WAUKEELOG Waukegan Sail & Power Squadron, a Unit of the United States Power Squadrons ® District 20 Promoting Safe Sail and Power Boating

Published Six Times per Year http://www.wspsboating.org/

Au

g-S

ept

2

01

2

Coming Events Simmons Island Beach Party

29 July

11-12 August Milwaukee Air Water Show

14 August Excom 1900

17-19 Racine Cruise

Cardboard Boat Regatta, & Luau

18 August Chicago Air & Water

Show

26 August Pancake Breakfast 0830 Waukegan Patio

4-9 September Governing

Board

8 September OldTimers/New Comers BBQ

10 September AP Starts 1900

COMMANDERS COMMENTS

CDR JEFF GELTZ, JN

This years' Lake Michigan sailing races prove that our core mission of boating safely is still the key to smooth sailing. Over the last month, the Queens cup, Hook and Mac races were all conducted without incident. Since last year's Mac tragedy where two sailors were lost during the race, safety played a pivotal role on the races conducted this year. New Mac race rules included a requirement that each crew member carry "a knife, fixed blade or, if folding, able to be opened with one hand, to be attached to or carried on each crew member at all times when on deck. The Personal Safety Knife must be readily accessible at all times including while wearing foul weather gear and PFD/Harnesses". Clearly this is intended to address the fact that the two casualties in last year's race were found attached to their harnesses under their overturned boat. Also now required are GPIRB or personal locator beacons for each crew member. The rules also stipulate ongoing boating safety education requirements for crew members as well as minimum boat stability criteria and safety inspections before and after the race. The results are clear. While the Mac boats experienced doldrums along the Manitou Passage, they finished in grand style with 60 of the 326 boats flying under spinnaker across the finish line. The race committee also reported one of the tightest packs in quite some time with 75% of the boats finishing within 12 hours of each other. Congratulations to all of our members who participated in the race including Sheldon Wecker and Dale Arnold. Meanwhile, other squadron members such as Jim Moran, Terry Hartl, Mike Ludtke and George Krzaczynski participated in the Hook race which also saw good weather and upgraded safety rules. The Hook rules were formalized this year with updated tether and knife requirements similar to those issued for the Mac race. Each skipper was required to sign a document detailing three pages of safety equipment and requirements for their boat. In talking with Hook participants they had great wind and a race without serious incident. Alas, while the race committees and seasoned sailors "get it" I am still horrified when I look out my cockpit at the dock to see boat owners with overpacked boats who have clearly indulged in adult beverages applying way too much throttle in high winds creating a menace to themselves and others. We finished out Waukegan Yacht Club seminar series with over two months of sessions ranging from Partner in Command to boat docking techniques to the use of Marine Radar. Thanks to all the instructors who volunteered their time and talents to the series. As always, keep an eye on Sean's calendar on the web site for upcoming social events, cruises and educational opportunities. Enjoy the rest of your summer safely!

Jeff

In this Issue… Commanders Notes SEO Comments XO Comments AO Comments Birthdays N candidates pass test Racine Cruise Cool Web Sites The Green Flash is Real A Close Call Kick Cancer’s Ass!!! Rower New Racine Light Beach Party Pics Barbecue September 8

WSPS Officers Commander Cdr. Jeffrey Geltz JN 847-433-0288 commander@wspsboating.org Executive Officer Lt/C Robert Sloat JN 847-968-4505 xo@wspsboating.org Educational Officer Lt/C Betti Mors, AP 847-872-2855 education@wspsboating.org Administrative Officer Lt/C Sean Sullivan 847-226-6850 admin@wspsboating.org Treasurer Lt/C Tenney Ford S 262-222-3083 illinoiscarbide@sbcglobal.net Secretary Lt/C Elisabeth A. Geltz, JN 847-433-0288 secretary@wspsboating.org Waukeelog Editor Lt Bob Kunath, JN 847-540-8175 bobkunath@gmail.com

Member Classes • Public Classes ABC began 6/7/12 with 27 students enrolled who

just took their final exam, test results are pending. • ABC fall class will begin September 20th, 2012. Once the students

pass the ABC class, they will get six months free USPS membership as a promotional offer.

