April at BCYC brings a calendar full of activities, not only on the water, but throughout the club. The Opening Day season for all the yacht clubs in Southern California begins this month. BCYC’s special day is May 11, so soon you should be seeing details of the day. One of the events on Opening Day is the boat maintenance competition and inspection. Now would be a good time.to review your own vessel safety checklist. Should you wish not to compete, plan to sign up for the Coast Guard inspection and earn your boat a safety decal. It is a courtesy inspection and their findings are given only to the skipper of the boat. You can visit vesselsafetycheck.org for details. The website has a description of the safety check and this same information is available in the club office.

The start of the 76th annual Newport to Ensenada International Yacht Race is April 26. This event is historic amongst the sailing community. Once again, BCYC will host a great send-off party for the skippers, crew and dignitaries from both sides of the border on the evening of April 25.

Our Junior Sailing Program sailors continue to be successful up and down the coast representing BCYC. Under the direction of Junior Sailing Director Carolyn Smith and her team of coaches, the program is solid, something that brings pride to BCYC members. These young women and men are the future of BCYC. Support them…. BCYC provides a full race calendar for the adult sailors to satisfy even our most adrenalin-addicted members. For you less-adventurous types, your Cruise Committee team created another great and relaxing “land” cruise in March to Palm Springs. There are several land cruises throughout the year that are open to all members. These are terrific opportunities to meet other members and have a fun weekend together, and NO BOAT is needed to get there! For our boat owners, you will not have long to wait as the offshore cruises will soon be underway.

There are plenty of opportunities both on and off the water – I urge you to explore what BCYC has to offer you, and be a part of the success.

Vice Commodore, Mike Means