Officer of the Deck

At the end of the year for SMSA, and the end of my three years on the BOG/BOD, some stock-taking seems to be inevitable.  We have had our ups and downs this year, and on balance I count it a great success. 

We have made great progress with the clubhouse.  It’s surpassing the expectations of many of us – simply as a place where we can meet and greet, carry out the Junior program and a greatly expanded Social program, and also as a conceptual, emotional focus for the club.  We lost a few more members than usual in a year, probably because of tripling the dues, but we’re still a numerous brood and financially we look to be ending the year, roughly speaking, neither significantly ahead nor significantly behind where we were last year.  Among other things, I think the BOD, Cindi, Herb, Max, LG, Jacki and David, and the other great volunteers in the Facilities area showed lots of financial prudence on expenditures, as well as creativity and hard work to exploit the clubhouse -- not only for the members’ enjoyment, but also as a source of income.  We have some good businessmen and women, as well as good sailors, in this club!  Renting the clubhouse may or may not have been optimal in the financial dimension, but we have shown that we can pay for it and that’s very important.  Treasurer Joe Kubinec did a great job to keep us in this financial good health.

Operating under the new By-Laws is also coming along.  All of the Program Chairs and BOD members spent the year learning as we went along.  I personally feel that we on the BOD could have made a bit more progress, but we did the necessary, the Program Chairs were superb, and I’m confident that progress on how to run the club well will continue to be made in 08 and years to come.

There is a kind of malaise (no, I’m not a peanut farmer from Georgia…) floating around the membership.  I’m not sure how well I understand it, but basically it seems that some of us, doubtful about the value we’re getting for our $480/year, stayed on this year but are still doubtful or even negative about continuing.  This is often said to center on “the cruisers” but I’m sure that it’s both broader and narrower than that.  I gave my pep talk in this column earlier this year and I won’t repeat it at length; basically it’s “volunteer, do stuff, you get out what you put in.”  I hope every single one of us finds our own set of reasons for continuing to be SMSA members, both for our own fun and to support what continues to be a wonderful range of sailing-related activities down here in Slower Maryland.

Thanks for letting me lend a hand and supporting me for the last 3-years.  I look forward to continuing to sail, party, and maybe even do a little work with my SMSA friends for many years to come.

Joel Bergsman, Rear Commodore

Membership

Merry Christmas everyone!  If you haven’t been able to attend any of our recent Friday night socials because of other commitments, I hope you’ll have an opportunity to make it out to the Clubhouse in early December for any one of our many fun-filled holiday events.  This is a great time of year to be surrounded by your friends in the sailing community and an even better time to introduce a friend to our “off the water” home. 

SMSA offers its members a wide range of sailing and social activities.  We have learned in 2007 that there is much that we can do and enjoy here in Solomons from our Main Street location, but growing our club is crucial to our future endeavors and success.  If every member could encourage just one person to become a new member of SMSA next year, that would be AMAZING!  In addition to helping the club financially, the infusion of new faces and fresh ideas would be a tremendous benefit to SMSA.  I hope each of you will consider how you can help us reach greater membership numbers in 2008.  Your involvement is needed and truly appreciated in this undertaking. 

Laura Comeau-Stanley, Membership Chair

Christmas Walk

SMSA will again be participating in the Solomon’s Business Association Christmas Walk on Friday, December 7th from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. A handful of club volunteers will be meeting and greeting members of the community during the evening and providing information about our club activities. We will have hot cider, hot chocolate and cookies on hand for the festivities. Meanwhile, in the multi-purpose room, we will be hosting a children’s boat building event. Herb Reese has secured the materials and some great volunteers to help him run this enjoyable event, which was a tremendous success last year. Members are encouraged to come and join in on the fun with their families. If you’re interested in lending a hand, please contact Laura Comeau-Stanley at 301-737-4201 or lcstanley@verizon.net.

Laura Comeau-Stanley, Membership Chair

Social

Happy Holidays to all! Well, the Oyster/Chili cook off was a great time, hope all enjoyed it. Here is what is on the horizon and will be upon us before we know it.

