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Chatting With The Commodore
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Melanie Green,
WSA-OC Commodore |
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Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!
I find it fitting to write this holiday greeting to you all while brining our Hawaiian style turkey and making cranberry conserve. Confession: I must admit that most of the cranberry conserve actually goes into more holiday cocktails than into the turkey dinner! But I digress. I love all the different traditions during this
festive time of year ... bring on the fun, the food, the family and friends! It's easy to get caught up into all the rush and running around, but I try to take some time to 'just be' and to enjoy the sights, sounds and smells of the season. No matter how or where you celebrate whether on a boat or on land, may you feel the warmth, support and love of family and friends this Thanksgiving. And let's not forget the most important part of all - to count our blessing of all sizes. I am so utterly grateful for so many things, all the blessings bestowed upon myself and my family, and my extended sailing family. My wish for all of you is one of love and laughter and I send my heartfelt thanks and gratitude to all of you!
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| Holiday Party, Last Day for Early Bird Pricing |
Join us on Tuesday, December 4th for our island themed Holiday Party and the last WSA-OC event of the year. The party will offer a little something for everyone, dinner; live music from the band Heartland; a silent action with proceeds benefitting
our newly established WSA-OC Scholarship/Grant Fund which will support young women and local organizations committed to doing work to foster a love of sailing and our ocean environment; and much, much more!
It's sure to be a great time and you don't want to miss it!
Come dressed in your favorite aloha shirt or floral dress and don't forget to accessorize! Current WSA-OC members may bring a guest.
⛵️ $40 per person
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Now through November 22nd
⛵️ $45 per person ~
November 23 - December 2nd
Tuesday, December 4th
6:30 - 10:30 p.m.
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On October 21st we were privileged to partner with the Anchors Aweigh Youth Sailing program and coordinator Midge Patrick, for their 6th Annual Barbeque and Regatta. We spent a fun filled, feel good day with 25 well deserving foster youth.
 The day began with a regatta where everyone was a winner due to very light winds. The afternoon was spent eating a delicious barbeque, playing games and loving on some happy, playful dogs.
The day ended with Susie Campbell giving a very motivational speech about life and the Ocean Awareness Challenge to the group.
We would again like to thank our land and boat volunteers for giving so generously of their time, donations and energy and a special hats off to those who chartered boats and drove boats down from Long Beach, Newport Beach and other locations. It takes hard work and dedication to put an event like this on and we could not do it without our dedicated members, boat owners, friends and family. Again, THANK YOU!
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Last On the Water Event of 2018: Two Thumbs Up
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Our last on-the-water event of the year, Brunch on Board, was a huge success. Can you believe it was our most popular event of the year? Perhaps the ol' adage is true ... we saved the best for last.
We had almost 40 people come out to enjoy each others camaraderie aboard six boats - one of which was chartered (thank you Deb)! The good news: the weather was great; sunny and warm. The bad news: the wind was meh and marine life decided to take the afternoon off. Regardless, we had a fantastic time sailing the waters of Dana Point conversing, eating and drinking and of course laughing. WSA-OC provided everyone with either a breakfast sandwich or a yogurt parfait, courtesy of Coffee Importers, and the ingredients for mimosas.
Afterwards we all gathered, including some non-members, at El Torito and kept the fun going by sharing stories and having more food.
Once again THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU to our boat owners and skippers for the day. Without you - Lisa Cullinane, Stan & Toni Flores (skippered by Gabi Schwaiger), Brenda Highley, Barbara Kelley, Karen Pacella and Debra Ray - our on-the-water events would not be possible!
