| Commodore’s Message |
As Commodore, I am fortunate to be looped in to most of the SWYC’s interest group activities. Things are happening as we all shake off the last of our winter doldrums to get back out on the water. At our home, our kayak has tasted salt several times this month as weather improved, allowing the kayaking group to press forward with more paddles. Similarly, the cruisers have detailed and replenished their boats for the SWYC shakedown cruise. Sadly, I was unable to accompany the group but look forward to tagging along later this year. And of course our racing season has kicked off for both the Pelicans and Lasers.
I wish to commend our Opening Day co-hosts – Bill & Jill Brown and Glenn & Tina Quinton for their efforts in making the day a resounding success. A last-minute scramble to find a dry venue was handled with ease allowing all 50+ of us to enjoy shared treats and many tasty chilis while exploring what each interest group has planned for the coming months. There even was room for the YSA to set up a Laser and an El Toro, fully rigged, ready to sail, except for the lack of wind and water to float on.
Part of the SWYC opening day ceremony is the drawing of the sword from the rock ritual. Reciting the incantation to the mythic Triton and successfully withdrawing the sword was essential if we were to have favorable conditions this season. The pressure was on, and for a brief moment I did not know whether I would be up to the task, but in the end, the sword was brandished and dispelled any mischievous sprites who would seek to derail our fun.
EVENTS & PROGRAMS
Many thanks to Bruce Morris and Barbara Bergmann for stepping in at the last hour to share stories of their just completed rafting adventure at the May meeting. They provided a new meaning to the pack out everything that you pack in, including waste. Not even in all of our years living in Minnesota where people frequently canoed in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area, a designated wilderness area, have I heard of that requirement.
Our next big event will be the Crabfest in July. Look for more details about the event and how you can participate in the coming weeks.
MONTHLY PROGRAM MEETING
Be sure to join us at our next general meeting – June 15th at the Progressive Club in Greenbank for those who wish to attend in person or via live stream for those who prefer to attend electronically
Calm seas, fair winds and clear skies to you,
Pete Grimlund
Commodore
South Whidbey Yacht Club
| Welcome New Members |
Please welcome this month’s newest members to the yacht club. We look forward to meeting them at our upcoming events.
Linda and Clay Kriss
Clay and I moved to Whidbey seven years ago from Issaquah. We’ve lived in Washington for 34 years and are now both retired (Clay from the wine business, me from Commercial Insurance). We live in the Colony and Clay enjoys playing golf (most of the time). I’m a photographer and dabble in mixed media art and other creative endeavors.
We’re total newbies on the water and purchased a couple of fishing kayaks last year to float around in Useless Bay for the summer.
Lance and Andriana “Andi” Sweeney
My wife Andi and I are new to Whidbey Island and to boating. We visited this wonderful Island for an anniversary in 2008 and fell in love with it! We moved here a year ago never expecting to live here. We bought our dream boat last November. A 1999 Lindell Oceanflight 2 36 foot. We are looking to meet fellow boaters, make new friends and participate in club outings. We live in Lagoon Point and have made many friends this year and are always interested in meeting more! We like the lecture series put on by the club and would like to attend those.
Talena and Kyle Hagel
We just bought a place on Deer Lake and want our kids to grow up on the water. Excited for them to take sailing lessons and for us to have that social connection with the community.
Diane Lagerstedt
Diane has been kayaking weekly in the season for the past 3 years with a goal to eventually circumnavigate Whidbey island. Looking to join a group of paddlers and keep learning about paddling in the PNW.
June Membership MeetingWednesday, June 15Greenbank Progressive Club and Zoom
Guest Speaker – Hans Aarhus*Remember to bring your own plates, silverware and glassware as part of SWYC’s goal to a cleaner environment by reducing waste. |
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Hans Aarhus
Captain, Fjordshark Fishing Charters
Everett, WA
Capt. Hans will share how he started a successful fishing charter business operating out of Everett and share stories from his lifetime love of fishing and tips for catching salmon and other elusive species in our local waters.
Born and raised in Oslo, Norway, Hans came to Seattle to attend the University of Washington in 1984. He studied Business and Economics and while there he met Kris from Corvallis, Oregon, and they married in 1988.
