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Renton Sailing Masthead

October 2021

October 27 Member Meeting: Anchoring


Our Wednesday, October 27 meeting will feature a program on Anchoring. Bring your tips and "I learned from experience" stories to share. Meeting starts at 7:00 p.m. We'll be on Zoom. Keep your eye on your @rentonsailing.org email for the Zoom Link.

Spooky Sail, Sunday October 31, Noon - 4p.m.


How about Open Sailing with some Halloween Fun thrown in. Wear your best costume (that won't get pulled through the main sheet blocks!) and come out sailing! There will be trick-or-treat candy. No costume, no problem, we'll help you out! RSVP to johnp@rentonsailing.org. 

Brian Casserly is organizing a keelboat sailing opportunity open to all members.  Contact him for more information and to RSVP: brianc@rentonsailing.org. Gathering for Keelboat sailing is at 11:30 a.m.

Afterwords we'll clean and cover some Visions and unrig some sails that need some Winter love to get to the sailmaker.

Let Us Know


The Renton Sailing Center strives to provide an exciting and diverse fleet of boats as well as diverse sailing experiences and learning opportunities. 

Soon, you will receive a member survey. The board will use this information to help guide decisions for the next several years. Please take a couple minutes to fill out the survey to help make sure your future sailing plans are part of Renton Sailing Centers plan.  The Rolling Stones sang "You can't always get what you want but sometimes, you get what you need".

Treasurer's Update

A big thank you to Melissa Battiste for keeping the books for the last two years. Melissa will be moving to Colorado just before Thanksgiving. Melissa has already found a place to sail on a lake near Denver. Melissa is planning on trips back to Renton so we will sail again. Thank you Melissa!

The Board has approved Yan Chen to serve as Treasurer for the remainder of Melissa's term. Yan comes to us with cooperate accounting experience. We look forward to working with you Yan. 

Fees Go Up April 1, 2022


Renton Sailing Centers leadership follows its mission to provide fun safe sailing on a great fleet of boats while keeping the barrier to entry to a minimum for our community. Just like everything else, boats, parts supplies, and our lease continue to go up in cost. 

For the renewal for the period of April 1, 2022 to March 30, 2023 
Household Annual Membership will go from $250 to $275
Annual Keelboat Skipper fee will go from $155 to $175

the Youth Rate and discounts will remain as they are. 

Jalapeno Crew Earns 5th Place at J/80 West Coast Championships


by Mike Jarvis

You may have heard that this month the center's J/80, Jalapeño, went to the Puget Sound Sailing Championship.  It also doubled as the West Coast J/80 championship.  That sounds really impressive until you learn that there weren't really any boats from Oregon or California there.

We wound up going because first year member Jesse Castleberry suggested it and was in constant contact with the J/80 fleet at Shilshole.  I convinced first year members Ghislain Devouton and Frederick Deverney, along with instructor and utility infielder Brian Casserly to get the boat around the marks.  Don Pearson and Dave Ingo helped bring the boat up to Shilshole and John Padgett meet up at the locks even with a bum arm to get folks signed off on locking through.  Ghislain and Frederick replaced the Windex at the top of the mast after a crow sat on it.

We had two days of racing.  The first day was wet and cold with gusts to 25 knots at the West Point Light.  We spent a lot of time driving in circles waiting for the race committee to reset marks that blew off their moorings, and then we raced hard for three races.  We finished the day in fifth place.

The second day was wet and cold and had much less wind.  It started from the south, stopped completely, and swung north, with winds not over 8-10 in either direction.  We again raced hard, swapped around crew positions, and held onto our 5th place.

Even had we come dead last, as we suspected we might, it would have been worth it to go.  We met lots of friendly local J/80 sailors, faced some challenging conditions, and got in some great sailing.  In the end
though we wound up doing pretty ok while flying the RSC burgee.

None of it would have been possible without members who had a sailing goal and set out to meet it. Next year we're going to go back and get in the top three.

Check out Jan's Marine Photography for pictures of the race https://janpix.smugmug.com/Events/Puget-Sound-Sailing-Championships-Big-Boats-2021/ and Corinthian Yacht Club Seattle for race results: http://racing.cycseattle.org/results/2021_specific/pssr.html

Volunteer Opportunities


Assisting with keeping our fleet functioning keeps our annual costs way down, helps you with volunteer hours towards your next advancement or annual member commitment and helps you with the skills you'll need when you buy your own boat someday. 

