As our year comes to a close, it’s time to reflect on our past year with WSA-OC.
When we started the 2022 year, we were coming off the heels of two difficult years due to the pandemic. At my first board meeting, I said we have one major goal for the membership – to have FUN. We have one major goal for Philanthropy – FUN. Everyone needed to feel the freedom of the sea and renewed camaraderie. I hope we delivered for you!
Our General Meetings were infused with great speakers, educational information, fun fashion shows and lots of laughs! We had terrific On-The-Water events which included day sails, duffy outings, the annual Catalina trip and even sailing lessons in partnership with West Wind Sailing. We leveraged our reciprocal benefits with Pop-up events at Yacht Clubs, such as trivia night at Dana West Yacht Club. Members utilized the benefit to experience yacht clubs during their summer travels and performed burgee exchanges! We gave smiles to many in need through our Philanthropy efforts which included Women in the Wind, AdventureSail® for Girls and our community participation in events such as Dana Point’s Festival of Whales and environmental support in concert with Stand Up To Trash. We embraced our power boat sisters who learn new skills from our proficient sailors and to share experiences that make us better boaters overall. Special thanks to our boat-owner members who regularly share their vessels and expertise for all of these events.
Behind the scenes, your 2022 Board worked hard to improve the systems that support our organization. We set out to reduce costs and complication in the systems we use for the club. We built-out the HubSpot system to better support membership communication and management of our records; we cut-over to Google for Non-profits to leverage the email integration with HubSpot and all of the applications they provide to enterprise organizations – all at no cost to WSA-OC. We refreshed our website to enhance our footprint and attract new members to join us! Lastly, we launched a sponsorship drive to enable businesses and individuals to support the mission of WSA-OC so that we can improve and expand on the mission of education and philanthropy that is so foundational to our club.
I want to personally thank your 2022 WSA-OC Board for their great efforts throughout the year – please thank and recognize: Tammy Rones, Vice Commodore; Debra Osborne, Rear Commodore; Colleen Weeks, Philanthropy Director; Julie Erikson, Membership Director; Sandy White, Communications Director & Ship Store lead; Leslie Christiansen, Secretary; and Darlene Smith, Treasurer. I also extend thanks to our Jr. & Sr. Staff Commodores KT Reiter and Lisa Cullinane respectively, for their advisement and keeping the continuity of history alive in the board activities. We will formally pass the mantle to the new 2023 WSA-OC Board in January, and I wish them great success and continued evolution to make WSA-OC better and better for our members and community.
Happy Holidays to all and wishing you a very Happy New Year!
At our November membership meeting I reminisced with a slideshow of photos from all of the on-the-water events we had this year; to recap:
We kicked off with a red-themed Love of the Sea sail in Dana Point in mid-February. Sadly, our May sail celebrating Women on the Water was cancelled due to weather, but we rallied in June celebrating Sailstice with our “sea-sters“ around the world! July found us back in Catalina for our annual 4-day gathering. October had two events, our annual Witchy Women paddle (both in DP and NB), and our first-ever Intro to Sailing class in partnership with Westwind Sailing. Finally, we closed the year with our Duffy Toddy Challenge in Newport Beach. You’ll be getting an email in December with recipes from that event, in time to share a new drink with your friends and family for the holidays!
I wish to extend a special thank you to the skippers who volunteered to share their boats with us this year: Rose Henigman, Barbara Kelley, Lori Romano, Barbara Lawler, Kathy McGraw, Lisa Cullinane, Suzanne Burk and Russ Brown; without them, these events would not have happened!
At the November meeting we voted, both in person and online, for our 2023 Board of Directors at this meeting. I congratulate Leslie Christiansen (Secretary), Penny Marshall (Treasurer) and Lindsay Steinmetz (Communications Director) on their selection and I look forward to working with them and the entire Board in the new year!
December 3rd - Let's Hug Day
December 4th - National Cookie Day
December 7th - Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day
December 7th - Holiday Party
South Shore Yacht Club
1099 Bayside Drive Newport Beach Ca 92660
Doors Open: 6:30pm
December 13th - St. Lucia's Day
December 18th - Hanukkah
December 21st- Winter Solstice
December 23rd - Festivus
December 25th - Christmas Day
December 26th - Kwanzaa
December 31st - New Year's Eve
BCYC
Deember 11 - Hot Rum 3 & 4
BYC
December 4 - Sunkist Series (2/4)
Intro to Sailboat Racing
Location: BCYC
Date: January 21, 2023 Time: 9-11 AM
A FREE seminar – open to the public.
