ASC Winter Work Party 07

Thanks to all the members who showed up for

Winter Work Party 07

All the boats, buildings, trailers, and RV's were shoveled off in one afternoon.

Nice job ASC!!! (Alaska Snow Club)

Jeromy and crew work on the sauna roof with lots

of supervision from the ground crew

Paul and Jay did an awesome job cleaning off the clubhouse roof.

TL, Teri, Jeromy, Jay, Melissa, and the rest of the shoveling crew stopped by the cabin to warm up and have a bite to eat.

Thanks again everyone for coming up and enjoying the sailing club during the winter.

New Year’s Day 2007 at the ASC (Alaska Snowmachine Club)

With the all the fresh December snow we’ve had, Taylor and I decided to dust off the old snow machine the day before New Year’s Eve and prepare for some fun on the lake. First this meant we had to carefully remove the 4 foot mound of snow blower discharge from the snow machine and shovel out the trailer.

Of course the sled’s track was also frozen to the ground (poor storage technique Dad – it should be up on blocks!) which required quite a bit of time on hands and knees chipping and prying the beast loose. With that done, it fired up after a dozen pulls and gradually warmed up. I promptly decided to do a test run across the backyard and managed to get stuck – excellent recurrent training for getting unstuck!

Then it’s load the sled onto the trailer and roll it into the garage for a thaw and pre-ride inspection and service. Everything checked good, so with the fuel and oil topped off the trusty 1991 Skidoo Scandic II was ready to churn up some powder.

Early New Year’s Eve we went to the Fire and Ice New Year’s Eve Celebration at the Town Square. It was a lot of fun but extremely cold at 5°F with a biting breeze the whole time. Later that evening we gathered our gear and welcomed in the New Year safe at home.

New Year’s morning was cloudy in Anchorage and about 16°F. The Big Lake forecast was for 12°F with light snow. By 11:00 AM we finally had everything loaded and hit the road. Then the snow began to fall again! The Glenn Highway was single lane, with white out conditions the whole way, so the drive to Big Lake took over 2 hours.

By Big Lake the snow had stopped and the sun was trying to break through the lower clouds. We pulled into the boat launch area at 1:00 PM. By 1:15 PM the sled was off the trailer and warming up. With “Cat Crap” (anti-fog) carefully applied to spectacles and helmet lenses, we suited up and charged across the lake.



With about 3 feet of snow to play in our sled surged ahead with each push on the throttle lever. The road system berms are perfect for a little aerial work, but with two aboard (“veteran” on the back) our workhorse sled is a little too harsh on landings for my taste and my back. We trade off for some solo riding and warm ups back at the Tahoe main base.




The sun comes out and wow, what a difference! It’s easy to forget that it’s 12°F out. There are perhaps a dozen other machines either riding the lake or transiting for access to the outstanding Big Lake trail system. We quickly take a cruise by the Islander. There aren’t any customers parked outside but it looks open with at least one person inside.



Zooming back across the lake at 60 MPH, we veer off the main trails to try some banked turns in the deep powder around the club’s harbor and stop for a couple of photos. Everything looks ok at the club site but all the boats and trailers could use a good snow cleaning.




1/7/07 Update
We rode at Big Lake again and stopped by to shovel off the RL. It looked a little precarious, with a slight list to starboard.

After a late lunch and warm up break we did some more runs and Taylor really enjoyed testing the top speed limits of the Skidoo.

By 4:00 PM the sun was setting and casting a pinkish hue across the snow. It was a great end to a great day. Time to load up the sled, secure for trailering and head back to Anchorage.

The LOVE BOAT --funny mishaps with BOATS

Jay found this one. Some are painfully familiar.

Blu and the Buoy

Keith and Judy will have to comment and provide the story behind these photos!

Keg House Rocks the ASC

From the dusty pages of The Sheet...
Keg House rocks the ASC at the 2004 Ice Breaker Regatta.
Whose that behind those Ray Bans?

Melissa and I went up to the Club on Sunday to see how the boats faired from all the high winds. Everything looked great. We also took a couple of pictures to post on the blog. I remember the other summer when we took a picture of the thermometer reading 90 degrees. It was 15 below on Sunday, and it is still November! Enjoy the pictures.

Jay

Ocean Racing

Some trans Atlantic, big cat racing footage. Looks like good work if you can get it. Enjoy.

Tech Help Seminar

Our first Tech Help Seminar was a success! We added more bloggers and Google Group members. It was a lot to cover in a short time, but I think everyone came away with new knowledge and the tools to practice with. We can explore more sessions like this in the future and target more specifics, if needed.



I’ll be sending invites to our Google Calendar to those that don’t already have them. This invitation will allow you make event entries and edits on our private calendar, plus see all event details. If all you want to do is view the event time and date, you can ignore the invite and just use our web calendar (below on this November 2006 blog page and soon back on our website’s Library page).




Remember folks – you can’t hurt the blog or the group with a mistake.


Blog Tips:

Login at http://www.blogger.com/start to make a new posting on the blog.

Visit the blog at http://aksailclub.blogspot.com/ to read posts and make comments.

If you realize you’d like to edit or delete one of your previous postings - Login at http://www.blogger.com/start Click New Post - On the Posting Create page Click Edit Posts - Select Edit or Delete as needed.

Add these links to your browser Favorites for easy navigation the next time.

