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Trailer, Docks and Richmond SMILES – then crash !

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Blue sky and diamond sparkles highlighted Clipper Cove as I drove over the Bay Bridge to TISC Thursday morning.  What a great day for the Richmond Parks and Recreation sail plus dock installation for the BAYS Golden Bear Regatta.

Early start with a 7:30 appointment in Alameda to pick up a donated Moore 24 trailer.  Stay tuned for the international background behind this gracious donation in a later blog. Ditto for the excellent dock work supplied by volunteers from Encinal, Richmond, San Francisco and St. Francis Yacht Clubs and Peninsula Youth Sailing Foundation.

Philip and Ivan, two of our TISC  instructors, treated ten kids + two advisers from Richmond Parks and Recreation to a breezy sail on the bay.  They were all smiles when their J/24’s returned to the docks around 1pm:

Richmond Sail at TISC-1 Richmond Sail at TISC-2

Answers to my question “What was your favorite part of the day?” included “I sailed the boat”, “being on the water”, and “what makes the sky blue? ( elementary students often answer a question with a question, you know)”.  All answers delivered with big smiles and inquisitive minds.

Side Bar: Thursday was quite windy; the kids had an exciting ride.  A few upset stomachs enused.  After the sail, however, they were ALL SMILES, and everyone wanted to come back for another sail at Treasure Island Sailing Center.  Troopers every one !

About  “The Crash”.

If you look closely at this group shot taken before the sail at 10:50am, you will see two cranes removing portions of the under-works used to assemble the eastern section of the new Bay Bridge.

Before the Crash

In this picture of their return to the docks just after 1pm, notice the large pile of broken steel and the broken crane on the construction barge:

Titanic Moment

Here is another picture I shot seconds after hearing the rumbling and crashing from tons of steel dropping on the barge below at 12:07 pm.  You can see the yellow lifting frame used to lower the sections as it it dropped to the barge on top of the under-works, taking the remaining crane down with it:last section dropping

 

Regards from (not your normal day) On The Cove, Dave G

In the wake: As I finish this blog, 250 kids from 50 schools in 35 towns are finishing up the first day of the BAYS Golden Bears Regatta on Clipper Cove.  Stay tuned for a behind-the-scenes look at Thursday’s preparation for this PCISA event.

Tom Allen

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Tom AllenI wish all our juniors could have attended the Memorial Celebration of Life held in Tom Allen’s honor at St. Francis Yacht Club last Saturday. Many take-aways relevant to young aspiring sailors like those in the TISC and StFYC junior programs.

My top three: big picture thinking; mentoring is one of life’s most important responsibilities; and leave your ego at home. If Tom read this he’d likely add a fourth: have fun following your passion!

WhitecapTom’s passion lead him on a course from sailor to racer in his beloved IOD “Whitecap” to judge; he progressed from participant to ”helmsman” at US Sailing, the San Francisco IOD Fleet, PICYA and the St Francis Yacht Club. He was well known and highly respected on all levels: local, national and international.

Tom attacked problems from the top. He worked with other sailing judges to train race committees and create a better environment for racers. Then he worked to improve judging.

To keep our sport growing Tom co-founded the St Francis Sailing Foundation 27 years ago and has worked tirelessly to encourage and support young aspiring sailors. He and the foundation have helped countless sailors develop  here on San Francisco Bay and around the world.

Tom helped launch the Treasure Island Sailing Center in 1999 and has been a board member ever since. He understood kids gained self-esteem sailing  while having a boat load of fun. More importantly, he believed every child should have this opportunity regardless of their socio-economic community.

His efforts had a dramatic effect on the growth and stability of TISC. He was instrumental in making sailing accessible to San Francisco youth of limited means. And now his generosity and vision will continue in perpetuity through his transformational gifts to each foundation.

