Golden Eagles on Lake of the Woods

On September 25th Rob Eby, Fred Finlayson, Jim Sloan and Doug Skoog embarked on a sunset cruise aboard Doug’s inflatable ‘Woof”. At the end of Needle Point they had a close up sighting of a Golden Eagle. Don Fillion [Baroness] has also reported seeing a golden on the lake.

While we are all familiar with the many bald eagles we see, the Golden Eagle is a special treat.

The Golden Eagle is the largest of the genus, buteo, a bird of prey. Their wingspan can reach up to 7 1/2 feet, and they are the soaring "specialist" among all buteos which includes bald eagles, hawks, and buzzards. They use their large wingspans to catch rising masses of warm air (thermals) and can glide longer and further than other birds. They are dark brown, with lighter golden-brown plumage on their heads and necks with a wingspan averaging over 2 m (7 ft) and up to 1 m (3 ft) in body length. Their sheer size and coloration distinguish them from immature Bald Eagles. This one was much larger than any Bald Eagle the boys could recall seeing.

They are extremely swift, and can dive upon their quarry at speeds of more than 150 miles (241 kilometers) per hour. They have even been known to attack full-grown Deer. Golden Eagle pairs maintain territories that may be as large as 60 square miles(155 square kilometers). They are monogamous and may remain with their mate for several years or possibly for life. A lesson a number of us missed.

Sea Ray AquaPalooza

The worlds largest boating party... looks like Frock Night has been trumped...




AQUAPALOOZA KEEPS GETTING BIGGER!

For the fourth time in a row since its debut in 2006, AquaPalooza broke its own records with an amazing total of approximately 15,600 boats and 84,000 people showing up to share in a grand celebration of the boating lifestyle. In the past four years, AquaPalooza has more than tripled in size! We'd like to thank all the attendees, dealers, sponsors and employees who made this summer's 122 events the most successful yet.

If you don't already know, AquaPalooza is the name given to a series of on-water celebrations held during the last two weekends in July at more than 100 locations around the world. Created by Sea Ray Boats, AquaPalooza is free and open to all boaters and non-boaters. Each gathering features fun activities for family and friends of all ages, such as live entertainment, games, giveaways and much more.

Be sure to read all about this year's Signature Event, which featured a concert by country superstar Alan Jackson, and check back soon to find out where next summer's AquaPalooza with splash down. (Or, better yet, send us your recommendations on our Facebook page!)

Check out photos and videos from last year's AquaPalooza, and don't forget to show your support on our Facebook, MySpace and YouTube pages. Remember to sign up for email updates, and mark your calendar now for the 2010 AquaPalooza celebration near you!

Congratulations to the Sonar Team Racers

On August 28-30, Fred, Rob and Jim from Northern Yacht Club participated in a team racing clinic and regatta at the US Sailing Center in Sheboygan, Wisconsin located on the western shore of Lake Michigan. Bert Foster of WYC coordinated the event with Hans Graf, Executive Director of the US Sailing Center.

What is team racing? The game involves two teams of 3 boats each racing against each other. It’s a combination of fleet racing - getting a good start, sailing fast, catching shifts etc. and tactical moves to help your team mates move up in the race standings. If you leave your team mates behind, the other team will try to slow them down so their own boats move ahead. Since there are 21 possible points, the goal of each race is for your team to finish with a “winning” combination of 10 points or less. The best winning combinations are 1st, 2nd and anything or finishes of 2nd, 3rd and 4th place. With these “stable” combinations, it’s difficult for the opposing team to pass your team mates. On the other hand, if your team has a 1st and 3rd during the race watch out because the opposing 2nd place boat will attack your 3rd place and try to slow them down with a “pass back” move. If you don’t go on the offensive first and are attacked by the other team you may find yourself going from 2nd to 6th place in a hurry.

Three teams competed at the Sheboygan Invitational Team Clinic and Regatta – Wayzata, Canada and Sheboygan. Teams arrived on Thursday afternoon to launch boats and do a little shakedown cruise. Cocktails and appetizers followed at the yacht club. Friday was a practice day for the teams followed by a debriefing by Coach Ken Legler, Head Coach of the Tufts Sailing Team. Ken provided valuable instruction to the entire group throughout the weekend on the nuances of team racing strategy, tactics and rules.

The three teams competed in a series of round robins to determine who would make it into the finals. The top two teams would compete in a best of five series after all the round robins were completed.


Competition started on Saturday in a Northwesterly wind of 15-20 mph. There were a lot of close races and everyone was trying to figure out the competition. Sheboygan showed early dominance and Canada rallied after lunch winning 4 races to put them in contention to make it into the final.

On Sunday morning the wind clocked to the Northeast which brought 3 to 4 foot swells and winds of 10 – 15 mph. Team Wayzata had a huddle before racing began and decided to change their starting strategy from “one boat start on the boat end, one in the middle and one at the pin” to – “get a good start, sail fast and go from there”. The strategy paid off. Team Wayzata rallied to win 3 races in a row and make it into the “Best of 5” final against Team Sheboygan. Team Canada watched the final from the coach and umpire boats and listened to Coach Ken Legler’s commentary on the radio about the plays that were developing on the race course.

