OfficersCommodore: Pete Grimlund |
Members At LargeMark Conover – Membership Chair |
Youth Sailing Association (YSA)President: Bob Rodgers
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Members of the South Whidbey Yacht Club Board of Directors are elected annually in the fall. The board meets the second Wednesday of every month. Club members may attend board meetings or reach out to any board member if they wish to offer thoughts and ideas, or want to have an item brought before the board.
Pete Grimlund – Commodore
Pete was born and raised in Bellingham, WA and always close to the water. He was often invited along on friends’ and family’s boats where he developed a love for boating, especially power boats. After meeting Barb at school in Colorado, getting married and soon thereafter moving to Minnesota, Pete continued his water ways in canoes and a 16’ center console Proline, exploring many of Minnesota’s 10,000+ lakes with his daughters and fellow fishermen friends.
After a career in healthcare technologies and entrepreneurial endeavors, Pete and Barb returned to the PNW in 2013 and retired to Whidbey Island in 2018 along with their new retirement toy, a 32’ Boston Whaler moored up in Anacortes. Getting to know others in their new community who shared a common interest in recreational boating and related water activities prompted Pete to join the SWYC in 2019 and later to volunteer to become a member of the board and soon the Vice Commodore and then Commodore in late 2021.
Pete and Barb enjoy exploring the waters around Whidbey and the San Juan’s while cruising, fishing and crabbing.
SWYC Board Responsibilities: As Commodore, Pete leads the SWYC, supporting the Board of Directors members and club members in the many and varied activities and events of South Whidbey Yacht Club.
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Bruce Morris – Vice Commodore
Bruce has been a member of SWYC since 2009. He started boating as a teenager in kayaks and canoes. After a career in the Navy, he met Barbara and they married on Whidbey Island. Their first boating experience was rafting the John Day River in Oregon which became an annual trip for many years. They have extensive cruising experience in Puget Sound, the San Juan’s, and Canada onboard their Camano 31.
Bruce and Barbara co-chaired the Crabfest for many years, and have been extensively involved in catching crab for the Crabfest. They have also both enjoyed the annual fishing trip to Vancouver Island.
SWYC Board Responsibilities: As Vice Commodore, Bruce again chaired the Crabfest in 2022. He also actively participates in the cruising interest group and backs up the Commodore.
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Dan Mooney – Rear Commodore
Dan grew up boating on the Susquehanna River and northern parts of the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland. After pestering his parents nonstop, he got his own boat at age 11 and has loved boating and being around the water ever since. Dan and his wife Julia enjoy just about any kind of boating including power, sail and paddling. They currently own a 16 ft Boston Whaler and several kayaks.
Dan and Julia have owned a family getaway cabin on Whidbey for many years and after retiring from Boeing decided to make Whidbey Island their home. They joined the South Whidbey Yacht Club two years ago and found it to be a great way to make new friends and hang out with other boaters. They are active in the kayaking group and are part of the SWIFT San Juan 24 syndicate.
SWYC Board Responsibilities: As the Rear Commodore, Dan is responsible for planning our monthly meeting programs, engaging speakers and managing the meeting logistics. Got ideas for a program? See Dan. Dan also chairs a club marketing committee to help the SWYC be more visible in the local community which in turn may attract new boating interested members.
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Bob Boehm – SWYC Secretary
Bob has been active in sailing most of his life, initially sailing on the east coast where his sailing experience started with a Mirror Sailing Dinghy, then a 16’ Oday Day Sailor, then a 22’6” Pearson Ensign. Bob also sailed with his boss taking his Hinkley 35 from Boston to Southwest Harbor Maine for many years. When he moved to the Seattle Area, he was a member of the Windworks Sailing Club sailing 26’ to 36’ sailboats. In 1996 Bob purchased a Cabo Rico 38 which he sailed throughout the San Juan and Canadian San Juan Islands, until 1999, when he upgraded to a Passport 42, which he upgraded for offshore sailing. The highlight of these experiences was in 2000 when Bob and Penny took off in their 42’Passport. They got as far south as Zihuantanejo, Mexico; then came home via Hawaii. It was a fabulous year! In 2002 Bob and Penny joined with a partner to own 38’Panda which they sailed throughout the northwest until 2009.