AshleyLast year TISC honored two of our Junior Instructors with the first annual Tom V. Allen, Jr. Service and Leadership Award. The winners of the Award receive support for sailing classes, leadership training  and Junior Instructor stipends. Tom’s Award will help exceptional youth hone their skills as leaders as they continue to work with TISC.Ivan

Ashley and Ivan demonstrated a passion for sailing, a commitment to our community, and a clear intent of giving back. These junior instructors acted as role models for TISC youth. They are exceptional volunteers dedicating their time to their personal development as sailors and teachers and to the development of TISC’s youth as sailors and individuals. Like Tom, they understand the importance of growing our community of sailors.

Tom was a special guy. He will be missed by everyone in the sailing community  especially those who were fortunate to have worked with him.

Remembering Tom’s sailing legacy, from On The Cove,

Dave G

In the Wake:

If you knew Tom or have kids in a junior sailing program or simply want to help children learn life skills through sailing, please consider a gift in Tom’s memory to the St. Francis Sailing Foundation or the Treasure Island Sailing Center Foundation.

 

Tom Allen’s photo by Tom Moulin

Year End Smiles – On the Cove

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As we enter the holiday Season I wanted to share twelve smiles from Treasure Island Sailing Center.  And a few suggestions on how to deal with a very unusual SF Bay Condition: lack of wind.

It was smiles all around for the Treasure Island Sailing Center Fall Race Day held on October 27th.

Our staff and instructors closed the fall racing season with an awards ceremony and race day.   All youth participants received a TISC T-shirt for their awesome performances.  Trophies for 1st, 2nd and 3rd places were handed out, along with trophies in two categories we consider even more important: Sportsmanship Awards and Most Improved Sailor.

The two Sportsmanship Awards:

Philip, on left, received one of two Sportsmanship Awards at the TISC Fall Race Day

Philip, sailing in one of our new BUGs, was paired with a sailor who had only briefly been at TISC and who was struggling with remembering how to trim the sail. Instead of being frustrated, he taught the new student how to trim the sail and ensured that he was paying attention with positive communication and teamwork.

Drew, an Opti Fleet sailor, was willing to sail with a younger participant who was struggling in the “Everything Goes Race”. When thanked, he simply said, “It was no problem. I sailed with him over the summer, I do not mind helping. Man was that race fun!”

Most Improved Sailor Awards:

Leslie was sailing in her first Opti Regatta by herself. She struggled at first but stuck with it and consistently improved each race and sailed herself to a tie for second place (bummer- lost the tiebreaker but still finished 3rd).She showed great attitude and kept working!

Roman received one of the two Most Improved Sailor awards at the TISC Fall Race Day

Roman was paired with another Opti sailor with whom he had never sailed. Although he and his partner sailed very consistently, Roman struggled with being stuck in irons when it was his turn to drive. But he never gave up! His persistence, along with some helpful tips from an instructor, allowed him to work on “Sailing in the Groove.”  He sailed an excellent final race, beating many Opti sailors and coming in second! Without any prompting from his mother, Roman said to her: “When I grow up, I want to go to a college that has a sailing team.”  Roman is currently in 3rd grade.

OK, now the sailing tips I promised for navigating the waters of Clipper Cove and San Francisco Bay in light air (doesn’t happen very often!) .  If suddenly becalmed you can: skull, paddle with your hand or kick with your feet, “ooch”, get in the water and swim the boat forward, use the centerboard as a paddle, or rock ‘n roll.  Here are a few pictures to demonstrate:

Skulling, paddling with the centerboard and ooching were all permited in the windless “anything goes” races held during Treasure Island Sailing Center’s Fall Race Day.

Swimming the boat forward, padling and skulling are demonstrated by youth sailors during the Fall Race Days “anything goes” race at Treasure Island Sailing Center.

Sometimes the best technique in light air racing is a calm steady hand on the tiller.

As our students and parents know, Treasure Island Sailing Center teaches much more than just sailing skills.  Every class outline includes life skills such as independent thinking, self confidence, communications, leadership and teamwork.  The pictures above are a good example of how kids can improvise when given the opportunity and encouragement to do so.