• Navigation – Instructor Paul Green and Proctored by Keith Baldwin. Began March 7, 2012 on Wednesday s at Brunswick. 7 Students registered, 7 passed exam, two submitted sights.

• Piloting – Instructors Tom Parkinson & Tenney Ford. Class began April 5th, 2012 Thursdays s at Brunswick. 4 students completed, test results pending

Seminars

• Weather Forecast at WHYC Friday June 1st @ 8pm presented by George Krzaczynski. 12 attended.

• June 3rd VSC/ Knots, Bend & Hitches Seminar presented by Mike Ludtke & Betti Mors. 12 attended which 2 where non-members and sold 2 kits.

• June 10th Fuel & Boating with Dave Sallmann seminar was cancelled due to no attendance, only 4 staff wsps members. Sold 1 kit

• June 17th Emergencies on Board with John Josko. 5 attended. • June 24th Partner in Command with Lynn & Herb Strauss. 10

attended and sold 2 kits. • July 1st Using VHF & DSC Marine Radio with Bob Sloat. Seminar

was cancelled due to no attendance. • July 8th Mastering the Rules of the Road with Tenney Ford.

Seminar was cancelled due to no attendance. • July 15th Power Boat Handling with Betti & Seaby. May be the last

seminar for the 2012 summer pending attendance. • July 22nd Marine Radar with guest speaker Rex Miller. This

seminar is pending the attendance of July 15th. Other Items

• Tom Parkinson is organizing a sailing cruise in effort to introduce local Scouts to Lake Michigan. Sea Scout Ship 946 sponsored by the Winthrop Harbor Yacht Club, and Rick Scott (WHYC board member) is volunteering his 47 foot sailboat August 11for any extra overhead wanting to partake in this cruise; weather dependent.

• Tom Parkinson is also giving classes every Wednesday at North Point Marina and then taking them out sailing as the hands on. This class follows the 4H "SPIN" principle of 6 weeks of a special activity that existing 4H members can join. We use USPS ABC and other materials.

• WHYC has included WSPS flyers for educational classes and seminars in their monthly newsletter “The Dock Lines” and in the WHYC member’s e-mail blast called the Way Points.

Betti

EDUCATION OFFICER Lt/C BETTI MORS, AP

Congratulations Navigation (N) candidates who have passed the exam: Helen Green Mary Ann Hartl Terry Hartl Bob Kunath Robert Dick Robert Sloat Sheldon Wecker Instructor: P/C Paul Green SN Proctor:P/D/N Keith Baldwin SN

Cool Web Sites USPS Member Discounts www.usps.org/national/admin_dept/membenefits.htm Get discounts on stuff! District 20 Squadron Activities www.uspsd20.org/CalendarOfEvents/SQ_Activities.htm Weather – All NOAA Stuff www.weather.gov Real Time Buoy Data www.ndbc.noaa.gov/ Free Electronic Charts www.nauticalcharts.noaa.gov/ Wind/WaveProjections www.windmapper.com www.passageweather.com

