Commodore's Column - May 2009

by Tom Sokoloski
Catalina 36 International Association

Ahoy!

May is such a wonderful month, at least in New England. The ice has melted off streams and rivers, and most lakes and ponds. Snow (for the most part) is a distant memory. Birds are chirping, flowers are blooming, and there is a feeling of “rebirth”. More importantly, May is launch month!! After six months of the above-mentioned snow and ice and abandonment, Julandra gets splashed, and all is well with the world. Stress at work? Deadlines? Family commitments? No problem, Mon. The boat is in the water, and I am able to go sailing again. For those of you in warmer climates, I envy you in colder months, but I feel sorry for you at this time of the year. Being “spoiled” with year-round sailing, you have not felt the unbridled joy of finally being afloat again after the cold hiatus, nor the exhilaration of the first ‘15 knots of wind with 15 degrees of heel’ of the season. It’s magical, and dreaming of it keeps those of us north of the Mason-Dixon line sane during the winter months.

The C36IA website just keeps getting better and better. After having trouble with “Majordomo”, our webmaster Alex Lynch moved our email list server over to our own site. We now have more control over the list server, it allows pictures to be attached to postings, and best of all, the postings are archived! Check it out.

After spending over ten years serving C36IA, Brian Giersch has decided to step down. Brian served as Vice Commodore, Commodore, and most recently Fleet Relations and Ship’s Store. Brian, you will be greatly missed! Taking his place is Ralph Johnson, who sails Still a Thrill on Lake Texoma, TX. Welcome aboard, Ralph. You’ve got big shoes to fill, but I’m certain you will do a great job. See the sidebar for the ‘full story’ about Ralph.

By now members reading this will have received a nav station sticker from Sean McGuckin. One of the ideas from the Membership Meeting last fall in Annapolis, Sean produced 4x6” stickers to be placed under the lid of the nav station, and mailed one to every member of the Association. It contains our web address, and a list of reasons why you should be a member of C36IA. It may not seem important to you now, but eventually just about everyone sells their boat, and we want the new owner to know we exist. Thanks for taking the time to stick it under the nav station lid.

If you haven’t already done so, go to our website, www.C36IA.com, and print out a couple of flyers about the Association. They can be found on the home page, and also under the Association tab. “Why Join C36IA?” is the title of the article, and the flyer is a pdf file attached to the article. Know of another C36 on your dock who is not a member? Give him/her a flyer and tell them about us. They will be glad you did.

Smooth Sailing