July 2-4, 2005 Sequoia Yacht Club Rendezvous

(If you like, you can skip down through the prose and go straight to the pictures below!)

Summer on San Francisco Bay arrived just in time for the 4th of July cruise to Sequoia Yacht Club in Redwood City. Warm temperatures inland, 90 - 100, and cold ocean - 51 degrees - make for dense fog on the coast, warm days around the Bay and the promise of gusty afternoon winds.

Eighteen boats signed up, but Woodbine had to cancel when Ron Damsen's doc insisted on rearranging his heart plumbing, and Jim Higdon banged his back, taking Blockbuster off the list. The remaining 15 started trickling in on Friday night when Snowflower and Vanishing Animal arrived to have cocktails and dinner at Sequoia Yacht Club, and Smokey and Laurie Stover, the consumate Cruise Chairmen, drove over for dinner too. They were joined by Rick & Petra Gilmore, SYC's Port Captain who paved the way for everyone to squeeze into the marina. John Mattis, SYC Vice Commodore also joined the group, and we all had a warm welcome from many members and a great dinner.

The fun really began Saturday morning when John Melton on Freedom Won started taking roll call at the Bay Bridge around 1045. It was Rally time! Rick Van Mell had set up a series of waypoints, mostly in a straight line to Sequoia, and offered a prize for whoever could best predict their arrival time at the entrance to the Redwood City channel 17.71 nautical miles down the Bay. Each boat had been given a "secret number" to add to their estimated travel time so the other boats would not know what their competitors were predicting when they radioed their time to John. Brian & Fran Jacobs, with David aboard, volunteered Endeavor to serve as the Race Committee - Finish Line boat. So we were ready for fun!



Thought there was some wind at the 1115 start, it quickly faded, so John authorized engines - set your speed, then don't change the thorttle setting. When the wind came up most set sail. It was amazing how close together boats werre at the finish - as close as 6 seconds! But it wasn't how close they were to each other, but how close they came to their predicted times. And close they came!

As boats crossed the finish line at R 2 at the entrance to the Redwod City channel and headed for the marina, Sequoia Port Captain Rick Gilmore, with his very able First Mate Petra, organized the final slip assignments and then sent out an inflatible to welcome each boat to Sequoia. Their greeting included a pair of Petra's home-baked cookies in the shape of the Sequoia burgee on an American Flag plate, plus directions to all of the facilites around the harbor -- once more an outstanding, warm welcome by the great members of Sequoia Yacht Club!

Leave it to a retired 767 pilot to come up with the tightest navigation, though several boats were quite close - particularly good given the variation in conditions coming down the Bay. A few boats just came for the ride, but nine participated in the Rally. Here's the list of everyone who signed up and the Rally results.

Sequoia July 2, 2005 Attendance & Rally Results

C Dock held most of the boats with kids, so they roamed up and down seeing their friends, comparing video games and portable players. These kids are becoming a close-knit pack of Harbor Rats, looking for their friends each time the fleet gets together. They'll be the racing crew, and eventually the Islander owners of the future.

Ashore, Laurie Stover, with help from Jean Jefferies and Sandy Van Mell, set the tables for Saturday's Pirates Mess. Red tablecloths with black center stripes were scattered with treasure chests, swords, pirate hats and miscellaneous skeleton bones! Billy Bones held court on the side. But that was the draw for getting our blood-thirsty pirates ashore. After a little pump-priming aboard, the fleet moved ashore with hors d'oeuvres to sample the fine distilled spirits of Sequoia yacht Club.

The Sequoia volunteers, including (again) Rick & Petra Gilmore, Darrow, Chris, Ann (and a few more) slaved in the galley to produce a mouth-watering buffet of salmon and teriyaki chicken done to perfection on their mile-long (well, not quite) grill. There were accompanied by mashed potatoes with white wine gravy, succulent carrots, crisp green beans and finished off with ice cream, chocolate syrup, whipped cream and cookies!

Sequoia Vice Commodore John Mattis introduced their crew to thunderous applause, and we in turn thanked them for a great meal and gracious hospitality.

