Chairman's End-of-Year remarks
(borrowed from our 2010 Yearbook DVD)

The pages of this yearbook contain a record of the events of the class and its members for the year. As for me, the many years in this Association have largely blended together, but, 2010 was personally a great year for your Chairman – many Most Improved flags, 3rd in the N.A.s, a new crew at one of the regattas. I need to thank all my crew for being such great fun and sharing the good times. That said, the part of our Association that keeps me coming back for more are still the basic foundations of the Association. These have not changed a great deal over the years. The Wayfarer Class Association is the backbone of most of my family's sailing events.

We plan the year early on, using Uncle Al's web site (try to find another association that updates their information even half as frequently) Thanks, Al! We attend the boat show "free" thanks to the passes we get for volunteering for a few hours (Thanks to Hans Gottschling for all his efforts in coordinating the volunteers).

We sail all summer long with the kids (now 5 and 8) in the boat and have done so since they were 3. This is because of the safety and forgiveness that was built into the boat by Ian Proctor so many years ago. The Toronto Sailing & Canoe Club and George Blanchard are also a big part of Wayfaring in the Toronto area. The entire family has run the Thursday night club races for almost 15 years now. 

Sailing has allowed us to spend some quality time together in the boat without the electronics of modern life (too much time if you ask the girls). We also go camping, build fires, go swimming, and take our fishing rods and sand toys when we race in class events. We are even starting to talk about a cruise, when the kids are older. As your Chairman, I would encourage you to attend a class event, or even just get out and sail more often. My feeling is that life is getting a little too busy for most of us and it is easy to avoid the work of getting the boat ready, but I think it is this slower more thoughtful life, particularly being with others of a similar frame of mind, that is most rewarding.

As all of you who know me know, I am hard to miss by myself, or in a crowd, so the next time you are sailing by (and as George is known to say), say "Hello".  It’s the little things that make life worth while. Wayfarer sailing is a big part of mine.