All Catalina Fleet 69 Austin, Texas  NEWS from 2000
Lake Travis

NEWS FROM YEAR 2000:

HOLIDAY PARTY: On Saturday, December 2, we celebrated the year at the Jones' with a buffet dinner, installation of the new officers, recognized contributors, awarded the Stough Award, selected the best blooper award, and did the nautical gift exchange.
Congratulations to Gary, winner of the Stough Award for his contributions to the fleet in 2000, as well as a continuing interest in supporting and promoting sailing for everyone.
Congratulations to Annette, winner of the blooper award, for finding a way to run a boat hard aground.
Thanks to everyone who helped make 2000 a successful year, by either serving as an officer, coordinating an event, helping with a meeting program, doing a service, or even just being there.

November CRUISE: Oktoberfest. November 11.
Wunderbar! Wir haben ein guten abend. Since the lake was up and full of debris, many docks are still inaccessible, and the weather was questionable, we decided to do Oktoberfest at the Bell home. We had 23 people and a festive time was held by all, thanks to the German music and hats. We had many authentic German dishes, including Bratwurst, Weinkraut: Baked Sauerkraut with Apples, Fruchtspeise: Fruit Dessert, German Chocolate Cake, Zweibelkuchen: German Onion Pie, German Tomato Salad, Kriek Cabbage,  Reibekuchen: Potato Pancakes Rhinland Style, and Rotkohl: Red Cabbage. Many thanks to Annette and Jeaninne.

October 2000 - Catalina Captain's Corpus Christi Cruise
In October we had our 4th annual Corpus Christi,Texas to Port Aransas, Texas Cruise. We had 29 sailors in all on 3 boats: Catalina 36, Catalina 34, and a Hunter 34. All boats were well equipped and handled well in the waves and wind. We took off around 9:30 am on Saturday the 14th.  The wind was very light, so the C34 and C36 motored out towards the Gulf, about a 3.5 hour drive. The H34 decided to try out the sails in Corpus Christi Bay before attempting the Gulf. The weather was nice, in the 80's both days. All boats successfully navigated their way pass the Port Aransas ferries and through the thrilling incoming waters near the Port A jetties. Once in the Gulf, several members of the H34 and C36 were "very green", so they turned around. The C34 continued  and the C36 later returned with a change in crew. It was really very nice out there, with 4 foot waves and light wind. Flipper and his dolphin friends found us and entertained us along the way. We found our way back to the Island Moorings Marina on Mustang Island. Even though the Harvest Moon Regatta was the same weekend and included 250 boats, we still found a place to dock.

On Sunday, there was a few raindrops, but they didn't last long. The H34 headed into the Lydia Ann Channel while the C34 and C36 headed back to the Gulf for those who missed the opportunity on Saturday. It was extremely wavy going out and in past the jetties. The remainder of the trip back to CC was wonderful, as the wind was just right (10-15 on a reach) to get us back to the marina under sail. Thanks to the GPS, we were able to accurately calculate our arrival time to the minute, and knew we had time to sail.

September 17: The Best Ever Breakfast Cruise
In September the weather started to cool down to the 80's and we had the Best Ever Breakfast Cruise at Arkansas Bend Park on Lake Travis. Some boats arrived the evening before and enjoyed a pleasant evening with a full moon. One Catalina 250 was surprised by a persistent visitor, however. In the middle of the night, scratching was heard on the deck. A racoon had found chicken bones that were left in the cockpit! Apparently he swam to the stern of the boat, climbed in through the open transom, and had a feast! In the morning, the wind was good for sailing for the early morning arrivals.  We ate boatloads of pancakes, bacon, fruit, and muffins. A real outdoor feast. The lake was 25' below the usual September level (642.72'), and it was quite a climb up the rocks to our meeting place, but the anchorage was good for getting close to shore. We had 28 attendees, 9 sailboats, one power boat, 2 land-yachts.  Many thanks to our hosts for all their planning and production of a good time.

