1972 - After a winter of organizational activities, the SMSA was formally launched at Placid Harbor Yacht Club on March 18, 1972. Owners of 27 yachts elected officers and adopted a charter. The first season included a rendezvous, 14 races, the Commodore's Cup, Fall Invitational, many short cruises and a one week cruise north, a newsletter, and burgee designed by Bill Boyd.

1973 - The newsletter became the CLEW and the first edition of the yearbook was published. We adopted the Delta Rule and celebrated our election to CBYRA with our first CBYRA Invitational. Cruising awards were initiated and the burgee left the Bay for the first time. More awards were added: Man of the Year (now Member of the Year), Vice Commodore's Trophy, and the Allen Dean Proctor, Jr. Trophy.

1974 - In addition to the many fine social gatherings and the usual anchor dragging and thunderstorms we began the 120 mile Wolf Trap Light Race endurance test. The first women's race took place and with SMSA's support, the first Governor's Cup was held.

1975 - Family Division racing began with the purpose of getting many previous non-racers involved in racing. The year ended with the December Party being organized as the first awards banquet.

1976 - The first Memorial Day Race/Cruise with Eastern Shore Sailing Association was held. Sixteen yachts sailed to Baltimore celebrating the Bicentennial with the Tall Ships. The Potomac sailors had their first separate cruise schedule and we had the first annual Labor Day Cruise to Crisfield for the Crab Festival.

1977 - Our race program obtained a cannon and we began the Middle Distance Series with the Smith Point race and the Hooper Island/Point-No-Point race. The Thompson and Scattergood trophies were welcome additions to our growing collection of perpetual awards. The cruisers set another record with a rendezvous in Narragansett Bay.

1978 - The record cold winter of 77-78 brought a third division to our racing program and a change to the PHRF racing rule. We celebrated our 1972 founding with our first Annual Birthday Party. The new Solomons bridge opened up many new possibilities. We added T-shirts and the first racing supplemental. The Bailey Trophy was donated as the first Non-Spinnaker Division perpetual award.

1979 - The Sharps Island Race was added to the Middle Distance Series and more racing incentives came with the Marcy and Spirit Trophies. The cruisers sailed south on the first two week cruise. In the fall, Finesse, Gusto, and Pathfinder and their many guests headed for warmer foreign ports.

1980 - The Laser was selected as the official class boat and the first Laser regatta was held. We selected Zahniser's Marina as SMSA headquarters for Laser racing and informal gatherings. The race fleet was reduced from 3 to two divisions; PHRF Spinnaker and Non-Spinnaker. The Marcy Series was expanded to a three-race series. Our cruisers took the first SMSA cruises out of the Bay, one around the Delmarva and the other to Albemarle Sound. We also added the Cruiser-of-the-Year to our perpetual trophies.

1981 - Our race program continued to grow and become more sophisticated. We had 22 SMSA boats race in the Governor's Cup. Our Junior Program grew to eight races and the Junior Championship Trophy and the Zahniser Trophy were added to our perpetual list. The now traditional two week cruise headed north with 16 boats while other cruisers headed for Block Island.

1982 - Our race fleet grew to being the 4th largest PHRH fleet on the Bay and we added the Cruising Class. Forty-four cruisers plied the waters of the Chesapeake. The SMSA burgee had now been around the WORLD as the Walkers in Gusto completed their circumnavigation. Zahniser's contributions to SMSA grew with a new flag pole, boat shed, boat rack, SMSA T-dock and a launching ramp for the Laser Fleet which now had ten boats.

1983 - The club continued its rapid growth with membership up 25%. Eighty-five boats cruised on weekends, four day cruises, on week cruises, and a two week cruise which had Delaware Bay for a destination. Some boats continued around Cape May. Fifty-five boats participated in the race program with 32 boats entered in the Governor's Cup. Fifteen of our members received CBYRA High Point awards. The Junior Program purchased a skiff and outboard to manage our expanded Gold and Silver race fleet program.

1984 - Bravura won 1st-in-class in the Annapolis to Bermuda, 1st CBYRA Spinnaker B Region III, and Spinnaker B Baywide, and 1st MORC Baywide. A new perpetual trophy, the Oaks Memorial Trophy, was donated for the Spinnaker B Middle Distance Series. Ninety-eight boats received cruise points. The two week cruise went to Albemarle Sound. The new 1000 Mile cruising award and a new perpetual trophy, the Joseph T. McGrath Trophy, for distinguished SMSA sailing beyond the Chesapeake were established. The year ended with members voting to incorporate.