EXECUTIVE OFFICER Lt/C ROBERT SLOAT, JN

Boating is Mostly Non -Political Maybe it’s the oppressive heat that has influenced my thinking lately, but with the approach of a national election around the time all our vessels are on the tarmac, I relish boating as a pastime, even more with its relative absence of politics when out on the water. If I am out solo that’s a given. If friends or family are on board, the practicalities of not able to walk away from a political argument on a boat of less than 100 feet long seem to rule. The assumption is we are out for a relaxing day on the water away from any real controversy. Some souls, even when on the water, might rock the boat by arguing when someone says “2 – 2 = 0” or something like “Spending more than you make doesn’t work, even as a boater.” Why argue with the poor soul rocking the boat. When the economy tanks and discretionary income get leaner, fewer boats are launched and the harbors on our lake get less crowded. When you get to port, just have that poor soul look around the less crowded harbor and hopefully no debate will follow. Boaters generally don’t use the terms right and left very much, but instead use starboard and port. It is not likely we ever be crowing about those port-wing big-time government spenders or complaining about those strange starboard-wingers who just want to be left alone by the government. On returning to port with idle time on our hands the terms socialism, liberal, conservative and unsustainable debt come up on occasion with dock-mates. Only a few of the debaters end up in the drink and most without PFDs on and if not self-sufficient or poor swimmers, are often rescued, even by the debaters on the other side. Hopefully, we all celebrated the 4th of July not as a political event, but as a celebration honoring of the founding of our country. The Declaration of Independence comes up a lot over the 4th with people talking some of its more interesting passages involving self-evident truths that all men are created equal and endowed with certain unalienable Rights. And that governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed. This means we all have some rights from the get-go including Life, Liberty and pursuit of Happiness. Government does not give us these rights. It only protects them for us. That is a truth that starboard-wing folks talk about while the port-wing folks run from. Also, pursuing happiness is different from getting there. (For many of us a bigger boat is happiness so we pursue it and if we don’t get there we don’t say we have a right to the bigger boat!) Continued 5 pages down…..

HAPPY BIRTHDAY Ashley Koziol Aug 2 Al Richter Aug 3 John Bucher Aug 8 Kathy Le Vine Aug 9 Caroll McIntosh Aug 10 Stephanie Reist Aug 10 Donna VanSteenhuyse Aug 12 Essie Shaw Woods Aug 21 Ed Fugelseth Aug 24 Bob Kunath Aug 27 Anne Miller Aug 30 Tenney Ford III Aug 31 Nicholas Kinnas Aug 31 Wallis Jean Sloat Sept 2 Jeanne Goldman Sept 3 Jack Orlov Sept 4 Daisy Rannochio Sept 7 Linda Madore Sept 12 Marcie Sallmann Sept 12 Fred Suhr Sept 16 Thomas McIntosh Sept 18 Paul Green Sept 19 Roger Ketcham Sept 19 Lynn Strauss Sept 20

The oldest boating education organization is the Un ited States Power Squadrons which is about to celebrate it one hundredth

anniversary year. As its members remind us: “Boatin g is fun…We’ll sho w you how!”

ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER Lt/C SEAN SULLIVAN

Smokin’ J starts the RYC Hook Race With Captain Mike Ludtke, Crew Seaby Bess, Terry Hartl, Sean Sullivan

Captain Jerzy Krzaczynski and crew Sue Lutz drive Blush across start line of the RYC Hook Race

RACINRACINRACINRACINE CRUISEE CRUISEE CRUISEE CRUISE

REEFPOINT MARINA 17REEFPOINT MARINA 17REEFPOINT MARINA 17REEFPOINT MARINA 17----19 AUGUST19 AUGUST19 AUGUST19 AUGUST WSPS is cruising to Racine, Wisconsin the weekend of Friday 17 to Sunday 19 August. The Reefpoint staff has pledged to make every effort to put our boats together in slips in the West docks ….or… you can tie up free at Racine Yacht Club, on a first come first served basis. Early reservations at Reefpoint are essential, especially for the larger boats. Call Reefpoint at 262-633-7171 now to make your reservation. Identify yourself as part of the Waukegan Power Squadron group to help ensure that we are located together. Reefpoint has it all. Plenty of restaurants within walking distance, West Marine, 4 travel lifts, diesel and gas mechanics, the Johnson art museum and numerous galleries, shops and of this is Wisconsin, so of course there are taverns. And we’re boaters. What a match. We’re planning a dock cocktail party followed by a group dinner at RYC on Friday. Start time for cocktail dock party is as soon as two WSPS boats are tied up and the members see each other. Bring an appetizer. Saturday is a big deal. The Chain-O-Lakes Squadron is hosting a Cardboard Boat Regatta at RYC, followed by an open sail, followed (optionally) by a Luau at 5th Street YC at 5:30. See flyer attached for all the details. Those who wish to skip the Luau can find dinner in Racine. All D/20 Squadrons are invited to participate in all these events, especially WSPS, Racine, Fox Valley and Skokie Valley. We need volunteers to gather crew, build and sail a cardboard boat(s) representing WSPS! Contact Bob Ku nath bobkunath@gmail.com or AO Sean Sullivan admin@wspsboating.org RESERVATIONS FOR Open Sail (sail or host on your sailboat) ARE DUE BY 1 AUGUST, admiralbill@sbcglobal.net or CALL TODAY 847-445-0021 RESERVATIONS FOR LUAU ($20pp) ARE DUE BY 1 AUGUST, CALL TODAY JoAnn Raffini 262-488-2124 RSVP for Friday WSPS dinner at RYC by 10 August to Cruise Capt. Carol Kunath: mailto:carolkunath@gmail.com or 847-721-8175 Sean

