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Letters What Some Yacht Clubs Have Done to Bridge the Gap
Dear Joe, During these extraordinary times, some people in the boating community have come up with unique ways to bridge the gap until they can all be back together on the water again. Seattle Singles Yacht Club is one of these yacht clubs that has found ways to stay connected to each other off the water. SSYC members have decided now is a good time to become better boaters and even better friends. On Mondays, you will find thirty or so of us winding our way through a Virtual Boating Trivia game, led by our Commodore. It is specifically designed to increase the club’s nautical knowledge. To feel more connected to boating and each other, we also share “sea stories” from past adventures and recent news about our lives.
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On Fridays, we toast each other in a weekly virtual Happy Hour, where the free-for-all atmosphere and technical difficulties lead to conversations ranging from interesting to hilarious, all creating deeper connections. The ladies of the SSYC also do a weekly women’s-only Virtual Happy Hour of our own, where we can discuss issues unique to the ladies. Ro Berkley, the club’s Happy Hour chair, helped put the community dynamic into context, “Our club is unique in that we are single and 25% of us own boats, and the balance of the club acts as crew.” Similar to all of us as individuals, SSYC has been through some other extraordinary times—the Great Recession, 9/11, and of course lots of boating adventures. As the skippers prep their boats and go through their solo shakedown cruises in advance of the 2020 boating season, the club reminisces on their many hours of happy days gone by and the good times still ahead. Past or future, it’s the amazing friends we have made that make it so special. We look forward to getting back on the water with some new nautical knowledge and even stronger relationships with one another. Be well! Georgia Selfridge and Catherine Lenox Seattle Singles Yacht Club
48º NORTH
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JUNE 2020