ALBERG 37 INTERNATIONAL OWNERS ASSOCIATION
Tom and Kaye
Assenmacher
a37ioa@sylvaninfonospam.com
(Please Remove 'nospam' Before Sending)
www.alberg37.org
Click
here for a "More Printable Version" in MS WORD Format
VOL 20,
NO. 4 (FALL-2010)
18th Annual A-37 Fall Rendezvous A Great Success!
Saturday/Sunday,
Click Here For Rendezvous Photo Slideshow
The
18th Annual Alberg 37 Fall Rendezvous was held at the Assenmacher dock near
Kinsale, VA on Saturday/Sunday, October 9-10, 2010. The event really began a bit earlier with the
arrival of MISCHIEF (Kip and Linda Newbould's 1970 MK-I Yawl) on
Wednesday before the Rendezvous. Of
course, Tom and Kaye Assenmacher's 1975 MK-II Yawl SHEARWATER was
already at her home berth at their dock.
Then HERON (Rob and Julie Lee's 1981 MK-II Yawl) arrived on
Friday afternoon. Also arriving
(drive-ins) were Henk DeVries of Cobourg, ON (PAWBEE); Wayne and
Sherrill Bower of Bowie, MD (TEELOK); Lou and Jean Wayne of Rochester,
NY (PIKA); Mark and Debbie Crowe of Toronto, ON (SEA CYCLE - Currently
on the hard in Panama); Ian Dunn and friend Jennifer of Milford, CT (VECTIS);
and Catherine Bennett of Lancaster, VA (TWO TARS). Others attending the Rendezvous were friends/neighbors/A-37
Wannabees: Della Noone of Toronto; Sandy Romer of Welland, ON; Becky
and Jerry Knop of Reisterstown, MD; Don and Judy Polifka of Kinsale,
VA; Hubert and Pam Sears of Jacksonville, FL; Geoff Cunliffe of
Mississauga, ON (former owner of the 1979 MK-II Sloop THE EVERDEN); Carol
and Richard Hackett of Solomons, MD;
Ralph and Sally Sell of Richmond,
VA anchored off the dock in their Pearson 35 SANDPIPER.
Those
arriving on Friday enjoyed a pot luck dinner on Friday evening along with a lot
of 'sea stories', renewed acquaintances and a good time was had by all! Saturday dawned with perfect Rendezvous
weather - sunny with crisp early fall temperatures. Saturday's events included 'crab picking'
where a bushel and a half steamed local Chesapeake Bay Blue Crabs were
consumed. Later on Saturday, a hot dog
and hamburger BBQ was held, along with Becky's (Knop) famous Crab Soup!
Sunday's
weather was a repeat of Saturday's, with a 'Pot Luck' Breakfast enjoyed by all
who were still here. Most folks left by late Sunday, although a few stayed over
until Monday. A great time was had by
all!!
Our
thanks to Good Old Boat which provided 2 complimentary subscriptions
to their fine magazine!
LEEWAY II Visits
Kinsale
Wayne and Cindy Milroy of
Pre-Departure Photo
(Derek, Susan, Hosts Tom and Kaye, Cindy and Wayne)
LEEWAY
II Ready for Departure
LEEWAY
II Departing
(Ed. Note: To follow the adventures of LEEWAY II Click Here)
New Members
Welcome aboard to Bruce
Hauer, of
Welcome aboard to John
Yardley of
Welcome
aboard to Christopher Likes who recently
purchased the 1978 MK-II Yawl STORNOWAY. Christopher recently wrote: “By this time
you might be aware that I purchased Stornoway.
Please remove my wanted ad.
Thanks for the web site and all of the time you have devoted to it. It is a tremendous resource. Right now I am aboard in
Christopher"
B Richards of
Maarten and Joan van Hasselt Eischen of
A-37 IOA Member Passes
We
received word in early September of the passing of fellow member, Robert Benoit of Port Townsend,
WA. Robert was the owner of the 1980
MK-II Sloop MAYA. Our condolences to Robert's family and
friends.
