Many years ago I was finally selected for jury duty. Call me strange but I actually look forward to the opportunity. I for one believe that jury duty is a basic responsibility of all citizens and could never understand why everyone tries to get themselves off of the task.

Unfortunately my first go around was impeded by a lady in a mini van as she hit me from behind on my motorcycle. Two tragedies.

Last week Pam came in from retrieving mail from our SPAM BOX. I call it that because the only thing we usually get is advertisements… unsolicited. She said to me, “Guess what?” I thought the worst, “IRS, I have been drafted, what?” No you got a jury summons. “Yee haw!”

So here I sit, waiting until Sunday to call that special number and hope my services are still needed on Monday. I now can imagine what it must be like to be on American Idol. If I could just make it past the first round…

Pssst… Did you hear…??? Rumors are one of the most devastating forms of communication known to man and women alike. All too often I will sit at some area  of the club and listen as members pass information to one another knowing all too well what they say is at best wrong, sometimes completely false.

My point is that when you have a question there are three of the most informed members in the club you should talk to; Rear Commodore Wayne Stewart, Vice Commodore Bill Masters and myself. Aside from Louis Sellers our manager, the three of us know more about what is going on at the club then anybody else. Before you pass on a “rumor” you heard please give one of us a call. It may save yourself some embarrassment and more importantly will educate you on club business. Failing any of that you are always welcome to attend one of the many committee meetings during the month. Gossip and rumors may be fun… until it’s about you…

On the brighter side of club business I want to encourage those that travel to exchange club burgees with those clubs that you visit. I can say that we practically have all of the domestic burgees but if you are going out of the country check with Brian to see if we have a burgee from one of the clubs you may be visiting. We can give you one of ours to exchange. When you come back we can post a short article from you and some pictures to go along with it in the Binnacle. Mike and Pat Alekson just got back from a trip and hopefully their article and pictures appear here this month or maybe next.

Well the weather got better and I finally told Pam, “I need to work on the boat”. If you recall the last time I was trying to get it started I saw a bunch of sparks come out of the motor and something told me that wasn’t supposed to happen. So yours truly, Captain Obvious loaded up the truck with whatever tools I thought I would need including a battery charger as I was sure that after all these weeks the batteries were probably dead. Pam went along for the ride and upon arrival quickly made her way to the Tiki Bar, smart woman. I lugged the tool bag and my boat bag to the dock and surveyed the situation. Tide was low so it was about a 4 foot drop to the boat not too bad, one wrong move and I was going to be baptized in the Halifax. Fortunately getting on the boat was in fact uneventful. The wind was blowing from the North East so I had to keep pulling in the lines to get close to the dock to get everything from the dock to the boat. A little annoying but it was a nice day and I was finally going to fix the sparking problem before it turned my boat into fiery mess at Disappearing Island. Yes I know that would be one heck of a story but I don’t think my insurance company would appreciate it.

Off came the top of the motor. I was pleased to see the trim switches actually moved the motor and the bilge pump was still working. That meant I wasn’t about to invest in new batteries just yet.

Surveying the case I could see it would require splitting in order to get to what I thought was the source of my sparking issue. This too was without incident as I removed each bolt one by one, carefully ensuring that I had a firm grip on it lest it be sacrificed to King Neptune. As I started to separate the case I heard a “tink, tink, tink” and looked below and saw a nut rolling around.  No not a walnut or a peanut but a real brass looking nut. As many men do and their wives can attest whenever a man puts something back together there is one universal and obvious occurrence, “Spare Parts” We men shrug it off as “over engineering” and move on. However this lone nut concerned me. I carefully picked it up and examined the offending nut, seeing that it appeared to be oxidized green. A bright moment flashed in my head, “A copper nut” Its appearance also gave me another clue as to where it may have come from. It was not a tall nut like so many other tall nuts but one short in stature. I have seen these kinds of nuts before, but where? It was a small mystery indeed but one that would soon reveal itself.

As I continued on to what I thought was the problem, the battery cable to the starter solenoid I discovered I was indeed right. It was loose to the point the cable and the nut had burn marks. This would be the source of those sparks I had seen before.

I reached for a wrench to tighten the offending loose nut and discovered it was pretty tight. Looking closer what I saw was stripped threads. Ah ha, the connection, in another moment of brilliance I now knew exactly what happened. At an earlier visit to the dealer for some warranty work they removed the cable to do the repairs. The mechanic must have dropped that nut I found and simply grabbed another one to put the cable back. The only problem was it was the wrong thread type and he stripped it. This made me mad. For what would have been a nut that cost maybe a nickel I could have incurred hundreds of dollars worth of repairs and towing. I was lucky enough to be able to wrench down on the nut a bit more without damaging the starter solenoid.

This is a good point to boat owners; know who is working on your boat. There are members who are in our club that do everything from marine electronics to diesel repair and maintenance. There is no better place than our club to find out if the person you want to hire is worthy of your hard earned money. Not only for boat repair but for many things like finance, travel and medical the members who advertise in the back of the Binnacle all know they must do right by the members with whom they enjoy our club with.

The weather is getting warmer… see you on the docks!

Here it is May already and the club just keeps getting better. The Tiki bar is hopping, the fried shrimp and oysters zoom out of the kitchen and the kids are splashing in the pool.

While May is not exactly mid year I want to take a moment and thank our club manager and his staff for making this an exceptional year. Over the last few months I have been amazed at what the kitchen staff can do when left to their own volition. I know I will get a talking to but Tony in the kitchen makes a great fried calamari when it’s available. The calamari is not on the menu and it is not always available so ask if you want it. Sorry Tony but perfection comes at a price. Jimmy has been making another personal favorite of many; potato chips. Fresh out of the fryer and less cost than the bagged kind these chips will surely become a favorite of yours as well. You can thank Jimmy for these little morsels of salty pleasure.

I really do appreciate all of your accolades. I know the kitchen and wait staff love to hear your comments and suggestions so keep them coming. Either fill out a comment card or bend my ear a bit. We are trying to make EVERYONES experience a great one. Like Avis, “We try harder!”

This is the time of the year when more and more boaters from other yacht clubs visit with us as they travel the Inter Coastal Waterway. Make it a point to introduce yourself should you see someone in the club you don’t recognize. You may just be surprised by the fellowship developed as you swap stories of your life, your family and the boating lifestyle. I am always amazed at the people who come through our doors as they travel the coast and inland waterways.

This is the time of the year when children become more involved at the club partaking in what the club has to offer them. While I won’t go into much detail as that area belongs to the Voyager’s and Mike McQuarrie, remember the pool is open most days of the week with you providing adult supervision. Kid friendly menu items include hot dogs, pizza and hamburgers. Bring your children and your grandchildren for an afternoon of fun and great food.

Have you noticed Port Orange is starting to look a little shabby? I mean let’s look at the medians… Trash, cigarette butts, tall grass and my personal favorite; weeds. I wonder if its because of recent cutbacks to the budget in Port Orange? Can we no longer afford to live in a clean community?

What about the traffic snarl at South Williamson and Taylor Road? You didn’t believe widening the road beneatht he I-95 overpass was going to fix things did you? when I saw the plans a few years back I said it wasnt going to solve the problem. Well it wasn’t going to solve the traffic problem we have all become accustomed to. The problem it did solve seem’s to help the developer’s… Now they can build more homes… Yippee! Of course I think that problem has been taken care of by the bursting of the housing bubble… Way too many homes and not enough buyer’s should help to protect our city from further raping and pillaging for a while…

Now it seems the big fight is on for an Interchange on Pioneer Trail and I-95. This ought to be interesting…