The Mainsheet - May 2026

How many sailors does it take to clean up for AYC Opening Day?

The Commodore’s Compass

Congratulations and many thanks for pulling together for a fantastic AYC Opening Day 2026! We received compliments on our hospitality from many guests. With AYC officers presiding over the welcome, the traditional eight bells ceremony, and presenting the award for ‘Boat of the Year 2025” to Dave Gorney’s NO COMPROMISE the start of the 2026 boating season was declared. Complete with the flag ceremony, introduction of dignitaries and firing the cannon.. A great time was had by all.

After a cloudy, cold, and windy afternoon weekend at Prisoners Harbor the first week of May, I've come to realize that perhaps May gray and June gloom might be my favorite sailing season here on the California coast. My dermatologist would certainly agree with me on cloudy sailing. She asked me on my first visit to her office if I had ever used sun screen. When I replied yes ,when my wife sails with me, she assured me that I will be a returning customer. All the clouds and foggy afternoon winds can be dealt with a fleece sweater, a wind breaker, and a AYC cap on. The anchorages at the island are near empty, even on weekends. Get on out there and enjoy the best sailing of the year.

Our Wet Wednesday races are the highlight events for our club in my opinion. Competitive sailing followed by grub and grog at the club. Food quality is the best with fresh ground beef and hand made patties. The steaks, salads, and salmon burgers are tasty,  as well. If you're too late to race come by for the food and good company. Approach your dock neighbors to get them to join us. Its easy to register for races on our web site. We do have a cruising non spin class so any boat is welcome.

On the racing front, our club was well represented on the So Cal racing scene. Jerzy and Randy  sailing Castor Pollack got second place Orca class on the Newport Ensenada Race. Kevin Bigler, a new member got first place in his class on the Newport to San Diego Race. Kevin had a nice cruise of Southern California before and after the race as well.

Hope to see you all on the water

Chuck

Maritime University teacher Pete

The cadets are racing self-built Oz Goose boats — simple, rugged, daggerboard, gaff-rigged boats that are perfect for learning.

Vice Commodore’s Comment

As we head into a full and exciting month of sailing, I find myself thinking often of all of you back at the club — out on the water, on the docks, and gathered together afterward sharing stories.

Even from here in the Philippines, I can’t help but smile knowing the season is underway. There’s nothing quite like seeing boats off the dock, sails up, and friends reconnecting at the club after a day on the water.

If you haven’t been out in a while — this is your nudge. Get the boat ready, get off the dock, and join in. And if you’re new, or don’t know many people yet, don’t hesitate to introduce yourself. The yacht club is at its best when it’s welcoming, active, and connected — and it only takes a simple “hello” to become part of it.

Even if you’re not racing, just coming down to the club after events is worthwhile. The camaraderie, the conversations, and the shared love of the water are what make this place special.

I’d also like to extend a sincere thank you to Chuck, Marshall, Regina, and Angie for keeping me connected and sharing updates on what’s ahead this season — from racing to cruising the islands. It’s appreciated more than you know.

Over here, I’ve had the opportunity to stay involved as well, working with a maritime university that is introducing youth sailing as part of their physical education program. One of the “skills” I’m still working on is beaching the boats — coming in bow to wind, lifting the daggerboard and rudder, hopping over the side, and walking her stern-first onto the sand. Let’s just say that was a little easier in my 20s. The cadets seem to enjoy watching me figure it out — and I’ll get better at it. It’s all part of the fun, especially in these shallow waters. I’m enjoying everything with the cadets… except maybe the push-ups.

Though I’m on the other side of the world for now, I’m very much with you in spirit. Have a great sailing month. Get out on the water, enjoy the racing, enjoy the club, and I’ll be sure to check in when I return.

All the best — and stay on the water.

Pete

CLUB DINNERS AND SOCIAL EVENTS:

Planned for May:

Saturday-2 - Anacapa to Port Race - Angie Frausto

Wednesday- 6 - Wet Wednesday Race - Dave Gorney

Saturday-9 - Club Dinner  - Dan DeCesare

Wednesday- 13 - Wet Wednesday Race - Floyd Graves

Thursday- 14 -Bridge and Board Meeting 

Wednesday - 20 - Wet Wednesday Race - Kevin Bigler

Saturday - 23 - General Meeting & Dinner - Floyd & Janine Graves

Wednesday - 27 -Wet Wednesday Race - Randy Alcorn

Sunday - 17 - Open Mic

Sunday - 17 - Open Mic

Congratulations to Member, Kevin Bigler and crew!!!

Newport to San Diego: My First Overnight Race

by Kevin Bigler

This year I raced Newport to San Diego, my first overnight race and my first time sailing internationally. I had originally planned to race the Ensenada route, but one of my crew members mistook his Real ID for a valid passport and was convinced his driver's license would get him back into the United States. I opted not to risk leaving him with border patrol, changed the plans, and I'm glad I did. It was outstanding.

I sailed the boat down to Newport the weekend before, stopping at Isthmus along the way, and left her at Bahia Corinthian Yacht Club, taking advantage of our reciprocal privileges. After putting the boat to bed, I took the train home to work a few days before heading back Wednesday evening to begin preparations. My crew arrived Thursday and everything was coming together, until Friday morning when I woke up to a non-functional bilge pump. After pulling the system apart, I found that every wire was badly corroded and neither the float switch nor the pump was salvageable. Fortunately, a generous club member offered me a ride to West Marine, where I picked up a couple of manual pumps as backup. I made it back just in time to check in for the race.

