IOBG

In October I attended an International Order of the Blue Gavel (district 19) committee meeting at Ebony Boat Club. Membership is by invitation only and you have to be a past commodore to be considered. Your peers (the past commodores of your club) are polled to see if you are going to be invited as a member. I figured this would be done later in the year, but according to Dr. Bendsen it had already been done. He then told me that he wanted me to attend the meeting right after lunch. Okay, I can do that.

The vice president of the club was setting up events for 2012 and finding folks that would do an event. Also discussed was next years officers. He mentioned that there was an opening for treasurer at which time Dr. Bendsen pointed at me. I told him I didn't qualify as I was a commodore and would be until December 2, 2011. I also have to be inducted into IOBG before I can hold office. We had an attorney in the crowd that cleaned is up nicely. Have the positions of secretary and treasurer be done by the same person and after my induction I would then become the treasurer. I agreed to that.

The vice commodore then said he hoped I would go through the chairs, but it wasn't required. I agreed to go through the chairs. So my break from doing yacht club functions will last until February and then I'll start going through the chairs of another club. The best part? I'm happy about it as IOBG has always been near and dear to my heart.

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Our Yacht Club

This past Saturday evening I conducted my last business meeting at The Point Waterfront Restaurant. It was an evening filled with fun, lots of laughs and fellowship among our members. Here's some of the really fun things I got to do:

I had the privilege of swearing in two new members. New members are the lifeblood of any club. They bring fresh ideas and add to an already great club. Our mantra is to have fun and that's what we do.

Our club won the first Harter Gail Force Wind award. Now this is a really big deal. There are 107 clubs in PICYA and we are one of those clubs. Each club vied for this award and it was based on the donations that each member gave to RBOC. This award is geared to help the smaller clubs to have a shot at winning. The current president of RBOC is Dr. Linda Bendsen who is also a member of Delta Marina Yacht Club. She got to present this award, but didn't know who the recipient was until the cover came off the award. To say that our club is thrilled is an understatement. Having received this award on Dr. Bendsen's watch is even better.

I got to say thank you publicly to all the officers and board of directors for their hard work all year long. I've been blessed with a great group of people to work with. They dug in and got the work done and had fun along the way. They were supportive of each other and there wasn't any infighting about anything.

I got to talk about the flag officers (those that really do lots of work) and recap the year and all their hard work. They did an outstanding job getting the work done and adding new and fun things into each event.

I got to rib our port captain who had some interesting experiences on our cruise to Driftwood Yacht Club. Our vice commodore had an issue with his boat and we came to his aid by side tying him to our boat in anticipation of towing him into Driftwood YC. Our port captain who is responsible for getting all the boats in to the cruises came along side to see if he could help. He couldn't so he said he would hurry to Driftwood so he could assist us in getting our boats in. He powered up! Big!!! and gave us a wake that wouldn't quit. Bless his heart. When we rounded the bend we saw our port captains boat way out of the channel and stuck. He had the smallest boat so none of us could go help him. He finally got free, and one of the other boats got close enough to hook to him and tow him in.

During our September meeting the port captain had a report for the flags and Board of Directors. "Plot your course. Stay in the channel, and don't wake the commodore when she is towing the vice commodore."

On December 2, 2011 I will step down as commodore of Delta Marina Yacht Club and will spend next year as the staff commodore. This is an advisory position. But I'm not done with going through the chairs. Check Thursdays post on what I'll be doing next year.

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San Francisco

We had three fabulous days in San Francisco at South Beach Yacht Harbor @ Pier 40. There was a walking tour, shopping and lunches out almost every single day. We had a potluck dinner on the dock the very first night and had spaghetti, salad, garlic bread and tiramisu. It was a fabulous meal combined with some good wine and great company. Do you get the feeling that we eat a lot? Okay lots of wine too. Yes we do, but in moderation.

As I was starting this post today hubby got the mail and my Christmas cards that I ordered from Lisa Ceaser @ Lisa Ceaser Photography last week arrived. If you haven't checked out her beautiful photography go HERE and enjoy the great views. Anyway I ordered Christmas cards from her and she added something special with my order. It's a beautiful print of the picture above. Lisa, Hubby and I had dinner in San Francisco last May when she was in San Francisco for some training. Thank you so much Lisa. I remember this shot when you returned home and processed all your shots. (Click on any photograph to biggify.)

