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Chatting With The Commodore
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Melanie Green,
WSA-OC Commodore |
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Teamwork
Our local NHL team, the Anaheim Ducks, have made the Stanley Cup playoffs! Sadly, they're on the brink of elimination. Regardless, they couldn't have made it this far without great team effort. I can personally relate, for to me WSA-OC spells some of the finest teamwork. There truly is no "I" in team especially within our group. We have such an amazing team at WSA-OC from our flag officers and directors, and all our committee chairs and volunteers. This also extends far into our ultra-active and supportive membership.
One of my favorite things about being a part of this association is learning more about my fellow sailor sisters and brothers. Whether we are out on a day sail, hosting a meeting or cruising in a regatta it's a true opportunity to bond and grow together. Part of that is evaluating and accepting your teammates strengths and weaknesses and then determine how to best work together ... to create an even better and stronger team!
Some upcoming opportunities for you to join and foster that team spirit include:
☸️ April 22 Duffy Cruise
☸️ May 1st General Meeting "May Day" Radio handling
☸️ May 19th Safety at Sea on-the-water event (more info to come)
☸️ Community Service Committee
As you know our passion is to give back to our communities. We are in the process of ramping up our Community Service Committee and are looking for volunteers to assist in several capacities: We'd love to initiate an effort to benefit local youth sailing programs and need someone to lead this initiative; we are also looking for teammates to join our 2018 SVI planning committee.
SVI aka Sail for the Blind & Visually Impaired is not only our largest charity event; it's our signature event co-hosted by the American Legion Yacht Club. This year's event will take place on Saturday, October 6th in which over 300 visually impaired guests enjoy a day of sailing in Newport Harbor. It is truly awe-inspiring! I know that seems far away, but the six month time frame will be here before we know it. Heck, it's already mid April. 
If you are interested please contact me. I also welcome any feedback and suggestions anytime! Drop me a line and let me know how we're doing!
Thank you all for being a part of this wonderful WSA-OC TEAM!
Sails Up!
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May Day Means Mayday at WSA-OC
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Join Us to Learn How to Properly Call a Mayday
It's May Day and what better day to learn how to call a MAYDAY! Are you ready in case of an emergency? Do you know how to radio for help? You will after tonight. First we'll be taught - by Carl Chiverton from Boat Services, Marine Electronics - how to operate the VHF radio, how to actually make a call, what information to provide in what order, and much more. Then we'll work in groups to practice our newfound skills in a fun and interactive workshop. Don't miss this opportunity to make yourself and your crewmates safer on the water! You definitely don't want to miss this meeting. You never know when you might need to utilize this information in a life or death situation!
⛵️ Tuesday, May 1st
⛵️ 6:30 - 7:00 p.m. Social/Happy Hour
⛵️ 7:00 - 7:30 p.m. New Business & Announcements
⛵️ 7:30 - 9:00 p.m.
May Day! MAYDAY!
24707 Dana Drive
Dana Point, 92629
949.493.9493
⛵️ We will also have light refreshments, including beer and wine, available. A nominal donation of $3-$5 per person is requested to support the refreshment fund.
⛵️ Meetings are open to all members, their guests and any member of the public interested in learning more about the WSA-OC.
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April Meeting Full of Fun, Laughter & Learning
Our April meeting opened with a half an hour to socialize, grab a drink, some nosh and peruse our new WSA-OC logo merchandise. Melanie opened the meeting and offered a special greeting to the many guests in attendance. She also announced a fun Earth Day inspired month-long contest; a competition to see who can collect the most balloons "in the wild." They can be retrieved from the ocean or land. All you have to do is upload a photo of yourself or other WSA-OC members to the album
"April 2018 Balloon Retrieval Challenge" on our members only Facebook page collecting the trash, which it totally is. Now, we just need to convince everyone that #BalloonsBlowDontLetThemGo!
After announcements from the other committee chairpersons and a short break, which included selling 50/50 raffle tickets we got started with the main event, a rousing game of Heads Up!
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Team
5 trying to come up with the answer "whales" based on the laughter we're guessing they were unsuccessful or giving inappropriate guesses.