More recently Bob and Penny have also owned and enjoyed their 26’ C Dory; weekend cruising and crabbing. They also have enjoyed kayaking as well, though they are now boatless, but enjoying “land cruising”, i.e. RV’ing.
Bob Boehm and Penny Harger joined SWYC in 2007. Through the years Bob has been on the SWYC board serving in an at large role and as Vice Commodore in 2020-21. Penny was Treasurer for SWYC for 5+ years.
Bob, with his CPA and financial executive skills, registered YSA as a Non-Profit corporation with the Washington Secretary of State and the IRS in 2013, and has been secretary for YSA and an active member of the management team since 2017. He has been active in restoring and maintaining EL Toro’s for YSA, and an active member of the staff for the YSA sailing program in July.
For several years Bob was an active member of the Race Committee for the Club’s Pelican and Laser Races. He’s been an active member of the crab catching team since 2009, and also arranged the Annual Vancouver Island Fishing Trip since 2008.
Bob brings a broad range of executive management, leadership and financial management skills developed during his 40-year career that started in public accounting where he earned his CPA. This was followed by leadership and financial management positions in the insurance industry, consulting and management systems.
Although Bob and Penny are now ‘boatless,’ they still enjoy getting out on the water whenever there’s opportunity. They also enjoy continued traveling and for Bob, creating quality toys and other items with his woodworking skills.
SWYC Board Responsibilities: As board Secretary, Bob records and posts to the SWYC website all minutes from the Board of Directors monthly meetings.
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Starke Scott – SWYC/YSA Treasurer
Thinking about retirement and loving the PNW, Starke and Tandy explored most of the Olympic Peninsula and Coastal Washington. Finally, taking the ferry to Whidbey Island, they knew they were home. After retiring in 2016, they moved from SoCal to Greenbank and love it here. Starke and Tandy went from 1 boat to 4 boats soon thereafter! Starke enjoys sailing, racing, fishing and crabbing. He is also a member of the SWIFT San Juan 24’ syndicate.
Starke and Tandy joined SWYC in 2017.
SWYC Board Responsibilities: In his role as Treasurer, Starke records and tracks all financial transactions for both SWYC and the Youth Sailing Association (YSA). Starke is also arranging the 2023 Annual Vancouver Fishing Trip.
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Barb Grimlund – SWYC Board Member at Large/Communications Chair
Barb’s originally from Illinois where she was introduced to boating by rowing a rowboat while bullhead fishing and water skiing behind a runabout at the family’s lake cabin in northern Wisconsin. Living in Minnesota with Pete for most of their adult lives and raising their family there, they had many hours together on the lakes of Minnesota in canoes and their 16’ Proline. Moving to Seattle in 2013, she found her peace in a kayak and on a paddleboard living by Lake Union. Barb retired from a career in human resources, after which she and Pete moved to Whidbey Island in 2018. They joined SWYC in 2019 after Barb learned of the club’s active kayaking group.
Barb enjoys kayaking, paddle boarding and hanging out with Pete on their 32’ Boston Whaler.
SWYC Board Responsibilities: As the Communications Chair (aka ‘Bilgerat’) Barb edits and distributes the SWYC monthly newsletter, meeting notifications and reminders, club surveys, co-manages the club Facebook site and manages the SWYC website with Susie Gibson. Reach out to Barb if you have any thoughts or ideas in the way we communicate with club members.
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Mark Conover – SWYC Member at Large/ Membership Chair
Mark discovered the South Whidbey Yacht Club when signing up for his first sailing lesson in May 2021. Learning to sail was always on his short list of activities to tackle. Having moved to Whidbey in 2020, and being surrounded by all things nautical, the goal of getting on the water became a pressing matter.
Thanks to the capable (and patient) instructors in the Adult Sailing Program, Mark and his partner Myra were soon gaining a level of comfort on the water. They were inspired to purchase a San Francisco Pelican sailing dingy in order to pursue their new hobby.
