May 2009 Easter Egg Hunt - Portland Yacht Club

May 2009 

Vol. 59 No. 5 

Easter Egg Hunt 

Photos by Dale Mack

COMMODORE’S COMMENTS 

C 

an you believe 

it? The month 

of May is already 

upon us. May is 

a busy month for us 

here at PYC. First off 

is Opening Day on 

Saturday May 2nd. For our newer 

Members, Opening Day marks the official 

start of the boating season. PYC 

will begin the day with our traditional 

brunch, hosted by Michael and Denise 

Hahn. Next comes the Skippers’ briefing, 

followed by the PYC Opening Day 

Ceremonies and capped off with the 

CRYA Parade. Our Fleet Captain, 

Heather Adams and her committee 

have some creative ideas in our quest to 

win the CRYA Seamanship Award this 

year. We hope that everyone will turnout 

and support our Opening Day festivities. 

Don’t forget the Cinco de 

Mayo Party at Salpare following the 

Parade. 

Following on the heels of Opening Day 

is PYC’s annual Mother’s Day Brunch 

scheduled for Sunday May 10. Jan and 

Donna Kay Molennaar will return as 

chairpersons for this event. This is 

perhaps one of our finest events of the 

year and it’s a great opportunity to express 

your love and appreciation to 

your mother, grandmother and of 

course your wife or significant other. 

Our Mother’s Day Brunch is always 

well attended, so make your reservations 

early. 

May also brings our traditional Memorial 

Weekend Cruise to the Outstation, 

scheduled for May 22nd thru 25th. This 

cruise, without a doubt, is our largest 

cruise of the year. Frank Warrens will 

again be our Master of Ceremonies for 

our Memorial Day Ceremonies and Bo 

Knab will be there to raise the flag. We 

have again requested a “Fly-by” by the 

Oregon Air National Guard. When 

you make your reservations please state 

your boat type i.e. power or sail and the 

overall length. This information will 

assist Mike Stansell, our Dock Master, 

in his efforts to get us all tied up in a 

timely fashion. 

proposal to the PYC Board of Trustees 

regarding an arrangement whereby 

PYC would make a small annual payment 

to WSC and in exchange PYC 

Members, their children and grand children, 

could take sailing lessons at WSC 

at the same fee schedule that WSC 

members enjoy. The PYC Board approves 

this arrangement with WSC on 

an annual basis and will most likely 

continue the arrangement as long as 

there is an interest by our PYC Members. 

This is a great opportunity to 

learn to sail on the protected waters of 

the Willamette River. 

Our latest addition at the Outstation is 

the new metal cover on the dock canopy. 

Last winters wind and weather did 

a number on the canvas cover that was 

originally installed. The new cover was 

installed by our Dock Master Terry 

Truan, his new assistant Shawn Everett 

and Members Dave Stuckey and Don 

Peterson. Great job guys! 

the PORTLIGHT 

published monthly by the 

PORTLAND YACHT CLUB 

1241 NE Marine Drive 

Portland, Oregon 97211 

P: 503.285.1922 | Fax: 503.283.4960 

Email: office@portlandyc.com 

EDITOR—Dale Mack 

OFFICERS AND TRUSTEES 

Commodore Jerry Miller (power) 

Vice Commodore Nick Johnson (sail) 

Secretary/Treasurer Rod Wells (power) 

Rear Commodore Berkeley Smith (sail) 

Trustee Year 2 Larry Snyder (power) 

Trustee Year 2 Gary Eckert (power) 

Trustee Year 1 Charlie Bishop (sail) 

Trustee Year 1 Michael Lewis (sail) 

Trustee 1 Year Term Craig Schambaugh (sail) 

