July 2022
Commodore Comments
I’m halfway through my Commodoreship. The one thing I admire is the creativity and innovation our club members have. So far, we have put on the Wind Ceremony and played a significant role in the Stephen C. Smith Regatta. Two huge efforts!
I want to single out a volunteer who goes the extra distance and does so happily out of the limelight. However, she is very comfortable with a large crowd! Deb Berlinger works behind the scenes to keep our website up and ensure you can sign up for an event with a click of a button. I shudder to think what 20knotsnob.com would be like without her. Thanks, Deb, for all you do.
I hope to see all of you at Our Next Club meeting on July 12th.
Swami and the Festoons will be practicing at the Old Schoolhouse on Thursday, the 14th. So come by and catch up.
Your Commodore,
Jack May
NOVICE FLEET STEPHEN C SMITH MEMORIAL REGATTA 2022
~ By Tina Mazanek, race captain
We had beautiful weather for our three participants in the Novice Fleet this year. Linda Campbell from South Carolina, Laura Myers, a local novice, and Meghan Peltier. Meghan, joined us after lunch on Saturday, with only a three-year old lesson under her belt.
With a light southeast breeze for the first heat, Bill Olson (our rabbit*) led the way. Linda Campbell executed several strategic tacks to round the mark and took first place. The second and third heats were more of a reach. Laura and Linda rounded the mark with no problem! While Laura decided to show support from the beach, Linda and Meghan sailed the fourth heat. This was Linda’s fourth race and fourth bullet. Official racing was done for the day, but Meghan took another trip around the mark, then sailed for almost another two hours! Though we did not race on Sunday, Linda sailed for a bit and Meghan was again on the water for a couple of hours.
My thanks to: Will Glenn-course setting (and starting the rest of the fleets), Perry Morris-suckin and blowin the marks; Bill Olson-rabbittin;’ John Gilbert-fleet advisin’; ALL involved in our lessons program and; The ladies of Novice Fleet-we had big fun and learned a lot!
*rabbit-experienced windsurfer who sails with the fleet to show them the way
RESULTS:
1st Place: Linda Campbell
2nd Place: Laura Myers
3rd Place: Meghan Peltier
L-R Meghan Peltier, Laura Myers, Linda Campbell, Tina Mazanek
A Story from an Anonymous Practice Day Person
Bob! I am so sorry about the sail. Here is what happened: it was my best run! I went out with good wind and jibbed without having to put the sail down. I was so happy about that. I was coming back and was happy to see that I had plenty of room and was NOT going to run into the piling and then suddenly...I was caught. (Bobs Note: the sail got trapped upright between the channel marker and the no wake zone sign post in front of JoAnn’s house)
I was aware of the board, but I was not aware of the size of the sail. I had just switched from the kids sail and just didn't have a sense of the scope of size or height. I was thankful for the help. As soon as I got to shore, I had to sit down because my knees were bleeding from the barnacles on the pilings. Basically, I have this thing that happens in minor injury situations, especially related to blood, where I pass out, so I was feeling woozy and had to sit down which is why I had to leave the sailboard. Anyways, I am fine and my sincere apologies for the sail!
Side notes from Bob: The sail’s little tear got fixed right up and is completely functional! Funny story about this sail is that we bought two 4.0 Dacron Aerotech sails at the same time. The one mentioned above has had three repairs done to it (Dacron tape on Dacron sails is wonderful) and the other not a scratch. It may be a jinxed sail.
Training and Practice Days ~ By Bob Graves
This year has been great and mother nature has been kind to us. For our class on June 25th, there was a 70% chance of rain, and on our drive to Shell Point Saturday morning, it poured on us. When setting up for the class between 10:30 and 11, there was very light drizzle, and at 11, with four of the six students there, we started class and the skies parted and the weather was great the rest of the lesson. That afternoon, the skies opened again about five p.m. Sadly, the two students that didn’t come and didn’t notify anyone they weren’t coming are no longer eligible for a lesson through the SPSC.
Sydney
Shaddy
Practice day on Sunday, June 26th, started at noon. I rode my Kayak from Walker Creek to the beach, knowing it would be a light wind day and tows might be needed. We had a great turnout of people and not a good turnout of wind, but many of the new students got on the water and did great! With an east wind, you are always concerned about folks ending up down the beach and having to do the walk of shame back, but that was not the case. The breeze finally shifted to the south but didn’t build. One of our students, who must have sailed for close to two hours with a 6.5 sail, went far out on the east wind, but when the wind shifted to the south, had trouble coming downwind to get back to shore. Thankfully, Ryne took my kayak out and at one point the two switched craft, with Ryne sailing the board in. Thank you, Ryne!
Messy
I encourage anyone to come down on Sunday and just hang out, meet old friends, make new ones, and maybe lend a hand when the time comes to putting stuff away, or maybe giving helpful pointers to someone struggling. Best part is you get to meet a lot of our wonderful new members. This Sunday saw Eric, Ryne, Laura, Ava, Hayley, Andrey, Andrea, Nancy, Messy, Shaddy, Sydney, Jennifer, and Kirill down at the beach. Out of that group, Messy, Shaddy, and Sydney are all under 18 and sailed beautifully. What I love about everyone in the group that comes down to practice is that there is no quit in any of them.
Club Minutes 6/14/2022 ~ By Bob Graves
District 850 (I must say, their 850 burger is incredible)
15 people in attendance
Meeting called to order at 7:32
Commodore: Jack opened by regaling us with stories about his fishing trip.
Vice Commodore: Still learning Italian but now doing it in Italy
Scribe: Tina submitted article for next newsletter.
TIME OUT
Meeting suspended for a short period due to food coming in and the Commodore being hungry. Folks were just socializing, eating, and having a good time.
TIME IN
Meeting called back to order at 8pm
Purser: Money in the bank. Spent $0 since Smith Regatta. Upcoming expenses. Insurance is increasing from $1,850 to $2,400, which is the minimum they charge any club in the US. No other options. Smith Regatta Foundation will pitch in more. In and out on RnR and Endless Summer coming up meaning we should take in more than we put out. Will need money to pay for planter and trailer repair. Membership up to 85. Wright mentioned the new members who joined.
Lessons: The lessons coordinator asked permission to spend up to $1,350 to buy another Exocet Link for training and the request was approved. Too late to say nay, Mark, you had to be there! Bob G mentioned Hobie duels maybe happening on Sunday during practice days, with one experienced and one inexperienced sailor taking off around some marks. Waiting to hear from Mike Getman.
Events
Rum ‘n’ Root Beer: Jack thanked Rose Lane for agreeing to chair the RnR which will be held August 7th starting at 3pm. Board meeting at Marks will be held at noon on August 7th. Rose thinking of rodeo type thing. Speedo’s and chaps required. Lots of joking went around. Laura and Bob will help Rose.
Endless Summer: Need to start raising money for the Endless Summer for sponsors and such.
For a complete listing of all upcoming events go to https://www.spsc20knotsnob.com/events
Club Meetings: The Commodore Jack wants to talk about how to make club meeting more accessible to everyone. Jack’s asking about different things we do and how to get people involved. We have the band, campers, Happy Hours, pickleball, bike riding, etc. and Jack feels we could involve more members in this activities if they knew about them. Dave believes everyone never really recovered from Covid lockdowns and such and just haven’t gotten into going back out. Mack suggested bringing more videos and showing them before the meeting and during the meeting. Club social.
Meeting adjourned at 8:45.