After graduation Hans started working for Boeing, where he spent 31 years. Most of his time was in Finance and he retired as a Senior Director in Supply Chain Finance.
Upon retirement, Hans started Fjordshark Fishing Charters primarily focusing on Salmon in Northern Puget Sound. Hans has spent most of his life fishing, and has fished for numerous species in many locations around the world. When he is not fishing in Puget Sound, you will most likely find him in Hawaii golfing, or in the Caribbean chasing his favorite fly fishing challenge, the Bonefish…
Hans will be presenting in-person at the Progressive Club.
This is an In-Person/Zoom Hybrid Meeting
In Person at the Greenbank Progressive Club
and Zoom:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83085625000?pwd=SGhYOWdEUytHUVE5Y2FpazJYNmtZdz09
Meeting ID: 830 8562 5000
Passcode: 645218
**There are no general meetings in July or August. In July we have the Crabfest in place of the meeting and in August, we have the SWYC Summer Social in place of the general meeting. The next general meeting is set for September 21st. Please reach out to Dan Mooney if you have any questions about our programs.**
| Crabfest – Sunday, July 10 |
Ahoy all Members and Guests!
It’s time for the Annual SWYC Crab Feast
at Honeymoon Lake Community Club House
4343 S Honeymoon Bay Rd
Greenbank, WA 98253
A great festive event with Dungeness crab, burgers, and dogs.
Live Music Provided by “Locomotion”
1300 – Setup Starts
1500 – The Feast begins…Don’t be late
PLEASE BRING WITH YOU:
Appetizers ~ A -J
Side Dishes ~ P – Z
Dessert ~ K – O
Wine, beer, and water will be provided
SWYC supports the “Whidbey Island Green” effort, so bring your own tableware and crab cracker
ALSO BRING:
Your favorite beach chair
A canopy if you want some shade
And some guests!!!
To defray costs, a $5 donation per person will be appreciated!
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Many Volunteers are Needed for:
Crab Cleaning and Cooking on July 9th
(sounds like an unpleasant detail, but this is actually a lot of fun 🦀🥳)
Crabfest on July 10th:
- – Setup at 1:00 pm (when the party actually starts)
- – Cleanup at end of the Feast
- – Trash set up & removal
- – Ice Pickup
If you can help in any way, please send a message to:
vice.commodore.swyc@gmail.com
| Vancouver Island Fishing Trip |
THE SOUTH WHIDBEY ANNUAL FISHING CHARTER
July 18th – 22nd
There is still one slot open for a lucky fisherperson!
We will travel up to Port Renfrew on the 18th (on southwest coast of Vancouver Island). We will fish on the 19th, 20th and 21st and return home on July 22nd. The approximate cost of the trip, including transportation, lodging, food, one-night dinner out, boat charter (including tip), processing of fish and ferry is approximately$1,400-$1,450 per person. We generally find this cost to equal the price of buying the fish in the store.
The processing cost is the cost of the plant taking your catch at the end of the day, preparing it in meal size portions flash freezing it in shrink wrap that night. We then pick it up the day we leave and keep it in coolers on the trip home. We find this keeps the fish fresh for months.
Our primary boat captain is Bruce Miller – www.millertimefishingcharters.com. We have 1 additional boat this year – 4 fisherpersons per boat. Bruce provides all the fishing gear and bait. We usually head out about 6:00 am and are back about 4:30. The boat captains will clean the fish and we put them in the truck headed to the plant. We usually have a pasta dinner the first night crab for dinner one night – compliments of Bruce, Brats potato salad, etc. one night and the last night we go to a local restaurant.
If you are interested please confirm your reservation with Bob Boehm ASAP. I have 7 people committed so only 1 spot left.
| SWYC Youth Sailing Association |
2022 Sailing Classes Update and Help Needed
Adult Classes
You know you’ve always wanted to learn to sail. Now’s the time! This program emphasizes how to sail, while being safe and having fun. Sailing classes are offered at Lone Lake County Park. Classes are taught in an open-air classroom setting and on the water at Lone Lake. As a SWYC Club member, your discounted fee for the class is $150 per student.
