Ahoy JSCA Members:
Here is what's "in the wind", coming events and items of interest at the Jericho Sailing Centre, your ocean access community centre, for December 11, 2008-January 16, 2009 and beyond:

JSCA 35th Anniversary Fundraising Campaign
The Jericho Sailing Centre Association is about to celebrate 35 years as Vancouver's low cost, naturally powered, non-profit, non taxpayer funded ocean access community centre.

In 1974 the newly formed JSCA negotiated a tentative one year licence with the Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation to occupy the recently vacated Department of National Defense, Jericho Beach, Building 13. It was an abandoned condemned derelict - no plumbing, antique wiring, leaky roof and every window broken. The city engineers report for Building 13 concluded "Too expensive to repair and maintain" their recommendation "Demolish".



While the rest of the buildings of DND Jericho Beach were tumbling down (with the exception of the Jericho Hostel, Jericho Gym and the Park Board Maintenance building) a spirited community of JSCA volunteers was recycling lucky 13, fashioning it into their dream of a low cost ocean access community centre with heavy emphasis on "low cost" and "access" to all. The Jericho Sailing Centre never received taxpayer funding, it was developed with a user pay philosophy and fueled by the passion and dreams of JSCA Members.

Thirty-five years of evolution later the Jericho Sailing Centre is a full service community centre - no gymnasium, no ice arena, no fitness centre, racquetball courts, sauna, jacuzzi, dance or pottery studio, just a pool (solar heated and really, really big) and all the facilities to allow people to access and enjoy Vancouver's largest playground.

The ocean that connects the world laps at the shore of the Jericho Sailing Centre. It is here that the people of Vancouver and their guests have connected with the ever present sea since 1974. Accessible to all - schools and community centres, landlubbers and seafarers, vagabond mariners and beach clad bumpkins - people with disabilities routinely park their wheelchairs on the Jericho shore to escape and experience the freedom of sailing across the sea with the gulls.

For 35 years the Jericho Sailing Centre facilities have constantly evolved. They are always in need of enhancements and improvements which are becoming more and more difficult to fund from our annual operating budget. To that end the JSCA is developing alternative fundraising initiatives to ensure the smooth operation of the Jericho Sailing Centre now and into the future.

This year, JSCA is introducing its first Annual Giving Campaign. The Annual Giving Fund represents the ongoing donations of members and friends of the Jericho Sailing Centre who wish to provide much needed continuing support for the Centre. Moneys raised through member and guest donations will be applied towards Jericho Sailing Centre: Building Enhancement, Compound Enhancement, Jericho Rescue, and facilities for the Disabled Sailing Association. If you're passionate about the Jericho Sailing Centre, and have benefited greatly from all it has to offer individuals, families and children, Annual Giving is a great way to give back to the Centre. Your gift, whatever the size, makes a powerful statement about your support for the Jericho Sailing Centre.

Your invoice for 2009 JSCA will be mailed out in mid-January and will include options to contribute to the Annual Giving Fund. Please consider supporting JSCA through this year's Annual Giving Campaign.

Design the Jericho Sailing Centre Association's 35th Anniversary Logo
The JSCA will be offering Limited Edition Commemorative clothing and merchandise in 2009 featuring the incredibly awesome JSCA 35th Anniversary logo designed by a JSCA Member. Now all we need is a JSCA member to design us an incredibly awesome JSCA 35th Anniversary logo. Please submit your design to the JSCA office no later than Monday, January 19, 2009. The winning entry will receive a collection of clothing and merchandise featuring their incredibly awesome design and all of the associated fame and fortune. All submissions become the property of the JSCA.

Jericho Sailing Centre Annual Compound Water Shutoff
In advance of the Arctic Outbreak expected in the Lower Mainland this weekend the compound water has been shut off for the next two months or so. When volunteers dug the trenching for our waterlines back in the 1970's they found they were limited by massive amounts of military surplus concrete and were not able to install the pipes deep enough to operate year round without freezing and breaking. The system is turned off and flushed out each season during the period when multiple days of freezing temperatures are likely. In the meantime boats and equipment may be rinsed at the hosing station on the SE corner of the building.

