December 2021
A Taste of Presnell’s - By Judith Harrison
My husband, Ron, and I like to call ourselves foodies. This is not due to any particular refinement of palette, mind you, but simply because we love to eat and are always looking forward to/planning our next meal. We often plan our many adventures around where we can try new things. When we got our first travel trailer earlier this year we jumped into this new hobby with the same voracity and began to feed our camping hunger with an assortment of short weekend camping trips. Since we are both still stuck on the hamster wheel of weekday work life, we began to fill up our weekends with reservations at nearby campgrounds . . . those near enough that we could pop over on a Friday afternoon for a quick getaway and be back and ready for work on Monday. We have been amazed by the plethora of local camping opportunities, often leading us to find ourselves sampling locations we would never have bothered to try otherwise! (Hello, Perry KOA!)
Upon joining Shell Point Sailboard Club a couple of years ago, we heard about the annual “Presnell’s” trip, but we had not had a chance to partake. So, when it came around this year, we jumped on board and added it to our “camping menu” for November, and, boy, I am SO glad we did. Having grown up in the panhandle, I thought I was already pretty familiar with our local coastline but I was wrong. Just down the road from Tallahassee, Presnell’s Bayside Marina in Port St. Joe, sits right in the middle of a smorgasbord of excitement! In addition to the waterfront location being perfect for stumbling straight from your camper to your board to catch some wind, the boat ramp provides opportunities for fishing, kayaking and other water activities right outside your door. All this in addition to the plethora of bike trails and hiking opportunities just a stone’s throw away.
While many of the crew were there for the week (a few hardcore souls there for two weeks!), being the weekend warriors we are, we quickly ran out of time before we could even begin sample it all. We did take our bikes out for a spin through the St. Joseph State Buffer Preserve (<2-miles away) and down the beach. We also found time to cast a few lines into the bay, but the fish eluded us. Add in the amazing sunset happy hours each evening at the clubhouse and the fabulous campfire dinners with some awesome people and we were served an experience we can’t wait to repeat! While we only got a taste of the offerings at this amazing buffet of adventure this trip, we left with quite a hunger to return. And next time we hope to explore the entire menu our Forgotten Coast and SPSC friends have to offer!
Commodore Comments
Merry Christmas Everyone!
It has been an honor and a privilege to be the commodore of the Shellpoint Sailboard Club for 2021. Even though the year started off a little rough not knowing for sure if we were going to be able to host any events in person, have lessons or where we would be hosting our monthly club meetings it all ended well.
Thanks to District 850 being such a gracious and generous host, we now have an awesome meeting location. I am sure I am not the only person to say how happy it is to be able to end this year with meeting in person again.
Lessons were successful. Thanks to our excellent coordinator-Bob Graves and all of our wonderful instructors.
Our website has been updated and is looking fantastic thanks to Deb Berlinger working all year long behind the scenes. Even the beach looks better with an updated flag pole.
Thanks to the ROADIES.
Our Endless Summer was a success as well as the Smith Regatta which we able to Thankfully host.
Although there may still be some unknowns in our future there is always one constant thing, I know we can always count on and that is the spirit of the Shellpoint Sailboard Club. That spirit and comradery we love so much when we gather together to enjoy the sport of Sailboarding is always sure to keep us pointed in the right direction.
I hope each and everyone of you enjoys a beautiful Holiday season and has a wonderful New Year!
Warmest regard always,
Rose McCaffrey
Commodore SPSC
Festivus
- Bobby G.
This grand holiday is right around the corner, the Sunday before Christmas, aka, December 19th! As you may know, this glorious celebration is our rendition of what the Seinfeld show created, and there are countless articles on it. However, this is our event throughout the years.
For those that haven’t been to one, we have a social gathering at the east end of the beach and a beautiful bonfire to keep warm and for Richard to jump. We also get our Festivus pole out of the basement of the training trailer and put it up. Martini’s are always served which is usually when we experience our first Festivus miracle and when the airing of grievance takes place, and boy howdy, are there some grievances. Once aired they are soon forgotten.
The big event is the Commodore/Vice Commodore challenge. This is supposed to be a physical challenge of sorts, but in many cases has not been to the chagrin of attendees. One instance had the challenge be a Windsurfer RC race, another a hair braiding contest, and yet another Beatles Trivia. One of the physical challenges was folks with Pugil sticks hacking at each other on a beam of wood, ala Robin Hood and Little John, wherein Donna bested Bob G best two out of three. Another had different skills one had to do, but it was obvious the current Commodore was not trying, so it was sad. Some of them didn’t quite work out as planned, like when Baab attached skateboards to the bottom of a windsurfer in hopes of sailing it on the road. The skateboards didn’t stay in place. There was Stump the Chump with the combatants having a tug of war while standing on a stump.
Last year’s challenge between Rose and Kristin was epic. Not only did they pugil it out on a beam, but they also had to balance and throw a boom and balance on a balance board. I got worn out just watching.
This year’s battle will be between Jack, the Commodore of Vice, and Rose, our current Commodore. Will Jack be able to prove his mettle and proudly rule as our next Commodore or will he be embarrassed, relegated to serving his term in shame. Jack is taking this seriously because he said in one of our board meetings that he has started power lifting to get ready. He may have said that to put fear into Rose, which would mean he hasn’t paid attention all year cause the girl is fearless. Let’s hope for a fun feats of strength challenge!