We got off to an exciting start, perhaps a bit too exciting. We misread the starting signals and crossed the line early, were recalled, and executed a clean gybe around the race committee boat to get going. It was blowing 10 to 12 knots from the south at the start, and my Cal 34 leaned into it and plowed ahead. As the wind built to a sustained 15-plus knots, I threw in a reef over my crew's objections. It may not have been strictly necessary, but it made the boat considerably more comfortable and kept us from sliding to leeward. We sailed through it and waited for the wind to clock later in the evening. Eventually it came around to the beam, we shook out the reef, balanced the sails, set the autopilot, and let the boat do her thing for hours, sailing at hull speed until sunset, when we lost about a knot as the breeze softened.

My crew generously let me rest through the night, with only a few interruptions. The most memorable was a tug named Robyn J, which was towing an enormous, poorly-lit barge two miles behind her. Navigating around that in the dark without radar was nerve-wracking, but the captain was helpful and talked us safely around. Around 4 a.m., we roused the entire crew to help round North Coronado Island. None of us had done it before, so we wanted all hands on deck to manage any surprises. Even at night, it was beautiful. We gybed the main and ran wing-on-wing to get clear of the wind shadow before turning back up toward San Diego. The waves had been building all night, by this point running about five feet at eight seconds, square on the beam. The Cal 34 handled them without complaint. I, unfortunately, did not. I got seasick and was fortunate to have a capable, good-humored crew who kept things moving while I recovered.

We finished around 7 a.m. and came into San Diego Harbor. I should mention that we did all of this with a kayak lashed to the side, eight jerry cans of fuel and water on deck, 250 feet of chain, an ice chest, and a full load of cruising gear aboard. This was not a stripped-out race boat. If you have ever thought offshore racing was out of reach, I am here to tell you it is not. We raced, and we raced well, with all of it. Anyone can do this, and you should.

Thanks again to our reciprocal privileges as AYC members, Southwestern Yacht Club graciously hosted us for a few nights at no charge.

The awards ceremony was held at Silvergate Yacht Club, where the hospitality was excellent. I won my class. Admittedly, I was the only boat in it, but a win is a win. More gratifying, by my calculations we also beat a Cal 40 and a Cal 48 on corrected time, so I like our chances even with more competition. NOSA Vice Commodore John Sangmeister put on a wonderful ceremony and even offered to cover the cost of the trophy plaques, which is traditionally paid by the winner. A generous and classy gesture.

Over the course of the trip I visited several yacht clubs, some of them quite fancy, with dress codes, full kitchens, and the works, and they were all gracious hosts. But after seeing what's out there, I'll say this: I am proud to fly my AYC burgee. We have a wonderful club full of wonderful people, and I hope some of you will join me next year so we can show the rest of Southern California just how great we are.

Rear Commodore’s News

Racing

RACE COMMITTEE needs volunteers to help, you don’t need to be a racer to enjoy the fun and excitement. If you would like to get involved in a time honored racing tradition let me know, rearcommodore@anacapayachtclub.org.

Impatience at anchor leads to disaster while single handing

Many years ago I enjoyed sailing to the islands during the winter months. The fog is less and the winds are brisk. I anchored at Smugglers Bay with good conditions. This is my usual first stop on the way to further bays on Santa Cruz Island. There were no other yachts that I saw that day from Prisoners to Valley Anchorage. I settled in for the night. Late in the evening the winds increased and shifted creating a lee shore for me. I was awakened around one AM to white caps in the anchorage. Also, a Commercial fisherman had placed many lobster pots to windward from me. The boat was holding at anchor so I tried to sleep. It got so rough I gaveup on sleep, I put full foulies on and began anchor watch. It was a wild ride. Dawn came with the wind still strong and a lee shore. I was very tired and by ten AM I decided to leave regardless of the conditions. This was a mistake as the anchor was still holding. Never the less I started the engine,set the auto pilot, and ran to the fore deck to pull the anchor. In those days I did not have a windlass. I got the anchor up but did not have enough time to stowe it. I had about five minutes to navigate away from the lee shore. Looking toward my southern escape I saw several lobster pot bouyees and chose a path between two of them. The conditions required high RPMs. Not visible was a submerged pot and the prop picked it up. I knew that I had some damage. I limped into Anacapa Passage and away from the island. Conditions were rough and the anchor began to bounce around the deck. I had to secure it. While doing so a wave washed done the back of my foulees. I had not secured the hood. That never happened again. I hoisted the main and limped back to the harbor under sail. I knew I had to pull the boat and under inspection at the yard I determined that the engine had become dislodged. I had to re-bed the engine and align the shaft and check the prop. It was an expensive repair in time and money. In hindsight I realized that I should have been patient with the anchor holding. Conditions would have eased eventually. A lesson learned about being calm and patient.

AYC Rear Commodore Lorenz Perner

IN CONCLUSION,

AYC is our club! Members, please connect us with your boating by sending announcements, your pictures, ideas , and any content you wish to be put in next month’s MAINSHEET to mainsheet@anacapayachtclub.org by MAY 26, 2026. Thanks.

First Wet Wednesay 2026

Join us for the fun

and, of course, the Competition!!!