On our way to dinner at Delancy Street on Wednesday we saw this aircraft carrier docked right across from Delancy Street. Fleet week is upon us and there was a large military presence. Aren't they so very young? We spent the rest of our time in San Francisco thanking these fine men for their service. They were most appreciative too. God bless them all.

Thursday morning brought with it lots of rain. A downpour and then some. By the afternoon the sun came back out and with it came hours of entertainment watching the Blue Angles practice. It was most delightful. Here's one of many videos that hubby took. Enjoy.
Thursday night only three couples went to dinner. That's what happens when folks go to great places for lunch everyday. We went to MoMos about two blocks away and had a fabulous meal. Again we ran into more military personnel and again we all thanked them for their service.

At 9:00am Friday morning, hubby and I headed back to Antioch while two other boats went back to their perspective marina's and one boat went to Pier 39 for two weeks. The rest of the flotilla headed for Sausalito for the weekend. The water was smooth and we were back at Ebony Boat Club by 2:00pm. Tomorrow is youth day and we've been looking forward to participating. Thanks for riding along on our annual bay cruise.

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Benicia and Beyond

We had a fabulous time in Benicia with an excellent dinner at the Union Hotel on Friday night and another great meal at Benicia Yacht Club on Saturday night. The weather was beautiful and the water was calm. Sunday morning we head toward Corinthian Yacht Club. The photograph above was our view for a very long time. There are always sailboats and that skyline is breathtakingly beautiful. I see it every year from the water and it still makes me smile.
The first photograph is our view from Corinthian Yacht Club. Our boat was the second boat on "A" dock next to the yacht club and this was our view during high tide for two days. The second photograph is the menu our club members were given when we were seated for dinner on Sunday evening. I thought our club flag along with their welcome was a very nice touch. (Click on any photograph to biggify).
The first photograph was my entree that evening. To say it was delicious is an understatement. I rarely have beef but a filet mignon is my very favorite when I do. You could cut it with a fork. The staff were most attentive and we were all well cared for.

The second photograph are the flowers that the Maitre d' gave me. There had been a wedding earlier in the day and these were left behind. I didn't have a vase but an All-Clad sauce pan works well. They lasted all the rest of the cruise and are still on our boat. I'll see how they did this week when we return to the boat on Friday. To say I felt special that night is another understatement. I. Felt. Very. Special.
On Tuesday morning we left Corinthian Yacht Club and headed for South Beach Harbor at Pier 40 in San Francisco. The first photograph is the beautiful Corinthian Yacht Club as we head toward the city and the second is my commodore flag with San Francisco in the background. It's been a wonderful trip so far and San Francisco is always a treat.

Tomorrow: San Francisco

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Bay Cruise - Part I

Om September 28th we left home and headed for our boat. We had a full afternoon of getting ready to leave for Pittsburg, Ca the next morning to begin our annual bay cruise. It was very warm and we got everything loaded on our boat and hubby fired up our little runabout (a 185 Sea Ray) and he headed to Ebony Boat Club while I drove to Ebony Boat Club to pick him up. The water was flat and he got to Ebony in about 40 minute. About the same time as it took me. We dropped off the little boat (needed it for youth day on October 8th) and headed back to our boat.

Off to Pittsburg we went the next morning. The water was calm and the sailing was easy. We arrived in about three hours and gassed up and pumped out. We then purchased one night at their dock and just relaxed for the rest of the day. It was windy, but it's almost always windy in Pittsburg.

The next morning we heard from one of our other boats that were due to go to Benicia that they weren't coming because of a small craft advisory and their boat leaks a bit and they didn't want to take the chance of getting their boat wet on the inside. We listened to the weather report as we always do and didn't hear a thing about a small craft advisory. So off we went. We should have stayed where we were.

We left Pittsburg and within a few minutes we were in some pretty rough water. Okay it was the worst water I've ever experienced. We aren't novices at boating so we continued on. The further we got into Suisun Bay the worse the water became. The photograph below will give you an idea of what a large body of water we traversed. We came from the top of this photograph under the bridge and into Benicia.
We were riding the tide out and the wind was coming directly at us. Large rollers coming at us and the bow of the boat would be all you would see and then the boat would then drop to the water. Bam. The bow would go up and then bam, the bow would hit the water. We did this for nearly two hours. We finally made it to Benicia and we both wanted to kiss the ground when we tied up and got off the boat. One thing we found out though is we know how to secure things prior to sailing. Nothing was broken. What a way to start our bay cruise.

