All posts by Aaron

2015 PRSA AGM & Awards Banquet – UPDATED with Dues Proposal Information

The 2015 PRSA Annual General Meeting and Awards Banquet will be held on Saturday, November 21, 6-9 pm, in the party room at Marina Towers in Alexandria, VA.  Dinner & drinks will cost $25 per person (pay at the door with check or cash).   This is always a great chance to see everybody and reminisce about another year of great sailing, so I hope to see you there!  Please sign up here as soon as possible so that our volunteers can plan for the appropriate amount of food and drink.  Please submit your nominations for PRSA awards (see below) via email to prsacommodore@gmail.com no later than the end of the day on Monday, November 16.

A full agenda and details on the PRSA business meeting will be posted soon.  In the meanwhile, here is the basic schedule of events:

  • 6:00  Appetizers & Drinks
  • 6:30  Dinner
  • 7:30  Business Meeting & Awards
    • 7:30-7:45  Officer Reports
    • 7:45-8:15  Discussion of PRSA Dues Proposal (see docs below)
    • 8:15-8:20  Vote on PRSA Dues Proposal
    • 8:20-8:30  Discussion on 2016 PRSA Goals
    • 8:30-8:45  PRSA Spring & Fall Series Awards
    • 8:45-8:55  PRSA Perpetual Awards
    • 8:55-9:00  Discussion & approval of 2016 PRSA Executive Committee
  • 9:00  Adjourn & Cleanup

Award Nominations: we have several perpetual awards that are bestowed upon Association members at the AGM to recognize service to PRSA.  The list of these awards is below.  Please email me if you would like to nominate an Association member for one of these awards:

  • Founder’s Trophy  (for the general promotion of PRSA; highest recognition for service and dedication to PRSA)
  • Fleet Captain’s Award (for exemplary service on Race Committee Duty)
  • Nabeel Alsalam Award (for exceptional service coordinating the many activities of PRSA)
  • Yates Dowell III Award (for exceptional administrative service to PRSA)

PRSA Dues Proposal

Last year at the AGM the PRSA Executive Board raised the question of our dues structure, which has been unchanged since 2001.  Over time we have lost approximately 25% of the purchasing power of our dues intake.  We are also starting to consider the prospect of major equipment purchase/upgrades as PRSA continues to grow.  After the discussion last year the Exec Board was tasked with reviewing the dues structure and bringing a proposal to the 2015 AGM.  The documents below provide you with the proposal that we, the PRSA Executive Board, have developed.

Pursuant to Article XI of the PRSA Constitution (Amendments) we are providing this proposal to the membership 15 days in advance of the Annual General Meeting.  The proposal and supplementary documents attached to this message are also available on the PRSA website.  We will discuss the attached proposal at the AGM and a vote will be taken.  The voting procedure, described in Article IV of the PRSA Constitution, is also detailed on the attached proposal.

The following documents are attached (click on each document to access):

Comments and questions about the proposal prior to the meeting should be sent to commodore@potomacriversailing.org with “Dues Proposal” in the subject line.  We will try to respond to emailed comments/questions as appropriate.  However, only the comments presented and the votes cast at the AGM will constitute the official record on this matter.  I would strongly encourage you to attend the AGM to discuss the proposal there and to cast your vote.  Proxy votes may be cast according to the procedure described in the attachments.

PRSA Dinghy Open

UPDATE 5:15 PM 3 OCT: THE PRSA DINGHY OPEN WILL BE HELD AS SCHEDULED.  SEE YOU AT THE  MARINA!

Back by popular demand we will once again the PRSA Dinghy Open this  year!  This one-day stand-alone regatta on Sunday, October 4, is your chance to race boat-on-boat against other classes.  The regatta is open to any boat under 20′ in length.  Races will be scored using the Portsmouth Yardstick system.  Start organizing your crew now!  Click here to view the NOR and click here to view the Sailing Instructions.

PRSA Photo Contest

PRSA is once again partnering with CalendarLink (http://www.calendarlink.org/prsa/home.html) to produce a 2016 tide calendar.  These calendars show the actual tides predicted for the Potomac River at Washington National Airport on the Potomac River!  

This year we are having a photo contest to select photos to include in the calendar.  All PRSA members are encouraged to enter their very best photo.  Each PRSA member may submit one photo for consideration.  The winning photo will become the cover photo for the calendar and the winner will receive a FREE 2016 PRSA Calendar. 

 Here are the requirements for calendar photo submissions:

  • Photos must be horizontal images from digital cameras. 
  • Photos must be a minimum of 300 DPI width of 10.3 inches, height 8 inches or 3100 x 2400 pixels or a 1.3 to 1 ratio.
  • Photos may be submitted in JPEG, GIF, or PNG format.
  • Photos need not be from the current calendar year.

So get out there and start taking pictures!  Then, figure out which one is your best picture and enter it into the contest.  Email your photo to Jeff Neurauter (jmnsailor@yahoo.com) no later than November 1, 2015. 

