Any seasoned sailor will tell you, that no matter the course plotted or what the expected weather report may be, there comes a time where you may need to adjust the sails to accommodate a shift in the winds.

After attending Fleet Captain Elizabeth’s Zoom Cruise Planning session on October 10th, I’m excited and ready to sign up for ALL of the cruises planned.  Pivoting our Cruise Planning to the fall allows more opportunities for locations and successfully getting reservations for the dates we wish.

Your health safety was an important factor while planning these cruises (besides having fun, of course).  We will abide by whatever the CDC guidelines and recommendations are at the time of each cruise.  Since the future of large gatherings is still unknown for 2021, we will not plan any large potlucks that PTYC typically funded on our past cruises.  Instead, we will call the 2021 cruising year, “Organized Buddy Boating with our PTYC Friends.”  Your Buddy Boating Organizer will make the reservations and plan the activities.  Continue reading →

Here we are, entering our eighth month of a pandemic and social distancing.  We’ve had plenty of advice over these months about staying connected by way of calling friends and family, starting virtual book clubs or recipe clubs, even getting outdoors and walking with friends, masked, at a safe distance, or chatting over the fence with our neighbors at a safe distance.

Mental health experts agree that being socially connected is considered to be a very important fundamental human need.  Social distancing seems to be a bit of an oxymoron though, and how do we do this, as a social club, in a small clubhouse?  I believe our answer, for the time being, is via Zoom.

We have two Zoom events in October.  The first is our 2021 Cruise Planning, Saturday, October 10th, 9 to 11 am, led by Fleet Captain Elizabeth Eisenhardt.  Watch your email for your invitation link to connect.

Also, please join us Tuesday, October 13th, 6:30 pm, for the General Meeting. Your Zoom invitation will be emailed to you that Tuesday morning.

For those of you who have not yet “zoomed,” at 6:30 pm you’ll simply click on the link in that email to be magically transported to the meeting.  You will be greeted and placed in one of four “Cocktail Rooms” for socializing, hosted by our Board members.  Pour yourself a drink and enjoy visiting with your PTYC friends.   At 7 pm, I’ll return everyone to our main Zoom Room, and we’ll follow our normal agenda.  We are excited to present new members, Jeff & Celine Smith, as our speakers to talk about their sailing adventures around the world.

I was pleased with our very first General Membership Meeting via Zoom on September 8th. We had 27 connected via Zoom, mostly couples, so nearly 50 in attendance.  I’d love to see this grow so we can all stay connected during these difficult times of isolation.  Please join us on Zoom and help your fellow PTYC members stay connected!

Commodore Debbie

Most of our boating this summer has been anchoring out. We cruised to various places in the San Juan Islands including Reid Harbor at Stuart Island, and discovered Cypress Island’s little gem of Pelican Bay. We also cruised to Sucia Island’s Echo Bay four times. Yes, Sucia just might be our favorite! It appears that Sucia is everyone’s paradise, as it has been very crowded, counting over 80 boats in Echo Bay, but there’s always room for one more. With miles of trails, kayaking and exploring, it leaves ample space for everyone. It was nice to see a few PTYC members up in the islands.

I’m writing this article while sitting on the deck of Rain Shadow at Pleasant Harbor. It’s nearing 95 degrees today, but a slightly cool breeze off the water is keeping us comfortable. What a glorious day for reading, kayaking and dropping the crab pots.

Pleasant Harbor provides its guests with plenty of room for social distancing and we feel very comfortable here. Boaters are diligent wearing masks on the dock and enjoying very small gatherings of 6 or less on their boats. It appears others feel more comfortable alone on their boats, but are still able to socialize with the boats in slips next to them and passersby on the dock, while maintaining distance. Members, I think we can do this and be safe with a few creative safety adjustments.

We are looking forward to planning cruises and being back on the water as a club in 2021; but, it remains questionable about indoor clubhouse events for the time being. Fleet Captain Elizabeth Eisenhardt will be conducting a Cruise Planning meeting on October 10th via ZOOM. I encourage everyone to attend virtually. We’d like to know where YOU would like to cruise in 2021. Start thinking about it now and watch for more information from Elizabeth on the details and instructions on how to sign up to attend. Continue reading →