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

Canadian Yachting Association Appoints New Executive Director

After an eight month national search the Canadian Yachting Association is pleased to announce Paddy Boyd is its new Executive Director effective September 15, 2009.

Boyd is a skilled executive with experience in both the administration of the sport of sailing, and the boating industry. A former Chief Executive and Training and Development Officer of the Irish Sailing Federation, in addition to a skilled administrator, Paddy is an experienced offshore racer, cruising instructor, yacht broker and master mariner. As the manager of the Irish Olympic Sailing Team at both the 1996 Atlanta Olympics and the 2000 Sydney, Australia Olympic Games, Paddy brings a wide range of skills to carry the CYA to the next level of sailing excellence, with the support and guidance of the Board of Directors.

Paddy, has and continues to serve on a number of committees of the International Sailing Federation including the Youth and Development Committee (2000 2004), and the Offshore Committee 2000 to the present. He also was the Irish representative to the European Boating Association and holds a number of commercial and sailing competency certificates including Deck Officer Class 1 Master Mariner.

Paddy is married and three children. He and his family are in the process of relocating to Kingston.

In order to ensure continuity Peter Wood, Interim Executive Director since October 2008, has agreed to assist in the transition by being available on an as needed basis.

The Canadian Yachting Association is the national governing body for the sport of sailing in Canada. It is financially supported by Sport Canada, Federal Government Department of Heritage. The Associations mission is to encourage participation and excellence in sailing and racing. The CYA achieves its goals through collaboration with its 10-member provincial sailing associations and close to 300 member sailing clubs. The Associations head office is located in Kingstons Portsmouth Olympic Harbour complex.

Witch Bay Pursuit Results

Grand Cru 3:09:30
Anteaus 3:27:30
Raven 3:29:35
Rebel 3:30:00
Sorcerer 3:37:15
Knock-out
Sanity
Borderline
Oh Boy
Scots and Water DNF
Intrepid DNF

Official NYC Rum Punch - Cruise Week Approved

Punch comes from the Indian word "panch" which means five. The five refers to the fiver ingredients of sour, sweet, strong, weak and spice. The poem for rum punch goes: One of sour, two of sweet, three of strong and four of weak, a dash of bitters and a sprinkle of spice, serves well chilled with plenty of ice.

You will need the following ingredients:

1 measure of lime juice, freshly squeezed
2 measures of sugar syrup - see method
3 measures of dark Caribbean rum, the older, the better
4 measures of water
Dash of Angostura Bitters and freshly grated nutmeg

Place two measures of sugar in a saucepan with a little water and cook until the sugar has dissolved and add to the juice.

Add the rum and water. A good quality passion fruit juice can be used instead of water but reduce the syrup slightly.

Serve with plenty of ice, a dash of bitters and a grating of nutmeg.

LOWISA Rum Baba Cake - Explained

Rum Baba Cake a new LOWISA Tradition.

Rum Baba cake is a delicious party dessert. Rum Baba cakes are dense, yeast cakes that are traditionally saturated with rum. They are often topped with a whipped cream, but add whatever topping will make it your own. Rum Baba cake has a Slavic origin and the name means old women or grandmother in Slavic languages. The cake is often called "baba" for short, throughout Europe.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions -

Things You'll Need:

6 eggs 4 teaspoons active dry yeast ¾ cup sugar Flour sifter 2 cups flour 2 tbsp. baking powder Whisk 1 cup raisins 9 tbsp. melted butter ¾ cup lukewarm milk ½ cup water Bundt cake pan ½ cup white rum

Homemade Rum Baba Cake

Step 1 Combine the eggs, yeast and sugar. Beat vigorously until they are not only combined but light and airy.

Step 2 Sift the flour and baking powder together until they are fully combined.

Step 3 Add the flour and baking powder gradually to the eggs and sugar. Whisk until it's a smooth combination, about 2 minutes.

Step 4 Add the raisins, butter, lukewarm milk and water to the mix. Blend until the mixture is fully combined.

Step 5 Pour into a greased bundt cake pan and bake for about 30 minutes at 325 degrees. When the cake is cooled, saturate with rum.

Baba (BAH-bah) – Baba is called Babka in Poland and in France. In French, the word baba meaning, "falling over or dizzy." These are small cakes made from yeast dough containing raisins or currants. They are baked in cylindrical molds and then soaked with sugar syrup usually flavoured with rum (originally they were soaked in a sweet fortified wine). After these cakes were soaked in the wine sauce for a day, the dried fruits would fall out of them.

