Our facilities are now closed and our floating docks are stored on dry land until next season. A significant turnout by our members back in mid-October ensured that the yard was reconfigured for the winter. After the docks came out, our OHCC Annual General Meeting was held to update our members on current matters, membership, finances and so on, and to elect the OHCC Executive for the coming year. This was unanimously re-elected except for the following changes:

a) Adam Nicholson was elected Rear Commodore;

b) Katy and David Molyneux are now our Membership Secretaries;

c) Dave Ross was elected Yardmaster.

Special thanks are due to those retiring from the executive: Bernie Bieber, Doug Gordon and John Reynolds for their contributions to our executive.

Our clubhouse is now boarded up and all equipment is stored and winterized.

The 39th OHCC Annual Dinner Dance was held at The National Yacht Club in November 2011. Bernie Bieber (Rear Commodore) once again did an excellent job presenting the yearly awards and John Reynolds helped with the event.

We will continue to offer a full, learn-to-sail program for kids and youth, working in conjunction with Toronto Sailing and Canoe Club. We will be able to provide learn to sail programs all summer long for youngsters from seven to 17 years of age. The Kids/Youth camps will range from Learn to Sail, White Sail up to Gold Sail. If you are interested, please contact Alan Hall alan.hall@sympatico.ca for further details.

Our Executive met last month and we have already started planning the 2012 season. We will continue to work during the winter to determine what improvements are necessary to maintain the high standard of our club’s grounds, facilities and programs. Those programs and infrastructure maintenance can only be achieved through the volunteer commitment by all of our members.

I look forward to another year of enjoyable sailing.

Ralph Drake, Commodore

Waterfront Toronto (WT) and the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority held a joint (and packed) public meeting at the Toronto Reference Library on 14 December, 2011. This was to look for new ideas to accelerate progress in developing the Portlands and appeared to be related to the City’s recent unsuccessful attempt to take back control of development from WT. I offer a big thank you to members who attended the meeting and wearing their yellow jerseys. The CEO of WT spent some time in extolling the virtues of their achievements: wave decks, large commercial buildings on the edge of the Inner Harbour, parks where the main ingredient is concrete. He went on to estimate that the time to complete their planned development would be eight to ten years; and he advised that a new Stakeholders Committee was to be formed. A City Official responded and estimated that at the present rate of progress it would take some thirty years before the Portlands were developed, therefore there was need to accelerate progress.

Our site, as shown on WT’s map, is part of their planning area. It became clear that the area of the Portlands North of the Ship Channel was in a flood plain area and that major development was dependant on the flood control plan for the Don River being implemented. Finance appears to be the main impediment to the latter and while profits from WT’s existing projects were to be ploughed back to cover future development costs and maintaining their bureaucracy, there was no clear source of funds for the massive costs of the planned Don/Keating flood diversion into the man made marsh.

Answers to questions covering the Lake Ontario Park Plan, the security of tenure of the boating clubs (us) and access to the water were vague or non committal.

The only area of the Portlands not dependant on the flood control plan is the area south of the Ship Channel, that is the land immediately north and south of Unwin Avenue. In my opinion we can therefore expect to see some adjacent and near term development which could materially effect our existence.

The Outer Harbour Sailing Federation, our landlord and of which we are a member, held a meeting on 19 December to consider matters and it was decided that each club would act independently and attempt to get one of its members elected to the 30-member Stakeholders’ Committee, which will hold its first meeting in January. The objective of the Stakeholders Committee is to provide input into the new Portlands Plan which is to be presented to the City Council in June/July, 2012.

In summary, it appears that all the efforts that all our members made a few years ago: attending Lake Ontario Park Stakeholders’ Meetings, wearing their yellow jerseys, holding show-and- tell days, talking to politicians and so on, may have to be repeated all over again.

Peter Brayshaw

If it’s just occurred to you that those banana skins, orange peels and broccoli bits are a useful recyclable commodity, and you wonder how to go about it, pack the stuff in a plastic bag and shove it in the freezer. Keep it there, fruz solid, until it interferes with the preservation of less important items like ice cream and sides of beef, then hoist it down to the club where there are four (and a half) compost boxes all ready and waiting for your eco-contribution.

There’s one at the end of the double gate roadway, another at the angle of the lockers, and the others just to the east of the washroom trailer. You may have to throw out the garbage with which those precious boxes have been sullied during the previous days: paint cans, duct tape, bottles, coffee cups and so on. That’s par for the course; just press ahead and keep our old planet alive for a few more minutes.

