 Twice in the last two weeks, Port Angeles Yacht Club has been part of a large boat flotilla at the Royal Victoria Yacht Club. A week ago, two PAYC boats went over to take part in the THRASH Race (Thank Heavens Racing And Spring are Here). Our sailing instructors Keith Dahlin and Eric Lesch competed, as well as Ron Hendricks took his boat "Gone With The Wind" to race. This past weekend, Commodore Paul Kolesnikoff and Shirley Grayce sailed Allons-y in the annual opening day parade and blessing at the RVYC where everyone was so happy to have us visit. Turns out that there used to be a lot of cross Strait festivities that they are hoping to rekindle. As a visiting Commodore, Paul got to stand as our burgee was raised to join a whole fleet of distinguished burgees on the RVYC lawn. Later, they fired a cannon to conclude the festivities. (see below)
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Our International Potluck was a great success! We couldn't have asked for a better start to the weekend than the International Potluck Dinner! As we came into the clubhouse, we were treated to a spectacular sunset over the marina. A few minutes later, we saw that everyone put their chef's hats squarely on to bring us tasty treats from all over the world! We all had plates full of many delectable treats. It took several futile attempts to decide the best - they were all so good!!! After dinner, business meeting began by affirming Dianna Chiabotti's appointment to Treasurer, Dann May then welcomed new members Krista Smith, and Lillian Kuehl & Dave Linger, and finally Randy Blackburn-Lapin awarded certificates to members that had attended Power Squadron classes at the clubhouse this winter. He also reminded us to stay tuned for more classes to come this fall. The highlights of the evening were a pair of talks by BM2 Jessica Ford, and Lt. Casey Fall. BM2 Ford wove a tale that took us out on the Strait in a storm to rescue folks that shouldn't have been out there. You could feel the CG boat and her crew braving tall waves, and howling winds to get to where the wreck was reported, then we experienced the trials of finding a person in these tormented seas, only to come to the really hard part - getting close enough to the victims to get them aboard without smashing them with your bouncing boat!!! Once the first rescue was done, they had to head out to rescue more folks. As we tried to catch our breath from our adventures in the Strait, Lt Fall took us aboard her helicopter and whisked us up to the Bering Sea. Imagine being out at night in a gale in the waters where "Deadliest Catch" is filmed. What they don't tell you is that the Coast Guard makes the bravest rescues up there. Lt Fall carries swimmers in her helicopter that go in the water to rescue people. So she has to get not only get the victim she came for, she has to get her crew member out of a stormy sea! These talks had us spellbound and left us invigorated and a bit drained from all the excitement. Like all good stories, they had a moral: Wear your PFDs, get survival gear - like a dry suit, keep your flares current, but keep the old ones to shoot off first, and get an EPIRB or other means for them to come straight to you. The best part is, they both stayed to answer all our questions and even tried to help clean up! PAYC is truly blessed to have these two ladies speak. We are all truly blessed to have them working every day to keep us safe!!! Saturday Morning Bagels & Cleanup This week, we left the tables, chairs and decorations in place on Friday night so people could linger. It worked out wonderfully. On Saturday morning, a few brave souls came in to make bagels, put the dishes away, stack up the chairs, and put the tables away. This allowed us a great chance to chat and enjoy some wonderfully tasty and chewy bagels. Thanks to Rosylen, we now know how to make a perfect garlic bagel. Yum!!! R2AK Movie Was a Hit  The weekend finished off with a good sized crowd of members coming to see the Race to Alaska (R2AK) Movie that Tony Billera got for us.