1600s - It is believed to be a version of a kugelhopf, which was invented in Lemberg in the 1600s. The baba was brought to Paris, France by King Stanislas Leszczynska, the deposed king of Poland and the father-in-law of King Louis XV (1710–1774) of France when he was exiled to Lorraine. According to legend, he found the customary kouglhopf too dry for his liking and dipped the bread in rum. He was so delighted that he named the cake after one of the heroes of his favourite book, Ali Baba from A Thousand and One Nights. Later, his chef refined the sweet bread by using brioche dough and adding raisins to the recipe. The dish was then simply called “baba.”

Baba Au Rhum/Baba Au Savarin - A Savarin is a yeast dough baked in a ring mold and soaked in rum syrup, the center hole brimming with pastry cream, crème chantilly, or fresh fruit. The dessert is a close relative of the Eastern European baba, which includes dried fruit in the dough and is served without a filling.

According to the famous book called Larousse Gastronomique, The Encyclopedia of Food, Wine & Cookery, by Prosper Montagne:

"At the same time a Parisian Maitre Patissier, Julien, by omitting raisins from the dough, giving the cake another shape and changing the syrup in which it was steeped (this syrup remained the secret of his establishment for a long time) created the Brillat-Savarin, which later became simply savarin."

The Oxford Companion to Food by Alan Davidson says that one of the Julien brothers, from a family of Parisian pastry-makers, set his mind to experimenting with the baba recipe sometime in the 1840s. The result was this rich and tasty dessert, which he named in honour of Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin (1755-1826), celebrated French gourmet and writer on gastronomy.

The dessert became very popular in France, but the people called it Baba Au Rhum and soon dropped the name Savarin. In other parts of the world, the cake is known as simply Savarin. In Turkey this cake is called "father's cake."

Lowisa 44 - 2009

Video courtesy of Paul Moorey

Rock Stars - Warning some sailors may find this video causes nightmares

NYC Cruise Week 2009

2009 Queen Island Treasure Hunt

Thanks to Gene from Invictus for the pictures!

The 44th Running of LOWISA!

By: Robert Nuttall
July, 2009

The Lake of the Woods International Sailing Association’s LOWISA Regatta has distinguished itself as a pinnacle event within the sport of sailing by virtue of its traditions, longevity and by the pristine waters of its majestic setting on Lake of the Woods. Although it is first and foremost a racing event, there is something for everyone. There are fleets for family cruising, pursuit starts, white sails and fleets with hard-core crews - down and dirty (but always gentlemanly of course), which ensures racing and sailing at its best.

The Commodores and committees change each year and for 2009 John and Marcia Sexton of Burnsville, Minnesota will fly the Commodore’s Pendant from the rigging of their 31’ fiberglass Farrier designed trimiran. John, Marcia and their two girls, Tracy 19 and Betsy 15 are very tight. In fact they would be the perfect example of “the one for all and all for one” family. As a family, they’ve participated in many LOWISA regattas. Their boat is sweet; it’s very fast and very exciting; it reaches at speeds in excess of 22 knots. And they know their boat very well; it took the Sexton family 11 years to build this state-of-the-art performer. But it’s not just Lake of the Woods that they love – John and his family will have sailed in the Bahamas (Regatta Time in the Abaco Islands), before heading north for the long journey to Lake of the Woods.

Traditionally PHRF and one-design, the main regatta gets its start each year on the first Sunday of August. The addition of the Arctic Glacier Youth Dinghy Open Day Regatta activities get underway on Saturday, (August 1st, this year). Now in its 4th year, the Arctic Glacier Youth Regatta promotes sailing development and racing for youth 18 years and under while giving publicity to the week-long main regatta.

The regatta week starts with registration, the Skippers’ Meeting and the Sailors’ Social on Saturday at the Kenora Harbourfront. The start sequence for the week-long main regatta begins at 10:00 hrs on Sunday, August 2nd in Kenora’s Safety Bay. Daily races are typically 25 miles and are point-to-point, ending usually, in the proximity of a wilderness lodge. Sailors have the choice of pre-booking lodges, renting a houseboat, staying on board their own boats or camping on shore. Routes and mid-week Layover Day destinations vary widely from year-to-year.

Social events are many and include the uniquely enjoyable Mt. Gay, Pepsi, Arctic Glacier Wilderness Adventure (yup it’s a wilderness rum party), the Canadian Tire Annual Youth Fishing Tournament, a LOWISA scavenger hunt, a mid-week Commodore’s Dinner and reception, Friday on the lake wilderness pizza and a movie, and the Grand-Finale, the Commodore hosted buffet and Awards at the end of Day 7 sailing.

Wednesday is Layover Day and distance-wise, it is typically the furthest point from the Day 1 beginning. This year we are pleased to be going to one Totem Resorts 5 Star lodges, Wiley Point Wilderness Lodge. You are free to relax and enjoy the lodge’s amenities and services or get out again for the optional series of around-the-cans racing. Whatever you choose the day is yours to enjoy. The lodge is to host a wonderful dinner followed by the always popular LOWISA Talent Contest and perhaps a key-note speaker or two. The entire racing and socializing agenda will be posted on our website at http://www.lowisa.org/ so check on it often.

