Commodore’s Report June 2011

Thirty years ago, I was interviewing for the Cove assistant position with Jim Perona, who was the Vice Commodore at the time. I remember telling him that I might need to miss two weekends over the summer for college orientation, and he politely informed me that I might consider another job. Needless to say, I didn’t make any visits to UC Irvine that summer. Not only did I start college a bit “disoriented,” but I also gave up a trip to Europe that summer of 1981, just to work at Fourth of July Yacht Club. This turned out to be one of the best decisions of my life, and the Cove still means as much to me now, as it did when I was seventeen. Most of the faces have changed since 1981, but quite a few familiar faces remain.

I am excited and privileged to be serving as Commodore this year. We had a great installation at Long Beach Yacht Club this year, and I want to thank Peter and Candace Spennato for all their hard work at making the evening such a special event. Thank you Dan Koon for creating such a great banner. Jim Sherk was the installing officer for the evening event. As a fellow member of the class of 2002, I was very pleased he accepted this most hallowed responsibility. The only lingering question I have regarding installation is who ended up with Mike Blackmore’s red Speedo? Steve Powers seemed happy to rid himself of the cherished memento, but I sensed his loss and suspect they may have returned to the Power’s household.

Mid-Winter Cruise and Survey were scheduled for March 1920, but a storm off our coast changed those plans. Drew Davidson and the Merrills worked hard getting the weekend planned, but with rain and stormy seas predicted, we decided to cancel our event. The prediction came true and it would have been a very miserable weekend. Bob Bailey reported rain with 56 mph winds in the Cove, blowing the kayaks everywhere and overturning the fish cleaning station. I consider this a Catalina version of Ground Hog Day, so the summer should be warm and sunny with calm seas.

Clean Up was a great success with Drew and Kellie Davidson in charge. Luckily, the Cove was in reasonable shape and escaped some of the damage a harsh winter can inflict. Although I missed the event, Kathi and Shannon attended and had a great time working and meeting the new members

Memorial Day weekend was a bit windy with gale force winds off the coast. Our numbers were a little down due to the weather, but we had a great time with great parties. Jeff and Jan Ferree provided the music after the Saturday night party. On Sunday morning, we had our second annual blessing of the fleet. This was initially planned on the Power’s boat, Papa’s Ride, but the wind and swell made this impossible. Instead, we had our event on the pier, with members in their dingies tied to the pier. Everyone brought something from their boat to be blessed during the ceremony and a great time was had by all.

As you all know, we are actively recruiting new members for FJYC. Kate Banks is leading the Membership Committee, along with Vice Commodore Peter Spennato. To encourage prospective new members, we have formed a new type of membership, the Preview Membership. For a very complete description of this Preview Membership, please see our FJYC webpage. We have already signed up several new Preview Members this year, so introduce yourself and make them feel at home.

It’s good to be home. See you at the Cove,

Marty Rindahl