1985 - The racers continued to bring home silver from races outside of our area, such as Blitz bringing home a third in Block Island Race Week and we brought home our share of trophies from the Governor's Cup. In addition, a perpetual trophy for the Smith Point Race was donated by Clarke and Barbara Raley. Our cruisers sailed the Bay from the Opening Day cruise to the traditional Halloween cruise in October. We had a great 4th of July raft-up for fireworks, and many other great social activities and our Junior program continued its activities with the Lasers.

1986 - Opening Day Ceremonies began in the rain at Zahniser's followed by our traditional cruise to Rollin's Cove. Spring brought frustration to racers and cruisers alike with its unusually light winds. During this period we found time to rendezvous, cruise, and drift race. August, of all months, brought wind with a long and tiring beat in the Governor's Cup and introduced the second half of the season with better winds for a great fall season of racing and cruising. The rendezvous at Calvert Marina produced another first - a disk jockey for dancing.

1987 - Unlike 1986, we generally had sufficient air for all sailors. We added a Spring Invitational to our CBYRA program. The Wolf Trap Race became history and Ws replaced by a long distance race to Hampton. Brought to an end was a long series of ESSA and SMSA races because of scheduling difficulties. We continued our string of bringing home silver from the Governor's Cup, the fastest and most successful to date. Our racers continued to place high in the CBYRA standings. A two week cruise to Philadelphia and Will Chesnut's solo cruise through the Caribbean to South America were first for our long distance cruisers. The junior program went through some major changes. Our Laser racers grew up and there were two few to have a Laser program. We adopted the El Toro for our juniors and they had a very successful season. A data management support contract to support SMSA in mailing labels, rosters, yearbook production, and other services was put out to bid. Members John and Donna Bailey were the successful bidders.

1988 - Use of Olympic courses was started and improvements in race committee education were made. SMSA racers continued to do well in Baywide racing, especially the Governor's Cup with eight members earning silver. Cruisers continued their active schedule with a 17 day cruise south to Albemarle Sound and a ten day cruise to Washington D.C., in addition to our active weekend cruises. At the height of the season, SMSA members were caught off guard as the Pax River bridge was closed for more than eight weeks. But we survived, many a skipper and crew could be observed using bus and ferry to reach their boats. A boater's safety course was conducted for and successfully completed by 12 youngsters in response to the new Maryland Law requiring helmsman certification for those born after 1972. We experimented with a Junior Camp with 31 youngsters participating in this activity organized with St. Mary's County and St. Mary's College and with SMSA providing instructors and volunteers.

1989 - After starting with our usual spring activities things came on with a rush. Our Sharps Island racers were hit with a severe squall and in a few minutes enough damage [a J-24 Ws sunk] and heroics performed to provide a lifetime of stories. A couple of weeks later our cruisers got clobbered. With the lessons learned from these experiences a great season of racing and cruising followed ending with a cruise to the waterfowl festival in Easton. A perpetual trophy was donated by Stewart Buckler for the Spinnaker Division of the Hooper Island/Point-No-Point race. This was the first year of the Audi/Yachting sponsored Solomons Race Week and SMSA was chosen as host club. St. Mary's College donated a fleet of used 420's. Extensive repairs were necessary and the repair work was donated by SMSA members. In September SMSA moved into the old Commander's House at Calvert Marina. It rapidly became clear that the Clubhouse was going to provide us with many opportunities for growth and expansion.

1990 - Our 19th year started with a bang with our first annual New Year's Party at the Clubhouse. Thus began a year of great rendezvous, mini-rendezvous, and other gatherings at our new facility. Our new flag pole went up on the morning of our Opening Day Ceremonies. We again participated in Audi/Yachting Solomons Race Week. The Russian racing yacht FAZISI, as part of its tour following the conclusion of the Around-the-World Race visited Solomons. FAZISI and some of her crew stayed at SMSA's docks at Calvert Marina during Race Week. This gave SMSA an opportunity to contribute to International Relations while they were here by hosting a party for FAZISI's crew. The Junior Program continued to grow under the direction of Bonnie Van Tassel. Though the Clubhouse was the big story, the core of our success continues to be our on-the-water activities. Our racers were active not only in Solomons but elsewhere. Barney Hathaway won the Catalina 27 Nationals. Over 70 of our members participated in club cruises and others, such as the Trossbachs and their transatlantic crossing, continued to show the burgee around the world.