September Meeting:
The program was a reading of a humorous sailing magazine article on "things that have gone overboard." Our impromptu reader was a sailor with a true command of the English language! That was followed by fleet members' stories of other things that have gone over the side of the boat...Ialmost everyone had one!

August Cruise:  Fajita Festival Cruise
Thanks to the Jacksons, we had a festive environment for the Fajita Festival Cruise to the Volente Beach Club. Complete with flowers for our hair and decorated straws, a good time was had by all. Since the weather was hot and the wind was light, most came by car and one came by boat. At this lake level (444'), the dockage was very good. It was great to see some members whom we haven't seen in a while, but they promised to return!

August Meeting: Rescue on Lake Travis
Annette and witnesses described how her C270 "Afternoon Delight" boat ran aground in Lake Travis on 7/29/00 and how she got off. You really had to be there to enjoy the full story. She left the Austin Yacht Club after dark and started to head south towards the dam. No problem she said, "I know this lake." Surprise! Have you noticed those buoys off of Travis Landing south of the AYC that seem to be half-way out into the lake? With a bump and another bump, she was really stuck, with only 2 feet of water off the bow! She tried various (usually) good techniques. Move the crew-weight all to one side and run the motor. Move the crew-weight all to the other side and run the motor. Put up the sails to heel the boat. Put an anchor off the stern and crank on that. Then call for help on the cell phone!
Catalina 22 "Affinity", with a swing keel, to the rescue! First the C22 tried to pull her off using both motors together. Didn't work.  Then C22 tried putting C270's anchor far astern and she tried cranking it with her winch, while running her motor. Didn't work twice. Finally, C22 placed the C270 anchor far astern. C22 got the C270's halyard. C22 anchored herself off to the side of the C270. C22 wrapped a line attached to the main halyard around the jib sheet winch and cranked. The C270's rail approached the water. C270 ran her motor and pulled on her anchor.
That worked! The boat came free with a 2 big bumps as the rail was almost to the water!

July TNT Cruise:  Saturday, July 15, one day before the full moon. The theme was an old-time Catalina favorite, the  TNT: Tacos, Nachos, and Tortillas !
The cruise turned out surprisingly successful, considering the 105 degree heat. Shirley, Carol, and Bob hosted a great taco feast. They  provided the taco meat and taco shells, while others brought important ingredients such as lettuce, tomatoes, onions, lime, salsa, cheese, etc. Paulette  furnished a simply scrumptious peach blueberry cobbler. We had about 14 people and 5 boats. Annette sailed in with five guests, (including Louis Janet), Gary and Paulette sailed over, new members Robert and Kimberly sailed up in their new 250, and Keith and Sue came over in the old 27, sporting a brand newly painted brilliant white deck. A lot of swimming kept all cool. We broke up at dusk and one boat spent the night. Just a great cruise.

Lake level was about 647'. We tried the same anchorage as last time, in the newly formed bay a short distance south of the Austin Yacht Club point. There's no shoreline access (private)  but the anchoring was good.  The cove worked out beautifully as long as we raft up and don't go ashore.

July Meeting: It was a good one and we talked about a timely topic, "Anchoring".

June 24: The Puzzle Cruise
This was an experimental cruise in which we re-used the Turnback Regatta-Cruise puzzle. Sailors were given 16 questions that could be answered by sailing to specified locations on the lake and making an observation. Selected letters from the answers were unscrambled to answer 2 riddles. Seven boats arrived and a couple others (that we know of!) worked on the puzzle but didn't come to the anchorage. All the boats that arrived won a prize! The Renards won the grand prize of a cooler bag, by sailing to every location and answering every question. The Chandler-Shanley team won second place of a folding cockpit (or camping) table by waiting in a Volente traffic jam for over an hour and then sailing.  It was very windy but we had a nice anchorage in a new bay south of AYC. Our only mistake was waiting until after dark to leave, for it was very difficult between the darkness, stiff breezes, stuck anchors, shallow waters, and unreliable motors. But once we were free, it was a quick sail or motor back to the marinas.

