2011 Events

Annual Holiday Celebration at Aldo's Restaurant, Los Gatos - December 13, 2012

We had a great turnout at the annual Holiday Celebration occurrence at Aldo's Restaurant, Los Gatos.

Cruise-out to the Oakland Yacht Club - October 15-16

The Los Gatos Yacht Club cruised to the Oakland Yacht Club on October 15-16. The weather was perfect. Four yachts made the trip: Astrea, Jolly Mon, Wings, and Nuance. Oakland Yacht Club has great guest dock that accommodated us with ease.

We thank the Goff’s for hosting cocktails and hors doeuvres on Saturday and bloody Marys on Sunday.

The Oakland Yacht Club provided a good dinner on Saturday and a great brunch on Sunday.

Mike Reed Speaks at Monthly Meeting - June 14

Mike Reed is an experienced racer and Registered Nurse specializing in trauma. Mike combined his sailing and medical skills to achieve a personal goal of racing the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race. As watch Captain and Senior First Aid officer for Team Chancellor, Australia, which finished 4th in Division OIRC, he was lucky enough to experience a race that was described as a "good old fashion Hobart, uncomfortable wet and exhausting". Mike showed some pictures of cigar clouds (unique to that area of the world), which come before a cold front, and weather that changes from mellow to 30 plus knots in a matter of minutes.

With 16K ocean miles, Mike has won a Rolex Big Boat Series, NOOD, Frank Stone Cup twice, and finished 3rd overall out of 374 entries in the 2010 Chicago to Mackinaw. He has raced in the China Cup for Team Chicago and a Pacific Cup, is the owner of an Express 27 and a Catalina 42, and holds a USCG Master License.

Brainwaves wins 2011 Spinnaker Cup!

Congratulations to Jim and Bob Brainard, who sailed Brainwaves (J35C) to a first place in the double-handed group of the 2011 Spinnaker Cup! Held on May 28, the race is from San Francisco Bay to Monterey. With an elapsed time of 12:25:10, it was a great downwind race and excellent practice for the 2012 Pacific Cup.

10th Annual Gromeeko Round the Island Race

The annual LGYC Gromeeko Round the Island Race was held on Sunday, May 22. The race honors the memory of George Gromeeko, a past commodore of the club. The day was characterized by blue skies and light winds that picked up to about 20 knots on the final leg.

Five boats participated in the race:

• Astrea (Beneteau 373 - Hansell)
• Brainwaves (J35C - Manies/Brainard)
• Farriage (Catalina 42 - Johnson)
• Impulse (Hunter 340 - Harold)
• Nuance (Swan 41 - Kaleda)

The race started and finished just outside of the Golden Gate Yacht Club (GGYC). The first leg of the race was to Harding Rock Buoy (YRA 17), the second leg was to Blossom Rock Buoy (YRA 18), and then back to the finish line at GGYC. All marks and Alcatraz Island were left to starboard. The start was a Bermuda or staggered start with the first boat starting at 11am. The course length was approximately 6 nautical miles, and spinnakers were not allowed.

Brainwaves was the first boat to cross the finish line and was awarded the Gromeeko Perpetual Trophy. After the race there was a dockside toast to George Gromeeko, followed by a brunch at the GGYC.

We were lucky to have a pro photographer on one of the boats. Check out some of Mikhail (Misha) Kutuzov's great photos!

8th Annual LGYC Club Challenge Race

The Los Gatos Yacht Club annual invitational challenge race was held on Sunday, May 15, and a great time was had by all! Sequoia Yacht Club (SYC) and Spinnaker Sailing Club each entered a team, along with our LGYC team. The wind was a steady 12 to 20 knots in the Redwood City channel, it was an ebb tide all afternoon, and although the rain kept threatening us all afternoon, it held off during the race. We even had some nice periods of sunshine throughout the race.

The race committee placed special markers in the Redwood City channel for this race, and the start/finish line was in front of the viewing area on the grass beside the channel. It was a real treat to be able to watch the race from land!

The racers had to round three markers in three different directions for each race. The course was the same for all three races, but the teams sailed in a different Merit 25 each time, changing boats at the dock between races. The boat switching and repeating the same course leveled the playing field, ensuring that the best team won without regard to boat or course differences.

Representing Spinnaker, Skipper Hans Spanjaart and his crew, Andrew Cole, won all three races. SYC (led by Brett Herr with crew members Chris Owczarek and Fadi Maamari) came in second twice, and LGYC (led by Mike Satterlund with crew members Ray Kaleda, Mitchell Wells, and Sergei Podshivalov) came in second once. There were some very close finishes!

Congratulations to the Spinnaker team on their big win! And congratulations to all three teams for coming out and sailing a great race!

Check out the great photos shot by our own Laurel Kaleda.

South Bay Opening Day

The cool overcast day did not dampen the spirits of the participants and spectators at the South Day Opening Day on May 14. There was lots to do—for example, watch the boat parade, check out the Coast Guard cutter PIKE, test your skills at fire fighting using a simulator provided by the Coast Guard Auxiliary, check out bay marine life at the Marine Science Institute exhibit, listen to live music—as well as enjoy a lunch at the Sequoia Yacht Club.

This year Los Gatos YC had an entrant, Brainwaves, in the Flags and Pennants division of the boat parade. Brainwaves garnered second place! More importantly the crew had a great time decorating Brainwaves, and young skipper Tyler Brainard (age 6 1/2) had a great time driving during the parade (aptly supervised by Grandpa Jim Brainard).

Door prizes were given away at the lunch, and the club members that were there took home some fine prizes—a pair of binoculars, dinner for two at Coyote Yacht Club, and a $25 Target gift card. Our thanks to this year's South Bay Opening Day committee for putting on another fine event!

Check out a few of Ralph's photos from the event! Here are some more photos by Judi McDowell, the organizer of the event!