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Brenda Highley and her team created a sailing version of the game in which everyone in attendance was randomly assigned to one of five teams. The teams had the following categories to choose from: Cruising, Mother Earth, N2E, Racing, Day Sailing and Safety. The game is simple, one person gives clues to the others - without using any the actual word or words - who have to guess the word. The team with the most points wins. Easy peasy. The competition was fierce and hilarious and may have included a swear word or two and a non-PC clue. After going several rounds Team 4 came away with the win and their prize? WSA-OC/OAC Klean Kanteen water bottles.
To close the meeting we drew for the winner of the 50/50 raffle and the lucky person who won, a guest of one of our members, took home $98.50. The other half of the pot will be used to offset future WSA-OC programming.
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As Always, Ya Gotta Regatta
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Our Cal 20 regatta on March 25th was a huge success and a whole lotta fun! The event was completely filled, so much so that several of the boats had a crew of four, instead of the ideal number of three. Oh well, in the wind we had having more bodies aboard was not a hinderance!
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A group shot of everyone who participated in our Cal 20 Regatta
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Our informal regatta was a mini version of an actual regatta, such as N2E. A 'Notice of Regatta' was sent out to all participants prior to the event, a skipper/crew meeting was held to review the notice, provide the race course(s), scoring, starting sequence, checking in with the race committee boat, etc. Of course the most important aspect of any race or regatta is receiving an award for your win, place or show! We had those too. We also conducted a 'Chalk Talk' of some of the basic sailing and racing rules, such as: rules of the road, race rules, starting and upwind/downwind sailing tips. After the classroom portion of the event everyone enjoyed a lunch provided by WSA-OC, received their boat assignments and proceeded to their boats to rig them for the day of sailing.
Speaking of the wind ... some say it was only 10 knots, but we think it's safe to say that it was probably closer to 15. In wind like that, all of you new to racing really got a sense of the need to react quickly when the skipper gave a command. Not only did the wind make us move fast - in the boat and across the water - it made for some very sore muscles the next day. We heard a lot of griping on Facebook. Time to hit the gym ladies! Haha, just kidding. Sorta.
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Congratulations to our 1st Place team
L-R: M. Green, C. Ridge, S. Smigel and R. Scott
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We had five races scored by the 'low point system.' For example eight boats raced, the 1st place boat received one point the 8th place boat received eight points, et al. The results were cumulative and there were no throw outs, every race counted. And the winners:
1st Place ~ Skipper: Risa Scott Crew: Melanie Green, Charlie Ridge and Shelly Smigel
2nd Place ~ Skipper: Debbie Kraemer Crew: Sharon Baker and Nikki Schultz
3rd Place ~ Skipper: Loryne Schamber Crew: Tracy Gallucci and Robbie Smith
Special thanks to the following people for putting the regatta together, it's not an easy task. The Race Committee: Stephen Ashley, Steve Falberg, - and his boat Arriving for serving as the RC boat - Doug Green and Wayne Wallace. Karen Pacella and Risa Scott for coordinating and lastly, but not at all leastly, the Shoreline Yacht Club Sailing Foundation's use of their eight Cal 20's.
If you are interested in learning to sail or want more time on the SYCSF Cal 20's registration is now open for both beginner and advanced classes (see flyer to right).
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On the Water: Safety at Sea
In an effort to more closely align our May meeting content with our on the water event, we are postponing the previously scheduled Raft Up in Newport Beach. In lieu of the raft up, we will be holding a Safety at Sea event.
The SaS event will take place in Dana Point on Saturday, May 19th. We apologize for the late notice, but the more we thought about it the stronger we felt that our events should be at least somewhat related. We will have detailed information, including time, cost, etc., available to you within the next week. The info will be posted on our website, Facebook page and your email inbox. This will be the perfect follow-up to our
May Day! MAYDAY
meeting. Hope to see you on the water with us!
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| Mark Your Calendars Now! Upcoming 2018 WSA-OC Events* |
WSA-OC and affiliate events* have been tentatively planned for all of 2018. However, just the events for six months out are listed below. 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 various WSA-OC online outlets. 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. Cancellations made within 48 hours of event cannot be refunded.
