SAYRA FEBRUARY e-Newsletter

Greetings from your Commodore....

I write this sitting in the Atlanta airport waiting for my flight to St. Lucia where I and some other friends have chartered a boat for a non-racing adventure. It will be a decidedly non-racing adventure, other than races to the cooler for another beer. But it is a reminder that sailing is not all about racing, as much as I enjoy racing.

We heard from Nick Hayes at the 2017 and 2018 conventions about opening our sport to more players. At the 2019 meeting, several club leaders and a sailing director talked to us about the sailing director position and the ways that having an organized program can grow our sport and our club memberships as well. This is a major change in philosophy for many SAYRA clubs, but one that has great potential.

SAYRA was chartered to promote and coordinate sailboat racing in our region and offer educational opportunities. This should always be a core mission of SAYRA, but I do appreciate the forum that we have to share thoughts and ideas on better ways to get to the weather mark, so to speak, in other related areas.

Since the January convention, several people have shared great ideas for our 2020 meeting - I encourage everyone else to pass along any thoughts you might have. This is your organization and we share the helm. My goal is for SAYRA to stay true to its roots, but also be fresh and relevant to our current needs. We appreciate everyone who stepped up to join SAYRA as an individual or family member to support this great organization. With this support we can continue to drive great ideas for this year and beyond.

So, off to that non-race... Your Faithful Commodore, Robert

SAYRA 2019 CHAMPIONSHIPS

2019 Club Championships J22 - September 14th details HERE

**NEW** 2019 Club Women's Championship J22 - May 18th detailsHERE

2019 SAYRA PHRF Offshore Championship SERIESdetailsHERE

First event is March 23-24 Geechee Sailing Club - St. Patricks Day Regatta, Savannah, GA LINK

SAYRA JR Grand Prix 2019 Series announced

Atlanta YC Jr Olympics April 13-14 *fresh*

Lake Norman YC Race City 400Regatta April 27-28 *fresh*

James Island YC Open June 15-16 *salt*

Hobcaw Yacht Club Open July 13-14 *salt*

Carolina Yacht Club Open August 3-4 *salt*

Beaufort YSC Pluff Mud Jr Regatta Sept 14-15 *salt*

Augusta SC Halloween October 12-13 *fresh*

Columbia SC Midland November 2-3 *fresh*

Best 3 of 8 series and 1 salt/1 fresh requirement

NOR coming soon website LINK HERE

Opti Green/White/Blue/Red * Bic U13/+13 * Sunfish * Laser 4.7/Radial/Full * C420 Spin/trap & Non-spin

Congrats to ALL our 2018 Series winners HERE

Upcoming Instructor Trainer Courses - Level 1 SPACE LIMITED SIGN UP EARLY

CYCNC - 3/11-14
Augusta SC - 4/6-9
University YC (Lake Lanier) 4/13-14 and 20/21
Western Carolina SC 4/26-29
Lake Norman YC 5/24-27

Little Washington Sailing School NC 5/30-6/2

Spaces limited at each one.... Sign up early!
https://www.ussailing.org/â€¦/small-boat-â€¦/level-1-instructor/

Upcoming Race Management Courses

1 day Race Management Seminar - March 16th - Lake Norman YC (hosted at Pennisula YC)
Advanced Judges Seminar - March 9-10 Southern YC
Other US Sailing Course listings: LINK HERE

US Sailing Safety at Sea ONLINE Programs

US Sailing Safety At Sea... did you know there is an ONLINE course... get prepared for the season... Online Coastal Safety at Sea or Online Offshore Safety at Sea Video LINK

SAYRA AGM & US Sailing National Sailing Program Symposium

Lots of great conversations going on at the SAYRA AGM and at NSPS. We are building a resource page so that SAYRA members can get the material and use it. We hope this is a great starting point for you to initiate conversations on some very impt topics LINK HERE. Save the date the Sailing Leadership Forum is in San Diego Feb. 6-8. VIDEO LINK Save the date and plan to send a spark plug!

TEAM SAYRA @ C420 Midwinters - Congrats to the 6 teams that joined forces to compete at the C420 Midwinters this weekend in Jensen Beach FL - breeze on was the name of the day and for every team but one - this was their first time participating in this event. Lots of learning going on. Congrats to ASC/LLSC team - Nathan/Michael Bowen for qualifying for the GOLD fleet sailing today. Thank you to our coach Mark Newman SCYC for keeping the learning going between races and spirits high with some challenging breeze on conditions. Joining forces for a SAYRA TEAM makes a lot of sense when participating at these large events - thank you to the clubs ASC, LLSC, AtlYC, SCYC, JIYC! Not to mention the kids had a lot more fun when sailing together as a team! Way to go sailors good luck on your last day of racing!

Calendar Upcoming SAYRA of Events (full calendar here):

Get your CLUB 2019 OPEN EVENT schedule loaded - email sailing.sayra@gmail.com

Calendar - only as good as what the CLUBS submit - take a moment and look to see if your favorite event is listed!

SUBJECT: SAYRA Sailing e-Newsletter - February