Hello. May is here already, and we are all anxious to get out to sail. May 13 did not prove a fortuitous day for racing, since the race was canceled. The intrepid sailors who did make it to the lake had a good time. A special thanks to Chris Ross, Henry Otto, and Ned Gatewood for the sailing instruction on Chris's Laguna. We do hope that more people try to participate in the racing season. There will be a cooler of beverages waiting for all to enjoy at the end of the next race. I also want to strongly encourage your support of a lecture series based upon members' suggestions. Ken Conrow will speak on May 19th about racing/racing rules. It should prove to be very informative. Hope to see everyone at the lake,
Tracie Kalic
Tbk296@aol.com

Work Day Success
Thank you to all who showed up for the workday. We accomplished so much in a short time. A special thank you to Ned and Barbara Gatewood for sustaining us with wonderful food.

Attention Members:
An updated list of member information will be published soon. If you have not paid your dues, you must do so immediately. I will be contacting members who are not current with their dues/fees.

From the Commodore:
FYI: Please put the combination lock on the gate to the club through the keyed (corps) lock and then through the closest link to the gate (leaving the excess chain hanging). In doing this, it is more difficult for any non-members to lift one end of the gate off the post to gain access to the club. It is harder to lift both gates at the same time.

More chain has been ordered for buoy repairs, and we are considering four to six new buoys. Lindgren is making three to four new anchors for more moorings or replacement of existing engine block anchors which tend to foul. I have applied for a wholesale account at Boat US to get the best price on buoys.

Another opportunity to socialize:
Another opportunity to socialize:
Tentatively titled the Blue Valley Yacht Club Lecture Series (until someone can think of a better name )

>From Ned Gatewood:
As Social Chairperson this year, one of my goals is to initiate a means by which we can learn to be better sailors, and at the same time, enjoy doing so. Therefore, I have asked this year's Racing Chairperson, Ken Conrow, to give a presentation on racing and racing rules. Hopefully, this will be the first of many such presentations that will be presented from time to time, and which will deal with a broad range of topics. I have reserved the meeting room at Java Espresso and Bakery on Saturday morning, May 19th, at 9:00am for Ken's presentation. The format is that Ken will make a 30- 40 minute presentation, and after that the floor will be open for discussion. Please try to attend. There is no need to RSVP; just come and enjoy some good coffee and interesting discussion about sailing. Your support will be encouragement to continue this effort of bringing educational and interesting topics to the Club. And please bring questions for Ken and suggestions for future topics.

Sailing Trivia:
In honor of the new lecture series and to enable all of us to continue learning, the newsletter will include anecdotes, quotations, brief discussions, and sailing lore to enlighten and entertain us. Please send any interesting bit of sailing trivia to me at tbk296@aol.com. I will be publishing your responses in subsequent newsletters.

Sailing Trivia General Sailboat Racing Rules:
Right of Way
1. When boats are on the same tack and overlapped, a windward boat shall keep clear of a leeward boat.
2. When boats are on the same tack and not overlapped, a boat clear astern shall keep clear of a boat clear ahead.
3. While tacking, after a boat passes head to wind, she shall keep clear of other boats until she is on a close-hauled course. The above rules apply during this time. If two boats are subject to this rule at the same time, the one on the other's port side shall keep clear.

Novel Notes of What Can You Make of This:
Ken Conrow sends the following;
In a novel of the Pacific naval war published in 1951, there is a passage describing a northwest bound convoy with the sentence "To the west of their course, where the moon would rise, the sky was clearing."

And that reminded me of the color announcer on some sport broadcast a couple of years ago who brightly said: "There's a full moon tonight in southern California" in a tone which clearly said to me he thought the moon's phase was unique to them.
What can you make of this? And the answers are: (a) They must have been making pretty good time their westward speed was faster than the earth's rotation. (b) The announcer was on the verge of discovery of what we almost all know southern California is on some other planet.

For Sale
Al Adams has a sailboat with motor and trailer for sale. $1000. If anyone is interested, please contact Al via e-mail at adams@interkan.net or (785) 776- 1693.

John Joehnk also has a sailboat for sail. Please contact him at rujo@interkan.net.

Please e-mail me if you wish to advertise your sailboat, etc.