Sailing Olympics- SUCCESS!

The Sailing Olympics were a huge success on Friday, August 10th. Please stay tuned for pictures and videos from the event. A big thank you to Caroline Daly for helping plan the games and the Sweeney and Seferian families for providing the ice cream!

Final Regatta of 2012

On Tuesday and Wednesday we are sending our 420-A and Opti-A teams to Beverly Jr. Regatta in Marion. This is their final Southern Mass Sailing Event for the summer. GOOD LUCK TEAM WDYC! We are so proud of you!

2012 Sailing Graduation

Sailing graduation will be held on Friday, August 17th at 7 PM. We will be taking orders for pre-sale for the sailing DVD ($15). Karen Galanis has been working tirelessly on this DVD all summer. We are so lucky to have such a dedicated parent capturing the summer memories! See you all on Friday night for a great night to wrap up the summer.

WDYC Opti Sailors to Nationals

Opti sailors Matthew Sweeney and CJ McKenna left for the USODA Opti Nationals in Ohio on Monday. The Sandusky Sailing Club is hosting this event on the south shore of Lake Eerie. We will keep you posted on the racing results during the next week. GOOD LUCK BOYS!

Food Pantry This Week!

We are collecting tuna cans and peanut butter for the Cape Cod Food Pantry. Please bring in these donations by Friday and drop them in the green bin outside of the sailing office.

Thank you for supporting such a great cause :)

Duxbury Jr. Regatta

Coach MaryKate with Eddie Goggin, CJ McKenna, Matthew Sweeney, Walter Sullivan

Duxbury Jr. Regatta

On Saturday and Sunday MaryKate traveled to Duxbury Jr. Regatta with Eddie, Walter, CJ and Matthew. The conditions were light on Saturday and heavier on Sunday. They sailed well in the small fleet and all finished top five in red,white and blue fleet. Way to go opti sailors!!!

Results

Week 5 Recap

Can you believe we are already five weeks into the program? Time flies by when your sailing in Bass River!

• Sea-Squirts sailed to the ocean this week! They also learned the names of the different parts of the boat
• Beginner Opti practiced their sailing skills while tacking and gybing this week.
• Intermediate Opti worked on tiller switches while tacking on the whistle
• Intro to Race Opti worked on starts and upwind sailing
• Beginner 420 practiced tacking around marks while using their telltales
• Intermediate 420 practiced tiller switches and dry rolling
• Cruising Opti's sailed down Bass River and also to Rock Island
• Cruising 420's sailed to the ocean and practiced their swimming skills off Rock Island
• Intro to Race Opti practiced tacking on the whistle, starts and upwind sailing
• Opti Race A went to Stonehorse Regatta and Duxbury Jr. Regatta
• Opti Race B worked on starts and upwind sailing
• 420 Race A/B worked on spinnakers, tacking on the whistle and trapping. They traveled to Duxbury Jr. Regatta on Saturday and Sunday.

Food Pantry Donations

This week we are collecting the following items for the Family Pantry of Cape Cod. Please drop the donations off in the green box outside of the sailing office. Thank you in advance for your generosity!

1. wheat pasta
2. brown rice
3. whole grains

Chris Love Productions

At the WDYC Invite on Monday we were lucky to have Chris Love (former WDYC racer, instructor and program director) join us for the day. Chris owns and operates his own production company and specializes in live video broadcasts at regattas. Please click on the following link to see Chris' talented work from the day!  http://vimeo.com/45658050

If you have any questions for Chris, please email: chris@chrisloveproductions.com. He would love to consult with you for your next video project!

Sailors Race to Fight Hunger

The Family  Pantry of Cape Cod is in dire need of food. The sailors of West Dennis Yacht Club would like to collect on a weekly basis items requested by the pantry. There will be a drop off box outside the sailing office for these items. Please check  the sailing blog and sailing office for items needed.  Stay tuned for more details for our race  to fight hunger on the Cape.   Any questions please contact the following sailors: Max and Brad Seferian and Conor and Matthew Sweeney.

New Bedford Jr. Regatta

Last weekend we had three 420's and 1 opti attend the New Bedford Jr. Regatta. It was a very competitive fleet as it was the first Southern Mass Sailing Grand Prix event. The sailors faced very difficult conditions as there was barely any breeze for the two days. They kept their heads high in their first event and learned a lot about light breeze sailing. Congratulations to opti sailor CJ McKenna for finishing in 7th in Blue Fleet and 19th overall in a fleet of 83 boats!

Congrats to Andrew Warner, Brian Daley, Caroline Bracken, Brad Seferian, Max Seferian and Alexis Hamel, CJ McKenna for participating in their first event of the season.

New Bedford Results

Sports Day- Thursday/Friday

Thursday and Friday are Sport's Day. Please wear your favorite jersey, hat, t-shirt and team logo!