PHOTOGRAPHERS 

Bernie Bills / Stan Borys / Bob Knauer 

Skip Nitchie / Frank Tillman 

2 PortlandYC.com May 2009 

At the Winter Meeting Nancy Kirk 

MacGregor, our Roster Editor, reported 

that advertising revenues for the 

Roster were lagging budget projections 

due to the economic down turn. Good 

news! Due to the persistent efforts of 

Nancy and Gail Timmerman some of 

our traditional advertisers have reconsidered 

and will again place an ad in 

our Roster. At last report, projected ad 

revenues for the Roster were only 

$1,000 short of the budget. Great job 

ladies! On the subject of Rosters, the 

2009 Roster will be available to the 

Membership on Opening Day. If you 

get the chance, please thank Nancy and 

her Committee for all of the hard work 

putting the 2009 Roster together. 

Last month’s Portlight included a promotional 

article on “Learning to Sail at 

WSC”. Perhaps a little background on 

our relationship with Willamette Sailing 

Club (WSC) is in order. Several years 

ago, PYC Member John Colby made a 

Wednesday lunch got off to a great 

start on April 1. Approximately forty 

hearty soles braved wind and rain to 

join us at the Club for the first Wednesday 

lunch of the year. Bring your 

friends, co-workers and clients by and 

join us for lunch on Wednesdays 11:30 

to 1:30 through September. 

Boating season is officially here, so let’s 

all get out on the river and enjoy the 

one thing that ties us all together--- 

BOATING. 

Join us for “Fun Times in ‘09” 

Jerry Miller 

Commodore 

M/V Marisol

HISTORIAN’S CORNER 

The Herb Cooper Saga 

Y 

ou might see our tender the “Herb Cooper” hauling our Dock Master 

around the moorage doing miscellaneous work and wondered who was 

Herb Cooper? 

The story begins in 1943 when Herb Cooper was a Merchant Marine cadet abroad 

a freighter off the African Coast. The ship was torpedoed by a German U-boat. 

Herb managed to get into a lifeboat and saw the U-boat surface. He expected to 

be machine-gunned down as this was the practice of the Nazis. Instead the U-boat 

Captain told them that the coast of Africa was in that direction and they should sail 

toward it. After a week they made the coast and were saved. 

Fast forward several decades, Herb Cooper was a member of PYC and went to 

visit the Portland Maritime Museum. There to his surprise was a instrument from 

the very U-boat that had sunk his freighter. He asked the curator where they got 

the instrument and was told from the U-boat Captain who was visiting a friend in 

Vancouver. Cooper then met the Captain who saved his life and together they 

visited PYC. 

Cooper’s wife donated the tender “Herb Cooper” in his memory. 

Terms used today that came from the Royal Navy: 

Touch and Go: The ships keel touching the bottom and getting right off 

again. 

Garbled: This was a prohibited practice of mixing rubbish with the cargo. 

A distorted, mixed up message was said to be garbled. 

Give (someone) a Wide Berth: Anchoring far enough away from another 

ship so that they did not hit each other when they swing with the wind or 

tide. 

Walter A. Witschard 

MANAGER’S REPORT 

W 

e often have 

our security 

company 

guard posted at the gate 

during sponsored events. 

He is directed to stop 

everyone entering the 

parking lot to ascertain their business, 

such as being a member, a member’s 

guest or attending the event. Please 

don’t be offended at being stopped. 

We are trying to keep you safe. 

I have only had one person come get 

their trailer out of the parking lot. We 

still have two dinghy trailers and one 

sailboat trailer that are unclaimed. We 

do not have space to store your trailers 

any more. Please let me know your 

intentions before we have to dispose of 

them. The club has two dinghy docks 

in the open moorage. We would like 

you to identify your property with your 

name and boat name so that we can 

properly control them. 

We have had a busy spring with events 

of all kinds. I hope that you have been 

able to attend and that you have had 

fun here. Let me know if you have 

concerns or suggestions. I am always 

willing to listen to your ideas. 

