The weather gods smiled on us again to deliver a perfect end to what has to be the nicest winter series on record. We started the "winter" series with strong winds and cool temperatures in October, but then transitioned into the late spring series, with winds in the 10-12 knot range and temperatures in the 70's. For our final race of the year, we were treated to perhaps one of the most perfect days I can remember for sailing. You can see the winter series results on the calendar page.

I would like to offer a sincere thank you to Lee King for serving as Commodore for the past two years. In that time, we have streamlined and simplified some of the club functions so that the handoff will be more seamless in the future. Also, we have updated the way we run races so that it is not an undue burden on any one member of the club. If you have not volunteered to be an officer in the past, I hope that now the time commitment is such that you will take the opportunity to help run your club. I also want to thank Janice Peterson for the outstanding job on the commodores ball.

There were several annual awards handed out at the Commodores Ball this year, a big congratulations and thanks to Larry Gupton as Sportsman of the Year. Prior to moving away, Larry took care of a lot of the logistics of putting on the individual races. Even when he couldn't race himself, he was always there to lend a hand and make sure things went off as planned. Crew of the Year was awarded to Susan Wright. Susan is an active crewmember on Afterthought as well as the boats co-owner. One of her fellow crew members said that when they are racing, Susan is crew, period. She is an integral part of the team and really deserves this award.

Mike Foster submitted a report from the PHRF committee, with no significant changes made at their most recent meeting. 3 seconds were added to Water Phantom's rating and dropping the P from the Beneteau 36.7 rating. Motions were raised to remove the P from Afterthought and to increase EZ's rating by 3 seconds, but no action was taken at this meeting on these actions.

Finally, make sure to mark your calendar for the NYRA invitational on March 24 and 25. This race will be based out of Blackbeard Sailing Club. The meal will be a fish fry catered by Strange and Sons, and if you have never had a meal from these guys you don't know what you are missing. Racing will be held on the river in the vicinity of Marker 17. Please register early so we can plan accordingly.

Finally, it is time to renew your membership. This is not something for the skippers only, the dues help to defray the cost of insurance, US Sailing dues and other operating expenses other than races. A change to the current years BOTY rules is that you must be a paid member of NYRA to receive credit for your race score.

See you on the water