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August, 2013

P.O. Box 29136, THUNDER BAY, Ontario, P7B 6P9 CANADA www.tbyc.on.ca

Around the Club…

Marina Advisory Committee (MAC)… The August meeting of the Marina Advisory Committee was cancelled. The next

meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, September 18th. If you have any items you would like brought forward, questions

or comments, please do not hesitate to contact TBYC MAC Representative Ray Innes at raymondinnes@hotmail.com or

344-7555.

Racing…

The Local Scene… Following are the race winners for TBYC July and August events:

• Mayors Cup : Byrr, Melges 24, skippered by Peter Hansen

• Single Handed: Flying Circus, Express 27, helmed by Jamie Gracey

• Double Handed: Tethani, Viking 34, captained by Fred Stille

• International A division: Northern Harrier, Chris Wells’ J41

• International B division: Straight Jacket, Terry Cano’s IMX-3/4 ton

• Commissioners Cup: Grenadier, C&C Corvette 31, skippered by Don McGonigal

• Mid Wednesday Winners

� A Div: Byrr

� B Div: Flying Circus

� C Div: Felucca

Lake Superior Offshore Racing…

The J41, Northern Harrier, skippered by TBYC member

Chris Wells goes to weather on a Wednesday series race.

Northern Harrier finished 1st in PHRF Crewed Racing Class

C in the 2013 Trans Superior Race. Congratulations Chris

and crew for the hard-fought victory.

The 2013 Trans Superior Race was very exciting this year.

The first half of the race saw 20 kt. of wind on the nose

with large waves; it then turned into a reach and, like

many Trans races, for the last third the winds went light

and shifty. Twenty-seven boats participated including 3,

70 footers, one of them being the famous Volvo ocean

racer Il Mostro; 3, 50 footers, one of which came up from

Texas, and 9 in a class of 35 to 40 footers. There were 3

boats from Thunder Bay Yacht Club, 6 in total from

Canada and one from Great Britain. The results for the

Canadian boats were very good. In the Crewed Racing

Class C, TBYC’s Northern Harrier, skippered by Chris Wells

finished 1st (5th overall in the PHRF crewed fleet),

Mongoose, skippered by Eric Hansen, finished 2nd (6th in

fleet) and Bobsled, skippered by Bob Vander Ploeg

finished 8th (13th in fleet). In the Single-Handed Class, the

Canadian boat Ophir11 was 1st; in the Cruising Class

another Canadian boat Steele N Time finished 3rd. For

complete results see:

http://www.yachtscoring.com/event_results_detail.cfm?

Race_Number=1&eID=789

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Great Lakes Racing…The Barthel Trophy, one of many governed by the Yacht Racing Union Great Lakes, is awarded to

the best finisher of all three of the Great Lakes featured long distance races. The three comprise the Bayview-

Mackinac, Chicago- Mackinac and the ever tough Trans Superior. All three make up what the Yacht Racing Union

proudly calls the Tri Lake Challenge. It was established back in 2001 after YRUGL dusted off the beautiful Barthel

Trophy and repositioned it as the award for winning the Tri Lake. Since the Trans Superior is only sailed every two

years on odd calendar years, it was to be awarded this year to the best finisher to have completed all three races. Out

of all the hundreds of boats that compete in these races, only four boats raced all three. They were Stripes, skippered

by Bill Martin, which has won several times before; II Mostro, skippered by Peter Thornton and Screaming O, skippered

and Steve Schick and Eric Thomas. The fourth boat Vortices skippered by Chris Saxton came out the overall

winner. YRUGL and all of the sailors of the Great Lakes congratulate Chris on this great feat.

Social Committee…

There was an amazing turn out for the Pier 3 Party!

Gorgeous weather finally arrived to complement the

great food and camaraderie which was enjoyed by all.

As can be seen, the party went on until dark. Special

thanks go out to Dan Turk and Ron Von Straalen and

their brew crew for hosting this very successful party!

Don’t miss the upcoming party at the Mission Island

facility on the evening of Tuesday, Sept. 10. If you are

interested in assisting with plans for this party, please

contact Kerry at berlin@tbaytel.net for info.

Thumbs up to the gang from the Tartan 28, Grand Cru;

they not only have matching race crewing shirts but

also have matching PARTY shirts!!!! They have set the

bar for the next party and for next year!!!!

Upcoming Social Events:

� The Chilli Buns Race is scheduled for Saturday, October 5th. Stay tuned to the TBYC website and Facebook for

details about the Chilli Buns after-party.

� The Close of Navigation Social is set for Saturday, October 19th at the Prince Arthur Waterfront Hotel & Suites.

Tickets will be available starting September 4th, 2013 at Barewood Furniture. The ticket cost is $45 per person.

Around the Lake…

Climate Change and Fish…According to Timothy Cline, lead author of a University of Wisconsin-Madison study, “Lake

Superior is warming at a relatively fast rate.” In an article on the Lake Superior News website

(http://www.lakesuperiornews.com/) Cline noted that “people should be paying attention to Lake Superior. It is

warming at one of the fastest rates of any other lake observed on Earth.” The study noted that surface water

temperatures increased 2.5 degrees Celsius between 1979 and 2006.

The study also noted that “water temperature changes over the past 27 years have made conditions more favorable for Chinook salmon, walleye and lean lake trout and less favorable for siscowet lake trout which prefer colder water

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and have lost about 20 percent of their historical habitat. “ For more information you may wish to visit:

http://www.lakesuperiornews.com/Environment.aspx

The International Lake Superior Board of Control is responsible for regulating the outflow of Lake Superior and

managing the control works on the St. Mary`s River. According to a Board`s August 30, 2013 media release “This past

month the water supplies to both the Lake Superior and Lakes Michigan-Huron basins were above average. Currently,

the Lake Superior level is about 8 cm below its long-term average beginning-of-September level, and 20 cm above the

level recorded a year ago. It is 25 cm above its chart datum level. This past month the level of Lake Superior rose 1 cm,

which is the average amount the lake rises in August. The level of Lake Superior is expected to begin its seasonal

decline and fall slightly during September.”