2009 Events Posted
The 2009 JSCA Event Calendar is now on our website www.jsca.bc.ca. All of our regular programs Sunday Racing, Tuesday Nite Racing, Rookie Racing & English Bay Safety Seminars are back along with fixture regattas: Jericho Classic, Flights of Spring Regatta, Tasar BC's and the Hobie Classic Regatta. Highlights for the new year include hosting MEC Paddlefest 2009 and sailing, swimming and running events for the World Police and Fire Games. Also on the radar a JSCA 35th Anniversary Member's BBQ details still yet to be determined.

World Police & Fire Games
The Jericho Sailing Centre will be the hub facility for three events during the 2009 World Police and Fire Games. On August 4 the Jericho Sailing Centre will host the cross country running event. August 5 will begin with the ocean swim event and end with the first day of a 3 day Laser Regatta. For More info on the 2009 World Police and Fire Games gumshoe over to www.2009wpfg.ca

Lend Your Laser to a Hero
Laser owners, the World Police and Fire Games need your support. The organizers are expecting 60 competitors in the regatta and as most will be from other parts of the world are looking for local Laser owners to lend their boats from Tuesday, August 4-Friday, August 7. Details are still being worked out but it looks like those lending their boats will receive a $250 honorarium WPFG T-shirts and tickets to WPFG social events. If you own a Laser that is in GOOD condition and might be interested in helping out please email Jericho Laser Fleet Captain Andy Hunt at athunt@vcn.bc.ca

DSA Olympic Housing Fundraiser
The Disability Foundation and one of its main societies - the Disabled Sailing Association of BC - is an important part of our operations here at the Jericho Sailing Centre. DSA has an opportunity to help provide housing for the employees of highly reputable organizations and agencies working in the Lower Mainland at the time of the Olympics and Paralympics in 2010. This is a fundraising opportunity to DSA and a chance for you to generate considerable revenue by renting out your home at that time. I encourage you to take a look at the following information and if you do decide to proceed, just remember to say you heard about this opportunity through the Disability Foundation, DSA or Jericho.

Rent Your Home in 2010
Great Revenue, Great Cause
Deadline: Dec. 22, 2008
Real revenue-generating opportunities like this one don't come along every day or even every year. Maybe they come along once in a lifetime - and that's certainly true for the Disability Foundation!
Here's a chance for you to make your home available to employees of highly reputable organizations and corporations working in the Metro Vancouver region at the time of the 2010 Olympics and Paralympics - not the general public - and earn a fantastic return! It's also a chance for you to say you heard about this opportunity through the Disability Foundation and help us build stronger programs for people with physical disabilities.
By clicking on the link below you can apply to have your home considered for accommodation and the chance to earn from $2,100 to over $11,000 per qualified BED (depending on location, accommodation quality and duration) during the period January 2 to March 25, 2010. At the same time, the Disability Foundation will receive from $200 to $830 per qualified BED from the accommodation representation company.
When you visit the website, www.vanlodging.ca, you need to indicate you heard about this opportunity through us on your online application form. On Question #24 (a), type in the word "DISABILITY." Your application must be received no later than Monday, Dec. 22, 2008. The sooner you apply the better your chance of securing an accommodation contract before all the spaces are filled.
You may want to consider taking an extended vacation around the time of the Olympics and Paralympics and have it more than paid for. You may prefer to be in sunnier climates at that time of the year anyway. So why not generate some excellent revenue, while allowing your home to be used by mature and responsible employees of a credible and professional organization? For confidentiality reasons, you will not know the organization name until they have decided they wish to contract your home for accommodation.
After you've clicked through to learn more about the exciting potential in this offer, please learn more about the Disability Foundation and our affiliated societies by visiting www.disabilityfoundation.org. We feel fortunate to be selected as the exclusive organization for a charitable benefit from referrals to the representation company that result in an accommodation contract. We feel this relationship can be a "win/win" for both you and our Foundation.
Please feel free to tell your friends, family members and other contacts about this wonderful opportunity and remember to have them say they were referred by the Disability Foundation.
Sincerely,
Duane Geddes
Executive Director, Disability Foundation

