St Lucie Sailing Club The Log - February 2021
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St Lucie Sailing Club
The Log - February 2021
Incorporated April 4, 1975
From the Commodore:
Larry Bryant, SLSC Commodore
Things are looking better. With each day, we’re getting
closer and closer to our lives being somewhat normal
again. I know we’re all looking forward to having our
normal general meetings and our other social events.
Even though we’re getting closer, we’re not there yet.
Let’s all be very diligent at being safe and healthy.
Our zoom meetings put on by Kevin Kirwin have been a
huge hit. They have surpassed all our expectations. Be
sure to tune in for our next Zoom meeting on February 1 at 6:30. The Zoom meetings
give us a chance to see and talk to each other. I admit it’s not like being there in
person, but it is the best we can do at this time.
We’re having a great time with the racing program put on by Mike Brescher. If you
have a boat, come on out and play with us. Our next big event coming up is the
Blessing of the Fleet on February 13. I hope we can have a really big showing. This
event will give everyone with a boat – either power or
sail -- an opportunity to get out on the water.
Regrettably, we will not have our traditional raft up after
the Blessing of the Fleet. I am looking forward to
seeing each of you out there.
Be safe, healthy, and always
remember to have fun.
Larry Bryant,
S/V Whisper
Photos by Jay Seeley
From the Editor:
Paul Loschiavo
If you missed the January zoom meeting, you missed a good one. We had
Steve and Doris Colgate as our guest speakers. They currently own and run
the Offshore Sailing School with six locations in Florida and the Caribbean.
Steve is also an extremely accomplished sailor, having competed in the Olympics and numerous
open ocean races around the planet during his sixty-year career.
One of the things they talked about that garnered a fair amount of interest was the “Flotillas’ they
run. Basically, you sign on with the OSS and go on a group cruise in an exotic place. It turns out
that SLSC members Lynn Morgan, Laura Kay Darville, Diana Dean, Barbara Goldberg, and
Wayne Jung have been on an OSS Flotilla in Croatia. Lynn put together a great piece about their
trip. It’s in this Log.
I suspect that, once this crazy virus has stopped dominating us, club members will be signing onto
one of the Colgate’s Flotillas. Jill and I are definitely looking at it.
Speaking of the virus... among other events canceled, we missed the Commodore’s Ball. One of
the highlights of the Ball is normally the presentation of Club Awards. Asta Poirier, who normally
coordinates the Ball and the awards, put together a write up of this year’s Boat of the Year and the
Corinthian Racing and Membership Awards. The recipient’s names are in the Log! (You didn’t
think I’d spill the beans, did you?)
If you read The Log regularly, you’d think that all we do is race!
Ummmmm. Not necessarily. Many of the boats in the club are cruisers first,
that the owners use for races. It wasn’t that long ago that seven cruisers from
SLSC set out for the Bahamas together and had a great time. If... you are a
cruiser, you’ve most likely heard of and might even regularly read the magazine
Latitudes and Attitudes. For the February general meeting, we are lucky to have
Bob Bitchin, Publisher of Latitudes and Attitudes as guest speaker. This is
another meeting not to miss!
If you do the Saturday races on the North Fork, you normally see numerous cruiser type boats
battling it out for bragging rights. If you hang around, you will then see the Sonars come out and do
their “one design” racing. I’ve sailed aboard them. A
Sonar is a great, fun boat. This month, former Commodore
Dave Ottaviani tells us about the Sonar.
If you’d like some info about a Colgate Flotilla, just go
to offshoresailingschool.com. Once there, click on
“flotillas.” (Last month, I... um... spelled the website
wrong...)
Photo by Jay Seeley
It’s not all racing!
SLSC Upcoming Events
“On the Radar Screen”
Stuff happens: check your emails
Feb 1 Club Meeting photos by Jay Seeley
Feb 6 Six Pack Race
Feb 13 Blessing of the Fleet
Feb 16 Bridge Meeting
Feb 20 Don Ellis Regatta
Mar 1 Club Meeting
Mar 6 Six Pack Race
Mar 16 Bridge Meeting
Mar 20 Sweetheart Regatta
Mar 27 ? - Picnic at the Locks - Chili Cook-off - ?
