A slow process but the boat isn’t a priority at the busy yard so no worries there. We had to wait for their favorite welder to get off vacation and once back at the yard he quickly was able to weld on the new bolts.
Interesting how they do this and totally makes sense, except I never would have thought of it. Continue Reading
Update 1 on our refurb of the UN30 #2
My wife may want to call her 6 feet More but I can tell you she is now 2100lbs less!
May 21st, 2020 I get this message on Sailing Anarchy:
Hi! I know you’ve brought several Moore24s back to the west coast. Do you think there would be interest in getting this boat back closer to home?
It’s the prototype of what would become the Wilderness 30. Bought it from one of the guys who built it in Santa Cruz (Actually lived on it in the upper harbor!) Story goes like this: Continue Reading
Sikulaiq from the pier.
Stepping aboard the 261’ National Science Foundation Icebreaker Sikuliaq I can’t help but imagine the rugged territory it’s sailed near, the waves it’s surmounted and the feet of ice it’s broken through on its journeys. This night I’m invited by friends in my sailing community to listen to a presentation about a recent science trip and tour the vessel. They’ve been aboard helping promote and share the boats science activities this past month or more and are as excited to be back in Seattle as they are to share their vessel and experiences.
I arrived a touch late as I was coming from our 2020 Washington State Elks Association winter convention and couldn’t get away until about 5pm for the drive across Seattle to the University of Washington pier on the ship canal and stepped aboard in my full state Elks uniform. Green jacket with pins, white shirt, state green tie, black pants/sox/shoes. Definitely standing out in my Elkdom aboard the working vessel. Continue Reading
Memorial Day weekend in the PNW has always been one of challenges for a sailboat racer. Drive to Eugene for the Memorial Day regatta on Fern Ridge, go on further to the Whiskey Town regatta outside of Redding or do you join the masses delivering up across the 48th for the annual Swiftsure International Yacht race?
For 2019 we learned of a fourth option we’d not heard of before and it’s just a short drive to the east – The Goat Float regatta hosted by the Lake Pend Oreille Yacht Club in beautiful downtown Bayview, Idaho. What an easy drive over! Get yourself to downtown Seattle, hop on I-90 and then easy breezy nothing to it drive across our state – no big cities, no city traffic, great roads, easy mountain pass. It doesn’t get much better than that.
We made it to the Spokane airport by about 12:30pm Friday to pick up our California crew. Well, a recent transplant, the Schwenkster – everyone’s favorite rigger, and then we were quickly across the border into Idaho into what we now have learned is an area that has more micro-breweries than Ballard! Man’s gotta have some sustenance now and again… By 2:30pm we were driving through a large state park and slowing down for a 20 mile an hour hairpin turn and bam – there we were driving into Kellerman’s resort and we all started searching for our dirty dancing shoes and wondering what time our lesson with Johnny Castle started. Super small town but amazingly beautiful with the lake reaching away from the towns shores towards some towering cliffs and ravines in the distance – spectacular came to mind in that first look. Continue Reading
Task: put together a multiple part description of what we (the Ballard Lodge #827 in Seattle Washington) “did” to succeed in membership growth and why we did it, what forces were around effecting us, what we do currently and where we hope to go.
This is one member’s thoughts and memory on this topic and by no means is this all inclusive of every angle nor a definitive answer on what others should be doing.
Overview of the Author:
My name is Benjamin Braden, a 47 year old (as of 2018) male American Citizen.
I joined the Elks in January of 2013 but my journey towards Elkdom can be traced back to 1977 when my Grandfather began taking me along for dinners at the then absolutely huge Tacoma Elks Lodge (Something like 10,000 members at the time). My Grandfather subsequently died early a few years later and the Elks was lost to me until 2012/2013. In the preceding years to my joining the order I was living aboard a sailboat at Shilshole marina, just steps away from the Ballard Elks Lodge, but didn’t join until a few years later after I had established residence in a home in Ballard with my amazing wife Jennifer – well Whittier heights actually…but everyone considers it Ballard – a small scandihouvian neighborhood of Seattle.
I decided to finally make that connection to my grandfather by joining the Elks – so ultimately you can define me as a Legacy member. If it wasn’t for my Grandfather taking me to the Elks as a child I may never have considered joining. I went and looked for someone I knew that was a member and finally found a fellow sailor that was a member and asked him if I could join and would he sponsor me. I was immediately shocked by what the Elks gave back to me after joining. I met more people on the block I lived on sitting in our lounge at the lodge or helping with an event at the lodge than I had met on my block in the six years prior. The Elks gave me a sense of belonging, made me more a part of my community than I ever could have otherwise found without joining – but I digress, enough of the personal background stuff. Continue Reading
I recently read an online forum post by a fellow Elk member proclaiming the ultimate demise of our benevolent society due to our lack of embracing change at the national level. He points out the loss of members after our order was legally forced to accept ethnicity’s other than white males and then the subsequent loss of members after our order was legally forced to accept the opposite gender of the then all male organization. He goes on to state that the lack of this forced lodge level diversity at the national level is the reason for this decline and the ongoing closing of lodges we are seeing around the country.
