The Cat's Tales
Catalinas
of
August
2003
John Celick — Newsletter Editor\Treasurer
http://www.catalinasmbay.org/
From the Captain of the
Fleet:
“Over
130 Catalinas from up and down the coast enjoyed a sunny and active weekend at
the Catalina Rendezvous held July 11th-13th over at the island. Our fleet had
about 15 boats attending and many members brought guests, some coming all the
way from the East coast. We had not attended a Rendezvous in several years, but
we certainly enjoyed attending this one. Starting with the registration, well
handled by Gene and Joan Levinthal with help from
members of our Fleet, the organization of the Rendezvous went well.
“Friday
night opened with “The Most Outrageous Dessert” contest followed with a slide
show on the South Pacific. Fay Stevens won third prize with her dessert
"Dirt Pie". The program on Saturday included a number of vendors and
displays. These were well presented and well attended. A lot of interest was
generated by the opportunity to hear about and go abroad the hydrogen fuel cell
powered Catalina 42 sailboat which had been brought down for the Rendezvous. The future in sailboats??- Maybe.
“Saturday,
night just as the dancing started, the full moon rose over the island, just as
if it had been scripted for the theme Under
a Catalina Moon. Sunday, after a few closing remarks and more prizes, most
of us sailed home. It was a fun weekend.
Our next meeting: The
Hamburger Social -Tuesday August 19th.
“Tuesday,
August 19th, is the second of our hamburger socials. There is no
speaker, just good food and drinks and plenty of social time together. Please
feel free to bring guests along. These socials are fun evenings. The
hamburgers, buns, salads, fixings, and desserts are all provided and you cook
your own. The food cost is only $5.00 each.
No Cat's Tales in July –
An Apology
“Due to global warming, monsoon rains,
earthquakes in
Your Fleet Captain, Hal Avery
Can’t Miss Mars and It Is Better From the
Never again in your lifetime will the Red Planet be so spectacular! The Earth is catching up with Mars, an encounter that will culminate in the closest approach between the two planets in recorded history. The next time Mars may come this close is in 2287. Due to the way Jupiter's gravity tugs on Mars and perturbs its orbit, astronomers can only be certain that Mars has not come this close to Earth in the last 5,000 years but it may be as long as 60,000 years.
Can’t Miss Mars and It Is Better From the
The encounter will culminate on August 27th when Mars comes to within
34,649,589 miles and will be (next to the moon) the brightest object in the
night sky. It will attain a magnitude of -2.9 and will appear 25.11 arc seconds
wide. At a modest 75-power magnification Mars will look as large as the full
moon to the naked eye. Mars is easy to spot. At the beginning of August, Mars
will be visible low in the east at sunset and reach its azimuth at about
By the end of August when the two planets are closest, Mars will reach its
highest point in the sky at about
Next Cruise is Marci’s
The weekend after Labor Day is one of our best events culminating with a sunset
dinghy raft-up on Saturday where we share our fancy appetizers and sample
wines. Yes, we are continuing our tradition of blind sampling wines brought for
the purpose by the members. Then the members vote on the wines and there is a
winner in each category, red and white. It seems sort of silly to squat on our
dinghies balancing good food on our laps and swilling great wines in paper
cups… but it is a lot of fun. By the way, the weekend after Labor Day is
probably better than being at the island during Labor Day weekend. Come join
the tradition. Contact Hal Avery.
Cruise Preview: Plan for White’s Cove
in mid-October!
Coming Events
Date:
|
Event: |
Remarks: |
|
Tuesday, August 19th |
Meeting |
SMWYC Hamburger Social |
|
Friday - Sunday, Sept. 4th – 6th |
Cruise |
Marci’s Champagne Dinghy Cruise and
Wine Tasting, Cherry Cove, |
|
Tuesday, September 16th |
Meeting
|
Italian Pot Luck Dinner at SMWYC,
Speaker TBA |
|
Friday – Sunday October 17th -19th |
Cruise |
White’s Cove Season Finale at BYC
Facility |
Meetings are on the 3rd Tuesday of the month at the Santa
Monica Windjammers Yacht Club,
Cocktails at