July Arrives with a Quick Start

First up, for racers there is a Seminar session planned on rules and tactics on Sunday 5 July. Club Manager Rogier Intres, veteran of international competitions, will have some points on the short courses we run and be ready to answer any questions. Come prepared with situations and rules you want clarified. Note, for those kept up by fireworks and hot dogs, the session has been moved to 1000. At the lightship.

Results for the Spring Racing Series are almost in. Consulting the score sheets - now posted on the racing page - we can congratulate Pat Lay, Marco Goehns, Tom Ehling, Verena Detmers and Mike Connell. Final standings will be announced, and awards presented, at the Full Moon Sail and Party, Friday 10 July. Come on out for an evening sail, 1830, and come raise a beer to the racing program at the party on the lightship after.

Join the racers on the water on Sunday 12 July at 0900 for the first Winner's Regatta. It's an experimental format dreamed up by Race Committee leader Mark Mongold: the racers on the leader board (see above) will each skipper a boat, choosing crew on the dock. It's a great opportunity to get introduced to racing - on a boat with a proven winner. More people, more fun.

As always, please sign up here for all events and watch those pages for changes.

Racing Results are now posted!

The 2009 racing results are now posted in the racing section. The Sunday Part I winners have been determined, but there are still to Wednesday nights remaining in Part I, so all racers should get out there next Wednesday!

Late May - Early June

We are looking forward to the trip to Staten Island on Sunday 31 May, with four boats fully signed up. We should be off the dock by 0830 to work the currents. Meet at 0800 for charts and briefing. We sail to Richmond County Yacht Club for lunch and return in late afternoon. Don't forget water and sunscreen, a hat and extra clothes. Following close behind, the Full Moon Party on Friday 5 June. Sail 1830 to sunset, and meet on the Lightship for Moonrise and barbeque. Sign up is open now. Pack your cameras as it will be an excellent chance for historic ship watching as the River Day flagships and others gather in the harbor.

In case you haven't noticed, there are celebrations this year commemorating the 400th Anniversary of the arrival of Henry Hudson - River Day is Saturday 6 June. There is a flotilla sail planned up the Hudson Valley, starting at the Statue at 0900 and parading north. Flagships include historic sloops and replicas: Clearwater, Mystic, Woody, Half Moon, Onrust, Harvey, and Cleveland. For more visit www.exploreny400.com .

Racing Season starts Sunday May 10

Attention all racers!

We have many exciting changes in the racing program this year to make things more organized and professional. We will be using more official racing signal flags to communicate. We have a different line up of the racing series and a few new variations on stand alone regattas. We will also have prizes to award to the series winners. There is a full set of racing Sailing Instructions posted on our racing page. All racers are urged to take a look at these before you race. Visit the racing pages for more details.

As always, please sign up at Around the Harbor

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Safety and Navigation Notes

Tom Ehling, who prepares the tide and current prediction charts found on the web site Navigation Page each week, brings this to our attention:
Several buoys in the harbor have been renumbered and/or added. For instance what were G’31’ (off Ellis Island) and G’29’ (off the Statue of Liberty) are now G’35’ and G’33’ respectively. If you rely on the buoys to get around the harbor, you should get a new chart.

Tom also sent these notes from Coast Guard Notice to Mariners:

NY / NJ - OPERATION CLEAR CHANNEL IN THE PORT OF NY/NJ The "Operation Clear Channel" program is designed to educate boaters about the hazards of navigating small vessels and personal water craft in the confines of the narrow navigational channels used by larger commercial ships that enter and depart the various ports in New York Harbor. The federal navigation rules, also known as "Rules of the Road", address this safety concern by giving commercial vessels priority, or right-of-way, over smaller vessels when navigating in narrow channels. 33 U.S. Code 2072 provides for $5,000 penalties for each violation for which penalty the vessel may be seized.

Every day an average of 1,400 commercial vessels navigate the waters of the Port of NY/NJ. The masters of these vessels, while always on the lookout, cannot always see smaller vessels when they cross the channels. For safety reasons, recreational boating activities should always be conducted at a safe distance away from navigation channels. Boaters should keep a sharp lookout for other vessels and always be prepared to give way to ships constrained in their ability to maneuver when transiting within close proximity to a channel. Mariners interested in increasing their knowledge of boating safety, including the Rules of the Road, should consider a Coast Guard Auxiliary boating safety course. Course information is available online at http://www.cgaux.org in the “Take a Boating Course” section, or by calling 1-800-336-BOAT. Further information regarding Operation Clear Channel can be found at http://homeport.uscg.mil/newyork > Waterways Management > 10. Recreational Boating Information and Internet Links.

NY / NJ - PORT OF NEW YORK 50- DEEPENING PROJECT The Federal Channels of the Port of NY/NJ are undergoing long term, extensive dredging. Many Aids to Navigation will be relocated and/or established during this dredging project. For additional information concerning Aids to Navigation, dredging operations, and channel restrictions see http://homeport.uscg.mil/newyork > Waterways Management > 03. Port of NY/NJ 50' Deepening Project or contact Vessel Traffic Service New York via VHF-FM CH 11 or (718) 354-4088.



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Offshore Sailing Club Member Advsory Committee Comodore: Pay Lay Vice Comodore: Michael Connell Racing Chairperson: Mark Mongold Events Chairperson: Bonnie Urbanski Communication Chairperson: Margot Jacqz

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