Summer is just about here and I want to take a moment as we enter the prime boating and diving season to ask everyone to think about safety and to do a personal risk assessment before trekking off on your next adventure. June begins the traditional 101 days of summer when we seem to try and do everything we can to have fun with friends and family. Before you start your next outing stop and run a quick safety checklist. A minute or two of thought and preparation will help to ensure the good time you have been looking forward to. We have an exceptional safety record and with a little attention to detail and pre-planning, I’m sure we can keep it safe without missing any fun.
As this issue of Sea Notes is going to the press, we have more than a dozen boats hitting the high seas for our traditional Memorial Day Panama City – Crooked Island Cruise. I’m sure there will be many stories (some of them might even be true) coming back for the August SeaNotes.
I am happy to report that as of the end of May the club’s financial status is right on line with our Air Force mandated net profit line. This is due mainly to Neil’s hard work and your support. Thank you all. Meeting our income goals allows us to ask the Services Squadron for support in purchasing items on our club improvement plan. We have been able to get our number two compressor in for a much needed overhaul and are in the process of buying new regulators for the dive flight rental. If we can’t get the ice machine in the bar fixed reasonably, the board has approved purchasing a new one. You will also start to see “real” piling caps going on our dock instead of the red funnels. This should greatly improve the look of the dock.
After saying that, we need to continue to work to improve our club. Everyone is reminded that this is a VOLUNTEER organization. Without everyone’s help, the club cannot function. We almost had to cancel the May membership dinner because we did not have anyone willing to sponsor the meal. With 180 + members, we should never be short of people willing to help out. So, please volunteer to help out and make our club even better than it is. We are having a work day on June 9, and need as much help as we can get. There are plenty of projects inside and outside the club. So, we will be working no matter what the weather. If you can help, please show up and give as much time and labor as you can afford.
It looks like we have a great summer ahead of us, so let’s all get involved with club activities and have some fun. I look forward to seeing everyone on the water.
| Tom Graves |
|
|
|
Volunteer Honor Roll
APRIL
Meeting Night Cooks & Crew: George and Angela Colton, Joe and Diane Stevens, Bob and Karen Gramm, Larry and Ann Shingler, and Fred and Jan Westfall
Bartenders Meeting Night: Jon Brown and Doug Rinell
MAY
Family Night Cooks & Crew: Phil and Astrid Krajeck, Joe and Diane Stevens, and Larry and Vivian Roesler
Bartenders Family Night: Bill Carver and Bob Santos
Meeting Night Cooks & Crew: Tommy Graves, John Faris, Peggy Storey, and Lynn Graves
Bartenders Meeting Night: Joan Faris and Ray Storey
**Please note that if your past and present commodores did not step up to the plate this month, membership night would have been cancelled as we had NO volunteers. They managed to put together a catered dinner in a short period of time that was delicious and even provided the bartenders.
*****If you don’t see your name
listed then perhaps it’s time for you to volunteer******
We need volunteers for Family Nights, Meeting Nights and bartenders. Please sign up on the board in the dining room or the board behind the bar to be a bartender or call Hazel at 678-7084. On the website there is a Dinner Guide if you need help.
Remember to call Christi O’Leary at 240-4448 or email eycreservations@valp.net by Tuesday, 12th of June and Tuesday the 17th July (No Later Than 1800 Hr’s), to make reservations or cancel for Membership Night dinner. If you make a reservation and you are a no-show or cancel after 1800 hr’s Tuesday, you will be required to pay for the dinner.
|
THE GRAPEVINE By Joan Faris |
 |
We continue to do pretty well when it comes illnesses. Charlene Harris had a partial knee replacement and is well on the way to recovery. Frank Valade continues to recover from his recent back surgery let’s hope this one does the trick. In any case it was good to see both of them at May’s Membership Meeting doing remarkably well. I am sad to report that two of our club members lost loved ones. Betty Sigman’s daughter and Jerry Cote’s Sister recently passed. Our thoughts and prayers are with both of them.