Review the Blog Help Files on our website’s Library page. Blogger offers Help links also.


Google Group Tips:

Visit the Google Group Help links.

Look for Google Groups Beta logo in the upper LH corner of the page. If you can’t see it, look for a Groups Beta link in the page header. This will let you use all the features, like Pages and Files, that were added with the Beta version.

Go to the Edit My Membership link and make your preferred choices for email notifications of group happenings. Be sure to set a nickname (first names work well) for other group members to see.

Edit My Membership options:

How do you want to read this group?

No Email
I will read this group on the web

Abridged Email (No more than 1 email per day)
Get a summary of new activity each day

Digest Email (Approximately 1 email per day)
Get up to 25 full new messages bundled into a single email

Email (Approximately 2 emails per day)
Send each message to me as it arrives

What nickname do you want people in this group to see?


Keep up those postings! The blog is our club’s living newsletter.

Blogging

Spring is just right around the corner so hang in there.

sail

505

attempting post

Thanks to Paul & Jody

We are leaping into the new technology. Thanks for your help & hospitality!

Learning

I am here for today, maybe not tomorrow.

Alaska Sailing Club - Web Calendar

A Fast, Wooden Catamaran?

Handy with woodworking? Want a cat? Check out these beauties at the 2006 Shark Nationals. There is some amazing craftsmanship on display here, as well as some great racing action photos. We need some shots like these from our racing series! A good, stable chase boat and a long lens is the key.

Stanford Sailing

Hi there. Just wanted to report back to the club that I am taking sailing at Stanford. Three hours once a week. We are in boats that remind me of the club's 2-person boats, with a main sail and a jib. We sail out of Stanford’s boathouse. We have had quite mild winds, easy to learn to sail in. Next week, we have to do the mandatory capsize....

I think I still love the Lasers the best. The Stanford racing team uses them here, but they aren't for the classes. Anyway, our season continues down here. I will know more when I come back. I will be able to rig boats much better. And tacking and jibing, lots of work on that. Basically, a lot of fun. I will be back next year when I return to Alaska. Thanks for note. Not sure I answered it in August, but wanted to again anyway, when I found it again. Take care!/ Kathleen

Posted for Kathleen by Paul

The Worrell 1000 (miles that is)

Worrell 1000...some history

Here's some older footage of this amazing race up the east coast of the US. The Worrell 1000 began in 1974 as a bar room bet and has been held 21 times since then.

Worrell 1000 Yacht Racing

For those of you who haven't heard of the Worrell 1000, here's a video clip all about it. Enjoy.

More Blog Help and Sailing Tips from the Pros

There's more new Blog Signup Help available on our website's Library page.

Rick White's Catsailor website offers loads of info for multihull sailors and their newsletter provides great tips for all sailors. Here's a sample:

Hi Sailor,Sailing/Boating Tips Newsletter gives you great, free tips about Sailing and Boating straight from the experts and Pros, i.e., from Master Captains to Olympic Medalists

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Which Tack to Take for Sailors
Stand by powerboaters, this is a dissertation on sailing. For both cruisers and racers you might want to consider which is the best tack to get to your destination; be it a marina, port or a windward racing mark. A good rule of thumb is keep the angle to the destination less than 45-degrees (assuming your boat can tack from port to starboard at 90-degrees.) To keep the angle less than 45-degrees you are keeping your bow toward the goal. Otherwise you are sailing away from the mark. There are other considerations, however. If there is a storm to the right side of your rhumb line course, you are better to head for the stormy area. Usually winds from that storm will give you more pressure and probably a better wind shift. If there is a persistent shift to the right, again you would forget the 45-degree-to-the-bow idea and head in the direction of the persistent shift, or go to the right side of the course. When the winds are simply oscillating, and if your boat tacks easily, use the 45-degree rule. Racers will get to the weather mark faster to win the race, and cruisers will get to port earlier for that cocktail you had been dreaming of.

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Subscribe Free to the Sailing/Boating Tips Newsletter and get hot tips about sailing, racing, cruising, etc. from the Professionals. Master Captains to Olympic Medalists. Improve your sailing and/or cruising skills. Special tips for racing sailors as well, plus much more. To subscribe use the following link:

http://www.catsailor.com/registration/newsletter.php

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For determining your headings for that windward mark (port) you cannot beat a GPS system. Many of them even have charts that show you exactly where you are, what your track is.., for example, are you really keeping the boat inside that 45-degree angle to the mark. And when you get to the point where you can tack and make the mark, a GPS will tell you that. The GPSs for on the road are also great, they vocally can tell you what lane to get in and when to turn -- you will never have to stop and ask directions again.

Well, the folks at http://www.onlinemarinestore.com/ have expanded their products and now have GPS products by Garmin, Magellan, Cobra and Navman, both for on the water and on the road (no more stopping for directions). Most are shipped immediately right to your door.., no more driving, parking and browsing through stores. Take a look at the many products they have at http://store.catsailor.com/tek9.asp?pg=products&grp=596 and toggle through 5 pages of GPSs. Also, Catsailor Magazine's Online Store has over 4000 items for all kinds of boating with most available for same or next day shipping. All a mouse-click away. Why drive across town, stand in lines, and probably still have to order an item when you can get it shipped right to your doorstep in a few days and never leave your home?

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Flathead Lake

How about some sailing at a place called Flathead Lake Montana? Some of our members may be able to comment on this posting.