Fred Carter 

Manager 

Portlight 

Deadline 

May 10 

You can email articles and photos 

to: 

Dale Mack 

celtic-myst@comcast.net 

May 2009 PortlandYC.com 3

COMING EVENTS 

PYC Western 

Barbeque 

June 13 

Details in the 

June Portlight 

Fred Spada and Ted Reich repair the rigging on 

the Robert A. Smith Overall trophy prior to 

sending the award to the engraver for the Sailors' 

Dinner presentation. Little boats need 

maintenance, too. 

CHILDREN’S EASTER PARTY 

T 

he children’s annual Easter 

Party was held on April 11. 

Our very own Easter Bunny 

Bill played to an audience of 70 children 

and 120 dads, moms and grandparents. 

Children were entertained 

with face painting, art projects, an 

Easter egg hunt and a special treat was 

the Balloon Man. The Balloon man 

spent the better part of two hours making 

balloon art upon request for each 

child present. This guy could create 

just about any creature or object requested. 

It was hard to tell who enjoyed 

his efforts more, the children or 

the adults. 

A big thanks to LeeAnn Snyder for 

serving as the Chair for this wonderful 

event. LeeAnn’s helpers were: Donna 

Kay Molenaar, our master of ceremonies 

for the day, Easter Bunny Bill Stevens, 

Lucy Mitchem for her beautiful 

and creative Easter art and for cutting 

out many of the Easter bunny faces 

that the children decorated, and the 

many others who helped the Entertainment 

Committee in making this event a 

huge success. Thank you everyone! 

As a side note, many members have 

requested the balloon man’s name and 

phone number. His name is Chad Rutan 

and the best way to reach him is by 

email rutanfam@gmailcom or phone 

at 503-689-3489. 

We’re all excited about the Ladies 

Spring Dinner on April 23rd, Opening 

Day on May 2nd, Mother’s Day Brunch 

on May 10th and don’t forget the Western 

BBQ on June 13th! 

Entertainment Committee Co-Chairs 

Judy and Rod Wells & 

Sonjia and Don Smethers 

CRUISING 2009 

W 

e all must be noticing the 

change in our weather and 

hoping that it continues to 

improve! Warmer days are just around 

the corner so dust off the flip flops! 

We are very grateful for the large numbers 

of members turning out for the 

cruises so far this year! Thank you so 

much for the support. Our subcommittees 

are continuing to plan for 

their events. They have some fun activities 

planned!! 

Don’t miss our next cruise on Memorial 

Day weekend at the outstation, 

hosted by Nick and Joanie Johnson and 

Bill and Kimberly Lee. They are making 

all the final plans for the traditional 

Memorial Day ceremony. Then in June 

4 PortlandYC.com May 2009 

we’ll be heading to Martin Slough. 

Steve and Sandra Gordon will be our 

hosts. Information on both of these 

cruises will be in the Portlight. If you 

would like to help, please contact the 

cruise hosts! 

Important Notice: 

For members who plan on attending 

the Cathlamet Bald Eagle Days in July 

or stopping in Cathlamet for the Down 

River Cruise in August, please sign up 

early at the club. The Cathlamet Harbormaster 

has agreed to reserve space 

for PYC boats if we give her enough 

notice. However, she has requested 

one master list of boats rather than 

individual reservations. If you sign up 

at PYC, we will take care of the group 

reservation. Also, remember that if you 

just want to drive down to Cathlamet 

for either cruise...….. the small cabins 

at the marina are available to rent! 

We’d love to have you come spend the 

night! 

Once again we would like to thank all 

of you that have offered so graciously 

to help with cruises! You all know who 

you are! We really do appreciate your 

help and enthusiasm. 

See you all at the outstation in May and 

Martin Slough the end of June! 

See you on the river, 

Brian and Donna Moore 

M/V Talisman

JOIN US FOR OUR ANNUAL 

Mother’s Day Brunch 

PORTLAND YACHT CLUB 

MAY 10, 2009 

BRUNCH BUFFET WITH CHAMPAGNE 

10:30 A.M. TO 1:30 P.M. 

