It was a dark and stormy night. The wind was howling like the Banshee. I heard a loud thump and .........
Ooops. Having another senior moment.
Sorry. This was supposed to be about the GLF meeting. Dang, this is happening all the time. Now what was I saying? Oh yeah, the GLF winter/spring gettogether.
After enduring another typical, northern winter season, our fleet officers called to order our first meeting of the new year on Saturday, March 29, 2008. As a matter of course, it snowed earlier in the day. We met at Patz's restaurant in Oswego NY, which is situated on the end of the Oswego river where it merges with Lake Ontario.
Traditionally, our fleet has been meeting at Coleman's Irish Pup, which is also on the river, but on the other, western side, directly across from Patz. No one is sure why, but Coleman's mysteriously closed their doors for business at the end of February, leaving the GLF, as well as other groups, high and dry for a meeting place.
The business meeting was called to order at approximately 1300, although many of the out of towners and other early arrivals sat together for an early brunch at another restauranr just up the street street. I'm sorry if I misname some of those who attended the meeting. I'm going by memory (oh my)
. I haven't a copy of the minutes handy, so I'll try to wing it.
If memory serves me well, there were about twelve to fifteen attendees. Before the meeting started and throughout the meeting, Patz served an unstopable array of delicious finger foods and liquid libations that would satisfy a king's palate.
As the meeting moved along, some interesting topics were discussed. The one that interested me most was the centralization of our meetings, cruises and summer sail ins. It was the general agreement of all that, although Oswego being a great sailing port, its remote geographical location, in regard to the accessability of the members sailing on the other Great Lakes, could be improved.. Mike Ritenour will be in touch with other members who sail farther west of Lake Ontario. Special interest will be centered on possibly Erie Pa. and Sandusky or Toledo Ohio. If a new location is chosen, it would provide easier access for many more sailors and more enticement for them to participate in CDSOA meetings and sail ins and club cruises.
During the meeting, our keynote speaker was an officer in the local flotilla of the Coast Guard Auxiliary. After a brief talk, she escorted us into the hallowed halls and grounds of the Oswego Coast Guard Station. Homeland Security is very big in this port city, which is adjacent to an international border. We were provided with a very interesting guided tour of an active, working Coast Guard Station.
After the tour, we went back to the meeting room at Patz and continued, with the formality now becoming more of a social. Many prizes, secured by our fleet captain, Brace Tallents, were raffled off. Somehow, I think that everybody attending received something. I couldn't begin to guess how many magazine subscriptions, nautical CDs, local charts and other suitable gifts were raffled off.
All in all, I feel that everyone in attendance had an enjoyable time. I mostly enjoyed actually meeting and conversing with people that were only a name to me in the past. The meeting was over and the members said their farewells and safe homes somewhere between 1400 and 1500. Thanks and gratitude for those members and officers who traveled great distances in order to make this meeting a success.
One closing note, those who attended saw first hand the reason that the smallest auxiliary outboard around here is 5HP or larger. The snowmelt from the mountains was roaring downstream and bucking head on into waves generated by 30 MPH or more westerlies with a fetch reaching to Toronto. Kowabunga dudes and dudesses, surf's up.
O J
