Summer Camp
It's coming...Registration for 2021 Summer Camp will be available on November 26th
*Register before February 1st for a Early Bird Discount
We will be offering:
Beginning and Advance groups for Sailing
Chesapeake Experience
Fishing
Race team for Opti's and 420's
FALL 2020 Sailing Season is a Wrap!
At BCSC, the Fall Programming typically focuses around a junior racing program. This year, we expanded our offerings to include several Learn To Sail opportunities in addition to our junior racers. We partnered with US Sailing and the Siebel Foundation to run our first Middle School Community Outreach Program. The Siebel Foundation aims to provide an introduction to sailing for underrepresented demographics from our local community. Our aim was to provide an opportunity for female, minority and lower income students who had never sailed before. We were 100% successful in filling the program with our target audience, many of whom came from the local community at Stemmers Run Middle School. We also conducted a six week Learn To Sail program in Blue Dragon sailboats for children aged 8-12. Most of these students also had never sailed. We had a variety of weather, as expected for the Fall, which included, rain, sun and a full range of wind conditions. The first sailing experience for these kids was challenging and fun. We look forward to having them all back in the Spring and Summer for camp. This fall we also launched a new Family Learn to Sail program for Adults with or without children. This was hosted in our growing fleet of Flying Scots. The Flying Scot is really a great platform for adults to learn from. It's ballasted centerboard prevents capsize while still allowing the boat to be light and responsive enough for students to learn quickly. Student families were paired with instructors for a "one-to-few" direct instruction. This program was a huge hit. We have 18 new sailing community members and look forward to welcoming more in the Spring.
And last but not least, we continued the long tradition of fall junior racing. These sailors benefitted from a coached practice once a week, and a race evening one other day each week. In this COVID environment, many of our typical regattas have been cancelled, but we were able to take our team to the Annapolis Yacht Club's Halloween Howl regatta the weekend of October 24 & 25. The first day in Annapolis saw warm weather, light breezes and the typical Annapolis chop. The second day was 50 degrees, windy and raining. It was like having a whole racing season in one weekend. Our juniors raced well, exhibited great sportsmanship, showed courage, and grew in their ability and experience.
What a great Fall at BCSC!! Thanks to all of the paid and volunteer staff who made these programs a success and created lots of new first time sailors. --Mike Butz (Program Manager)
Volunteers
We have had great participation on our Saturday Volunteer Work Days when the weather cooperated. A huge thank you to all the volunteers that came and helped us get all the boats cleaned and waxed for the Winter. This will make our Spring process much more productive as we get ready for the next Season.
Our Weekly Tuesday Morning Work Days have also been productive as we have focused, on those days, to winterize all the motors and to do some much needed fiberglass repair work. This will continue as long as the weather permits.
To give everyone a sense of what we accomplished, here is a top level list:
· Cleaned and winterized 16 motorboats
· Cleaned and waxed 18 420’s – plus moved them up to the winter storage area
· Cleaned and waxed 18 Fjs – these still need to be moved up for final storage
· Removed rigging for all 36 of these boats for storage in the sheds for the winter
·Refurbished and painted deck of new Flying Scot so it could be used for the Fall Program (This totaled about 60 person hours of work but it was very rewarding to see this boat in the Family Learn to Sail Fall Program.)
· Cleaned up the site
· Relocated Sheds to comply with the County Requirements
· Clean, stored and locked all kayaks and Paddle Boards
· Cleaned all life jackets to comply with COVID requirements
· Cleaned up some of the sheds – more to come on this over the winter
Again, a BIG THANK YOU to all of the great volunteers that came out to help. It could not have been accomplished without your support! --Randy Dulin (Fleet
Manager)
Thank You to long time Board Member Bob Battista!
On the occasion of his retirement as Secretary from the BCSC Board of Directors after many years of service, recognition for Bob’s significant contribution of time and energy is required.
Recognized as the 2018 SpinSheet Baltimore Volunteer of the Year for thousands of hours of volunteer contribution both at the political and mechanical levels, Bob’s dedication and commitment to BCSC has been outstanding and humbling. Bob never does anything halfway and the condition of the BCSC fleet is a testament to his unwavering effort and formation of a core team of volunteers who have kept us running and improving with every work day.
His professional demeanor and attention to detail have kept BCSC operating due to his conscientious performance of duties as Secretary including: the timetables for audits, completion of minutes, payment of insurance, oversight of the Point House and all other equipment, interactions with politicians to promote BCSC and its opportunity to operate at Rocky Point Park. He has been an amazing all-around steward of BCSC operations and relationships.
Bob’s mentorship and friendship has improved the lives of all who have been a part of BCSC's Board and campers due to his love of boating and the Chesapeake Bay. He remains passionate about the outreach programs and Special Olympics, in particular.
We are so fortunate that Bob will continue to be part of the BCSC family working with fleet management and continuing to make BCSC the place for all to find their joy on the water.
Thanks for all you have done and will continue to do Bob! --Dan Flanigan (Board President)
Friday Night Soda Can Race Series
Throughout the 2020 Summer and Fall seasons, BCSC hosted a weekly race series called the Soda Can Series (rather than Beer Can Series). Each Friday sailors, parents, and friends of BCSC could join in on the race course for some lightly competitive races in Optis, Lasers, 420's, FJ's, and Fevas. There was some intense sibling competition, a bit of "talking smack," and plenty of fun. Sailors increased their racing skills and enjoyed spending time with the BCSC community. Look for this series again in Summer 2021! --Stephanie Bruning (Board VP)