Lake Erie Catalina Owners Association

Newsletter Number VIII ANNUAL MEETING EDITION November 1998

Editor: George Lippert WEB EDITION

 

LECOA Annual Meeting

The LECOA Annual Meeting will be held on Thursday, December 3, 1998 at Edgewater Yacht Club. The meeting will begin at 7:30 p.m. Members who wish to have dinner at EYC, please plan to be at EYC by 6 p.m.

Per our organization’s by-laws, a new Bridge will be elected for the upcoming year. At the last meeting, nominations for Bridge positions were not solicited. Rather, we felt that personnel who have an interest come forth at the annual meeting. Members who are interested in filling a Bridge position will be asked to provide a brief summary of their interest. LECOA members in attendance will vote after all candidates have had their opportunity to address the membership.

In addition to the selection of the Bridge, the editor to the newsletter is also available. The Bridge members and the editor have held their respective positions since the LECOA was formed back in June of 1997. I trust that I can speak on behalf of all the members to state our appreciation to Co-Commodore’s Oz Arey and Alan Wolf, Secretary Nick Valentine, and Treasurer Peg Bergstrom for getting the LECOA off to a great start.

 

Speaker

I am pleased to announce that we have Mike Taylor as our guest speaker for the annual meeting. Those of you that have purchased a boat from Freeman-Eckley or had them arrange installation of electronics on your vessel, it is a good bet that Mike performed the installation. This is the time of year when many of us consider adding or upgrading our electronics, so this is the perfect time to have you questions answered by a professional. It is also a good opportunity to get do-it-yourself pointers if you are planning to do your own installation.

 

LECOA Bridge

Co-Commodore’s Secretary

Hugh Arey Nick Valentine

Alan Wolf Treasurer

Peg Bergstrom

Bridge members will remain in office through the Annual Meeting of the Association.

 

 

LECOA Burgee

O.K., car companies recall automobiles all the time, but a burgee recall? The research and design (R&D) of the burgee was just terrific. However, when members conducted on water testing of the burgees, a common failure arose. Our head of burgee R&D, Alan Wolf, has taken some of the burgees that underwent testing and will set about to correct the flaw.

Members who purchased a burgee will not receive a recall notice in the mail, but if your burgee failed, please let Alan know. Once the R&D staff corrects the inherent design flaw, a modified burgee design will be available to members. The Bridge will convene to discuss replacement of burgees to those members that purchased one from the initial production run.

 

Cleveland Boat Show

Freeman-Eckley has once again offered us an opportunity to have a LECOA display during the Cleveland Boat Show. We will have sign-up sheets at the annual meeting if you would like to foster the growth of the LECOA. In addition, I will prepare a Boat Show Special Edition newsletter to be distributed at the show. Since the cost of exhibitors is underwritten by Freeman-Eckley, Terry Freeman has requested that no more than four members per shift. So, if you are interested in attending the show and spending four hours at the LECOA table, please be sure to sign up. If you are unable to attend the annual meeting and would like to help out, contact LECOA member Dennis Schurdell for time availability. It is a great way to interact with LECOA members and meet other Catalina owners.

 

Members Corner

Selling your boat or some gear, looking for a boat, going on a long cruise and would like to know if anyone else has already cruised those waters, or anything else you may want to convey to the other members, this is your section. If you would like to place something into the newsletter, please contact the editior.

Catalina 30 For Sail

LECOA members Bob and Jeannie Brandt are selling their 1978 Catalina 30, Fresh Aire. The boat is located at Sandusky Harbor. If you are interested, please contact either Bob or Jeannie. If you are interested in why Fresh Aire is for sail, Bob and Jeannie are looking to move up to a Catalina 36.

 

Rendezvous - Leamington, Ontario

At the annual meeting, we need to decide whether or not the LECOA should reserve dockage for a weekend rendezvous in Leamington, Ontario. Leamington is a very nice destination for those members on the western basin of Lake Erie. As many of you know, dockage at Leamington books up for the summer during the Cleveland Boat Show. If you are interested, let it be known at the meeting or call one of the Bridge members.