The Ed.Gardner

Wee, sleekit, cowrin’, tim’rous beastie,
Why do tha try to spoil our feastie?
We hae puddings, meat and toppings
All tha leaves is bluidy droppings !
(Wi’ apologies tae Robbie Burns)

THE OHCC clubhouse, like many cottages, has wild visitors — most of whom stay outside. Mice, however, come into the club and clean up remaining food particles, leaving in return small droppings on the counter, in drawers, and anywhere they wander. It`s almost impossible to keep them out — a mouse needs only a tiny gap to squeeze through and they can climb vertical surfaces quite easily. Although they come into the clubhouse throughout the year, the worst time for them is towards the fall when they are looking for both a food supply to stash away for the winter and a sheltered place to stay. There are serious health issues associated with mouse droppings:

• Hantavirus. This deadly virus is carried by certain strains of mice, especially deer mice. People get the infection by breathing dust contaminated with mouse droppings. If you have to clean an area that’s been infested with mice, DON’T sweep it up in a big cloud of dust. Instead, put on latex gloves, wet the area with detergent or diluted bleach, wipe with damp towels, and then throw out the towels into a double garbage bag.
• Lymphocytic choriomeningitis (LCM). This is a virus spread by the common house mouse. The virus can infect the linings of the brain and spinal cord. It’s a serious disease, although many people get only mild infections. Mice shed the virus in their urine, saliva, and feces. People get infected by eating contaminated food or by inhaling aerosolized mouse urine or feces. LCM has two phases. The first lasts about a week and begins with fever, loss of appetite, head and muscle aches, nausea, and/or vomiting. There may be other symptoms as well. The second phase happens just as the first one gets better. It may begin with symptoms of meningitis: fever, headache, and stiff neck. It may also begin with symptoms of encephalitis: sleepiness, confusion, and movement problems. There’s no cure, but most people recover completely with supportive treatment. However, some people are left with permanent nerve or brain damage. About 1% of people with LCM die.

Nice, eh? What can we do to prevent anyone becoming sick? Trapping and killing the mice is possible but the little buggers breed quite quickly ! A family of six mice can multiply into a family of 60 in three months. They reach sexual maturity at about four weeks of age, so it’s easy to understand how a mouse population can quickly grow out-of-hand, not tomention the fact that they breed year-round. The staggering birth rate is kept under control naturally by predators in the outdoors, but owls, hawks, cats and other hunters are absent from OHCC. The sole natural factor limiting the mouse population in the clubhouse is the limitation of resources such as food. As the average house mouse lives for a year, that means an astounding number of mice can call OHCC home over the course of 365 days.

• A single female produces between five to ten litters each year.
• Each litter consists of five to six young that are able to reproduce after approximately 30 days.
• Mice produce a great number of young, but have a high mortality rate.

The lifespan of a house mouse is approximately 1 year. So — what do we do? The best way of ensuring no mice is to make certain they have no food, which means cleaning up after Tuesday Night Feasts or after club members bring their own food down. Spray anti-bacterial liquid (we supply Lysol spray) on the surfaces and wipe them down with paper towels. Take garbage out and leave no scraps inside the club. Make sure that utensils, pots, etc. are washed clean and, where possible, put away in closed containers.

If there are mouse droppings, spray and leave for ten minutes then, using rubber gloves, wipe with anti-bacterial liquid and throw the paper towels in the garbage. DO NOT BRUSH OR VACUUM!

As far as we know, no-one has become sick from the mouse droppings but the infestation got worse in 2010, and we don’t want to risk our members in 2011. Let’s aim for:

Wee, sleekit, cowrin’, tim’rous beastie,
We’ll nae give thee a feastie
We’ll leave nae food for thee and thine
We’ll have thee oot in record time!

Mouse Musings

Wood engraving : Thomas Bewick

Steel engraving : Ryall after Naismith

THE MOOSE sneaked up behind me, while I worked on the boat in Elliot Lake. If I hadn’t made an inadvertent loud noise, she might have poked her nose over my shoulder to see what I was doing. But the startled animal, boxed in on three sides by fences, panicked and bucked like a bronco. Suddenly, hooves and broken bits of fence and tree branches flew in every direction as I ducked behind a parked van. She ran off and five minutes later the property owner drove in (nice of the cavalry to arrive). But my comment that a moose had demolished the place was met with looks of disbelief.

That encounter with the moose set the tempo for the first major work on my new boat, the Sea Venture. She is a 19-foot, Mariner Class sloop with a small cabin and a cast iron centreboard. She was a cheap and lucky find but the hull left much to be desired: a broken through-hull fitting and a hole, a serious gouge, major corrosion and the need of a paint job. This meant building a cradle to elevate the boat high enough to remove the trailer and to get at the damage. It was easier said than done.

First things first however. The summer of 2010 was spent cleaning her out, after dealing with another animal visit: a beehive in the trailer frame. I don’t know what it is with boats and animals : my Bonita at our club has hosted raccoons, skunks, wasps, even a beaver who tried to chew down the aluminum mast while I slept aboard. Years of filth and mold were removed from Sea Venture, in some places nearly deep enough to plant a garden; and with a time limit when the boat has to be moved. But the results were satisfactory when I finally moved aboard and switched on the cabin lights.

