SPSA April Update

Hello Sailors,

 
It has been a busy and fun couple of months of racing locally. The weather has been fantastic with some days of challenging winds. I thought of coming up with a clever phrase or include a poetic quote about March winds and Spring, but I am not ready for the weather to change and didn’t want to jinx it.

 
Here’s what been going on and coming up for SPSA racers:
  • March SPSA Spring Series Race Results: We did it up right for our annual St. Patrick’s Day Race. The boats and crew – true to the tradition – were decked out in green to honor the holiday. Bumugo’s crew won best dressed and out on the race course, Cayennita III and Warrior were the winners of the day . A special thanks goes to John Ovink and Connie Reichert, our Rear Commodore team for providing a festive post race celebration. 
  • The King of the Bay (KOB) winner for March is Slow Bell. Congratulations to Jeff Lewis and Crew. Don’t forget about this self timed race. Get out and run the course. We have a winner every month – you get to “take” the big KOB flag for the month and you get a keeper flag to add to your winning collection. It’s a great way to tune your boat and your crew. Report your time to commodore@spsa.us.
  • SPYC Twilight Racing started on March 17th and will continue every Friday night until August 25th. You can still register. It’s a great way to spend a Friday evening. 
  • The next SPSA Board of Directors meeting is Tuesday April 4th at 6:00pm at the Sailing Center. All members are welcome to attend. If you do plan to come please let me know by sending an email to commodore@spsa.us.
  • Our Next SPSA Races are Saturday April 8. Start time is 1100. Tack Tick will be Race Committee. Post race gathering will be announced after the BOD meeting. This will be the last race of the SPSA Spring Season. Let’s plan on a great turnout!
  • Davis Island Yacht Club hosts the Hospice Cup on Saturday April 23. This Regatta, Dinner, and Auction benefits Hospice, and Honors Sailing Legend Charley Morgan. If you can’t race but would like to make a donation or participate in the auction here is a link for the details
  • The 44th Annual Suncoast Race Week kicks off April 28th. This is a 3 day event sponsored by SPYC in cooperation with Davis Island and Bradenton Yacht Clubs. 
  • The SPSA Couples/Doublehanded Race will take place on Saturday May 13th. The race will be a pursuit start. Starting times will be announced before race day. This is always a fun event and the last official race of the SPSA 2022/2023 Season. Don’t miss it – sign up now. 
  • One more event happening in May is the Bone Island Regatta Race to Key West May 17th to the 20th. The race starts in Sarasota. It’s sure to be fantastic, I mean, who doesn’t want to race to Key West! It’s also a great way to jump into a little cruising if you have the time. Sail to the Tortugas, or visit the other islands in the Keys chain before heading back home.
One ending note.  You may have noticed some new boats out on the race course and some new faces at the post race gatherings. SPSA is growing. 35 new members have joined SPSA in our 2022/2023 season. Congratulations and thanks to everyone for promoting and encouraging participation in the noble art of sailing.
 
See you all out on the Bay!

Penny Simone

SPSA Commodore