After the movie, Lillian Kuehl enchanted us with stories of her adventures in the R2AK - including finishing on a team sailboat pre-Covid, and making a rowing solo attempt immediately after finishing the Seventy 48. Stay tuned, she's signed up to be in the race this year! May 7th Noon - 5PM and the Club
The Community Boating Program will be offering instruction on operating their safety boats in support of sailing and kayak activities. The instruction will include classroom time as well as hands-on on-the-water operation of these boats. If you are interested and willing to occasionally volunteer to operate these boats in support of Community Boating sailing, kayak, and other on-the-water events, please sign up - space is limited. The training will take place at the Club on May 7th from noon to 5PM, to reserve a space contact Randy Volker.  Join us for your spring Bartender Training
Ahoy Bartenders! All hands on deck this Friday March 24rd, 5-5:30PM Please come and meet your fellow bartenders, tour the bar from stem to stern, and learn the ropes. What: Bartender Training When: Friday March 24, 5-5:30 Why: To jog your memories with all the cool bartender insider info!  The Shakedown Cruise Captain's Meeting is scheduled for Thursday, April 20, at 6:30PM. If you want to go on this cruise to the San Juans, you should come to this meeting or contact Randy Volker. If you're interested in any of the other cruises we have planned and missed the 2023 PAYC Cruising kick off meeting was on March 21, please come to the PAYC clubhouse on Thursday, April 20, at 6:30PM to find out more. We also have an active sailboat racing program. If you would like more info on that, please put Sailboat Racing in the comment section of the form below.  We will be cooking up a pasta feast for our annual Spring Fundraiser.
March 17th, 2023 6PM Our High School and Junior Sailing team along with coaches and parents will be cooking up a pasta feast for our annual Spring Fundraiser. The meal includes: ● Spaghetti ● Green Salad ● Garlic Bread ● and Dessert Suggested Donation: $20 per person In addition, we'll be auctioning off items including Sea BagsTM, Local Wines, Handmade Quilts, Sounders Tickets and MORE. Bring your hunger and your checkbook and help support our kids for the year. RSVP here -> www.communityboatingprogram.org or email us at sailing@payc.org Where: The Port Angeles Yacht Club, 1305 Marine Dr, Port Angels, WA 98363 Doors Open at 6PM and this event is open to all members of our community! Please RSVP to help us plan our food shopping needs.  March 3, 2023 is the first Friday of the month, and that means it's time for another
Burger & Brew! Come on down to join us for the best dinner deal in town! $8 for a burger and a beer $10 for two burgers and a beer Doors open at 5:30PM As always, we'd like you to help. Please click here to volunteer or just show up a bit early to help, or plan to stay late to help clean up  On a recent dark and stormy night, a whole pirate ship's crew invaded our clubhouse for a little friendly cheer. As the rum began to flow, it the barrel's tap got plugged up. A quick check revealed a severed head gumming up the works!
Since the rum still tasted good - even with a good head, the mateys kept the grog flowing as they scratched their heads and the clues to find the guilty party. Can you spot the guilty party?-)  As is tradition for the past many many years, the February PAYC Dinner Meeting is a Chili and Cornbread Cook-Off. Winners brag all year long about their winning recipes. Each time we see a wide variety of chili's both meat and vegetarian varieties and cornbread's that are traditional or non-traditional and this year was no exception with a robust spread that made the competition hot for coveted winner's circle.
This year we had several unique options including "Armadillo Chili" made with Beyond meat, chicken and green chili, and even a venison chili! The competition was also fierce in the cornbread's with many baked delectables to choose from. These three walk away with the coveted brag'n rights. Deana for her traditional cornbread, Mike for his meat chili and Wendy for her veggie chili AND her non-traditional cornbread!  If you are not familiar with the name Joshua Slocum you missed the PAYC book club’s latest pick Sailing Alone Around the World. Published in 1900, the classic yarn tells of Slocum’s historical solo three year voyage (1895-1898) aboard his 36 foot wooden sloop Spray.
The book club met last Monday evening, Feb. 20th, to share their thoughts about Slocum’s adventures, reminiscing about his encounters with late 1800’s people and cultures from Boston to Brazil, Australia to Africa and many islands in between. The book club meets every other month, giving most plenty of time to immerse themselves in a salty world or words. Watch for upcoming emails with information about the next book selection and meeting times. - Keith D. |