Racing News
The 6th Annual Penbay (Penobscot Bay/Midcoast
Maine) Race & Rendezvous was held July 17th, and Jon & Helen
Kuhl's 1968 Alberg 37 MK-I Sloop (hull #33) "Kemo Sabe"
took top honors in both races.
This joint event with participants
from three Midcoast Maine yacht clubs (
Kemo Sabe (with corrected time
of course) won both races for us and for our club (Rockland Yacht Club).
Her average speed in the first race was approximately 6-6.5kts, and on the
return a solid 7.0 to 7.7kts "hull down" all the way.
Joining the captain & first mate Jon & Helen Kuhl was crew Doris Smart
& George Sayre. Kemo Sabe has an original sized fully battened
mainsail with Dutchman Reefing & a 155%
The wins were especially sweet as we were the
envy of all the club members at that evening's cocktail/dinner awards ceremony
hosted in beautiful
All in all it was a day to remember and will warm
our hearts through many Maine Winters. Kemo Sabe means
"trusty scout" according some sources. What better way to honor
a little boy's hero than with a couple of prominent wins with a big boy's
toy.
Jon & Helen Kuhl,
(Check
out the Web Site for the complete write-up and photos. )
News From Members
Brian and Kathy
Marsh of
Al Peckenpaugh
of
Tom and Kaye Assenmacher, of Kinsale, VA (also newsletter editors etc.)
finally got their 1975 MK-II Yawl SHEARWATER
back in the water in mid-September, and after giving her a thorough cleaning
both inside and out, repainting her bottom, installing a new transmission and
prop, etc. etc. etc., were finally
underway.
"Since we are having
really nice beginning of Fall weather here on the Chesapeake Bay, we decided to
take a week off, and do a 'shakedown cruise' for a week or so. Today we are motoring (flat calm) up to the
(Ed. Note: Readers of the Newsletter may
remember that we had 5 transmission failures since we re-engined the boat in
the early 2000's, the most recent failure occurring off-shore last spring on
our return from our last
David Sullins, of
(Ed. Note: Several
years ago we replaced the shaft log on SHEARWATER (actually, we've done a
couple of replacements - due to electrolysis - before we added zincs to the
cutless bearing/shaft log assembly, which as solved the electrolysis problem). For further discussion of shaft log
replacement, check out the ALBERG
37 CUTLESS BEARING AND SHAFT-LOG REPLACEMENT DISCUSSION in the "Project Database" section
of the A-37 website.
We recently received the following from Ashley Walker who recently sold his 1975 MK-II Yawl GOOD NEWS: “With mixed
feelings I write to let you know GOOD NEWS #144 has sold today to Maarten Van Hasselt who will keep her
here on
Gord
Martin who owns the 1975 MK-II Sloop
MAGGY FIELDS IV posed the following
question in a recent E-mail:
“Have you heard of Telo #28 winches?
There is nothing on Google. They are large, 4" drum dia., 2 speed, self
tailing, but I have never been able to get them to self tail. There are shims
between the gripper plates and I'm experimenting with different thicknesses to
try to make them work. At a replacement cost of over $2000 ea, I am highly
motivated to get these things to work. The internal works appear to be very
high quality. If anyone had any info it would be much appreciated Best regards, Gord Martin SV Maggy Fields IV”
Ed. Note: If anyone has any info
regarding the maintenance of these winches, please contact Gord at: gordmartin@nospamlook.ca (remove ‘nospam’ before sending the email).
Shawn
Sprinkel reports that he recently sold the 1971 MK-II Sloop EMMA ROSE.
We recently received the following from Reid Tomlin who owns the 1967 MK-I
Sloop GENESIS: “I have owned Genesis
(1967 hull #23) since 1995. Over time, we completed a fairly extensive refit
which is now 10 years old (Awlgrip deck & topsides / complete re-wire &
plumbing / new electronics, including Raymarine chart, radar, & under deck
auto pilot / engine rebuild with Westerbeke 44B / rope halyards that lead to
cockpit / replaced ports / new sails & canvas / & many, many other
smaller items). The work was completed
over 5-7 years, and most was done professionally.
