All Captains, Crew and Committee Boat Staff

The Longview Yacht Club  Breakfast Race Meeting  Date: January 7th, 2012 Place: Butcher's Shop, Longview Texas Time; 8:00 AM All interest in racing, crew and working the committee boat plan on attending this breakfast meeting. We will be planning our regattas and looking for ideas and input from all interested parties. Plan to make this meeting open to all members.

Mercury Marine debunks ethanol myths.  This is helpful information in dealing with engine problems

Mercury Marine, the world’s largest manufacturer of marine engines, recently held a webinar, according to Boat US, to debunk some of the myths that swirling around the industry and among boat owners.

There is no active transfer mechanism for ethanol molecules to reach out and ‘grab’ water molecules out of the air.  Under normal storage conditions, even in a vented fuel tank, it just does not happen at a rate that is relevant.

Major multi-billion dollar companies with enormous resources have improved gasoline additives but there is no recent breakthrough involving ‘magical technology’.  Claims made by companies about ‘space age’, ‘revolutionary’, or special proprietary technology should be looked at with a high degree of suspicion.

“E10 Ethanol absolutely IS an acceptable fuel for everyday use”

“E15 Ethanol absolutely is not an acceptable fuel”

After the transition period from E0, E10 may actually be a superior be a superior marine fuel as it tends to keep low levels of water moving through the fuel system, keeping the system dry.

Don’t immediately assume E10 is the problem if you have engine problems. For considerably more information on this subject go to the Dec 2011 issue of Boat U.S.

The results of the Bill Jennings Memorial Great Race are in...
1st Place - John Norris
2nd Place - Mike Denholm
3rd Place - Ralph Zelenock

Committee boat responsibilities were handled by the Sea Scouts of Ship 550.  Trophies were designed and made by Jeff Hull.

No Happy Hour for November.  We'll see you at the Christmas Party on December 2nd!

The Bill Jennings Memorial Great Race has been rescheduled to Saturday, November 19th due to weather concerns.  Please contact Joe Mraz for any questions. 

James White took his Beneteau 32 to the coast to race in the Harvest Moon Regatta (Galveston to Aransas Pass) and they took third in their class.  Well done guys.  It got our club on the board again. LYC members or former members crewing include Jeff Porter, Mike Brady, Mark Miller, Dan Harrington and Dwain Selman.  Linda Shaw helped ferry the boat back to Galveston, and her duty cost her a broken rib.  We hope you are feeling better, Linda.  

The Sail and Power Squadron is launching a new Squadron at Lake O’ the Pines to be headquartered at the Longview Yacht Club.  The inaugural meeting will be held at the Yacht Club on November 5^th at 4 pm.  The meeting will last a little less than an hour.  We are all invited.  This will be a good opportunity to go for a sail, either before or after the event. The original plan to include a safety class has had to be cancelled.  Current prediction is a high of 74 F with winds of 10 mph out of the South. Be one of the first to join the new squadron

The Oktoberfest Regatta and Social was held on October 22^nd with six boats entered.  A beautiful fall day with no wind greeted the boats at the start line for the first race.  A few minutes after the start a front crossed the lake raising wind velocities up to 10-12 knots resulting in an exciting race.  Winds became variable and died at the end of the second race.  During a long wait for the last boat to finish it was decided by the committee to scrub the last race and head for the food.  David Grotheim won first place with Ralph in second and Mike Denholm in 3^rd to end a great day on the lake.