August Newsletter

Club activities are peaking or to put it another way, all the sails are hoisted, the spinnaker is out and we are flying downwind.  Projects on the home front are being neglected because there are just too darn many fun things going on around the club.  Read on to see what has been going on and what is yet to come.

Board Elections

We are beginning the process to search for new SWYC Board Members.  There are two known vacancies that we need to fill for the next year.  Patty Maxfield, Secretary, will be stepping down as is Kathy Rodgers, our Membership Chair.   Both will be sorely missed as their work has been foundational in keeping things flowing smoothly.  If you have an appetite to become more involved in steering the club into the future, now is your opportunity.

Last month I mentioned that we were beginning the process to fill two board vacancies.  There is no better way to keep the SWYC fresh and vital than to serve on the board and help steer us into the future.  Now you may think being a board member is all droll, boring meetings.  Au contraire SWYC shipmates, it’s fun, much more so than previous boards that I have had the privilege to serve on.  Give me a call or send me a note and let’s grab a cup of coffee or tea to talk. Or you can sit in on the August board meeting and see what it is all about.

If you aren’t quite ready to serve on the board, we will be appointing a nominating committee at the August board meeting where you can help select candidates to run in this fall’s election.

You do not need to have prior board experience nor have been a member for a minimum number of years.  It is a great way to quickly meet new people if you are relatively new to our community as well as being “in the know” about future activities.  Contact me, Commodore Pete Grimlund, if you are interested in learning more.  commodore@swyachtclub.org

On a personal note, the SWYC board congratulates fellow board member, Jake Levitt on his recent marriage to Kristen Mooney, also a member of SWYC and the daughter of Dan and Julia Mooney.  Dan is our Rear Commodore.   May you two enjoy long life and decades of happiness sailing through both the calm and the sometimes turbulent waters. Mazel Tov!

Calm seas, fair winds and clear skies to you,
Pete Grimlund
Commodore
South Whidbey Yacht Club

Please welcome this month’s newest members to the yacht club.  We look forward to meeting them at our upcoming events.

Ken Albright

Ken, Letha and Becca Albright moved to Coupeville last year from Chico, Calif. They were delighted to find that the island offered so many opportunities to sail. Ken and Becca took a SWYC sailing class earlier this summer and are continuing to learn. Ken recently bought one of the club’s project Pelicans and is working on it.

Kent McCord

Recent participant in the adult lessons on Lone Lake this June.  Now I’ve got the sailing bug!

Melissa Farage and Josh Pettersen

Howdy, we’re Melissa Farage and Josh Pettersen. We love being on the water and working on our budding orchard/farm outside of Langley. We’re currently avid sea kayakers and are excited to join the South Whidbey Yacht club to get to know the community! Looking forward to meeting you all.

The SWYC Summer Social will be held at the Penn Cove Brewing Company in Freeland.
Wednesday, August 17
Time: 5:00 Happy Hour

An evening of relaxing with friends over a brew or beverage of your choice.  Food truck available.  No need to reserve a spot.  Just bring your lawn chair and let’s hang out, visit and share our summer boating  stories.

Barbara and I hope everyone who attended the  Crabfest enjoyed it as much as we did.  What a glorious day with great music, great food and a chance to see all of our friends!  If you haven’t seen them, Barb Grimlund posted some nice photos on our Facebook page.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/928501823936636

Thanks so much to all the people who helped setup and cleanup.  You were a fantastic crew!  And a special note of thanks to Randall Ellis for his time spent on the grill.

We had the pleasure of receiving a very nice message from Honeymoon Bay Club thanking the Yacht Club for leaving the clubhouse and grounds so clean!

Jim and Melody Carney did a great job as co-hosts and they will be the lead for next year’s  Crabfest.  If anyone is interested in joining them as co-hosts, please let us know.

By the time you read this, Barbara and I will be on our boat in Desolation Sound.  We hope all of you are enjoying wonderful summer boating.
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A Note from Commodore Pete:   Bruce & Barbara

THANK YOU! for chairing the Crab Fest this year.  From the planning of the crabbing parties, cooking & cleaning the crabs, arranging for the venue and music, logistics of the food and party — resulting in a perfect summer celebration!

