Monthly Reports

September weather was sort of hit or miss so it was an opportunity catch your breath and get ready for a rip-roaring October.  Those who attended the annual meeting and BBQ at the Swallings’ foothill home were treated to a fun and relaxing afternoon.  We made over $200 for the squadron’s kitty thanks to Neil’s masterful auctioneering.

I am not a person who loves meetings, but the Annual Meeting is an exception. It was held Saturday, September 9, on the Swallings’ spacious and comfortable patio high above Santa Barbara.

Seven students took the take-home exam for the Piloting class and turned them in on the 21st for grading by National.  They were graded with all students getting passing grades – congratulations to all.

The Engine Maintenance class is underway and we have 25 students enrolled including 12 new members.  Pete Seagoe is conducting the class.

The next ABC class is scheduled in the Marine Center Classroom on Wednesday nights beginning October 24. 

Anchoring Techniques During an Emergency: What should you do if your engine stops while underway?  Your response depends upon basically how close you are to grounding or drifting into something, and your troubleshooting capability.

As usual, August has been a great month for boating activities.  In this newsletter, you will find reports from members who cruised to Santa Catalina and San Miguel last month.  Also as usual, in these reports you can expect a little bit of adventure which may happen every time you toss off the docklines.

Three boats — S/V Peregrine (Eleanor and Steve York), M/V Mariposa de la Islas (Ellie and Mark Cooper) and S/V Ecco Bella (Peggy and Rich Ciolino) — set out on the scheduled cruise to Catalina. We were supposed to leave a day earlier, but the wind was predicted to be coming from an unfavorable direction for crossing over to Catalina, and the departure was delayed one day.

We are now ready to start accepting two new ways of letting people pay for various things we sell – credit cards and PayPal.  Up to now it has always been cash or check but we have had a lot of requests from students taking classes to handle credit cards.  Some don’t even have a checking account!  Ah the millennials …

Seven students took the take-home exam for the Piloting class and turned them in on the 21st for grading by National.

We have a good turnout so far for the Engine Maintenance course that will run from September 11 to November 20.  There is still space so if anyone else is interested please contact me. 

Pirates were sailors.  Navy personnel were/are sailors.  One thing they did not have in common was – pirates wore eye patches!  At least the way they are generally portrayed in stories and film – the eye patch, and their peculiar manner of speech, are uniquely pirate.  It seems that there is no accepted reason for this depiction other than it is a manifestation of stories, for example “Treasure Island” and films such as “Captain Ron”.  ( Each of these examples have other redeeming values.)

Boaters out of Santa Barbara found a consistent bass bite on both calico and sand bass, along the mainland coast and at the Channel Islands. Halibut action was good and spearfishers reported large concentrations at mid-depth. Shore-based halibut action was also good. Outings for bottom fish were excellent and reliable.