Category Archives: News

Late December Update

Hello Sailors!

The sun is out. The temperatures are rising. I’m venturing out beyond the space heater and have shed a layer or two of fleece and wool. I’ve missed a few days of getting out for a sail and I’m really looking forward to our upcoming events.

  • January 1, 2023 – New Year’s Day Fun Pursuit Race. Nothing better than starting the new year than a race on the bay followed by a PotLuck Dinner and the now famous (notorious) White Elephant Gift Exchange. Race Start time is 14:00. This is a pursuit race – start times will be posted no later than noon on Saturday 12/31. The Potluck will be held at the Sailing Center following the race. SPSA will be providing ham, Iced tea and water, please bring a dish to share and your favorite post race drinks. And don’t forget to bring a wrapped gift for the White Elephant Gift Exchange. Please RSVP to commodore@spsa.us. Expect to have a riotous good time!
  • Tuesday, January 3 is our next SPSA Board of Directors Meetingt to be held at 6:00pm at the Sailing Center.. As always all members are welcomed to attend. Please let me know if you plan to be there – commodore@spsa.us.
  • Saturday January 21, 2023 is the SPSA Spring Season Kick-off Race followed by the ever competitive and delicious Chili Cook Off at the Sailing Center. Start time is 10:00. Race Committee boat will be announced soon. If you haven’t already, please register for this series on our SPSA Website
  • The Off the Wall Regatta, a race geared toward new and novice racers, will be held on Sunday January 29th. Open to all keel boats 30′ or less and new this year we will add a class of keel boats over 30′. SPSA and non-SPSA members are invited. Additional details to be announced soon.
  • February will be an exciting month for racing in Tampa Bay. See the Master Racing Calendar for the West Coast of Florida for details. A link to this calendar is available on the SPSA website.
  • Lastly – KOB – There are a few more days left to take the flag for King of the Bay for December. Last month we had seven KOB runs reported. Let’s try to beat that this month.

See you out on the Bay.
Happy New Year!

Penny Simone
SPSA Commodore

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November Updates

Hello Sailors,

 
We hope everyone had a splendid Thanksgiving with time to spend with family and friends and enjoying the cooler weather.
 
Here is what is coming up at SPSA:
 
  • In case you weren’t aware, Cayennita III won KOB for the month of October. Congratulations Tony and crew. Speaking of KOB there are 2 days left to make a run for November. Don’t forget to report your time to commodore@spsa.us.
  • Several SPSA members participated in the Dolphin Cruising Club’s Fall Event. Thanks to all that participated. I know Saturday was a gorgeous sailing day and Sunday’s return tested the fair weather sailor. Pictures indicate that everyone had a great time.
  • The final race of the Fall Series is this Saturday, December 3rd. Start time is 11:00. Bumbugo will be RC for this event. Post Race meet-up and trophies will be at Courigan’s Irish Pub. 
  • Our next Board of Directors meeting will take place on Tuesday December 6th at 6:00pm at the Sailing Center. All SPSA members are welcomed. Let me know if you are planning to attend. Shoot me an email at commodore@spsa.us.
  • Start the 2023 off right by going sailing. Our New Year’s Fun Pursuit will take place on January 1st. Start time is 14:00. Post race festivities at the Sailing Center will include a potluck dinner with the club providing some traditional southern New Year’s fare and a traditionally boisterous gift exchange. Additional details to come.
  • What do you do with the 3 weeks between our December race and the New Years Pursuit? YOU GO SAILING. Try an attempt to win December KOB, take family out for a sail.  go sailing just because it’s a beautiful day. If you do go out why not post it on our Facebook Members Group and see if you can entice others to leave the dock too. 
See you all out on the Bay
 


 

Late October Update

Hello Sailors,

 

Can you believe October is almost to an end? Time flies for sure. Here’s the news and upcoming events for SPSA:

  •  In case you haven’t seen them here are the results of the October 15th Series Races 3 and 4.

1.     In the Spinnaker Division the overall winners were

§  1st Place – Tack Tick

§  2nd Place – Warrior

§  3rd Place – Cake Walk

2.     In Cruising

§  1st Place – Legacy

§  2nd Place – Cayennita III

§  3rd Place – Sonar Lewis

              You can view more detail by going to the Regattas Tab on the 

              SPSA   website , logging in and clicking on Results for the race you 

              are interested in.   