Applied Meteorology Program
Is the weather in British Columbia important to you? Do you want to understand what is going to happen exactly when and where it matters to you? The BC Weather Education Series is a set of educational courses aimed at people whose life and work depend on weather in British Columbia. They provide a firm understanding of basic meteorology, interpretation of Internet resources, practical observations and forecasting techniques in the field. Taught and developed by a certified and practicing BC meteorologist, the courses are based on the professional weather-training courses of the Canadian Avalanche Association.
You will gain tools and knowledge needed to check observations and forecasts prior to a trip that are publicly available on the Internet (bring your Internet capable laptop, if you have one!). In the outdoors you will be able to recognize signs of changing weather and alter the forecast and trip accordingly. Additionally you will get a firm grasp of weather patterns in British Columbia and be able to use a huge array of tools such as satellite imagery, weather charts and weather observations.

· When: Friday (evening)-Sunday, January 9-11, 2009
· Where: TBD (Jericho Sailing Center)
· Participants: Minimum 7-maximum 14 enthusiastic people
· Cost: $390 for members of the Jericho Sailing Association and members of the Alpine Club of Canada and $420 for non-members. The fee includes work material,
handouts, electronic references an internet resources. A deposit of $100 will hold your spot.
· Very useful: Bring Wi-Fi enabled laptop
· Contact: Uwe Gramann at 250 877 3785 or weather@uniserve.com

No Inactive Craft at the Jericho Sailing Centre in 2009
Faced with a waiting list of 65 boats wanting to get in to the Jericho Sailing Centre compound the JSCA will be lowering the boom on craft which were inactive in 2008. Storage agreements for these craft expire on March 31, 2009 and will not be renewed. Owners of these craft will receive a "Notice to Vacate" in the mail at the end of January along with a photo of their craft and an explanation of an appeal process.
The JSCA Board is encouraging all members to participate in the 2009 Jericho Sailing Centre Compound Beautification Project by keeping your boat and storage space ship shape and by participating with volunteer work parties in 2009 to help clean up aisle ways and other common space areas.

JSCA Office Hours
December/January Hours 0900H-1600H Weekdays. 0900H-1630H Weekends. The office will close at 1400H on Christmas Eve day, December 24 and will reopen on January 2 at 0900H. Staff will be onsite throughout this period to check for messages and ensure security of our facility. Gates open at 0700H and are locked at Dusk. (approx. 1615H).

On the Water, Your Safety is Your Responsibility
A reminder to members who play on the bay at this time of year-place an extra emphasis on boat safety for yourself and your crew. Jericho Rescue and other boaters are notably scarce at this time of the year so you must take extra care to ensure a safe on water session. It starts with a check of the weather forecast and tidal activity. Let a friend or family member know you are going, where you are going and when you expect to be back on shore (follow-up with an après sailing phone call). Do a meticulous pre-launch check of your craft and equipment. Recognize when conditions are beyond your ability and choose not to launch. Make sure you are properly dressed-wetsuit/drysuit/hat/booties/gloves-including your PFD. Double check your safety equipment-paddles, bailer, whistle, flares. Know when the sun is setting and understand that the wind often shuts off abruptly in the hour before sunset. Don't go farther from shore than you care to paddle back if you or your equipment should fail or the wind shuts off.
One final tip: enclose your fully charged cell phone in two sealed sandwich bags and keep on your person. In the event of a sea disaster you can't solve yourself, dialing *311 (one member has reported that when *311 did not work with his phone service *16 did - alternatively you can dial the Victoria Rescue Coordination Centre at 1-800-567-5111) will put you in touch with the Canadian Coast Guard's Rescue Coordination Centre.
Fair winds,
Mike

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