Availability as of 5/29:
June 4-5 — FULL
June 6-9 (Weekdays) — 4 spots available
June 11-12 — one spot available
Full class description and class detail on our website. https://swyachtclub.org/adultprogram-moreinfo/
Registration and sign up. https://swparks.activityreg.com/selectactivity_t2.wcs
More questions, worries, concerns??
Contact Bob Rodgers
Youth Classes
All youth classes are filled with a waiting list. This is a hugely popular program for our kids here on Whidbey.
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**Class Help Needed – Please Consider Participating in this Popular Sailing Program Developed and Run by SWYC Members**
Sailing Instructors Needed for Next Year (2023)
If you have a passion for sailing and want to share your knowledge with others and the idea of teaching the sport appeals to you, maybe you should explore what we’re doing in our Learn to Sail program. Contact Bob Rodgers right now to arrange a “tour” of our program. If you are considering helping out with next year’s program, right now is a great time to see first hand what that would be like.
Shore Support (formerly Shore Nannys)
Our Youth Program is full. Our first day of camps is July 11 and runs weekdays to July 29. We need to fill out our Shore Support team. We use club members, one or two at a time to be present each hour we have kids onsite. The shore support person remains on shore while most class staff and students are out on the water. Duties are few and easily understood. No sailing experience necessary. Being onsite is an important element of our safety and security protocols. Bob Shepard is handling the signup sheet this year. Shifts are 9am to noonish, and noonish to 2pm. You can sign up for multiple shifts or just one. You can come with a friend or on your own. Easy peasy, yet so important. Plus the bonus of having a nice day by the lake.
Want more detail? Have some questions?
There are 30 shifts to fill so call/contact Bob Shepard, prefers email.
| Sailing Time – New Opportunity During Adult Classes |
Are you are a small boat sailor with a boat and you just want to get on the water and sail about – but don’t want all the racing stuff or are unsure of sailing alone? This year, for the first time, the YSA is offering the opportunity that club members may use the lake (and safety boat) during our Adult Class times. We don’t want to interfere with the paying students in the class, but the lake is big enough for all who would like to get on the water and sail.
Classes are everyday at Lone Lake June 4th through 12th (excluding June 10). Weekends 10am to 4:30, and weekdays 2pm to 4:30. We would love to see more boats on the water. It’s always safer to sail with others.
| Kayaking News |
Kayaking with the SWYC
Even with our messy May weather, the SWYC kayakers were able to enjoy two club paddling events. The first was an evening paddle on Mutiny Bay and the second was a perfect morning on calm waters of Holmes Harbor.
June is full of kayaking activities.
Kayaking Safety Refresher Class
This class was offered this morning, June 5, to our SWYC paddlers through Whidbey Island Kayaking.
Bowman Bay Paddle
Saturday, June 18 (Note date change!) at Bowman Bay. Meet at 10:30 am at the Bowman Bay Boat Ramp. Remember to bring your state park Discover Pass or bring $10 fee to park there. The event organizer and lead is Dan Mooney. Kayakers, watch for a separate email from Dan with more specific details.
Kayak & Camping – Lake Wenatchee State Park
Wed – Fri, June 22 – 24. Join us for some fun in the mountains at Lake Wenatchee State Park near Leavenworth. Kayak, paddle board, bring your boat, hike, camp, rent a cabin, stay in Leavenworth or just sit by the lake. Several of us will be camping in the the state campground right by the lake. Extend your trip on either side if you wish. This is open to all SWYC members, not just our kayaking group. Make your reservations now. Email Barb Grimlund to get on the mailing list for updates on this event.
Future 2022 planned paddles:
https://swyachtclub.org/kayaking/#!event-list
- Monday, July 18, 2:00 Monroe Landing or Captain Coupe Park
- Monday, August 1, Lake Campbell, Depart South Whidbey 9:00
- Monday, August 29, 11:00 Mueller Park
- Saturday, September 17, 10:30 boat launch at Sandy Hook
If you are interested in and are not yet on the SWYC kayaking list, please contact Katy Shaner
Lake Wenatchee State Park
| Windward Women |
On May 3, several of the Windward Women met at the Admiralty Head Lighthouse for a private tour and social outing. We enjoyed learning the fascinating history of the lighthouse and seeing each other again in person.
The next Windward Women event will be on Tuesday, July 5. Watch for an event update from Patty Maxfield later in June.