Week 3 Class Recap

• Beginner 420 is working on boat handling and they event made it out to the ocean on Tuesday!
• Intermediate 420 is working on mark roundings and points of sail
• Beginner Opti is working on parts of the boat as well as tacking/gybing around marks
• Intermediate Opti is working on mark roundings, getting comfortable sailing along and upwind sailing
• Intro to Race Opti is working on starts, tacking on the whistle and upwind sailing
• Intro to Race 420 is working on upwind sailing and team bonding
• Cruising sailed to the ocean while having bailer wars and also practiced upwind sailing
• 420 B sailed in the WDYC Invite on Monday and the Bass River Invite on Tuesday
• 420 A sailed in New Bedford Jr. Regatta, WDYC Invite and are off to Edgartown for three days of racing!

WDYC Invite Recap

We began our week with the WDYC Invitational. We had 211 sailors join us for this day! A big thank you to all of our volunteers, especially Karen and Greg Galanis who chaired the event. It was a light wind day but the sailors had smiles as they floated around the race course. We had four lines during the event this year: Opti Champ, Opti Green, 420, 420 (no spin/no trap). It was a great introductory event for our new racers. They loved having familiar faces on the committee boats! A big congrats to the following WDYC sailors who participated:

Opti Green: Cam Archibald, Luke Norton, Molly McKenna, Sarah Alix, Ana Mastrocola
Opti Champ: CJ McKenna, Eddie Goggin, Walter Sullivan, Chloe Troy, Issy Dodd
420: Andrew Warner, Brian Daley, Erin Sullivan, Kelly Watson, Max Seferian, Alexis Hamel
420 no spin/no trap: Sebastian Halpern-Reiss, Katie Sullivan, Matt Sweeney, Bret Ober, Jake Hawk, Lizzi Barberio,

A big congrats to Sebastian-Halpern Reiss and Katie Sullivan on the 420 line finishing in first place!! They had a great day!

Again, THANK YOU to all of our volunteers who made this day such a success!!!

Happy 4th of July!

Opti Sailors- Mast Clip

All Opti Sailors should have a mast-clip for their boat. The mast clips can be purchased at Sturgis Boat Works. They will keep the mast in place when the kids capsize and prevent hundreds of dollars of fiberglass damage. We promise you this is a GREAT investment!

Former WDYC instructor Ali Love passed along a great article from the US Sailing blog written by Clinical and Sport Psychologist Jessica Mohler. Sailing parents, please read it when you have a minute!

http://ussailing.blogspot.com/2012/06/preparing-for-shifts-in-breeze-building.html

The sun is shining and so our the sailors!

What a wild week it has been with weather! The kids were excited to be on the water today with no threat of storm or heavy wind.

Recap on WDYC Sailing Week 1:

• Beginner Opti classes worked on parts of the boat and learned that the right side of the boat is the starboard and the left side is the port side. They went out sailing and played follow the leader to practice their steering and tacking.
• Intermediate Opti worked on rigging/de-rigging and learned the importance of being responsible for their new boats. They also practiced tiller switches on land. Each sailor went out sailing off the dock with an instructor to help them steer through the mooring field.
• Beginner 420 went out for their first sail on Wednesday. Instructors Chris and Mike did demonstrations off of the dock to show them how to move about in the 420. Each student had the opportunity to sail with an instructor.
• The Intermediate 420 class went out to the ocean on Thursday! They worked on keeping control in heavy wind by using the mainsheet to adjust their sail. They also learned what the responsibility of the crew/skipper is while out on the water.
• The Cruising class sailed around Rock Island on Thursday. They worked on downwind sailing and weight placement in the boat.
• The 420 Race Teams worked on heavy wind wire to wire tacks as well as roll gybes and mark roundings.
• The Opti Race Teams worked on triangle courses and upwind sailing in heavy breeze. They also worked on weight placement in the boat.

Race Team Parent Meetings

The Opti Race A/B team parent meeting is on Monday, July 2nd at 12:45 PM


The 420 Race A/B team parent meeting is on Monday, July 2nd at 1:15 PM


See you then!!

Theme Days 2012

July 4th and July 5th	Patriotic Day (Wear Red, White and Blue)
July 12th and July 13th	Sport’s Day (Wear your favorite team’s jersey/shirt/hat)
July 19th and July 20th	Hawaiian Day (Wear grass skirts, leis, flowers)
July 26th and July 27th	Christmas in July! (Wear Santa hats and red/green)
August 2nd and 3rd	Neon Days (Wear bright yellow, pink, green, tie-die)
August 9th and 10th	Pirate Days (Wear bandanas, beards and gold earrings)
August 16th and 17th	Nautical Prep Day (Wear sailors hats and polos)

Newest WDYC Sailing Song

The Intro to Race Team and Opti Race Team's combined their talent this afternoon to write a sailing song based on "Call Me Maybe"

Here's My Sail Number, Protest Me Maybe
(Lyrics)

I crossed the line on port
No way I could abort
I looked at you as I fouled
Because your in my way.