Provided for beginners or someone interested in racing
An introduction to sailboat racing…this 2-hour seminar covers the terminology, the “rules of the road”, how to prepare, where and when to start, and how best to sail the course. Presented in a simple format with many images for easy understanding. Ask lots of questions.
Presented by Paul deCapua, BCYC Race Committee Chair
Provide support to NOSA Officers and Directors. Approximately 300 hours/year. Work from home, preferably north Orange County. Field phone calls, emails, and mail. Light bookkeeping (Quickbooks), computer literate, monitor race entries, customer service with racers, interface with PHRF, knowledgeable of sailboat racing.
Our general meetings have come to an end for 2022! But don’t miss our Holiday party to round out the year!
I hope to see you at 6:30 pm on Wednesday, December 7th at South Shore Yacht Club (SSYC) on Bayside Drive in Newport Beach. We’ve got a fabulous party planned for you. We’ll have a lovely buffet dinner and sounds from the Newport Beat! We have a lot of great auction items to bid on and we’ll be raffling off our cool centerpieces! I hope to see you there!
To summarize a few of our favorite general meeting speakers, we learned about boat safety from a USCG Auxiliary Member. We learned from one of our very own members, and former Commodore, what it’s like to crew on a race boat in the Newport to Ensenada race…and WIN! We heard from the King & Queen of Redonda who delivered a presentation on their circumnavigations. King Michael even knighted the Bridge Officers and made us all Dames. We were also invited to tour the beautiful vessel known as Traveler! We learned about skincare and sunscreen and received wonderful goodie swag bags for those in attendance! We heard from the youngest Commodore of one of the oldest Yacht Club’s in Newport Beach. We learned how to obtain a captain’s license and how to parlay that into a second, or third, career!
I know our incoming Rear Commodore, Julie Reynolds will have some great presentations lined up at our general meetings for the new year and I, for one, look forward to what’s in store for 2023.
I hope you all had some fun, laughed, learned some new things, and enjoyed the camaraderie of your fellow members.
It has been my honor and pleasure serving as your 2022 Rear Commodore and getting to know you all and I look forward to continuing to get to know you better as we spend more time together in the coming year at meetings and on the water events.
Happy Holidays!
As we wind up 2022 I am so pleased with all the opportunities we have had to support our community and with the way members have joined together to make each event a great success.
In August we joined our national organization NWSA and hosted the AdventureSail® for girls. Three of our skippers shared their boats; Rose Hennigman/Bella Rose, Suzanne Burke/Perfect Day, Barbara Kelly/Bonnie Doon, as we took a group of girls and volunteers from the Boys and Girls Club of San Clemente out for a day sail. The girls were treated to a knot tying lessons and blessed with lunch and gift bags of donated items from WSAOC members. These girls were showered with love and attention and given the opportunity for a sailing class scholarship.
September was the Women in the Wind event where we partner with Soroptimist Club’s of Huntington Beach group for women who have experienced hardships such as addiction, homelessness, human trafficking, health, and other challenges. These women were offered a day on the water to experience the same freedom and joy we receive from the sea and the empowerment from mastering the wind. We took a group of ladies out in Newport Harbor on boats shared by Rose Hennigman/Bella Rose, Barbara Kelly/Bonnie Doon & Lori Romano/No Ka Oi. The reward was the joy on our guests faces when they returned to the dock and the expressions of appreciation. A specific mother/daughter team with a particularly touching story were so thrilled with sailing they were offered a scholarship to our on the water Beginners Learn to Sail event.
As lovers of the sea we know how a day on the water can change our outlook, give us peace and empower us when we feel low. As WSA-OC members we have an unusual opportunity to share our gifts with those who may not otherwise have the opportunities and blessings we have. Thank you to everyone who participated in our philanthropic events this year, by buying raffle tickets at meeting, donating to gift bags, helping with events or sharing boats. None of this would be possible without you (and we had fun and made friends doing it!).
I am already planning for 2023 to be even better! Keep an eye out for opportunities to participate in philanthropy or get in touch with me. You’ll be glad you did.
Get Your WSA-OC On!!
Why not give the gift of WSA-OC swag to your favorite member for the holidays. Grab items from our store and show off your pride as a member of WSA-OC! Click below to grab some of our newer inventory!!
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.
WSA-OC is committed to providing reasonable accommodation in its programs and activities for individuals with disabilities. Those who require a reasonable accommodation need to contact commodore@wsaoc.org, at least a week in advance, where ever reasonable practicable.
Women's Sailing Association - Orange County, PO Box 937, Dana Point, CA 92629, United States
