Club News


November 2005 Mainsheet PC News

By | November 01, 2005

I have found that the seasons have changed. The temperature is a bit cooler and we saw some surprise rain recently. We have been about to get out several times and each day was lovely. Sunday, September 18th brought the One Designs. Four boats were at the line to see very light winds. Congrats to Bennet Greenwald (#18) and crew for cleaning up. Numbers 9, 44 and 66 joined in the fun. Minx (#18) continues to prove herself as a race winning PC! You will remember that this boat, in the past, was owned by accomplished sailor and SWYC member, Dick Stratton, who moved to Washington State a few years ago. Dick always did very well with this boat. He won the PC Nationals in 2001 with Minx. When Dick left, his experienced crewmembers stayed with the boat and now sail with Bennet. Another known skipper who tested the fasteners of Minx was Jack Sutphen, who also did very well on the racecourse (hello??). Jack sailed Minx to win the Nationals in 1999 and 2000 before selling the yacht to Stratton. She was built in 1937 and first sailed by Mr. E. Benedict. Other owners included Roger Bryan, Gordon Hurlbert, Ish Fisher, Arthur O’Keefe and Bruce Carlile. Over the years, she hailed originally as Adios, then Aquavit and Even Odds from  1964 to 1981. As I write, Minx is over at Koehler’s getting a tune up and a bit of a face-lift.

The new owner is a craftsman and talks of doing a serious restoration of the vessel, as she was in pretty sad shape from neglect over the years. I wish him luck and will try to keep track of the boat.

Locally, friends Ron and Lynn Render have sadly let go of their interest in #54 leaving partners Bob Kyle and Barry Worthington to win trophies by themselves. Word has it that they are looking for someone to replace Ron and Lyn so don’t be shy about asking either Bob or Barry about Twilight. By the way, she is in the process of a major redo, so this would be a perfect opportunity for a new partner to have a say in how the lounge should be set up and where the piano should go! I also learned that friends Diane Schneider and Captain Dave are interested in taking on a new partner. As I have mentioned so many times before, readers who are interested in becoming a member of the fleet can contact me and I will gladly what other boats are available. The Red Tag Special this week is a cream puff of a vessel with low mileage. This “one owner” was driven by a minister and well cared for. Trust me on this one…

On Oct. 3rd, several members of the PC fleet met in the Commodore’s room to enjoy hearing Bob Thais and Dan Feltham tell us about the Hawaii PC fleet in the 50’s and 60’s. Bob owned #s 7 and 28. He was at the helm of #7 when he was “T Boned” in a race just above the water line and was lost to the sea in 1962. Dan, his long time friend and crewmember, helped to describe that “wonderful day of sailing”. Dan has also sailed several Trans Pacs on PCCs and other boats. Bob was kind enough to donate his “Around the Catalina PC Trophy” to our fleet and shared his video of 1960’s PC races in the islands. At this moment, Bob (who lives in Newport, CA) is reviewing my history files and has also promised to make a copy of his tape for me. Joining us for lunch was Jack Sutphen, Wally Springstead, new PC fleet member Tom Hurlbert, SC Gene Trepte, SC Paul Kettenburg and Tom Kettenburg. Other members who stopped by to say hello were Bob Kyle and Dave Grundies. I do apologize for the late notice about the meeting and “rough” scheduling... but this was a last minute kind of thing that happened to develop. Those in attendance seemed to really enjoy meeting these two fellow PC sailors and we thank them both for driving down to visit with us.

Because of the Veteran’s Day Holiday and Thanksgiving this month, we do not have any races or events scheduled. So while “the tide is out during the lull”, we’ll all have time to get our vessels “ship shape”.

Until next month, my best to you all!

Rish Pavelec
#16 Dawn