$ 24.50 ADULTS 

$10.00 CHILDREN (AGES 6-12) 

PLAN EARLY…MAKE RESERVATIONS BEFORE MAY 5. 

Seating at 10:00, 10:30, 11:00, 11:30, 12:00 OR 12:30 

503.735.0632 

www.portlandyc.com 

THE CRUISING GOURMET 

With the cruising season almost here we should all be thinking about meal planning for weekends on the boat. One of our 

favorite “boat” dishes is the following recipe from Cooking Light Magazine. It’s easy and quick, and is always a hit when 

served to guests. 

Remember to submit your recipes, galley tips, etc. to: thetalisman@verizon.net 

Greek-Style Scampi 

Yield: 4 servings 

Ingredients 

6 ounces uncooked angel hair pasta 1 teaspoon olive oil 

1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper 2 teaspoons bottled minced garlic 

1/8 teaspoon black pepper 1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes with basil, garlic, and oregano, undrained 

1 pound peeled and deveined medium shrimp 1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper 

6 tablespoons (about 1 1/2 ounces) crumbled feta cheese 

Preparation 

1. Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain and keep warm. 

2. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add green bell pepper to pan; sauté 1 minute. Add garlic and tomatoes; 

cook 1 minute. Add black pepper and shrimp; cover and cook 3 minutes or until shrimp are done. Stir in red pepper; 

remove from heat. Place 1 cup pasta on each of 4 plates. Top each serving with 1 cup shrimp mixture and 1 1/2 tablespoons 

cheese. 

Nutritional Information 

Calories: 379 (20% from fat) Fat: 8.5g (sat 3g,mono 2.8g,poly 1.7g) Protein: 31.7g 

Carbs: 43.3g Fiber: 2.6g Cholesterol: 185mg 

Iron: 4.1mg Sodium: 139mg Calcium: 656mg 


TECHNICAL TIPS 

If Only I Had Known… 

M 

embers of the Portland 

Yacht Club have an enormous 

collective wisdom 

about boats and boating that, if shared, 

could save us all time, money and aggravation, 

and perhaps even our 

lives. From the simplest question 

(Where’s the channel, really?) to the 

philosophical and existential (What bottom 

paint is best?), your knowledge is a 

resource that needs a forum. Therefore, 

I propose to edit a column in the 

Portlight that presents your discovery/ 

experience/story related to boating, 

something that you feel would be useful 

or of interest to the membership. 

Remember those times that you couldn’t 

find a replacement part, or didn’t 

know how to refinish that mystery 

wood? How about the experience that 

you had getting your boat hauled? Just 

to prime the pump, I will be authoring 

the next two columns, one on LED 

lighting, and another on the Automated 

Identification System (AIS) for the June 

issue. This should reassure you that 

you can at least do better, so I will expect 

your willing participation. Please 

keep your submissions to 300 words or 

less, and you may send your work to 

me at jembrad@molalla.net. Save us all 

from my limited knowledge and experience. 

After all, that’s why I am starting 

this! 

Joe Brady 

M/V The Bunch 

Lighten Up 

O 

ur boat, M/V The Bunch, has 

fourteen custom-made overhead 

lighting fixtures, each of 

which contained three 10 Watt (0.8 

ampere) twelve volt “festoon” light 

bulbs. This meant that the total power 

use was 36 amperes with all lights running. 

These fixtures did an adequate 

job of lighting, 

but ran 

very hot and 

drained the 

house batteries. 

Each 

burned-out 

bulb required 

the removal 

and replacement 

of 12 

screws, and 

the fixtures have no commercial 

equivalent. 

