THE NAUTICAL NEWS
April 6, 2005
COMMODOREMavra Kear644-1477VICE COMMODOREJohn Valich644-1122RECORDING SECRETARYPhyllis Ingraham324-2237TREASURERJack Hardy401-9883CORRESPONDING SECRETARYBecky Smith968-0338PAST COMMODOREDavid Smith968-0338DIRECTORMargaret Barrett965-7629DIRECTORRichard Keach666-2226DIRECTORLu Via967-2598WINTER HAVEN NAUTICAL CLUB meets the 1st Wednesday of every month. Potluck dinner at 6:30 PM. Bring a dish to pass. Regular meeting begins at 7:30 PM at the Clubhouse, 695 Avenue K SW. May 2005 meeting will be May 4 at 7:30 pm.
Commodore Kear called the meeting to order at 7:35 pm with the Pledge to the Flag. 44 members were present. Phyllis Ingraham read the minutes from the March Board Meeting.
ACTIVITIES – Susan Hutchinson, Chairperson
SPAGHETTI DINNER – MARCH 5 - Joanne Cook reported there were 22 adults and 2 children with $121 profit to the club. Thanks to Arlene Adams and Gloria Wynne for co-hosting and to all who attended and helped with the event. Hope everyone had a good time.
EASTER DINNER and EGG HUNT – MARCH 27 – Susan Hutchinson reported there were 8 children to hunt 350 eggs! Thanks to Sherry Sanchez for help with the egg hunt and to all those who attended the hunt and dinner. Thanks to Lucille Tremblay for helping with cleanup and to all who provided food for the event.
ORANGE CUP REGATTA FUND RAISER – APRIL 23 & 24 – David Smith reported we need help with this fundraiser. This is power boat racing on Lake Hollingsworth in Lakeland and we are running the concession stand in conjunction with the Lakeland Power and Sail Squadron. This is a 50/50 split for the two clubs and we can make a large portion of our needed operating fund from this event. We need all members to help out. There are shifts on Saturday and Sunday so anytime you can spare would be great. We had a good time last year and met a lot of nice people. It is a great event for advertising the club and maybe increasing our membership. Please call David Smith, 863-968-0338 if you can help out on either day.
KENTUCKY DERBY PARTY – MAY 7 – 4PM – Adults $8 and Children under 10 - $3 – this event will be hosted by the Littrell’s with the first race at 4 pm and the Derby at 5:30. Dinner for the event will be roast beef, sweet corn, baked potato, vegetables and dessert. Everyone will receive a complimentary Mint Julep. Come on over to the club and support your favorite horse!
CRUISES – Mike Hall, Cruise Master
Mike asked that anyone interested in leading a cruise this year to please contact him, 667-0921.
Sarasota March 12 & 13 - Dick Littrell reported there were 8 boats and 30 people for Dinner Saturday night. Some boaters left from Bahai and some from Williams Park with the Burgess meeting us in the middle of the channel after the bridge. It was a good run, however Tampa Bay was choppy and windy, but all survived the trip to Sarasota Holiday Inn in Sarasota Bay. We stopped at Sarasota Out board Club and had lunch at the Salty Dog, passing a boat dealership on the way. The Halls had arranged dinner at Anna Maria Oyster Bar, great food and we had to walk by a boat dealership to and from dinner, giving everyone a change to check out new boats. Sundays trip home was calmer in the Bay but still a little choppy. A good trip and you missed a good time if you did not go.
CATFISH FESTIVAL CRUISE – April 2 & 3 – Jim Walker began the report for this trip and passed on the torch for further information from others. We had a few boaters decide the weather was not going to be good for boating so the Halls and Burgess did not boat over, and Bill Barrett was not feeling well so they decided to stay home. As we were departing Love’s Truckstop the Kears realized they did not have boat keys so they had to return home before meeting us at Crows Bluff. Then Killin time would not start and Jim decided it would be best if they turned around and returned home. Dick Littrell took over from here and lead us up the St John’s River where 3 boats went on to Palatka and 5 headed to Dunn’s Creek and over to Crescent City for the festival. Lake George was choppy, but not as bad as it could have been, but bad enough. As usual the parade was well over before we arrived but we did walk around and check out the food and arts and crafts. By the time the travelers to the festival arrived at the Holiday Inn the Halls and Burgess had arrived by car for the evening, and Bill Downton arrived to be Arlene Morris’ crew for the return trip replacing her granddaughters. For those who may go to Palatka on your own, there is not gas available just south of the Holiday Inn, you will need to go north to the Moorings or have enough to get you further south before refueling. Lake George was much smoother on the return trip Sunday and Budget Buster brought us back perfectly. Once all boats were trailered we walked over to the Wharf for an early dinner. The food was great and we had the entire top floor to ourselves. A good cruise and good boating weekend……..
MT DORA CRUISE – April 30 – Mavra Kear will lead this cruise with departure from Loves Truckstop about 9:00 am trailering to Hickory Pointe for launch. If you plan to attend please let Mavra know so you are not left behind. This is a pleasant, easy day trip and if the weather is good you should have the opportunity to see critters along the way. Lunch is normally in Mt Dora with time to shop or swim in the pool where we dock.
