Catalina Fleet 21 - Chicago Region
FleetSheet Newsletter

February 2002

WRECKS UNDER YOUR RUDDER!

Join us on Friday, February 15, for a fascinating look at what’s under Lake Michigan.  Samuel Frank, a registered dive master on Captain Tim Woolsey’s dive charter boat, Discovery, will tell stories of ships lost, lives lost, dreams lost, and whole colonies of planets and animals, even forests, lost beneath the waves we merrily sail over.  Frank has been diving in Lake Michigan for over 15 years and is the past president of the Underwater Archaeological Society of Chicago.  He has been responsible for the shipwreck buoying project in Chicago’s Lake Michigan waters and supervised the identification and relocation of the TymBarge for the Illinois DNR.  He and Captain Tim installed the HollyBarge and are exploring and preparing Discovery Reef for recreational divers.  In 1999, Frank was named Illinois Diver of the Year.
Discovery Dive Charters, Inc. is a fully licensed dive charter service that operates out of Burnham Harbor.  It is owned by Captain Tim Woolsey who will also attend our program.  Don’t miss your chance to find out what’s lurking and looming  under the sea!

The meeting will be held at the Burnham Park Yacht Club located at 1500 S. Linn White Drive.  Follow the signs to Meigs Field.  Parking should be available next to the Yacht Club.  All are welcome to arrive early and enjoy dinner at the club beginning at 6:30 p.m.  If you plan to have dinner, please call the Yacht Club at 312-427-4664 for reservations.  Tell them you are part of the Catalina group.  The program and business meeting will begin promptly at 8:00 p.m.

A MESSAGE FROM THE
COMMODORE

Ah-h-h Corinthian Yacht Club in Montrose Harbor and another successful Potluck/Brown Bag Auction.  Thanks to all who participated and helped  make it just a little easier for Hazel Luther and me to mix with everyone present.  Our buffet tables would have made Emeril Lagassi drool.  The brown bags were filled with treasures including shirts, umbrellas, socks, crystal wine stoppers, popcorn and more.  Joe Gratzke, where are you going to put all those gifts you bought?  Not on your boat, I hope!  That black pan ensemble was to die for!  What a lucky guy!  The collected food donations went to the Lincoln Park Shelter who are always grateful for our contributions. We received a nice note from them thanking us for our contributions.  The only sour taste of the evening was left over from the afternoon when the Bears lost.  With all that rootin’ and tootin’ you would think they should’ve won.  But, we were watching our 13” TV faithfully, until we couldn’t hear any cheering at all.  The Bears did not make the playoffs, so Soldier Field must be torn down!

Now that Strictly Sail is over and we filled our closets and basements with gadgets, we will probably have to have a Dock Box and Bilge Sale to get rid of the older, dull gizmos and make room for the shiny new ones.  Our thanks to Frank Butler and Sharon Day for hosting a lively reception for the vendors, dealers, and Fleet 21 on the show floor. Those glittering new boats with shiny winches and clean sheets makes one wonder about moving up in size, I bet!

Thanks to Madalyn Duerr for blocking-out rooms at the Hampton Inn and for planning a great after the show pizza party.  More than 60 Fleet 21  and LMCA members attended.  Without Madalyn negotiating for prices from year to year, our Fleet 21 members would be going home instead of enjoying the trolley rides from the Pier, the pool, and the all too wonderful breakfast buffet.

With the weather still cooperating, we can look forward to our first 2002 program at Burnham Park Yacht Club.  The presenters are members of the Discovery Divers Club who dive from boats out of Burnham Harbor.  Plan to hear all about their underwater adventures, finds, and attempts to rescue prized possessions. 

What a great year we will have!

 “If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind?”  Shelley

                                     Lori Lauraitis
                                     Commodore

MEMBERSHIP
 
It’s time to renew your Fleet 21 membership.  Membership forms were included in last month’s newsletter. Fill in all the blanks and mail it to Pat Shereyk’s attention by April 1, 2002.  You want to be in the 2002 directory don’t you? 

PASSAGES
The Fleet sends condolences to Francine Kuenzle whose mother died in November and to Mike Walsh who lost his mother in January. 

We are all ships returning home
Laden with life’s experience.,
Memories of work, good times and sorrows,
Each with his special cargo;
And it is our common lot
To show the marks of the voyage.
Here a shattered prow, there a patched rigging,

And every hulk turned black
By the unceasing batter of the restless wave.

May we be thankful for fair weather and smooth seas,
And in times of storm have the courage
And patience that mark every good mariner;
And, overall, may we have the cheering hope of joyful meetings,
As our ship at last drops anchor
In the still water of the eternal harbor.   
 Max Ehrmann

WATER COLOR
Perhaps some of you missed this
Ask Tom Why column in the Chicago Tribune.

Dear Tom,
What causes the change of color in Lake Michigan?  Some days it’s bright blue and other days it has a gray, murky appearance.
 Peggy Laurencell, Chicago

Dear Peggy,
Lake Michigan’s water does indeed undergo color changes, and the causes are varied.  Sometimes the changes are not real but merely apparent, resulting from clouds over the lake,
different sun angles and varying wave conditions.

On other occasions, changes in lake water color are real.  NASA’s Dr. Norman Kuring specializes in analyses of ocean water from satellite imagery; and he lists these factors that can alter Lake Michigan’s water color:  sudden blooms of microscopic marine plants, wave action that stirs up bottom sediments and grinds air bubbles into the water; and precipitates of dissolved calcium carbonate that come out of solution when water temperatures rise.

RIGGING & EQUIPMENT
Now is a good time to check your batteries and thru hull fittings.  Check your batteries for water level and cracks and corrosion.  Make certain batteries are fully charged.

Thru hulling fittings should be checked for cracks, especially if they are made of plastic.  Make certain they are secured and caulk if needed.  At launching we don’t need any leaking boats—or even any sinking ones!

See you in the next issue.

 Captn. Ron

BUY/TRADE/SELL
Fleet members may list items they want to sell, trade, or buy in this column without any charge.
Send listings to Fleet Sheet Editor, 306 Linden Street, Glen Ellyn, Il 60137
Fax 630-668-8950 email: deare@megsinet.net
Phone: 630-469-6117
Listings must be received by the 1st of the month and run for 3 months.

RC SAILING/LASER
Are you interested in purchasing a high-quality remote controlled model sailboat?  We can get a special group price of $349 each if we order 4 or more.  This is a great boat patterned after the full size Laser, 41.5 inches long, completely assembled and ready to sail..  See it at www.sailrclaser.com
then call Dave DeAre at 630-469-6117.  Think of the fun we could have racing our models at a Fleet outing!