Genesis
has served us extremely well over the years, but with two kids to raise,
our family trips have been limited primarily to Long Island Sound, except for a
fun jaunt to
Looking ahead, we plan on sailing her to
That's a
quick update. I've attached a few pictures. Overall, very pleased with the
performance of the boat. We got caught
in a brief but intense squall in one of the inland sounds in NC, but she didn't
flinch at wind speeds at 40+ knots, although we didn't have to deal with the
kind of waves that would likely accompany those types of winds offshore.
Long term,
given the extremely difficult economic times, it is increasingly harder to
justify the expense and limited use of the boat with college tuitions on the
horizon, the need for retirement planning and tepid job security. We are trying
to hold on to her with white knuckles! We've owned her for over 15 years (our
two daughters are 12 & 6), so she is definitely part of the family.
Thanks for
maintaining the website and preserving the vital cohesiveness over so many
years. It is so important for an older class such as ours to maintain a central
base of contact”. Reid Tomlin
Recently heard from Ken Vaughn who owns the 1974 MK-II Yawl IMAGINE: “We have been following your travails on SHEARWATER and it
sounds like all the work has paid off and that you all are once again
"mission capable" as we say in the military. We are undergoing
something of a refit ourselves. We have come to the conclusion that it is in
fact a multi-million dollar refit, done at 4 to 6 hundred dollars at a time. We
figure we may not live long enough to complete it, and if we do, we will be too
poor to sail. How many folks do you know in the poor house who own yachts. Wait a minute, don't answer that! Anyway,
all our electrics will be new by the end of the day, and our newly
reconditioned sails and covers will be done soon. We have a new dodger and
bimini, and are installing a new oven and propane system. Ugh! It will be nice
once we are done. IF we are ever done”.
Ken Vaughn, S/V Imagine
The following is from an
email received from Ken and Anita Tillotson who is cruising aboard their 1975
MK-II Yawl JOINT VENTURE in Venezuela:
Subject:
"We
're in Los Roques sitting in the town square with a free connection in an
otherwise remote locale. We left
There is a Coast guard station, Guardacosta
that requires visiting yachts to check in. It was late so we waited until the
next day. Rather than try to communicate
over the VHF we decided to dinghy the 2 miles to the station. We had to cross some 'open water' with a 5
mile fetch from the surrounding reef. And so we began to encounter some steep 1
meter waves. I had to slow down at Anita's'
urging. The 10 minute ride became 20.. but we made it OK. We were greeted at the beach by a 20-ish
young guy who ushered us to a Gazebo type place where there was a table and
chairs. I guess he determined there that
we could move up to the main station where 6 or 7 guys were. 3 of them asked
questions while 1 of them filled out documents.
We're in
Sotovento is a massive expanse of reef
about 5 miles wide in a half moon shape. So the prevailing trade winds and
waves are mostly broken up. There are 5 or 6 main islands. We picked round
island that's pretty well in the middle. We explored around on foot a little
but found that the dinghy exploration landing on various beaches was
preferable. Early on the 2nd day 2
fisherman approached with Conch to offer.. looking for cigarettes which we
don't have but offered a bottle of rum. We wanted lobster but they had none
saying that they'd return manana with same. hey didn't come back but I was
given 2 conch about a half pound each still
moving in my hands. I put them in the fridge until later that day. Anita boiled
them up for about 10 minutes before cutting them into chunks for a chowder of
sorts. It didn't taste too bad but it
was like rubber. we found out later, that you have to pound them with a mallet
for half an hour or so to soften them up.
Oh well, live and learn. We also
found out later that the lobster have been mostly fished out. Very sad with overfishing happening all over
the world ..it seems that nowhere is exempt.
We travel with the weather windows
especially when going against it and so onto Barlovento about 14 miles east. We
found a more comfortable anchorage in
Barlovento...story to be continued...I'm getting tired and it's too hot..later.