WAUKEELOG

EDITOR Bob Kunath, JN bobkunath@gmail.com

Support your WSPS Sponsors…Contact Lt/C Sean Sullivan for Ad rates

[

Jenn Gibbons Row to “Kick Cancer’s Ass” Jenn Gibbons, 27, is a rowing coach in Chicago, who trains cancer survivors in rowing to improve and speed recovery from cancer treatments. She is the founder of the foundation, “ROW 4 ROW” (Recovery On Water). To raise awareness of the importance of exercise for cancer survivors, and raise funds for her foundation, she embarked June 15 on a solo cruise around the perimeter of Lake Michigan…. in a 19 foot rowboat! We met Jenn in Milwaukee at SSYC in late June. After a brief talk I volunteered my services as a “route advisor”, where I could draw on my Waterway Guide research. A few days later asked me to join her team; since then I’ve been active in helping her and her team in planning her routes. It hasn’t been easy for her. There have been, as you might imagine, significant weather delays, storms, a death in the family, but the most outrageous, a sexual assault last weekend. Rather than tell her story in this space, go to her web site, http://row4row.org/ . Jenn is one remarkable woman. Despite the difficulties and almost insurmountable obstacles, she has vowed to finish. To that end she has decided to complete part of the trek by bicycle, the rest rowing her rowboat, “Liv”. Visit her website, learn her full story, consider donating to her foundation. BobBobBobBob

The Elusive Green Flash A National USPS editor sent an article about the “green flash,” where just as the sun disappears below the horizon at sundown, or emerges at sunup, a light, bright emerald flash appears for a second or two above the sun. I was going to put that article here but remembered that after examining countless dawns and sundowns (usually with a sundowner) over 4 decades of boating my patience was finally rewarded this April. The first time I saw it I was not sure, but a few days later I spotted it again, both events on very clear, dry evenings with few clouds. The flash was subtle but quite large, perhaps 10-20 times as large as the sun. Yes, it is beautiful and yes, worth trying to capture with your eyes if not your camera. I did notice that what I saw became visible just before the last bit of sun disappeared; I had always heard that it happens just after the sun drops below the horizon. That may be due to the fact that light is refracted and bends slightly at the horizon, so that the sunset you see actually occurred a bit earlier, according to the JN and N courses. I guess I’ll keep looking for Green Flashes, a not unpleasant pursuit when the beach. Just another reason to love Venice. Or for that matter the water anywhere.

BobBobBobBob

Sunset sans green flash

WSPS MEMBER Buy, Sell, Trade

No Charge to WSPS Members. Pictures OK. Will run one issue unless advised to rerun. Send ad to bobkunath@gmail.com

YOUR FREE AD HERE!

Any (legal) topic, item is OK for this FREE ad.

WS&PS BENEFIT – New 2012 Editions 20% OFF

2012 Chesapeake Bay, Atlantic ICW, Southern, & Baham as, Northern and Great Lakes are all available for ship ping. Log on to www.waterwayguide.com, use new coupon code WGBK2012 to get a 20% discount on Waterway Guides and everything at the Waterway Guide Ship’s Store. Skipper Bob’s Cruising Lake Michigan, updated for 2010 by Bob Kunath, is also available at the sa me web site.