The year 2009, marks its 44th running. The longevity of this event is evidence to its enduring tradition as well as its rich and colourful history. Friendships which have been made, are rekindled, families and friends bond and crew teams meld throughout the week of sailing, racing and socializing. Many of the participants come from mid-western Canada and the USA and still yet some come from as far away as Europe, New Zealand and the Cayman Islands each year.

It is not only the world class racing and camaraderie that makes the week amazing; it’s the 65,000 miles of shoreline and the 16,662 islands chiselled out of granite, eons ago, by advancing and retreating ice. As well, the abundant wildlife and soaring White and Red Pines collaborate to make Lake of the Woods truly majestic. The 60 mile x 60 mile lake is itself international, and is part of the Canadian Shield or if you are American, the Superior Uplands and borders the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario and the American state of Minnesota.

Since 1966, sailors have continued to thrill in the competition and to savour the splendour of their surroundings. But as awesome as it is, Lake of the Woods is not fickle…nor is it totally predicable. The weather and winds are more often than not, fair – a perfect water wonderland, a perfect venue for sailing. With all its elements of challenge, and excitement, LOWISA attracts sailors from around the world! The 2009 Lake of the Woods International Sailing Association’s LOWISA Regatta gets underway August 1, 2009 in Safety Bay, Kenora, Ontario, Canada.
Visit our Website at http://www.lowisa.org/ for details and updates. Better yet, join us for an unforgettable week!

Hail Ceasars Night

Suggestion for this years Frock Night on Saturday September 5th - “Hail Ceasars night”. So from Cleopatra to Claudius, Greek or geek gods to eunuchs get out your bed sheets and vine leaves and come dressed in you best Toga!

Our “special” Olympics will start with the competition to find the best made Caesar. Everyone is to bring straws for the tasting competition. Medal and crowns of leaves for the rum and spoon and three legged race; make sure your toga is decent! Prize for the best dressed people and prize for the best dressed dog.

Location weather dependent but suggestions are Hidden Bay or Yellow Girl.

Fine print - Sailing in your Togas could damage your health. Sail responsibly!

NYC Fish Fry Raises $250 for LOWISA

Another successful fish fry is in the history books, more pictures posted here. Many thanks to all who helped organize and volunteer.

NYC is pleased to donate $250 to LOWISA as part of the fund raising 50/50 draw that took place during the fish fry. Congratulations to Kim White who won.

Commodores Cup Results

In a tight finish Raven catches Borderline in the last few minutes of the Race.

1 Raven 15:00:35
2 Borderline 15:00:45
3 Sorcerer 15:04:10
4 Grand Cru 15:05:05
5 Vixen 15:09:55
6 Sanity 15:13:55
7 Blonde 15:17:15
8 Aftica 16:04:00

A couple of notices from Northern Harbour to pass on

Dinghy Docking Plan - Please note that Northern Harbour has assinged dinghy docking spots to all customers, please see the assinged spots posted at the end of each dock. Please do not park in spots that are assinged to others as this is leading to confusion with spots.

Wake in the Bay - Please be advised that there have been some concerns brought to our attention from boaters at Northern Harbour as well as the residents of Pine Portage Bay regarding the amount of excess wake from power boaters. In order to assist in resolving this matter, we would ask that power boats use the west track to and from Northern Harbour and keep wake to a minimum around the harbour as well as to the end of the bay. We trust that all boaters are willing to abide by this however failure to do so will result in removal of the boater from Northern Harbour.

Warroad 2009 Results

View slide show...

Race 1, Race 2, Overall
Fogger 0.75, 5, 5.75

Sloop Du Jour 5, 2, 7

Bird Bath 4, 4, 8

Raven 2, 6, 8

Kite 8, 0.75, 8.75

Vixen 3, 9, 12

Grand Cru 10, 3, 13

Intrepid 6, 8, 14

Blondie 9, 7, 16

Borderline 7, 10, 17

Aftica 11, 11, 22

Race 2 Corrected Times TOTF Corrected
Kite 1.1512 5:52:47

Sloop Du Jour 1.0653 6:01:59

Grand Cru 1.1512 6:06:22

Bird Bath 1.0959 6:07:13

Fogger 0.9541 6:08:09

Raven 1.0703 6:11:15

Blondie 1.1174 6:22:06

Intrepid 1.041 6:26:29

Vixen 1.0224 6:33:37

Borderline 0.99566:39:59

Aftica 0.9956 6:58:29

The "do" and "don'ts" of dressing for the boat ride. Let's go!

