Dear Members of The North American Station,
This is my final Post Captain’s letter as my second and final term of office will end at our next Annual Meeting (5 December – see below). As reported previously, the Nominating Committee has expressed its intention to nominate Nick Orem as Post Captain.
While some of the following topics will be covered in detail at the Annual Meeting, here are some brief updates:
- Resignation of Viveka Kjellgren, who has moved to California, as Governor Representative for GKSS. I am working with GKSS Commodore Casselbrant regarding a replacement
- Governors’ Meeting Oct 5:
- The Governors agreed that we should postpone hosting of TAR and 5C until 2022, accept KNS’s offer to host TAR and 5C in 2021, and postpone the cruise in the US to 2023. I so notified the Home Club commodores.
- We selected Saturday, December 5, 10 AM EST via Zoom for the Annual Meeting and plan to invite the commodores and members of the Home Club to participate
- Tom, Lars, Dick and Nancy have done a great job of updating the history of The NAS. We will include it in the next Directory, planned for mailing about year end, and publish it, suitably bound, as a memento for the 75th Anniversary celebration in 2021.
- Commodores’ Meeting Oct 20 – The Commodores (Commodore Agerup was absent) agreed with our proposed schedule outlined above. Commodore Agerup has subsequently re-confirmed that KNS will host TAR and 5C in 2021.
- 75th Anniversary celebration, 75th Anniversary Fund Campaign Early in 2020, we launched a 75th Anniversary Fund Campaign, initially to the present and past Governors and officers. The initial response was extremely gratifying: $25,000+. We plan to invite all members to join them later this year.
- KDY: Commodore Kjærsgaard and a KDY journalist interviewed Nick and me via video for an article in the KDY magazine, Sejlsport. He also has proposed Nick and me for membership in KDY.
- The 2020 summer sailing season. Golden Eye, back in the US, cruised from Newport to the Canadian border, meeting many NAS members en route, including an NAS celebration of Nick Orem’s birthday (see photo)
Mark Lenci has agreed, at the urging and with the help of David Tunick, to make a presentation to The NAS (and The CCA) comparing skippering a nuclear attack submarine and a yacht. His presentation to New York Yacht Club was heartily applauded – I know that you will enjoy this. Tuesday, November 10, 1800 hours EST, details to follow.
As I mentioned in my July Letter, the end of my term as your Post Captain brings both joy of reflection and the regret attendant to any ending of a great experience. Little could I imagine in 2010, when Doug Adkins persuaded me to sail Golden Eye transatlantic, or in February, 2011, when Ross Sherbrooke “pressed” me into The NAS, or in 2014 when the Nominating Committee asked me to become Post Captain, what wonderful new friends and voyages lay ahead. Since then, the wonderful Scandinavians, cruises, TARs, Five Clubs, Junior Exchanges, sailing visits to all five Home Clubs and membership in two (soon to be three) of them, extraordinary Nordic cruising from north of the Arctic Circle to the Saimaa Lakes and spectacular NAS events and friendships have been life-changing.
I sincerely thank you, the members of The NAS and the Home Clubs, for your friendship and help during the past six years.
Thank all of you who are contributing in so many ways – through leadership or even just participating - to making The North American Station a fun, vibrant and sustainable organization!
And remember:
“The Gods do not deduct from man’s allotted span those hours spent in sailing.” Sincerely,
Ernie Godshalk, Post Captain
PS – A few reminders:
1. Mark Lenci presentation, Tuesday, November 10, 1800 hours EST, details to follow.
2. Junior Programs: Please let Susan Gardner, Angelica Barrows or the Post Captain know of candidates for 2021 Junior Exchange age 15-17, or Host Families, and contact Angelica Barrows regarding candidates to represent The NAS at 2021 Five Club Regatta – wonderful opportunities, assuming that the pandemic has receded by then. Please consider assisting in leading Junior Exchange and placing an article in the newsletter of your local yacht club.
3. The Atlantic Round: Contact Palmer Sparkman regarding joining The NAS 2021 TAR team. 4. Last Voyages – please be sure that Secretary Richard West and the post captain are aware of the passing of any members.
5. The NAS store – Great news thanks to the hard work of Dave Brown: We now have a new source of very high-quality burgees (from the Sailbaglady in Madison CT, the same vendor the CCA uses). See the sizes and prices and procedures for ordering on the NAS Gear tab of our web site: northamericanstation.com
6. New member candidates – Please contact the Membership Committee chair to discuss candidates.