In our members on the move category: The Seip and Woodwards took an extended cruises starting in the Gulf of Mexico and ending up in Alaska! They said it was absolutely wonderful and would do it again in a minute. My sister Jean and I flew to Saint Marten for a one-week get away which was fun – we did find the happy hours and jewelry stores to be great. Oh, did I mention the nude beaches??? Finally, Bob and Karen Gramm took a week away from their new boat to go to Coco Beach for some great food and tons of wind surfing. By the time this issue is out our boaters will be headed home from or annual Memorial Day Cruise to Crooked Island. I’m sure I’ll have some great stories to tell for our next Sea Notes.
Remember, when you hear about any of our members who need a little cheer or deserve recognition PLEASE call or e-mail me and I will take it from there. Contact me by phone at 678-5834 or e-mail joanfaris@aol.com.
See you at the club.
Membership
ReportBy Bob Gramm
We now have 181 memberships (89 boaters, 57 divers, and 35 boater/divers) – 30 more than last year at this time.
Please welcome the following members who joined since the last Sea Notes: Eddie Adams & Michelle Harmon, Antonio & Barbara Brum, Joshua Christy, Carla English, Bob & Lisa Gamon, Joe & Julie Hoffman, Mark & Cheri Koch, Arlene & Mike McKee, Michael McLeish, Tom & Donna Monan, Wade Olsen, Kimberly Phan, Jeremy & Holly Reedy, Jeff Roxstrom, David Scherr, Sherman St Pierre, Jerry & Cherie Sullivan, Bob Taylor, Michael & Melissa Tyler, Darrell Williams, Gary & Jeanette Young, and Robert & Faith Young.
If you are not receiving EYC emails from Fred Westfall or if your email address has changed, please contact me (bobgramm@cox.net) and we’ll update our list. Also, if you would like a member roster please send me an email or call at 651-9514.
|
Dates To Remember |
|
|
JUNE June 1 Family
Night JULY July 1-4 Fourth
of July Cruise |
 |
Note: If you have email, you should have received the full 2007 calendar. If not, a copy is available on our website
|
Boating Activities |
 |
Summer is almost here and it is time to get out there and use our boats. When you read this some of the boaters will be on the Panama City Cruise. We finished our final cruise meeting on Sunday.
Our next cruise will be the Progressive Dinner Cruise on Sat. June 23rd. Our first stop will be Dave Vachon’s for drinks and appetizers. We will then go to the Tharps for the salad course. Next stop will be the yacht club. We will arrive back to the Yacht Club around 6PM. Bring your own meat for grilling. Potatoes will be provided. The cost is $5.00 per person and it will not be pro-rated if you do not do all the stops. You may come by car, if you wish. Bring your bathing suits and join us in the water. Also if you have a small boat, bring it. We want to make this Progressive Dinner more like the old days. If you plan on going, please e-mail me at queenpz@cox.net or call 243-5860 so I can get a head count.
The next cruise would be the Fourth of July Cruise. We will go to Fort McRae then on the Wharf for two nights. Then back to Fort McRae and on to Palofox Marina for July 3rd and 4th. If you are interested and haven’t got in touch with Robbie Roberts, please do so.
Hope to see all the Yacht Club boaters out on the water this month.
See
you on the water soon!
|
Dive Activities News By Michael Graham
|
|
The dive season has gotten off to a great start. We've had three club dive trips to the Gulf of Mexico and one to the Florida Keys. Visibility locally has been as good as 40 feet and as bad as 15 feet. Water temperatures are coming up fast and the fish are everywhere this year. In fact, many of the wrecks are so densely covered in fish that you can't see the wreck. The weather has also been great for diving, so if you haven't been out yet, you're really missing a great time of the year to go diving.