Social Scuttlebutt
Linda Magda, Social Captain
Still….. On hold,
but
getting
close!
Special Guest Speaker
at the Club General Meeting Monday:
Bob Bitchin
Publisher of Latitudes and Attitudes
Free subscription for club members!
https://bit.ly/2RrK7UG
Sail Mart
To advertise, send pictures and a Word
doc to slsc.log.editor@gmail.com.
Anything of a nautical nature is fine, as
are nice “public service announcements.”
If you have an ad one month and
want to run it again, send an email to
SLSC.log.editor@gmail.com!
Coral is looking for her new best friend… could
it be you? This beautiful girl is a Hound mix,
and is just over a year old. She loves to play,
and run around the yard,
especially with her foster
sisters. After playtime, she
enjoys a nice nap on the couch! Coral is very sweet and loving, is house
trained, and is just looking for that special someone. Fill out an application
today at www.allforonepetrescue.org
Racing Scuttlebutt
Mike Brescher, Race Captain
The Herb Carey / Chuck Reade Regatta was
sailed on January 9, 2021 in the North Fork of the
St. Lucie River. We had a good nine boat turnout
and great winter weather with clear skies for sail-
ing. It was the coldest temperature (60 degrees!)
that they have raced in many years. The wind
started out Northwest at ten knots and lightened up as they sailed. The
fleet spread out except for Wild Rice and My Weigh constantly changing
positions and finally finishing just twelve seconds apart. It was another
great day to be out on the River.
Finish positions and times:
1st Whisper Larry Bryant 1:34:25
2nd Last Word Darren Kirkland 1:36:40
3rd Wild Rice Asta Poirier and
Richard Rice 1:43:08
4th My Weigh Jack Molinelli 1:43:20
5th Shoo Fly Steve Pickuet 1:45:02
6th Sloop John BMike Diamond 1:51:50
7th Freedom Carolyn Zytaruk 1:53:10
8th Angelina Orlando Milan RAG
9th Lily Grace Jacques Marzi DNF
Six Pack Racing!
Mike Diamond
Great turnout on a beautiful, windy day!
Order of finish:
1st WHISPER Larry Bryant 1:15:54
2nd LAST WORD Darren Kirkland 1:17:07
3rd MY WEIGH Jack Molinelli 1:19:25
4th SHOO FLY Steve Pickuet 1:19:40
5th WILD RICE Richard Rice 1:22:57
6th SAILSMAN Jesse Jagoda 1:23:06
7th FREEDOM Carolyn Zytaruk 1:23:08
8th ANGELINA Orlando Milan 1:26:20
9th WILLIAM BLIGH Mike Mattin 1:31:25
10th LILY GRACE Jacques Marzi 1:42:05
Only four of ten boats were using the raceQs app so the
replay was a little misleading.
Next Six Pack Series Race is scheduled for February 6th.
Photo by Jay Seeley. Actually from the
Herb Carey, but a great shot of the
instigator of the Six Pack Series!
Sailing in Croa�a with the Colgate Offshore Cruising Club
Five members of SLSC have par�cipated in Steve and Doris Colgate’s sailing courses and their Offshore Cruis‐
ing Club’s flo�lla in Croa�a, and we wanted to share our experiences with other members of the Club.
Lynn Morgan took the Colgate Cruising Course in the BVIs so many years ago that she cannot remember
when it was, but it was great. The opportunity to sail in Croa�a was more than a tempta�on, especially since
she had never been to Croa�a. Her flo�lla experience was in 2016.
In 2019, LauraKay Darvill, Barbara Goldberg and Diana Dean also did a different version of this trip, which
was 2 weeks from Split to Dubrovnik and then back, stopping different places on each leg of the trip. Barbara
and LauraKay flew into Zagreb and spent a really fascina�ng 3 nights there and then took a bus tour which
took them through Plitvice Na�onal Park and ended up in Split . Wayne Jung joined them for one of the
weeks.
