We are well into fall, but the days are still warm, and the sailing has been blissful lately! I spent a day volunteering at the American Legion Yacht Club, for the Bonnie Lou Gibson Memorial Sail for the Blind and Visually Impaired (SVI). This annual event is named after one of our very own founding members of Women’s Ocean Racing Sailing Association (WORSA) who sadly passed away at the start of this year. It warmed my heart to see so many of our members giving service at this event, including (but not limited to!) bringing their boats down from Long Beach to host the honored guests, setting up/breaking down the event venue, serving as crew on boats, serving breakfast and lunch, and guiding the guests to/from the boats and around the venue. I believe Bonnie would be so pleased with the level of our participation. I hope more of you will join us in volunteering at the event next year!
As you know, our annual election for Officers and Directors will take place at the next General Membership Meeting on November 8th. We provided all members with the candidates’ statements of interests last week, and you can access that information here. Please read to learn more about the candidates so you are prepared to vote. We will be voting electronically so that even if you cannot attend the meeting, you will have the opportunity to cast your ballot that evening, between the hours of 6:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. Be on the lookout for the voting link, which will be sent to you via email that day.
Wishing you fair winds and following seas.
The days may be getting shorter but our fun on the water is still going strong! Last month we had our second annual WSA-OC sailing class at Westwind Sailing in Dana Point. Diane Wenzel (the head of Westwind and a WSA-OC member) introduced everyone to their 14’ boats and gave a great lesson on how to sail them, complete with whiteboard diagrams and hands-on rigging of the boats. Then we all headed out on the water for some fun sail time!
Our final on-the-water event for the year will be our first ever WSA-OC Duffy Poker Run on Sunday, November 12th in Newport Beach from 9:45 AM – 12:00 PM. We are so excited to bring you this fun event! Participants will board a Duffy boat from one of three locations in Newport Beach and cruise around Newport Harbor, stopping at various locations to pick up a card to add to their 5-card poker hand. We will meet back at the American Legion Yacht Club after disembarking our Duffy boats to hand out fun little prizes to the winners! For those who wish to have lunch afterwards, we will order off the menu at the Legion. The cost is only $35 to participate (not including lunch). The sign-up link has been emailed to current members and posted in our Facebook Members-Only Group.
November 5 - Daylight Savings
November 8 - General Meeting
Location: NBYC
Time: 6:30 HH, 7-9 Meeting
November 11 - Veteran's Day
November 12 - Duffy Poker Run
November 13 - World Kindness Day
November 15 - National Philanthropy Day
November 19 - Stand Up to Trash/ America Recycles Day
November 23 - Thanksgiving
November 24 - Black Friday
November 27 - Cyber Monday
NOVEMBER RACING CALENDAR
BCYC
November 12 - Hot Rum Series 1 & 2
LMVYC
November 12 - Turkey Regatta
NHYC
November 4 - St. Cicero Trophy Race - Lehman 12
November 5- Winter Series 1/4
November 18, 19 - Jean Schenck Memorial 2k Team Race
SSYC
November 18 - Turkey Regatta
November 19 - Sunday Sailing Series - Race 3
Our November General Membership Meeting will find us back at the Newport Beach Yacht Club, at the corner of Bayside Drive and Jamboree. We will meet in the Docksider Room downstairs, and there is a full service non-hosted bar, outside patio, and valet parking.
Our guest speaker, Tom Noto, will provide an overview of how ocean navigation tools and procedures have developed over time, including a brief discussion of celestial navigation using the sun, moon, planets, and stars. Today, we are very fortunate to have electronic navigation systems that allow us to determine where we are and where we are going with an accuracy measured in inches. But let’s say you are an enterprising young captain in the late 1400’s, eager to establish that it’s possible to reach the silks and spices of the Indies from Europe by sailing westward rather than trudging eastward over land? How would you find your way? Come to our November 8th General Membership Meeting to hear Tom explain!
Tom is the current Commodore of South Shore Yacht Club and a longtime sailor. He sails singlehanded to Catalina Island and carries a sextant on his sailboat (and even uses it occasionally!). This year, Tom and his crew on Pearl, which included WSA-OC Commodore Tammy Rones, took third place in the Newport to Ensenada Race.
WSA-OC’s December 6th Annual Holiday Party at the Newport Beach Yacht Club is right around the corner. The party will include a silent auction, and all proceeds from the auction will go towards funding our philanthropy programs. Please consider donating to help support WSA-OC’s philanthropic goals for 2024. In years past, members have donated ready-to-go themed gift baskets or contributed individual items to be included in a basket compiled by WSA-OC. Ideas include (but are not limited to):
Wine or spirits
Gift cards
Day trip on your boat
A night or weekend in your cabin or guest house
Boating equipment, books
Game basket
Movie basket
Date night basket
Spa day certificate
Pet basket
Coffee/Tea basket
Regift items from your stash at home
Does your company have swag to donate?
November Birthdays
Please join me in wishing a very Happy Birthday to those members born during the month of November 🦃🍁
11/2 - KT Reiter
11/3 - Vanessa Silvan
11/4 - Colleen Weeks
11/4 - Liz Drew
11/4 - Dawntrix Kerry
11/5 - Mary Winings
11/8 - Gail Palmer
11/8 - Aline Young
11/12 - Clare Kenney
11/14 - Candace Neesham
11/17 - Pat Rojek
11/19 - Vicki Patterson
11/24 - Darlene Smith
11/26 - Claudine Bachelor
11/27 - Charlie Ridge
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!!
I hope you have enjoyed this month's edition of The Whistle! Please visit WSA-OC's website,social media pages on Facebook and Instagram, and check your email inbox for up-to-date communications about all WSA-OC happenings, meetings, and events!
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 937, Dana Point, CA 92629, United States