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| All About Weather & Elections |
Our November guest speaker was Alex Tardy, Warning Coordination Meteorologist from the National Weather Service, which is a government agency under NOAA, the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration
. Sadly, Mother Nature didn't put on a show of greeting for all of us - like she did during his last visit with us two years ago - by literally providing thunder and lightening practically on demand. Oh well, his presentation was exciting and informative without the natural fireworks ;)
Alex's NWS office is in San Diego and serves Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and San Diego Counties. "The NWS mission is to provide weather, water and climate information for all of the United States, it's territories, adjacent waters and ocean areas primarily for the protection of life and property." The NWS is officially responsible for providing and issuing
small craft advisories, thunderstorm warnings, etc. There are three types of notifications they issue:
+ Watch = Watch out, something may be coming
+ Warning = Imminent threat
+ Advisory = Potential problem
Alex primarily discussed weather, how weather forms and how it effects us, what to watch out for, etc., not only as boaters, but as Southern Californians as well. Marine forecasts are extremely important. Here are three examples as to why:
+ More than 90% of goods imported to the US arrive via the ocean
+ 61% of fatal disasters aboard US fishing vessels were weather related
+ Over 77 million Americans are involved in recreational boating
As boaters here are the the three key things we need to be cognizant of:
1) Check the forecast and current conditions before you leave shore
2) Maximize the number of sources you have to obtain weather information
+ NOAA Weather Radio
3) Know how long it takes to get from your location back to shore
+ More than 30-45 minutes? May want to leave before warning issued
The following bullet points are a brief synopsis of the remainder of his presentation:
+ Extreme weather events are on the rise
+ Sixty nautical miles is considered a 'coastal waters forecast'
+ NWS monitors the weather and is staffed 24/7/365
+ There is no official NOAA app, but he highly recommends the following apps:
~ weather.gov is the best place to find NOAA information (most accurate)
~ FEMA app is the next best thing to an NWS app
~ RadarScope ($9.99) is the best weather app, according to Alex
+ The radar that meteorologists use is the same that the police use
+ 80˚F is typically the ideal water temperature for a hurricane to form
+ November - January is our peak fog season
+ Approximately 36 - 48 hours after Santa Ana winds = thick, "soupy" fog
+ A south wind, as opposed to a westerly, generally means an eddy is forming
Not only was it the nation's night for an election, it was WSA-OC election night as well, where we elected the WSA-OC Board of Directors for 2019. As no office had opposition and there were no nominations from the floor, Commodore Melanie Green, proposed the membership vote via acclimation. The members in attendance approved the slate with no dissenting votes voiced. The 2019 WSA-OC Board of Directors will be: Commodore, Karen Pacella
; Vice Commodore, Lisa Cullinane; Rear Commodore, Katie Reiter; Secretary, Laura McCaleb; Treasurer, Barbara Kelley; Director at Large - Membership, Vallerie Gonzales; Director at Large - Communication, Tracy Gallucci and Junior Staff Commodore, Melanie Green.
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LEMWOD 2018: The More the Merrier
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Congratulations to Team WSA-OSeas who competed in the
Catalina 37 fleet and Team Seasters in the Cal 20 fleet during the 2018 LEMWOD Regatta. The Cal 20 fleet was added this year due to overwhelming interest. Each class participated in a total of seven races over two days, October 13th and 14th. Team photos courtesy of Tracy St. John.
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| Front Row: Tracy Gallucci, Suzanne Schuler, Karen Pacella and Laura McCaleb. Back Row: Loryne Schamber, Deborah McDougal, Susan Carlé, Debbie Kraemer, Risa Scott, Brenda Highley, Coach Stephen Ashley and Valerie Rhodes. |
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| Vallerie Gonzales, Owen Provence and Tracey Brown |
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Team Oseas placed 9th overall and it wasn't the result they were looking for. However, the consensus was that the team really came together - and was the embodiment of the saying "There is no 'I' in team!" - which can be difficult when dealing with 11 strong women with equally strong personalities!
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Team Seasters, a combo team of WSA-OC and LB WSA members, and their crew of three had a much better overall finish - 3rd Place! Well done and
CONGRATULATIONS Seasters on your 3rd Place finish in the inaugural LEMWOD Cal 20 class.
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Mark Your Calendars Now!
Upcoming 2018/2019 WSA-OC Events* |
The following is an up-to-date list of WSA-OC and affiliate events* that we have planned for the remainder of 2018 and the beginning of 2019. More events and details will be added as planning continues and as the events get closer.
For more information, view our
All Events
page on the website. There, you will be able to read more detail about upcoming events, as well as additional events that aren't listed below. As each event gets closer, more details will also be provided via the WSA-OC social media accounts - Facebook and Instagram.
All of our on-the-water events are for WSA-OC members only, unless noted otherwise. Cancellations will be assessed a $5.00 fee to cover our credit card fees. No-shows or cancellations made within 48 hours of event cannot be refunded.
January 8th, 2019 ~ ~ General Meeting
February 2nd ~ ~ Sailing Convention for Women
March 5th ~ ~ General Meeting
*Subject to change
Black = meeting | Pink = on-the-water | Green = OSeas | Orange = affiliate event | Purple = community service
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Affiliate Organization Events
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The following are affiliate events that we have been invited to participate and attend. Please be sure to visit their websites or click on the hyperlinks to view additional information. Remember when attending affiliate events, you are doing so as a representative of WSA-OC.
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Mark your calendars now for two important dates:
December 10th
~ Early bird registration opens $200
~ Registration fee will increase in January
February 2nd 2019
~ Sailing Convention for Women at BCYC
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Great news! Sailing Pro Shop is offering WSA-OC members 15% off of your in store purchase or phone order. Includes regularly priced items only.
Stop by and support a small, locally owned business!
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WSA-OC and LB WSA have made a reciprocal agreement to welcome members from each group to attend the others monthly meeting. There is no obligation to join the other organization. However, participation in club events is restricted to members only, unless otherwise specified.