Lauire Stover welcomed and introduced the kids on the cruise, including Diana's kids Taylor (10), NIck (8) & Sam (4), Pulau's Ian (5), & Kegan (2 1/2), Nantucket's Andrew (6) & Chris (12) plus friend Sammy, and Evanescence's "adopted" kids Donny (14), Amber (12), plus Sunday arrivals Troy & Derek (Smokey's son's sons) and Amanda (Smokey's daughter) and her daughter Sarah. Of course Natural High's Matt, and Endeavor's David are in an older class by themselves!

While we're counting, Zenith had sons Brad & Drew aboard for the trip down, Getaway had one extra crew member, Midnight Sun's crew members Robert Szasz, Debbie and boyfriend August, and Kimball Livingston & wife Lourdes were present for Sunday's gathering, and Amante had four guests, Ophira a pair of guests, and Vanishing Animal one guest arriving on Monday for the fireworks.

That totals 20 boats represented by 55 adults and 15 kids for a grand total of 70 - not counting the 5 canine crew of Teak, Cathy, Tillie, Cruiser and Cody!

Rick then went on, with great relish and embelishment, to give the Rally results, opine on the apparent speediness of the fleet, extole the Freeports for doing so well, and awarding the prize wine bottles with great flourish. However, the results were not as you see above, proving once again the to err is human, but to really screw things up you need a computer. It seems Rick had fixed the calculation cell when the first boat finished, but neglected to copy the corrected formula to the other cells. Sunday morning, when Mike Bennett asked Rick to help figure out why his results were different than what he thought, the error was discovered, results recalculated, prizes retrieved (thankfully none had been consumed!) and finally awarded to their rightful winners Sunday afternoon at Peter & Louisa's.

Saturday evening concluded with a songfest in the lounge of Sequoia YC, made smoother by libations from the bar and a happy group of Islanders trundled off to their bunks.

Sunday moring the Sequoia crew were again hard at work led by past Commodore Larry Mayne serving up a French Toast, sausage, bacon and fruit breakfast that was attended by 40 Islanders. This was followed by Lauire Stover's muster of the Kid Pirates, divided up into teams led by Donny & Amber, for a treasure hunt up and down the docks looking for treasure bags and clues to things Pirate. After finding all their swag, they assembled on the grass for such fun as "Sink the Ship", "Walk the Plank" and, of course, "Red Rover".

While the younger kids were playing their games, the big kids played with their toys: John Melton wielded drill and saw to replace ports on Freedom Won; Neil Lefmann was hosted aloft to install a flag halyard at the spreader - another one of those "simple" jobs that took a bit longer than planned. And so it went until it was time to muster for the Szasz party.

Well, no one knows how to party better than Peter & Louisa! Their beautiful house in Redwood Shore, surrounded on two sides by water, was the perfect playground. Louisa, despite it being her 50th birthday weekend, had manicured her gardes fore and aft to excusite crispness with roses in particular looking luscious. The patio tables easily absorbed the elegant hors d'oeuvers brought by the fleet, while an inside table sported two cakes and sideboards groaned with donations of wine bottles. Peter concocted his masterful Margaritas by the pitcher.

The kids headed straight for the dock and fought for turns to ride and drive the 10' electric motorboat. There is little more wonderful than the smiles on their faces, or the looks of concentration, as all ages from 2 1/2 to 14 took their turns. Not to be out-done, Teak & Tille showed little respect to host canine Cody as they swam endlessly after balls thrown by the kids. Nothing like "wet dog" running through a cocktail party - but hey, it's summer, sunny, warm and it's only water.

Oh yes, one big kid managed to squeeze into the electric boat - even took his wife - hat and all. Wait until you see the picture of "vulture" Kimball Livingston on the cover of Sail Magazine!!!!!

Even filled with an afternoon of fun, stuffed with mounds of food plus delicious cake and ice cream, the kids were back on the dock when the parents were fading into the sunset and ready to head back to the harbor. Several caravans of cars got everyone safely back, and a few even had reserve energy for a Bingo game on the Sequoia porch before yielding to exhaustion!