A native of Texas, Mark arrived on Whidbey by way of Seattle and Bellingham, as his software engineering career veered toward the Northwest.
Mark brings to his role as Membership Chair an enthusiasm that is born of his discovery of a new passion.
SWYC Board Responsibilities: As Membership Chair, Mark discusses club membership with interested parties, introduces their membership request to the Board for approval decisions, and follows up with new member welcome packets and engaging communications to ensure new members feel welcome and have questions answered. Reach out to Mark if you know someone who is interested in joining the SWYC.
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Katy Shaner – SWYC Board Member at Large / Kayaking Lead
Katy grew up in Milwaukee Wisconsin loving being close to the Great Lakes especially the vast and varied waters of Lake Michigan. Being near it, being on it, watching the changes that the many seasons created to this great body of water was to Katy a great source of both joy and awe.
When she was a teen, Katy was first introduced to sailing, some canoeing and rowboats, on the inland lakes of Wisconsin. But it was not until later in her life that she was reintroduced to sailing through the SWYC Adult sailing classes. That led to joining the club in 2016.
Learning to sail and a hunger for being on the water, Katy volunteered in 2017 with the Whidbey Island Maritime Heritage Foundation and learned to crew on the Suva, the 1925 Gatsby-era schooner who makes her home in Coupeville.
In 2017, she took her first kayaking safety class and proudly declares her yacht of choice is her kayak. Finding many more members interested in kayaking, Katy helped to form the kayaking group for the SWYC. She continues to participate in kayaking activities and currently leads the SWYC kayaking interest group.
Katy enjoys gathering together with friends and family, gardening, watching the birds she feeds daily, knitting and keeps herself busy dog, pet and house sitting.
SWYC Board Responsibilities: As a Member At Large, Katy attends board meetings and is the leader of the Kayaking Interest Group. If you are interested in Kayaking with our group and want to get on the email distribution list, reach out to Katy. Katy also represents the SWYC’s Windward Women interest group at our board meetings. The Windward Women is a group of SWYC women who explore the community of Whidbey Island and beyond, encouraging each other to try new adventures. Reach out to Katy if you’d like to participate.
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Jake Levitt – SWYC Board Member at Large
Jake joined SWYC in 2021 with his then fiancée, Kristen Mooney. They’ve recently moved to the Pacific Northwest with new jobs and a new puppy (Alife the French Bulldog). After spending a decade in NYC, they’re grateful for the opportunity to take in the outdoors and participate in more events with the club. Jake has been training in boating and crabbing for several years with fellow board member Dan Mooney, his father-in-law.
Jake has expertise in marketing, media, and technologies, and he’s looking forward to adding value to SWYC as the club continues to welcome new members and aims to stay relevant in the ways members interact and communicate.
SWYC Board Responsibilities: As a Member At Large, Jake attends board meetings, offers recommendations and assists with planning club events and strategies. Jake is also a member of the SWYC marketing committee.
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Melody Carney – SWYC Board Member at Large
Melody Carney, along with her husband Jim, joined SWYC June of 2021. They named their sailboat Imrama, which is Celtic for stories about “journeys seeking to meet interesting people and places where the emphasis is on the journey rather than the destination”. They were excited to join SWYC to meet the many interesting folks that are drawn to the waters here.
Melody is a native Washingtonian, born in Seattle and proud to be a Husky. She grew up camping and fishing and learned to sail with Jim. We found our toehold on retirement on Whidbey back in 2012 and moved to Lagoon Point full time in March of 2020. Many moons ago, Melody worked in IT as a Systems Analyst and Project Manager across industries from Banking to Soda to Cellular. She took a leave of absence to raise the two Carney rascals and never returned thanks to Mr. Jim, who took very good care of the clan. (Turned out wrangling Carney’s was a full-time job!) Melody dabbled in some home side hustles around leasing and mortgage banking and rentals but mostly volunteered in support of the kid’s education chaperoning, running auctions and sitting on school boards and multiple HOA Boards along the way. Melody looks forward to working with this Board too as they orchestrate the many fun SWYC events and activities.
