April 26, 1999

The Commissioning Ceremony for our 12th season of sailing will be Wednesday, May 5 from 6 to 9 p.m. at our North Cove docks. The raising of the burgee and firing of the cannon will be around 7 p.m. Champagne Mumm & Perrier will be served. Tickets are $15 per person and will be charged to your club account when you arrive.

Sailing will begin the following day, May 6. Reservations will be taken in the office at (212) 786-3323. You can also stop by the docks in person. Racing will begin on May 11 & 12. The Fleet Captain program will begin on Saturday, May 15. Volunteer skippers will be needed so please let the office know if you can be a Fleet Captain skipper.

Club Skippers should remember that you must have a hand-held VHF radio with you when you take a boat sailing. Even if you are not a skipper, you should consider acquiring one. VHF radios are needed to request permission to depart and enter North Cove. They are also safety tools which allow you to contact the US Coast Guard and receive weather forecasts. You can now buy VHF radios online at www.westmarine.com and I encourage all members to invest in this tool.

This year, we will again have new mains and genoas thanks to the sponsorship of the New York Mercantile Exchange. This will be the third season in a row that NYMEX has been a sponsor of our club. Hats off to them! The new sails are being manufactured by Banks Sails and are scheduled to arrive for the first day of racing on May 11.

On Saturday, April 4, the Spring Launching was organized. It was beautiful spring weather and as the day progressed, more and more members showed up. By the end, it was the largest turnout ever. Almost 70 people were in the group picture and between 90 and 100 actually helped out during Spring Launching. Needless to say, a lot of painting and polishing got done. At the end of the work day, the Bar-B-Que was fired up and coolers opened. Jean Yves Noblet worked his magic over the grill while dressed in a florescent green jump suit which seemed to be radioactive. I think everyone there had a good time, I certainly did.

In disappointing news, the Hudson River Park Trust denied permission for our sailing barge to go to Pier 25. This was unexpected after our club had previously won the support of Community Board 1. While we may probably still keep a number of boats at Pier 25 this season, it may not be a good place for our club to expand long tern. Now we need to find where else in the harbor members would like to keep boats. Suggestions from members would be appreciated.

Finally, I wish to touch on the issue of boating and alcohol. While many members enjoy socializing at the club bar after sailing, consuming alcohol before or while boating is not a prudent thing to do. It is well documented that most boating accidents involve alcohol. Just like driving a car, operators of boats have a responsibility to their passengers and other people on the water. I hope the level of responsibility and restraint with regards to alcohol will increase again this summer.

It appears we have a fine season of sailing ahead of us. Many foreign clubs are scheduled to come race on the sandbaggers. You can see the latest schedule on our club website at www.myc.org. I hope by the first day of sailing that our J/24s will all be in top condition again. New red mainsheets have just been put on every J/24. We will also be upgrading the halyards on half the fleet. Now we just need the weather to cooperate so we can enjoy those beautiful summer days of sailing in the harbor. I look forward to passing you on the water.

 Sincerely, Michael W. Fortenbaugh, Commodore