JUNE TURNBACK CRUISE:  June 10 and 11
Go to http://www.austinyachtclub.org to view the results and pictures. This was a 2-day regatta with about 60 boats and several Catalinas, mostly from out of town. The weather on both days was challenging with all the shifts. On Saturday we sailed to Lakeway and back. The traditional Turnback storm hit somewhere between Arkansas Bend and the island on the way back. Sailors reefed, reduced sails, put on life jackets and foul weather gear, got wet, and weathered the storm. On Sunday the weather was perfect in spite of the 80% chance of rain predictions. South 10 to 15. We sailed up and down  (twice) the lake from AYC to the dam to the island to AYC. Trophies were awarded to the Perviers, the Shanley-Chandler team, and Annette, for her cruising and puzzling agility. Shepardsons would have gotten their usual Turnback trophy, too, if the morning had gone better.

MAY 2000 "you may sail" CRUISE:
Saturday, May 13. The plan was a good one: meet at Starnes Island at 1:30, sail to Arkansas Bend, sail to Barry's Cove, anchor, eat, and either stay the night or sail back. It was a windy day, with gusts to 25 mph. Only one boat appeared on schedule, but was later joined by 3 other brave boats; ten sailors in all. We sailed our 22 with main-only going downwind and jib-only going upwind, and we were comfortable. The Renards on a C27 made it to Lakeway and back. Lake level was 659.44 and while Barry's cove is getting pretty low, we found a good spot to tie up. You just might need a motor or a tow to get safely get out. Around 7pm we raised anchor and had a wonderful medium-air, flat-water sail around the lake. Apparently the motor boats are still waiting for a hot summer day to come out!

Kemah/Galveston Cruise 2000:
On April 28, twenty members of Catalina Fleet 69 ventured to Kemah on Galveston Bay to charter a Catalina 34 and an Islander 36 from "At the Helm" . On Friday night we took in the sights and seafood of the incredible sea-front shops and restaurants. On Saturday, April 29, we left the dock around 10 am and headed out into the Bay. Temperatures were in the upper seventies and winds were around 15 mph from the SE, making it mostly an upwind and reach sail. Thanks to our diligent navigators, GPSs (what did sailors do before?), and maps, we sailed in and around the channels and to the docks at the Moody Gardens.  It was great fun to sail under the Galveston bridge! Saturday night we had more seafood on the Strand, and half of the group spent the night on the boats and half  in a motel. On Sunday the winds were up so we either reefed the main or sailed under the jib only. Both worked great in the 18 to 25 mph SE winds. It was upwind to the main channel and a rolling broad reach in 4 foot waves back to the marina. Maps can be viewed at http://texassailor.com/kemahtrip.htm. Go to  http://www.texassailor.com/kemah.htm to learn more about Kemah and Galveston. Many thanks to our organizer, Gary, and our salty skippers, Gary and Keith!

APRIL 2000 CRUISE: The fantastically foolish festival of friends at Barry's Cove was a huge success and a good time was had by all. Sue prepared several heavenly desserts .... chocolate pudding pie, vanilla/pecan pudding pie, cookies, and homemade toffee. THANKS! Keith entertained us with his new landing ladder, which was about 16 feet long and attached to the bow pulpit of his C27. The commodore then walked from the bow to the sandy beach with completely dry feet.
There was virtually no wind when we arrived, but by 5pm there was a nice breeze and temperatures were in the 80's. Good spring sailing!

APRIL 2000 MEETING: We met at Mangia's for the first time and it was a vast improvement over our previous meeting location. Food was good, it was fairly quiet, we had lots of space, and a big TV to use for our program. The program was excellent: Paul Mallett, a retired Navy officer, told us how he helped rescue a sailor on the Polynesia outrigger (name escapes me) about 400 miles off the coast of Hawaii. It was a facinating story and we thank both our speaker and our commodore.