Cheers,
JV"
Ken
= Continuing our time in the Aves, it
was a day sail to Barlovento. The next
day or so, we explored the wetlands, seeing hundreds or even thousands of
seabirds which are quite large...some
the size of a goose but ever so graceful in the air. The mangroves were literally covered with
them. They would dive into to the sea to get fish. If they missed, they'd come
back out only 5 or 10 feet to dive again
sometimes 4 or 5 times before success, but more often on the first try. It was quite a spectacle.
Anita
= There was one other boat anchored in
our immediate vicinity They dinghied by, and waved as Ken was preparing the outboard
to be lowered via our mizzen halyard onto our dinghy. After some brief interaction, it was evident
from their language, and haphazard English and accent-they were German
speaking, but in fact Austrian. We
invited them to come visit us later in the day. After our dinghy sojourns
and back at the boat we realized we
didn't have any snackies to serve our guests.
What to do! We had some cans of
crab meat and Ken assured me that he could make up something. So he mixed up crab meat with various other
things...*the recipe is Ken's secret (off the cuff) We made the concoction into small balls and
refrigerated them. Helmut and Anne Marie
from their boat Anne X arrived about 5. They were thrilled with the crab balls and later asked
for the recipe. Ken was very pleased
too.
This
couple are from
Ken
= On shore nearby, there was a clearing in the mangroves, that was almost
invisible. Once there, we found a path that
took us to a place where boating visitors have left their names and
dates painted on various shaped rocks, which we did as well. We saw the names of one of our Alberg compatriots. Mark & Deb
on 'Seacycle' who evidently had visited Barlovento in 2009. We met them in Bequia a couple of years ago
and later visited them at their condo in
We
burned our garbage in a pit, with the
aid of a little gasoline (which was a relief as we had quite a lot by
now).
With a favourable weather window, it was
time to move on to the reef formation of Los Rogues. This magnicent conglomeration
of reefs and islands is some 30 miles long and 12 miles wide. The most western
anchorage was about 35 miles distant and took us about 9 hours with the aid of
the engine, as we had very little wind for the most part. The approach to the anchorage was more
shallow than the chart or the gps chartplotter indicated and the accuracy of
the chartplotter was less than normally encountered. Anita was very frustrated
in her efforts to direct me from the shallow areas by pointing from the
bow. Everything looked shallow.
We anchored for the night and were the sole vessel there. Early the next morning, we pulled the hook and headed for the main
island ( El Gran Roque) This was a 17
mile motorsail ( 5 tacks)
The
first order of business was to present our yacht documentation and passports to
the various Venezuelan authorities in
order to get permission to stay. Since we were considered 'in transit' we would be permitted to stay
only a day or 2. If one has already checked in formally, you can
stay for up to 15 days, for a nominal fee. After the first day on the island, we realized
that we wanted to stay longer and went back to the Guardacosta and requested an
extension. Well, after great
hesitation, we were told we could have it if we payed extra money( a bribe)...
we could stay 5 more days, but no longer.
Anita
= The island is lovely with palm trees and quaint little houses and
stores. The streets are simply sand, but
very clean. The people are pleasant and
accepting of the visitors. We sat down
to rest at a table on the veranda of a small restaurant in the main square and
our order was promptly taken by a rather petite waitress who looked to be about
10 or 11 years old but very self possessed and efficient. She spoke only Spanish and very quickly. Ken
did his best to understand and place the orders for our beverage and Caesar
salad. The service was good and the food
was quite delicious as we hadn't had any salad for some time. We were to eat
our supper there later where we ordered pizza....absolutely the best pizza I
have ever had.
The
square is in the central area of the town and has a raised terrace surrounded
with a red brick wall about two feet in
height. Teenagers congregated there in
the later evening to enjoy each other's company.
This
is where Ken typed the initial part of our story to date as there were shady
trees and it was the only place on the island or on the boat that he could get
internet. Unfortunately, the access was sporadic
which was very aggravating.