Christmas Gathering - December 8 , 2007 - 6:00 PM - Please bring a dish to be shared by all. Hors d'oeuvres, desserts or your special holiday recipe would be greatly appreciated. This year we will be raffling off the centerpiece. Sodas, water and some warm/hot beverages will be provided. The Annual Light Parade of Boats will be right there in front of us, up close and personal! Hope to see everyone there!

Awards Banquet - January 5, 2008 - 6:00 PM - Cocktail/Hors d'oeuvres with Dinner at 7:00 This year's award banquet will be held at the J.T. Daugherty Center in Lexington Park, just past the first gate of the base. Cost will be $45 per person. By now, you should all have received your invitation with RSVP cards, if you have not please feel free to contact me. This year it will be a full service dinner, which means that I will have to have the type of dinner (beef, chicken or fish) for each person (by name) when you RSVP. RVSP is required prior to 26 December so that I can give them the head count on time.

If you need a room, I have secured a block of rooms at the Fairfield Inn. You will get the special price of $89 for Saturday Night but you will have to make your reservations prior to December 7, after that you will pay the going rate. Call the hotel directly at 301-863-0203 and ensure you do an "in house" reservation, and refer to the group code "SMSI" (no, this is not a typo). Have a safe holiday.

Carol Smith, Social Chair

Election Results

The Annual Membership Meeting was held and the votes have been counted. Your new slate of Club Officers for the 2008 year will be:

• Commodore Don Behrens
• Vice Commodore Clarke McKinney
• Rear Commodore Smitty Smith
• Secretary Betsy Dodge
• Treasurer Joe Kubinec

The Directors will be:

• L.G. Raley
• Jim Keen
• Dave Meiser
• Rod Schroeder
• Max Munger
• Frank Gerred

Thanks to all who voted and a special thanks to the approximate 16% of the membership that made the time to attend the meeting and brunch!

Max Munger

I am delighted to be re-elected as an SMSA Director. Thank you for the encouragement! I want to help make SMSA remain the best sailing club in southern Maryland. The Directors are the "links" to the membership apart from the busy operating Officers. Please come to me/us and tell us what you think about the club. We are listening. What/where do you want SMSA to go?

With a new 5-year lease, I want to kick start the process of (reasonably) improving the club facility, restrooms(?), the docks, water and electric, and the boat lift by springtime. These will bring needed income as well as new social activities to the club. I have talked with many cruising members and encourage them/you to come to our club and to socialize, use our facility, develop some "show and tell" events and invite guest speakers. Let's have more Sunday Victoria class sailing days too!

To all members, we need your continued support, your weekly participation and most of all, your volunteerism for all types of club events. Choose a program and stay involved!

Race

The Fall Frostbites have just wrapped up and the 2007 SMSA racing season is officially concluded, the on-the-water season that is.  As we transition into winter activities (and it's a short winter, quite thankfully), we have some downtime and an opportunity to catch up on our book-knowledge of racing rules, sail trim, strategy, and tactics.  Please take advantage of the winter seminars that our club sponsors, including Race Rules and Race Committee Management.  Hopefully, we'll be bringing back Dan Trammell and Stovy Brown (Rules) and Keith Jacobs (RC Management) again this winter for their informative sessions.

I would encourage you and your crews to also consider the North U Trim and Tactics Seminars put on in March at Anne Arundel Community College.  These seminars are reasonably priced, are very informative, and are a great way to get your racing brain warmed up for the season.  I would also recommend the North U/Colgate Offshore Race Week put on every year at Captiva Island, Florida in April.  It's a week of total immersion in racing Colgate 26s with professional racing instruction and daily video critiques by Bill Gladstone of North U.  I have been to this neat event twice, and it's well worth the week's time and expense. 

Disclaimer… I work for neither North Sails or Colgate Offshore.  I do respect and admire their training packages.

Other events ahead on the schedule:

• The Annual Awards Banquet on Saturday, 5 January.  Please encourage your crews to come and help celebrate a great racing season and congratulate those accepting awards.
• The Annual Winter Racers' Meeting will be held at the clubhouse on Wednesday, 29 January at 1900.  Come and provide inputs for improvements to the program.  This is our chance to make changes before the Race Circular is published.