In the final, Wayzata won the first race against Sheboygan. In the 2nd race, Sheboygan rallied and won the race to tie-up the series 1 to 1. In the third race, the race was close ending in a 5 boat pile up at the finish line. When the dust settled, one of the umpire boats informed a boat from Sheboygan that they had fouled a Wayzata boat near the finish line and had to re-finish. This infraction gave Sheboygan a losing combination and put Wayzata up 2-1. In the 4th and final race, Team Sheboygan had created a wedge at the start with two of their boats on either side of Wayzata boat #5. The Wayzata boat was an innocent victim with nowhere to go. To make things more interesting, Mark Kochendorfer from Wayzata fell overboard trying to clear a competitor’s boom from the forestay and get clear. The penalty against the windward Sheboygan boat that failed to keep clear was fair and immediate. An umpire watching the mayhem required the guilty Sheboygan boat to do penalty spins until Mark could get back on board and sail on their way. One of the other Sheboygan boats who helped create the incident retired. The other two Wayzata boats had a clean start and finished in a winning combination of 1st and 2nd place to seal the victory for Wayzata in the final over Sheboygan with a score of 3 wins and 1 loss.

It was a great weekend of sailing and learning about team racing. Sonar Fleet 5 will continue to practice their Team Racing skills and compete next year in Sheboygan to battle it out on Lake Michigan with other teams.

Team Wayzata
WYC Boat #4 – John Rainaldi, Ernest Brody, Becca Lundberg
WYC Boat #5 – Marty Fossen, Kathy Fossen, Mark Kochendorfer
WYC Boat #6 – John Sligh, Liz Sligh, Jeff Harris

Team Canada
CYA Boat “Captain Hook” – Bert Foster, Carmella Foster, Leonard MacKinnan
CYA Boat #7 – Tom Brown, Dan Hollinger, Chandra Wobschall Millner
CYA Boat # 8 – Fred Finlayson, Jim Fogg, Rob Eby

Team Sheboygan
SYC Boat #1 – Hans Graf and Crew
SYC Boat # 2 – Albert, Rachel and Max of Tufts Sailing Team
SYC Boat # 3 – Greg, Duane Olmsted and Crew

Fall Sea Fever

Race Recap:

We got one race in Saturday and one race in on Sunday. Six participants: D-Boat, Vixen, Auberg, Raven, Blondie, Grand Cru. Prior to the Saturday start we had winds around 4-5 knots. The pursuit style race at noon. The wind disappeared about five minutes after D-Boat started. Painfully slow sailing ensued but the day was gorgeous with the sun shining and the temp around 25 degrees. The race was scheduled for 7 miles, but shortened during the race to 3.5 miles to end at the rounding mark. D-Boat opted to drop their main sail for the down “wind” portions of the race. Auberg and Grand Cru past the finish line at roughly the same time around 3:45. That averages to less than 1 knot per hour VMG. Raven was next to cross at 4pm. Estimated finish times were given to the remaining boats and final places for the race were: Auberg, Grand Cru, Raven, D-Boat, Vixen, Blondie.

Sunday’s race brought us a little more wind - pretty solid 1-2 knots for most of the race. Some boats didn’t make it to the start line. Pursuit style start for a planned 5 mile race. Some kind of squall came through and we saw wind speeds hit four knots – Raven dropped their headsail to, we assume, protect against sail damage caused by this unexpected double in wind speed. After the squall subsided, it was back to normal racing in moderate winds of 1 knot. Auberg started at 10:20 followed by Raven and Grand Cru. Again, the race was shortened to 2.2 miles and Grand Cru finished shortly after noon, followed by Auberg and Raven. Average VMG of just over 1 knot!

Final results:
1 - Grand Cru
2 - Auberg
3 - Raven
4 - D-Boat
5 - Vixen
6 - Blondie

Harmonized Sales Tax Petition

This petition is available to sign at the Northern Harbour Boat Club and at the shop if people are interested.

When Ontario’s 13% harmonized sales tax (HST) comes into effect on July 1, 2010, the 8% provincial sales tax (PST) will be combined with the 5% good and services tax (GST). The ‘harmonized tax’ of 13% will cover a wide range of services previously exempt from Ontario PST. This basically means that Ontario boaters will pay 13% instead of 5% on almost all marine services. We estimate that OMOA member boaters will pay an additional $20,000,000 per year in taxes.

The government does not fully understand the impact of the implementation of the HST, especially the impact on businesses like yours. OMOA is taking a proactive approach on your behalf to stop the HST. We are circulating the attached petition and asking for your assistance. It is imperative that you as a marina operator inform your boaters of the effects that the HST will have upon them. Some items boaters will begin paying an extra 8% on include and are not limited to:

- Dockage, mooring
- Repair services
- Marine surveyor services
- Legal services
- Safety equipment
- Brokerage sales fees
- Winter storage
- Launching and haul out
- Mast stepping
- Holding tank pump out,
- Fuels (gas, oil, diesel)

Lifting large sailboats

Due to the number of large sailboats Northern Harbour will be lifting large sailboats prior to 12 noon on weekends. This is a change from prior years where most large boats where scheduled during the week.

Contact nharbour@kmts.ca if you have any questions.

Frock Night 2009

Tyme Flyes When You're Havin' Rum