December 2022

December 2022

Commodore Comments

The Christmas party is in the books and I am in my last month as your Commodore. It has been a wild ride starting with the Wind Ceremony, Stephen C. Smith Regatta, Rum and Root beer, and the Endless Summer. I would like to thank all the volunteers who have stepped in when needed and made my job easy to do. Thank you.

As I said before, the Christmas party was a success, and I am down to my last official duty as commodore. A dual with our future Commodore Mark Powell. We will be racing for the honor of Commodore next year. Although we are both competitive, I will say it’s not looking good for me. I will be racing on a Dinghy, I have never sailed before, against an opponent who has the fire in his eyes, to take this coveted title from me. Please come down to Shell Point December 18th for Festivus. There will be Feats of Strength, The Airing of Grievances; and finally, the Christmas Miracle. bring something to nosh on. we look forward to seeing you there! Check your emails for additional information.

Your Commodore,

Jack May

Your 2023 Officers and Board Members

Commodore: The Italian Stallion himself, Mark Powell!

Vice Commodore: Kristin “Crash” Korinko

Purser: Wright Finney, graduate of Trump University

Scribe: Bob “I read it on the Internet” Graves

Past Commodore: Jack May

At Large Board Members: Rose Lane, Joe Sisson, and two of our newer club members who have stepped up (or in it?), Charlie Witherspoon and Andrea LaBeaud.

Meteorology alumnus’ gift to support state-of-the-art weather display technology for use by FSU student, faculty researchers

A two-time Florida State University alumnus is giving back to his alma mater with a gift that will support a vital resource in his home department.

Mark D. Powell, a leading meteorologist and hurricane researcher for more than 40 years, has gifted $200,000 to the FSU Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Science to support operation of the weather observatory, a place where students, faculty, and researchers can collaborate and bring textbook concepts on weather phenomena to life through interactive analysis, forecast imagery and the best view of the sky on campus.

. . . continued

Martini Madness ~ by Laura Least

As I sit here sipping my pride and joy that is my gin martini, I can’t help but thank the MVP Perry for teaching me the masterful ways of "martini-ing" which is more popularly identified as bartending. But how did I get to this place of abundant luxury and knowledge? Great question, so allow me to rewind to the breezy and beautiful Presnell’s group windsurfing and camping trip.

I am not sure how I was selected for this martini apprenticeship, but I like to think there was a board meeting and discussion in one of the campers, and my name was at the top of the candidate list. When the clock struck four Perry took me under his wing and we began the martini prep. We started with the star of the martini show: THE BLUE CHEESE STUFFED OLIVE. I fished out olives from the jar and removed the pimento which took a significant amount of patience and hand eye coordination. Once that was completed it was time to inject blue cheese into the olive. A pro tip from Perry was to " warm the injector between your hands, or if times are tough, under an armpit to make for easy injecting." I was over generous at times with the blue cheese which made for a nice snack break for Perry. I will be honest, after injecting approximately 15 olives I began to wonder if carpal tunnel was in my future. Unfortunately, I don't think my FMLA paperwork will be approved but I will keep everyone up to date.

Once we finished with the olives, we gathered all forty into a safe, traveling vessel and made the journey to the top of the balcony to start the martini madness. The sun was setting creating a fantastic view as we were greeted by excited club members. The very specific ratios of gin and vermouth were explained, and I was sworn to secrecy to keep these values safe. The enormous martini shaker was massaged, never shaken, and then the glasses were poured to the top. I wondered for a moment if the cocktail would be satisfactory for the rest of the members, but

after a tense moment of silence I was relieved when seeing the smiles and chatter break across the group. I would like to give a shoutout to the professor of cocktails and flavor magician Perry for taking me under his wing and sharing his knowledge! I look forward to crafting up the next club event martini!

Christmas Party 2022

What a great night we had! Even though some of the older members didn’t show up we had a lot of the newer members come for the first time! The food spread was incredible with the addition of vegan meat alternatives for any vegetarians along with the traditional ham and turkey for the carnivores.

The folks started hitting the dance floor about 8:30 and the GREAT SWAMI read his version of the Night Before Christmas around 9. He was in magnificent voice as people gathered around and hung on every word.

Festivities wrapped up around 11:30. Lots of people stayed for the cleanup and it got done very quickly, with everyone waiting for the DJ to hurry up and break his stuff down so they could all go home. I would love to included some pictures but, in the light of digital media and not knowing what some of the folks political aspirations may be, I decided not to publish them.

Setup for the event at 2pm saw Rose and Chris Lane, Marina Byrd, Sandy Layne, Jack May, Wright Finney, and Mark Powell there to get the holiday tone right with Daniel Craig at the door!

Based on my observation before I left, it looks like there will be some dang good beer at Festivus this year! See you at 3pm next Sunday, December 18, and bring your own beverages in case my observations were wrong!

Did YOU

pay your dues?

SPSC Club Minutes, Tuesday, 11/08/2022

Place: District 850

14 people in attendance, which is astonishing since it was during the Presnells campout.

Commodore: Welcomed new member Rick (the famous south Florida windsurfer / palm hat artist).

Vice Commodore: Briefly discussed Windsurfer Worlds in Italy and Puffin sailing. Club members are invited to stop by the Shell Point boat basin (at the boat ramp) to watch the Puffin races and swap out with the VC. Next race 1:30 pm Sunday Nov. 13th.

Scribe: MIA at Presnell’s so VC taking notes. Meeting called to order at 7:39 by the Commodore. Minutes approved shortly thereafter.

Purser: Money in the bank. ES not yet cleared. Awaiting beer bill. Probably a 4 digit number. Can always appeal to the Governor if the board does not give him the funds he asked for. He does not need to explain how he runs the beer truck.

ES Donors appreciated. 64 memberships thus far. Do not stuff bills for club dues into Wright’s coat pocket at the Christmas party… you should know where to stuff them by now. More members than this point last year. Usual scofflaws will get reminder or may be swimming with the fishes.

If you haven’t renewed your membership, please do so, so you can get to Christmas Party. https://www.spsc20knotsnob.com/membership

Upcoming events and actions:

Miscellaneous
- Summer race series will be resurrected this summer.
- Committee to explore technical options for projecting videos and event slides at meeting and event venues. Rick Knerr is nominated once he left the room to use the Bano.
- Invoice for ES trophies will be coming in. Shellback Trophies were a big hit!
Christmas Party: VC is the chair. Date: Dec. 10th,
- theme: “Mothership Connection” in honor of George Clinton.
- How much do we have to pay our scribe to play “We want the funk” and other dance tunes?
- We have a bartender.
- Suggested charity Shriners Childrens Hospital (Deb can create a bucket for online donations?)
- We will have a bouncer.
- Jack has Christmas party goods at his hanger.
Festivus 18 Dec. There may be a “sail-off” in Puffins
Beach workday: Still Looking at some time in November. Need to rebuild planter and paint the training trailer.

New Business: Someone suggested a swap meet in March since we have a lot of new members that need gear and a lot of older, old, and ancient members that no longer sail.

Club Meeting adjourned at 8:15. Lots of discussion and socializing taking place afterward. VC showed iPad slides of beach starts from the Windsurfer Worlds in Sicily.