President’s Cup Results

We had a fantastic turnout for the 2015 PRSA President’s Cup Regatta: 58 boats, over 130 sailors, and nearly 30 people on the Sunday spectator cruise aboard the American Spirit!  Final results are posted here and a more detailed writeup of the action along with links to photos will be coming soon.

A huge thank-you to all of the volunteers that made the event possible, including Lee for all of her hard work with providing food for so many sailors, Jim for beverage duty, Lisa-Marie for registration and merchandise management, Nabeel for managing equipment and scoring, and not least our fantastic Race Committee volunteers (Farley as PRO on the lower course, and Rolf Zeisler and his crew on the upper course).  Thank you all around–we couldn’t have hosted such a fantastic regatta without you!

President’s Cup Spectator Cruise

Thanks to the generosity of DC Sail and the National Maritime Heritage Foundation we are able to offer a 3-hour spectator cruise (11:30-2:30 pm) aboard the schooner American Spirit on the Sunday of the President’s Cup Regatta for just $20/person.  Click here for complete details on the cruise and click here to purchase tickets via the President’s Cup regatta website.

Also, remember that it is not too late to register for the 2015 PRSA President’s Cup Regatta!

Fall Sailing Starts Sunday!

The PRSA Fall Series starts this Sunday!  Now is the time to make sure that you have your crew organized, that you have paid your PRSA dues, and that you have signed up for (or already fulfilled) your PRSA race committee obligations.  Remember to review the Sunday Series NOR and Sailing Instructions as well.  I look forward to seeing you on the water on Sunday!

PRSA President’s Cup

prsa logo triangle2 The 2015 PRSA President’s Cup Regatta, sponsored by Annapolis Performance Sailing, will be held September 19 & 20 at Washington Sailing Marina, continuing the long tradition of competitive one-design racing started by the President’s Cup in 1934.  The regatta will be sailed on the Potomac River on two courses.  One-person dinghies (Lasers, El Toros, Penguins) will race on Saturday in the cove near Washington Sailing Marina (WSM) or off of the power plant just south of WSM.  Other classes (Albacores, Buccaneers, Catamarans, Flying Scots, Lightnings, I-20s, etc.) will race Saturday and Sunday on the north course between Hains Point and Gravelly Point (with the Capitol and national monuments as a backdrop).   Register now for the 2015 President’s Cup and view the NOR and other race information.  Registration fees increase after September 12, so make sure to register and pay online before September 12 to save yourself a bit of cash!

APS-Logo-OrangenoText                          DC Sail

Special thanks to Annapolis Performance Sailing for sponsoring the regatta and providing some additional prizes.  This year we will also have a spectator boat – the schooner American Spirit – thanks to the generosity of DC Sail and the National Maritime Heritage Foundation!  Make sure to tell your friends and family about this fantastic opportunity to view the sailing from the water on Sunday, Sept. 20.

 

Important Fall Schedule Information

I’m writing with a couple of important announcements about our fall racing schedule:

  1. We need to staff our Race Committee for the fall!  Please Sign up now if you have not already done so.
  2. We have decided to move the President’s Cup to Sept. 19-20 (a weekend different than the LLS Fundraiser).   More details are provided below.
  3. The PRSA Dinghy Open is back by popular demand, and will be held on October 4.

I’ve posted more details on these important changes below.  Please don’t hesitate to contact your Executive Board if you have any questions.

Continue reading Important Fall Schedule Information

PRSA Photo Contest

PRSA is once again partnering with CalendarLink (http://www.calendarlink.org/prsa/home.html) to produce a 2016 tide calendar.  These calendars show the actual tides predicted for the Potomac River at Washington National Airport on the Potomac River!  

This year we are having a photo contest to select photos to include in the calendar.  All PRSA members are encouraged to enter their very best photo.  Each PRSA member may submit one photo for consideration.  The winning photo will become the cover photo for the calendar and the winner will receive a FREE 2016 PRSA Calendar. 

 Here are the requirements for calendar photo submissions:

  • Photos must be horizontal images from digital cameras. 
  • Photos must be a minimum of 300 DPI width of 10.3 inches, height 8 inches or 3100 x 2400 pixels or a 1.3 to 1 ratio.
  • Photos may be submitted in JPEG, GIF, or PNG format.
  • Photos need not be from the current calendar year.

So get out there and start taking pictures!  Then, figure out which one is your best picture and enter it into the contest.  Email your photo to Jeff Neurauter (jmnsailor@yahoo.com) no later than November 1, 2015. 

Summer is Wednesday Night Sailing Season!

It is summer, so that means that it is Wednesday Night Sailing Season!  Stroll down to Washington Sailing Marina and look for our PRSA sailors in the dock/crane area around 5:30 each Wednesday.  If you’re new,  simply introduce yourself!  Wednesday night sailing is very informal, with short races in the cove and lots of fun/practice sailing.  We rotate people in and out of boats right off the dock, so everybody gets to take a turn!

Wednesday Night Sailing 24 June 2015
Wednesday Night Sailing 24 June 2015