Hello Sailors:

"Summertime, summertime, sum, sum, summertime…"  "When it rains it pours"

As I write this we are in the middle of one of our summer storms. It's been building all afternoon and came on with the typical wind and thunder and torrential rain. The cat hid under the courch and the power flickered for a moment. I was reminded of  summer storms here when I was a kid in the seventies. A storm like tonight's almost certainly resulted in a power outage. Flashlights and candles were always at the ready.

Speaking of the 70s, SPSA is entering into its 53rd year as a sailing club. Founded in 1972 to encourage participation in the noble art of sailing. 53 years later we are still a vibrant sailing club racing and cruising in the Tampa Bay area. 

• July 1, 2024 marks the beginning of our new year and it's time to renew your membership. Thanks to everyone who has already committed to the 2024-25 season. If you haven't renewed your membership yet, please do – go to spsa.us.

• Big news – although some of you may have already heard – SPSA is working with the Dolphin Cruising Club on a merger of the two clubs. The 2024-25 season will be a trial period – more information is forthcoming, but look forward to some cruising events showing up on the SPSA calendar. If you'd like to meet members of the Dolphins they have a social event scheduled for this Tuesday evening,  7/16 at Tiki Docks at the Maximo Marina, 5 pm to 7:30 pm. This will be a good opportunity to meet other sailors and find out more about the Dolphin Cruising Club and its history.

• Sailing opportunities this summer. We of course have the SPYC Twilight racing happening every Friday night, and this coming weekend we have a full moon. Let's do a group KOB on Saturday July 20th. Sunset is at  8:26pm. This will be a self timed event. report your finish times and the course you sailed to commordore@spsa.us. We also have another opportunity for a summertime KOB sunset sail in August – on Saturday the 17th. 

• Our Annual Meeting and Award Dinner is scheduled for Friday evening September 6th at the St. Petersburg Yacht Club. Details are forthcoming. As a warmup to the traditional annual meeting trivia contest here's a question for you – Who wrote and first recorded the song Summertime, Summertime. Extra points for those of you who can answer the question without Google.

Whew! That was a lot of info. Let's go sailing!

See you out on the Bay!