The LB WSA group meets on the 3rd Tuesday of the month, 7:00 p.m. at Seal Beach Yacht Club, in Long Beach
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Renew or Join Now!
Reduced Rates!
Limited Time Offer!
Can you believe it's already the fourth quarter? This means it's WSA-OC membership renewal time! Now through December 4th you can purchase your WSA-OC 2019 membership at a reduced rate.
We also have an option for new members or returning members who belonged prior to 2018. Please note that WSA-OC membership runs on a calendar year, January through December; there are no rolling memberships.
Current 2018 members can renew for $60. Will increase to $70 December 5th.
New members (anyone who is not a current 2018 member) can join for $85. Ineligible to purchase a ticket to the 2018 Holiday Party.
WSA-OC membership is a great value with a good return on investment. The following is a brief snapshot of what we've offered in 2018:
⛵️ Had eight general meetings
⛵️ Had eight on-the-water events
⛵️ One Holiday Party
⛵️ Donated close to $3,000 to sailing related charity
⛵️ Collected and donated clothes to Working Wardrobes
⛵️ Have partnered with AAYS
⛵️ Have had two events focused on environmental cleanup
⛵️ Have a race team, OSeas
⛵️ Have an active members only Facebook group page
⛵️ Created a committee dedicated to Community Service
⛵️ Hosted several Pop Up events
As you see, we've been very busy and plan to continue this trend in 2019. We hope you'll consider rejoining or joining WSA-OC for, a sure to be great, 2019!
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WSA-OC, without you and your continued support would not be the club we are today. Thanks to all of you for joining WSA-OC and believing in us and our mission.
Welcome aboard to our newest members:
Dawn Charlesworth
Denise Hongslo
Marc Hughston
Susan Mulcaire
Danette Perrotta
Lori Romano
Patricia Rankin
Sanford Simmons
David Veeneman
Barbara Wortham
Happy Sailing!
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NEW Fall/Winter
M
erchandise in Stock Now!
Limited Quantities!
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| The Ship Store is open 24/7. Our logo merch makes great gifts |
We have some fantastic new cool weather items in the Ship Store:
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Some of the new Fall/Winter WSA-OC logo merchandise
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Order online now to guarantee your purchase before it sells out! Items ordered now, can be picked up at our December Holiday Party.
Buy now
, so you're outfitted for our next event or your walk around town!
Add a
WSA-OC Logo to Your Own Items
If you have personal [fabric] items that you would like to have the WSA-OC logo embroidered on we can do that for you! The cost will depend upon number of items received, but will be between $10 -$15 per item
, which is the cost of application. For an additional $10 you can have your item personalized i.e. name, boat name, etc. (one line only).
Contact us for info.
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After all of the hustle and bustle of the Holiday Season settles down we will be kicking off 2019 with our first meeting of the year on Tuesday, January 8th. The location of the meeting is yet to be determined.
Please watch our website and Facebook pages for additional information about the program and meeting details.
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⚓️ As we mentioned in the August edition of The Whistle, our webmaster, Cheryl Gerrish, has left on a yearlong sailing adventure; which leaves us with a very important
behind-the-scenes role to fill. Please, contact us if you have the skills to maintain, update and make changes to a WordPress based website.
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Members Only
Facebook Group
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One of the perks of WSA-OC membership is accessing the exclusive
content that can be found on our private, members-only, Facebook group page. The page is very dynamic with a lot of member interaction.
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| Click on photo to link to group. |
Any group member can start a post, add photos, comment, etc. It is a forum for both official WSA-OC announcements and informal content. Friends have literally been made, crew spots filled all thanks to the easy, open communication between
members. As we've said before, "The more you put into this group [WSA-OC], the more you'll get out of it!"
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2018 WSA-OC
Board of Directors
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WSA-OC
Commodore
Melanie Green
Vice Commodore
Karen Pacella
Rear Commodore
Brenda Highley
Treasurer
Barbara Kelley
Secretary
Vallerie Gonzales
Membership Director
Cheryl Case
Communications Director
Valerie Rhodes
Jr. Staff Commodore
Risa Scott
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Newsletter Editor
Tracy Gallucci
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We held a caption contest, on Facebook, for this photo which was taken during this years LEMWOD Regatta. The winning caption, based on likes: "Does this kite make my butt look big?" by Estela Tejidor. She received a WSA-OC logo hat as a prize.Thanks to everyone who participated and to our bow person, Tracy Gallucci, for being a good sport and indulging us in some silliness. Photo Credit: Tracy St. John
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Women's Sailing Association-Orange County is dedicated to enriching the lives of women through expanded access to sailing-related activities and educational opportunities. WSA-OC is committed to preserving and protecting our oceans and contributing to our local community through on-the-water philanthropic activities.
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P.O. Box 937
Dana Point, CA 92629
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Copyright © WSA-OC 2018. All Rights Reserved.
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