Thank You, you truly make this a community sailing center!
  • Valli, Dean, Don, Rob, Neal and others got the Hunter 170 to it's winter home and completed some repairs.
  • Brian and Brett for opening up for Open Sailing
  • Brett and John hosted a Dockmaster Clinic on October 9. Thank you Don, David, William, Mike Edwards, Cat, Judy, Yan and Josh for attending. We're expanding our Open Sailing offerings!
  • Brian, Xaikai, Charles and John spliced new halyards for the Ranger 24 and a new anchor rode for the J/80. Loren helped reeve the halyards.
  • Ghislain and Frederic replaced the broken Windex on the J/80.
  • Valli is in the process of replacing the cargo nets on the foredeck of the RS dinghy's and went swimming for a plastic piling cover that got knocked off it's piling.
  • Donna is taking on sewing new dacron into the masthead floats.
Volunteer Needs:
  • Replace broken elastic that holds up the RS Vision Hiking straps. Contact Johnp@rentonsailing.org
  • Sunday, October 31 after Spooky Sail we will Cover Visions and take some jibs to the sailmaker for some love. Contact Johnp@rentonsailing.org 
  • Assist with re-bedding windows on the Catalina 27. Coordinate with Mike Jacobsen mikej@rentonsailing.org
  • Brian Turner is cutting and installing new fenders at the dock to replace worn or missing ones. Thanks Brain! Reach out to Brian Turner brianturner@rentonsailing.org to lend a hand. 
  • Dean and Beth are prototyping a boat trailer roller for assisting with pulling small boats onto the dock. Contact dean@rentonsailing.org or Beth@rentonsailing.org to assist. 
  • Become a Dockmaster any Advanced Member trained as a dockmaster can open up for Open Sailing. Contact Brett brett@rentonsailing.org or Mike Jacobsen mikej@rentonsailing.org.
  • Be an Assistant Dockmaster. Any member is eligible assist. Assistants can answer questions, help with departing and returning boats, keep a lookout, help with setting up and locking up and more. Reach out to the Dockmaster for any open sailing opportunity your assistance is greatly appreciated. 
  • Become a Sailing Instructor, contact Tyler education@rentonsailing.org for more details. 

Advancements


Congratulations:
Ghislain Devouton -  Advanced
Josh Fitzgerald - Advanced
Frederic Devernay - Advanced

COVID-19 Vaccine Required beginning April 1, 2022


At the October Board Retreat your Board of Directors unanimously approved a requirement that all members, guests, and participants at Renton Sailing Center must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or provide a negative Covid Test within 72 hours prior to any event of the Sailing Center. This requirement begins April 1, 2022  This will probably generate a lot of questions. Here is a Question and Answer. If you have additional questions please address them to president@rentonsailing.org, the board will consider them as it relates to this and add them to the FAQ.

Q: Can I takes my kids sailing? They are too young for the vaccine.

A: Yes, children of members or guests that are too young to be eligible for a COVID vaccine may sail as a household with their parent/guardian. They will be expected to wear a mask while they are on the dock or at some other event where they are in contact with other members unless they are so young the CDC does not recommend them wearing a mask. It is anticipated that a COVID vaccine will be approved for youth age 5-11 in November, 2021.

Q: What type of Covid test is acceptable?

A: Test administered by a health care professional and certified by a lab such as a PCR (Polymerase chain reaction) or NAT (Nucleic acid test) are acceptable. At-home self tests will not be accepted. 

Q: Why is Renton Sailing Center doing this?

A: The safety of our members is our #1 priority. We had many Instructors, Dockmasters, and event volunteers hesitant to serve because of their health concerns with contracting COVID-19 or passing it on to a family member. This policy greatly helps but doesn't eliminate these concerns.

Q: Will Renton Sailing Center accept medical or religious exemptions?

A: No, but you can provide a negative covid test within 72 hours prior to an event and participate.

Q: How about Meetings?

A: This applies to all in person meetings of Retnon Sailing Center. There will be no vaccine requirement for any video-conference meetings.

Q: How is Renton Sailing Center going to keep track of this?

A: This will most likely evolve. Today showing proof of COVID-19 Vaccination is sharing your CDC Covid-19 Vaccination Record Card or a photo of it or using the myIRmobile.com app. The plan now is to have a place to upload your Vaccination Record Card as you renew your membership. This will then appear on the Dockmaster Report that Dockmasters, Race Committee, and event organizers can consult prior to events. 

Q: How is Renton Sailing Center going to implement this? Sounds challenging.

A: Yes, this is an additional duty for our great volunteer leaders. Please do your part and get your status updated as you renew your membership so it's on the Dockmaster Report prior to your attendance. We are going to continue the culture of RSVPs for all events so we can take care of details verification prior to showing up. Instructors will add this to the pre-class paperwork like float tests. It will be like checking your advancement and membership status for Open Sailing or Skill Building through Racing.

Q How About HIPAA? I don't want my vaccination status shared.

A: We are not a medical care provider so HIPAA doesn't apply to Renton Sailing Center. Your vaccination status will be shared with those members with a business need to know it like dockmasters, instructors, race committee and event organizers. 

