poulsbo Yacht Club has a wonderful location overlooking Liberty Bay with about 225 feet of reciprocal
moorage on the inside of the breakwater dock with
water and power. The first day is at no charge; 2nd,
3rd, and 4th days at 50 cents a foot including water
and power. The clubhouse offers showers and laundry.
Poulsbo is a picturesque town with a Norwegian theme
and heritage located about 3/4 of a mile from the marina.
We wandered around town for 4 days, as well as a stroll
along the boardwalk from the marina to the end of the
bay. After 4 days of indulging in the Norwegian lifestyle,
we were ready to move on.
October 2014
Reciprocal space was not available at Port Ludlow,
so we secured and end tied for two nights and then
anchored off for three more. It was much more scenic
at anchor than at the dock. Port Ludlow is a quaint
retirement community with lots of golf and very few
amenities. It is picturesque with fine dining in the hotel
at the entrance to the bay. We were treated to a 6-meter
sailboat race over the weekend. On the last day of
vegetating in Port Ludlow, one of our heads stopped
working because of an impeller problem...just happened to have a repair kit onboard! Also, the generator
stopped working, due to the fact that it had expelled all
the oil (big mess…long cleanup).
The following day, Sue and I bid farewell to Port
Ludlow and central Puget Sound at 6 am to catch the
morning ebb. We were flushed out of Admiralty Inlet
only to be hit by 25 knot westerly winds and a four foot
chop due to the ebb in the straits. It was not a pleasant
ride back to Port Angeles to stage our trip back to
­Portland.
After a day and half of re-supplying, we headed out with
nearly the same cast of characters, changing out Brian
Hedges for Andy Thaler (PYC). We left Port Angeles
at 6am with fog so thick we could barely see the bow of
the boat. Thank God for radar, GPS and AIS! The fog
persisted until we got to within 8 miles of the Columbia
River. Andy caught a Coho salmon coming across Peacock Spit doing 8 knots, a very athletic fish! Crossed the
bar at low slack and rode a flood as far as the Longview
Yacht Club, where we spent the night.
Our next port of call was going to be Winslow, which
would have been a short jaunt through agate pass, but
for the fact we are 76 feet off the water and bridge clearance at low water is 75 feet. So, we had to go around
the bottom end of Bainbridge Island and back up the
outside. Upon entering the harbor at Winslow, the city
dock was full, the harbor was crowded with anchored
boats and the wind was blowing right up the harbor.
We decided to forgo the tango in the bay and headed for
Port Ludlow.
The following day we arrived at the North Portland
Harbor channel with 2 1/2 feet showing on the water
gauge at PYC, which translates to 10 feet of water in the
channel, which is what is required for Whisper to float.
I was fortunate to have picked the right line, and briefly
touched twice but was able to motor through thanks to
wakes from some power boats.
October Cookouts
Deadline for November issue is October 10
Fridays, Oct. 3rd, 10th & 17th
Portlight
Email info to: Mike or Sandy O’Bryant
obryants@comcast.net or
Bar Opens 3:00 p.m.
sandywo@comcast.net
Cost $8.50 / per person
Please send your photos to: Skip Nitchie
skip.nitchie@comcast.net
www.portlandyc.com
The Portlight page 11
OCTOBER
Every
Wed.
3
Fri.
Cookout
4
Sat.
CRYA Closing Day
4-5
October 2014
NOVEMBER
Golf
Sat.-Sun. Robert A. Smith Regatta
13 & 27
Mon.
Watercrafters
10
Fri.
Cookout
11
Sat.
Moorage Information Mtg-10 am
11
Sat.
Scotch & Cigar Night
14
Tues.
Moorage Information Mtg-6 pm
16
Thur.
Bridge
16
Thur.
Board Meeting
17
22
24-26
31
Fri.
Wed.
Fri.-Sun.
Fri.
Every
Wed.
7
Fri.
10 & 24
Mon.
11
Tues.
14
Fri.
20
Thur.
20
Thur.
21
Fri.
24
Mon.
27
Thur.
28-30 Fri.-Sun.
Golf
Cookout
Watercrafters
Veteran’s Day
Commodore’s Toast
Bridge
Board Meeting
New Member Luau Cookout
Annual Meeting
Thanksgiving, Clubhouse closed
Leftover Cruise – Outstation
Cookout
Special Moorage Meeting
Halloween Cruise
Halloween Cookout
New Member
Luau Cookout
Fri., Nov. 21 st
Watch for details in
the November Portlight
The cast of the mini-series “Combat Report” post with burgee between
takes while filming onboard Chuck Kellogg’s Kaleta at PYC on
August 22nd. Premier of the episode will be shown later this year at
PYC clubhouse.
www.portlandyc.com
Portland Yacht Club
1241 NE Marine Drive
Portland, Oregon 97211
Advertise in the Portlight
Contact Gayle Timmerman
gayletimmerman@hotmail.com
The BOATYARD at
Rocky Pointe
503-543-2785
All Services – Boats 20' - 60'
INTEGRITY & EXPERIENCE
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IN
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360-798-7062
Joe Spaziani, Rod Wells and Larry Jenks attacking the yellow jackets with duct tape an
­electric swatter and spider spray? It was pretty scary ...but they eventually got them....lol