There was no lack of enthusiasm or smiles during the Fall Race Days held at Treasure Island Sailing Center.

Oh, I should mention that all students are also provided with ample opportunities to share their excitement and enthusiasm for our programs, as Vanessa clearly demonstrated!

Best holiday wishes from On The Cove, Dave G

In the wake:  As you plan your year-end giving, please consider helping us get more kids in boats next summer.  Please go HERE to donate quickly and easily and to see how your donation will be used.

 

Photos courtesy of Kirill Khrushchinskiy.

 

 

 

J24 Halyards Rigged by West Marine

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Last week I entered the West Marine rigging shop in Alameda with a 600′ roll of Sta-Set X line and three shackles.  I left with three halyards for our J/24 fleet, a smaller coil of line and a much greater appreciation of the skill set required to be a certified West Marine rigger.

Sta-Set X line from New England Ropes makes cost effective halyards for our J/24’s: it’s a soft, durable, spliceable, low-stretch line.  Splicing is best left to the pros however and TISC is fortunate to have Ryan Nelson on our team of volunteers who make regular donations of their time to support our programs.

Splicing propylene ski rope is easy – all it takes is a fid or ball point pen barrel to insert the end where you want a loop back inside itself and your done.  While splicing double braided line takes longer and a bit of perseverance you can complete such a splice in 10 minutes or less.  Here is a YouTube video from New England Ropes to show you how.

Sta-Set X has a parallel core for less stretch and a spun fiber cover for easy handling.  They make for a cost effective low stretch line however not so easy to splice – at least not for the casual layman.  NER provides a splicing guide for Sta-Set X.  After watching Ryan and his team complete a few splices my first inclination would be to suggest the rigging shop for mission critical applications like halyards.

I also learned West Marine riggers have to complete a rigorous training program before they are qualified for customer work. Their final exam?  Deliver a box full of splices to the rope manufacturer and wait for the results of destructive testing to verify their splices held up to greater than 2x the breaking strength of the line they spliced!

Thanks again to Ryan for his time and to West Marine for their continued support of Treasure Island Sailing Center programs.  And if you made purchases from their Alameda store last June 28th thank YOU – because you helped us raise hundreds of dollars from their contribution of 5% of their sales that day to the Treasure Island Sailing Center Scholarship Fund.

Regards from On The Cove, Dave G

In the wake:

Here are a couple of fun YouTube videos that show how rope is made and know its tested to breaking point and beyond.

New England Rope: fabrication and testing of marine and climbing rope

Blowing up wire and synthetic rope: guess who wins?

 

 

Rozalia Project Visits TISC

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A few days ago I received Sarah’s email to the V15 Fleet: the Rozalia Project was on a west coast swing, and would visit TISC Nov 19th. How fortunate; I had two other meetings at TI and could attend!

While my chat with Rachael Miller was brief, I learned a lot about their project and goals.  The Rozalia mission is to find and remove marine debris from the surface to the seafloor.  They attack with gusto from many angles including direct action, technology (way cool, check out some of these ROV and radar systems), outreach and research.

So far this year they have worked with over 10,000 participants to remove over 500,000 pieces of marine debris weighing over 164,00 pounds (yes, like in 82 TONS !).

The above totals include a chair they found in the Windy City, but does not include the red tube sock (underwater view below; real sock here) they recovered from under the docks here at TISC.  They hope to visit San Francisco again next year during America’s Cup time; if they do we look forward to seeing them and spending more time with their entire team.

I had fun meeting Hector the Collector – one of their most personable pieces of technology.  This ROV is a Pro4 manufactured by VideoRay. No quite as personable as the Smart Little Industrious Marine Maintenance Man (we called him SLIMM) that kept our pool clean back in Acton, however much more well behaved and predictable.