Yet Monday morning, our sturdy Islanders rose to the call of Sequoia's fruit and bagels breakfast - Laurie Stover had been up even earlier to decorate the tables in red, white and blue. Chores continued in the fleet as Art Fowler went aloft to restore Zenith's foredeck light, and John Melton worked on porthole # 2. The Nantucket crew headed for the parade in Redwood City.

Compelled by the drive to thrive and be at work on Tuesday morning, Getaway, Diana & Natural High departed for their home ports - but all were seriously contemplating returning by land-yacht for dinner and fireworks. Sequoia's galley crew made that decision even easier by showing off their giant beef ribs to go with pork ribs and chicken, plus hamburgers and, hot dogs - done in ditry water, in-and-out and ripped. The cognicetti will immediately recognize these as being done in spicy beer, dipped quickly into and out of the deep fryer, and those left ong enough in the fryer for the skin to split from end to end!

As the afternoon winds eased into the marina, Islanders gathered on the Sequoia deck for one last relaxing round of drinks and conversation. Fred and Barb Cucksey (Mistral) arrived to join the crowd, as did Charles & Kathryn Hodgkins (Mischief). Mike Bennett and Leslie did indeed return for dinner after snugging Getaway in her slip. Meanwhile the great Sequoia team was hard at it - this time with last year's super chef Gaylord Van Dyne and Karrie Allen grilling ribs to perfection.

After dinner as darkness settled, it was time to secure the cockpit awnings and stow the flags in preparation for the morning departure. With all ship shape, most of the gang adjourned to the big, wide, welcoming cockpit on Evanescence. The kids had some sparklers along the dock, while the adults snuggled under blankets and sipped a nectar of the gods. At 2130 the show began, and for twenty minutes the sky was filled with bursts of light and the concussion of shells. Another glorious 4th compliments of Redwood City.

Tuesday morning, with Rick starting off at 0545, we all headed home. It was a great weekend.

Pictures compliments of Lou Zevanov, Smokey Stover, Sequoia photographer Darrow Watt, and Rick Van Mell.

Easy Evanescence	Cindy & Cruiser	Lazy sail	Under San Mateo Br.
Getaway	Ian coaches Tim	And they're going fast	Bye Lean Times
Mighty Pirate crew	has Smokey smiling	True North ...	sets a jib
Gena at Diana's Helm	Talk about relaxing!	Making tracks	Maybe we'll get splashed ...
This is fun!	Mom's watchful eye	Feels cool	Really officer .....
Sequoia Yacht Club	Petra's Welcome Cookies	Petra!	Snowflower & Ophira
The Guest Dock raft	Lots of flags	VERY cosy!	Cindy Lefmann
Gary Salvo	Sandy & Cindy	C Dock held the kids!	Laurie Stover's ready...
with Pirate stuff!	Pulau Pirates!	Nantucket's whale boat	Pirate Ship Evanescence
Lean Times	Natural High	Endeavor's Tillie	Neil & Cruiser Lefmann
Diana arrives ...	wave!	Mike Bennett and ...	Getaway crew
Diana foredeck crew	Ophira's Cathy	The names says it all!	Jean Jefferies sets tables ...
with Sandy	Looking good ...	and blood-thirsty	Billy Bones stands (?) guard
Kegan's happy	So is Linda Horne	Aye Captain John
Port Captain Rick Gilmore ...	plus Petra, Ann & Dan & Kate	Chef & Photog Darrow Watt	Donny & Laurie Pirate ready

Sequoia's Darrow Watt not only did most of the great cooking for us, but added these great pictures too!

Pirate Treasure	Munchies for Nancy & Gary	Billy Bones needs a dentist!	The FABULOUS grill!
Is that safe?	Gentle sundown	Everyone joins in	Pirate strummer!
Gold & Pearl?!	Fun time!	Port Captain Rick Gilmore

Thanks Darrow - hope we see you next year!

