2004 Commodore's Comments
Bill Brock

The West Marine and Defender catalogs came in the mail last week. The New England Boat Show is this week. All of a sudden, the end of winter seems a lot closer. I can feel the excitement and I’m becoming anxious and impatient for the coming of Spring’s warmth. Can the sailing season get here quickly enough?

This winter has been a particularly cold one in New England. I peer out the window at S.V. Zusammen and the frozen crust sitting atop her tarpaulin. It’s been good to hear the news trickle in from our mates who escaped down to Florida to avoid the ice and cold for a few weeks. I’m sure we’re all looking forward to getting together on the water again.

We have a couple more meetings planned before the rendezvous season officially starts in May. Next Sunday is our annual gathering at Savin Hill and the New England Boat Show. This is a great place to find those maintenance items, rigging, gear, and maybe even the dream of a new boat.

Our meetings are always a valuable forum for exchange of knowledge and ideas. Most of the exchange occurs informally but I urge any member who has some special knowledge or experience to consider putting together a formal presentation. Just contact me and get on the agenda for one of these meetings. A popular subject that is always welcome is any discussion of maintenance that needs to get done to the boat prior to launching. There’s the painting, refinishing, electrical, sail maintenance and so on. For us trailer sailors, ideas about trailer outfitting and maintenance are always hot subjects.

The rendezvous schedule is pretty well set. The club has assembled a portfolio of favorite places that seem to get more enjoyable year after year. There are still opportunities for folks to help lead with the coordination of rendezvous. Please contact the Cruise Captain, Barbara Garland, and she’ll let you know what’s required.

I want to extend a special “Thank You” to our Webmasters, Rick Dieffenbach and Barbara Garland, who continue to do a splendid job of managing this communications vehicle. They are always willing to accept information and suggestions from the membership. So, do not hesitate to let them know what is going on and they'll get it out to the rest of the membership.

Here’s wishing all of you a great sailing season. Hope to see you on the water.

Bill