Lynn’s 2016 Trip
My trip began with a few days in Dubrovnik exploring the Adria�c
Coast. Dubrovnik dates to about the 7th Century as a part of the
Byzan�ne Empire. It has a fascina�ng history including a recent
War of Independence, much of the remains of which can s�ll be
seen in the city. Its main tourist a�rac�on is the huge fort and the
old port area. I stayed in a nice hotel on the north side in the Lapad
area. I took a bus each day into old town. I oriented myself by tak‐
ing a walk all around the old city atop the walls of the fort. One
day, I went kayaking around a nearby island -- Lokrum. Kayaked
right up to a huge, anchored yacht, supposedly owned by the Sultan
of Brunei – and then some snorkeling in a secluded cove. I was not impressed with the snorkeling. The wa‐
ter is clear, but the bo�om is rocky and the fish are not very colorful. We are spoiled.
On the next day, I joined some others in a van for a day trip south to
Montenegro. Traveling along the coast, we had beau�ful views looking
down and back to the old town area and all along the coast. I had a
grand total of about 15 minutes passing through Bosnia and Herze‐
govina on the way. We stopped in Kotor, a beau�ful town on the Bay
of Kotor, where we took a boat to a �ny picturesque island in the mid‐
dle of the bay.
The sailing begins…
The next day, I traveled to the ACI Marina to meet my
fellow sailors and board our new Sunsail 41
“Madrigal” (one of about 6) to be briefed on our i�n‐
erary over dinner. The Sunsail 41 has 3 cabins and 2
heads with 4 people, a twin steering wheel and a spa‐
cious cockpit. There were 4 people on each boat in 3
cabins (leader’s boat was larger with 6-8 people).
Great cockpit!
The next morning, we sailed from Dubrovnik under the impressive
Franjo Tudman Bridge to Okuklje on Mljet Island. At each port, we
moored or backed into the town quay, explored the area and ate at
local restaurants. Some�mes we cooked and enjoyed great meals
on the boat, both while under sail and while moored/docked. Day 2
we sailed around the island to Pomena, where we walked to a
nearby beach and kayaked around a lake.
Day 3 we sailed to Korcula Town on the island of
Korcula – probably the largest port we visited while
sailing. Each day we sailed the lovely breezy waters
of the Adria�c Sea to various islands finishing with a
visit to the port of Slano on the mainland, before
sailing back under the Tudman Bridge. We had
many social ac�vi�es along the way, including a
cocktail contest (Madrigal won!). Each island was a
glimpse into the lives and culture of the Croa�ans
and their beau�ful country. The sailing was fantas�c
every day, and we had beau�ful weather the whole
�me.
A�er our farewells, I took a bus to Split, north of Dubrovnik. This is
another fascina�ng city, completely different from Dubrovnik, but
every bit as interes�ng if not more so. Split is built around Diocle‐
�an’s Palace, the summer home of a Roman Emperor. Today, the
Palace is a catacomb of vendor markets and architectural and
sculptural re‐
mains. I actually
liked Split more
than Dubrovnik. I spent several days there, where I
did an electric bike tour of the surrounding area (a
must because of the hills surrounding the city). I took
a guided food tour, which was great because I was
the only person on the tour, and my guide was an ar‐
chaeologist who gave me a fabulous look at the city
and its food and wine! On another day, I visited the
island of Trogir, also a fascina�ng place.
I also took a day trip to Plitvice Lakes Na�onal Park, which is a few hours
inland, but well worth the trip – not to be missed! It was one of the
most beau�ful places I have been, with 16 terraced lakes and 90 water‐
falls. There are trails all around the lakes, and it took us several hours to
do the walk. It was very foggy that day, but s�ll gorgeous.
I took a bus back to Dubrovnik and spent one night in a �ny but fancy
hotel in old town with a spectacular roo�op restaurant where I had a
wonderful dinner and breakfast before heading to the airport. On hind‐
sight, I should have flown home from Split. This was one of the best
trips I have ever done. I would highly recommend it. By the way, ladies,
I went on this trip alone, and I had a great �me!
