Recap of the BVI trip? Well, I guess I could write about the absolutely perfect 80 degree temperature, the 20knot breezes, the crystal clear turquoise water, extra fruitiful drinks, the chef’s culinary “experiments”, etc…but that’s pretty consistent every trip.

I’d rather comment that the real ‘success’ of the vacation is more closely tied to the cast of characters involved. I couldn’t imagine a better group. It’s so refreshing to travel with other boaters, each vacationing at their own pace, participating in group events as well as finding ‘private time’ in one of the many corners of the boat or ashore. From a very personal perspective, this trip was extra special for me, as I felt the additional pride in being able to share HYPNAUTIC with such great friends.

Overall, BVI provides rewarding experiences for newcomers and “old-timers’’ (measured in # of trips…not age), alike. I feel extremely fortunate to add this experience to the memory banks, and hope to see this as an annual event that continues to expand throughout the club.

Picture this…Ed Quesada had done a great job getting us all set up for the March 15th cruise to Shoreline Yacht Club. Dinner plans were set, slips were assigned and South Shore members were preparing their vessels. Then two days before departure we get a call… “There is no place at the Inn” Shoreline Yacht Club had a cruise/race planned to Catalina and heard that the weather was not going to cooperate, so they cancelled their event. The dominos started to fall and since there wasn’t going to be any slips available we in turn decided to cancel our cruise. This was a real disappointment as this is always a fun cruise with many of our members able to drive up and enjoy the great dinner that Shoreline puts on. Although we missed this event, it just means we are going to have twice as much participation at our next event!

Our next cruise is to Dana Point over the Memorial Day Weekend, May 24th to 26th. This event is sure to draw a crowd. Family and friends can drive to Dana Point who can not stay the whole time or don’t have their boat projects completed yet. We are going to raft up on the east end of harbor, near the fuel dock. Look for the South Shore Banner and new burgees that everyone is going to have on their boats.

You’ll need to bring a few extra items because we’ll be having a lot of fun events.

1. Bring your long board: We’ll paddle over to Doheny for a little surf session. Better yet, we’ll hitch a ride on f a dinghy and arrive just outside the break in style.

2. Bring a few bottles of your favorite international wine: We are going to have an international wine tasting. Well for some it will be “international wine tasting” but for our some, it will be “international wine drinking”.

3. Bring your favorite golf club: We are going to have a little boat golf tournament which involves dinghies, fish nets and beer. Fourrrrrrrrrrrrr!

4. Bring some soggy dollars: We’ll have a group dinner a DWYC.

5. Bring your dinghy: We’ll have a dinghy parade around the harbor. I could have gone in a different direction with that item, but this is a family show.

As you can see, we are going to have lots of fun so mark your calendar to spend memorial weekend with your friends at SSYC.

Ken Schoffstoll will be in charge of this event, so if you have any suggestions please give him a call. We will have additional details sent out prior to the cruise.