The survey told us it is the choice of topic that motivates you to come out on a winter night. Here is a summary of what you told us, and the lineup of speakers for the first four weeks of February.
Thank you to the many members and local sailors who responded to our survey on the winter speaker series. The key messages you gave us in that survey said overwhelmingly (86% of respondents) that it is the choice of topic that motivates you to attend. The most popular topics for you, in order of preference, were Sails and Rigging, chartering in exotic destinations, first-hand accounts from offshore racers/cruisers, cruising and chartering in Canada eg North Channel, and racing and cruising on the Ottawa River. This was followed by other topics such as new technologies (solar, green propulsion) and engine care and maintenance.
We have listened to your feedback, and are shaping our special lineup to respond to your interests, subject to speaker availability. We are still searching for a speaker on Sails and Rigging, so if you or someone you know would like to speak to this topic, please contact Jim Kelly. Here is the lineup for the first 4 weeks in February:
Feb 1 Captain Steven Parry : Chartering Sailboats in Greece, Croatia & French Polynesia
Captain Steven Parry has over 20 years in the chartering business and will provide an overview on current developments in chartering and the advantages of various chartering locales. He will also answer questions you may have on such issues as requirements for captaining a charter boat, required deposits and liabilities. Steven has presented at such venues as the Toronto and Chicago International Boat shows and the Los Angeles & Ottawa Travel Shows.
Steven also captains a large sailing vessel in Greece each summer on which cabins are rented individually, providing numerous advantages. See pictures here:
Other upcoming presentations in February include the following:
Feb 8 Andrzej Ostrowski : Towing a Telstar 28 to Florida & Sailing to the Bahamas
NSC member Andrzej and wife Ela towed their Telstar 28 (slip A78) to Florida and then sailed to the Bahamas. The sail to the Bahamas started in difficult conditions that caused a companion boat (a Bristol monohull) to turn back while the Ostrowskis sailed on to the Bahamas.
February 15 Matthew Bastian & Fred Horst: Towing to & Sailing the North Channel
Fellow engineers and brothers-in-law Matthew & Fred have towed their sailboats (Bayfield 25 & Hunter 26) to the North Channel for 3 consecutive seasons of sailing with their wives. They will discuss their experiences and Matthew will comment on the recent acquisition of a 38 foot sailboat including where it will be sailed.
February 22 Tony Wright: A sailboat charter in Thailand
NSC member Tony and his wife Margaret continue to learn from their flotilla and bareboat chartering experiences. It all started with a small 22 ft sailboat in Germany. Since then they have had adventures in Greece, Croatia, Turkey, Florida and the BVI’s. Tony will recount their most recent experience chartering in Thailand. Tony will share how they prepared for this trip and what went right, and what went wrong.
All talks start at 7.30 pm. The kitchen will be open from 5:00 to 7:30 p.m., so feel free to join us for a bite and a beer before the talk. Bring yourself. Bring your friends. Attendees are asked to make a donation to support youth sailing.