MARCH 2000: MARDI GRAS CRUISE
It was extermely windy in the morning but by the afternoon the winds "calmed down" to 15-19 knots with gusts (not mph) according to Loralei's wind meter. Four boats and at least 10 sailors braved the weather and cruised to Barry's Cove.  In the protected cove, there wasn't much wind, and food and paper plates stayed on the
table for the feast. We enjoyed the company of our new members Mario and Juliana, who were attending their very first fleet event!
After the food and festivities, the winds calmed down to between 3 and 5 knots and Loralei and Helbent enjoyed a nice night sail back to Yacht Harbor under the first quarter moon.  The stars were very bright because of the clear atmosphere and the moon was just about straight up.  It was an enjoyable broad reach with use of the whisker poles. (Observation: Before a cruise, find out who else is going from your marina and sail side-by-side... it's more fun that way! Or, look for others along the way.)

FEBRUARY 2000 LOVE YOUR HEART CRUISE!
The wind on Sunday, Feb 13, was up, 12 to 18 with gusts, and the high temperature was 83. Is this really winter? Three brave boats put up all the sails and quickly went upwind past Stearn's Island to Barry's Cove. We cranked up the keels (if possible), anchored off the sterns and pulled the bows up to the sandy beach. Lake level was just below 664. Sailing stories were traded as we feasted on sandwiches and Valentines cookies. (Read any good books lately between America's Cup races? Try Patrick O'Brian's seafaring tales if you haven't already done so. ) We then raised our sails and our anchors and cruised out of the cove for a nice downwind sail back to the marinas. Warning: check your boat registration stickers! We saw several sailboats get stopped by the authorities, including one that was flying a spinnaker!

JANUARY 2000 CRUISE: AHOY 2000
Who would have thought that we could have a such a beautiful day in January! It was in the 60's, sunny, and the wind was from the north 10 to 12. We had 9 boats and 21 people. Thanks to our hosts, the Renards, we had all the accoutrements needed to properly greet the New Century! We had lots of food, thanks to all the cruisers! At lake level 664', Barry's Cove was a surprising pleasant with a nice sandy beach for our boats and rocks for our seats. The lake called to us again and we returned to the lake for pleasant reaches and runs back to our marinas.

JANUARY 2000 MEETING
The first fleet meeting of the year was held on Thursday, January 13, at the Mr Gatti's on Far West Boulevard.  Twenty-one members and guests participated in discussions ranging from sponsoring a sailing school during April or May to the planning of fleet trips to Kemah/Clearlake (Galveston Bay) and Corpus Christi/Port Aransas.
We discussed a fleet-sponsored sailing school which mightl be offered in late-April or early-May.  This introductory class would appeal to those interested in learning to sail.  Basic concepts and terminology can be taught in a class-room setting (location to be determined).  Upon completion of the course, students may join with members in an afternoon on the water in either their own boats or those of the fleet. Our goal is to promote sailing in central Texas, encourage sailboat ownership and membership in our All Catalina Fleet.  Our secretary offered to contact the National All Catalina Association about subsriptions to the Mainsheet Magazine.  Hopefully, we can offer our members subscriptions through the fleet.  The cost to us is $10.00 per year per subscriber for this publication which is published quarterly.

To conclude the meeting, we asked the question: "What got you interested in sailing?"  Almost everyone in attendance offered a story about their first sailing experience or that special moment when they realized "sailing" was a dream they had to fulfill.  For some, this moment occurred decades ago on a ship a sea.  For others, it happened yesterday when they were given that birthday present of classes at a sailing school.   For some, sailing has been "in the family" for generations.  If you missed this gathering, you sure missed out on a wonderful evening of stories and camaraderie.

News from 1999