Category Archives: News

SPSA – Mid January 2024 Update

Hello Sailors,
Firstly – take some time today to reflect on the life, words and actions of Martin Luther King whom we honor today. His words are timeless and his dreams not yet fully fulfilled in this world.
Coming up for SPSA:
Race Committee Basics Seminar  Tonight January 15th 6:00PM at the Sailing Center. Don't miss it. Even if you haven't signed up yet there is still room for additional attendees. We will see you at 6:00.

Saturday January 20th is our first Spring Series Race (Races 9 & 10 in the Long Series), followed by the now famous Chili Cookoff at the Sailing Center. As of this moment – Saturday's weather looks to be sunny and cold. Perfect conditions for our Chili Cookoff. Please RSVP to djsara@comcast.net if you plan to attend and Please let our Rear Commodore's know if you are entering into the Chili Contest. Race time is 1100. Athena – Jody Abram's J109 will be RC.

COMMODORE'S CHALLENGE  SPSA has 73 members with boats, that includes members who race sonars and J70s in SPSA races. Here's my challenge: all 73 boats on the Bay for the Off the Wall Regatta – Sunday January 28th – Pursuit Start Race – First Boat Starts at 1100. Skipper's Meeting on Saturday 1/27, 1600 at the Sailing Center. This is the 3rd annual Off the Wall Regatta, conceived as a way to introduce new racers to the sport of sailboat racing. The race is open to all though – new racers and experienced alike. Come out – have fun – perpetuate the Noble Art of Sailing.
See you all out on the Bay.

SPSA January 2024

  • Happy New Year, Sailors! We hope that everyone has a magical Christmas Season.Our New Year's Day Pursuit Race, Pot Luck Dinner and White Elephant Gift Exchange was a fun and very well attended event. We maxed out the Sailing Center Space. The food was fantastic and the gift exchange, as always, was a lively event. Lots of steals, oohs and ahhs and fun!.A BIG thanks goes out to our Rear Commodores Connie Reichert and Doug Jones for preparing the hams, coordinating the Pot Luck and with help from Suzanne and Tony Hooper, making the Sailing Center looking like a hit party spot. Also a big thanks to Rich Treinen for working the crowd selling 50/50 raffle tickets (he's really good at it) and for our winner who donated their 50% back to the club. The 50/50 raffle has been introduced this year to help offset some operating expenses of the club. So far the raffle has been a success. Thank you!
Upcoming events:
  • The next Board of Directors (BOD) meeting is this Tuesday January 9th at 6:00PM at the Sailing Center. Meetings are open to all members. If you are interested in serving on the BOD in the future or simply want  to help out with a task or event, attending a Board meeting will give you some insight on how you can serve SPSA. If you plan to attend the meeting on Tuesday please let me know – shoot an email to Commodore@spsa.us. 
  • Seminar: Race Committee Basics – Monday January 15, 6:00 PM at the Sailing Center. Presented by Past Commodore Rich Treinen and SPSA Member Cheryl Buhr. The presentation will cover: determining the course, starting and finishing a race (all those flags) and recording times. Many of you have asked for some RC training, this seminar will fit the bill. Don't miss it. Take the mystery serving as Committee. RSVP to secretary@spsa.us.
  • Series Races 9 & 10 and Chili Cookoff (or the first races of the Spring Season), Saturday, January 20th, Start time 1100. Athena will serve as Race Committee. Following the race we will gather at the Sailing Center to determine the best of the Chilli cooks this year. Don't miss this fun, tasty event. RSVP to djsara@comcast.net – let them know if you are entering your chili in the contest and how many people you have in your party. 
  • Off the Wall Regatta – Sunday January 28th, start time 1100. Skippers meeting on Saturday afternoon 4:00PM at the Sailing Center. This will be the third year for this event. Conceived to inspire boats to "leave the dock" and come out to race, it has been a successful event to introduce captains and crew to racing. Our goal this year is to get every boat owned by SPSA members out on the Bay! Please help by encouraging boat owners to enter the event and have a fun day of sailing on the Bay.
See you all out on the Bay.

Live From The Field

Hello Sailors,
Please see attached start times for tomorrow's race.
First start is 1400 (2:00PM). Think wind!
See you all at the sailing center post race for the annual Potluck Dinner and White Elephant Gift Exchange.


Fwd: SPSA Start Times 2024 New Year’s Fun Pursuit

Hello Sailors,
Please see attached start times for tomorrow's race.
First start is 1400 (2:00PM). Think wind!
See you all at the sailing center post race for the annual Potluck Dinner and White Elephant Gift Exchange.

SPSA – New Year’s Day Count Down

Hello Sailors,
I hope all of you are enjoying this Christmas season. It's a joyous time of year. Time spent with family and friends, embracing long standing traditions and creating new ones. The weather has been a little sporty out on the bay, but if you have made it out I trust you had an enjoyable day of sailing.
Our next SPSA event is our New Year's Day Fun Pursuit Race followed by our traditional Potluck Dinner and White Elephant Gift Exchange. Here are the details:
  • Monday January 1, 2024 – Race/First Boat start time 1400 (2:00PM). The course and start times will be distributed on Sunday 12/31.
  • Our PotLuck dinner will start around 4:00PM at the Sailing Center. The Club will provide the main course and we asked members to bring a side dish and/or dessert. To RSVP and coordinate side dishes please contact our Rear Commodores Connie & Doug at djsara@comcast.net. Even if you are not sailing in the race, plan to attend the post race event. If you are new to the club this is also a great way to make connections with other members.
  • The White Elephant Gift Exchange will begin after dinner. Bring a gift to exchange. It is always a fun time. (The secret is in the "art of the steal" 😊).
Good News – January 1st is a Monday and normally the Sailing Center is closed on Monday, but they are going to let Sailing Center members who are participating in our SPSA race to reserve Sonars and J70s. Don't forget to reserve ahead.

KOB – We had five KOB finish times reported in November. Greg and Wendy Burney had the best finish time sailing a Sonar. They finished just 11 seconds over an hour with a corrected winning time of 00:53:55. The Sonar sailors are tearing up the KOB course this season. If you haven't made an attempt to "capture" the KOB flag there is still plenty of opportunity to win it this month. Don't forget to report your KOB time by emailing commodore@spsa.us

The final races for the 2023 Fall Season on December 2, were a bust. Kudos to our Race Committee – George Lewis, Leslie Kramer and Lisbeth Peterson for being ever hopeful that the wind would come up and for the whole fleet for sticking it out while we waited through the couple of hours of postponement. Wouldn't you know it , just when we gave up and were headed in a beautiful breeze kicked-in. Several boats turned around and got a KOB run in before the post race meet-up. 

Our next SPSA Board of Directors meeting is on Tuesday January 9th at 6:00PM at the Sailing Center. All members are welcome to attend. Let me know if you plan to be there commodore@spsa.us.
Looking forward to our Spring season.
See you out on the Bay.