In Memory of Jack Evans (1921 - 2007)

Jack Evans, long-time SMSA member and Owner/Skipper of En Guarde passed away Friday, December 7, 2007, as a result of a stroke.

Jack learned to sail as a child growing up in Cambridge, MD. Jack was a WWII Army Veteran, who attended and graduated from Virginia Tech after WWII. In 1988 Jack retired from Toledo Edison and relocated to Southern Maryland with his wife, Sammy. While living in Toledo, Jack was an active sailor and raced Rebels with his son. He also spent some time cruising on Lake Erie. That passion for sailing continued with his return to Maryland and sailing the waters of the Chesapeake Bay and Patuxent River aboard En Guarde. Jack actively raced and cruised En Guarde until last year, when he turned 85 years young.

In addition to sailing, Jack was very active in local politics and the St. Mary's County Chamber of Commerce. He was involved in his Neighborhood Association as well as the Virginia Tech Alumni Association. In June of 2007, Jack and Sammy moved to Columbus, Ohio to be near their son Johnny and his family.

Jack’s spirited enthusiasm for life and sailing will be sorely missed by many at SMSA and in the Southern Maryland community. Anyone wishing to obtain Sammy's address, please contact Laura Comeau-Stanley at lcstanley@verizon.net or 301-737-4201

Officer of the Deck

I am pleased to report that SMSA is poised to finish the financial year with a surplus to budget of approximately fifteen thousand dollars, and cash generation of approximately thirteen thousand dollars that results in cash-on-hand of approximately eighty-three thousand dollars.  This year’s strong financial performance results from the many hours of hard work that volunteers contributed to get the new club up and running, and the fiscal restraint exercised by the SMSA board of directors and program chairs.  During the budgeting process conducted this time last year it was recognized that the club would be sailing in uncharted waters and there would be risk of a budget overrun until we had a full-year of operating experience behind us.  The risk was mitigated by a combination of conservatism and boldness; conservatism in that program chairs and the BoD decided to postpone program expansion in some areas, such as deferring installation of a jib crane to launch small boats at the club, and boldness in pursuing a liquor license and open the bar to generate additional revenue.  

The chart shows that SMSA consistently operated better-than-budget during the year even though the number of membership renewals was down.  Reduced membership income was offset by income from the bar.  In addition, program expenses ran lower than budget.  It was the combination of total income meeting budget and program expenses running lower than budget that will yield the healthy year-end budget surplus.

The budgeting process is underway for the 2008 financial year and it is envisioned that SMSA will be able to expand social programs and make additional investments in the facility that will produce revenue going forward.  Investments could have been made this year, but the short term nature of the one-year lease, which has since been renewed for a five-year period, in conjunction with maintaining a conservative financial posture, made the risk too high.  These conditions are significantly improved for the 2008 budget year.

I would like to thank the numerous volunteers that made my role with SMSA much easier to fulfill. In particular, for club finances, I would like to thank Cindi Eaton who worked very hard to arbitrate competing demands for spending on the facility and successfully managed to control expenditures, Max Munger for successfully transitioning the bar operation and establishing business processes, Tim Flaherty for successfully selling advertising  space in the yearbook, Laura Comeau-Stanley for staying on top of membership income, Jim Keen for controlling race program expenditures, Mark Brownhill for controlling Clew expenditures, David and Jacki Meiser for achieving exceptional financial results from the small boat regatta, Tom Moulds for generating significant income from the junior program, and L. G. Raley for producing strong returns from Screwpile, even though the venue was new and getting big-boat racers to travel is increasingly difficult.

Finally, I would like to thank the membership for your continued support of SMSA.  Get out and enjoy the events that the volunteers and your Board of Directors are working very hard to provide.  2007 was a very successful year of significant transition and I am certain that 2008 will be better!

Joe Kubinec, Treasurer

Facilities

Thanks to all the helpers who made the club look festive for the holidays!! Especially: David & Sally Arbuthnot, Peter & Susan Holt, Merrie Ruth and LG Raley, Ronnie Spacuzza, John Bailey, Brian O'Hara, Herb Reese, Laura Stanley, Dennis Chandler, Keith Jacobs, Rod and Pat Schroeder, Shannon Walters, Frank and Rita Gerred, Max Munger, Carol and Smitty Smith, and Walt Rupp.

Friday Night Social Specials:

• 1/18 - Hot Buttered Rum Night
• 2/1 - Pre-Super Bowl Rev-Up
• 3/14 - St. Patrick’s Day Drink Specials!

Hope to see you at the SMSA Clubhouse on those and all other Friday Nights from 5 to 8pm.