I trade my soul for a wish
Pennies and dimes for some WIND
I wasn't looking for this
But now your in my way.

Your stare was holding
Sail was luffing, said I was bluffing
Hot day wind was blowing
Where you think your going, sailor

Hey, I just hit you and this is crazy
Here's my sail number, protest me maybe.
It's hard to sail right, with you crazies
Here's my sail number, protest me maybe.

And all the other sailors try to beat me,
Here's my sail number, protest me maybe.

Storms

As the race teams and intro to race classes left the dock this afternoon, the sun was shining. Within an hour, this crazy storm cloud rolled in and they were summoned back to the dock. As they watched the thunder and lightning from inside the club, they kept busy playing sailing jeopardy and creating their own sailing song. Please enjoy the song posted above!

Pictures from Day 2!

WANTED!

Calling all empty laundry detergent/handle drink jugs! In the sailing world we use them as bailers. We would love you to save them and send them into the sailing office. We will put them to good use! Thank you in advance.

Rain, Rain Won't Get In the Way!

The first day of sailing brought cold rainy weather but that it did not stop our sailors from smiling! They were excited to return to WDYC for their first day back. Before the storms rolled in this morning, the beginner opti class began by playing the name game and learning about the parts of the boat. They even sailed two of our club prams right off of the dock (on their first day!) The intermediate opti sailors learned how to rig their opti's and practiced sailing out and back to the dock. The wind was perfect for their docking! The beginner 420 class also learned how to rig and were split into two teams for rigging races. They were very impressive with how quick and efficient they were working to rig the boats. They were also tied up in a "human-knot" before the end of class for team building. The intermediate class went out in five boats and practiced getting their feel for being back in the boats. 

This afternoon the 420 and Opti race teams were questionable about going out on the water because of the radar. The opti coaches began class by working on adjusting sails. Thankfully when they finished the storm clouds had passed and the kids geared up and went out sailing in the pouring rain. They were hiking hard as they were sailing through the river. It was great to see them back on the water! The 420 teams reviewed rigging their spinnakers and practiced figure eight drills in the river. They were in tight space and really had to work on their boat handling skills. We are hoping for clear skies so they can head out to the ocean tomorrow for races! The Sea-Squirts learned about parts of the boat and took a ride out while learning about safety on boats. 

The weather didn't rain on our parade today! We wouldn't let it get in the way!

Volunteers Wanted!

The WDYC is hosting the Invitational on Monday, July 9th. In years past we have had over 150 sailors come to the club for this event! We are lucky that Greg and Karen Galanis have generously donated their time to run the invite this year. This event needs your help! If you can donate your time, please find the yellow poster board in the JYC and sign up to volunteer. Thank you in advance.

Meet the Instructors!

Ryan Daly is returning to WDYC as the 420 Race Coach for the second season. He is a junior at Connecticut College where he majors in Bio-Chemistry. He began sailing opti's at WDYC when he was young and moved up to the 420 Race Team where he placed at the top of Southern Mass sailing in his final year of junior sailing. Ryan is on the Connecticut College sailing team and spends most of the spring traveling and racing in college regattas. In addition to sailing, Ryan enjoys playing golf, tennis and soccer. He is looking forward to another great summer at WDYC!

MaryKate Cervin is a new face on our staff this year. She grew up sailing opti's at WDYC ten years ago. She then went to Hyannis YC where she sailed and raced on the 420 race team. MaryKate also raced on the Barnstable HS sailing team for four years. MaryKate will be a sophomore at Fordham in the fall where she is majoring in English. MaryKate will be coaching the Opti Race Team and we are excited to welcome her aboard!

Laura Adams is returning as a senior instructor at WDYC. She grew up sailing at West Dennis and was a member of the Harwich HS sailing team. Laura will be a sophomore at UMASS Amherst in the Isenberg School of Management in the fall where she majors in accounting. Laura participates in the Finance Society, Business Club and Intramural Softball while at UMASS. She wilginl be teaching Beginner Opti and Intro to Race 420 this summer.

Michael Sweeney is returning to WDYC as a senior instructor. He will be a sophomore at Connecticut College in the fall. Mike is a member of the sailing team and skiing team at Conn. He also works as a student advisor leader where he mentors incoming freshman during orientaiton. Mike is a familiar face at WDYC because he grew up sailing opti's and 420's at the club. Mike will be teaching Cruising and Beginner 420 this summer.