SWYC Board Responsibilities: As a Member At Large, Melody attends board meetings, offers recommendations and assists with planning club events and strategies. She is also working with Barb on our various communications. She and Jim are chairing the CrabFest in July 2023.
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Jill Brown – SWYC Board Member at Large
Jill didn’t have a boating background and had never even been on a sailboat until she married Bill in 1987 and found out Boating is a Way of Life. She and Bill moved to Whidbey from Vermont in 2004 and joined the Yacht Club a year later. They bought the Seadog, a Maple Bay 27′ and cruised around the San Juans and as far south as Olympia. In 2013, they moved up to Warlock, their Island Gypsy 32′. Bill races Pelicans and they’ve been Cruise Captains for several summers. Since moving to Whidbey, Jill has volunteered with HOPE, the horseback riding therapy, the Time Together program at Senior Services and Global Volunteers in Mexico and Cuba. She was on the Board previously as Membership Chair and Newsletter Editor. They live in Lagoon Point with five boats and two rescue dogs who dislike cruising.
SWYC Board Responsibilities: As a Member At Large, Jill attends board meetings, offers recommendations and assists with planning club events and strategies. As a recent returnee to the board, Jill is considering where she can best serve a specific area of interest.
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Jim Rogers – Immediate Past Commodore/ Advisory Non-Board Position
Jim’s initial exposure to the Northwest was in 1991 just before Kathy and Jim were married, and subsequently they did an “around Washington” auto trip which was the beginning of his love for this area. It wasn’t until a learn-to-sail cruise in the San Juan Islands in 1995 that Jim first experienced the Salish Sea, and then the hook was really set. Jim and Kathy have subsequently taken several sailing charters and a motor yachting charter out of Bellingham. They purchased property on Whidbey Island and built their home in 2000 while both were still working full time in San Antonio, TX. Upon Jim’s retirement in 2015 after 39 years practicing Pediatric Cardiology in SA, they moved full-time to Whidbey Island.
Jim and Kathy owned ski and fishing boats as well two sail boats while living in SA but was boatless (except for a 16’ tandem kayak) when they moved here. Since they live on the western shore of Holmes Harbor with relatively easy access to the entire Salish Sea, it was only natural for them to want a boat that would afford them the opportunity to cruise this beautiful area. In 2016, they purchased a 25 ft. C-Dory cruiser (“C-‘scape”) that is on a mooring buoy in front of their home during the boating season. They enjoy using her for crabbing, cruising, and fishing.
SWYC Board Responsibilities: As the Immediate Past Commodore (2019 – 2021), Jim sits in on board meetings as an advisor rather than as a voting member. He provides perspective, relevant knowledge and insight to board discussions.
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SWYC Youth Sailing Association (YSA) Board of Directors
Bob Rodgers – YSA President
Bob is President of the Youth Sailing Association and although this program is youth centered, he didn’t get into his first sailboat until his 30’s. Bob is a Past SWYC Commodore 2016 -2017. Before the Yacht Club he worked in downtown Seattle in a 30-year career with the phone company in their IT department. Retiring in 2000 he and Kathy moved from Mukilteo all the way over to Whidbey Island. Bob had been sailing Pelicans for 15 years out of Mukilteo, and now another 15 years on Whidbey Island. He’s been involved since joining the club in 2007 with the Youth Program, Pelican Racing, and Cruising too.
Bob and Kathy live at Lagoon Point with their 30 ft Hunter sailboat. They’ve cruised south to Olympia and ventured north as far as Desolation Sound. They have charted 40 footers with family and friends in the British Virgin Islands and our local San Juan’s and Gulf Islands.
YSA Responsibilities: Bob oversees both the youth and adult sailing classes and helps to administer the Pelican racing program. If you have questions about any of these activities, reach out to Bob.
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Bob Boehm – YSA Secretary
Bob serves as Secretary for both South Whidbey Yacht Club and the Youth Sailing Association. Bob’s history and responsibilities are described above as part of the SWYC board.
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Starke Scott – YSA Treasurer
Starke serves as Treasurer for both South Whidbey Yacht Club and the Youth Sailing Association. Starke’s history and responsibilities are described above as part of the SWYC board.