A Note From Fleet Captain, Dave Wisel

It was a great season for NC3 despite the pandemic. We had a few cruise cancellations early in the year; one due to extreme low tide and the other due to weather. On the flip side we had three phenomenal weeklong cruises and several weekend cruises led by some of our amazing members. The exclamation point at the end of the season was the Last Rites of Summer Cruise led by Jim and Kim Baker on Scadger. Jim and Kim are new to the fleet and prior to the LROS Cruise this year had never sailed south of the Bay Bridge. Well, they can’t say that any longer as the LROS Cruise took us to Knapp’s Narrows, Oxford, and the Rhode River. I won’t go into any further detail, but if you haven’t had a chance to, check out the cruise reports here for all of the cruises from this past season. If you have any pictures to share from any of the cruises, please email them to newsletters@nc3sailing.org and we’ll create a photo gallery for each cruise attached to the cruise report.

It seems like just a few weeks ago that it was Spring, and we were busy getting bottoms prepped and painted, checking off the spring commissioning list and counting the days to launch. Now the season is over, 2022 is just days away. Where does the time go? If we’re lucky, the time between now and the first day of sailing season will go just as quickly. We don’t have a moment to lose and your NC3 officers are already busy planning the 2022 season. We had a very productive planning session last week and we are all excited about the coming year. However, we need your help.

One many great things about NC3 is the knowledge and experience of the members. This year we want to tap into some of that brain power to help with planning cruises, social activities, and some other events that we are working on. We would love to get more people involved in the planning process to hear your ideas on what types of activities might make our cruises more enjoyable for all. And, of course, with Covid-19 still on everyone’s mind, how our events can be safe for all participants.

We are forming three new committees this year to help foster participation by you, our members:

Cruising Committee

Craig Stone, our Cruise Director, will lead this committee and our volunteer Cruise Leaders will be members. Anyone else that would like to contribute is welcome to join and attend meetings. If you have never led a cruise and might be interesting in doing so, this would be a great way to understand the cruise planning process. Spoiler alert: It’s not hard! We want to hear ideas for new destinations and innovative ways to cruise as a club and remain safe. We also want to tap into your knowledge of favorite marinas and anchorages.

Membership/Social Committee

I will chair this committee with assistance from Craig as needed. This committee would be instrumental in identifying and planning events both on and off-water such as the Mallows Bay kayak trip that Amy Sloan did a phenomenal job of planning and the “Sailing into Winter Solstice” trip to Frederick that recently took place on December 19. Other events that the committee would be involved in assisting with are:

  1. NC3 Annual Sock Burning
  2. The Mast Raising/Work Day
  3. General meetings and COW
  4. New member welcome event(s)
  5. Other social events such 4th of July cookout and auction.

Newsletter Committee

NC3’s newsletter has historically been the responsibility of a single person. Everyone that has taken on this formidable task has done an amazing job, but sometimes life takes a turn and publishing a newsletter every month during the sailing season isn’t practical for an individual. Communications Officer Jason O’Mara will lead the charge of getting our newsletter out on schedule and will head up this committee. The committee will be responsible for sourcing articles and collecting cruise reports and other interesting topics such as Chesapeake Bay history, new product reviews, etc. You don’t have to be a writer to volunteer to be on this committee, just willing to help!

My vision for these committees is to allow more members to get involved in the day to day of NC3, while enjoying the friendship, community, and knowledge that the club has to offer. We all share the love of sailing and the Chesapeake Bay, and I hope you will find a committee to join that will allow you to share your talents with all the members of NC3. If you are interested in joining any of the committees, please reach out to me via email.

I would like to express my gratitude to Joe Rolfes and Bryant Gorrell for their service to the fleet. Joe juggled his Fleet Captain responsibilities, a career complicated by the pandemic and personal issues like a pro and was able to publish several Newsletters throughout the year as well. Bryant raised the bar as Cruise Director for the past two years. Not only did he oversee all the cruise planning for 2020 and 2021, but personally led several cruises. And as if that wasn’t enough, along with his wife Karen, put together Covid-safe events for the 4th of July both years and organized the 1st and 2nd annual fleet auctions and raised additional money for club events.

Finally, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention treasurer and official NC3 meeting note taker John Hughes. John is the unsung hero of the fleet, keeping our books in order, collecting membership dues, and weaving his wonderful sense of humor into meeting minutes. John took over as treasurer when Jack decided to retire from the duties several years ago and does a phenomenal job of keeping the fleet financially sound.

Thank you all for the work you have done and continue to do!

Craig, Jason, John, and I are excited about the upcoming season and look forward to working with each and every one of you to make this a great year for NC3. Have a safe, happy, and healthy holiday season!

Warmest regards,
Dave Wisel

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