1991 - This season began a little differently than usual, with beautiful weather for Opening Day. Administratively, a much needed By-Law revision was made. Members of our J-24 Fleet were represented at three major regattas held up and down the East Coast. Karen Raley was named an All-American Sailor for her efforts with the St. Mary's College Sailing Team. The Governor's Cup had the usual good showing of SMSA racers and was highlighted by Tigress winning one of the most competitive classes in the regatta. SMSA assumed the complete responsibility for the Race committee and scoring of the Governor's Cup, the largest race on the East Coast. Laura Van Dien won the Non-Spinnaker season trophy, the first woman to win a Season High Point award. Cruising was comprised of a two week cruise and three one week cruises, as well as many weekend cruises to closer destinations. The longer cruises visited Mt. Vernon, Philadelphia, Rappahannock, and Baltimore's Inner Harbor. The SMSA burgee traveled even further aboard Pathfinder on their cruise to the Dry Tortugas. The Junior Program continued to grow. Three repaired 420's and a hoist were added to the program and seven Lasers competed for Season High Point. SMSA secured a CBYRA sanctioned Laser event which exposed our Juniors to inter-club competition.

1992 - Outside the Bay, individual members continued to carry the burgee to distant destinations where it had never been before. New flags were adopted to recognize outstanding cruise participation, including a unique one for SMSA's only around-the-world cruisers, John and Lynne Walker. The race program took a big step forward with the acquisition of a dedicated race committee boat. SMSA took over full management of the registration, conduct of the race, and scoring of the Governor's Cup, the Bay's premier race and one of the Nation's largest. A violent thunderstorm right at the start and exciting weather along the way made it a memorable race for everyone. We continued to support the Yachting Solomons Race Week in everything from race committee afloat to social program management ashore. With this and the Governor's Cup experience, the SMSA Board of Governors authorized its CBYRA delegation to seek a race series of its own. The women's program presented some very interesting seminars and some of the toughest races sailed this year. SMSA hired a professional sailing instructor to run a Youth Sailing School during the summer. The quality of instruction and the benefit to those youths who attended were reflected in their performance in regattas both around and outside the Bay. Attendance was numerically disappointing but important lessons were learned. SMSA integrated and refined the By-laws changes enacted in 1991. One change was the term of office of the Association officers to reduce the long lame duck period after their election at the business meeting in September. The new BOG previously took office at the banquet in December. This was advanced to the scheduling meeting in November, at which time the Board Elect is expected to present its draft program for the coming year.

1993 - Cruising included a circumnavigation of the Delmarva peninsula by nine boats. The two week cruise went to Delaware Bay, Ocean City, and around Cape Charles. One day on the ocean was spent eerily groping through thick fog, but the navigation and radio coordination was superb. Solomons Marine Towing 9formerly Sea Tow], actually talked by VHF marine radio with the cruise leader. Some of our members, notably Hanks and Rollins, carried the burgee to far away places in the middle of the country and the Florida Keys. Hoopersville was 'discovered' by more cruisers this year. The race program produced good showings on the Bay and as far away as Italy where Clarke McKinney took and overall 6th place in the J-24 competition. Terry Wanner won his division in the Annapolis-to-Bermuda Race. A new venture was launched in the form of our multi-day regatta -- the Screwpile Lighthouse Challenge. It was ably managed by Gary Van Tassel, Clarke McKinney, and others. Once again, the Raleys and Van Diens organized a well run Governor's Cup. Our committee boat, SMSA, was used to start the race. We also continued assistance to all phases of the Yachting Solomons Race Week. In the Marcy Series, the two races on Saturday were fought in very brisk winds that would have challenged any crew. The Junior Program flourished under the hard working guidance of David Raley. Two school sessions were filled. More suitable boats for the very young learners were acquired.

