The Nationals are coming !!
That’s right, the Albacore Nationals are coming to Ware River. July 9, 10 & 11. WRYC will be hosting the 2021 Albacore Class Nationals Regatta and we are excited to announce we have 20 boats registered. This is a tremendous honor for Ware River and an opportunity to show off our club facilities, beautiful surroundings and of course our great sailing grounds. I encourage all club members to consider coming out to watch some top notch sailing…….make a picnic of it!
As you know Jr. Sailing kicked off on June 21st and is now in full swing so the club has plenty going on during each week thru July. In addition, we’ve been offering Adult sailing classes on Saturday and have had a very good turnout thru June. Joe Morgan is leading the effort on that so if you have interest in learning the basics please reach out directly to Joe, me, or send an email to the club and Layne will forward it on. We’re using the Albacore’s as the main training sloop but if you’d like to explore learning how to sail a laser, we can help with that too. Bring a life jacket, water shoes, something cold to drink and a snack
As for our Sunday sailing series, we had a slow start but interest is growing and we have had 4 boats out the last few Sundays. We were also fortunate to have Barney Harris, one of the top Albacore Sailors in the country, come down from DC to put on a rigging and tuning clinic for us. We will continue the series thru October and are still looking for folks to sail with us every Sunday so if your interested, come join us starting around noon. Again, bring a life jacket, some good water shoes, clothes you don’t mind getting wet, some cold beverages and lunch !
Finally, our Keel boat WAGS is back at the club and on the hook with new bottom paint, all nav lights working, a new VHF radio and a serviced auxiliary outboard. We will start to offer adult sailing on this vessel again and of course its available for member use, once you are checked out on her. Please let me know if you have interest in using WAGS or getting checked out.
That should be it for now. Until next month…………
Happy Sailing
Jim Garrett - Fleet
Welcome Aboard!
We are excited to welcome two junior members and two families to WRYC.
Ian and Katie of Yorktown. Ian is an experienced Laser racer and a Level 1 US Sailing certified instructor. He is sailing in the Sunday Series and Katie is participating in the Adult Sailing classes on Saturday.
Cam, Alex and baby daughter Helen of Midlothian. Cam is returning to sailing and Alex is learning. They are also taking the Adult lessons and looking forward to volunteering and meeting new families.
Carl and Laura are transitioning to full-time Gloucester residents as Carl nears retirement. They are looking forward to getting involved and meeting new people.
It’s great seeing so many of the new members jumping in and taking advantage of activities like the Adult Sailing and Sunday Racing Series. Both programs are garnering a lot of interest in WRYC memberships this year.
Beve H
LET'S HAVE A REGATTA!!!
First let me recap Flag Raising! It was a very warm day, but with a nice breeze. 80+ people enjoyed a little bubbly and a Scoot’s BBQ dinner. While it wasn’t on the normal weekend…we managed to get the club up and running for the season! Speaking of normal…we may not be quite there yet. Unfortunately, we have had to cancel the 4th of July Social. This decision was not made lightly; part of this was due to lack of manpower and also fireworks had not been purchased. I know in Beve’s last eBlast, she was asking for people to step up to the plate to help with functions. We had 2 new members respond right away to help with the Albacore Nationals. This was very welcomed!
The next major function at the club will be The Governor’s Cup Regatta, July 31st-Aug 1st. and I believe this is the 56th year!!! This brings sailors from up and down the Chesapeake Bay and is a fun weekend to be around the club. Since registration is all done on line, less volunteers are needed inside. More of the volunteering comes with actually running the regatta, which the Race Committee does an admirable job!
The inside volunteer people fix breakfast for Saturday and Sunday morning that sell. We also have lunch that can be purchased for the sailors to take with them. Saturday evening dinner is offered from a Food Truck that members and sailors can all partake in. As I said, whether you are a sailor or a spectator, this id a FUN time to be at the CLUB!!!
Jane Smith
Social Chair
A great beginning
We recently held our annual club opening/Flag raising event and I couldn’t be more happy to have seen so many members at the club after such an extended absence. The food and fellowship were a much needed respite from a challenging year. Now that our sailing and social season is upon us I look forward to seeing more of you more often and spending time on the River with new members and old friends. Please be on the look out for the event calendar and how you can best put your skill set to use in the furtherance of making this a season to remember.
Here’s to a safe and fun filled summer at the WRYC!!!
Jonathan Matthews
Commodore
Fleet workday fun !
If you’ve managed to get down to the Club in the last month you may have noticed more boats by the ramp area ! Cleaned, rigged and ready to go. Thanks to a good showing from our members for our May workday we have the loft cleaned and organized, 6 out of 7 dollies ready for our Jr. Sailing Program and the Club Skiffs are serviced and ready for use. Our keel boat, Wagtail, is also getting a tune up and is over at Severn River waiting for a bottom job and a few other essential repairs. Also, be on the lookout for potentially another workday in June to get Wags ready for summer.
I can’t go without mentioning our Albacore series and despite a slow start we are seeing an increase in interest, especially from our newest members. We started sailing May 29th and will be at it every Sunday thru October. As I’ve mentioned before, we still have spots for both skippers and crew. In addition, we have several new members who’ve expressed interest in adult sailing instruction and fortunately Joe Morgan has agreed to step up and assist. Instruction can be on Albacore’s or our Keel boat and would typically occur on Saturdays. You can contact the Club, me, or reach out directly to Joe for scheduling.
We’ve also had more interest by members in using our permanent moorings and should have 2 member owned keel boats anchored in front of the club in the next month or so. I have 2 more to install so If there are any certified divers in the club interested in helping me with installing these screw anchors, please let me know.
Lastly, our head of B&G Gary Hermanson, has done a great job numbering the boat storage area and I will be reaching out to each of you that has a boat stored, to complete a boat storage form so the Club has a record of each vessel stored on Club property. Please contact me or Layne Brown to obtain the form if you haven’t already done so.
I hope to see you at the Club soon,
Jim Garrett Fleet Captain
Book It NOW!
I am happy to report that with normalcy beginning to return WRYC has increased the rental numbers for the remainder of 2021. In April we had a total of 15 rentals for 2021. As of June 1 we have 23 rentals total for the 2021 calendar year. Keep spreading the word of “The Jewel on the Ware”. Happy Summer!
Layne Brown, WRYC Manager
Welcome Aboard Ian and Katie!
A very warm welcome to our newest members, Ian and Katie. Ian races Lasers, has served on numerous race committees, was the fleet captain of his college sailing team and is a Level 1 US Sailing certified instructor. I think it’s fair to say with that resume, his talents will be utilized!!! Ian and Katie came to the Flag Raising Social and it was so nice to see them already getting involved in club activities.
Virginia Master Naturalists Training
On April 24, 2021 WRYC supported the Middle Peninsula Chapter of Virginia Master Naturalists by allowing them use of your outdoor property for their Etymology, marsh, and water quality training. They shared with me that our property turned out to be an ideal spot for the educational goals of their training. Below are a couple of photos taken during their training session.