The April 2007, issue of PassageMaker 

has a great article describing the advantages 

of light emitting diodes (LEDs) 

for lighting boat interiors. I was considering 

designing and making my own 

LED replacement fixtures when I discovered 

www.superbrightleds.com . I 

was able to purchase plug-in festoon 

bulb replacement LED arrays that 

came in bright (#4210-xWHP3) and 

twice as bright (#4210-xWHP6) arrays 

at 3100K (warm white light). I bought 

enough of the bright arrays for the salon 

and was pleased, especially with 

their miserly power consumption. I 

then installed the twice as bright arrays 

in the galley and dinette, and bright 

arrays in the cabins. 

The fixtures are now brighter and 

cooler running (slightly warm to the 

touch), and 

have an expected 

operating 

life of 

some 50,000 

hours! Power 

consumption 

was reduced 

to slightly 

over 4 amperes 

total 

with all fixtures 

operating. The total cost came to 

$426, including shipping, but not 

counting the power screwdriver that I 

bought to remove and replace the 168 

screws involved. FYI, SuperBright has 

plug-in LED replacement arrays for 

most 12 volt bulbs, and special arrays 

that fit into standard Marine and RV 

fixtures, such as in our head compartments, 

engine room, lockers, and on 

deck. 

Joe Brady 

M/V The Bunch 

M/V The Bunch 

6 PortlandYC.com May 2009

COOKOUT—MARCH 20 

COOKOUT—APRIL 3 

EDUCATION DOCK—MARCH 21 

Photos by Jerry Miller 


BOATHOUSE PROJECTS 

H 

ave you ever been curious 

about what goes on inside 

PYC boathouses during the 

winter? I discovered that three of our 

members have been very busy with 

boat building projects during the last 

several months. 

Nancy Kirk-MacGregor 

S/V Nixie 

C 

huck Kellogg began construction 

of a 22’ skiff in January 

2008. The boat, built using 

Joubert wood imported from France 

and custom pieces fabricated in the 

and will have a burgundy hull, white 

cabin and mahogany trim. For more 

information on designer Renn Tolman’s 

skiffs log onto; www.alaska.net/ 

~tolmanskiffs/ 

D 

on Peterson has been building 

models for many years. 

His latest project is “just a 

bigger model” according to Don. He 

Northwest, was recently launched after 

Mark Marine installed the V-6, 235 hp, 

dual prop, Volvo engine. Chuck estimated 

the cost of construction at 

$25,000, but stated that fiberglass 

would have been up to $75,000. The 

boat has a small galley, sleeping quarters 

and two, 35 gallon fuel tanks. 

Asked why he built the boat Chuck 

replied “I had a vision; it was either 

God or Renn talking to me”. Currently 

the boat is unnamed, but Chuck said he 

is open to suggestions. The boat will 

be finished when painting is completed 

began building a 12’ tug boat last September 

and hopes to launch it this summer. 

The boat, built of wood with fiberglass 

overlay, will weigh approximately 

900 lbs and will be powered by a 

15 hp outboard engine. He has finished 

the bottom and stated, with a 

grin, that the project is “above budget”. 

The yet-to-be named tug will be 

painted black, red and white. 

M 

ike Keane has been working 

on several projects including 

the restoration of two canoes 

and the construction of a sailing 

dinghy. Both of the canoes had rotten 

tips and broken ‘ribs’ which needed to 

be replaced and reinforced with copper 

braces. The 16 ‘ 1910 Old Towne canoe 

was originally purchased by a Lake 

Coeur d’Alene neighbor’s grandmother 

and has been kept on the lake for 99 

years. Mike plans to take one final paddle 

on the lake with the 82-year old 

neighbor and then display the canoe 

inside the Keane’s Decardo Bay cabin. 

Mike built the small sailing dinghy with 

the help of his grandsons, Rowan, 8, 

and Robin, 5. The boat, constructed of 

wood and fiberglassed inside and out, 

weighs approximately 80 lbs and will be 

powered by a mainsail and a 2 hp 

Honda auxiliary outboard. Rowan assisted 

with the jigsaw work and did an 

outstanding job according to Mike. 

