SEQUIM — The Sequim Bay Yacht Club will celebrate opening day with a blessing of the fleet, free boat rides and a boat parade Sunday.
Yacht club members are inviting the public to John Wayne Marina at 2577 W. Sequim Bay Road in Sequim to learn more about the group’s cruising, rowing and sailing programs.
Starting at 9:30 a.m. at the marina, weather permitting, club members will offer free rides to people of all ages in a Flying Scot sailing dinghy and power boat rides. Learn-to-Row sessions in the club’s quad shells will be offered to those 18 and older.
An open house in the Sequim Bay Yacht Club club room is planned from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
At 2 p.m. will be the boat parade skippers meeting followed by the flag ceremony and blessing of the fleet at 2:30 p.m.
The boat parade in Sequim Bay will begin at 3 p.m.
The Sequim Bay Yacht Club was established in 1976 and has for more than 40 years organized boating programs that today include daily rowing work-outs and Learn-to-Sail programs as well as sailing and crew races, cruises and educational events.
Boat ownership is not a requirement for membership and many skippers welcome volunteers as crew. The club’s educational monthly programs are open to the public at no charge.
The club’s newest program, adult rowing, began in 2016. Sessions are about 90 minutes long, including launching boats, a row of about 8,000 meters and returning boats to the dock. Rowers share responsibilities as coxswain and chase boat operator.
The club’s sailboat races offer challenges for both hard-core and recreational competitors. Weekly Duck Dodge sailboat races are hosted April-September on Thursdays at 5:30 p.m.
On Mondays, Pacific Handicap Racing Fleet (PHRF) Capt. Alan Clark matches up experienced sailors and those who have completed the Learn-to-Sail program with boats needing crews.
Throughout the year, club members also race on alternate Saturdays. May through August, the club sponsors monthly regattas for PHRF and one-design sailboats.
The yacht club’s most significant community event is the Sept. 28 Reach & Row for Hospice Regatta, which in 2018 raised more than $31,000 for Volunteer Hospice of Clallam County, bringing the club’s total contribution to the hospice to more than $335,000. Rowing and paddling races will be added to the event this year, which will be Sept. 29.
For more information, see sequimbayyachtclub.org.
Port Townsend
The Port Townsend Yacht Club will host opening day in Port Townsend Bay beginning with small boats about 12:15 p.m. Saturday, Fleet Capt. Jim Gorski said.
Larger boats will follow immediately after the 12:30 p.m. departure of the state ferry.
Public viewing areas for the waterfront parade will be from the Northwest Maritime Center pier, Pope Marine Park or other locations along Water Street.
The Old Man IV, a Navy cutter built in 1957 and formerly an admiral vessel, will lead the parade.
Northwest Funk, a regional Navy band, will play before the small boats begin and as the state ferry passes in the outdoor commons area at the Northwest Maritime Center, Gorski said.
Yacht Club Commodore Jim Pivarnik will lead the 40-plus larger boats, and Jake Beattie, the executive director of the Northwest Maritime Center.will provide commentary when each boat passes the pier.
Interested boaters can email Gorski at ptycfleet@gmail.com.
