Winter 2011 Squeegee - Sausalito Yacht Club

CRUISING
By the time you read this, there will be only
one cruise left on this year’s schedule. So
far, there have been eleven cruises in 2011
and the participants would all agree they
were good fun and filled with great laughs
and memories.
Just to briefly recap: January: we had 45 people on E-Cruz in
before dinner at Le Garage. The boat looked like a frat party as
Sharon and Stephanie poured champagne non-stop.February:
we took a budget-easing cruise to Tiburon and celebrated
a wedding and the Marsh’s 50 th wedding anniversary. How
special was that? March: Darryl and Ann LeDoux organized
a night of Sushi and Jazz at Yoshi’s in Jack London Square.
April: there was the famous Oyster and Lamb BBQ on Angel
Island. (The March and April events had 100 people in
attendance.) May was Captain Don Holden’s finest hour. We
dressed up for cocktails on Defiance followed by a roaring party
at the St. Francis Yacht Club. It got even better in June when
Bob Wilson captained the Cruise to South Beach to watch the
World Champion San Francisco Giants clobber the Colorado
Rockies. Then, Greg Fuller and Dave Borton organized the
Rear Commodore’s Race to Vallejo. The true purpose of this
event was to learn whether or not Ross Blanchard could actually
cook a steak. There was no consensus as to whether or not he
accomplished the task. July: As the weather turned warm, we
headed up to Benicia. There was so much fun on this cruise
that most of us never left the harbor to go into town. There
was a huge turnout of huge boats and we spent the weekend
visiting them. Captain Lawton experimented with perfecting
the Bloody Mary. The results of the experiments exceeded
expectations. The August trip was possibly the best of the year;
Neil Ransik organized the Cruise to Petaluma. The cruise up
the river was spectacular and the harbor in downtown Petaluma
was very cool, I mean warm. Well, it was both. The atmosphere
in Petaluma is much like the Med, without the 12-hour flight.
Friday night was dinner in town followed by Saturday dinner at
the Petaluma Yacht Club. It was at this event that we learned
that the City of Petaluma actually has its own Navy - apparently
there to protect the city from an invasion of Berkeley pirates.
After dinner, the Mayor and Commodore inducted Jim Gabbert
into the Petaluma Navy with the rank of Honorary Admirable.
Jim commented that this was the second greatest honor of his
life - there were 183 others tied for first. Things got serious
in September with the Cruise to Half Moon Bay, captained by
Randi Harry. Many made it a four-day weekend and again, it was
a lot of fun as can happen when 40 SYC members collide with
good food, beverage and atmosphere. The turnout reminded
Jeff Polick of years past when the boats were chock-a-block in
the marina at Encinal. This seemed to be a return to the good
ol’ days of SYC cruises. The Tinsley Island Cruise in October
was quite unique. Sixteen members attended the cruise at this
incredible oasis in the delta but not all arrived by the traditional
methods of boat or land cruising. Three SYC members made
a rather spectacular entrance when they arrived via a De
Havilland Beaver Seaplane. The Alaska bush pilot veteran
landed smoothly in the slough adjacent the island. A tender
was then dispatched to pick up the dignitaries. Quite a sight.
We will be adding some other elements to this Cruise in 2012
including entertainment so stay tuned. On November 19 we
are planning to visit the Berkeley Yacht club and enjoy a lobster
dinner—a lot cheaper than a trip to New England!
NOW, we have only one cruises left: Lighted Boats on
December 4. If you are one of the 400 participants to have been
on a cruise this year, please sign up for another round of fun
and great memories. If you have not cruised with SYC this year,
this is the time to jump in. They are fun occasions with plenty of
good food, drink, laughs and great memories. Sign up today on
the SYC website or contact Larry Moraes, Cruise Chair.
Special thanks to all the Cruise Captains of 2011 who made it a
great year!
Larry Moraes
Cruise Chair
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