Tips from the Mast
Interesting tidbits brought to you by fellow members! If you have a tip to share, we welcome your input. Please submit your article to sfaria@corinthianyc.org.
Burgees at the Bar
Contributed by Sarra and Stuart Tubbs
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Ever wonder about all those flags hanging in the bar? They are called burgees (“bur-jees”). Each one represents a different yacht club. The burgee is usually displayed on the boat of a club member. Nothing is as exciting as spying a CYC burgee on the Intercoastal Waterway or in the British Virgin Islands. Traditionally, visiting yachtsmen would present their club burgee to us in exchange for a CYC burgee to hang at their home club. More recently, club members belonging to other clubs donate their other clubs’ burgee or bring us a burgee from a club they have visited.
We also receive burgees from racers participating in a Corinthian-sponsored regatta or stopping over in Marblehead. When we receive a burgee, we note the Club name and donor. We also like to get the story behind the burgee, if there is one. We currently have 82 burgees. We have identified, photographed and catalogued all but 3. So next time you're in the bar, look up, and next time you're at another club spread the CYC pride by donating a burgee and bringing us back one to hang.
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Watch out for ticks this summer!
Contributed by Dr. Donald Kaplan
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While CYC cruisers headed south have little to fear from sea-monsters or Jaws, we do need to beware of an unwelcome guest just about the size of the period at the end of this sentence. The Cape and Islands are home to deer ticks, which carry Lyme Disease.
When walking in grassy or wooded areas, protect yourself by wearing long-sleeve shirts and long pants tucked into your socks (light colors are best for spotting ticks). Apply DEET insect repellant, and look carefully for ticks after you return. If you find a tick, don't panic; infection rarely spreads unless the tick has been attached for more than 48 hours. The best method for tick removal is to grasp it with a fine pair of tweezers and pull steadily upward until it lets go. Don't squeeze or twist. Methods such as putting nail polish, kerosene or gasoline don't work. After removing the tick apply an antiseptic or rubbing alcohol.
Fortunately, even if you become infected with Lyme Disease, early treatment with antibiotics is easy and effective. Watch for a small red spot, which spreads to a "bulls-eye" rash, with a red ring and clear center. This rash, often accompanied by fever, chills, headache, stiff neck, fatigue and muscle aches suggest you need treatment.
The cruising grounds south of the Canal are a New England treasure. Simple precautions when ashore and a daily check for ticks can assure you enjoy them in good health.
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Nothing says summer like the whir of the blender!
Contributed by Sue Griffin
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Okay, so what would summer be without a great frozen summer drink? Imagine it. You’re at your mooring. You’ve just come back from a stellar day on the water. Now it’s time to relax and enjoy another idyllic Marblehead sunset. The water is lapping softly against the hull – and the blender starts to whir! (Alright, so the blender ruins the mood. Make these libations ahead and put your frozen concoctions in a WELL-ICED cooler!)
So what’ll it be? Something with rum, of course. (Forget the conch shell. Lift a glass of this close to your ear, and you’ll hear steel drums!).
Frozen Mojito Slushes
1 pint lime sorbet or 1 can frozen lime ade
8 shots light rum
1/2 cup mint leaves
1 tray ice cubes
Combine all ingredients in a blender. Pulse, then blend on high until smooth. Don’t over-tax your blender! Split the recipe in half and make in two batches. Serves 4.
And just because you’re at sea, don’t deprive yourself. There are some really wonderful non-alcoholic options that won’t steer you wrong! Try this one:
Mango Freeze (Non-alcoholic)
3 medium mangoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped
1 12 oz. can peach, guava, or other tropical fruit nectar, chilled
1 cup crushed ice
1 tablespoon honey
Cover and blend until smooth. Serves 6.
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A Free Vessel Safety Check
Contributed by Bill Griffin
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The Vessel Safety Check (VSC) is a great way to make sure that our boats are ready for the boating season. During the VSC, a certified Vessel Examiner (VE) from the Marblehead Sail and Power Squadron or the Coast Guard Auxiliary will do a 15-point inspection on the safety equipment aboard our boats - based on federal and state regulations. The VSC’s are FREE! The VSC is not a law-enforcement operation: no citations, fines or reporting to any agencies are ever done.
Vessel Safety applies to all types of boats - sail, power, canoes, and kayaks. Once we pass the Vessel Safety Check, we will be awarded a VSC decal for to display on our boat. This VSC decal is recognized by law-enforcement agencies, such as the US Coast Guard and Massachusetts Environmental Police and it may decrease the likelihood of a random boarding of our boat.
Below are the 15 main points covered in the VSC:
1 - Display of Numbers
2 - Registration / Documentation
3 - Personal Flotation Devices (PFD)
4 - Visual Distress Signals (VDS)
5 - Fire Extinguishers
6 - Ventilation
7 - Backfire Flame Control
8 - Sound Producing Devices / Bell
9 - Navigation Lights
10 - Pollution Placard
11 - MARPOL Trash Placard
12 - Marine Sanitation Devices
13 - Navigation Rules
14 - State and/ or Local Requirements
15 - Overall Vessel condition
For more information, check out: http://www.usps.org/localusps/marblehead/vsc_getfree.html
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The Marblehead Light Tower - Did you know?
