Jump n' Jibe Journal
July 2020
Commodora's Comments - "It has always been thus!"
Happy July esteemed club members!
I truly hope that this newsletter finds you and your family well and safe.
Well, it seems as though we have crossed the half-way point of 2020. Although I would interject something "punny" regarding how valuable "2020 vision" is to possess in this time of COVID AND ELECTIONS… I will refrain - and try to keep things a little lighthearted.
A huge THANK YOU to all who made the Smith Regatta a SUCCESSFUL event for those in our local community who receive assistance and support from the American Cancer Society. Under the leadership of Bob Graves, we raised in excess of $14,000. Keeping in mind that our event was downsized due to the pandemic contingencies this is INCREDIBLE!!!! Kudos to all who made this event happen and for more details, please read below. I have been selected as the 2021 Smith Regatta Chairperson and understand the enormity of the shoes I am filling.
Looking forward, we have the Rum and Root beer chaired by Mark Powell, Board member! Please see the article below for all of the details and join in the fun to save Swami in the "Great COVID Caper"! Please email Mark Powell regarding your approval of the proposed modest budget no later than Tuesday, July 14th (We need the club's approval of our proposed $1100 budget which has been presented and approved by the SPSC board).
Finally, I am excited that all of the board members have had the experience of serving both in person and virtually this year. As a "glass-full" kinda person, I am hoping that this year’s Endless Summer has at least ONE day of racing so that Ron can prompt Teensie to "BLOW THE HORN, CAUSE DADDY’S HOME" again! And... Speaking of Teensie (aka Tina!!!)... We received a "Thank you!" card on behalf of Sunland at Marianna, an APD facility that serves people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Tina has sewn over 60 masks and they have been distributed to those in need. KUDOS TEENSIE!!!
Paying it forward? IT HAS ALWAYS BEEN THUS . . .
At your service,
Kristin Korinko
SPSC Commodora
Rum n' Root Beer
"The Great Covid Caper"
Looks like the 2020 Rum and Rootbeer is a Go! This year's theme is the Great Covid Caper. A big thank you goes out to Joe at GooseChase.com for working with us and providing a nice discount for the use of his application. The way we will play this year will be using the GooseChase.com app and your smart phone or tablet. This is a on-line "scavenger" sort of game that will include photos and video of activities called "missions" submitted by one or more team members. Feel free to check out the app ahead of time for those super competitive folks. Anyone can play from anywhere. Hope some of our farther away members that we miss will join in the fun.
You will need to provide your email address and a phone number when you register with SPSC. Afterwards you will get an email invitation to the app and our game. The SPSC registration will be opening very soon and there is a really cool swag item (gaiter scarf or mask) this year you don't want to miss out on. There's only 75 available. You will be put on teams and given a time frame to complete various missions which you can strategize who will do which ones. The team with the most points by the end WINS!! What are the missions? I can't tell, but have attached some pictures from the practice game as teasers.... The directions and rules will be posted shortly and will be included with your registration. Here's a teaser of what might happen:
This will be unlike any other RnR we have ever had, but it will still be challenging and of course SPSC funny no doubt. Check the Rum n' Root Beer page frequently for updates.
All my best,
Your vice commodore
Rose
Paddle Board Racing in the Age of Covid
By Mark Powell
After a few months locked down, mostly at Shell Point thankfully, my girlfriend and I decided to get out of town and go to rural Marion County for a “pop-up” race hosted by the Florida Competition Paddlers Association (FPCA). The FPCA is a loosely organized group that conducts very informal races in some of the most scenic waterways in Florida. The FCPA can be found on Facebook. Annual dues are only $10 and include a free, last-race-of-the-season banquet at a Chinese buffet. The pop-up races are “high stakes” affairs competing for highly coveted ribbons. I call them “pop-ups” because there usually is not any coordination with local authorities. Everybody just shows up at the prearranged time and place, somebody has a car trunk open or a picnic table available with registration forms, there’s a short skipper meeting to review the course and any safety issues, and about 15 min later the races start. A couple of volunteers hang out and record times as folks trickle in. All the different craft and ample age group divisions means everybody usually ends up being recognized. Sometimes you also get recognized for going for a spill or getting lost or taking a dead-end turn.