Hilton Head Golf/Tennis Villa Various dates, 2012 & 2013 2 BR 2 BA, both with whirlpools Free golf and tennis, or just walk the beach. $100 off for WSPS members. https://www.vrbo.com/107815 or bobkunath@gmail.com for details.

GOT BUSINESS?

NEED CHEAP ADS?

BUY THIS SPACE, GET MORE

CUSTOMERS, BENEFIT YOUR

SQUADRON! CONTACT LT/C SEAN

SULLIVAN FOR RATES!

For Sale Half Off Trident marine wet exhaust/engine water intake hose, 2” I.D., 2 13/32 O.D. x 9 feet. Trident or Shields number 250-2000, Flexible rubber with helix wire inbedded. New, fresh stock. West Marine price $15.49 /ft. $35 for the piece.

Contact Bob Kunath mailto:bobkunath@gmail.com

A Close Call….and Lessons Learned By Bob Kunath JN Reefpoint, as with most marinas, has a rule against swimming in the marina. Knowing better, and not much of a rule follower anyway, I rarely hesitated to jump in at Reefpoint or at other marinas when the heat got to me. Sans Souci, along with three other boats had the occasion to stop at a friends’ dock in Lake Ontario (which is freshwater) during our Great Loop cruise in 2005. Our friends have a great setup, with a floating dock and a 30A shore power facility. We were last to arrive, so we rafted up to one of the other boats. The other boats had already hooked up to the 30A shore power, but our friend offered to run an extension from a wall outlet in their boathouse to our boat. Not wanting to run the generator, I accepted and made the connection. The “reverse polarity” light flashed briefly when I turned on the switch, but everything seemed to run OK so I ignored it. Lesson number 1 – Never ignore a reverse polarity warning! We were tied up in only four feet of exceptionally clear water, so early the next morning I decided it was a good opportunity to check the running gear and hull. I lowered the swim ladder and started down the steps. As soon as I touched the bottom, I felt a vague vibrating sensation in my arms. I had no idea what was causing it, but decided to get out of the water… fast! I started to move up the ladder, but found that I could not move my arms - I was essentially paralyzed. I then realized that I was being electrocuted! My head and chest were above water, and I found that I could at least yell, which of course I did. When Carol and the adjacent boaters came running out, I yelled to shut off the power. They were able to do that, but not for a few terrifying moments which seemed like hours. Fortunately, in the meantime I found that I could move my legs. I moved them up a rung or so, and was able to push myself away from the swim platform, probably when they turned off the power. The power off, I was able to return to the boat and although a little shaky, climb out of the water. We then examined the 60-year-old boathouse power, and found that there was no ground (green) wire to the outlet, and that the polarity was in fact reversed. Lesson number 2 – always test a power source with a polarity checker before trusting it with your lif e! The U. S. Power Squadron Marine Electronics course warns that it only takes 20 milliamperes of electrical power across the chest to cause fibrillation and cardiac arrest. A 15-ampere house circuit delivers 750 times that power. Fortunately, this event happened in freshwater, which is a poor conductor of electricity, but in saltwater, the result would have been much different, although the salt may have tripped the breaker. That’s

not to say that you can’t be killed in fresh water. The captain of the boat next to us, a retired paramedic, told of the day that he was called to a freshwater dock in Illinois where two young brothers were electrocuted and died under similar circumstances. Fresh water is not a very good conductor, but enough current can be passed to stop a heart. The ladder on Sans Souci is not grounded to the bonding system. My guess is that with the reversed polarity, the “+” side of the 110v led to the boat’s ground plate on the transom, a few feet from the ladder. From there the best path to ground was to the ladder, then me to the lake bottom when I stepped down while still holding the ladder. A shorter path or water deep enough to reach my chest could have been fatal. Unfortunately, there are plenty of ways that raw 110-volt power can be introduced to the water at a marina, from improper use of battery chargers, to defective dock and boat wiring, even if the source is a portable generator or a boat inverter. Lesson number 3 - Maybe that “No Swimming in the Marina” rule is a pretty good one. I know I won’t do it, nor will any of my family or guests. Update: Although this event happened 7 years ago, the danger is no less now than it was then. A houseboat wiring problem in Tennessee was apparently the cause of a similar disaster in July 2012 when two boys ages 10 and 11 died climbing down the houseboat’s ladder and into the water. The 10 year old died at the scene, the other a few hours later in the hospital. Another youth, a girl, was hospitalized and recovered; eight adults who entered the water to help were also injured. Those people did not fully submerge as the boys did. It could be that their lives were spared, as was perhaps mine, by the fact that their hearts were not submerged. The houseboat, owned by the 11 year-old’s grandfather was found to have frayed wiring at the ladder. The exact cause is under investigation at this writing.

