Ahoy! Welcome to May! For those of you who are racers, you know this marks the start of the beer can summer race series in the local harbors.
In case you missed the last general membership meeting at Dana West Yacht Club, Sylvia Stevenson needed to step down as our Philanthropy Director. We greatly appreciate her efforts in the first few months of this year, including her coordination of our WSA-OC booth at the Festival of Whales this past March in Dana Point Harbor.
Per our bylaws, we voted on and installed our new Philanthropy Director, Jane Frisz. She has excitedly hit the ground running and we look forward to her contributions as a fellow board member. Thanks to all of you who voted (39% of our members, which is excellent voter turnout)!
May 1 - May Day
May 5 - Cinco de Mayo
May 5 - Stand Up to Trash - Endless Summer Film Festival + Beach Cleanup
May 8 - General Membership Meeting –
American Legion Yacht Club
Time: 7:00 pm (HH 6:30)
May 12 - Mother's Day
May 18 - Harbor Cruise – Newport Beach
May 27 - Memorial Day
‘May’ We Entice You to Sign Up for May’s OTW Event with Champagne Wishes and Charcuterie Dreams?
Weather, wind, and seas conspired against us, causing the cancellation of April’s OTW event. I promise we will make up for it with our May Harbor Cruise & Parade. Ladies and gentlemen, I invite you to don your cruising attire or new WSA-OC merchandise from the ShipStore and join in the festivities as we meander through one of our country’s most beautiful harbors.
Upcoming 2024 OTW Plans: Sat May 18th – Harbor Cruise & Parade – Newport Beach Sat June 22nd – Summer SAILstice – Newport Beach Thurs-Sun July 25th – 28th - Annual Trip to Catalina – Two Harbors
Thank you, Barbara Kelley, John Oddo, Mike & Penny Nelson, Jim & Candice Coleman, and KT Reiter for offering your boats for the April OTW event. We hope you will be able to participate in the May or June OTW events and come play with us in Two Harbors in July!
May 25, 26 - Around Catalina Island Race (w/ CBYC)
LIYC
May 11 - Opening Day
May 18 - Harbor 20 Adult Sailing Clinic
LMVYC
May 19 - South of the Border/Women at the Helm
NHYC
May 4 - Opening Day Race
May 5 - Opening Day
May 9, 16, 23 - Twilight Series -
May 18, 19 - Nash Spring Championship
May 19 - Weiss Series #3
SSYC
May 29 - Hibachi Series
26 miles across the sea may get you to Catalina, but 2,321 miles across the sea will get you from Fiji to Australia (with a slight detour for weather)!
Join our special guest and WSA-OC member Captain Brenda Highley at WSA-OC's May 8th General Membership Meeting to hear about her recent adventure crossing 2,300 miles of open ocean.
Brenda and her former Australian boyfriend and boat partner shared a two-week passage from Fiji to Australia that ranged from boring doldrums to harrowing storms. They also did a lot of sailing. 🙂 She will share her story and answer questions like: What did you do all day long? Is someone always at the helm? How do you sleep? Was it scary? Did you have enough food? Would you do it again? You don't want to miss this!
Happy May to everyone!! I want to thank everyone for the warm reception at our April meeting. I am excited and honored to serve as the Director of Philanthropy for WSA-OC!! As most of you know, we have two amazing events planned for August and September.
On August 10th, we will host Adventure Sail and will welcome 10-15 young girls from the Boys and Girls Club of San Clemente. This event is 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 making it to the water must be overcome.
On September 21st, Women in the Wind will take place. We partner with another nonprofit organization in our community, Soroptimist, which supports women who are experiencing 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. They are empowered by women skippers and crew mastering a sailboat and taming the wind. 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 May:
Leah Shubin May 1st Genille Lauren May 8th Susan Campbell May 15th Sarah Judd May 21st Amber Ajluni May 22nd Barbara Kelley May 22nd Roberta Wilson May 23rd Robin Marshall May 25th Suzanne Burk May 30th
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
Get Your WSA-OC On!!
Grab items from our store and show off your pride as a member of WSA-OC! Come to our next General Membership meeting to grab some of our new inventory!!
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 ourFacebook Members-Only Groupand 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.
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 should contact commodore@wsaoc.org at least one week in advance, where possible, to make a request
Women's Sailing Association - Orange County, PO Box 11041, Costa Mesa, CA 92627, United States