1994 - A banner year! It started out with the Birthday Party a black tie event, with a significant increase in member attendance. Cruising was enjoyable with five 1000 mile awards and ten Happy Hour awards. Curt and Dottie Hamilton won the Cruising High Point Trophy. More previously untried destinations were added and many old favorites were revisited. The two week cruise stayed in the southern part of the Bay. Hoopersville has become a very popular Fall stop. The Junior program had a very successful year with the summer sailing school well equipped from the previous year's investments. David Raley did another outstanding job in preparing the schedule and getting recruits to participate. The Screwpile Lighthouse Challenge had a 40% increase in participation. This 3-day race series is being touted as a well run and enjoyable event. We expect the same growth in 1995. The Navigator's Cup was added. The Race Committee boat had new paint and floorboards and several members donated electronic equipment to improve race management. B-Law changes were initiated to clarify the two term limit on board members as being two consecutive terms and to clarify voting quorums and procedures. Rita Gerred was recognized as Member of the Year. SMSA mourned the passing of members Charlie Powers and Harry Youmans.

1995 - SMSA celebrated its birthday with champagne and dessert at Greenwell Manor. Another highlight on the social calendar was the Hawaiian rendezvous complete with island dancers. Cruisers flew the burgee up and down the bay with six boats travelling 1000 miles or more and eight boats accumulating at least 35 points. A custom, fiberglass boat was purchased for race committee. The racing program was strong with 42 boats competing. Attendance at the Screwpile Lighthouse Challenge topped 100 boats and Summer sailing camp offered two three week sessions to young sailors.

1996 - Another record breaker for the Screwpile Regatta with over 115 entries. The results of SMSA's greatest volunteer effort to date continues to pay off for the 4th year in a row. The Cruising program was as strong as ever, with seven boats getting high point awards and five receiving 1000 mile awards, including a would be racer (David Weir) who managed to accumulate over 1000 miles delivering boats for races during the season. With years end, and Russell Miller's crew limo at the Awards Banquet longer than ever (rumor has it there was a hot-tub in the back!), everyone reflected on a great season and prepared for the club's quarter century mark next year.

1997 - This was a very exciting year for SMSA. The Screwpile Lighthouse Challenge continued further enhancement its reputation as a premier racing event by garnering the CBYRA Handicap and Cruising One Design Race Committee of the Year Award. 1997 also saw the revival of the Small Boat Program with a Thursday evening program as well as three successful weekend regattas. Don Behrens was named Member of the Year in recognition of efforts in reestablishing this program. The Eastport race bought many challenges in the shear number of storms faced as racers headed down the bay. Cruising brought SMSA members to Greece for a two week charter cruise. Ron Spicuzza was awarded the Commodore's Trophy as the Spinnaker High Point Champion, while Rick & Terry Farman took Non-Spinnaker High Point honors, and Ken and Ellie Mowbray took Cruising High Point accolades. Jay and Mary Hanks were again presented the McGrath as the cruiser who showed the SMSA burgee in the most distant ports of call. All in all, an excellent year.

1998 - "SMSA Welcomes All Sailing Enthusiasm" is a great way to recap this years activities. With an enthusiastic Board of Governors, many of the programs took off including the Junior Program which brought Junior members into the Association for the first time in years. Adult Basic Sailing Training was offered for the first time and the interest was great. The sailing season was kicked off on a rainy opening day with a large attendance by SMSA members. SMSA was represented at the Hollywood Boat Show, Solomons Spring Launch, a Nautical Flea Market, and the Small Boat Program supported it's first Open House. The end of May brought the Dixie District Lightning Championships to the area and many Small boat sailors traveled abroad to race in their one design fleets. Late Spring brought about some exciting racing and a surprise squall brought down the mast of Jammin' during the Little Choptank Race. Publicity was also charged up and it wasn't uncommon to see SMSA in the Local Papers and the Washington Post. The Screwpile Regatta continued to bring in sailors from all over to race in the Southern Maryland waters. There was a last minute addition of a J-29 class start, reviving one-design racing in this very competive fleet. The races proved challenging for the race committees who were innovative trying to find wind in the hazy heat and for the first time, moved one course into the mouth of the river. SMSA cruisers were seen up and down the bay and beyond as 11 cruisers received the 1000 mile cruising award. The Parmentier's ventured out on their retirement but not before Al participated and won honors in the first Screwed Up Pile regatta where racers raced in SMSA Optimists. The Small Boat Program had another well attended Fall Invitational Regatta bringing boats from as far away as Ohio and North Carolina. The colder weather brought a slow down in the number of on-the-water events but not to the enthusiasm as 17 boats started in the Frostbites in November. The Annual Awards banquet showed Norm Dawley and "Pursuit" nearly stealing the show, Jim Young was awarded member of the year and Glenn Scott received a standing ovation as he was honored with the Spirit trophy. February started off on a sad note as SMSA lost a friend. Founding member, and designer of the SMSA burgee, Dr. William Boyd passed away bringing SMSA members together to mourn this significant loss. His memory will remain as a large part of where SMSA is today.