Susan Brooks & Frank Mayo	John Melton, Tim Shea & Skipper Wall	The old guard!	Pirate Michael Jefferies at you service!
Ron & VC John Mattis	Sandy & VC Mattis	Patient Teak	Smokey & Mike Bennett
Patience ran out.	Nibbles nibbled!	Bartenders	Cindy & Neil Lefmann
Dennis Bush	Petra's a cook too!	Pirate Lads & Lasses	Rhonda's contemplating
Relaxed crew	Good eats	Linda, Jonathan, Ian & Kegan	Busy buccaneers
Good for a laugh	Dennis tells a story	Fran & Brian Jacobs	Pirate Lads & Lasses
Rick & Sandy	Neil & Cindy	Perfect cake	Laurie & Smokey Stover
Fran Jacobs Perfect pirate	Sequoia's fine bar	Jonathon (Pirate) Muhiudeen	Great food!
Hungry Pirates	Eager eaters	Ready for more	Arrrrrugh.....!
Clean plates	Everyone's happy	The wonderful Sequoia team	Pirate Rick
Laurie welcomes the kids	Brian thanked as RC Boat	Can he eat it all?!	True North happy
Rick clicks	Sam meets Billy Bones	Mellow time	Now if you push here ...
Donny's happy	John Melton thanked for starting Rally	Little smiles	Avast Mate!
Serious fun	Peter Szasz	Songfest!!!
Mellow fellows	Find that note	Strum & Hum	Good night!
Cruiser is ready!	Twilight ...	comes softly ...	and fades.
Kate's toast	Bartender's view ...	page two.	Maynes' French Toast Saturday morning
Good stuff	Breakfast clubbers	Fueled for a duel	Kids' treasure bag
Sink the Ship	Red Rover, Red Rover ...	let someone come over.	Tending a Boo Boo
Play time	Getting organized	At attention	Ready to play
Billy's had it!!!	in full swing	Laurie & Sarah	Tim & Rhonda - USA!
Steve rows ashore ...	to get the kids ...	for rowing practice	Nantucket whale launch
Looking for something ...	"Looks fine up here," says Steve	"Be sure to hold on!" says Mom.
Lofty business	Smile Neil	Port brigade	Lucky Cruiser
At Peter & Louisa's patio	Louisa on the go	Peter Szasz & Steve Zevanove	Pretty Pulau family
Lovely ladies	Chasing balls	Big wet Cody	Shore crew
Electric boat time	Let's go this way	Little Skipper	Little racers
Dock crew stomp	Wailing for their ship	Attentive audience	Food everywhere
Fun in the shade	Gracious dining	John has his corner	Bill Higdon arrived
Evanescence crew naps	But Ian's hungry!	"So then I tacked..."	Rick tries to assemble a crowd
Some people listen ...	what's that?	Peter brings smiles	Just relaxed
Rick's Rally Results # 2!!!	3rd Place - Mike Bennett	Dennis gets 2nd Place ...	until Judy secures it!
1 st Place - Art Fowler	Art cracks 'em up	I had Delta plot the course	Photog Lou Zevanov
The Birthday Girl	Peter toasts	All cheers ...	all around ...
the ...	room.	Who is having more fun?	Our wonderful gracious hostess!
'M 'M Good!	Amber's ready for cake!	Serve it up!	Eager eaters
The Invincibles?????	Go Girl!	And one to grow on!	Birthday Queen
Who is that masked powerboater?	Kimball Livingstone & Lourdes!!!	All worn out!
Darrow & Petra make great fruit	Laurie decorates ...	Breakfast is ready!	Sandy finds goodies bag!
Happy Campers	Well fed	Restoring foredeck light ...	is Art Fowler
Carol Farnsworth sets for dinner	Tim relaxes	Welcome Barb ...	and Fred Cucksey!
Gaylord cooks up a storm ...	so does Karrie Allen	Endeavor ready for fireworks.	It was a great weekend!
A windy day ...	that's GREAT ...	for boards & ...	kites!