Kelsey Goggin is returning to WDYC as a senior instructor. She just finished her freshman year at Hobart and William Smith where she chose to major in Economics. Kelsey has taken on a leadership role as a mentor to incoming Hobart students. Kelsey will be participating in the Pan Mass CHallenge for the second time this summer. She is also a WDYC sailing veteran as she sailed 420's and opti's here for many years. Kelsey will be teaching Intermediate 420 and Intro to Race Opti

Lauren Galanis is returning to WDYC as a senior instructor. Lauren just completed her sophomore year at Florida State University and is excited to be back teaching sailing at WDYC. Lauren majors in Biology at FSU and participates in a variety of community service programs through the school. We look forward to welcoming Lauren back as this is her 12th year here teaching Beginner Opti and Sea-Squirts.

Marissa Sullivan is returning to WDYC after completing her sophomore year at Loyola University. Marissa has sailed opti's and 420's at WDYC since she was seven years old. At Loyola, Marissa is a member of the club lacrosse team and also participates in the annual Relay for Life. She is exciting to be teaching 420's this summer.

Chris Warner is returning to WDYC after completing his freshman year at Boston College. Chris joined the BC crew team this year where he loved waking up at 5 a.m. for practice every day. Chris is majoring in Political Science. Chris has sailed at WDYC since he was five years old. He looks forward to teaching Beginner 420 and 420 Race B this summer.

Orientation Recap

1. Welcome and Introduction to the Staff

2. What should my child bring to sailing?

a. Closed-toe shoes (NO FLIP FLOPS!)

b. Hat, sunscreen, sunglasses

c. Swimsuit, shorts, t-shirt

d. Change of clothes and towel

e. Water bottle, snack

f. Medications & EpiPen

 

3. Safety

1. Parents: please have your cell phone on during class!
2. Instructors: US Sailing Level 1 & CPR/First Aid
3. VHF Radio (on land & on boats)
4. No running/swimming on the docks
5. Lifejacket must have a whistle
6. Foot Protection (old sneakers, water shoes)
7. Injury (communication)
8. Swim Test (right off the dock, life jacket on)
9. Capsizing (they will get wet every class J)
10. Weather (we will host class on rainy days)

4. Request from Instructors
1. Please DO NOT rig your child’s boat!
2. No parent coaching during class or at regattas
3. Pick up/drop off times (checking in and out)
4. Contact the Program Director

5. How you can help
1. Read the Sailing Blog (www.wdycsailing.blogspot.com)
2. Join Southern Mass Sailing email list: SMSA@topica.com
3. Arrive ON TIME with appropriate gear
4. Volunteer with Sailing Committee: Danielle McKenna
5. Class time/Bailer donations
6. Class will be held on Wednesday, July 4^th

6. Race Parents
1. Race Team meetings/deadlines
2. Help tow trailer
3. Donations (water, snacks)
4. Proper attire (spray top, pants, rash guards, sailing gloves)
5. No drop off at regattas
6. 420 Parent Mentors: Mrs. Warner, Mrs. Seferian
7. Opti Parent Mentor: Lisa Goggin

7. WDYC Invitational- July 9^th (NO CLASSES)
1. Volunteers contact Karen Galanis

WDYC Staff!

The WDYC instructors have been hard at work sanding, painting and waxing the boats for the start of sailing on Monday, June 25th! The beautiful weather has helped keep us ahead of schedule. The boats will be launched into the water on Thursday and Friday. We are one step closer to sailing on Monday!

Sailing Orientation

Welcome Back!

This Saturday we will host Sailing Orientation at 10:00 a.m at WDYC. All parents are encouraged to attend. We are also hosting a mandatory opti rigging clinic for all opti sailors intermediate-race team featuring Matt Wake from Sturgis Boat Works. If you cannot attend the orientation, minutes will be posted on the blog on Saturday.

Happy Sailing!

Meghan

Join the SMSA mailing list!

Are you a South Eastern Massachusetts sailing parent or racer? Please join the SMSA e-mail list! It is a fantastic resource for our youth sailors, especially our junior racers. Stay informed and join! It only takes a minute and will keep you informed. Please send a message to the information listed below.

 

Here's the basic information:

To send a message: SMSA@topica.com
To subscribe: SMSA-subscribe@topica.com
To unsubscribe: SMSA-unsubscribe@topica.com

Attention Opti and 420 Racing Parents!

The 2012 Regatta schedule has been posted. Please mark your calendar.

http://www.southernmasssailing.com/ma-sailing-association-calendar-of-events.asp

2012 Sailing!

Hello Everyone,

It's hard to believe we are less than two months away from summer sailing at WDYC! If you have not yet mailed in your sailing applications, please be sure to fill them out and fax or mail them to the club ASAP. Classes are filling up fast. The applications can be found at our website: http://www.wdyc.org/uploads/revisedwdycinformationpacket2012.pdf

If you are interested in sailing information for your child, please email sailingdirector@wdyc.org. I would be glad to answer any questions you may have.

Happy Spring!

Meghan