1999 - Adult basic sailing training was again offered to SMSA members and the community with some much needd assistance from the Coast Guard Auxiliary. The Vice Commodores Race/Cruise headed to St. Mary's College where a great time was had by all, especially those who competed in the FJs. The Screwpile Lighthouse Challenge was a huge success. A majority of the boats retired from the Governor's Cup Race due to lack of wind, but Rhumb Punch and Iretsu managed to hang in there and do well in their classes. The Fall Frostbites Series was 20-boats strong. The women's program got a boost when Maggie Weir's photograph appeared in the Washington Post as "Athlete of the Week." The end of August brought the Screwed-Up Pile Regatta and adult racers/cruisers competed in the club's OPtimists. At the awards banquet, Joe and Tracy Kubinec were awarded the first Small Boat Outstanding Hero Award for their efforts in the small boat program.

2000 - Boats headed to Norfolk for the millennium celebration with the tall ships. Norm Dawley's Pursuit went to the west coast to race and cruise for the most of the year. The Screwpile Lighthouse Challenge received accolades, includeing one of the ten best regattas in the country by SAIL magazine. SMSA sailors headed off to Key West for race week with two boats and crew populating thre boats in the J-29 class. Chardonnay won first-in-class in the Governor's Cup Race. The end of October brought heavy air and 18 boats to the J-29 Regatta in the Patuxent River. The Marcy Series brought a mixture of breeze and Kendra Palmer back out in her sailing shoes aboard Dan and Wendy Schneider's Joint Adventure. The mother/daughter team of Maggie and Peggy Weir won the Fall Women's Series, onboard FUBAR, with four first place finishes. The Washington Post carried an article on the junior sailing camp along with Michael Greenwell's photograph. Until that big blue boat appeared once again during the frostbite series placing well and fighting it out with Rhumb Punch who carried the top honors.

2001 - Solomons became an even more popular sailing/racing destination, as SMSA hosted the J-29 NAs, the Mobjack Nationals, and Albacore Nationals, in addition to our own heavy schedule of regattas. One-hundred and thirty-nine boats registered fro Screwpile and 129 made it to the regatta. Nine cruising skippers won 1K-mile awards, and nine won burgees and high point flags. At least 43 boats participated in the cruising program. Bill & Paula Moessner cruised abroad, came back and left again, all to earn the McGrath Trophy for distinguished cruising. At the end of the seaon it was announced that SMSA juniors would next year have the use of six FJs acquired by SMSF from St Mary's College, replacing the fired fleet of 420s. Terry Wanner was region I-III Hight Point CBYRA non-spin champion.

2002 - This year saw on of the most successful Junior Programs ever, as the SMSA Summer Sailing Day Camp hosted almost 80 young people. The pgoram was also able to replace the old crash boat with a new Carolina Skiff and moter, that is also used as a safety boat for a variety of small boat events. Screwpile continued to grow, and the regatta was written up in the national glossy Sailing Magazine. Mike and Willi McCarey and their Chardonnay won High Point Spinnaker honors in CBYRA region I-III. Eight SMSA boats won 1000 mile Cruising awards, while ten boats won cruising burgee awards. The Weir family donated a new trophy, the Cedar Point trophy, that is a replica of the dear , departed lighthouse. Its base is even made of wood coming from the lighthouse itself. Donna Maneely is the first recipient for leading Lickety Split to the highest ranking among SMSA boats in the Fall Women's series. The year 2002 marked SMSA's 30th Anniversary, and special comemorative t-shirts were distributed to mark the season.

