Sprucing up the Jewel / March & April Calendars
The busy rental season is about to begin. Please mark your calendars and plan to participate in the WRYC Clean Up Day. Scheduled for Saturday, March 28, 2020 beginning at 8:00 am . It is a great morning of fellowship and much needed “sprucing up” of our great facility inside and out. Bring yard tools if you prefer to be outside working. Lunch from Nuttall’s will be provided by WRYC.
Please continue spreading the word what a wonderful facility WRYC is.
Layne Brown
WRYC Rental Manager
Ware River Yacht Club Social Calendar for 2020
January 11 Annual Meeting and Dinner
February 16 Valentine Social (Host choice)
March 14 St. Patrick’s Day Social
March 28 Spring Work Day
May 2 Flag Raising/Derby Day
June 22-25 Junior Sailing Session 1 Week
29-7/2 Junior Sailing Session 1 Week 2
July 2 Junior Sailing Banquet
4/5 Independence Day Social (Host choice)
6-9 Junior Sailing Session 2 Week 1
13-16 Junior Sailing Session 2 Week 2
16 Junior Sailing Banquet
20-23 Junior Sailing Session 3 Week 1
27-30 Junior Sailing Session 3 Week 2
30 Junior Sailing Banquet
August 1 & 2 Governor’s Cup and Junior Regattas & Awards
September 5/6 Labor Day Social (Host choice)
October 3 Anchor on the Ware OR Oktoberfest
November 7 Oyster Roast
December 19/31 Christmas Social OR New Year’s Social (Host choice)
Wesley C Morck Award - Jeffrey Wettig
From L to R: Chris Smith, Scott Titus, Jeffrey Wettig, Joe Morgan, Jim Garrett
The WRYC has long been a way for sailors to get together and enjoy the sport of sailing in and around the Ware River, Mobjack Bay and lower Chesapeake Bay and tributaries. In recent years the club has increased efforts to make sailing accessible to as many people as possible. Adult sailing classes, the youth sailing program, the Sunday Sailing Series, and access to three keel boats make sailing very easy to access for club members and the community as well. Why then do we rarely see sailboats on the Ware and Mobjack? That and many other topics were taken up during a recent podcast interview featuring the Ware River Yacht Club.
At this year’s WRYC Annual Meeting, the 2019 WESLEY C. MORCK AWARD was presented To Jeffrey Wettig, host of the Shooting the Breeze Sailing Podcast. The Wesley C. Morck Award is presented in recognition of contributions to sailing on the Bay. Jeffrey’s podcast features interviews from a range of guests, but started as a way for Jeff to tell the stories of fellow sailors around his club, Hances Point YC on the northern Bay. Many of his episodes have featured sailing adventures on the Bay and serve to highlight local Chesapeake Bay sailors.
When Jeff was down at the WRYC to receive his award, he graciously offered to feature the club on his podcast. Joining Jeff and I were Joe Morgan, Jim Garrett and Chris Smith. Chris is a Gloucester resident and fellow podcast host from the Bonnie Boat Sailing Podcast. We were later joined by Jonathan and Erin Matthews. For a couple of hours, the group discussed everything Ware River Yacht Club. The conversation covered club history, the local sailing grounds and the future of sailing for the WRYC as well as the local area. One of the topics we focused on was continuing to make sailing accessible for all. Jeffrey has done the club a great service by publicizing all the WRYC has to offer. Please take some time to take a listen. The podcast can be found via Jeff’s webpage or on any podcast app.
Join Now! - Waiving Initiation Fee!
The club is currently waiving it’s $400. initiation fee for new applicants. This is a great time to join so let’s spread the word to our friends and neighbors who might have an interest. WRYC is a fun place to be…don’t keep it a secret!
We have received our first membership application for 2020! Hopefully this will be the first of many.
Remember that applications can be downloaded on the web-page or I am happy to mail them out if you send me the prospective members address.
