As your out-going Commodore, I would like to thank all of you for your support of the organization and of the 2022 Board who worked tirelessly to provide you with experiences and connection throughout this past year.  I personally thank our 2022 Board for their work and for accepting direction from me to ensure we focused on FUN.  This was important to me for WSA-OC’s membership as a primary goal given that we were coming off of two years of restrictions due to the pandemic. I hope you were able to participate often and that we delivered a good round of fun for you. 

Another important accomplishment we delivered, was to update and renovate all systems that support the clubs operations.  We had some growing pains, but now have delivered on a new website, a new membership management system, an online voting environment and a host of backend enhancements that will make communicating with you, the members, better and better for years to come. 

Please be sure to join us at the January General Membership Meeting Wednesday, January 11th at Newport Beach Yacht Club where your new board for 2023 will be formally installed.  Please come out and support this installation meeting, as it is so important for the all-volunteer board to feel your support!  I personally want to wish the incoming board a tremendous year of success and making more FUN happen!! 

Thank you to all of you for making 2022 a wonderful year!

Everybody faces challenges but we don’t often stop to take stock of what we accomplished and how we grew as individuals. I have been doing just that over this past holiday season, and I would like to share with you what were my highlights:

We kicked off the year with a “Love of the Sea” sail in February, followed by the Cardboard Dinghy Dash in March (at the Festival of Whales, where WSAOC had a booth!).

In April many of our members attended the Sailing Convention for Women, and the following weekend we had our Spring Fling sail in Newport Beach.

Our May Sail celebrating Women sadly was cancelled due to poor weather but in June we all enjoyed the Summer Solstice, visiting at the docks long after our lovely sail had ended!

July was our annual Catalina Extravaganza, filled with pirates,
groovy chicks, “3-Hour Tourists” and margarita-pushing Aliens! We shared a Commodore’s toast, a progressive Happy Hour followed by dinner and dancing, a Beach Day and countless laughter. You’ll want to be sure to join us in 2023!
August was the first of our two major Philanthropic events, where we hosted disadvantaged girls for an Adventure Sail. They all received goody bags, hats and water bottles, and a sense of
empowerment when they had their turn at the helm.

Our Philanthropic efforts continued in September with our Women in the Wind sail, where the excitement of being on the water was
just as contagious!

October was jam packed with multiple events. We had our first ever formal Sailing class in partnership with Westwind Sailing in Dana Point, and then we had our WitchyWomen SUP/Kayak meet-ups in both Newport Beach and Dana Point.

We wrapped up our year on the water with a Duffy Toddy Challenge in Newport Beach, and all of you were sent copies of
the recipes we “taste-tested”.

It was my honor and pleasure to serve our club and you, our members, for this past year. I heard your feedback, and I appreciate all of it and look forward to serving you this year as your Commodore. 

January 11th - General Meeting

Location: SSYC Newport Beach

Time: 6:30 Happy Hour

   7-9 Meeting

January 13th - Rubber Ducky Day

January 21st - Rookie Regatta / Seminar

January 22nd - Lunar New Year

January 22nd - Backward Day

JANUARY RACING CALENDAR:

BCYC

Jan 22- Hot Rum 3&4

Get Your WSA-OC On!!

 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!!

Hats / Visors / Jackets/ Water Shirts

You can also access the Ship Store by visiting: 

WSA-OC ShipStore Online

Our annual Holiday Party was once again sold out and was a huge success! Thanks to Colleen Weeks and KT Reiter for their efforts on the Silent Auction and to Sandy White (Tracy White) and Stephanie Kasler for manning the door and raffle.  It's these folks and our member support who helped make the night a huge success! We raised almost $2,000 from our auction prizes. Thank you to all the donors, bidders, and attendees for making it such a success!

Our very first event is January 21st, 2023 in Dana Point and will be a combination seminar AND/OR regatta for anyone new or wanting to learn more about sailboat racing! 

Live (In-person) Seminar & Regatta is $60 and includes:

• Continental Breakfast(8am) / Lunch
• Basic Rules & Tactics Seminar
• Rookie Regatta & Post Race De-brief
  
• Trophy Presentations

The Seminar Only (also offered via Zoom) is $35 and includes:

Basic Rules & Tactics Seminar - 9:00 a.m. (in-person or via zoom)

You will learn racing basics in a fun and relaxed environment taught by North U. The instructive regatta will follow that afternoon.

Each participant will have access to the seminar recording and receives a copy of a Sailor's Guide to the Racing Rules!

Register here: ONLINE REGISTRATION

We have many new members; I hope you all introduce yourselves, if you haven’t already, and get to know each other.   A great way to do that is at our first general meeting of the new year at the Installation of officers and new board members on Wednesday, January 11th at Newport Beach Yacht Club. Join us between 5:30-6:00 pm if you’d like to have dinner prior to the meeting. Happy Half hour will begin at 6:30 pm and the meeting will start at 7:00 pm sharp!

It has been my honor and pleasure serving as your 2022 Rear Commodore and getting to know you all,

It’s a new year and we have so much to be grateful for!

The holiday party was fun, fun, fun and a great philanthropic success! The silent auction is a primary funder for our philanthropic activities throughout the year and we set a record of making a whopping $2,000.00 dollars! Thank you to all the generous people who donated to the amazing silent auction gifts which turned out to be over the top!!! Thank you and congratulations to the bidders and winners of these great gifts, you SCORED!!!

Upcoming philanthropic events:

• Stand Up To Trash January Sunday 8th , 9-11am Baby Beach & Ocean Institute Dana Point
• Festival of Whales is right around the corner on March 4th & 5th . We had a very successful booth and lots of fun last year and plan to do the same this year. Mark your calendars, save the date, more to come! It’s a WHALE of a good time.

Get involved and serve our community, it’s rewarding, and you’ll get to know your WSAOC sea-sters better. You’ll be glad you did.

WSA-OC Mission Statement