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March 1, 2008 |
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This newsletter marks the beginning of our 3rd year as a Club. I know you all join me in giving our thanks to Ben for his leadership and friendship for the last two years and we certainly appreciate that Ben has remained on the Board.
This year promises to be a very active one for us. Diann and Steve are busy working on a cruising schedule that will offer many new destinations as well as a revisit to some of our favorites from years past. We are planning on a major spring trip and still have our East Coast trip planned for the fall. We just need a little help from the rain gods. You will also see some social events planned such as the Dinner Theater trip in March to Boca Grande, our trip to the Grady Factory in North Carolina that is planned for June and we will repeat last year’s Coast Guard Safety Inspection. This year we will meet the inspectors at Laishley Marina.
As you know, we will have our meetings at Sam Seltzer’s in Port Charlotte. After much discussion and many trials we decided that they not only have the best value in food but more importantly have the best meeting room in town. The meeting room will allow us to have outside presenters at our meetings and you will actually be able to hear them. Our intention is to have a program booked each month and we have several exciting speakers lined up so far.
The Board recently met with Gary Ingman to discuss our relationship. Gary and Ingman Marine have been real partners with our Club and our meeting led to a renewal of that relationship. Gary has asked Scott Parker to be our liaison with Ingman Marine.
As you know, our Club in conjunction with Grady White and Ingman Marine will host a Grady Owners Symposium in March 2009. The date has been set for 3/28/2009. We will invite every Grady Club and Grady owner in the state to the new Charlotte County Civic Center in Punta Gorda for a full day of presentations by leaders in the marine industry, celebrity guest speakers and many vendor booths in a boat show setting. This promises to be a very exciting and informative day and will give the Grady Owner’s Clubs in Florida a chance to meet and show off their burgees and banners. (Ours will no doubt be the “best in show”). Even though it is still a year away, there is a great deal of planning that needs to be done. If you would like to participate in pulling this off, please let me know. We’re really going to need all the help we can get.
I’m sure you are enjoying our new and exciting newsletter format. Fred has put a lot of time into this and it’s surely something to be proud of. Currently Fred and Dan are working on establishing a web domain and new web site. This will allow a great deal more flexibility in our web site content as well as our own Club web address.
Well, that’s all for now. I am excited to serve as your Commodore this year and I am grateful for your support. It is a privilege to represent you and to serve with the other Board members.
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Editor: Fred Buchas |
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“next six monthly dinner meetings (March through August) at the Sam Seltzer’s Steakhouse” |
A Message From Fleet CaptainsSteve & Diann Saunders |
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Steve & Diann Saunders FLEET CAPTAINS
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Hello Everyone, Just a few lines to give you an update on the last month as well as upcoming events:
On Sunday, February 24th, we had a trip to South Seas Plantation for lunch at the Harborside Bar & Grille Restaurant. We had a great response as our fleet consisted of 11 boats and 41 Club Members/Guests. The food was delicious and a grand time was had by all. Also, a big thanks to Lisa Gautier at Grady White for the great wine cooler bags that each couple received at this event. In addition, our compliments to Stella Dorsey at South Seas Plantation in helping to coordinate this event and make sure that everything went smoothly for us, which it most certainly did and won raving reviews. Please check out our website for photos of this outing.
On Saturday, March 15th, we will be having a social gathering, by land, in Boca Grande. There, we will have dinner at South Beach Bar & Grille and then meander over to the Royal Palm Players Theatre to see a cabaret show called "S'Wonderful". Theatre tickets have been reserved for those who have responded and dinner reservations have been made. If anyone else is interested, please contact me at ddsaunders@comcast.net immediately and I will make every effort to try and reserve additional tickets. For those attending, a detailed e-mail will be sent out within the next week.
On Saturday, March 22nd (the best day of this time for the tides), we are planning a lunch cruise on the Peace River to the Nav-A-Gator Grill. An e-mail will be sent out to all members with details and a request for a response so that we can get a head count and make the necessary reservations.
On Saturday, March 29th at 11:00 a.m., the Power Squadron/Coast Guard will be at Laishley Marina in Punta Gorda. So, if you are interested in having your boat inspected (this is highly recommended, of course)....come on down. It will be a fun time and a chance to chit chat and lunch with your Grady friends.
I would like to add a word about group boating. We all love to gather, travel, and arrive as a proud group of Grady-White boaters from the Tarpon Coast Boat Club. In doing so there is some etiquette that we would like all to follow. As fleet captain I enjoy doing the schedule and route planning, but I can only do this knowing everyone that has signed on either joins the group, as planned, or notifies us in advance of their plan to have to cancel or their plan to alter the route and proceed on their own. That way the group that has met at the gathering point does not have to wait until the last promised minute before beginning our travel, but can leave when all are there. Thanks again for your consideration.
That is all for now; but as your Fleet Captain and Assistant Fleet Captain, we look forward to a great year of fun and exciting events with our Grady friends, smooth waters and great weather!