The boys named the boat “Chipmunk 

of Decardo”, although Mike wanted to 

name the boat “Doug” after a pesky 

Douglas squirrel on their property. 

The grandsons are looking forward to 

learning to sail the new dinghy that will 

join a fleet of “mostly little water toys 

which number around ten”, said Mike. 


EASTER EGG HUNT 

Photos by Skip Nitchie 


COMING EVENTS 

Memorial Day Cruise 

May 22 - 25 

Willow Bar Outstation 

$12.00 adults $6.00 (children under 12) 

Pickup you yearbook in the club office beginning 

May 1. Additional books available for $10 each. 

Friday night Hors d’ oeuvres 

Saturday morning coffee and rolls 

Outstation Cookout (we will provide salad, veggie & dessert) 

Sunday morning Pancake Breakfast 

Potluck Hors d’oeuvres (Prize for the best) 

Monday continental breakfast 

Memorial Day Ceremony 

Hosted by: 

Bill &Kim Lee, Jim & Kelly Johnson 

and Nick & Joanie Johnson 

Reservations: 503.735.0632 or www.portlandyc.com 

The Education 

Dock 

Saturday May 30 

10 Till Noon 

Sailboat Racing for Novices 

In preparation for the Mauni Elliott race 

series, Dale Mack will cover the basics 

for club members who have never 

raced. 

The Mauni Elliott is a fun series of four 

races on Wednesday evenings in 


COMING EVENTS 

MON TUE WED THURS FRI SAT SUN 

27 28 29 

30 1 MAY 

2 

3 

Lunch 

Golf 

Tribute Cookout 

Happy Hour 

Boat Decorating 

CRYA Opening Day 

Brunch 

4 5 6 

7 8 

9 

10 Mother’s Day 

Lunch 

Golf 

Happy Hour 

No Lunch 

Mother’s Day Brunch 

11 12 13 

14 15 

16 

17 

Cookout 

Lunch 

Golf 

Happy Hour 

Lunch 

18 19 20 

21 

22 

23 

24 

Lunch 

Golf 

Bridge Club 

Memorial Day Cruise, 

Outstation 


Outstation 


Outstation 

Board Meeting 

Happy Hour 

No Lunch 

25 Memorial Day 

26 27 

28 29 

30 

31 


Outstation 

Lunch 

Golf 

Happy Hour 

Education Dock 

Lunch 

1 2 3 

Mauni Elliott Race 

Lunch 

Golf 

4 5 

Rose Festival Regatta 

Advertisers Appreciation 

Cookout 

Happy Hour 

6 

Rose Festival Regatta 

Lunch 

7 

8 9 10 

11 12 

13 

14 


Western BBQ w/Music 

Lunch 

Golf 

Happy Hour 

No Lunch 

15 16 17 

18 

19 

20 

21 Father’s Day 


Lunch 

Golf 

Bridge Club 

Board Meeting 

Cookout 

Happy Hour 

Private Party 

Lunch 

22 23 24 

25 26 

27 

28 


Martin Island Cruise 



Lunch 

Golf 

Happy Hour 

Lunch 

Private Party 

Sales - Installation - Service 

Please consider us for your next boat equipment or electronics project 

Visit our website for details on services we provide www.rodgersmarine.com 

3445 N.E. Marine Drive Portland, OR 97211 

Phone 503-287-1101 FAX 503-288-3745 sales@rodgersmarine.com 


Portland Yacht Club 

1241 NE Marine Drive 

Portland, OR 97211 

FULL SERVICE BOATYARD 

all repairs, service, installs, all boats up to 65’ 

503-543-2785 

prompt written estimates 

A&D Yacht Services AT ROCKY POINTE MARINA 

EASTER EGG HUNT

May 2009 Easter Egg Hunt - Portland Yacht Club

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