Q: I have a medical condition and therefore can't get the COVID-19 Vaccine, How can I continue to sail with Renton Sailing Center?

A: You may provide proof of a negative covid test taken within 72 hours prior to an event. Advanced members may use the fleet and sail outside of Renton Sailing Center events. A community sailing center may not meet the needs of every sailor.

Q Will Renton Sailing Center continue to offer single-handed sailing at Skill Building through Racing?

A: In most cases, no. Skill Building through Racing is a Skill enhancement program. Participants are either teaching or learning. The program is so popular that seats in boats are often oversubscribed. In this case it makes no sense to offer single-handed sailing with our current fleet. 

Q: I'm fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and trying to minimize my potential contact with the virus. What if I don't want to be partnered up with a Skipper or Crew who only has a negative COVID test 72 hours prior to the event?

A: Volunteers of Renton Sailing Center will do their best to partner up individual crews. It may be possible to have unvaccinated members with a negative test sail with other unvaccinated members or as a household crew. Ultimately, individuals can make the decision to sail or not based on the conditions, crew and boat. 

Q: Do I need to continue wearing a mask? 

A: King County guidence on masks states that for open outdoor spaces where 6 foot distance from others can be maintained masks are not required. However for outdoor spaces where six foot distance cannot be maintained such as most events on our float, crewed dinghy sailing or on a crowded keelboat, masks are recommended for vaccinated individuals and required for unvaccinated individuals. 


 

Sunday Skill Building through Racing Added for 2022


Beginning in 2022 Sunday afternoons will be added to the regular Tuesday night Skill Building through Racing. There will be a Sunday "Pre-Season" beginning mid-March as soon as there is enough daylight to begin Tuesday nights in Mid April. Sundays will run June-September. relieving some pressure from Tuesday nights during prime sailing season and giving those folks that can't make it on Tuesdays another option. The plan is to overlap with Open Sailing with some assigning crews to already rigged boats. The goal will be having all the boats on the water by 4:00 with the class flag going up soon after that. 

Beth Frisken will be taking lead on the Sunday Race Committee and is looking for a consistent crew to help out. Email Beth if your interested.

Other changes for 2022:
  • Volunteer positions of Greeter, Dockmaster, and mark inflater/deflater to arrive early to assist the race committee getting the fleet onto and off the water. 
  • Sailing Students will get one free edition of Skill building through Racing as part of their 2 week trial.
  • If an event is oversubscribed wait-list folks will serve a Race Committee position so any crew positions that free up from no-shows can be quickly filled.

2021 and 2022 Newport Shores Yacht Club Race Dates 



All races are on Saturdays. There will be a skippers meeting 1 hour before the 1st start in the parking lot at the head of the dock at Newport Shores Yacht Club where the course will be announced. The social gathering will resume on the lawn of  the Yacht Club after the race. Qualified members are welcome to enter Renton Sailing Center vessels in the race. Members of NSYC occasionally look for crew on member owned vessels. 

2021 SCHEDULE
Fall Start 1:00 September 25, October 9, October 23, November 6, 
Start 12:00 November 20 and December 4

2022 Schedule
Winter Start 12:00 January 15, January 29, February 12, February 26, March 12

Spring Start 1:00 March 26, April 9, April 23, May 7, May 21, June 4, June 18

Summer Start 1:00 July 2, July 16, July 30, August 13, August 27, September 10

Fall Start 1:00 September 24, October 8, October 22, November 5
Start 12:00 November 19, December 3

All races are scheduled two weeks apart on alternating Saturdays

ANNUAL BANQUET
The annual banquet will be held at the NYC clubhouse on Saturday, September 17th beginning at 6:00 PM. Potluck, please bring your own beverages.

RULES
 Current edition of the Racing Rules of Sailing.
 Leave all marks to port unless stated otherwise.
 Infractions of Part 2 Rules corrected by making one penalty turn that includes both a tack and a jibe.
 Do not sail between individual columns of an I-90 pier.

Bob McNiesh
(425) 747-3794 (h)
(206) 491-5188 (m)
bob@mcniesh.com

The Late Main Jibe


As asymmetrical spinnakers get bigger, break the jibe into steps the helmsman, mainsail trimmer, and spinnaker trimmer can follow to avoid the dreaded forestay wrap. As the name implies, jibing the main is one of the last steps in the process. Check out this great article in Sailing World. This will be really helpful sailing the J/80 but also works on the RS Vision and Quest. 

Renton Sailing Center Mission Statement:

Promote the sport of sailing in the community through classes, races, clinics and recreational sailing.

 

Renton Sailing Center Vision Statement:

Provide safe, accessible sailing for everyone in our community.

Renton Sailing Center is a US Sailing Community Sailing Center and an accredited US Sailing Basic Keelboat School

 
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Renton Sailing Center · PO Box 1223 · Renton, WA 98057-1223 · USA

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