Let’s Get On with It

Some water. Some wind. A couple of boats. Some marks.

Really, that’s all you need to have a sailboat race, (and sometimes you don’t even need the marks).

Events of the past few months have left some of us wondering how the summer of 2013 is going to play out. Many of us are in a rebuilding phase: fixing clubhouses, docks, pools and boats, and some clubs are feeling understandably overwhelmed.  We’re all wondering about the impact of the Fire Island breach, and hurricanes and coastal flooding have reminded us just how fragile is our unique corner of the world.

Our sport has become very complicated in the past few years. New technologies, certifications, and regatta requirements would have been completely alien to my sisters and me, as we tied our wooden Blue Jay and my mother’s Sunfish behind my father’s old Chris-Craft and made our way to weekend invitational regattas around the Bay. Some of my favorite childhood memories and longest standing relationships were forged on those weekends, sailing around the hippity-hops behind the Hobies, Ravens, Narrasketucks and Thistles. GSBYRA sailing was at its height, and without any of the “necessities” of today’s events. This year may serve to remind us that we can have a successful season despite many of our clubs being in not quite “Bristol condition.”

Over the past few years we have witnessed the tremendous and exciting growth of our junior racing programs, and I am gratified to know that today’s “bay rats” are enjoying the same experiences I did. Member clubs have been very smart to recruit and retain excellent sailing staff, and we have seen the fruits of their labor. This summer we will continue to focus on and support our junior sailing program in the hopes that sailing may become a lifelong sport for our juniors.

I am certain that there will be times this summer when things don’t look exactly as they did last summer. One thing that won’t change is the commitment of the GSBYRA and its member clubs to provide the best possible venues and organizations for sailboat racing. Because, really, all you need is some wind, some water and some boats.

Let’s get on with it.

Doug Shaw