They told me not to get the trailer too deep into the water.

Pizza Night 2009

View Slide Show

Summer Soltice Results

1st Raven
2nd Black Pearl
3rd Knock Out
4th Sorcerer
DNF Vixen
DNF AFTICA
DNF Birdbath

Hitting Rock at 14 Knots!

Cruise Week 2009 - Friday July 24th to Friday July 31st

Cruising with a group of boats is an ideal way to be introduced to Lake of the Woods sailing. Navigating, popular anchorages, and some of the lake’s amenities can all be learned from a group of people who have been sailing these waters for years. The intent of Cruise Week is to be laid back and hassle free with lots of fun for the whole family.

The cost to register for Cruise Week 2009 is $115.00 (CDN) for NYC members, and $135.00 (CDN) for non-members. Included in your registration fee are:

- Hawaiian Luau dinner at Northern Harbour (July 24, 8:00 pm)
- Punch Party on Sanderson’s Beach (July 25, 2:00 pm)
- Birthday party champagne (July 28th)
- Two adult dinner tickets to the buffet at Totem Lodge (July 29)
- Activities such as Radio Bingo and Beach Bocce Ball with lots of prizes

Cruise week is set up in a loosely structured format. Participants are welcome to join in any or all activities or just sit back and relax.

ITINERARY & ANCHORAGES:

FRIDAY: Hawaiian Luau dinner by Andy Ormiston (Stravaigin) in the Northern Harbour Boat Room at 8:00 pm on Friday July 24th (Dress code Hawaiian, BYOB), followed by registration and a brief meeting.

SATURDAY: Get Acquainted Punch Party” on Sanderson’s Beach starting at 3:00 pm. Please bring a boneless (because of the dogs) hors d’oeuvre to share. Overnight anchorage will be at “The Funnel”

SUNDAY: On to Whitefish Bay with the overnight anchorage at Twin Island or Bell Island, depending on the weather.

MONDAY: Bocce Ball and swimming on Timber Island beach. The overnight anchorage will be at Bell Island.

TUESDAY: Back to Timber Beach for a half day of lazing around in the sun. Overnight anchorage will be in Hidden Bay where we will have a Birthday Party for cruisers celebrating birthdays that week, with chilled champagne and fresh birthday cake. The cake will be from the birthday-cake-baking contest, a hotly contested event last year in which “Deja Blue” showed you did not need an oven to win a prize.

WEDNESDAY: Overnight at the docks of Totem Lodge, a beautiful 5-star resort.

Your registration fee includes 2 adult tickets for the buffet dinner. Additional tickets are available at $40.00 CDN each. Children’s tickets (12 and under) are $15.00 CDN each.

There will be a children’s party on the beach in the afternoon (providing a parent volunteers to run it).

There’s a shuttle bus to Sioux Narrows for shopping ($6.00 return).

An Awards Presentation hosted by Kevin Booth (Windseeker) will follow dinner. Please submit nominations for Awards by 5:00

Totem is offering a special Cruise Week cabin rate of $150 per couple. (Last year it was $135 per person.)

Pump-out is available ($20.00) at Lake of the Woods Houseboats, about half an hour away.

THURSDAY: Back to Sanderson’s Beach for a more relaxation, games and swimming. Overnight anchorage will be at “Newfoundland Island”.


FRIDAY: Return to Northern Harbour.

To register, please complete the attached registration form and pay by Friday July 17th. Either email the form to me and pay by PayPal, or give the form and cheque to me or one of the committee members below. The cheque should be payable to Northern Yacht Club.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:

Bill and Pam (Oasis)
Phone: 237-7577
bwhitehe@mts.net

Andy and Deb (Stravaigin)
Phone: 253-0478
aormiston@lssd.ca

Kevin Booth (Windseeker)
Phone: 339-7908
windckr@mts.net

Hey Northern Harbour has its own band???

Northern Harbour are Canada's ultimate Jimmy Buffett tribute band, and perform an authentic concert show that Parrot Heads all over North America have come to love! Formerly known as Margaritaville Express, this Toronto based band has crafted an amazing re-creation of the Head Parrot's musical Gulf Coast journey, which is now in its 4th decade. All delivered in the fun-loving style that has made Jimmy Buffett one of the top grossing touring acts in North America. Canada's favorite trop-rock party is still going strong too, with a continually evolving live show that delivers all the energy, colour, fun, and especially the sound of Jimmy in concert! Drawing from a truly massive catalog of honed Buffett songs (& more), the band has been bringing the islands North since 2003. And they're just getting warmed up (takes longer in Canada, eh)! They have headlined many top-tier festival bills in the U.S. and Canada, and have performed private shows from Anchorage to Tortola!