 

 

LECOA Meeting Review - October 15th

Our last meeting was held at the Flat Iron Café in the flats. Eighteen members were in attendance. The Flat Iron Café let us have the use of there meeting room which is located on the second floor of the establishment. A very nice setting and watching the oar boats travel the Cuyahoga River is always a treat. Along with enjoying a nice dinner and good company, we had door prizes courtesy of Freeman-Eckley and West Marine. The highlight of the evening was our guest speaker, Susan Davies, Forecaster, TV5. Susan was both informative and entertaining.

Susan has been a resident of the Cleveland area for the past 3-˝ years. Prior to coming to Cleveland, Susan worked in Green Bay, WI and Syracuse, NY. As a Forecaster, Susan has taken courses in meteorology but does not posses a degree in the field. Susan is an avid sailor and is a member of the Northcoast Woman’s Sailing Association out of EYC.

Along with learning a few weather ‘quickies’ (see below), an interesting discussion on the 1997 Falcon Cup ensued. The Falcon Cup is an annual event that begins at CYC and ends at Mentor Yacht Club. With regret, two individuals lost their lives during the 1997 event.

Weather ‘Quickies’

One little thing that I learned and something fun to do is to stand with your back to the wind and hold out your arms from your side. Your left hand will be pointing towards low pressure and your right hand will be pointing towards high pressure. Nifty and it can get you some strange looks too.

When the topic of weather forecasts came up, Susan indicated that a 4-5 day forecast has only an accuracy of 50% at best. Whereas, a 36 to 48 hour forecast has an accuracy of around 80%. Susan recommended two books on weather, they are: Weather for the Mariner and USA Today Weather Book. Alan Wolf presented Susan with a canvas tote bag and an LECOA burgee as our thank you.

 

Membership Drive

In addition to having a display at the Cleveland Boat Show, Terry Freeman will be supplying the LECOA Secretary with a listing of individuals that have purchased new and used Catalina’s from Freeman-Eckley. This, along with the new members recruited at the boat show, should bolster our membership.

Also, once the new Bridge is elected at the annual meeting, the 1999 Membership Application will be going out to all current members. So remember, when you receive your next newsletter, be sure to complete the application and send it into the Secretary with your dues.

 

Rendezvous - Vermilion, OH CANCELLED

As you all know, this was the heading in the last newsletter. Our tentatively scheduled rendezvous to Vermilion on Saturday, August 29th was cancelled because Vermilion, like Leamington, books up fast and we were unable to reserve dockage.

If Vermilion is in our plans this year, we need to decide at the annual meeting and make our reservations at this time. Vermilion is probably one of the best destinations for those of us who dock in and around Sandusky Bay as well as those who sail out of Lorain. If interested, let it be known at the annual meeting or call one of the Bridge members.

 

Ideas and Issues

At the last meeting, the members in attendance threw out lots of ideas that would benefit the LECOA. Some of the ideas, and the issues that need to be addressed at the annual meeting, are listed below.

 

Thank You

As editor, I would just like to end this newsletter by saying thank you. In the past 18 months I have witnessed the LECOA go from an idea to an association. That is no small task in this day and age when time, especially leisure time, seems to be in such very short supply. The common thread that we all shared at that initial meeting was our love for sailing and ownership of a Catalina. Today our membership is 60 vessels strong with a captain and crew count well over one hundred.

This edition marks my eighth newsletter. In addition, two special editions were produced for the boat show. I have enjoyed writing each and every one of the newsletters. Working with the Bridge members, as well as with other LECOA members, has been an enjoyable experience.

I do have one regret in that the newsletter seemed to have taken on a personal appearance from time to time. A combination of what I did on my summer vacation and to a lesser extent, editorial comments.

With that, I feel that it is time to let another creative individual take over as editor. In fact, I look forward to contributing articles, rendezvous recaps, and tidbits of nautical material that I come across. Again, thank you and I hope that I have the opportunity to be the editor again after a hiatus.

May the wind and waves be to your liking in the years ahead and may sailing provide you with blis.