All sorts of watercraft compete and that is one of the most interesting parts of the races. You’ll find surf skis, one, two and sometimes multi-person outrigger canoes, as well as ultralight carbon fiber racing canoes and kayaks. The surf skis can be 21 feet long and only weigh 25 pounds! Some have little fins and rudders, and some rely on paddling for steering. The longer craft have much faster displacement speed than a 14 ft SUP, so they typically do the long course, which is an out-and-back about 10-12 miles long, that takes about 2-2.5 hours. I always do the short course, which is “only” about 6-8 miles and takes me 1-1.5 hours, depending on conditions. It’s a lot of fun to get to meet the folks paddling all these different craft and I’ve found a real sense of community with them, similar to what I’ve felt with windsurfing.
The Rainbow River race took some precautions for Covid by not allowing any drafting. It was amazing to see about 50 craft and 65 racers show up at the little boat ramp park in Dunnellon, FL. The race started promptly at 9 am on the Ocklawaha River and then took a turn upstream on the spring-fed Rainbow river. Boat traffic was light and by about 3 and 3/4 miles I finally saw the dock pagoda that signaled the turnaround point. The water was crystal clear and turning around added a knot to my speed. I ended up first among the few SUPS that raced but the main thing was enjoying a river I had never seen before and sharing it with like-minded folks. Following the ribbon ceremonies, we hit a nearby riverside eatery where we shared an outdoor table with some OC1 paddlers from a Hernando, FL paddling club. We had our masks with us and found that less than half of the folks eating outside had masks at all. Luckily, we were spread out enough to be safe. Later we checked out the aqua blue springs that are source of the river at Rainbow Springs State Park, which was wisely only allowing about 50 cars in at any time. We followed that by a short trip to Inverness and a great seafood meal at Stumpknockers, which was less than half capacity. Again, same mask ratios but we were separated enough that we felt safe. Back on the road heading home the next day we took a little side trip to check out Steinhatchee Landling, a cool Seaside-looking spot. Overall, an awesome weekend! So nice to get away for a bit!
If anyone wants to get into paddling and pick up some SUP skills or learn more about the FCPA, please let me know! I paddle 3-4 times a week and would love to see more folks get on the water!
Smith Regatta 2020
by Bob Graves
Due to the pandemic, it is easy to forget all the people that still battle cancer. When we realized we could not have our event on the beach, the foundation reminded everyone that its primary purpose is to raise money for the American Cancer Society (ACS) and we needed to figure out how to do that.
The idea of an on-line auction came from Stan, who had participated in one once, and Kristin. However, no one knew where to start and using a third party would mean their getting a percentage. I was worried. Then someone by the name of Deb Berlinger said, “Let me see what I can throw together” and she put together a gem of an auction site!
Fortunately, we had many of our wonderful sponsors step up and continue to contribute. Thanks to Mike and Nicole Koski, Leah Chapin, Centennial Bank, and Prime Meridian Bank for continued support of the Foundation and the American Cancer Society and Kristin Korinko, our newest sponsor. In addition, we had lots of wonderful donations that were on the auction site. Another way to raise money was through the sale of shirts, and Wright designed a beauty. Members of the committee wanted to commemorate this event and the idea of placing Easter eggs in the design was born and implemented.
None of this would happen if not for the hard-working volunteers. Stan, who takes care of our boat sales that require a title transfer, had to figure out how to get it done with tax collectors offices closed, and he did. And while Deb was coding the auction program, she was still producing the SPSC newsletter, putting the Smith booklet together, and moving all our websites to more stable servers. Gena was registration chair for the first time and everything she learned from Angel last year on how to run registration was no longer pertinent, but she persevered and did a great job. Rose and Lisa got the auction items together and distribution to folks that showed up during pickup was quick and safe. Marianne got us publicity in the Wakulla news and came through with some signs for new auction and registration/shirt pick up tents. Wright was there Saturday to get the tents setup and prepare the site for distributions, and Linda was quick in reimbursing expenses and balancing the books. Mike Twomey, a first-time member and the ABYC rep, was influential in getting the word out through the yacht club. Thanks to volunteers Kristin and Perry for helping the day of the auction. The insight, encouragement, and guiding hand from long time foundation members, Wright, Linda, Deb, Stan, and Marianne is what got us to the finish line.
The 2020 Smith Regatta culminated with shirt distribution and auction item distribution taking place on June 20th at the Apalachee Bay Fire Department (A Big "Thank you" to them!). All auction items were paid for ahead of time and distributed on Saturday as well as over 160 shirts commemorating the event. THANKS to all those who donated, registered, and participated in this event allowing us to donate $14,000 to the American Cancer Society! Hope you found the Easter eggs on YOUR shirt.