Questions? Email us at
[email protected]
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May 13th ~ ~ Sea Gals
May 19th ~ ~ Safety at Sea
June 9th ~ ~ DPYC Spring Series
June 10th ~ ~ Sea Gals
June 23rd ~ ~ Summer Sailstice Day Sail
July 3rd ~ ~ NO GENERAL MEETING
July 15th ~ ~ Sea Gals
July 27th - 29th ~ ~ Catalina Weekend with LB WSA
August 19th ~ ~ Sea Gals
August 25th ~ ~ Full Moon Sail
September 4th ~ ~ General Meeting
September 8th ~ ~ TBA
September 9th ~ ~ Sea Gals
October 6th ~ ~ Sail for the Blind & Visually Impaired
October 12th - 14th ~ ~ LEMWOD
*Subject to change
Black = meeting | Pink = on-the-water | Green = OSeas | Orange = affiliate event
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Affiliate Organization Events & Member Announcements
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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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Want to have more time aboard Shoreline YC Sailing Foundation's fleet of Cal 20's? Well, now you can.
Every Tuesday beginning on May 1st and ending on August 28th SYC will be holding their Cal 20 Taco Tuesday Races. The requirements:
➾ Be ready to race
➾ Be on the dock at 5:00 p.m. SHARP
➾ $10
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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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⛵️ REGISTRATION NOW OPEN ⛵️
Sea Gals is back for 2018! Register now for one or all five 2018 events. All events will be held on Sundays from noon - 4:00 p.m. and will cost $50 per event. Click on the above link for additional information and to register.
Sea Gals events will be held on the following dates:
May 13th
June 10th
July 15th
August 19th
September 9th
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Once again Aventura Sailing Association is offering current WSA-OC members generous discounts for their classes and/or membership. Click on image below to expand.
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| Aventura 2018 WSA-OC Discounts |
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We're still on a roll with new memberships.
Thanks to all of you for being wonderful
WSA-OC ambassadors.
Welcome to our newest members:
Phyllis Anderson
Carol Harrison
Happy Sailing!
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New Items Are Here!
The Ship Store has some fabulous new merchandise, for both women and men, available for purchase.
Buy now, so you're outfitted for our next event or your walk around town!
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| The Ship Store is open 24/7. Our logo merch makes great gifts |
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).
We will accept and distribute your personal items at our general meetings. Your items will be sent out on a quarterly basis.
The schedule is as follows:
Mtg. Bring - Mtg. Receive
Jan/Feb - Mar
Apr/May - June
Jul/Aug - Sep
Oct/Nov - Dec
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It's Time to Recruit for LEMWOD 2018
The Race Team Committee is currently recruiting for a 2018 LEMWOD team. The requirements to be considered for the team include:
✓ Race experience
▻ 5+ years
✓ Agility
✓ Strength
✓ Catalina 37 experience
✓ WSA-OC membership
The OSeas will be chartering their own boat during the Sea Gals events (see below left, for dates) which will be utilized for tryouts and practices.
Stay tuned for additional information that will include: registration, cost and all other details. In the meantime, if you have any
questions, please email us.
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Next on the Schedule
Details Coming Soon!
⚓️ OTW: Safety at Sea on Saturday, May 19th in Dana Point
⚓️ Mtg: Cruising SoCal & Pre-Sail Safety Tuesday, June 5th 7:00 p.m.
⚓️ OTW: Summer Sailstice Saturday, June 23rd in Dana Point
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WSA-OC members (clockwise) Valerie Rhodes, Gabi Schwaiger, Brenda Highley, Melanie Green and Tracy Gallucci out for a day sail. Photo: Kevin Chang/Daily Pilot
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WSA-OC was recently featured in a Daily Pilot story about women sailors and the Newport Boat Show.
Check it out!
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Now's your chance to sign up for beginning and/or advanced sailing classes aboard the SYC Sailing Foundation's fleet of Cal 20's.
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⚓️ UPDATED: The following local area yacht clubs have extended guest privileges to current WSA-OC members. Specific privileges may vary by club, but typically include the use of: bar, showers, snack bar, guest docks, hoist and ramp (if available). Please call the yacht club you wish to visit in advance, for more specific details. Keep in mind, we are guests of these facilities and should act accordingly.
⚓️ Congratulations to Barbara Keeler, as she successfully completed the USCG approved 'Radar Observer (Unlimited)' course at OCC. According to Barbara "OMG ... this is definitely the toughest thing I've done in a looooong time."
⚓️ Here's to fair winds and following seas for all of our members participating in this year's Newport to Ensenada race! Stay safe and sail fast!
⚓️ Are you an Instagram user? Give us a follow, our username is @wsaoc
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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.
Since this Facebook Group was launched, about a year ago, it has gained a lot of traction and is very dynamic.
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Click on photo link to group.
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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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