Tomorrow: Benicia and beyond

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The Bay Cruise

We are finally home from our bay cruise. We had a fabulous time. We enjoyed our friends, some really great food and enjoyed all the sites. Two of the best parts of the cruise was visiting the Corinthian Yacht Club and watching the Blue Angles practice in San Francisco. More to come. It's good to be home.

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Bay Cruise

On Wednesday we leave to begin our annual bay cruise. We have lots of stops to make and there are activities that we will all enjoy. The very best part of the cruise is getting together with our friends who love to boat. What we are doing is camping out on the water, with lots of comforts of home. All our boats have staterooms, heads with a shower, and a full galley. It's in a smaller area but we have all the comforts of home. Along with those things we have heat and air conditioning. So we are pretty comfortable for the entire cruise.

On Wednesday we head to the boat and unload everything that we didn't bring last weekend. All non essential things have been removed from the boat to afford us more room for all the clothing and other items needed during our 11 day cruise. We do this each year and just get better and better at knowing what to take and what to leave behind.

Our first stop in Pittsburg Municipal for gasoline and a pump out. We then spend the night on the municipal docks and go into town for dinner. There are lots of really great places to dine. On Friday we head to Benicia Yacht Club for our bay cruise kick off weekend and dinner. We all love Benicia as there is so much to do. Then on Sunday morning we head out for the Corinthian Yacht Club in Belvedere. We'll stay there for two nights. The next stop is South Beach @ Pier 40 in San Francisco. You can run all over the city from this wonderful harbor.

Then on Friday October 7th hubby and I leave South Beach and head back toward home while the rest of the group goes to Sausalito. I guess I didn't tell you that we joined our fourth yacht club and there's a youth day on Saturday the 8th. Hubby will be giving the kids rides on our run about and I'll be baiting hooks and other duties as assigned. We've joined the Ebony Boat Club. One of our favorite destinations. Since we hang out with these folks all the time we thought it a good idea to join. Life is good.

Don't forget to check out today's Awww...Mondays post!

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The Speakeasy

I've been so busy with a million things that I neglected to tell you about my first yacht club function as the commodore. Our rear commodore is responsible for executing all the drive-in functions that he scheduled last year. The first on the docket was The Ryde Hotel. If you missed the post about this event you can read that post HERE.

It has been a very long time since hubby and I went to The Ryde. As I recall it was a boat ride with about 10 people for brunch. We all had our favorite Sunday morning cocktails (except for the operator of the boat) and just enjoyed the view on they way. It's about an hour plus ride up the river and there's nothing like going to brunch on a boat.

Our first yacht club event was very little work for me. Those of you who know me and have watched me go through the chairs have listened to me talk about all the preparation that goes into each event. Well, a commodore gets all the work handed to him/her and then does the introductions. That's it. There just isn't much to do. I kind of like it. The event was tons of fun and our rear commodore has a lot of great ideas on how to spice up our monthly meetings. He did a fantastic job.

The theme was the roaring 20s and since The Ryde was built in 1920 it just fit the evening wonderfully. Most haven't dressed up for these theme parties, but this time they did. Many of the couples came dressed to the nines in roaring 20s attire. I give you the flappers of our group. Hubby couldn't seem to get the guys to pose for a picture.

We are a very noisy group and everyone is having their conversations at different tables or different clusters of people here and there throughout the dining room. When it's time to make announcements it's like herding cats to get their attention. Herding cats is a tough job and anyone that has cats will agree.

The photograph at the very top is where many banquets and weddings take place at The Ryde. It's also where the speakeasy used to be. Hubby just had to get a shot of this. Also he found the poster below and thought of Linda of Are We There Yet??, and just had to get a shot. This is right down her ghost chasing alley.

We had a fabulous meal and a lot of fun. I'm going to like being the commodore of our yacht club.

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The Ryde Hotel

Tonight our yacht club has our first dinner meeting of the year. We are going to The Ryde hotel. It was built in 1927 at the peak of the prohibition era. It was one of the first places I learned about when I start boating in the delta. How many of the stories are true no one knows. The lower level of this hotel used to be a speakeasy, and there are rumors that it was once a bordello. I'm sure it probably was. You can read about the hotels history HERE.

Hubby and I have been here before both by car and by boat. It's a lovely old place with great food and lots to see. Some of our yacht club members are spending the night as Sunday I have my first Board of Directors meeting.

Our rear commodore wanted to do different venues this year and he's starting off very nicely. I'm looking forward to a fun evening. The theme is the roaring 20s. How appropriate. I hope everyone has a great weekend.

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