Beve Hermanson, Membership Chair
Rental News / Upcoming Calendar
2020 will be another busy rental year for WRYC. As of mid January, 15 Non-member rentals and 2 Non-profit rentals have been booked and I have already begun booking 2021. It is never too early to book your next life event at WRYC so for your preferred date, book early!
By spreading the word on our “Jewel on the Ware”, you help to keep our club vibrant. So please continue doing so in 2020 and tell everyone what a wonderful facility we have at WRYC.
Layne Brown, WRYC Rental Manager
Taco Extravaganza, ABC License Update
January 11th the WRYC had their Annual meeting with 57 people in attendance. A Taco extravaganza was hosted by the Board/specifically Dave Brown and extended family members doing the lion share of the preparations.
Upon entering, every family unit received the Club’s Annual Report. Any additions or corrections to the report were asked for; the budget reviewed and passed; and awards presented.
One item that was brought up was no longer selling beer and wine. Monthly ABC lic. costs $85. It seems that many people already BYOB, so we are going to offer sodas, mixers and water. If we find that we need to have the lic after all, we will go back to our previous procedure.
Now I am progressing into the future to let you know that the Valentine Brunch will be held on Feb. 16th beginning at 12:30 PM. A formal invitation will be included in this issue. I want to stress to the members that we need to be more prompt with our RSVP’s. Whether the event is catered or done by a member group, they have to know how many to shop for. Please keep this in mind.
A calendar of events as well as the membership list were in the Annual Report booklet, so if you were not in attendance or didn’t get one, please let a board member or Layne Brown know. We will have some at the door for the February meeting.
Social Chair/co-chair, Alice Bredin-Karny/Jane Smith
Commodore Letter - Annual Meeting recap, Thank you Steve!
I want to start out by thanking all of the Club members who attended our Annual Meeting on January 11th. It was a great opportunity to fellowship with other Club members, discuss Club business and enjoy a delicious taco dinner prepared by renowned taco chefs and Board Members, Bill & Dave Brown. As a member driven Club this is your opportunity to have your voice heard, vote in new Board Members, approve the proposed budget, congratulate Club Award Recipients and enjoy each others company.
This being my first correspondence as your Commodore, I would like to take a moment to thank outgoing Commodore, Steve Hanson, for his leadership of the Club these last couple of years. To use a little sailing lingo, Steve has a very “even keel” and I think we can all agree that the Club has prospered under his leadership. While extolling the virtues of our illustrious outgoing Commodore, I would be remiss if I didn't mention his fine writing skills. I am learning this as I write this month’s announcement, that it is not as easy as it reads. Please bear with me as I hone my skills.
In conclusion, I would like to thank the Club for its vote of confidence in me to lead us into the next couple years. I look forward to my term as Commodore and am excited about the plans we are developing for the “Next 50”. As mentioned at the Annual Meeting we will be gathering a Committee to spear head efforts for the Club’s 50th Anniversary and discuss strategies for keeping the Club we love so much thriving over the next half century.
Jonathan Matthews, Commodore
Help Wanted!
It, finally, feels like Winter but , before we know it, the weather will start to warm and activity at the Club will be back in swing with socials, sailing and rentals. In preparation for those activities, we have many projects that need our yearly “tending to” in support of Building and Grounds. All of these projects can be accomplished with the help of our club membership and the proverbial “many hands make light work”, definitely, holds true. We will have our first work day on March 28 - not in April - and hope to have many volunteers to tackle the projects - pruning bushes around the club and bath house, window washing, cleaning of the grills and chairs on the screen porch, thorough cleaning of the kitchen, cleaning paddle fans, polishing the trophies, restocking of First Aid Kit, road maintenance, blowing debris off the roof, etc. We will take our instructions from the Building and Grounds committee.
Our plan is to start around 9am and we will hand out order slips for lunch sandwiches from Nuttall’s kitchen. With a good turnout, we should be finished by noon and will have lunch delivered for all the helpers. These work days make such a difference in the appearance of our facilities for both members and rentals. I hope all of you will consider giving a few hours of your time to help WRYC continue to be the Jewel On The Ware.
Thank you in advance!
Bill Brown, House Chair