On Tuesday, Sept. 10, 45 BCYC members and friends boarded Holland America’s cruise ship Volendam in Boston harbor for an 11-day trip up the New England coast and into the Gulf of Saint Lawrence. Most cruisers arrived a couple of days early to walk the Freedom Trail, tour Boston, eat at Union Oyster House, visit Cheers of Boston (the pub that started the television craze), or attend a baseball game at Fenway Park to root on the Red Sox and the Chicago White Sox!

Ports-of-call were: Portland, Maine; Saint John, New Brunswick; Halifax, Nova Scotia; Corner Brook, Newfoundland; Prince Edward Island, Charlottetown; Saguenay, Quebec; Quebec City; and our final destination of Montreal, Quebec. There were many interesting excursions at each of these places that we visited. Touring areas such as St Martins and the Bay of Fundy, Halifax and the maritime museum, with tours of picturesque Peggy’s Cove, Mahone Bay and Lunenburg were among the most interesting. With two days at sea, we all had an opportunity to relax and recharge for the next day’s adventures! We enjoyed two formal evenings on board, which gave us chances to come together for a photo opportunity displaying our BCYC burgee.

On Saturday, Sept. 21, we disembarked from the ship in Montreal after 11 enjoyable days of adventure and relaxation! Some of our group flew home that day, while others stayed a day or two in Old Town Montreal to tour the city and enjoy the many culinary offerings of the local eateries!

All in all, we had a terrific Commodore’s Cruise and we look forward to Commodore Mike and Nancy Mean’s cruise in March 2025 from San Juan to the British Virgin Islands.

Cleve Sproule, Commodore

The House Committee was hard at work with many projects around the club over the summer, improving function and aesthetics. The landscaping had major upgrades in plants, color and lighting. The Bayside Drive sidewalk access to the club now has improved illumination, as well as lighting accents on property trees. Our junior sailors saw a complete upgrade of their new junior classroom that included lockers, paint, and media. Take a look inside at the terrific upgrades for our sailors. The learning experience with new chairs and tables will only improve with these enhancements. Inside the Sabot room, the old rubber mats are gone and a new non-skid resurface has been applied to the walkway areas, which improves overall safety and visibility. The marina has also been progressing quickly with the replacement of the old wood surfaces and installation of new cleats and LED lighting, all of which is ahead of projected time. The old material at the base of C, D, E slips has been completely replaced with much more secure matting and new wood underneath. The new mid-patio and its furniture have been a total hit with members and dramatically enhances the function of this area.

We welcome especially our new members and J-Flag members to attend the House Committee meetings so that we can hear any specific needs or requests that could be addressed to continue to make BCYC the Friendliest Club in the Harbor.

Ted O’Connor, David Scardigli
House and Grounds

On Saturday, Aug. 31, the Ronald McDonald House Orange County (RMHOC) reopened their newly expanded home for families who have a seriously ill child being treated at CHOC. The Kerbs Family Building doubled the size of the original house to 44 guest rooms.

BCYC adopted RMHOC in 2022 as our official club charity. In the past two years, members donated funds to sponsor one of the guest rooms and the aquarium, a 500-gallon saltwater tank located in the living room. A permanent plaque will be displayed next to the guest room and the aquarium acknowledging BCYC’s support and contributions.

The celebration continued with an overnight stay in one of the guest rooms, dinner that night, breakfast the next morning, a visit from therapy dogs and a tour of the house. Staff Commodore Barry and Nancy Levy, and Staff Commodore Ginny Lombardo stayed overnight.

Seeing the staff and volunteers working in their element was inspiring. This team is dedicated to the mission of RMHOC and genuinely cared about each person’s experience that weekend. They are very excited about reopening and continuing their mission.

Many thanks to all of you who helped BCYC reach our goals for our charity. Ronald McDonald House Orange County is special. We can take pride in supporting this worthwhile charity.

Ginny Lombardi
Nancy Levy

Well, here we are in October already – how time does fly! September was a very busy time at the club. The Commodore's Cruise, an 11-day adventure to Newfoundland and New England was a great success. And the Avalon CIYC cruise closed out September in grand style.

September also saw the start of the process for electing directors at the club. An email was sent to all members, which included a Statement of Interest, indicating your wish to be considered for a director position. The Nominating Committee will then review all statements received, as well as considering other possible candidates. If you are not nominated, you can file a petition with the club secretary, if you meet the requirements spelled out in the bylaws and have at least 30 voting member signatures, by the last Saturday of October (Oct. 26 this year). Ballots will be mailed to all voting members by Nov. 2 and need to be returned via USPS to the club no later than the third Saturday in November (Nov. 16). The Elections Committee will count the ballots by the next succeeding Tuesday and results will be announced.

BCYC will host an open house Oct. 13 to showcase our club to individuals in the neighborhood and local community. This will be a great opportunity to gain new BCYC members. Recently, we have seen an increase in younger families looking to join the club. There will also be a slide show presentation regarding our club's participation in the Olympics in 2028.

Bob Sachs

You can’t open what is not closed, so Friday evening, the club was closed (overnight) with plans for Opening Day to follow on May 11! The brief ceremony gave Executive Committee members the opportunity to thank committee chairs for their hard work and dedication to the club.

It hardly seems possible that we have celebrated another Opening Day at Bahia Corinthian Yacht Club! More almost three hundred members and distinguished guests observed the opening of BCYC’s 66th yachting season with a formal ceremony. The First Marine Division Band Brass Quintet entertained us before and during our Opening Day – it was very impressive! This was also a time for presenting awards to the winners of the morning boat inspection — a presentation by NOSA and BCYC Staff Commodore Mary Bacon — and the coveted perpetual Edward F. Kenedy Memorial Trophy, awarded to the individual who has significantly contributed to yachting in Southern California. This year, this award was presented to Staff Commodore Rhonda Tolar.

We then rocked the docks with the music from the M Street Band all afternoon. The theme of the day was the Beatles “Come Together,” which we did by visiting members’ boats and partaking in their hospitality. We also enjoyed complementary hot dogs, pizza and draft beer provided by the club. This was a day to celebrate all that makes BCYC a very special place!

Commodore, Cleave Sproule