While at TISC Rachael and her team introduced Hector the Collector to kids from our junior sailing program and from the Life Learning Academy here on the island.  They also discovered the water was clearer under the docks than out on Clipper Cove.

They flew back to the east coast last night after a 10-day west coast jaunt.  Their time in SF Bay enabled them to rank our waters with other west coast ports – I’ll let Rachael provide our rankings compared to LA, San Diego and Sacramento in and upcoming blog – and spread the word on their project to hundreds of kids and pationate adults.

You can support their programs in many ways.  The easiest is to simply spread the word about Rozalia Project and keeping in touch with them.  Another great way is to always be on the lookout for debris and pick it up whenever you can (the nasty stuff I see here in the yard can wreck tires; the lighter, fluffier, floaty stuff looks bad and can harm our marine friends).

We were fortunate to have them here at Treasure Island Sailing Center – another example of our role as a Launching Point for New Horizons.

All the best for this Thanksgiving – from On The Cove, Dave G

In the wake:

Here are a few links you can pass along for more information or to donate, to keep track of their progress, and for a bunch of great pictures:

http://www.rozaliaproject.org/donate/

http://rozaliaproject.blogspot.com/

https://www.facebook.com/RozaliaProject?sk=wall

 

VI Sailors, DCYF Kids All Smiles After Weekend Sail at TISC

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When I started this blog one fear I had was not enough to write about.  I now find myself in a catch-up mode.  So much for my initial concern; here is an update on the October 20/21 weekend at TISC.

Saturday, October 20:

We’ve been fortunate to have a connection with the Marin Sailing School and their program for visually impaired sailors.  This year we introduced sailing to 37 visually impaired sailors! What a great experience for the instructors and volunteers as well as the VI sailors. Sailing allows the participants to use their tactile and auditory senses to successfully sail a boat.

On Saturday, October 20 we hosted 13 VI sailors plus sailing instructors and volunteers.  What a great way to end this year’s program!

The all-star supporting cast included Al Spector, Head of the Marin Sailing School Program for the Blind and Danette Davis, Head of Outreach (volunteer opportunities are HERE) for the program.  They were joined by two Marin Sailing School Volunteers: George Gurrola and George Lythcott. Linda Zagula joined as well; many of her students at the Orientation Center for the Blind have raved about the program, and she wanted to see it firsthand.

From the TISC side, Kara Wilcox from the TI V15 fleet volunteered her time and the team was rounded out by three TISC instructors: Dan Loman, Phill Myerson and Megan Sammarco.

The program has been a great outlet for the VI community to get outside, be active and participate in a sport with limited assistance. The most-often asked question at the end of the day: “When can I come back?!!”

Sunday, October 21:

We partner with the Department of Children, Youth and Families (DCYF) on many or our youth programs and initiatives.  Each October we jointly sponsor a “Lights on After School” event at TISC to promote after school programing and the important role such opportunitties in the development of our youth. This nationwide initiative had over 1 million participants at 7,500 sites!

On Sunday, October 21, TISC hosted 15 students for our annual event.  The kids enjoyed sailing games and healthy snacks with parents cheering them on.  Bringing together this group further underscored and supported the need for afterschool programs.  Thanks again to DCYF for their continued support of many TISC programs.

Dan Loman, a TISC instructor, provided the pictures – thanks, Dan, for the many smiling faces.

From On The Cove, Dave G

In the wake:

Kevin Berry, our Managing Director, and Madison Gattis, our Office Manager, provided the background on these two events.  If you are a parent, volunteer, tenant or TISC student and have a story to share or volunteer to thank please let us know – inputs always greatly appreciated.

Thank You BTR Supporters !

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Over 80% of the funds raised by TISC’s 2012 Big Team Regatta went directly to scholarships and programs because of the many gifts in kind provided by our land-based supporters.  Please frequent them, and thank them again for us.

The day started early with registration and briefing.  Everyone enjoyed the fresh-brewed coffee from Peet’s Coffee at 1776 4th street in Berkeley. I particularly enjoyed the double latte on my ride home Friday night after returning the large coffee thermoses that provided a kick start to everyone earlier in the day. 

