So many of us “full timers” thought this would be another long, hot and humid summer here in Banderas Bay. And, we were partially correct.  It surely was hot and humid; but the time flew by and now we are just a few weeks away from the Pan American Games and the season Opening Day at Vallarta Yacht Club.

Here is a summary of how our Yacht Club was awarded this special prestigious honor of hosting the world renowned  XVI Pan American Sailing Event.  It was over four years ago that I was talking with VYC Director Dick Markie who is also the Paradise Village Marina Harbormaster, when he brought up the subject of the Guadalajara PanAm Games and how great it would be for our Club and Paradise Village to be chosen to host the Sailing Events. First, Power Point presentations that were too voluminous to send in one E-mail were prepared and sent to the Mexican Sailing Federation. That resulted in our gaining Ralph Nelles' (the Federation President) endorsement of our site. Starting then, continuous efforts on our behalf by Ralph, Dick, Linda Green, Mike Danielson and myself were made to the Pan American Sailing Federation which eventually led to their visiting us in the fall of 2009. 

Other potential sites and our competition included Lake Chapala, Valle de Bravo and Marina Vallarta. Understandably, there was great pressure by the Guadalajara Organizing Committee (COPAQ) to keep the Sailing Events near to Guadalajara.  And, if that was impractical, then at least, locate the event within the State of Jalisco.

Finally, in September of 2009, the Pan American Sailing Federation visited our site and were duly impressed with the venue. They made their findings known to COPAQ.  On October 19^th 2009, we received the official letter from the XVI Pan American 2011 Director of Operations & Sports awarding the “Vallarta Yacht Club” as the host site for the 2011 Pan American Games Sailing events.  The Mexican Sailing Federation, in-turn then appointed the Lake Chapala YC Commodore Beatriz Gonzales and our then VYC Commodore Linda Green to co-chair this event.

Beatriz and Linda have been planning, organizing and in some cases, competing with other PanAmEvents to assure that we have a truly successful event for all the world to see.  I urge you to read more about the Games elsewhere in this newsletter.

Here’s seeing you at the GAMES and again on VYC’s Opening Day on Sunday, October 30^th!

... for more details on the development of the entire 2011 Pan American Games event, click to read the COPAG bulletins that were published along the way.

This is supposed to be the beginning of the quiet time of the year for Vallarta Yacht Club, but it seems remarkably not so! Shortly after the elections at the Annual General Meeting in February, and before the official “Change of Watch”, the new slate of flag Officers and Directors were proactively working with the outgoing Board members. They simultaneously hosted our signature Banderas Bay Regatta with excellent results. While the March and April activities afloat were completing the season’s sailing calendar, the activities ashore included the popular “All Volunteer Luncheon”, and the Junior Sailing Program semi-annual Fundraiser.

It's your club... and there's a lot to be thankful for!

As I write this, it's the day after Thanksgiving. I think the greatest of North American traditions is taking a break from whatever you are doing, sitting down to a meal with friends and family, and remembering what we are all thankful for. Among the many, many things that I'm thankful for this year is the wonderful extended family that Liz and I have developed through the Vallarta Yacht Club.

Commodore Dan started a saying during his tenure as Vice-Commodore: “It's your club”. Those simple three words say it all about our little club. It seems like every time I visit the clubhouse I'm amazed at the range of activity I see, from people playing cards and dominoes, people enjoying a meal, kids getting ready for sailing classes, people checking email on the computers, or just folks enjoying a beer and a chat with friends. Those little kids running around probably don't even know the significance of the “Cheers” sign above the bar, but us older folks do – it's the place where everybody knows your name. That's our little club, our little piece if paradise.

We have a lot of great events coming up in the next few months, a wide range of activities that reflect the diversity of our club and our membership. Events like Banderas Bay Blast and the Great Chili Cookoff give us an opportunity to give back to the community that has given us so much, while offering a great party at the same time! Our already successful Concert Series has given us a unique opportunity to celebrate some amazingly talented musicians, and our theme dinners show the skills of our second-to-none club staff.

The year has already started out great, and I'm excited about spending the next few months here with my VYC family. I hope you are looking forward to this year, too. After all, it's your club!