Dates to Remember:

• March 29th, 2008: All-Hands Clean-up starting at 1pm
• April 5th, 2008: Opening Day Ceremony

Cindi Eaton, Facilities Chair

Social

Well there goes 2007, and we only have the Awards Banquet to finish the season. Now that we can catch our breath for a minute, its time to start it all over again. I hope everyone enjoyed the holidays and we all have a great new year. I wish to thank all of you that helped me out last year; you do not know how much it was appreciated.

There will be some changes to the social calendar this year so make sure you hop unto the web site or read the yearbook when it comes out. There will be a sign up sheet at opening day for those of you that would like to help with up and coming events this year. If you would like to help for opening day or have ideas for the social program, please contact me or catch up with me at one of the Friday Night Socials.

Carol Smith, Social Chair

Weather Seminar with Pat Healy

The Cruise program at SMSA is presenting a Half-day weather seminar with Pat Healy on March 1st, 2008 at 9:00am.  Pat is an international sailing judge and former Olympic sailing coach.  This is a great opportunity to learn all about weather and how it relates to sailing from a fantastic instructor. 

Tickets are limited, $10 for members.  Pat’s full day weather courses often cost near $200 per person, so take advantage of this presentation at SMSA!  Please contact Chris Miller at cruise@smsa.com or 443-624-3219 for tickets.  You can see more about Pat at his website, www.pathealy.com

Chris Miller, Cruise Chair

Cruise

Happy New Year to you and yours!  I am very excited about this new year. Many of you have suggested things that we are going to implement this season - and there are some great ideas!  Check out Mark B’s note in this edition about our revitalizing the Saturday Night Rafts - What a super idea!  We also have a get together planned for the Daytona 500 on Feb 17th (one of the goals of SMSA was to use the clubhouse for fun functions like this, the Sunday football gatherings, etc…).  Plus we have a new seminar series that you will hear more about in next month’s Clew, but make sure to check out the small blurb about the one in March since it is a SUPER opportunity for clubmembers!

I’d like to thank all of the SMSA membership and leadership for their continued support of the Cruise Program and especially for all the time, energy, and ideas that everyone has volunteered to help make SMSA such a great place to cruise!

Upcoming Events:

• January 19th- Cruise planning meeting.  10:00am at the SMSA clubhouse.  Bring ideas and dates for cruises.
• Feb seminars- watch the February Clew for seminar dates.
• Feb 17th- Daytona 500 get together.  Time TBD.
• March 1st- 9:00am Half-day Weather Seminar with Pat Healy (USNA). 

Chris Miller, Cruise Chair

More Cruising

With the Cruise Planning Meeting coming up on January 19th, here is a few ideas to discuss. Last season, Wavedancer had many conversations with fellow cruisers that felt that the program was not as strong as during prior years. A large number of cruisers went to the Islands last winter, so it was not surprising that attendance on the major events was light.

SMSA cruisers are a diverse group and there are many that cannot attend the extended cruises or commit to lead cruises due to family commitments or health reasons. Many have voiced that they want to boost the social aspect of cruising.

Saturday Rafts

The Saturday Night Rafts used to provide an opportunity for cruisers to get together without committing to a formal cruise. In recent years, the Saturday Night Rafts have not enjoyed great attendance, and perhaps they did not get great visibility to the membership. There are times during off-season and even during the sailing season that conditions on the water make a raft impractical or at least uncomfortable.

For the 2008, it is proposed that we have a Saturday Night Raft on the second Saturday of each and every month. During the cold and very hot months, the raft would be a virtual raft, held at the clubhouse. On land or on water, the rafts will follow the cruiser format of happy hour at 4:00pm through about 6:00pm. Dinner could be optional. Cruisers can leave to do their own thing, or groups can get together for potluck or retreat to a restaurant. At the clubhouse, we could move tables to try and capture the ambiance of the cockpit.

If the weather is bad, on-the-water rafts would be diverted to the clubhouse, with notification by email by Saturday 8:00am. If people commit to the raft, then cell phone notification is also possible.

Most likely November through April and the month of August would be at the clubhouse. We would pick a location close to home for the other nights. We could use the locations previously used for Saturday Night Rafts, or we could pick new ones at the Cruise Planning Meeting if the idea has support.

Cruise Planning

Not everyone can commit to leading a cruise, and not everyone has the experience to know all the really good cruising locations or events on the bay. Typically, we ask people to come to the planning meeting and suggest a cruise they would like to lead. This may be leaving many great cruises out of the schedule. It is great to solve location and cruise leader in one go, but perhaps it would be great to also have a list of  cruise suggestions that need a leader.

Let us surface other ideas for improving the program and discuss them by email so that we can make decisions on January 19, at the Cruise Planning Meeting.

Mark Brownhill, Wavedancer

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.

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