There
are small airplanes flying in tourists every day. So between the tourists from
Ken
= There was a place off the beach where we were told we could find water. There
was a hose that could be brought to the shore that provided reverse osmosis
seawater when it was working. We took our three 5 gallon jerry cans to get
filled. I tried to offer money but it
was politely refused. Also, right nearby was a tugboat of sorts that was loaded
with diesel fuel brought in from the mainland. A large power yacht was taking
on fuel from it. We had an empty jerry can with us, pulled alongside and asked
for it to be filled. It took about 10 minutes,,
but again, any remuneration was refused...only in
With a favorable weather window, we set
sail early one sunny Sunday morning
bound for Porlamar on the
Anita
= During this trip, we had a variety of weather...some of it quite challenging
which I found hard. Ken is such competent
a sailor that he deals with strong winds and waves with a confident and
steadfast enthusiasm, but I am not as comfortable especially at night and when
tired. However, I stood my watches as
normal. Upwind sailing is much more stressful and tiring, We've crossed the
Ken
= We sailed northeasterly, but also had a cross current against us, that meant
more leeway than expected. (not good). We held this point of sail for about 15
hours, waiting for an expected wind shift which
eventually came. The 30 degree initial
shift was enough to warrant a tack as we were now north of 12.5N latitude. The
wind had moderated to 13 to 15 knots and things were a little more comfortable
..although our net progress was somewhat disappointing. By morning, it was evident
that some thunderstorm activity was a threat.
The wind had come around more to a NE direction as we were making good
progress and right on course for Margarita.
For a few hours we maintained our course and avoided the squall clouds.
Then suddenly the wind went south, and we were enveloped in a 30 knot squall
with full main. The jib had been furled and the engine was running and I was
immediately head to wind, to save the main and minimize the impact. We made no
forward progress during the brunt of the squall. I maintained the helm for a
few hours, but back on course with a SSE wind. It moderated and then died
out. We were both tired, and so I
decided to motor the 52 miles easterly to the
Anita
= We were glad to rest for several days, doing a little sight seeing on shore
which is quite rough and wild.
Every
day we shared the anchorage with one, two or even three colorful fishing
boats. The fisherman were friendly but
intent on their fishing. They would
leave and then the same or other boats would return. Ken asked them for lobster but apparently
there aren't any ones large enough to be even a small meal. Babies.
So no lobster meal for us.
Finally
it was time to head to the large
Will
we move on to the mainland ...not decided yet.
Apparently there is a new and less expensive marina/storage facility
here that we will check out. Tonight we
will join other cruisers for "happy hour" at 'Jak's Place'
At
last, the tough passages are over!
Cheers, JV"
'Freeware' Navigation Software (OpenCPN)
Available
OpenCPN is a
free software (General Public License)
project to create a concise chart plotter and navigation software for use as an
underway or planning tool. OpenCPN is developed by a team of active
sailors using real world conditions for program testing and refinement. OpenCPN
includes embedded Tide and Current Tables which are a very helpful addition. We recently installed OpenCPN on our new Acer
Netbook (10" screen/LED display) and it was very easy to download and
install. We've tied the Netbook into our
'homemade' NMEA bus, which 'talks' to the SIMRAD Autopilot; the JRC Radar; the
VHF Radio; and (normally) a Laptop Computer.
We've not actually used OpenCPN while underway,
but it looks good, interfaces quite easily with our GPS, and appears to be
fairly easy to use, and best of all, it's 'free'!
Our
laptop/Netbook is our 'poor man's chartplotter, and although we DO carry
hardcopy charts of all areas we plan to sail, maintain a log, etc., the
'chartplotter' is quite handy to solve chart ambiguities, provide instant
orientation, etc. We are of the opinion
that Chris Columbus used the latest and greatest navigation technology
available to him over 500 years ago to discover America, there's no reason we
shouldn't take advantage of the 'latest
and greatest' nav technology available to us (up to date charts/GPS/DR/Radar
etc.). Most of us already know that NOAA
charts are available as free downloads (as are many foreign charts), and it's
good to have up-to-date digital charts to go along with our hardcopy charts.