Laura Kay, Barbara and Diana’s 2019 Trip (by Laura Kay)
In the fall of 2019, Barbara Goldberg and I flew to Zagreb, Croa�a. We spent 3 deligh�ul
days in this fascina�ng city seeing things such as the Museum of Broken Rela�onships, The
WW II tunnels, and ea�ng in marvelous outdoor restaurants. We then boarded a bus for a
tour of the Plitvice Lakes (where we walked about 8 miles looking at waterfalls) and ending
up about 9 pm in the town of Split. There we spent a night
town inside The Diocle�an’s Palace. Our “hotel” had 3 rooms
and stone walls. The Palace was “jumping” with a market
place, music, shops and restaurants. It was truly awesome!
The next day, we took a taxi to the harbor where we met the other members of
our four boat flo�lla. Our leaders, Heather and Nate, were fabulous. They were
very knowledgeable, helpful and skilled sailors. We also met two other mem‐
bers of our St. Lucie Sailing Club there; Diana Dean and Wayne Jung. Barbara, Diana and I had signed up for 2
weeks while Wayne was only with us for the first week of the trip.
The first week, Barbara and I were on a boat with four other sailors. Our captain was a pilot in “real life”
and Barbara was our navigator. Both had been appointed by the Colgate Sailing School. Some of the inter‐
es�ng points about the trip were:
*We all cast off each morning at the same �me. We kept each other in sight, but each boat navigated the
course as they saw fit. Nate and Heather had given us advice regarding each leg and we all stopped at the
same area for lunch. And, of course, we all headed for the same port at night. Our boat elected to sail
whenever the condi�ons were favorable to do so.
*Most of the nights we pulled into small towns with li�le harbors. We �ed
up “Mediterranean” style which means backing in so as to be perpendicular
to the pier or dock. There is usually almost no space between the boats and
no pilings to �e your lines around. It can be extremely tricky in any circum‐
stances, and with a strong �de, current or wind, it takes a skillful skipper. I
was happy to just toss the lines to the people on the dock. A�er docking, we
enjoyed deligh�ul evenings exploring the charming towns and enjoying the
local food and people.
*Most of the lunch stops included an interes�ng place to swim and snorkel. The snor‐
keling was fun, but although there were not many fish or shells, we did see some red
starfish. I thought the most interes�ng lunch stop was when we swam into the
manmade tunnel for submarines which gave them a place to “hide” during the war.
*The boats were provisioned with way too much food for us to
eat during our cruise. It was very good, but most nights we did
wish to eat at local restaurants. To me, the most interes�ng
culinary experience was the variety of ways to eat octopus.
There were about 23 sailors in total, and we enjoyed some happy hours a�er docking
as well as meals together ashore. Some meals were coordinated for the en�re group
while other �mes we were on our own to meet up as we wished.
It was a truly deligh�ul and magical cruise. It was well planned with excellent lead‐
ers in Heather and Nate. They were very aware of the customs of the area and were
considerate of us all. And, they were also lots of fun. There were many great as‐
pects of the trip that are impossible to describe or include in this synopsis.
Barbara and I spent one night ashore a�er the two
weeks on the boat and then flew to Venice for four days.
Altogether, it was one of the best trips I have ever taken,
and I would certainly consider joining with other mem‐
bers of the St. Lucie Sailing Club for other trips through
the Colgate Sailing School.SLSC Annual Awards
Asta Poirier, Past Commodore
Each year, St. Lucie Sailing Club honors individuals who have gone
beyond the call in their participation in the club events. For the year
2020, Darren Kirkland has not only participated in our weekly races,
but has demonstrated true
sportsmanship, and in the process, has brought new members to our
club.
2020 Boat of the Year -- Last Word -- Darren Kirkland
The St. Lucie Sailing Club is privileged to have individuals who go beyond the call to
benefit our club. To honor them, the Bridge designates these
individuals for the Corinthian Spirit Awards.
The Corinthian Spirit Racing Award is presented annually to the boat
captain who best exemplifies the spirit of racing. The 2020 recipient is
Jack Molinelli who introduced and implemented the RaceQ app
program so all members can tune in and watch the races live. Thank
you so much Jack!