  • This past weekend SPSA Boats Swept the Cruising Class in Tampa Sailing Squadron’s Rumgatta. Grabbing the top 3 spots were Legacy (Dave Roberts), Cayennita III (Tony Sanpere) and Koinonia II (Garth Reynolds). In the Motherload class Fantasea skippered by SPSA member Robert Calvillocrossed the line first. Congratulations to all the winners and participants. It was a great race and fun post-race party. As always, TSS was a welcoming and gracious club. Can’t wait for their next race.
  • King of the Bay – you have 4 days left to try to take the KOB Flag for October. Report your finish times to commodore@spsa.us. Go for it!
  • The next SPSA Board Meeting is Tuesday November 1st at 6:00 PM. The meeting will take place at the Sailing Center. If you are planning to attend, send an email to commodore@spsa.us .
  • Saturday November 5th is our next Fall Series Race. Race Committee for the day will be Cayennita III. Look for the little blue boat with red sail covers out on the bay somewhere near the pier. Race start time is 11:00 am.  The post-race celebration and awards will take place at Courigan’s Irish Pub. See ya out there!
  • SPSA Commodore’s Cup takes place on Saturday November 12thThis is a pursuit start race. The course and start times will be posted on the SPSA website and may be communicated by email no later than 6:00 PM on the Friday before the race. The first boat starts at 1100. If you haven’t signed up for this fun race yet, please do. The post-race event details will be announced soon. If you would like to help plan the post-race festivities or help please attend the November 1st Board meeting. 
  • To round out November there are two events on the weekend of November 19th.

1.     The Dolphin Cruising Club of Tampa Bay is hosting their 5th Annual Fall Kickoff Cruise Nov. 19th-20thBoats will gather off Emerson Point in Bradenton and dinghy into the park for a potluck dinner. Go to the Club’s website for details. This is always a fun event and a good introduction to cruising if you are new to it. The Dolphin cruisers are a very welcoming bunch.

2.     Davis Island Yacht Club hosts the Egmont Key Race on the 19th. Go to https://diyc.org for details and a link to register. This is a West Florida Boat of the Year series race. A little trivia – the Egmont Key Race is the oldest running race on the west coast of Florida and dates back to 1935. 

 

Remember that crew looking for a boat or skippers looking for crew can post their request on the SPSA Members Facebook Group or contact our Membership Chair at Membership.Chair@spsa.us.

 

Wow! Looks like we have a lot of opportunities to be out doing what we love. See you out on the bay.


Penny Simone

SPSA Commodore


October Update

October Update

We had a little hiccup posting the September 24th Fall Series race results, but here they are"
 In Spinnaker Class: Warrior takes #1 for the day, Cakewalk is 2nd and Tack Tic #3
Cruising Class: 1st place Legacy, 2nd Desiderata and 3rd Cayennitta III.
You can review the complete results on the SPSA website.
A big thanks goes out to our Race Committee for the day, Garth Reynolds and crew on Koinonia II.
Cactus, skippered by Ian Sanders is King of the Bay for September. Congratulations Ian.
Tuesday October 4 is our monthly SPSA Board meeting held at the Sailing Center. All members are welcome to attend, we encourage it. Please let me know if you are planning to come commodore@spsa.us.
The Full Moon Pursuit is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 8. Please remember to sign-up on the website. First boat start time will be 19:30. The October weather so far is grand! Just imagine sailing along under a full moon in cool breezes. A definite reward for enduring the hot summer months.
Other racing opportunities on Saturday, Oct 8 is the SPYC Ted Irwin Memorial Fall Bay Race. Go to Yacht Scoring to sign-up
October 15th is the next Fall Series Race. We need a R/ace Committee for this race. Please volunteer. If you have never done Race Committee we can provide assistance. Contact me at commodore@spsa.us for volunteering. The post race event details are forthcoming.
If you haven’t renewed your membership to SPSA it’s not too late. Just go to the website click the membership tab then Join/Renew.

See you out on the Bay!

Penny Simone
SPSA Commodore

September update!

Thanks to all who attended last Friday’s SPSA Annual Meeting/Awards Dinner. We had a great turnout and a fun time. 
 
  • This Saturday September 25th is the kick-off race for the 2022 Fall Season Races. Series Races 1 & 2. Race 1 start time is 11:00am. Garth Reynolds on Koinonia II will be our Race Committee. Remember to register for the Fall Season Races on our website spsa.us. Post race meet-up will be at Courigin’s Irish Pub.
    • A memorial is also being held on Saturday for Rainer Blomberg who lost his life in a diving accident earlier this year. Rainer served SPSA as Commodore in 2000-2001. Family and Friends will be gathering at Little J for the memorial. Race 1 will have Little J as one of the marks so we too can take a moment to remember a fellow sailor as we round the mark.
  • You have 13 more days left this month to take a run at the KOB. Report your time to commodore@spsa.us you could be the next boat to fly the King of the Bay flag!
  • If you haven’t renewed your membership to SPSA it’s not too late. Just go to the website click the membership tab then Join/Renew.
  • Our next Board of Directors meeting is Tuesday October 4 at 6:00PM at the St. Pete Sailing Center. All members are invited to attend.
See you all out on the bay this Saturday! Think wind, no rain.
 
Best
Penny Simone
Commodore.