GBCA Discussion Forum

Rum Racers:

GBCA is hosting a "How to Race" seminar Saturday, June 20th.  We have advertised that we will try to place new racers on boats and possibly place experienced racer volunteers on boats with new skippers.
If you can take one or two new sailors on your boat or have a experienced crew who can jump on with a new skipper,
contact me before noon Saturday.

Charles Broaddus
281-795-2911 (text or call)

Is there a tracking site set up for RTTB?

Butch Boos from C&C sails forwarded a message from one of his customer about a new hazard.  


"Just a heads up.  Yesterday I found a new hazard in the bay.  A pipe has been pulled up and is standing about 2 feet above the surface. It was not there on Friday but its there today.  The pipe is located at 29o30.807? N by 94o55.064? W.   Not too hard to see on calm day but in any waves it will be difficult to spot.  In addition, the post is a distraction.  I was paying attention to the post and did not see pipe until I was 50 or 60 feet away. "

Plotting it, it appears to be about 500 ft west of our Rum Race Mark SM54.

I plotted another pipe NE of H Mark, at approximately 29? 33.990N-94? 56.114W

Charles

The Catalina 22 National Championship Regatta will be held Sunday, June 22nd through Thursday, June 26.  It is being hosted by the Lakewood Yacht Club and all activities will be held on the club grounds.  There will be several competitors coming in from out of town, out of state and some are looking for local crew.  If you are interested and available, or would like more information,  contact me and I will connect you with a potential skipper.
It will be a great event and offer four full days of racing and off the water activities.

Charles Broaddus
Catalina 22 NSA Fleet 17 Captain
cbroaddus@comcast.net
281-795-2911

For those that like to travel, here is an opportunity:
>>>
Dear Texas Sailor:

Come celebrate spring on Canyon Lake! Hill Country Yacht Club is pleased to present the 43rd annual Fiesta Regatta. We are inviting racers and their families statewide join us on our beautiful lake between San Antonio and Austin, April 26th and 27th. In addition to a great lake, great weather, great racing, and great camaraderie, the Canyon Lake - San Antonio - Austin area offers Six Flags - Fiesta Texas?, Sea World of San Antonio?, San Antonio River Walk, and Fiesta? San Antonio parades and other events.
  Saturday evening, come join us for our fiesta, HCYC style. Evening entertainment: 5:00 pm, Pi?ata on the deck for the kids; 5 pm to 7 pm, BYOB Happy hour; and 7 pm dinner and dancing to a live band. NOR and Fiesta Regatta Sailing Instructions are attached. I am also providing links to various entertainment venues for the weekend.

Register for HCYC?s Fiesta Regatta here: http://www.regattanetwork.com/event/8005
<<<

If anyone finds a yellow horseshoe buoy floating around empty in the vicinity of HYC, it is from Stinger. With the wind on New Years Day, it might be down by Kemah.  The MOB went fine, just didn't recover the buoy.

Has anyone traveled on Soutwest Airlines with an inflatable PFD.

NOAA Office of Coast Survey
Coast Survey Announcement
December 14, 2011
   

Contact:
Dawn Forsythe


301-713-2780 x144
cell: 240-429-6125

Sea floor surveys support Texas maritime trade
This winter, NOAA will begin a year-long survey of the sea floor in the Port of Houston and Galveston Bay navigational areas, to aid efforts to bring more trade, more cargo, more jobs, and more economic benefits to the Houston area. The navigation survey team arrived in Galveston this week, to begin pre-survey preparations with mariners and federal partners.

"With bigger ships, crowded sea lanes, and more uses of ocean areas, shipping today is increasingly a task of precision and accuracy," explained NOAA Corps Cmdr. Todd Haupt, chief of the Office of Coast Survey's Navigation Response Branch. "Hurricanes can change the shape of the ocean floor and move underwater debris, which can cause problems for mariners. NOAA's navigation team will conduct hydrographic surveys to search for changes caused by Hurricanes Ike and Rita as well as other strong storms."

"Pilots need precise and up-to-date depth measurements as they navigate, and our task is to re-measure the ocean depths, search for dangers to navigation, and give mariners the information they need to protect lives and increase shipping efficiencies."

The survey project, part of NOAA's mapping and charting mission, is managed by NOAA's Office of Coast Survey, which produces and maintains the nation's navigational charts. Coast Survey first charted the Galveston Entrance in 1853, after being tasked by the federal government with creating charts of the coastal waters so that the young nation's shipping industry could thrive.

In 2010, over 1.3 billion metric tons of cargo, valued at $1.4 trillion, shipped in and out of U.S. ports in foreign trade. The value of water-borne U.S. exports has more than doubled since 2003, increasing from $206 billion in 2003 to $455 billion in 2010. The Port of Houston plays a key economic role for Texas, and for the United States. A 2007 study showed that 785,000 jobs throughout the U.S. and $118 billion in annual regional economic impact are related to business activities at the Port of Houston.

NOAA has six navigation response teams that survey port areas at the request of port officials or the U.S. Coast Guard. The Texas team is coming from Michigan, where they have been surveying the Great Lakes. The team also worked off the coast of Virginia earlier this year, speeding the resumption of maritime commerce after Hurricane Irene hit the Eastern Seaboard.

NOAA survey boatThe navigation response team has a crew of three experienced hydrographers. They use a 28-foot survey boat equipped with both multibeam and sidescan sonar. Most of the acquired data will go to a processing branch in Seattle, Wash., before NOAA applies it to electronic and raster navigational charts updates, but the team will notify the public and appropriate officials if they find any immediate dangers to navigation.

NOAA's navigational charts give pilots the confidence they need to transit the 95,000 miles of U.S. coastline, even in extreme weather and sea conditions. In addition to maintaining the accuracy of paper charts, which are available from chart agents in traditional form or in an updated "print on demand" format, Coast Survey regularly updates electronic navigational charts and raster charts, which are available for free downloads from www.nauticalcharts.gov.
NOAA's Office of Coast Survey has provided two centuries of service to the maritime transportation system, as America's trusted source of navigational charts, data, and services since 1807.

I have a friend that is looking for a used ICW guide.  He is heading east.  If anyone has one they want to part with, contact me, please.
Charles
281-795-2911
cbroaddus @ comcast dot net

Looking to crew for the HYC One Design Regatta.  Lots of experience racing on Galveston Bay in a variety of boats. 6ft, 215lbs, in good shape. My J-105 ride had to pull out of the regatta.
Charles
281-795-2911
cbroaddus@comcast.net

Woohoo.  Musica and crew made the UK-Halsey newsletter this month. Gongrats Cliff.

Anybody know whats going on at Club Classic.  The name has been changed on the front.

Double congratulations to Ben Miller and crew.  He and his "new" Catalina 22 just finished winning the CLRA series 1 against some FAST boats!  Then he trailered up to Arlington this past weekend and won a C22 regatta with three bullets out of 7 races and nothing worse that a 4th! And north Texas has some of the best C22 sailors in the country!
Congratulations Ben, Carolin and the rest of your crew.
Charles

Black Eyed Peas, Cornbread, Porkchops, and cabbage.!!
Yum, Yum!

Happy New Year everyone. See you at the race tommorrow.
Charles

Marilyn Bomer from Ft. Worth is looking for foredeck crew on a Catalina 22 for the NOOD this weekend. Her contact # is 817-676-3782
Posted by Charles