The Mainsheet - June 2026

The Commodore’s Compass

June is here and my thoughts always turn to cruising our Southern California coast with warmer waters, reliable afternoon winds, and busy anchorages and harbors. Holly and I  head down to Catalina first week of September. Kids are in school but island businesses are still fully staffed and on summer schedule. The water is warm enough to dive without wetsuits and the weather is usually mild for an easy slog back to Oxnard, usually with a stop at Paradise Cove.

Racing has been exciting. Our Wet Wednesdays have been breezy and then some. Class A boats are putting on a clinic with skilled competitive boats and crews sailing in up to 20 knots of wind. Cruising boats are beginning to show up for class C and we are having fun times in the club house after the race. Join us. We are always looking for Race Committee help on our committee boat Piper. Its a great way to get close to racing and understanding starting tactics. Contact Marshall or myself to come. Our numbers or on the racing instructions.

Congratulations go out to AYC member, and Race Committee crewmember, Alan Hayashi for completing 50 years in education. He is moving on from his position of math professor at Oxnard College this summer. He hosted a luncheon at the club for 60 members of the OC staff and was a lot of fun. Consider using our club house for your events. We can easily seat and serve up to 60 folks.

June events and duties:

WW June 3, Angie

WW June 10, Cheyenne

June 13, club dinner, Marshall

WW June 24, Geoff Walsh

June 27, General Meeting and dinner, Matt

June 28th, Open Mic and dinner, Chuck

Ill be rolling out the master schedule for the remainder of the year in the next week or so, stay tuned!

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Vice Commodore’s Comment

June. Back home, I know what that means — they're calling for June Gloom. But what's so gloomy about being on the water? Racing season is in full swing, the cruising weather is great, and I'm picturing all of it from here in the Philippines.

For those Wet Wednesdays — even if you're not racing, come down to the club afterward. Grab something from the galley, a drink or two from the bar, and settle in for the sailing stories. They have a way of getting taller as the evening goes on.

Also, check the events tab on the club's website and mark these two dates: the Club Dinner is June 13th, hosted this month by Lorenz and Anita. And the General Meeting & Dinner is June 27th, with Matt Speicher as your host — an RSVP to him would be a good idea. Bar opens at 5:30, dinner at 6:00, meeting at 6:30. These are the evenings that hold a club together. Show up and check in with your fellow sailors.

Over here in Butuan, I've been spending time with the maritime academy cadets and the Balangay Sailing Club. It's quite a different world — they race self-built Oz Goose dinghies on short courses right off the beach, which makes for a great spectator sport. Their racing this month coincides with the Balangay Festival. Butuan, on Mindanao Island, is home to the oldest known excavated boat in the world — a trading vessel dated to 320 CE, 25 meters LOA. Huge. Long before anyone else was venturing out for trade and cultural exchange, Filipinos were already doing it under sail.

There are replicas built using the original construction methods that I haven't managed to track down yet — but I'm working on it. In the meantime, next month I'll post a video of myself boarding one of those Oz Goose dinghies. You push it off the beach and climb aboard in waist-deep water. I would have shared it this month, but it was not pretty!!!

Sailors have always found each other across distance. That's the thing about this club — and this sport. Whether you're racing a Wet Wednesday or sailing a trading route a thousand years ago, the water connects us.

Get out there this month. Race, cruise, or just come by the club. I'll be thinking of you all from this side of the world.

All the best — and stay on the water,
Pete

CLUB DINNERS AND SOCIAL EVENTS:

Planned for June:

Wednesday- 3- Wet Wednesday Race -Angie Frausto

Wednesday- 10 - Wet Wednesday Race - Cheyenne

Thursday- 11 -Bridge and Board Meeting

Saturday-13 - Club Dinner  - Marshall Murphy

Wednesday- 17- Wet Wednesday Race -Alan Hayashi 

Wednesday - 24 - Wet Wednesday Race - Geoff Walsh

Saturday - 27 - General Meeting & Dinner - Matt Speicher

Sunday - 28 - Open Mic & Dinner - Chuck Manley

Rear Commodore’s News

A TIME WHEN A SAiLOR COULD NOT SAIL

Today one takes as granted the privilege of sailing in and out of the harbors along the

west coast. It has not always been that way. At the onset of World War Two (WW1

also) pleasure yachting was suspended. On both coasts the axis powers were

conducting naval operations primarily with submarines. An oil field and refinery in

Goleta was shelled by the deck gun of Japanese submarine I-17. A small number of

authorized to sail ships were attacked and either damaged or sunk. The navy would at

times buy vessels they deemed suitable as coastal patrol boats. Usually small

commercial ships. This was all new and the crafts were poorly outfitted and the crews

were untrained. Thus, enjoying sailing using the wind became a thing of the past.

However, I did read an article about twenty years ago in Cruising World magazine

written by a civilian sailor about his experience on a tall ship that had been

commissioned by the Navy as a weathership. He reported that the crew maintained

tight discipline as they felt they represented the Navy but they had a great sail doing the

task of reporting weather conditions on the Pacific Ocean. There was another avenue

to enjoy the outdoors that many yachtsmen pursued. This was the Civil Air Patrol. If

one owned a private aircraft one could join the CAP and fly patrolling the coast and

adjacent inland areas. I had a chance meeting several years ago with the commander

of the CAP and he told me that they had sunk a Japanese sub by tossing a hand

grenade into the coning tower when the sub surfaced right below them. He said the

patrols carried grenades and sub machine guns. I tried to verify this using the internet

but there is no record. In fact one website said the CAP never sank any ships. There is

a CAP station at the Whiteman Airport in Sylmar California that may have more detailed

histories. I have not pursued this avenue of research but I may as the story has always

intrigued me. So let us remember the great privilege we have to freely enjoy the open

waters here.

Lorenz Perner, Rear Commodore, June 2026