BobBobBobBob

XO Column continued…..

Most all recreational boaters, power and sail, are pursuing happiness when out on the water and in doing so accept the responsibility that comes with increased exposure to weather and other potential hazards on the water. Personal responsibility and self-sufficiency are excellent attributes especially when boating on Lake Michigan. Being a victim is in vogue in some circles, but hopefully not in our boating community. I am waiting to hear a May Day call where the caller says he or she is the victim of a rock one foot below the surface or a victim of the shore. If you hear something like this, get the boat name and send it to me. It would be interesting to profile the victim. There are some areas in our boating life where we can’t just rely on self-sufficiency and responsibility as skippers on the water. In these cases we have to rely on government, not to help us out with success at the helm, but to set some rules of the road that we all operate under. No leveling of playing fields here. The US Coast Guard requires standards for lighting on our boats so we know what kind of a vessel is out there at night which most all would agree is good. Government steps into our boating lives with requirements for minimum safety equipment on board to help keep occupants alive if the vessel sinks or there is a fire aboard. It also prohibits discharge of certain waste into our beautiful lake. It seems that most all responsible boaters would have plenty of PFDs on board as well fire extinguishers and would not dump waste into the lake, but there are those who might not know or, even worse, do not care. These are the folks a lot of these government regulations are aiming at while covering the law abiders. Enough vessel safety checks in the harbor or at the launch ramp will turn up these folks. It is a shame that someone with a recreational boat lacks judgment for the safety of his or her boat or its passengers. We wise boaters call this ignorance (or just plain stupidity to make us feel better), but the end result is an increased risk of danger to the folks that skipper is taking out on the water. Judgment aside, we have to help these folks to be more safety conscious when venturing out on our Squadron’s home, Lake Michigan. One way Squadron members can help is by encouraging your dock mates and those at the launch ramp to have a free Vessel Safety Check to make sure their boat and its meets the minimum requirements of the US Coast Guard. For a free VSC have them contact me at xo@wspsboating.org to schedule an inspection with one of our certified VSC inspectors. If you want to get politics and basic individual freedoms into a boating conversation, just mention mandatory life jacket laws for all the folks on the water. After all, the politicians know better.

Bob

Footloose captained by Jim Moran prepares Spinnaker before start of Hook race

New Look for an Old Lighthouse Since all WSPS boats (Yes, ALL!! No Excuses) will be heading to Racine in two weeks for the annual Racine Cruise, please note that the 150 year-old lighthouse base has been totally rebuilt, with a new steel bulkhead enclosing the rock and cement base. The lighthouse itself was removed, refurbished and replaced, but the birds are the same. Their poop still stinks. There is a reason this area is known as “REEFPOINT”. The rocky reef extends almost two miles offshore, and is marked by flashing green C1 on the west end, about ¼ mile from shore. Yes, there are places in between these two markers were you can sail, but there are spots as shallow as two feet, you can see waves breaking on the reef is several places. Don’t go there!

Second Annual

Beach Picnic

The annual WSPS Old Timer's / New Comer's BBQ will be held at the Waukegan Harbor House Patio on Saturday 8 September 8, 4:00 - 8:00. Dinner will include ribs and chicken. The squadron will provide soft drinks and water. Please bring a salad or appetizer if your last name begins A-L or a dessert if your last name begins M-Z. A $5 donation per member requested. New members, (those who have joined the squadron since Sept 2011) eat for free. RSVP to Sean Sullivan by August 24th. 847 226 6850 seansullivan@dls.net