The Mariner sloops originated in Maryland as the 19-foot Hurricane Class — an open dinghy designed by Phillip L. Rhodes after the Second World War. Keels and cuddy cabins were added to create a local one-design, before George O’Day bought the hull-building molds. A gold medal Olympic sailor, George founded the renowned O’Day Company and used the molds to make the popular Rhodes 19. Bunk beds and modifications for family cruising later resulted in the Mariner Class : a cabin yacht in a dinghy-size hull known as a pocket cruiser (the smallest of these are known as micro cruisers), many with centreboards and all with flotation.

I spent much time in creating several designs for the cradle, before getting it right. Trusting my life under the boat to four wobbly columns of cinderblocks and spindly timbers, simply would not do. Nor could I rely on sufficient funds to buy the right stuff. But I couldn’t account for the personalities that reside in Elliot Lake and the now steady stream of human visitors – as opposed to animal ones — who gravitated to the big green ship in the driveway. My kind landlord gave me the old wood from our re-planked back porch, a welcome help. But it was still a lot of work, and time was running out, including the vessel-hoisting process, a major operation if one can’t afford a crane.

One night, the local guys showed up to give me a surprise work party, complete with lights, drink and music. Suddenly, I ran my legs off measuring and rushing lumber to the circular saw they brought. Even threaded rod was whisked out of my hands, and with a “here, step on this!” was promptly hand-cut. It could have been a scene straight out of Farley Mowat’s novel The Boat Who Wouldn’t Float. But Mother Nature paid the final visit by unleashing the first major snowstorm just before I finished and was able to cover Sea Venture again. My mother approached the boat with a camera, greatly amused by the caricature of the giant snowcone that covered the Skipper and his vessel, madly bailing it overboard in a swirling cloud with a bucket. Laughing, she said: “Isn’t that something you’re supposed to do during the summer?”

Pinnell started sailing in Mirrors and Enterprises. He is respected internationally for his
sailing prowess and versatility across classes which include 420, 470, Miracle, Enterprise, Fireball, 505, Soling, Mumm 30, Melges 24 and Int14.

He has won thirty-five World, European and National championships.

He won the 1989 Endeavour Trophy (Champion of Champions) and was 1991 Helmsman of the Year.

In 2008 he won the 505 Worlds.

THE FIRST beat is not a place to be greedy or to take big risks.

Assuming you have negotiated the start in good shape, your all-consuming task up the first beat is to get to the windward mark first or at least ahead of your principal rivals if it’s an important championship.

There are a number of things you should try to do in preparation for the all important first beat and these are carried through before the start so don’t be late in the starting area.

You should have time to sail a good chunk preferably all of a windward leg.

It is worth carrying a time chart and taking compass headings every two minutes up the beat to try and establish a pattern in the local conditions.

It is a lot simpler if you can get a ‘team-mate’ to work up the beat with you so that you can make cross-tacking references.

Certainly, though, you should have a clear idea of your route, which will also give you valuable information on where to make your start on the line.

If you are very unfamiliar with the area, there can be a lot to learn from chattting with the locals.

In popular venues there may have been a championship the previous week, so it could be worth getting there early enough to talk to outgoing sailors on their experiences.

Back on the race course, play the percentages after the start — usually tacking just to the left or right of centre of the beat, always trying to keep between main rivals and the mark.

Off the startline or out of the gate, hang on to a tack untilheaded by at least five degrees; anything less is not worth worrying about.

You may have to revise this plan if sailors you respect start ‘banging the corners,’ but it doesn’t happen often.

Keep an open mind that they just might know something you’ve missed.

Your crew should play a major role up the beat, acting as your eyes while you apply all your concentration on sailing the boat hard.

I reckon 80% of the outcome of the race will be decided during this first twenty minutes or so.

And in a good fleet, you’re unlikely to recover from screwing it up.

The crew must give you a complete picture of rivals’ positions, starboard tack boats, compass headings, shifts across the course approach of layline, etc.

If you really have got yourself buried at the start, you must get on to port and into clear air quickly : there’s an awful lot of lift to be had off the sails of starboard boats as you duck and weave fast through the fleet.

And if the sun really is shining out of your bunghole and you really do get lifted as well, you can still get to the mark in surprisingly good shape ! Unless you’ve got some very special inside knowledge — or divine intervention — never get onto the layline further than fifteen boat’s lengths from the mark.

Too many things can go wrong and you just don’t need to risk it.

On the other hand, if you find yourself on port, approaching a procession of starboard layline boats the chances are they have overstood and it is worth a well executed lee-bow attack to get round the mark especially if you’re in a fast-tacking, fast-accelerating boat like an Enterprise or a Twelve.

Don’t count on it every time though ! There are a few other things that might influence the way you tackle the first beat, Some courses (for instance where you might have a windward mark under cliffs) need special attention to well known local wind bend.

In very heavy air, too, tack less and wait for bigger shifts, concentrating on developing maximum boat speed and minimizing the times the boat isn’t travelling flat out.

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