Contributed by Past Commodore William E. Conly
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The original Marblehead lighthouse was built in 1835 of stone, painted white, and stood 23' tall. The elevation of the land was 34' above sea level, making it a total of 57'. The lighthouse had a fixed white light, fired by whale oil. Within 45 years it was not visible because of surrounding houses and overgrowth.
In 1883, a mast of 100' was erected beside the original structure and topped by a fixed white lantern. At 130' above sea level, it was visible out to sea. The surrounding complex consisted of a dwelling barn, hen house, privy and water pump, as well as a boathouse.
In 1895, the present cast iron Light Tower was erected in skeletal design with cylinder on concrete pile. It still had a white light, a Fresnel 6th Order Lens, fired by whale oil.
In August of 1922, the light was converted to electricity and fitted with a ruby shade. The color was changed to green in 1936 or 1937, for what reason, it is not known. Extinguished during WWII, from 1941 to 1946, the light was first automated in 1960.
The present Marblehead Light Tower is owned and maintained by the United States Coast Guard. Although there are no present indications of their relinquishing control, there are efforts under way to license the Tower to the Town of Marblehead. |
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Corinthian’s Grandfather Clock
Contributed by David Graham, CYC Historian
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How many times have we walked into the foyer of the club and paid little or no attention to the wonderful old-time Grandfather Clock that adorns the room? If nothing else, it certainly adds to the ambience as one enters the Club. However, the clock does serve a more useful function, as it displays very accurate time. Over the past several years, I have managed to regulate its speed through minute adjustments to its pendulum, to the degree that it now gains not more than 20 seconds in a seven-day period of time. While this is not sufficient to accomplish celestial navigation, 20 seconds on an old time piece that is made of wood and varying metal components - - - is rather remarkable, as temperature and humidity can both take their toll on the accuracy of these component.
Corinthian’s Grandfather Clock can run as long as eight days on a single winding of the clock’s weights. However, the clock is serviced (wound and accurately re-set) once each week, usually on Sunday mornings. Therefore, if you are ever interested in obtaining a very accurate reference for setting your own watch, Sunday afternoons are the best bet - - - but at any time of the week, you will never be more than twenty seconds out of sync with the real-world time.
We thought you might be interested. |
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A Tot from the Tip of the Mast:
The Silver Anniversary of Pusser's Rum for Non-Enlisted Seaman
Contributed by Rob Howie
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For more than 300 years, the British Admiralty served a daily ration of rum to the men of the Royal Navy, one of the few pleasures they had at sea. Served 'neat' until 1740, in that year an admiral nicknamed Old Grog (for the grogram cloak he wore in foul weather) decided to water down the daily "tot" (ration) to curtail "the swinish vice of drunkenness". The men were incensed at the adulterated mix of limejuice, brown cane sugar, water, and rum, contemptuously naming it "grog".
They continued to imbibe it, however, around the "scuttled [open] butt [cask]; you can be sure that the scuttlebutt about Vernon was not fit to print. In 1970 the tradition ended, victim to changing times. In 1979 an enterprising sailor, Charles Tobias, purchased the blending information from the Admiralty and sold British Navy Pusser's Rum to the public for the first time. Pusser's - the name is a corruption of Purser-is known as the "single malt of rum," uses no flavoring agents, and is still made in the Navy's old wooden pot stills.
So, on the silver anniversary year of our being able to indulge in a dram of Pusser's, here's a tot (double tot for those who splice the main brace) to enterprising sailors and Jack Tars. God save the Queen!
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The Bloody Mary: Queen of Cocktails
Submitted by Rob Howie
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Ubiquitous in American cocktail culture, the Bloody Mary, invented in 1920 at Harry's New York Bar in Paris, made its American debut in 1933 at the St. Regis Hotel in New York. It's the world's most complex cocktail-what other one can claim to be made with seven different types of liquor-or none at all? What other drink benefits from generous doses of salt and pepper? Known the world over for its 'curative' effects, Bloody devotees constantly tinker with ingredients to get just the right 'bite.' There's more than one way to make it.
Delightful classic and regional variations include Bloody Bull, Bloody Caesar, Bloody Swedish Blond, Red Snapper. But, like a classic wooden boat, one can't go wrong with the basic formula: 6 ounces vodka, ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper, 16 ounces tomato juice, ½ teaspoon salt, 1 ounce lemon juice, 1½ teaspoons horseradish, 3 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce, wedges of lime/lemon.
In a 32-ounce pitcher, add a generous scoop of ice, and then add vodka, tomato juice, lemon juice, Worcestershire, cayenne, salt. Stir thoroughly. Garnish with lime/lemon. "I introduced this drink to Hong Kong in 1941," recalled Ernest Hemingway of his favorite cocktail. "I believe it did more than any other single factor except perhaps the Japanese Army to precipitate the fall of that Crown Colony." Next time you enjoy Sunday brunch at the Club, be sure to accompany it with a Bloody Mary!
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