We found the Acer Netbook 'on sale' at TARGET
several months ago, for less than $200.
Although it doesn't have an internal CD/DVD drive, we bought an external
CD/DVD drive for a few $$ from Ebay which works fine to load software/create
DVD's/CD's, watch movies (who has time to watch movies anyhow!!). The 10" LED backlit display is good and
bright (fairly good sunlight readability), and uses a very small amount of
power (the Netbook has a 6+ hour battery life).
We've also integrated the Netbook to handle Sailmail (Email service via Single Sideband
Radio ), and other ordinary computer software.
Happy
News!!
We recently received news that Joran Gendel and Lin Hayes of Williamsburg, VA were recently married, and
celebrated the event at their home on 11 September, 2010. Lin and Joran own the 1984 MK-II Yawl ELIXIR.
Congratulations and best regards to the newlyweds!
Current offerings include:
For
Contact
James at (360) 765-3222
FOR
Clean
and well kept A37. Ready for cruising! Solar panel, manual windlass, Aries
windvane self-steering, 250' chain anchor rode, furling genoa, main with 3 reef
points, lazy jacks, upgraded self-tailing winches, 1000 watt inverter, propane
stove and BBQ, new anti-fouling, and more. Deck recently
professionally repaired and refinished.
On
the hard in
http://www.yachtworld.com/boats/1972/Alberg-37-Sloop-2252090/Toronto/Canada
FOR
Contact Dan Lord at: 978 462 1112
Gear For
(Check out the Gear For
Sale/Wanted section of the website for latest listings)
Alberg 37 Custom Cover for sale . The cover was made by Fairclough Sailmakers, and is listed at $1,500USD. It has been used 4 seasons and recently has been serviced for extra reinforcement and stitching (cover is currently at Fairclough's facility in New Haven, CT) .Cover retails new for $4-5,000. I have recently moved to FL and have no further need for a winter cover. I will be driving the cover (among other items) from New Haven CT to Florida in mid November (2010); I can personally deliver to anyone in between CT and FL at that time.
Contact Reid Tomlin at: (239) 263-6877 . Check the Gear For Sale page on the A-37 Website for a photo of the cover.
Lou and Jean Wayne of
For
sale - Zodiac, 4 man offshore valise liferaft. Never deployed, purchased new in 2000. Always stored inside
and is in great condition. Buyer responsible for shipping and repackaging,
however if it cannot be repackaged for any reason send back and we will refund
the purchase price (shipping not included). Asking $800 USD. Contact Bill
and Debbie Horne: serenade2ATsbcglobal.net
(replace AT with @).
Dodger
Frame For Sale, Geoff Cunliffe of
NOTE: This
dodger frame is NOT for an Alberg 37
Gear Wanted
Wanted as spare - Datamarine
S-200 DL LCD Digital Depth Sounder Instrument.
S/V Sojourn
Web Sites of
Interest
We are always looking for articles
(cruising, racing, maintenance, etc.) and photos of your boat for inclusion on
the website and newsletter. Send the
articles via email attachment in MS WORD and the photos in .JPG format if
possible. Please don’t send large files,
especially high resolution photos.
Photos should be 100 kilobytes or smaller if at all possible. We’ve had some emails with attachments which
take HOURS to download.
Hopefully, we've included most or all of
the pertinent correspondence that we've received over the past few months. Our appologies to those items which we may
have missed.
We need a good candidate for "Featured A-37" It's been several years since we had a new
addition to the Featured A-37 list. If
you would like to do a write-up and submit photos of your boat, we'd like to
hear from you! Take a look at the
articles on the website (click on the link above) as examples.
The A-37 IOA
participates as a cooperating group with BOAT
U.S., and members receive BOAT
Have a great
Alberg 37 FALL!
AND
Get working on those PROJECTS!!!
Tom and Kaye
Assenmacher