2022 Sailing Classes 

Congratulations YSA on completing three intense weeks of beginner and intermediate youth sailing classes!
Thirty beginner kids in three classes and sixteen intermediate kids in two classes, all aged 10 to 16, attended the classes held at Deer Lake.  Most of the beginner participants had never sailed before.  By the end of the week they were parading their boats proudly.

There are so many shout outs and thank you’s to everyone who makes this happen.

Instructors

Beginner Classes

• Bob Rodgers, Bill Brown, Bob Shepard
• Jr. Instructors – Colin, Alana, Sage & Isaac
• Jr. Instructor Helpers – Parrish, Kira & Emile

Intermediate Classes

• Clyde Jenkins, Clay Canfield, Michael Scott, Kennedy Horstman

Supporting Members – everything from boat maintenance, boat logistics, site set up, program administration and so much more!

• Bob Boehm, Perry Lovelace, Starke Scott, John Gibson, Peter Bunin with Brad Rice filling in when shipwright expertise was needed.

Shore Support – 12 members filled 30 shifts.

Apologies if I’ve left someone off the list.  So many people helped to make these classes happen.

And a special acknowledgement of appreciation for the Lakeside Bible Camp and the Lake of the Woods Community Association for allowing us to use their sites for our classes.

 Again, congratulations YSA and thank you all for providing this valuable community program!

Kayaking with the SWYC

Sum, sum, summertime. A time to delight in being on the water! Kayakers, let’s do it.

Our paddle on Monday, July 18, which was scheduled for a put in at Monroe Landing (north of Coupeville in Oak Harbor) ended up at Mutiny Bay. Arriving at Monroe Landing, the winds were more than we felt comfortable paddling in, so the four of us headed south. Good paddle. Easy put in. Gentle winds. All good.

Our next paddle is Friday, August 5 at the Langley Marina.  Put in is 10:30. Take out 12:30ish.

This paddle was originally scheduled for Monday, August 1 at Lake Campbell.  Unfortunately, I needed to change the date and location due to a personal conflict.

Please be aware that parking can be a challenge at the Langley Marina. We can unload our kayaks and then park up the hill in Langley.

Want to join this paddle? Contact Katy Shaner by accessing her email address online through the SWYC membership directory.

If you are interested in and are not yet on the SWYC kayaking list, please contact Katy Shaner and she will add you to the list.

August Windward Women Gathering – Penn Cove Brewery

Windward Women normally meets on the first Tuesday of the month in February, April, June, August, October and December. This month we are mixing it up and meeting on Friday, August 5 at Penn Cove Brewery at 4:00 pm. We’ll be enjoying a great beer or glass of wine. We’ll also be talking about how to move forward as a group since our current coordinator needs to step back for a while.  Bring your own chair to ensure seating! We’ll hope to find a spot in the shade.

The Windward Women gather bi-monthly, the first Tuesday of the month.  Email Bilgerat@swyachtclub.org to get on the mailing list!

Ahoy Cruisers

The itinerary is set for our August South Sound Cruise.  The route approximately follows that of Phil Simon’s grandfather who took a similar excursion in the early 1920’s in the pictured boat.  SWYC member Phil will be making this trip this year in part to relive old family memories

• Sunday 8/21 Kingston – Port of Kingston Marina
• Monday 8/22 Seattle – Bell Harbor Marina
• Tuesday 8/23 Tacoma – Dock Street Marina
• Wednesday 8/24 Longbranch – Longbranch Improvement Club Community Marina
• Thursday 8/25  Gig Harbor – Arabella’s Landing
• Friday 8/26 Bremerton – Bremerton Marina (Alternate Port Orchard Marina)
• Saturday 8/27 Poulsbo – Port of Poulsbo Marina

As always, cruise participants may choose to do the entire route or to join and rejoin us at those ports that suit their time and interests.  There are different reservation procedures at the various marinas, and we will not try to make group reservations.  Participants should make their own berthing arrangements and then let Bill & Jill Brown know which stops you will be making.  Contact Bill or Jill if you have questions or need more information.  Plans for activities ashore will be developed as we get feedback on who will be at which ports.

