Ahoy WSA-OC Matey’s! I can’t believe it’s July already! In addition to celebrating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, I’m looking forward to celebrating our annual Two Harbors, Catalina Island trip at the end of the month! We have a lot of new members, so it looks like we’ll have an even greater number joining us this year. Also, last year we invited our sister chapter, Long Beach Women’s Sailing Association, to join us, but they were in the process of regrouping after COVID so were unable to join us. This year it looks like they will potentially join us for one of the days, as they will be visiting a few island locations during the same time.
 
On a different but important note: As you should all know by now, WSA-OC’s proposed Amended Bylaws were successfully approved by voters and went into effect at our General Membership Meeting June 12th. All current members should have received a copy of the updated Bylaws via email prior to the meeting. If for any reason you did not and would like a copy of the Amended Bylaws, please feel free to reach out to me directly and I will promptly provide you with a copy.
 
For those not at the June meeting or who haven’t had an opportunity to review the changes, in addition to correcting some grammatical errors, they primarily consisted of adding and updating job titles/descriptions for the following positions: Rear Commodore, Communications Director, Philanthropy Director and Ship Store Director.
 
Should you have any questions, please reach out to me at commodore@wsaoc.org.
 
Fairwinds & following seas

July 1-7 - Clean Beaches Week

July 4 - Independence Day 

July 7 - Stand Up to Trash: Yoga, Beach Cleanup and Lunch & Learn - DP

July 10 - General Membership Meeting – NBYC

Time: 7:00 pm

July 25-28 - Catalina Island Extravaganza - 

Two Harbors

July 15-21 - Coral Reef Awareness Week 

July 21-28 - Shark Week 

July 30 - World Snorkeling Day

Thank you to all our boat owners and participating members for making the first half of this year’s OTW events fantastic. So far this year, we have celebrated Galentine’s and St. Patrick’s Day together, enjoyed our Newport Beach Harbor Cruise, and observed the annual Summer SAILstice. This means summer is finally here!
 
This also means it is time for our annual Catalina Island Extravaganza in Two Harbors aka “The Isthmus.” 

Your WSA-OC Commodore will ring in the event with a toast on Thursday evening as we salute WSA-OC’s 45th year. We have 50 members and 11 boats registered as I write this. Boat assignments will be completed this week, and Captains, Skippers and Crew can start preparing for provisions and party plans. Each boat will choose a theme with costumes, decorations, and fare for the Friday Progressive Appetizer party.
 
I wish you all a great summer. Get out on the water with friends and family. The Catalina trip will be a great opportunity to get to know your fellow sailors better, and WSA-OC meetings and events are always an opportunity to make new friends for life.

JULY RACING CALENDAR

ALYC

July 1, 8, 15, 22, 29 - Sundowners 

BCYC

July 9, July 16, July 23, July 28, July 30, - Taco Tuesday - Evening Series

DPYC

July 6 (with SLBYC) - Beach to Dana Point Race

July 11, 18, 25 - Thirsty Thursday Races 

July 20 - Dana Point Series #7

NHYC

July 4, 11, 18, 25 - Twilight Series 

SSYC

July 3, 10, 17, 24, 31 - Hibachi Series

July 13 - Crew of Two Around Catalina

WCYC

July 6 -  Single Handed Race

Our very own Membership Director, DJ Platt, is our guest speaker for our next General Membership Meeting on July 10th at Newport Beach Yacht Club.
 

DJ has a passion for sailing and water sports and is an experienced boat owner, skipper, sailboat racer, instructor, and bareboat charter cruising skipper. She began sailing in Dillon Reservoir in Colorado 25 years ago and has sailed and raced on various boats from trimarans and catamarans to monohulls, including her most recent race on a TP-52 racing sailboat.
 
She will share with us how the team prepared for and carried out planned strategies for the California Ocean Race Week 2024, the thrill of the high speeds reached on technical racing boats, and lessons learned from recent ocean racing. 

Happy July!!!  I want to thank everyone for the amazing donations we received for our upcoming AdventureSail for Girls event. This is scheduled for August 10th out of Dana Point Harbor. We are planning to welcome fifteen young girls from the Boys and Girls Club of San Clemente to experience a day at sea. This event was designed to foster the next generation of female sailors. We understand the importance of providing opportunities for sailing early, and we know that barriers preventing all young women and girls from these experiences must be overcome. We are currently finalizing commitments from our generous boat owners to help make this day possible. At our July General Membership Meeting, we will present the schedule for the day and request commitments from volunteers for set-up, daytime help, and tear down for the event. 
 
On September 21st, WSA-OC’s other annual philanthropic event, Women in the Wind, will take place out of Newport Harbor. We partner with Soroptimist, a non-profit organization that supports women who are experiencing hardships such as intimate partner violence, homelessness, health issues, or other life challenges. These women are in the process of healing and growth, and most have never experienced the healing that comes from being on the water. This event is designed to empower them as they learn from WSA women skippers and crew how to master a sailboat and tame the wind. We will begin collecting donation items to give to the women participating at this event in July and August. I look forward to working with all of you to make these two events a huge success.

Happy Birthday to Our Members

At WSA-OC, we celebrate our members’ birthdays by recognizing them in our newsletters and at our monthly meetings. We celebrate the following members with birthdays in July:

Candice Coleman: July 1
Mike Nelson: July 2
Penny Nelson: July 2
Cindy McNiece: July 4
Sana Talwar: July 7
Lisa Cullinane: July 9
Deborah Townes: July 12
Melinda Singletary: July 15
Mary Ann (Oz) Oman: July 16
Char Ramirez: July 17
Jennifer Burns: July 20
Marcia SanSerino: July 22
Janet Griebel: July 25
Jane Frisz: July 26
Cherie Faulds: July 27
Kathy McGraw: July 28
Sarah Sepulveda: July 30

Membership Auto-Renewal Process

During 2023, we announced a new process for renewing your membership. Great news: your membership will automatically renew on your membership anniversary date. There is no need to remember to renew manually. Now, you will receive an email two weeks prior to your membership anniversary date notifying you that the card we have on file from last year will be charged for the next year of membership. 

If you no longer want to renew your membership, you can opt out or cancel your membership and you will not be charged for the renewal. You can cancel your auto renewal membership and/or update your information such as your address, boat ownership, etc., by completing the form on our Existing Members - Update Information webpage

I hope you have enjoyed this month’s edition of The Whistle.

You can remain informed about all WSA-OC happenings and events by visiting our website, which includes our calendar of events and meetings. I update this calendar regularly when event/meeting organizers solidify details of dates, times, and locations. I also email all members at the address we have on file with the details of meetings and events (including links to sign up). If you miss an email, I post those details in our Facebook Members-Only Group and Public Facebook Page as well, so be sure to keep an eye out for opportunities to get involved. You can also find our past editions of The Whistle on our website if you miss the email I send on the 1st of every month.