2003 - The year started with the awards banquet at St. Mary's College followed in a few weeks with Rhumb Punch taking first in their class at Key West Race Week. From then on out seemed the weather had the most impact. February brought a blizzard followed by an entire season of rain, rain and more rain rounded out by hurricane Isabel in September. A bit of nice weather here and there with some comfortable cruising in June, a steady but still windy Screwpile Regatta in July, and more great cruising aon and off through labor day. The comfortable night of Governor's Cup brought Chardonnay a first in class with a barrage of other SMSA boats in close competition to the entire fleet. The junior program continued much success with full day camps and lettering high school sailors. Overall participation was down although maybe it was the competitiveness that brought great turnout in the race/cruise to Battle Creek. The small boat program was back at Bowen's Inn and seemingly affected by more days of less wind, impending rain and storms. The Small Boat Invitational was cancelled due to the impact of hurricane Isabel who brought more problems than weather and flooding with numerous power outages, and much debris in and out of the water. Some boats broke loose and caused others damage and even a mysterious ice machine showed up at Zahniser's. Many seemed to recover through October and into November with blue skies returning and bringing yet another great turnout for the Fall Frostbites and a somewhat peaceful end to the year.

2004 - This year's general election brought about a first at SMSA. Our newly elected Commodore, Shawn Stanley is the first Commodore to be a child of a past Commodore. This year also brought us a record 158 participants in teh 2004 Screwpile Lighthouse Challenge. This years Cruising High Point winner was Ron & Suzie Williams. On the racing scene, Pursuit Krugerrand, Synergy and Lickety Split took home most of the loot with Synergy picking up the coveted Commodore's Trophy. Once again we had a very successful Wednesday and Thursday Night Series as well as a flourishing summer camp and junior program.

2005 - The racing support fleet grew this year with the purchase of a second safety boat. The Proctor-Bailey Series Trophies were retired and replaced with the Frost-Goode Trophies. SMSA hosted a very successful National Championship for the Albacore fleet and Screwpile was hosted at Zahniser's Yachting Center for the last time. The Riddler came on the scene and walked away with not only the SMSA High Point award, but also the CBYRA Labrot Trophy for overall high point on the bay. On the Cruising front, eight one-thousand mile cruising awards were handed out and Gresh and Rene' Sackett were awarded the Happy Hour Cruising Trophy. The rumbe in the club was what to do next year when the clubhouse that we have occupied at Calvert Marina since 1989 will no longer be available for SMSA's use due to the long-expected development of the surrounding property.

2006 - Rhumb Punch battled big wind and finished third in class in the 2006 Key West Race Week. The SMSA Screwpile Race Committee was named "Best Race Committee for a Handicap Division Regatta" for their work at last year's CBYRA/Annapolis Race Week, and was invited to participate in the Annapolis portion of the Volvo Ocean Race. Changes to the by-laws were approved, changing Governors to Program Chairs and creating a Board of Directors, providing a more stable, longer-term leadership, and to allow more member participation. Week-long cruises were very popular this year. One followed the trail of Capt. Smith's 1608 voyage. Screwpile moved venue to the Holiday Inn Select, to provide more room and improved facilities for the world-class event. Twenty-five SMSA boats participated and several members received awards. The Junior program hosted an Advanced FJ Camp at St. Mary's College. A referendum was passed to raise dues and to enter a lease agreement on a new clubhouse. Rhumb Punch won an overall first in class at Charleston Race week and took first place in the J/29 NA Championships. The Small Boat Program hosted the 10th Annual Invitational Regatta. Joe Szymanski and Sandy Leitner donated perpetual trophies for High Point, Most Improved and Participation in the Thursday night races. In October, we moved into the new clubhouse in Solomons with lots of room for both social and sailing activities. Thirteen cruising boats achieved 1000-nm status, and seven went south to spend the winter in the islands. Stray Dog (1st), Foxtrot Corpen (1st), Little Latitudes (3rd), Synergy (3rd), Krugerrand (1st) and IRETSU (3rd) received awards for CBYRA racing.

