Still Improving

With winters like this past one, we may lose our ice-boaters to the north and have to turn into a full year water-sailing YRA! Not in my time I hope. I really enjoyed sailing between the ice flows at Snapper Inn ---maybe I was correct in keeping my beautiful wooden Penguin.

The summer season of 2002 is well past the planning stage and contains several significant changes: handicaps, management of the handicaps, and the Race Week venue. Briefly, GSBYRA recognizes the South Bay Cruising Club as the US SAILING PHRF handicap authority for the bay; GSBYRA has done some handicapping and deferred to SBCC when convenient in compiling season handicaps. Under our new agreement, SBCC will be the source of all PHRF handicaps.

Race Week is a little different and could be characterized as a still-evolving and hopefully improving format. We gave Race Week serious thought this year. Our object is to provide good racing while still getting lots of bay sailors together to mess it up on the water. It’s a fun week, but the racing is serious business or “forget about it – right?” So, please make it your job to help the committee move forward with this year’s improvements.

Also, to improve the flexibility of our venerable Great South Bay championship fleet (the six Mobjacks), the Executive Committee ordered reef point capability, which can be used at the discretion of the Race Committee.
In other committee activities our emphasis remains focused on junior sailing. Our thanks to the Bellport Bay Sailing Foundation for seizing the opportunity to sponsor a Joni Palmer Junior Sailing Seminar, an important contribution. Within GSBYRA, our strength resides in club junior sailing programs, whose efforts we strongly endorse. Please, ensure that the support and coordinating capability of the GSBYRA Junior Sailing Committee is brought into play wherever and whenever possible. We have seen many occasions where sharing concerns, methods, plans, and ideas have helped other clubs.
Congratulations to all the 2001 season and special trophy winners listed in this yearbook. All the clubs and committees that made the many invitationals, championships, and special regattas possible deserve special thanks from all of us. Have a wonderful season!

Gill Kelley