Moving into Fall on the Ware!
Happy Fall, everyone!
We made it through an unusual summer, and topped it off with a big combination event, our Labor Day/Flag Raising/Fourth of July/ Derby Day Social!!! We had a relatively large turn-out (60 plus), wonderful fireworks ( thank you, Jane) and good times catching up with WRYC friends!
There are discussions underway now about plans for our very popular, annual Oyster Roast- scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 7th. Traditionally, this has involved various homemade clam chowders, grilled hot dogs with all the fixings and delicious oysters, roasted ‘out back’.
It has been usually held, starting with social hour at 5pm, then dinner at 6pm. Tickets have been $25 per adult, $10 per child, ages 6-12, and free to ages 6 and under, BYOB, or mixers have been available as well as beer and wine for purchase.
Right now, this is in the planning stage, so we will let you know more specifics later! With Covid numbers rising, and flu season upon us, precautions will be taken to ensure safety for all as much as we are able.
In the meantime, pencil in the Oyster Roast on your calendar, and enjoy the beauty of the coming Fall days!
Jr. Sailing Series - Naomi
My name is Naomi, I am 14 years old and this was my second year of sailing at the WRYC. I love sailing and was super excited to get back on the water this year. This summer was an strange one with all the COVID restrictions and masks, but that didn't make it any less fun for sailing. Just more interesting! Learning to sail at the WRYC has been awesome and getting to know all the kids in camp over several weeks is one of the best parts.
My family and I live in Northern VA, so when we come down for sailing we camp at Gloucester's Jellystone Park. Staying in a RV was challenging for sure! On the weekends my dad would join us with our two, fairly big dogs, Beau and Charlie. Making the RV go from small to tiny! We camped for about 3 weeks this year so that my three sisters and I could participate in the WRYC's jr. sailing camp, and my older sister and I could sail in the Governor's Cup. This year was a good year for that, because there were only camp kids in the laser class, which was nice for our first race! I really enjoyed sailing this year and can't wait for next time!
In Spite of...
In spite of the Covid 19 residual effects on WRYC as a whole, the Club continues to attract new members. Why is this you might ask? I attribute it to many things. First and foremost, JR sailing has been and continues to be, crucial for the Club. It has been an extremely successful program that is not only attracting many new families with kids, but, is also the catalyst for bringing BACK the now grown “kids” of Club members and family. It’s obvious, JR sailing has made a huge impact on the growing membership!
We would like to welcome our newest member, Josh, who, after spending his younger years sailing on the Ware in the JR program, is relocating closer to home. He has long standing family ties to Ware Neck and is looking forward to becoming an active participant in Club events. We are so happy to have him!
Beve
The Summer that wasn’t
I hope you all have had time this summer to get down to the Ware and enjoy time on the water. I know it has been tough with the logistics of the pandemic to navigate doing so safely. Having said that, I feel like we as a Club have made the most of what has turned out to be a very difficult challenge. We have had great turnout for all of sailing programs and I am beyond proud of our tenacious board for identifying obstacles and safety concerns and mitigating them so that we could enjoy “the Summer that wasn’t”.
Looking forward, please plan to attend our “all in one” social on the 5th where we will celebrate the events we missed due to the pandemic. I’m looking forward to seeing all of you there!
In closing, I would like to thank all those who contributed to salvaging our season at WRYC. These times have been trying for all, but the opportunity to get out on the water or down to the Club grounds have made it bearable.
See you soon,
Jonathan Matthews
Commodore
WRYC Makes it Happen in Spite of 2020!
Greetings, all. As summer draws to a close it is as good a time as any to reflect back on a strange sailing season. The WRYC sailing program faced many challenges this year. However, as always, sailors persevere and get the job done! The junior sailing program morphed from the normal three, two-week sessions to one, three-week session. As they have for the previous decade or so (I think more), Clayton and Ginger (and staff) provided an outstanding camp enjoyed by many young sailors. Thank you to Clayton and Ginger for your years of service. It is time for a rotation of duties as they move on to other adventures with The Club. Anyone interested in a leadership role with the Junior Sailing program in 2021, please contact Clayton and Ginger.
Sunday Sailing took off slowly this year as the fleet monitored COVID-19 related guidance and respected social distancing. Around the time that Virginia moved in to Phase 2, some sailors started showing up on Sundays to tune-up for the shortened season. When Virginia entered Phase 3, sailing on Sundays began in earnest with a healthy showing of boats each weekend. Most excitingly, several weekends saw some new sailors joining the fleet. On at least six weekends this summer we were fortunate enough to have rookie year sailors join the fun. Expectations are high for next year!
Finally, the 56th Annual Virginia Governor’s Cup was held, despite 2020’s craziness. Thanks to all who helped plan, prepare and execute a magnificent weekend of sailing! The regatta was well attended, though travel restrictions and exposure concerns reduced the number of participants by about half the recent years’ attendance. The Albacore Fleet had a strong showing, with Barney (once again) receiving the Governor’s Cup. I hesitate to attempt to name all who helped make the weekend a success for fear of missing a name. So I’ll close with a heartfelt “Thank you, Ware River Yacht Club!”
See you on the water (there’s still time left this year),
Scott
Reminder of the impact of the Jr Sailing program
Sailing Camp
By Harrison Zima
When I arrived at the Ware River Yacht Club, I was feeling very worried. I knew how to sail so I don’t know why I was nervous. Maybe it was because I was shy, or afraid I was going to make a fool out of myself. But there was no backing out now. I decided to suck it up and deal with it. So, I got out of my Dad’s van. My Dad told me everything I needed to know. When I walked in, I met all of the other kids. Then I met the counselors, who were pretty nice.
Once that was done the counselors said it was time to go sailing. We did just that. Then everyone got their boats rigged and into the water. The counselors told us to go to a peninsula called “Windmill Point”. The water looked like emeralds glistening and glimmering as I sailed through the water. When we arrived, the counselors told us we could do whatever we wanted. We played games, talked, and had a great time. The next day was pretty much the same as the first day. We all got to go on the big sailboat. The boat was black with big white sails. We sailed a lot on the pace ship.
We got to begin racing the following days, the counselors told us it was a regatta. They spent 30 minutes telling us the rules of racing and how to do the races. After that we did the regattas. I got a 4th, 7th and a 3rd. the fifth day it was raining so we had no wind. We played a board game called Risk. Risk is a game about conquering the world.
On the sixth day we did more regattas and played in the water. On the last day we had a picnic at Windmill Point. It was sunny, the sand was cool, the waves were peaceful, and all was still. We ate watermelon, cake and other things to eat and drink.
The lesson I learned is not to be scared to try new things. I had fun.
Welcome Aboard
We would like to welcome Carolyn and Mike of Mathews County. They heard about WRYC through boating friends. Carolyn has already come out and participated in the Sunday sailing race series.
We also want to welcome Matt and his two sons from West Point. Matt first heard about WRYC by word of mouth and then followed up on the web-site for more information. If you see someone launching a Hobie Cat from the Club, walk over and say hello. It will be Matt!
We are looking forward to meeting everyone at the up-coming socials!