Thank you for electing me to be your Commodore for this year. I will do my best to serve you and guide our great club through the smoothest waters possible. Karen and I are looking forward to the new experience and I’m excited about solving new challenges and, with your help, making even more improvements.
I would like to thank Tom Graves and the FY07 Bridge and Board for their outstanding stewardship of our club. They, with your help, made some super improvements and have ensured an easy transition for the new Bridge and Board. My job will be made easier by some very talented FY08 Bridge and Board members: John Faris will serve as Vice Commodore and Kevin O’Leary will be the Rear Commodore. The newly elected board members are Jerry Cote, Michael Graham, and Dave Vachon; the returning board members are Danita Marcum, Bob Penney, and Robbie Roberts. Tom Graves becomes the seventh board member as Past Commodore. Thankfully, Neil Schaible has agreed to continue his outstanding service as Club Manager and most key volunteers have agreed to continue their fantastic efforts.
Our first order of business will be to work out the 2008 calendar and develop a project list. Our first priority will be acquiring new regulators for the Dive Flight. After these are completed we will be able to turn our attention to some immediate challenges. Our large boat dock space has become extremely limited on some Family and Membership Nights - lots of new boats and 222 memberships. In the long term, Gary Combs has taken charge of a proposed dock expansion project. In the near term, we will be investigating other alternatives to allow as many members as possible to enjoy the use of our docks on those nights. We also will have to start paying for publication of the Sea Notes (Shirley Howell finally retired from her position in the Parks Photo Lab). In order to keep costs to a minimum, we will only be mailing the Sea Notes to those members without email access. We will continue to have copies available at the clubhouse for those who don’t have print capability. EYC members who only have access to the internet through on-base computers are not able to view the EYC website. We are working with the Services Squadron to try and rectify this and are exploring other alternatives. In the interim, Fred Westfall will include an electronic copy of the Sea Notes when he sends out the notification that it is available on the EYC website.
I look forward to serving you in the coming year. Of course, your inputs on ways we can improve the club or the way we do business are always welcome.
| Bob Gramm, Commodore |
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Volunteer Honor Roll
AUGUST
Family Night Cooks & Crew: Gary and Sandy Miller, and Phil and Jean Davis
Bartenders Family Night: George Aberth and Danita Marcum
Membership Night Cooks & Crew: Bill and Gina Cesarotti, Belinda McCormick, and Marcia and Bob Penney
Bartenders Membership Night: Skip and Barbara Harrington
SEPTEMBER
Family Night Cooks & Crew: Mike Graham, Danita Marcum, Arlene McKee, Lyman Vancil, and Ken Crosby
Bartenders Family Night: Phil and Astrid Krajeck
Membership Night Cooks & Crew: Danita Marcum, Todd Parr, Mike Graham, Robert Hyde, Arlene McKee, Jim Bayes, and Martha Lussier on clean up
Bartenders Membership Night: Kevin O’Leary and Peggy Storey
*****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, 16th of October and Tuesday the 13th of November (No Later Than 1800 Hours), 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.
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THE GRAPEVINE By Joan Faris |
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Unfortunately, I have more sad news to pass on. John and Charlene Harris recently lost their son- in- law in a tragic auto accident. They traveled to central Florida to be with their daughter and grandchildren during this time of sadness. Please remember them in your thoughts and prayers. Also, our dear friend Shirley Hund and long time EYC member is back in treatment and could use our support and prayers.
On a lighter note, in our members on the move category Dave Vachon and Winnie recently returned from a European river cruise. Dave said the food and wine were great but a lot of the buildings were really old! In any case, if our very own Famous French Chef said the food was great it really must have been. Gary and Sandy Miller, spent a week in the Keys chasing lobster and helping Gary’s son build a vacation home. Bob and Karen Gramm traveled to California to spend a week with their daughter Mickie. They toured the Central Coast and San Francisco Bay area. John and I towed my little boat down to Key Largo for a week. We went snorkeling on a different reef everyday. The weather and seas were perfect for us all week. We put over 200 miles on the boat in and around Key Largo and John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park.
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
What a great year! We closed out FY07 with 222 memberships (94 boaters, 93 divers, and 35 boater/divers). Please welcome the following members who joined or rejoined since the last Sea Notes: David & Carolyn Riggs, Melanie & Ryan Owen, Erin Wahlers, Shawn Dohrer, Peter & Lori Buzynski, Paul & Kay Garritson, Heather & Jeff Petresky, Rick & Tracy Welch, Scott Crawford, Gerald & Jayne Fontenot, David Monteiro, Edmond Lo, Jeffrey Cross, Alan Flinn & Michelle Sanger, Mark & Jennifer Ford, Josh & Jennifer Hardin, Jerry & Susan Jacobs, Travis Wollison, Justin & Katie Brecunnier, Richard Hartson, Walter & Angel Reese, Dan & Maranda Rimes, and Matthew Miller.
It's that time of the year again - when we have the privilege of paying the expenses for this great yacht club of ours. Dues ($72) are payable during the month of October. It really helps our financial standing with the Services Squadron if we can collect all the dues during this period. We will be collecting the money and distributing new membership cards at the September Membership Night, October Family Night and October Membership Night. You may also mail your checks (payable to EYC) to the following address:
Eglin Yacht Club
P.O. Box 1735
Eglin AFB FL 32542
Please be advised, to keep us legal, you will be required to pay your dues prior to renting the club house or dive equipment. If you are resigning your membership, please call or email me so I can close you out as a member in good standing.
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.
Also, if you would like a member roster please send me an email or call at 651-9514.