The first weekend in November, our Foxtrot Corpen crew had the opportunity to race in the East Coast IRC Championships/ Beneteau 36.7 36.7 Mid-Atlantic Championships in Annapolis.  Forty-five boats in five classes from all over the country participated in the event, which for the big boats, was the last stop of the season for the Rolex Big Boat Series.  Samba Pa Ti, a TP 52 from Los Angeles, took first place in the regatta.  As described in the Storm Trysail Club's press release, "Kilroy and his team, which included multiple world and national champions as well as America's Cup talent, including Annapolis resident and Emirates New Zealand tactician Terry Hutchinson, won IRC Class 1 and became the overall IRC East Coast Champions when the Race Committee deemed them to have the best cumulative average corrected time for the regatta."  A very fun weekend for the Foxtrot Corpen crew.  And, we did, incidentally, place 3rd in the Bene 36.7 OD fleet.  :)

Finally, I guess I spoke (wrote) prematurely in last month's Clew that it would be my last article as Race Chairman.  So far, no one has stepped up to relieve me in this role.  I will stay on until properly relieved.  I know you're out there.  Give me, or Clarke McKinney, or Smitty Smith a call if you are interested in a really fun job coordinating our SMSA Race Program. And again… thanks for all the great support all of you have given me over the last three years!

Correction:  In last month's Clew article, I reported the results of the SMSA High Point Scoring.  It turns out that final, corrected scoring for the extremely tight Spinnaker Division actually resulted in Splash receiving the highest point multiple.  Congratulations to Tom and Karen Attick and your Splash crew for a great season and for your well-deserved High Point Winner Award.  And, sorry for the error last month.

Jim Keen, Race Chair

Classified

1974 CAL 29 SAILBOAT - with a brand new diesel engine. Runaway is a well built boat with a 29' LOA, 4'9" Draft, 9"3' Beam. She has a forward V-berth, an aft port and starboard settee berth, and a fold out berth for a total ability of sleeping 6 people. In the galley, there is a folding table, gimbaled 2 burner propane stove, a microwave oven and an icebox. The head has a commode, sink and portable shower head. Electronics include a radio, wind speed indicator, fathometer, speed gauge, compass and auto steering. The boat is powered by a 14.5 hp Kubota Diesel engine installed in 2006 (65 hours on clock) with a three blade maxi prop. Boat comes with full compliment of sails that are always stored indoors during off-season. The boat is stored out of water during the winter. Boat is ready to race or cruise the Chesapeake. Runaway is currently tied up at the Solomon's Island Holiday Inn - slip D2 (in front of the Naughty Gull). Please contact: Jake Karaczynski at jtkaraczynski@smcm.edu or call (301) 863-2338

INFLATABLE DINGHY - model HSS-230D from newfoundmetals.com. Brand new in box never opened. Over all length, 7’6”, beam 4’4”, wt 68 pounds. 3 chambers, for 4 HP motor. 772 pounds max load. Includes Carrying bag, aluminum oars, plywood bench, oarlocks, lifeline, lifting handles, drain plug set, $899, call Walt Rupp 301.863.0175 or email brigadoon5@verizon.net.

1986 CATALINA 34 STD. RIG - $48K obo, Coastal cruiser, new bottom paint, fin keel., furling genoa, drifter with sally, lines to cockpit, sleeps six, AH wind & AP, depth & knot, dodger, bimini, 3 blade prop, refer, CNG stove/oven, inverter charger, wind gen, H&C pressure water, recently maintained Universal diesel, SSB radio, Solomons, MD area, Walt Rupp, 301.863.0175 or email brigadoon5@verizon.net.

VANGUARD 15 SAILBOAT - One of the boats from Kings Point Merchant Marine academy. (#19) Good condition. Includes new trailer and beach dolly. $3300. Marc DeLaVergne 410 586 8763 or vergne40@yahoo.com

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