Commodore's Column

THANK YOU's. Too often forgotten and sometimes too few given! Allow me to express my heartfelt thanks to all who did such a great job on Opening Day: To Bob Kehoe and Reed Gillig, Co-Chairmen. What a fantastic job. Weather was perfect. To Reed's staff at the Port of Bellingham, who worked tirelessly. And to Bob, who had a space ready for anyone that wanted moorage up close. To Dick Johnson, Joe Coons and Chuck McCord, who acted as greeters to everyone when they came through the "new and remodeled" downstairs before going to the Commodore's Reception, where we had over 135 people in attendance. To Karen Callery and her committee that donated baskets to the raffle. To Larry Boone for coordinating help at three gates to pass out brochures and sell T-shirts and raffle tickets, Tom Selman for being Parade Commander, Tim Mumford of Squalicum Marine/Amer-ica's Cup, who rallied the merchants to help with the cost of the band that performed. To Father John Gibbs of St. Paul's Episcopal Church for a truly inspirational blessing of the fleet. To Ralph Neher and his Sea Scouts for handling the colors, Joselyn Coty for her beautiful singing of the anthems, and Terry Buzzard for donating the Island Commuter II as review boat, and the great Orca whale! And I especially wish to thank all the members of BYC for support of BYC's 75th Diamond Jubilee!

Since my last message there have been many events that many of you have attended. For those not able to participate, here are some of them. Chuck and Roberta McCord chaired the Blue Gavel Past Commodore's cruise to Blakely Island. There were 17 boats and we ALL had a great time. Thanks, Chuck and Roberta, for putting on a fun cruise! Jody Erickson and her Program Committee had their first “2nd Tuesday” event with a safety seminar by the Power Squadron. Remember 2nd Tuesday's! Frank and Margaret Travis were the host of the Friday @ 5 on May 19th. Many of you are really missing out on wonderful functions. Fridays at 5 will continue through the summer. Remember, 1st and 3rd Fridays 5-7 PM. The Junior Ski-to-Sea Regatta was May 20/21. Race Chairman Al Callery put one of a heck of race together. We had over 55 boats for this annual event with juniors from as far as Oregon. Bob Knudson, Meredith Ross, Scott Lindburg, Marlene Bolster, Karen Callery, Ron Erickson, Richard Veach and many others out on the water all helped in some major way. And Earl Dangelmeier, who contributed a gorgeous Bob Baumbach memorial Sportsmanship Trophy for the race. BYC is really on the regatta map!

More on regattas: Congrats to Catspaw and the Callerys, Marlene Bolster, Dawn, Wendy, Tori, Lori and Robin for their 3rd at Tsnonqua in Victoria, an all-women‘s event. Don’t forget WOW 6/24.

Sucia Cruise is June 23-25. And note the Chuckanut Cruise & Crab Feed on July 8-9; bring crab pots, license, and the Club will provide spaghetti & garlic bread. Be sure and read the entire Jib Sheet for the latest cruising information.

Call me to help. Those that have volunteered are having a great time, and the fun is rewarding! And, who knows, maybe you'll enjoy YOUR BYC more . . .

Summer is here, time to be on the water more often. Please be careful, remember your safety training and have a safe, pleasant season.