Commodores Corner – October 2024

Kiko’s Corner Seawall Project - Expected to Begin in Mid-December

We are planning to complete the sea wall project once the water recedes, and we have access to the wall.  This project has required a great deal of work to get to this point.

I want to thank David Nigus for his work to identify the problem, research option and secure a proposal from Foundation Specialties.

Our club is also very fortunate to have knowledgeable and talented engineers, Joe Hilliard and Mark Barton, who have both consulted and been heavily involved on this project.  Joe secured all required permits on our behalf and Mark is coordinating with Foundation Specialties and plans to be on site during the work to ensure the project goes smoothly.

While heavily weather dependent, we are targeting January 2 to begin the actual work.  Leading up to the start day, there will be significant prep work required – stay tuned for a fun work party coming up!  Once the project begins, we expect it to require around 3 weeks, again if the weather cooperates. 

IMPORTANT: Kiko’s corner, including the crane and surrounding areas will be closed December 15 - February 28.

This means that no boats, cars or boat parts may be in that area and the crane may not be used.  Please get all your work done to boats between now and December 15.  Obviously, if the project wraps up before February 28, we will open Kiko’s corner back up.

A Trip Down Memory Lane!

By Blake Byrd

Hello Fellow GMSC Members:

First, I encourage you all to read an email I sent to Max Mehlburger in 1999 about sailing, then read his response, then read my comments below. My email and his response are enclosed.

For some context to my email and Max’s response, my family goes way back with Max, his wife Kaki, and their family. I knew from childhood that Max was an accomplished sailor and a long-time member of GMSC. When I wrote the email to Max in 1999, I was living in DC and wanted to take a sailing course in nearby Annapolis. My references to Chet Hight and Jack Mulhollan in my email are particularly cool to me, especially since Jack and I sail together and against each other these days, and Chet asked me to crew for him in 2007 or so on his J-24, which I did for several years. I was asked to crew in the US Sailing Championship of Champions regatta at our club recently – something that could never have happened if it were not for the early support of Max and Chet years ago, setting me on my path to this magical sport of sailboat racing.

Max listed many pieces of sailing advice in his letter, and I took all his advice. I got my first dinghy (Y-Flyer) around 2009. Max had planted the seed in 1999 as later reinforced by Chet when I was the trimmer on his J-24, but relentless pressure and salesmanship from Drew Daughtery to buy a Y-Flyer made it a reality for me. After much tiller time in the dinghy and experience on the J-24, I chartered a Catalina 27 in Long Beach, CA. I took a friend, his girlfriend, and two other girls, and we had a wonderful time (taking girls along appeared to be a consistent theme in Max’s letter). Now I routinely race as a skipper and crew – another of his suggestions. I notice breeze, even when barely perceptible, not just when sailing, but all the time. I do have a library of sailing books including dated but venerable texts from Stuart Walker, M.D., Chapman Piloting, and my wife bought a book for me on celestial navigation years ago as a gift, which I plan to dig into one day.

I recently commented on Max’s letter to him and Ben Guise at a party during the CoC regatta. Max observed – and I could tell that he was half-joking/half-annoyed – that I never responded to his very thoughtful, single-spaced, detailed letter (I was 26 then). To Max I say the following: this letter and publication in the Mainsheet for all our members to see is my response and long overdue tribute. I apologize for the long delay in responding. It boiled down to procrastination. But hopefully you will understand that I only delayed responding for 25 years ONE DAY AT A TIME, as a wise man once put it to me. Thank you for being a great inspiration to many of us and an exceptional member of our special sailboat racing club.

Blake Byrd

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Grande Maumelle Sailing Club is a non-profit organization formed to promote sailboat racing through educational, social, and competitive racing activities.

Please visit our website to find out more about our events and volunteer opportunities.

Mailing Address: PO Box 55237, Little Rock, AR 72215 USA

Physical Address: 12000 Maumelle Harbour Road, Roland, AR 72135 USA