2007 - Last year was our first full year in the new clubhouse on Main Street in Solomons. Through the hard work and dedication of many volunteers, numerous facility improvements were made to make it feel like a first rate sailing and social facility - we erected our flag pole, performed many upgrades to our gathering rooms, added several new parties such as the Cinco de Mayo and Kentucky Derby party, and continued our Friday evening membership socials. We acquired a liquor license and started cash operations of the bar in July. In January the Rhumb Punch crew, led by John and Linda Edwards, again represented SMSA in Key West with a class win and a 2nd place finish in the first ever PHRF National Championship, which was decided in a tie-breaker. In April, we hosted Gary Jobson for his discussion on "Championship Sailing". In early spring, High School sailors unwittingly brought much publicity to SMSA when the capsizing of numerous boats during a practice generated a rapid response from the DNR, the Coast Guard and the Navy. It was all covered by local news helicopters and on-the-scene reporters.
In July we hosted another successful Screwpile Regatta with a venue change to the Holiday Inn in Solomons, after many successful years at Zahniser's. The winds were great and the 100+ mostly SMSA volunteers produced 8 races and 4 nights of great parties.
Stovy Brown led a crew of high school sailors on his boat Age of Reason to a first place finish in the Governor's Cup.
Wednesday evening race participation was up with nearly 25 boats on the start line each week. Cruise program participation was again very good with a noted increase of many racers discovering the joys of cruising.
During the course of the year, SMSA sent many Race Committee personnel to numerous top-level regattas around the world: Key West Race Week, Miami Grand Prix Regatta, CBYRA Race Week (Annapolis), TP-52 Global Championships (Sardinia, IT), and the Special Olympics World Summer Games (Qingdao, China).
Joe Szymanski and Sady Leitner in Key Lime won the Small Boat Championship Trophy, Tom and Karen Attick in Splash won the SMSA Highpoint Award and Sarah Southworth in Krugerrand won the CBYRA High Point Award. Wayne and Sally Wilson in Virginia Dare won the Distinguished Cruising Trophy and Carol Smith earned "Member of the Year" honors for her support of nearly every SMSA program.

2008 - In January, it was announced that Linda Edwards, known to many as ‘Mama Punch’, was named US Sailing ‘Sailor of the Week’ for the week of January 2nd.
In late May and early June, two cruising boats, Virginia Dare and Reflections, completed a ‘round Delmarva circumnavigation.
In June, we teamed with Catalina 34 fleet 12 for a cruise to the Little Choptank. Air-conditioning was finally installed in the front room of the clubhouse, accomplished largely by the generosity of Donny and Jean McDougal, who donated an old central-air unit from their home, lined up installation contractors, oversaw the purchase of the air handler, and acted as site foremen during the installation effort! Other donations to the clubhouse came from Bobby Waldschmidt (light fixtures) and Susan Holt (programmable thermostat for the main room).
At a time when other large regional regattas saw falling attendance, SMSA’s Screwpile Lighthouse Challenge actually grew! Chairman L.G. Raley reported 141 entries, 23 more than in 2007. A spokesman from Mount Gay Rum said afterward that Screwpile was the only annual regatta they sponsor that saw an increase in participation.
In August, singer/songwriter Scott Kirby performed a concert at the clubhouse. Kirby is well-known for songs and stories about sailing and beach towns, and the SRO SMSA visit was the first time he had appeared in our sailing burg. Also in August, team dinghy racing came to SMSA in the form of the Hospice Challenge. The event, which included a casino night at the clubhouse, raised funds for several charities, including local Hospice organizations and the Rotary scholarship fund.
Don Behrens and Herb Reese went to Puerto Calero on Lanzarote, Canary Islands in October to help with RC duties running the 2008 TP52 World Championship.
A total of 46 boats participated in SMSA cruising events in 2008.

2009 - The Women’s Program was absorbed into the race and cruise programs. A new Training Program was created in its place. John and Linda Edwards were honored with the ‘Paul Washburn Award for the Love of the Sport’ at Key West Race Week. The award honors sportsmanship on and off the water.
SMSA took possession of a new RC Boat, a Kinnamon 32. SMSA hosted the Litening Class Dixie Districts in June. A new event, the Race/Cruise to Herrington Harbor, was instituted. Although there was no wind, the social aspect was a smashing success. The club began hosting monthly ‘Commodore Dinner’ pot-lucks in October. A total of 31 boats scored cruise points in 2009.

2010 - In a year that showed national decline is sailboat racing, SMSA did well. The Laser fleet grew from 5 boats (in 2008) to almost 20, and now races one-design. Thanks to the efforts of Jimmy and Kristi Yurko, we hosted the Buccaneer North American Championship Regatta in June, spanning 4 days with 33 Buccs competing in 12 races. The Yurko’s also introduced a Green Fleet Friday program, providing sailboats for both new and experienced sailors to have fun on the water every Friday evening during the summer. Screwpile was yet another success, hosting 116 boats in 11 classes. The Herrington Harbour Race/Cruise continued with good turn out and better wind than the first year. A total of 17 boats scored cruise points in 2010.