MV Thunder Bay…

Canada Steamship Lines (CSL) unveiled its newest

Trillium Class vessel, the Thunder Bay, at a special

Maiden Voyage celebration held in Port Colborne,

Ontario. The Thunder Bay, which is equipped

with state-of-the-art systems that reduce fuel

consumption and air emissions, stopped at that

city as it made its first transit in the Great Lakes-

St. Lawrence Seaway System

The CSL’s first Thunder Bay was a bulk carrier built in 1952 at Port

Arthur Shipyard. She was converted into a self-unloader in 1969

and renamed the Stadacona. CSL revived the “Bay” series of vessel

names in the St. Lawrence and Great Lakes fleet, and in naming

this ship, honoured the Port of Thunder Bay.

For the marine engineering crowd, here are a few of the specs for

the MV Thunder Bay:

o Length: 225.50 metres

o Height: 14.75 metres

o Breadth: 23.76 metres

o Flagged: Canadian

o Built: Chengxi Shipyard, Jiangyin, China

o Delivered: May 16, 2013

o Crew: 15 to 18 Canadian crew members

o Seaway Draft: 8.077 metres

o Gross Tonnage: 24.430 GT

o Engine: Electronically-controlled low-speed diesel

o Propulsion: Single, controllable pitch prop

For more information, please visit www.cslships.com

This item is a little eye opening …As you are likely aware from previous postings in The Bulletin (as well as other

sources) boaters, marina operators and cottagers among others have become very concerned about water levels in

Lake Huron (and Georgian Bay in particular) along with Lake Michigan. The ILSBC (see above) recently published that ``

the level of Lakes Michigan-Huron declined 1 cm this past month, less than the average decline of 4 cm in August. The

level of Lakes Michigan-Huron is 44 cm below its long-term average beginning-of-September level, and is 16 cm higher

than it was a year ago. Lakes Michigan-Huron is 8 cm above its chart datum level. The level of Lakes Michigan-Huron is

expected to continue its seasonal decline during September.

According to CottageCountry.ca and Simcoe.com, during Metroland Media Group’s investigation into`` the crisis on

Georgian Bay`` (emphasis added)… a retired geologist, geochemist and engineer…. described as an expert on the issue…

suggested instead of looking south to the St. Clair River to solve low water levels in the Great Lakes, the focus should be

on Lake Superior. “There’s a vast amount of water there (in Northwestern Ontario) and no attempt has been made to

utilize it… Lake of the Woods and Lake Nipigon are the two largest in the area … Lake of the Woods drains through

Rainy River into Rainy Lakes, emptying into the Pigeon River, which flows into Lake Superior.”

What is concerning here is that there is no indication anyone in these media sources was knowledgeable enough to

identify that the expert was in err. Lake of the Woods does not flow into Lake Superior, rather it flows west through the

Winnipeg River into Lake Winnipeg and eventually into Hudson`s Bay. We understand the concern those on the lower

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lakes have about declining water levels but the media needs to be a little more vigilant in vetting viable solutions.

Fortunately, the International Joint Commission is focusing on more realistic action. According to Simcoe North MP

Bruce Stanton, IJC is recommending that Canada and the United States begin the process of developing and

implementing regulatory structures in the St. Clair River. He notes that “Whatever the source, the outlet from Lakes

Michigan and Huron is singularly the St. Clair River. Finding ways to impede its flow, temporarily as conditions demand,

without negatively impacting the receiving lakes (St. Clair, Erie, Ontario) gives the possibility that, over the medium to

long-term, levels in Huron and Michigan could recover as much as 25 centimetres to their long-term average.” For

more on the IJC`s recommendations see http://www.ijc.org/en_/news?news_id=108.

Plastics in Lake Superior…CBC news, among other news organizations, is reporting on research conducted by the Lake

Superior Research Institute at the University of Wisconsin-Superior, The scientists have now discovered plastic particles

on all of the Great Lakes. Last year, plastic was uncovered in Lakes Superior, Huron and Erie. The greatest concentration

appears to be in Lake Erie likely because the particles float downstream from the upper lakes. According to Mary

Balcer, Director of the Lake Superior Research Institute at UW-Superior, plastics are a new threat on the list of

ecological problems for the Great Lakes. According to Lorena Rios-Mendoza, Assistant Professor of Chemistry at the

University of Wisconsin-Superior, plastics have also been found in the sediment in very shallow areas in Lake Superior.

Rios-Mendoza suggests that while the plastic particles themselves are of concern, they also act like “tiny toxic sponges”

which can be confused as food for small fish and thus can enter the food chain. For more on this visit

http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/story/2013/08/30/great-lakes-plastic.html.

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MARINE EQUIPMENT

AT DISCOUNT PRICES When parts offered by Stright MacKay Ltd are ordered

through FRM MARINE, the following discounts apply:

The letter at the end of the part number signifies your discount.

All orders are subject to HST + 10% handling Catalogues are available at the Mission Property and CN Stn.

clubrooms or online at stright-mackay.com To order contact Richard Matheson @ 807 251 6832

or by email at frmmarine@shaw.ca

Notice regarding advertising in the Bulletin: The TBYC Bulletin does not have a “classified section”. If you are interested

in advertising a boat or boating equipment and gear for sale or, if you wish to have a “Wanted” ad, the place to do it is

on the TBYC web site. Contact Mark Sprovieri at markspiv@gmail.com to post an advertisement.