Of course the Noah’s Bagels were a perfect match for the coffee.  Thanks to the Noah’s team near Fillmore& Sacramento in San Francisco for the morning bagels and muffins.

Liz Felando is an instructor at TISC and on the Cal Sailing team.  She prepared the scrumptious chocolate and pumpkin cupcakes we all enjoyed at dinner.

Lagunta’s Brewery in Petaluma goes out of their way to support many community activities. The keg we enjoyed after sailing was courtesy of their team. Stop by for a tour the next time you’re in the area – makes for a fun afternoon.

After the racing we all enjoyed great food from Fine Foods at Home. Kara Forman and her team donated a portion of our dinner, which was excellent.  You too can enjoy their food by ordering on line then picking up dinner at one of their three locations at the 24th St Cheese Company, the NOPA Home Service , or the Noe Hill Market.  You can use their interactive map to see their locations.

TISC supporters have a wide range of unique talents that not only made the day possible but also added to the enjoyment during and after the event.

Thanks again to Rich Jepson and the entire OCSC Sailing School.  They were the enablers for this day of sailing, fellowship and fund raising.  Special thanks to OCSC instructors Ashley Tobin and Jim Watters.  They donated their time and special skills to support BTR.

Scott Keck provided his time as our DJ during the presentations and for music after.  And Roy Miller once again provided hundreds of quality photos for participants and sponsors to enjoy.  His photos are on the TISC Facebook page HERE.

Many volunteers from Cal Sailing and OCSC helped with set-up, registration, on-the-water logistics, meals, and clean up.  THANK YOU ALL

From On The Cove, Dave G

In the wake:

If you have special skills, would like to help out with a donation in kind or simply want to get involved at TISC, let us know.  You can call our office at (415) 421-2225 or connect with us on line with your special skills or interest

Super Sunday’s Great Ideas

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The weather on clipper Cove for Sunday afternoon’s student/parent barbecue was picture-perfect.  What I enjoyed even more was the opportunity for face-to-face networking, brainstorming, and ideas generation with parents, staff and instructors.

Lots of energy with 50 parents and kids enjoying Pier 1. Many interesting stories about how these kids ended up at TISC: because the parents sailed, because kids’ friends sailed,  because of the excitement caused by the America’s cup,  .  .  .  the list goes on.

And speaking of lists, here a few of the ideas that surfaced from a very involved parent base:

  • Many parents were actively pushing for ways to help out in any way they could-and suggested making a list of jobs and supplies that would be useful for the staff, instructors and facility better serve the kids’ sailing program.
  • Make it easy for parents and volunteers to sign up for small tasks that could be done during class time, evenings or other times without the need for staff support.
  • Set up a parents-only email list for ride sharing, car pooling and idea exchange.
  • Send information on schedules, registration, island events on a regular basis.
  • Provide opportunities for family sailing and/or lessons for parents so they can learn at least the basics of “sailing 101”.

What great ideas – I left TISC yesterday afternoon on a high.  My wife Jane and I grew up sailing, we met because of sailing, and our kids and grand-kids all love boats and the water.

The only downer on Sunday was the fact we had to head home while the kids,instructors and parents were rigging boats and getting ready to go sailing!

From On the Cove, Dave G

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Little Angels, Thundering Angels and Big Cats

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My wife Jane and I had the good fortune to be On The Bay Friday last Friday.  Doesn’t get much better than Fleet Week Air Show and AC World Series on SF Bay on the same day. Or does it?

Turns out, it does! 

I had the pleasure of spending time with Stephanie Martin and others on her PG&E Community Relations team – first at their Beale Street Headquarters then on the breakwall at Marina Green.  They filled me in on the previous day’s activities: providing 80 excited kids from Western Addition Beacon Center plus 15 PG&E volunteer chaperones an opportunity to see the big 45′ America’s Cup catamarans and learn about the science and technology behind them.  And experience the thundering roar of the Blue Angels practicing for their weekend performance.