Make sure you prep your gear before that first dive trip of the season. The best option is to take your regulators to a local dive shop and have them perform a full inspection and servicing. This is the best way to keep your regulator from having problems or failing on you this summer. If you have your own tanks, make sure they have a current hydro and visual inspection. Hydrostatic tests must be performed every five years and visual inspections must be accomplished annually. If your tank is not current, we cannot fill it at the club. If you have nitrox tanks and want them filled at the club, you will need to make sure they are oxygen cleaned and have a current oxygen VIP sticker.
Check your mask for wear, especially the mask strap. Replace it if necessary. Check your snorkel and make sure there aren't any resident insects and that the snorkel keeper will actually keep your snorkel attached to your mask. Inspect your fins and make sure the fin straps are in good shape. If in doubt, replace them. Take your wetsuit out of the closet and make sure it hasn't shrunken too much over the winter. It's amazing how much they seem to shrink when hanging in a closet (it certainly can't be because we've gained weight). If you have tears in your suit, get some wetsuit cement and repair them. Also check and lubricate your zippers. Make sure your dive computer has fresh batteries and is still working. Review your owner's manual and make sure you still know how to use it and understand what it's telling you. Ninety feet down is no place to find out you don't know what that bar moving into the red means, or what the flashing zero and audio alarm is trying to tell you. Check the rest of your gear and make sure it's in good shape and ready to dive. Then check yourself and make sure that you are ready to dive, i.e., in good physical shape, knowledgeable on your emergency procedures and underwater communication signals, familiar with the dive tables and your no decompression limits, etc. A little forethought and preparation will make this a safe and enjoyable diving season.
|
Summer
(May-Oct): Renters work
both Friday and Monday
Winter
Hours: Renters work Friday
only. Only one renter
required
Equipment
return and rental:
1730-1900.
Schedule
Conflicts:
Step 1: Swap with
another renter.
Step 2: See step
1. |
|
What’s Cooking at EYC? By The Galley Gourmet
This recipe is quick and delicious. Enjoy! Baked Salmon Fillets Dijon Ingredients: 4 (4
oz.) salmon fillets
|
|
|
Directions: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a shallow baking pan with aluminum foil. Place salmon skin–side down on foil. Spread a thin layer of mustard on the top of each fillet and season with salt and pepper. Top with bread crumbs, then drizzle with melted butter. Bake for approximately 15 minutes or until salmon flakes easily with a fork.
|
|
SOUND-OFF
To All EYC Members
There were no Sound-off items this month.
EDITOR’S NOTE: There have
recently been some questions as to where to send your submissions for the
“Sound-Off “column. You may send
your submissions directly to Tom Graves at tommy.graves@eglin.af.mil or
directly to me at jan@atplus.com. A reminder of the
ground rules: (1) address an issue, idea, or concern (2) no personal attacks (3)
no anonymous inputs. Space
permitting inputs received will be published in the printed version of the
SeaNotes. All inputs received will
be posted in website version of the SeaNotes. If you choose to put in an anonymous suggestion, please use the suggestion box located at
the EYC clubhouse.
Eglin Yacht Club Sea Notes
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Robert Penney Board Member 609-0725 |
|
Danita Marcum Board Member 682-2624 |
|
Robbie Roberts Board Member 863-1794 |
|
Boating Activities-Pat Siep |
243-5860 |
Membership
- Bob
Gramm
|
651-9514 609-0725 |
|
Club Manager-Neil
Schaible
|
678-7084 863-5555 |
Reservations-Christi
O'Leary
|
240-4448 |
|
Budget/Finance-Neil Schaible |
678-7084 |
Secretary-Connie Inman |
864-2461 |
|
Safety/Boating-Vacant |
Safety/Diving-Kevin Crump |
678-6922 | |
|
Sunshine-Joan Faris |
678-5834 |
Quartermaster-Karen Roberts |
863-1794 |
|
Entertainment-Hazel Schaible |
678-7084 |
Editor/Website-Jan/Fred Westfall |
609-8075 |
|
Diving Activities - Robert Hyde |
244-3150 |
House-Keith Dodson |
651-0750 |
|
News Circulation-Shirley Howell |
651-8427 |
