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April 2008 Vol. 38 No. 4 |
Joe Kubinec |
Officer of the Deck SMSA’s finances are off to a great start this year with membership renewals running to budget and new member applications running better than budget! Per the table below, membership dues are SMSA’s primary source of income, followed by camp and high school fees collected by the junior program, bar and boat storage/dock fees collected by the facilities program, and big-and-small boat race fees collected by the race program. Other income derives from the publicity program, which sells advertisements in the yearbook, the social program, which charges fees for certain functions, Screwpile, and the administration program, which manages SMSA’s interest bearing accounts.
2008 Budget Net income can be discerned from the table, which shows whether a program is cash generative for the club. All programs can’t be cash generative. That is, some programs have to consume a portion of the membership dues. However, the SMSA board tries to balance the distribution of funds based on member interest. If you don’t like how the board allocates funds to the different programs then get involved. Provide feedback to your program chairperson so they can get funding for the things that you want to do. Better yet, run for a position on the board. For example, participants in the small boat program successfully lobbied the board for a jib crane, and the argument they used was that it would pay for itself through the collection of small boat dry-storage fees. This year it looks like $4,000 to $5,000, that will be collected from dry-storage fees. Added to the $2,000 collected last year, means that the crane acquisition and installation will be paid off. This is an excellent return-on-investment success story. It is harder to make a return-on-investment argument for installing air conditioning and the bar sink, but the board believes that the expenditure are justified. The air conditioning will provide a more comfortable environment for all members and the bar sink will improve convenience for our volunteer bartenders. Who knows, installing air conditioning may even increase use of the bar! Speaking of the bar, please consider use of SMSA for your next private or corporate function. Earlier in the year, I saw the front room set up for a wedding reception and it looked just great. I also attended a birthday party hosted by Carol Smith for Smitty, and it was a fantastic setting. The cost to rent the hall is very reasonable and you can work with Max Munger, our volunteer bar manager, to have the beverages of your choice made available or served to your guests. Contact Glenn or Terry Walters for further information and to reserve your date. Finally, thank you to all of the volunteers that make SMSA possible. There is lots of stuff that goes on behind the scenes to keep SMSA functioning, and this would not be happening without their dedication and enthusiasm for the club. See any of the board members or program chairs if you are interested in getting involved.
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Carol Smith Social Chair |
Social - Opening Ceremonies Just a Few Days Away Well I do hope everyone has had a good winter. As we are gearing up to get the new season going, don't forget the first event is Opening Day on the 5th of April. It will kick off at 9:00, and following the Flag Ceremony, a brunch will be conducted, comprising of food items donated by the membership, with oysters and non-alcoholic beverages provided by the club. Bloody Mary’s and Mimosas are also available during the event. This is a great time to meet and interact with other members, not to mention a great way to start the new season. I will have a signup sheet for those of you who are interested in lending a hand with any of the other social events this year, so please check your calendars and the yearbook and select the event you would like to help with. May will be a busy month with both Cinco De Mayo and the Luau on the calendar.
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Max Munger Bar Manager |
Lots of Opportunities to Enjoy the SMSA Clubhouse Bar Thank you to all the members who came out this winter and kept the bar from freezing over! The parties, food and drink have been great! The Friday socials have keep us together all winter, but now the full sailing season is upon us. There will be more weekend events, races, cruises, and rendezvous. The Victorias will keep on sailing out back. The club and bar will be open more often. SMSA has invested in 30 plus TAM certified members and at least as many others who have operated the bar. I need more volunteers for the bar. It is time to step forward and get your name on the list to open and bartend for the upcoming events. I need non-racers to open while the competitors are out. I need non-cruisers when the cruising fleet is away. Anyone can help for the socials and rendezvous. Sign up at the bar or call me. SMSA knows the calendar keeps changing and that members do not all hang out at the club, or read the website, the scroller, or the Clew. The Directors have started a weekly email to internet addresses with the current club activities. New sign boards will list the upcoming events, seminars, and special drinks. Look for the next clubhouse events and times and names of the volunteers who are signed up and helping out with the facility. Make sure your preferred, correct email addresses are in the 2008 membership book. There is plenty of opportunity for everyone to help out as this season unfolds. |
Dan Schneider Race Chair |
Race - Lots of Improvements for the 2008 Season The season begins. Those of you who attended the race planning meeting are aware of the changes. Those of you who couldn’t make it, here are the high points. The group expressed a desire to make Wednesday night a less stressful and more fun event. As a result, a series trophy will be awarded for the Pro-Series. All other Wednesday night races will be individual races. The Non-Spin Class is back! Blue fleet will be absorbed into white or green. The Patient River regatta will be competed in small boats with a minimum age difference between crew of 20 years. Crews should be father/mother-son/daughter, but for those not lucky enough to have children willing to race with them, a rental program with the high school sailing team will be available. A rent a geezer program might also be appropriate. I am actively seeking to replace the RC boat with something that doesn’t belong in the Smithsonian. A 25ft Chawk is on my list. Four new race marks have been purchased and will be added to the program to give RC more choices in designing courses. The following are the minutes of the meeting: Race Meeting Jan 30, 2008 Present: Dan Schneider, Max Munger, Jimmy Yurko, Kristi Yurko, John Dixon, Bob Stratton, Jeff Moore, Jim Keen, J.R. Johnson, Joy Dorethy, Robert Herbig, Les Griffith, Smitty Smith, Mark Gyorgy, Mark Briere, Bill Riddle, Donna Maneely, Stovy Brown, John McKinney, Clarke McKinney, Don Behrens. Meeting convened at 7:06. Wednesday night races
Weekend races These proposals are intended to provide incentive for more weekend participation. There was a discussion of how to split up the fleet to make the races more competitive.