Pelican Racing

Only Two Pelican Race Dates Left

The final Summer Series races will be held on August 3rd and 31st.  With the onset of hot weather, we expect Lone Lake to start showing high levels of algae toxins.  Consequently, we anticipate moving to alternative venues for the remaining races.  Monroe Landing on the north shore of Penn Cove is the likely location for August 3rd, but Pelican racers should watch their email for confirmation.  So far, we have held 10 races with 7 different skippers sailing at least one day of competition.  Results of individual races and series standings to date can be found at the following link:

https://www.sailwave.com/results/southwhidbey/SWYC2022SummerSeriesPelicans.htm

Laser racing 

It’s been a mixed set of races over the last month – we usually get 4 races in per evening (every 2 weeks), but owing to light winds, we only managed one race on both 15th June and 29th June. Then on 13 July we were unable to secure the services of a Race Committee due to conflicts with the youth sailing classes, and so only 4 boats showed up, and completed 3 races.

So it was a delight that on Wednesday 27th July, not only did we have a Race Committee, we also had 8 boats out racing, a stiff 15 knot Northerly with big waves, lots of capsizes and a welcome return from 16yr old Colin Byler, who has been one of our prime Beginner Class coaches, and has been racing regularly with the Oak Harbor “Wildcats” team to some notable successes. Having recently returned from a gruelling training week down at the Gorge, a notoriously windy spot on the Columbia River, with winds of 30+ knots , his newfound expertise showed up with 3 second places and a third.  Well done Colin!

As usual, Zak Malbin continues to dominate the races, having won 14 of the 17 races so far, only being beaten by Terry (twice) and Mike (once)!

Laser Race Results

Thanks to all those who show up, volunteers who perform Race Committee duties, and any other club members who support our small racing fleet.

https://swyachtclub.org/racing-calendar/#!event-list

Want a U.S. Coast Guard approved Vessel Safety Check? It doesn’t matter the size of your vessel. It could be a kayak, a dinghy or a full-on cruiser or sailboat. Contact Patty Maxfield and she’ll work with you to find a time that works! This is a U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary sponsored activity so there is no charge for the boater.

Save the Dates!

Summer Social – Wednesday, August 17 – Penn Cove Brewery.

Commodore’s Ball– Saturday, November 12

Holiday Party – Tuesday, December 13

Keep track of all the club events and updates at:
https://swyachtclub.org/events/#!calendar

Website Tip for August

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 – Scam Security and Let’s Review!

Scam Security

Reminder: Our Commodore will never request a club member to purchase gift cards for him or other members.  If you ever get a request like this, call Pete Grimlund or contact bilgerat@swyachtclub.org right away.  This scam surfaces from time to time at SWYC and other organizations.  We all need to be vigilant of these attempts.  Contacting us will ensure we can investigate quickly and ensure our web security has not been compromised.

Let’s Review!
Each month we’ve included a website tip or ‘how-to’ tip for our members.  In case you’ve missed any of these or just want to review, here’s a list.   To access previously published tips, go to the “About the SWYC” tab, and then “From the Pilot House: the SWYC Newsletter” page.   https://swyachtclub.org/blog/ 

Either way just keep scrolling down the page to find the Website tips (usually at the bottom of each monthly newsletter) or go to the archive of SWYC Newsletters on the right side of the page and select the monthly newsletter you’re looking for.  Scroll down to the end of each newsletter to find the article.

Keeping Your Member Directory Profile Updated                   March 2022
How to Access and Use the Website Event Calendar             April 2022
Meet the Board of Directors                                                     May 2022
Club Photos Guidelines                                                           June 2022
How to Access and Use the Membership Directory                July 2022

If you have ANY questions about any of these, please email bilgerat@swyachtclub.org. (That’s me – Barb).  I’m happy to help you.  It’s important that you are able to access the information you need easily.

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