The Fall Classic 2021 ~ Joe Sisson
There are a couple of different ways you can get to the Lake Lanier Sailing Club. One is “damn the torpedoes” and take the interstate through/around Atlanta. The route we chose was more of the “trust Google Maps” and let’s see where she takes us. It seems the criteria for route selection might be set on “most scenic”. The difference between starting from Woodville and Crawfordville Highways changes from taking 319 north to US 27. We found ourselves traveling north, sometimes on US 27, sometimes on scenic “shortcuts” through rural farm country. Of course, once near Atlanta we wound up dealing with traffic slowdowns on I-285. Undaunted, we arrived safely at our destination mid-afternoon on Friday.
While there are excellent tenting camp sites overlooking the beach, we were fortunate to share a cottage with Bob & Sandy within the LLSC gated community that was only a 2-minute walk to the clubhouse. I’d thought that I might rig up and get in some practice Friday afternoon, but the weather (temperature specifically) convinced me to delay getting into the water until the following morning.
As part of an ongoing tradition, SPSC provided “suppah” for Friday evening, with Sandy and I bringing pots of chili to share with the Friday night crowd. Master of Ceremonies Chris Voith baked some cornbread on site to go with the chili and we ate well! That evening we enjoyed a roaring fire in the massive stone fireplace that dominates the LLSC clubhouse.
Saturday morning was cool, with temps in the high 40s! Chris told us the water temp was a balmy 57, so I put on my new wetsuit purchased specifically for this occasion. It didn’t take long for me to try it out. I was bumped off my board by another sailor about 15 feet from shore. Fortunately, my new suit worked quite well, keeping me warm enough.
On the water the wind was light and variable, not unheard of with lake sailing. Audible race signals made it easy to keep up with the start sequence – don’t have to worry about seeing the flags or wearing a watch! The light air proved challenging as we scattered across the course looking for wind. Somehow, I found myself near the front and finished the first race in a respectable position. I should note there are a number of excellent sailors in the fleet so anywhere near the front is good in my book.
Light winds prevailed throughout the weekend, with Sunday’s weather very much the same as Saturday – just slightly warmer. In one race I found myself near the windward mark, but with no wind. There were another half dozen sailors close by, pointing in different directions, on different tacks, trying to find some wind to make their way around the mark. There was a good bit of pumping just to get moving to windward, and pumping dominated the downwind legs. Light wind lake sailing can be very challenging.
The food was excellent! Saturday featured a nice continental breakfast, subs for lunch, and chicken parmesan for supper! Sunday lunch featured burgers grilled mmm good.
An award ceremony followed lunch. I managed to hold on for a third-place trophy and added a t-shirt and rack pads to my swag for the weekend. Chris always has excellent goodies to share.
We’d decided to spend Sunday night there at LLSC, and watched the moon set below Venus, Saturn, and Jupiter.
You should go. Pretend to be a member of LLSC for a weekend. You’ll not regret it.
SPSC Club Meeting –Tuesday, November 9th, 2021
Called to order at 7:36 with 14 members present. Two members came in 30 minutes later for a total attendance of 16.
Place: District 850. The food and beer, just like last time, were great. No games were played in advance of the meeting
Commodore: Rose got the minutes accepted. She profusely thanked everyone who helped make the Endless Summer one of the best in a long time and is looking forward to Festivus! Rose got a rousing round of applause for her leadership.
Vice Commodore: Jack had something. Thanked Rose for the great job she did as Commodore, and, though late, thanked her for the great R’n’R she ran in 2020. Mentioned getting the Festoons together for practice is harder than herding cats.
Scribe: Thanked Laura, Tina, and Joe Reid for their great articles.
Purser: We have money in the bank! Membership numbers are low but don’t include all the people re-upping via the Endless Summer registration. Spoke about some expenses at the Endless Summer, but, overall, we did good.
Endless Summer: Rose said she thought it was AWESOME! Said stuff happens because someone is always ready to step up to see that things get done. She is amazed at the fact the event has gone on for 34 years. Or is that a fact? Could it be an alternate fact and maybe it hasn’t been 34 years? Is it fake news? We will never know.
Events for 2021:
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November: Atlanta Fall Classic: November 6-7
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Presnell’s: November 18-22
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December: Christmas Party: December 11 and Festivus: December 19
Old Business: Constitution updated with the voted-on changes from last meeting
New Business: Ryne Least gave a presentation on staying healthy and safe at the beach, a presentation missed by all those who got hurt! He did a great job and showed some pictures we would rather have not seen. Made some comment about “drinking the right liquids”. Ryne did a great job, mixing in a serious matter with humor. He even tested us and we passed!! Ryne was shocked.
Chris Graves then spoke about the upcoming Bonaire trip and mentioned they knew about our club and that we automatically get insurance for equipment we rent without having to pay extra. Lots of people are interested and Chris did say there is only one flight a week that goes there.
Last meeting of Commodore Rose’s reign ended at 8:28! Or did it? Will Jack defeat Rose in feats of strength to prove himself worthy to serve the SPSC? Jack was looking fearful.