Though I won’t attempt to discredit or validate the conclusion of our fellow member because I know those facts are real I will postulate another conclusion. One that is certainly more complex and less solid in its conclusion but also one that I feel may reflect more accurately the forces and energies that have affected our complex and dynamic organization.
The conclusion of our Elks Creed states that Elks “Enjoy the good things of earth, keep within thee the glorious sunshine of youth and remain always of good cheer.” This is the conclusion of our Elks Creed – enjoy what life has to offer, act like a kid some times and heck, lets always have a good time. This is the foundation of why our founders got together on Sundays and formed a private club – to have a good time on their day off – lift a few pints, tilt a few flasks and generally act like a kid. Giving them a release from their work weeks and few moments to revel with fellow like-minded individuals and not think about the stresses of daily life. Continue Reading
So I just read two articles, ones that made me stop and think – postulate on an idea that’s been reoccurring in my head off and on over the past few years.
The articles are:
Why Won’t Millennials Join Country Clubs? Written by Kelsey Lawrence July 2, 2018 and found online at Citylab.com (https://www.citylab.com/life/2018/07/will-millennials-kill-the-country-club/563186/)
Breaking Faith. The culture war over religious morality has faded; in its place is something much worse. Written by Peter Beinart for the April 2017 Issue of The Atlantic (https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2017/04/breaking-faith/517785/)
Lawrence argues that Millennials won’t join country clubs due to things like price (it costs a lot) but Lawrence goes on to say that “many young people are put off by the image of the country club—stuffy and formal, with old-fashioned dress codes and rules about cell-phone use. Not to mention the rich history of racial and religious discrimination that accompanies many such organizations.” In her article she quotes Larry Hirsch, president of Golf Property Analysts, who says “[Country clubs] are not doing a good job of welcoming Millennials, minorities and moms—the three M’s.”
Lawrence quotes Jeff Morgan, CEO of the Club Managers Association of America, who concedes there’s an image problem at play. “In the past, the model for a country club has been very golf-centric and largely male-centric.” An image problem centered on one homogeneous group.
Interesting isn’t that – these are very similar items and issues that the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks has been dealing with. People being put off by the Elks image of old drunk men hanging out in smoky rooms complaining when people come in wearing a hat, etc…
Hood River, Oregon
August, 2018
The Set –
Straight outa Wikipedia – Hood River is considered a “sports mecca” and offers some of the best spots for windsurfing, kitesurfing, Moore 24 Racing, kayaking, stand up paddle boarding, skiing and mountain biking—all for which it draws considerable national attention from many media outlets, such as Sail Magazine, Pressure Drop and Sailing Anarchy.
Moore 24 Nationals in Hood River, Oregon, one of the most consistently windy places to sail in our country and if half of what is written above is true one of the most fun and active towns you can imagine. A sailing venue I always think of with a little trepidation in the weeks before – why are going here – man that’s a hassle to get down there – it’ll be too hot and too windy – things are going to break – we are going to wipe out. You know, all the normal stuff to be worried about. We’re going somewhere to race that the Opti’s don’t sail at, where the only keel boats to have a one design regatta at the venue is the Moore 24’s and where the sailboards and kiteboards shine and rip around in places with names like Swell City – but then you get there and take in the scenery as you are welcomed in and get to welcome in all the different players in the theatre that is a Moore 24 Regatta. The Sailing is always great, the wind is usually incredible and the sailors in the fleet are top notch, but it’s the players, the actors in this regatta that make it what it is. Continue Reading
Holy bejeezus that was good times! My affinity for the little old Moore 24 is no secret and her infamous beginnings not with standing she’s proven to be a boat that brings together some serious fun loving people. I mean seriously, who would have thunk that a sailor that ruined a good mold burning party by stealing the mold would end up making modifications to this remarkable boat that turned it into an unparalleled inshore and offshore platform that over 40 years later is still capable of taking a serious beating for 3 straight days while bringing together sailors that are more like family than on course rivals.
Anyway, I digress… We had the privilege of competing in the 41st Moore 24 Nationals August 25th thru the 27th and what a Nationals it was! Hosted by one of our favorite California yacht clubs, Richmond Yacht Club, it was certainly one for the record books. Arguably not one of the best attended Nationals in history with 16 boats but certainly memorable and super challenging for everyone that made it out.
