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Greetings From Your Dockmaster
Welcome to the August 2006 newsletter.
Hopefully, the July heat wave will have subsided by the time
you read this. If not, being on the water will still be the
best pace to be in the county.
I want to thank everybody for your
patience and understanding during the July boat shows. They
were a great success and rumor has it that they’ll both
be back next year.
So stay cool, and enjoy your marina
during the great month of August. If you have any items
you’d like to suggest for future newsletters, please let
me know.
Yours Truly,
Eric Holle - Dockmaster
Between the Sheets
Richard Benscoter | |||||||||||
But the true sailor uses the other senses
to tune up his or her sailing skills. This summer, find a safe
spot, then try closing your eyes and have your mate change
course. Can you tell the direction of the wind without looking?
Feel the wind on your face and neck. Listen, and believe it or
not you can hear the direction of the wind. Even the fresh
ocean breeze gives your nose the answer.
Now, still keeping your eyes closed, take
back the helm and see how well you can catch the wind in your
sails without looking. If you do this often enough until you
can perfectly catch the wind, you too will have the true
sailor’s advantage of unconsciously adding the input from
your other senses to what you see. Who knows, it might be the
difference that lets you win that next race!
Editor’s Note: Richard Benscoter is a
long time avid sailor. He and his wife Debbie are members of
the Silver Gate Yacht Club and can be seen frequently on the
bay sailing their 36 foot Catalina, El Marinero. If you have a
sailing question for Richard, send your e-mail to richard@BlueSkynews.com.
Bill Says - Keep Your Bottom Clean
Bill Rocco
President,
Aquarius Yacht
Services
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Having a good diver under your boat on a
regular basis will also help you to avoid costly repairs caused
by electrolysis. How often you should have the boat bottom
cleaned depends on the season and the location of your slip.
Normally, once a month is adequate, however increased water
temperatures and extended daylight hours dramatically increase
the marine growth attaching to your hull and running gear, so
increasing the schedule to every two or three weeks is
recommended. Warmer water also conducts electricity better and
therefore increases zinc anode consumption. Most people
don’t know that there are also differences in growth
rates depending on which marina you have your vessel moored in.
Ask any diver and they’ll tell you for example that the
Shelter Island Yacht Basin in San Diego Bay and the Quivira
Yacht Basin in Mission Bay have extremely more aggressive coral
worm growth.
Editor’s Note: Bill Rocco is the
President of Aquarius Yacht Services. If you have a boat maintenance question for Bill,
send your e-mail to bill@BlueSkynews.com
It’s No Bull! Air Races on San Diego
Bay?
Word has it that Red Bull is talking with
city officials about bringing their famous Red
Bull Air Race to San
Diego bay, possibly in early 2007. If they can get the approval
of the FAA, the Navy, and other city officials, the Port
District is interested in seeing it happen. If it happens, the
proposed course would be roughly from Seaport Village South to
the bridge. Stay tuned.
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Port District Considering Additional Small
Craft Mooring and Anchorage Areas
At the July meeting of the Marine
Recreation Committee of the San Diego Port
Tenants Association, Port
representatives indicated that they were studying the
feasibility of adding additional mooring balls at existing bay
anchorages, and also investigating additional places where
people could anchor their boats for an overnight stay.
The spokesman said that they were in the
early stages of public hearings and would hope to have some
determinations in the matter sometime in 2007.
Do Red-Heads Really Bring Bad Luck to
a Ship, and is it Really Unlucky to Step Aboard
Your Boat with Your Left Foot First?
A sailor’s superstitions are many
and varied - If you meet a clergyman or someone with
cross-eyes on the way to the harbor, you are encouraged not to
set sail! - It’s unlucky to start a cruise on Friday -
and so on. How did these superstitions come about? We found a
couple of cool web sites that have a list of sailor’s
superstitions we think you’ll enjoy reading. One is from
the Pacific Offshore Rigging of San Diego and the other is from the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of
Claims of the Paranormal.
Oooops! By the way, you haven’t by any chance changed the
name of your boat, have you?
New Broker Directory Available
Monica Giobbi
President,
BlueSkyNews.com
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From the Poop Deck
Madeline
Editor,
Poop Deck
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Hello! Bozo! - I’M A DOG! - I
CAN SWIM! Buy a clue! Your rug rats probably can’t swim a
stroke!
Hey...I want you to meet my friend. I
caught this candid shot of Nipper hanging out under the dodger of her boat
“Jezebel” at the Chula Vista Marina. Do you think
Nipper somehow knows she is a beautiful pooch who needs to be
pampered?
“Nipper” | |||||||||||
Editor’s Note: Once again - We
apologize for Madeline. We’re trying to get her to be
more polished, but we’re not making much progress. If you
have a pet question or photo to send to her, please e-mail it
to Madeline@BlueSkyNews.com.
Boat Name of the Month, Sort Of!
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Our BlueSkyNews.com cameraman captured
this transom shot down by the cruise ship terminal on the 4th
of July. What more can we add to this person’s sense of
humor? Four brain surgeons, maybe? We can only hope!
Dear Flo-Tilla
Flo Tillatm | |||||||||||
What’s That Noise? A while ago, you
made fun of us “stink-potters” by intimating that
the only kind of crisis a power-boater has is when we run out
of tonic for our evening cocktail or something similar.
I want to tell you that I recently had a
real “brush with
disaster” on our motor
yacht. I was trying to impress my guests with one of my famous
“Captain Ron” high-speed approaches to our slip,
and I maybe bumped into the dock a little hard. I maybe even
bumped into the neighbor’s boat a little (it’s a
double slip).
After the excitement subsided, my wife
called my attention to the fact that there was an unusual motor
or fan-like noise coming from the forward head. I turned off
all the AC; I turned off all the DC; and still the noise
continued. I looked in the bilges; I looked everywhere. I was
ready to speed dial the mechanic. Finally, my neighbor took a
look - After a few seconds, he emerged with the problem. I had
knocked over my battery-powered tooth brush just the right way
to turn the switch on.
Sincerely,
Power-Boaters Have
Real Disasters Too
Dear Captain Calamity,
What marina are you in? I want to make
sure I don’t get anywhere near your boat if you’re
in town! I suggest you “brush up” on your docking
skills before you venture out among us again!
Regards,
Flo-Tilla
Have a question you’d like Flo-Tilla
to answer?
Letters to the Editor
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What happened to the fuel barge that used
to come to the Chula Vista Marina? It was a great service!
Regards,
Art Renga -
Tenant at Chula Vista Marina
Dear Art,
We haven't been able to track down the
owner of the fuel barge, but according to a spokesman at the
Harbor Island Fuel Dock, he was "shut down by the fire
marshal because what he was doing was against the law".
The spokesman went on to say that another part of the problem
was that the barge was a single skin vessel, which increased
the risk of having a fuel spill. Both the Harbor Island Fuel
Depot and the Chula Vista Marina reported that they think the
owner of the barge has now made some sort of arrangement with
the US Navy for services. With the disappearance of the barge,
Harbor Island is once again the closest available fuel service
for South Bay boaters.
Sincerely,
BlueSkyNews.com Editor
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