All race results will be recorded in Time on Time and Time on Distance. |
Chris Miller Cruise Chair |
Cruise - Let's Go Cruising! The Opening Day cruise is just a few days away, and we are looking for anyone with their boat in the water to lead. Please contact me at cruise@smsa.com. If you don't fancy St. Leonard's Creek, perhaps we can raft at the SMSA T-dock. The Second Saturday “raft-up” at the clubhouse last month was well attended again, and our Commodore even made an appearance to join in the fun. Another cruising point was awarded to each of the thirteen boats that attended. This months event is on April 12th at the clubhouse, please see the notice below. May's Second Saturday Cruiser's Raft will be on the water in Cuckold Creek, so make sure your boats are ship-shape by then. At the end of this month (April 26-27) is the Battle Creek cruise, hosted by your Program Chair and first mate. I’m looking forward to a great season of cruising with everyone!
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Mark Brownhill Wavedancer |
Another Fun Second Saturday Cruiser's Raft, April 12, 2008 Eighteen boats already have cruising points by attending the Second Saturday Cruiser's Rafts. The next one will be on Saturday April 12 starting at 5:00pm.and continuing until around 8:30pm. If your boat is in the water, why not come tie-up at the T-dock? Cruisers can bring their favorite snacks to share, just like happy hour afloat. The bar will be open, so you can purchase your favorite beverages. At around 6:30pm, we'll eat potluck dinner, so please bring a main dish, vegetable, salad or dessert to share. If you'd like to volunteer to bartend, please contact Max Munger. We had a great time at the last Second Saturday Cruiser's Raft on March 8th. We had the crew from thirteen boats in attendance including Calypso (Rita and Frank Gerred), Easy Time (Ron and Suzie Williams), Illumination (Dave and Pat Marchant), Koel (Gresh and Rene Sackett), Permanent Accessory (Don Behrens), Rusty Nayle (Rod and Pat Schroeder), Segal (John Bailey), Sequoia (Kate and Chris Miller), Serenity (Curt and Dottie Hamilton), Sunray (Peter and Susan Holt), Teela (Greg and Debby Shields), Walkabout (Lois and David Zonderman), and Wavedancer (Carrie and Mark Brownhill). There was lots of great dishes being shared, including Susan Holt;s sausage casserole, and two different batches of Key Lime pie. A big thank you to Rod and Pat Schroeder who handled the bartending. Next months Second Saturday Cruiser's Rafts is planned to be on the water in Cuckold Creek, just around the corner from Solomons. |
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Chris Miller Cruise Chair |
Battle Creek Cruise - April 26-27 Please join us for the Battle Creek Cruise departing on April 26th to our destination of Battle Creek of the Patuxent River (just north of Broomes Island). Our usual anchor spot is 38°27.36’N x 076°35.91’W. This is a really nice little spot, if you haven’t been there before, it is usually very quiet and serene. I’m planning a raft-up or two, depending on how many boats we get, for cocktails and light fare before dinner. Please join us for this fun weekend, we look forward to seeing you! Sequoia monitors 9, 16, 69 on the cruise. Check-in will be at 1000 and 1400 and we will be hailing on channel-9. Feel free to call Chris at 443-624-3219 with any questions! Chris and Kate Miller, Sequoia |
Kristie Yurko Women's Chair |
Women's A big thank you to our winter seminar leaders! For those that didn't attend, you missed a great opportunity. On March 8th, Keith Jacobs presented a Race Management Seminar full of first rate insight to help us all run better races and ensure things run as smoothly as they can. On March 15th, Dan Trammel and Stovy Brown presented their seminar on Racing Rules. We tried a new format this year by holding the two-part series on a single night with a pot luck in between the seminar parts. Feedback was positive with there being a lot of great discussions and food. Word of note: the racing rules will be changing in 2009, so we'll expect to see racers there in force next year! There was a lot of discussion in February and March regarding the format of the Marcy Series. The discussion focused on a potential format change from big boat racing to small boat racing for this particular event. After a lot of thought, discussion, and debate as to pros and cons of each format, the decision was made to stick with big boats for the Marcy Series (31 May - 01 June). Due to the interest level, however, there has been additional discussion on holding a small boat day for the women of the club. It will provide women with an opportunity to experience small boats and hone their sailing skills. If any one is interested in participating in or helping with this type of event, please email me at women@smsa.com. Upcoming events:
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