CALADESI CRUISE – May 14/15 – Bill Barrett will be our cruise leader. We will depart from Love’s Truckstop at 8am, probably trailering to Williams Park for launch. More information at the May meeting.
MEMORIAL DAY CRUISE to Hutchinson Island – May 28 – 30 Bill Barrett will be our cruise leader for the weekend and Becky Smith will handle obtaining slips and rooms for those who need them. Please get your boat information to Becky as quickly as possible as we may be limited to 10 slips. We will be staying at the Marriott Hutchinson Island resort. A beautiful location with the intercoastal on one side and the Atlantic Ocean on the other. The resort has trams to take you to the beach for swimming, shelling or walking. I will get you pricing by the end of this week but I must reserve the slips now so if you think you may want to attend, please call me, 863-968-0338 or 863-738-1506 so I can get the info faxed to the dock master. Departure location and time will be discussed at the May meeting, or in a separate e-mail to those taking the trip. We will also discuss how you want to handle dinner as a group. The restaurant has great food, however it is somewhat pricy so we may want to consider getting together for a cookout one evening and going for a ‘little’ chicken for the other. More info at the May meeting, but again if you think you will attend, please let me know ASAP.
JULY 4TH WEEKEND CRUISE is to St Simon Island in Georgia and will be the beginning of the summer week cruise for some members. For those going to St Simon Island, we will be staying at the Golden Isle Marina and you need to call for your slip. Ask for Rose Wilson and let her know you are with the Winter Haven Nautical Club, 912-634-1128. Slips are $1.50 per foot and $4 for electricity. There is a pool and Riverwatch Condos for those needing a room, 888-638-0328. There is a transit company on the island if you would like to sightsee in the area and an observation desk the club can use if we want. We will probably depart from Palatka for the trip to St Simon. More info to follow as to time of departure and who will lead the cruise to St Simon and return on Monday, July 4. For those of you interested in continuing from St Simon to other areas for a week long cruise, please plan to attend a planning meeting April 20 at 7pm. The planning meeting with be held at John and Cindy Valich’s home. If you can not attend the meeting but do want to go on the week cruise, please let John Valich know if you have any ideas about how to spend the week.
Remember if you do not have a boat, but would like to ride along on a cruise, contact the cruise leader and we will see what we can do to get you a ride.
Ships Store – Bob and Debby Rudy, Chairpersons
Bob and Debby reported they have the shirts ordered at the March meeting and are beginning to get a supply on hand for those who do not order. Please contact the Ruddys if you would like to order shirts or decals, 421-7463. I have some of the Liquid Caddys in if you would like to purchase one or two. The cost is $10 with about $2.40 per caddy being given to the club for operating expense. The caddy actually includes 4 different, removal attachments for just about anywhere you need a cup holder. Colors available right now are black or white. The others ordered will have a logo for Winter Haven Nautical Club and should be in soon. The company recommends logos of only 1 color for the blue and black caddies, however I have one of each ordered to see how they look with our Red, White and Blue flags for WHNC. Please contact Becky Smith if you are interest in ordering the Liquid Caddy. 968-0338
HOUSEKEEPING & GROUNDS – Frankie Via & Dennis Butler, Chairpersons
Paint and work day was April 9 Lunch will be served and we will be cleaning the club as well as painting the kitchen and bathroom areas. Come early and help get the club clean and ready for the Open House in May.
MEMBERSHIP – Bill Stevens, Chairperson
To date, we only have 54 paid members for 2005.
RENTAL COMMITTEE – David Smith, Chairperson
The Bass Club meets the 1st and 3rd Tuesdays of every month. Reservations Tony and Cindy Ketchum, April 17, wedding reception, Pat and Bob Wells, July 24. Rental September 3 for a wedding and February 4, 2006 for a wedding.
RECYCLING COMMITTEE – Richard Keach, Chairperson
Richard reported we need more aluminum brought in for recycling.
SUNSHINE COMMITTEE – Gloria Wynne, Chairperson
David Smith reported Richard Keach had eye surgery.
OLD BUSINESS: Mavra reported the survey was taken by only 24 members and 2 past members and the responses are posted on the bulletin board, appears everyone wants to see some new events for both boating and social events. Don’t forget to get all your pictures to Nancy Hall for the albums.
NEW BUSINESS: Newsletters from other clubs are also posted on the bulletin board for those who may want to read them. If you see something going on you would like to attend, why not try to get a group from WHNC together to go? Did you know members of WHNC receive a 10% discount from Marine Supply if you let them know you are a member before they ring up the sale?
Mavra reported we will have Open House May 22 from 1 to 4. Please bring finger foods to share with others who may come over to check out the club and bring your boats to take people out to enjoy the Winter Haven Chain of Lakes. This is the first event held to try to attract more people to the club for membership. Richard Emry has agreed to mail out flyers for us in the bills for Marine Supply so we are hoping for a better turnout than in the past. Joanne Cook will coordinate the food so please let her know if you are bring some over. We will also be making flyers to be distributed by e-mail by Tommy Dardenne and Richard Emry, as well as have notices in the Lakeland Ledger and News Chief.
50/50 for $26 was won by PAT COHN.
CLASSIFIED AD $5.00. SEE BECKY SMITH.