Steve & Diann Saunders
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“Sunday, February 24th, we had a trip to South Seas Plantation for lunch .” |
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“March 22nd we are planning a lunch cruise on the Peace River “ |
A Report From Treasurer/Web MasterDan Eisenberg |
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Dan Eisenberg TREASURER/WEB MASTER |
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As of today we have a total of 45 boats in the roster with one new member expected shortly. On the WEB, we added a section on the trip plans page http://home.comcast.net/~tcgwbc/trip_plans/information.html where members planning an outing on land or sea can inform the club beforehand to see if anyone else wants to join in. If you would like your trip placed on the web email me the details (djmeberg@comcast.net) and I will put them on the WEB. Dan |
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“As of today we have a total of 45 boats in the roster” |
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“Check out the club photo gallery on Flicker”. |
The Safety Scene-Safety Officer Fred Buchas |
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Fred Buchas SAFETY OFFICER |
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“There are hundreds of different knots in use but you probably only need to memorize a few ” |
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“be aware of the potential consequences of a situation like this” |
Other Items & Member News |
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A Word From The Commodore-Dan Clark |
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Upcoming Events – Mark Your Calendar: March 19, 7:00
Monthly Dinner meetings – The club has booked the next six monthly dinner meetings (March through August) at the Sam Seltzer’s Steakhouse in Port Charlotte. This is something new for us and should really work out well. It will certainly allow us to put on a more professional meeting in a relaxed setting, plus it is a good half-way point for our ‘North of the Harbor’ members. We will order off of the menu which will enable us to get separate checks. The room will cost the Club $50 which we will divide amongst those attending with a minimum of $2 per person which will be collected that night at the dinner. Any remaining monies collected will go into the Club account. Don’t forget that we will have a 50/50 raffle with half going to the Club and the rest going to the lucky winner.
Our guest speaker at the meeting will be Gene Quindlen, the Garmin Rep. He has got a great presentation in store for us, so bring your latitude, longitude, variation, deviation, and GPS knowledge with you.
Please e-mail me by March 13th if you are planning to attend so that I can get an accurate headcount for the restaurant. Johnsemple@verizon.net
Vessel Safety Check – The club will be holding our annual Vessel Safety Check on Saturday, March 29 at 11:00. It will be held at the new Laishley park Municipal Marina in Punta Gorda. In the event of rain, it will be re-scheduled for Saturday, April 5th.
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News From The Secretary-John Semple |
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Dan Clark COMMODORE
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Secure Knot Tying
Last month I provided some information on safe docking and this month we will continue by talking about tying knots. Now that you have your boat safely at the dock you’ll need to keep it there securely. Tying the required knots can be precise and purposeful or just a series of random twists and loops that may do the job. It’s not just about fast and secure tying but also about how easily they are to untie, especially when under load. There are hundreds of different knots in use but you probably only need to memorize a few to be properly prepared for most situations. Of course it will depend on whether you are tying to a cleat, piling, fender, another line, etc, etc. I’ve provided a link to a web site that has some great knot tying animations. This is the best method I’ve seen to learn step by step at your own speed.
http://www.animatedknots.com/indexboating.php?LogoImage=LogoGrog.jpg&Website=www.animatedknots.com
Click on the picture you’re interested in to see the animation. Running Aground In protected waters
The following information was passed on to me by a member who knew of a person who had the misfortune of running aground in protected waters in the Florida Keys. This particular instance involved grounding in an area with a sea grass bottom. The boater could have waited for high tide to float free but instead opted for the quicker solution of calling a professional towing service. The boat was quickly freed with no damage to the vessel and seemingly little damage to the sea grass bottom. This could have been the end of the story except for the $18,000 bill from the federal government that showed up months later. The bill was for damage repair and sea grass restoration. Apparently towing companies like Sea Tow are obligated to report any grounding in protected waters. I guess the point here is to be aware of the potential consequences of a situation like this and to make your decisions carefully as to how to remedy the problem. Don’t forget! Free Boat Safety Inspection: Saturday March 29th at Laishley Park Marina. Newsletter Archive |
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John Semple SECRETARY |
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I’m still looking for member contributions. It could be almost anything that would be of interest to the membership. It could include your personal fishing or cruising stories or just information about hot fishing spots, dining or cruising destinations etc.
Fred Buchas fbuchas1@comcast.net |
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Copyright © 2008 Tarpon Coast Grady-White Boat Club All rights reserved |
Our Vice Commodore-Burt Wahlburg |
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It has now been approximately fifteen months since our joining the Tarpon Coast Grady White Boat Club. From our very first dinner meeting, we were welcomed with open arms. Both Eileen and I have developed many new friendships and truly enjoyed the numerous club outings both near and far.
Being elected as Vice Commodore is both a privilege and honor. The past Officers have created a great Club of which we are proud to be an integral part.
In the upcoming year, I look forward to being an essential part of shaping the future and continuing the tradition of having an enjoyable informative and fun Boat Club. |
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Burt Wahlburg VICE COMMODORE
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Fred Buchas, Dan Clark and Burt Wahlburg visited the recent Miami Boat Show. Fred and Dan are pictured below with Grady-White president Kris Carroll. Our club and its activities are well known within the Grady organization. Our next year’s Grady Fest and the upcoming June factory tour were among items discussed. |
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Fred Buchas and Dan Clark with Grady-White president Kris Carroll. |
Editor’s Note |
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