Thursday’s activities were made possible by the generous support of PG&E in partnership with our Treasure Island Sailing Center team (two Fridays ago we took 25 kids from Mission Beacon Center for a sail on the bay).  Representatives of the National Energy Education Development (NEED) also pitched in, teaching the kids about wind power and making anemometers to measure it (as I tell new sailors “you can’t see the wind but you can see its effects”).

Ezra Garrett, PG&E VP of Community Relations, shares a few smiles before heading off to watch the AC World Cup Races.

Here’s a few pictures from the fun day on the bay Thursday with the Western Addition Beacon Center kids – courtesy of Heather Wiley / Drew Altizer Photography.

 

 

Western Addition Beacon Center Initiative kids getting a quick lesson on how AC45 catamarans start races and sail up wind.

 

 

 

 

 

Moving hoops across a trampoline is not that easy (and it’s not even charging over the water at 20 knots with spay flying ! ).

 

 

 

 

 

Bob Hodash, a Bakersfield school teacher with NEED, explaining wind power to kids from Western Addition Beacon Initiative during America’s Cup Kids Day in partnership with PG&E and TISC.

 

 

 

 

 You can read more about Thursday’s Event here: PG&E Hosts Children to Watch America’s Cup Racing

From On The Cove (at Marina Green), Dave G

 In the wake: Here’s a few pictures from our Friday on the Bay including a replica of the America up from San Diego, a pictures of the “Auld Mug”, thundering Angels and Jimmy Spithills team on Oracle 4.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PG&E Lead TISC Big Team Regatta On and Off the Water

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Getting Roy Miller in position to take winning photographs on Friday was easy. Writing this blog – not so easy because many people and organizations were key to the success of TISC’s 2012 Big Team Regatta.

BTR was the 2005 brainchild of Jay Palace, CEO of Group Experiential Learning Corporation and enabled by OCSC’s CEO Rich Jepsen and his team.  Without sponsorship by both companies the $35,000  we raised Friday would not have happened.

 

PG&E lead this year’s BTR in many ways.  Their Gold-Level sponsorship lead the fund raising and their “Team Two” sailors repeated as overall champions.

 

First place in the Corinthian division went to Recommind.

 

Goldman Sachs sponsorchip enabled four students from Life Learning Academy on Treasure Island to race in the regatta.  Teams from four other companies  learned about racing J/24’s in SF Bay while supporting a great cause.

 

The other 2012 BTR winners: Bishop Ranch, Hanson Bridgett,

 

 

 

 

 

Mechanics Bank /Synergy and PGE “Team 1”.

 

 

 

 

 

Event set up for this day-long event included breakfast, lunch and dinner for racers, coaches, volunteers as well as registration plus set up and tear down.  As they have done so often in the past the Cal Sailing Team was there to support TISC from early morning to late evening.

A special thanks to Adam Van de Water  for providing the participants with an update on the America’s Cup plans so much in the front of everyone’s mind these days.  He is the Assistant Project Director for the 34th America’s Cup working in San Francisco Mayer Ed Lee’s Office of Economic and Workforce Development.

And finally hats off to the entire TISC Team who organized the event, solicited participants, and are continually driving our programs to ensure the success of our students.  Kevin, Madison and Michelle – great job !

The list of gifts-in-kind for this event is way too long to cover in this blog, however STAY TUNED!  We have many, many thanks due to local merchants who played a pivotal part in the success of TISC 2012 BTR.  They deserve a separate blog, and you will hear more about our huge “on-shore crew” in a blog to come.

From On The Cove (at OCSC Sailing School in Berkely), Dave G

In the wake: Thanks to St. Francis Yacht Club we had use of a 19′ Ribby for the day. Roy Miller took many great shots from this great photo boat.  You can see them HERE.