September Commodore Letter

First, need to get some business out of the way. At this upcoming meeting 8pm October 12th at Gustons (3300 Cobb Pkwy, Acworth) we will be electing our 2018 officers. We start by asking for nominations and you either have to be present to accept or have given someone your proxy. Our current officers have served in position for 2 years and may be looking for a change though, I know already that Ardyth is willing to carry on as treasurer and Laura as Yeoman. We will be holding elections tonight so, if you are unable to make the meeting, find someone to either give your proxy to or who can call you when we are voting.

Since last meeting we have had one fall race, the Italian Raftup hosted by Jordan and Ardyth, Andy's Octoberfest raftup, and the Chili Cookoff. Come to the meeting to hear some more details on how these fun events went. Hoping to see some of our new members come to more of our events (hint-hint).

Laura and I had a nice trip on my newly completed project boat (Hunter 212) down in Pensacola, Florida area. Was glad to finally get her down to the crystal clear waters and soft sand beaches. If you haven't yet cruised this area I highly recommend it and am sure we could put together a trip or tell you about the Florida 120 or BEER cruise both of which are held in that area and a great way to sail in company with a whole bunch of new friends.

On November 10th we have our Commodore's Ball at the beautiful Allatoona Yacht Club. The committee organizing this event is headed up by Brad Braswell and is diligently working on food selection, decorations, and music. As always, they could use more hands either long term in the committee or to help provide decorations for the day. I have volunteered to come up with a Nauti Trivia game so bone up on your Sailing terms.

In October (besides the chili cookoff) we have the second Fall SOTY race on the 14th with the skippers meeting at the bathhouse at 11am, the Turtle Rock Regatta on the 21st, and the Fall Colors Cruise the weekend of the 28th. I want to encourage everyone to show up for the races either to participate or just be on the water with everyone else. Our races are fairly casual these days and are suitable for boats and skippers of all abilities and levels.

I especially want to encourage people to participate in the Turtle Rock Race, in my opinion one of the best races we have all year. This is a long distance race between Harbor Town Marina and the famous Turtle Rock located near the East end of Red Top Mountain Bridge. Direction of the race is generally determined by the wind with a big preference for downwind runs especially in the twisty S bends. The last several years this has meant sailing from Turtle Rock back to Harbortown. We also stagger start this race based on boat handicap with the slower boats starting first and then the faster boats having to do a stern chase. It also means we all tend to finish around the same time. So, come out to participate in the race, to cruise the lake along the race route, or just to see the finish of the race. We will post the finish location on the club's Facebook site. In other words, you don't have to come out for the whole race to participate. You can motor by and wave or be there at the finish to congratulate the participants.

I also want to encourage people to participate in the Fall Color Cruise, another one of my favorite club events even though this year the colors may be a bit muted thanks to the hurricanes and tropical storms. For this cruise we tend to journey to the Northern part of the lake where the mountains get steeper and the trees get thicker. Friday night we take advantage of the nice docks at the Red Top Mountain Lodge. We then sail around the Northern part of the lake a bit before heading up the long and windy Stamp Creek which always brings to mind the movie "African Queen" only with a lot less swamp and bugs. Along the way we hike to an old cemetery where we get spooked by visiting the tomb of the devil child.. if you just said "whats that?" in your mind you need to come on the cruise to find out. Besides, it is a Halloween tradition. Come meet us Friday night at Red Top Mountain Lodge by car or by boat. You don't have to come for the entire cruise but can join in along the way.

Sincerely,

Scott Widmier