We are privileged to be hosting Sir Ben Ainslee at Sequoia YC on Saturday 27th April. His record speaks for itself as the most successful Olympic sailor of all time. He was named British yachtsman of the year in 2012 for many reasons but obviously an extraordinary Olympian. He was also just knighted this year.

He will be talking about his personal sailing journey and his participation in the Americas Cup World Series with his team JP Morgan Ben Ainslee Racing (BAR). Ben will also talk about potentially competing in the 34th Americas Cup for team Oracle. He will also be pleased to answer your questions.

I shall be sending out an email asking for people interested in attending and have an RSVP list as Ben requested it be about 70/80 people to enable him to properly answer questions and to meet you all. So this is a 'save the date' advance notice.

I hope you are as excited as I am about this!

Peter - your Commodore

For more information on Sir Ben Ainslee click here.

If you missed the St. Patrick’s Day party last Saturday night, you missed a great event; the place was packed. We served over 130 meals. Wow! The corned beef and cabbage were great, the Irish dancers were exciting to watch, it was fun to hear from the tall ship sailors, and it was good to have the Potters Yachters join us as well. The band "Point of Order" was absolutely terrific and everyone was dancing so we hope to have them back to the Club again soon.

So, there are many folks to thank for this all coming together. First of all thanks to Theresa Howard for organizing this event and getting all of the decorations and organizing the crew. A big thanks to Al Montoya for purchasing the great corned beef brisket and slaving all day in the kitchen to prepare this fabulous meal for the huge crowd. Many thanks to all of the others who helped with decorating, serving, dishes, bartending and cleanup: Ron Howard, Leslie and Jim Fish, Dan Doud, Peter Nardini, Deidre Sparks, Kristen Butler, James Brown, Patricia Corcoran, Harriet Garfinkle, Larry Mayne, Dennis and Grace Lowe, John and Stacy Zolck. Thanks to Rick Dalton for putting together the connection with the Peninsula Yacht Club folks who got us the band. There were many others who pitched in to help with the bar and cleanup and that is what makes this such a great club. Thank You! Thank You!

Winston - your Vice Commodore

The Sequoia Yacht Club 2013 Winter Series concluded on Saturday, March 16 with Race #5 in conjunction with the annual St. Patrick's Day Race. There were 15 boats in the race, 11 in the spinnaker division and 4 in the non-spinnaker division. Our best turn out of the year; maybe the great weather or the possibility of winning a bottle of Irish whiskey had something to do with it.

Saturday was a beautiful Spring-like day with clear skies and winds forecasted to building out of the northwest and a light flood tide. A 9.34 mile course was selected of 3/4 - X - 12 - Y - S - 3/4 to take advantage of the great weather and get in what looked to be two downwind legs. Starting on time but with the minimally required 5 knots of wind the horn sounded and the fleet was off with a very crowded start line near Marker #3. The boats soon spread out with some choosing to go to the West and others hunting for tide relief and better wind far to the East. As boats moved up the bay the wind started to build to the low teens and after the leader found Marker X the kites came out for the spinnaker boats and it was a great downwind ride to Marker #12. There were boats spread all over the racing area. From 12 it was an easy sail to Marker Y with the increasing wind. The second upwind leg from Marker Y to Marker S was quite bumpy as the wind was up to the high teens and the sea state was a bit confused. After rounding the final marker the boats headed to the finish at Markers #3/4 and were greeted with cannon fire from the visiting tall ships Hawaiian Chieftan and Lady Washington.

This race is scored as part of the Winter Series and on its own for the St. Patrick's Day Race. For the St. Patrick's Day Race, congratulations in the spinnaker division to Frequent Flyer (Stan Phillips) for taking first place, Made Easy (Jim Petersen) for taking second and Smokin'J (Mark Bettis, Coyote YC) for taking third. In the non-spinnaker division congratulations to Pole Cat (Dan Doud) for taking first place, Iowa (Rick Dalton) for taking second and Don't Tell My Wife (Larry Mayne) for taking third.

For the Winter Series, congratulations in the spinnaker division to Frequent Flyer (Stan Phillips) for finishing in first place, Dare Dare (Nico Popp) for taking second and Sweet Grapes (Alan Orr, Coyote YC) for completing the series in third. In the non-spinnaker division finishing in first place for the series is Pole Cat (Dan Doud) followed by Iowa (Rick Dalton) in second and Linda Carol (Ray Collier) in third.

The Summer Series starts on April 6.

Race results and Series Results are posted on the Sequoia Yacht Club web site and posted at the club.

Richard Butts
SeqYC Large Sailboat Fleet Captain
http://www.sequoiayc.org/racing

This is a genuine welcome to a special DID just for the 2012 new members. You are a VERY important group of people. This was one of those years when we really accelerated membership. We want to know - what did we do right? And what could we have done better?b How was your new member experience? How do we improve the new member recruitment and on boarding this year. (We are anticipating another great year for recruitment!).

You have a lot to tell us! Plus we would also like to properly celebrate your one year anniversary with us.

And if you have questions about any aspect of the club - the flag and officers will be there to answer them! We shall have a great evening but it is all about you. So please come with your ideas and suggestions. Thank you for joining Sequoia YC!

Whether you are an old or new member of the Club you are welcome to join us for this celebration.

Peter- your Commodore

A Welcome To Spring Menu:

Chicken Pot Pie
Veggie Pot Pie
Gluten Free .... We will have a Chicken and Veggie mix for you (no gluten) with chicken on of top Brown Rice
Sliced ham
Amazing buns

Salads:
Caesar Arugula Salad
Green Salad with Cucumber, strawberry and red onion
Dressings: lemon roasted garlic and assorted bottled dressings

Dessert: Lemon Bunt cake and ice cream

All for the AAAAAAAAAAAMAZING PRICE OF $12 per person

Our next cruise out will be to Ballena Bay Yacht Club on March 30th and 31st. The Ballena Bay Yacht Club has graciously invited us to their Club for dinner on Saturday evening, preceded with a cocktail party in their beautiful bar. Your hosts Nick and Robin Weber have fun planned for the weekend including an Easter egg hunt with really cool prizes inside each egg.

Signup at the club or by clicking here and filling out the online form.

More information will be forthcoming.

The Beer Can Racing (BCR) preseason kickoff meeting will be April 3rd at 6:30pm in the Oates Room at Sequoia Yacht Club. There is much to go over with our new format this year as well as the changes that the 2013-2016 Racing Rules of Sailing has bestowed upon us also. So please mark your calendar and plan to attend this informational event. Also note that pizza will be provided for all. Hope to see all of you there. - Rick Dalton

Mark your calendars for this year's South Bay Opening Day. If you are interested in helping or putting your boat in the parade and blessing of the fleet, contact our Rear Commodore Dan Lockwood. For more information please visit www.southbayopeningday.org.