The Windward Women gather bi-monthly, the first Tuesday of the month. Email Bilgerat@swyachtclub.org to get on the mailing list!
| Cruising |
The 2022 Shakedown Cruise has just been completed with stops in Port Townsend, Port Ludlow and Everett. Reports are still coming in, but we hear good times were had by all with dockside appetizers, good friends, a little shopping & sightseeing and good eating at local restaurants. Thanks to Cruise Captains Jim and Kathy Rogers and Bill & Jill Brown for getting the cruising season started out right!
Next up – The San Juan Islands Cruise
Dates: Friday, July 15 – Saturday, July 23
Leaders: Bruce Morris and Barb Bergmann
Join for the whole cruise or for parts of it, or extend your trip at either end.
Destinations
July 15 – 17 Hunter Bay
July 18 Blakely Island Marina
July 19 Reed Harbor
July 20 – 23 Gulf Islands
If you’d like to be on the Cruising email list for future updates, contact Jill and Bill Brown
| Racing |
Pelican and Laser Racing Has Started!
The season kicked off with a practice day in early May and then started for both Pelicans and Lasers on a perfect night May 25.
The lasers were on Holmes Harbor with a northerly breeze with choppy water. Brad Rice and Mike Scott managed to figure out how to set a decent course with their new giant windward mark making sure no one mistook where they were heading after the gun went off!
At Lone Lake, the two Pelican racers had less breeze, but enough to fill the sails and a few puffs that put rails in the water on a sunny evening. And since there were only two boats for this race, the race didn’t count toward the series standings. So if you want to join in on the Pelican races, everybody’s starting fresh for the next race on June 8.
To join the racing fun, check in with Bill Brown, Mike Scott or Bob Rodgers.
Or just come out to watch the action. Lots of excitement out there.
See the SWYC website for 2022 racing dates and more details.
https://swyachtclub.org/racing-calendar/#!event-list
Practice Day on Lone Lake
The new giant windward mark
Lasers on Holmes Harbor
Pelicans on Lone Lake
| Upcoming Social Events |
Save the Dates!
Crabfest! – Sunday, July 10
Summer Social – Wednesday, August 17
Commodore’s Ball – Saturday, November 12
Holiday Party – Wednesday, December 21
Keep track of all the club events and updates at:
https://swyachtclub.org/events/#!calendar
| Members’ Tips and Training |
Website Tip for June
The SWYC website https://swyachtclub.org is an ever-changing but very important tool to our club. We need your help in keeping it current and useful to each one of us and to those outside of the club.
Tip – Club Photos
Many of you have mentioned how much you enjoy the photos we’ve included in our newsletters, announcements and Facebook page. It’s always fun to see visually what’s happening at the club and to see fellow members and friends socializing and participating in club events.
That said, we wanted to share our photo guidelines with our members.
If you are attending a club event, you may be included in a photo that gets published in the newsletter, event notifications or our SWYC Facebook page. Generally, the only people who see these photos are other club members. However, since the website is an open website, it is possible that non-members or perspective members might see one of these photos. Members should understand this.
We will be following these guidelines when using photos of our club members:
- The photo is complimentary to those in it. If not entirely flattering, at least they are tasteful and would not be considered embarrassing. If there is any question about a “funny” picture (such as costumes, game events or just something wacky), we’d check with the individual for permission prior to using it.
- We do not include the names of the people in the photos. If we use names, permission would be requested to do so. For example, we do this with our new member photos.
- We do not use the photos of club members for promotional or sales generating purposes without permission to do so.
Please note: Our on-line membership directory is password protected and available to current members only. The photos in our membership directory which are associated with a member’s name are NOT available to the general public. Only other current members can view these.
We understand that there are still circumstances where an individual may not ever want their photo displayed, for personal reasons. We want to be sure to respect that preference. If that is the case, please contact bilgerat@swyachtclub.org, and make that preference be known.
For those who may not be aware – Barb Grimlund, our Communications Chair, is the Bilgerat. Feel free to reach out directly to Barb with any questions or thoughts on our publications. Comments are always welcomed.
*** If you know of any club member who is not receiving these newsletters or other club communications, please email bilgerat@swyachtclub.org. We’ll help them get connected. *** |
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Click here: Land’s End Store |
