It’s hard to believe that summer is over with and the fast paced sailing season is winding down.  It seems like just yesterday I was preparing for the Opening Regatta and now the Liptons are behind us and we are looking forward to the GYA Winter Meeting in January.

It would be remiss of me if I did not thank the Pass Christian Yacht Club Commodore, Board of Directors, manager, staff and countless volunteers for hosting a remarkable Lipton Regatta weekend.  This was such a historic and pivotal event marking the last Liptons sailed in the Flying Scot which has served the GYA exceptionally well for the last fifty years.  We look forward to the newly selected Viper 640 and hope it serves the GYA just as well.  We are fortunate to have the Viper NA’s in the GYA this year at Fort Walton Yacht Club Oct 24 – 28.  With over 70 boats registered, this promises to be a fabulous regatta.

I attended the Wadewitz Regatta at Fairhope Yacht Club at the end of September, as my youngest son sailed in his first Optimist regatta.  Let me say, it’s quite a difference going from race committee to ‘Opti Dad’ but I thoroughly enjoyed it and look forward many more regattas with him in the future.  If you haven’t been to the Wadewitz regatta lately, it is rather impressive.  There were at least five separate race courses that I counted and fifteen or so different classes.  It took a small army of volunteers to put this on and FYC did a great job.  Congratulations on a great regatta!

As we all thought the hurricane season was over with, Nate surfed in last Saturday and packed somewhat of a punch.  While the winds weren’t that significant, the tidal surge seemed to have caught most of us off guard.  From Pensacola to Mississippi, several of the gulf coastal clubs suffered some form of damage.  While most of this damage was limited to the marinas and docking facilities, some of the clubhouses experienced superficial damage on lower decks, staircases and general debris, etc.  Our thoughts and prayers are with these clubs as we wish them a speedy recovery and cleanup.

There are still several regattas left on the GYA schedule as we start to close out this sailing year.  Please mark your calendars for the GYA Winter Meeting on January 13 – 14 at Southern Yacht Club.

Sail Hard, Sail Fast

Michael G. Hage
GYA Commodore