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Dates To Remember |
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OCTOBER
NOVEMBER |
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Note: If you have email, you should have received the full 2007 calendar. If not, a copy is available on our website
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Boating Activities |
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Our Champagne Cruise was a great success. I wish to extend a big thank you to Tommy for providing the champagne and to all those that brought the delicious food. The weather was hot but we got to spend a lot of time in the water.
Our Labor Day Cruise was to Marker 51. We anchored by Okaloosa Island. For the most part the weather was great. There was swimming, Bahama Mama’s and happy hour.
Our next cruise will be to Bluewater Bay on the weekend of Oct. 6th. I will need reservations for the restaurant and I will need to know what boats will be going to Bluewater. We will send you more information by e-mail when we know more.
In November on the 10th we will meet at Scully’s at 6PM. This is a boat or drive function. If you are leaving from the club, invite non-boaters, they will enjoy the ride. I will need to know what boats are going and how many people.
Also mark your calendars for Sat. Oct. 29th for our Harleyween Party at the club. It will start at 7PM. Bring your hogs and dress in motorcycle attire. There will be a minimal charge plus we would like everyone to bring a heavy appetizer. For this function call Pat Seip at 243-5840 or e-mail queenpz@cox.net, or call Peggy Story at 420-4021. If you are not attending the function, we would appreciate it if you would leave the slips free for that night. If you are coming by boat I will try to assign you what slip, so we will know if we have enough slips. For any of the cruises you can e-mail me at queenpz@cox.net or call and leave the info at 243-5860.
If you are going on any of the cruises, let me know before that cruise so we will have an idea of how many will be there. My home phone is 243-5860 or e-mail me at queenpz@cox.net.
See
you on the water soon!
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Dive Activities News By Michael Graham
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Now that it’s past Labor Day, a lot of you might think the diving season is about over with, but nothing could be further from the truth. The diving here at Eglin is normally good all the way through Thanksgiving. The water stays warm even though the air starts to cool off. Barring any unforeseen hurricanes, the sea states usually remain acceptable until December. In fact, Thanksgiving weekend is usually an outstanding time to get that last Gulf dive in. For some reason, it’s almost always nice on that weekend. An interesting phenomenon at this time of year is that the water temperature on the bottom is usually warmer than the water temperature at the surface. Please don’t shorten your safety stops because of this. You should in fact lengthen them because you off gas slower in the cooler surface water while you absorb nitrogen faster in the warmer water on the bottom. Another thing to avoid is that nice, hot shower right after coming up from a dive. This can rapidly accelerate off gassing and cause Decompression Illness (DCI). Also, wait a few hours after diving before plunging into the hot tub because it can have the same effect.
There should be some major changes in the Dive Flight starting in October. We will hopefully be getting a Bauer compressor which should improve our tank fill times. Once the Bauer is operational, our current compressor will be sent out for overhaul, which it needs badly. The tank filling station is being rebuilt, which should also help our efficiency by adding a fourth fill whip. If it all goes well, we will also be increasing the bank pressure to 4000 psi, which should improve fills for those of you with steel tanks. We will also start to acquire new regulators to replace the old ones that have been with the club for a number of years. By the start of next year’s dive season, we should have a full complement of new regulators. We will also be getting some new buoyancy compensators and tanks, to include more nitrox tanks and some smaller 63 cubic foot tanks. So, if everything goes according to plan, the Dive Flight will be making some significant improvements very soon.
The annual Underwater Pumpkin Carving Competition will be held at Laguna Park in Cinco Bayou on Saturday, 20 October, at 1000. This is a fun family Halloween event to participate in, and to watch. Teams (normally two divers) will enter the water with a whole pumpkin. Drawing on the pumpkin in advance is allowed, but no cutting will be permitted until the teams have submerged in the bayou. All pieces/parts will be packed out, with nothing left in the water. No weights will be allowed in/on the pumpkin. A 30 minute maximum time limit will be allowed for the carving. The cost will be $10 in advance and $15 on the day of the event, to help pay for the cost of the prizes. To sign up or for more information, call Danita Marcum at 882-2089 or 882-6709 or cell 305-9612 or e-mail her at danita.marcum@eglin.af.mil.
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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. |
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 Bob Gramm at
bobgramm@cox.net or
directly to me (Jan Westfall) 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
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| Bob Gramm | Commodore |
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| John Faris | Vice Commodore |
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| Kevin O'Leary | Rear Commodore |
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| Tommy Graves | Past Commodore |
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| Jerry Cote | Board Member |
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| Michael Graham | Board Member |
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| Danita Marcum | Board Member |
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| Robert Penney | Board Member |
609-0725 |
| Robbie Roberts | Board Member |
863-1794 |
| Danita Marcum | Board Member |
862-3946 |
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Boating Activities-Pat Siep |
243-5860 |
Membership
- Bob
Gramm
|
651-9514 609-0725 |
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Club Manager-Neil
Schaible
|
678-7084 863-5555 |
Reservations-Christi
O'Leary
|
240-4448 |
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Budget/Finance-Neil Schaible |
678-7084 |
Secretary-Connie Inman |
864-2461 |
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Safety/Boating-Vacant |
Safety/Diving-Kevin Crump |
678-6922 | |
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Sunshine-Joan Faris |
678-5834 |
Quartermaster-Karen Roberts |
863-1794 |
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Entertainment-Hazel Schaible |
678-7084 |
Editor/Website-Jan/Fred Westfall |
609-8075 |
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Diving Activities - Michael Graham |
897-5862 |
House-Vacant |
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News Circulation-Shirley Howell |
651-8427 |
NOTE:
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