2020 Sailing Season Eases to a Close
To all who made the 2020 sailing season at the WRYC a success, thank you. It goes without saying that there were many challenges to face this year. However, thanks to some outside the box thinking and wonderful support from the Board and membership, the Youth Sailing Program, the Governor’s Cup, and the Sunday Sailing Series all took place this year! Soon it will be time for the boats to be tucked away for the winter. Those that asked about getting out on boats this year, there is still a few more weeks. Get in touch and we’ll try to work something out. We’re still looking to divest a couple keel boats. If anyone wants a deal on a fixer-upper, let me know. This off season, as always, there will be plenty of work to do on the keel boats. We’re also looking to pick up a skiff for the sailing programs. Please let me know if you are willing/able to help out with boat maintenance this off season. Thanks again to all!
Regards,
Scott
Fall Work Day - 10/24/20
Buildings & Grounds will be having a Work Day on October 24th starting at 9:00 AM. Please mark your calendar. Many hands make for light work and an early lunch, which, will be provided by the Club! If you can spare an hour, or two or three or more…your help will be greatly appreciated! More details to follow.
Upcoming Fall Events
Fall is in the air. Sadly due to COVID the board decided to cancel this year’s Oktoberfest. However, the ever popular Oyster Roast is still scheduled for Saturday, November 7, mark you calendars.
A Work Day has been added to the WRYC calendar. PLEASE come out and help spruce up the Club grounds and deep clean the interior as you are able.
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