2011 - The SMSA July 4th Cruise hit the jackpot with fireworks; cruisers caught shows in three ports: St. Mary’s City, Crisfield and Solomons. Ninety-Four boats made it to the starting line of Screwpile. Although the numbers have declined, it is still one of the strongest regional regattas in the US. Jeff Moore and crew Jolie Homsher won the Buccaneer class at the Virginia Governor’s Cup dinghy regatta at the Ware River Yacht Club. Four SMSA Buccaneers went to the Buccaneer 18 North American Championship in WI, where Rob and Jenn Miller took 2nd in B Fleet. Dan Schneider sailed American Flyer in the Annapolis to Newport race. In August, the club survived an earthquake and Hurricane Irene. A new program, Port Events, was created by Hannah Schneider.

2012 - A small but active fleet of cruisers participated in 15 scheduled SMSA cruises during the 2012 season. An additional 7 boats participated in one or more destination cruises. The popular combined race/cruise to Battle Creek saw a wonderful turnout of 24 boats. Cruisers celebrated the Bicentennial of the War of 1812 at the Star Spangled Sailabration festivities in Baltimore with 40 tall ships from OPSAIL 2012. Our very own Screwpile Lighthouse Challenge Regatta remained strong, attracting the US Corsair Nationals. The Keelboat Race program successfully tried to raise participation numbers in weekend races by switching the ‘typical’ schedule around. John Herbig and his son Andrew attended the Buccaneer 18 North American Championships on Lake Champlain, VT; they won the “B” fleet championship, and are forever forward ‘banished’ to the “A” fleet. Our Port Events program continues to be a hit, bringing to our clubhouse comedians, singing pirates, a haunted house to scare wee ones, members as murder mystery guests, and mermaids with crabs, and much more to delight members, old and young alike! The size of membership did well, growing nicely by the end of the year.

2013: SMSA hosted it’s first ever Spinsheet Crew Listing Party at the clubhouse on April 14th. That summer marked a record year for the Junior program with an over-flowing enrollment of kids, helping to inspire many young bodies and minds, and to instill in them a love for sailing. The Smallboat racing program introduced the Sundown Series event. Listed here are some fun facts gathered about the program. One-hundred-fifty different people participated in the Smallboat program during the season. Twenty-eight official Smallboat events were held. As many as 20 boats participated in any given event.  The Cruise program scheduled 21 cruises, including several weekenders, a week-long cruise North, a week-long cruise South, and a month-long cruise to Long Island Sound. A couple of the weekenders were cancelled due to threatening weather. In addition to visiting many favorite anchorages, highlights of the season included cruising to Georgetown on the Sassafras River, cruising to Urbanna on the Rappahannock, and revisiting an old tradition of cruising to Crisfield during their annual Hard Crab Derby Festival. The popular race/cruise to Battle Creek included a respectable raft-up of 24 boats in cruise/party mode. The size of membership did well, growing nicely by the end of the year.

2014: It was a cold winter in Southern MD, producing a slightly lower than usual turnout for Spring Frostbite racing. Gary Jobson gave a wonderful presentation at the club in March to a packed and enraptured audience. In May, SMSA hosted its second annual SpinSheet Crew Listing Party, presented by Miller Lite.
We purchased six International 420 dinghies from the Naval Academy to add to our fleet. Throughout the year they were put to good use in both the smallboat and junior programs, and available for member sign-out at any time.
Our annual Screwpile Lighthouse Challenge changed things up! The race dates shifted to Friday through Sunday, the strictly cruising fleet grew, and a one-day distance race involving all competitors drew lots of attention with a finish in the middle of the river, in view for all onshore.
Solomons was visited more frequently than usual by sudden micro-bursts and mini hurricanes/tornadoes during several Summer weeknight races, sometimes catching the entire fleet off-guard mid-race.
Facility improvements included new paint, bar stools, flooring, carpeting, and bar organization in the front room; and replacing the back yard T-dock, pier and piles with new materials.
Membership grew steadily to over 150 families by year’s end.