2020 Corinthian Spirit Racing Award -- Jack Molinelli
The Corinthian Spirit Award for Membership is presented
each year to the club member or members who, in the opin-
ion of the Bridge, has contributed the most in the way of
spirit and enthusiasm to the club during the past year. The
2020 recipients are Jay and Annie Seeley, whose wonderful
photographs are documentation of our club activities posted
on the website, in the Log, and Facebook for all to enjoy.
Thank you, Jay and Annie!
2020 Corinthian Spirit Award for Membership
Jay and Annie Seeley
Because of COVID-19 pandemic, no cruises were scheduled during 2020, so the Spirit Award for
Cruising will hopefully be awarded next year.Boat Review: Sonar
Dave Ottaviani, Past Commodore 2005
Fun with Sonars! Fleet 36 Stuart FL -- A long history with the St. Lucie Sailing Club
The Sonar was designed by Bruce Kirby as an open-cockpit design for day sailing.
It quickly caught on as a club racer and was an Olympic class boat for many years
until very recently. It is still a Paralympic class boat and used for physically
challenged individuals the world-wide.
It’s known for its agility and ease of sailing. Also, the cockpit is very comfortable
for the crew of four for racing or cruising for six.
The Sonar and the St. Lucie Sailing Club have a long-intertwined history. Former
SLSC members and Sonar sailors include Chester Brennault, Ed Klebaur, Don
Amel, Dennis Herretick, Chuck Perna, Bill Baxter, Eric Oster, Steve Garret,
and a few others I probably have forgotten and to whom I apologize. I believe I
started sailing Sonars with Don Amell, I have sailed with all the other Sonar owners
mentioned here with the exception of Chester, but the longest was with Bill Baxter. Bill and I sailed for over fifteen
years together and he just stopped this year. We still hope to get him out later in the year for a race or two. He and I
purchased and brought to Stuart almost every hull that sails here over the years and sold them very inexpensively to
prospective owners who wanted to sail with us.
Bill is a prolific promoter of the Sonar Fleet 36 here in
Stuart. It was his idea years ago to race windward/leeward
races in the North Fork with rabbit starts, and invited others
to join him. These races started to conflict with the beer can
races after the beer can start time changed again and with
some regret, we stopped sailing the beer can and just did our
windward/leeward races.
You can see a Sonar race every Saturday at approximately
1:00pm on the North Fork, generally in the area of Coconut
Point or west of there. We invite anyone who wishes to race
to join us. We could make arrangements for you to crew or
borrow a boat to sail, and we have leads on a few that can be
purchased. We would love to have more boats out there. If
the beer can races ever move back to later in the afternoon,
we would love to participate after our windward leeward
races are completed.
For more info on the Sonar Fleet 36, contact Dave Ottaviani
at 772-263-3925 or dwottavian@hotmail.com. I’ve been a
member of the St. Lucie Sailing Club since 1997 (I lost
track… ha ha)
Sail fast!!
Specs of the Sonar
LOA: 23’0″ – 7.0m DISP: 2100lb – 950kg
LWL: 19’11” – 6.1m BALLAST: 900lb – 408kg
BEAM: 7’10” – 2.4m MAIN & JIB: 250 sq.ft – 23.2 sq.m
DRAFT: 3’11” – 1.2m SPIN: 245 sq.ft – 22.8 sq.mSLSC 2021 Bridge
Bridge
Commodore Larry Bryant
Vice Commodore James Arthur
Rear Commodore Kevin Kirwin
Treasurer Debbie Arthur
Secretary Carolyn
Zytaruk-
Dugger
Fleet Captain Tom Mestrits
Race Captain Mike Brescher
Social Captain Linda Magda
Directors
Director-The Log Paul Loschiavo
Director-Ship’s Store Katherine Neurohr &
Marilyn Chryst
Director -Web Master Jim Haley &
Adrienne Jalowsky
Director - Facebook & Publicity Lynn Morgan
Past Commodore Joe Sawyer
Committee Chairs
Refreshments Joanne Swann Photos by Jay Seeley
Roster & Special Events Asta Poirier Our Photo Editor, Karen Twiss,
Race Handicapper Mike Brescher sneaks into one!
Liaison US Sailing Center Diana Dean
Port Salerno Seafood Festival Mynders Glover & Tom MestritsYou can also read
