2000 MEETINGS

Date   The 2nd WEDNESDAY of each month.
            Jan 10, Feb 7, March 6, April 3
            Time: 7:00 to 9:00 PM.

Where  The Army, Navy, Air Force Veterans Club
              127 St & Yellowhead Trail

Date   The 4^th WEDNESDAY of each month.
            Nov 1, Dec 6.
            Time: 7:00 to 9:00 PM.

Where  The Royal Canadian Legion, Kingsway Branch No 175
              10425-Kingsway Ave, Rendezvous' Room (2^nd flr)
              Contact Person - Florence Werner 425-8654

THREE WAYS TO FULFILL YOUR WEST COAST SAILING 

• Trailer your boat to the west coast by Bob Johns.
• Buy and sail a boat on the west coast by Greg Barnes.
• Ocean sailing from the Chesapeake to Puerto Rico by Doug Bean, (standing in for Klaus Gruber).   TOP
  

Trailering 101, Regulations & Safety - This was a very informative presentation given by a very knowledgeable speaker, Duncan Cook. Everything you ever wanted to know about trailer safety, load limits, lights, permits, weigh scale protocol, etc for Alberta, Saskatchewan and BC. It raised more questions that will be dealt with in subsequent meetings.   TOP

TRAILERING 101, Axles & Brakes - Lawrence and Kelly, from M^cCoy Bros, gave a very informative presentation on axles, spring versus torsion, tandem, spindles, bearing buddies, packing bearings, coupler ratings, electric & surge brakes and the latest Electro-hydraulic brake controller. Their presentation culminated in a draw for a M^cCoy jacket.

CHARTERING IN THE BVI - Mike Tomlinson from Islands in the Sun (482-5022) gave an excellent slide show on crewed chartering in the British Virgin Islands and a video on windjammer cruises in the Caribbean. Mike's talk definitely stirred up some "get warm feelings", especially with the snow blowing outside. There were lots of brochures that were quickly snatched up.   TOP

TRAILERING 101, Trailer Hitches - Matt Sitar, a truck accessories specialist from The Hitch Shop, brought in an equalizing hitch to demonstrate how it works. He also discussed coupler load ratings, hitch balls and gave some trailer towing tips. His demonstrations answered many questions and "opened" a lot of eyes in the crowd. 

CRUISING THE INTRA-COASTAL HIGHWAY - Fran & Floyd Mansell gave a very entertaining account of their trip down the "Ditch" to celebrate new years eve in the Florida Keys. They were bubbling over with excitement. There were lots of maps and best of all, a preparation list that can be used for most any trip. Their closing message was, "if you have the slightest desire to go, don't hesitate."   TOP

Summer break for sailing and stuff.

THE PERFECT STORM - A video of the meteorological and oceanographic facts of hurricane Grace, plus the US Coast Guard rescue, that set the scene for the movie. 

CRUISING DESOLATION SOUND - Klaus Gruber showed a video of his wanderings at the west coast this summer.   TOP

GENERAL ELECTIONS.

NAVIGATION LIGHTS - Greg Barnes demonstrated a very interesting program that showed the navigation lights of different types of ships from different angles.  The views his program shows are seldom shown in a manual and reveal some startling concerns when navigating at night in congested areas. There is also an excellent web site devoted to this subject with text book views of lights, etc. They are located at  http://ficus-www.cs.ucla.edu/ficus-members/geoff/mnemonics.html 

STABILITY - Randy Stiles brought a program to calculate the angle of vanishing stability for a boat.  It's similar to the righting moment of a boat, with a slight heel to it!    TOP