Ashore

The Club meets monthly on the 4th Tuesday evening, September through May. Socializing and ordering begin at 6:00pm. Presentations start at 7:00pm.
(Summer picnic gathering dates are selected by the hosts.)

We invite a speaker to most meetings, from whom we learn something new or interesting about sailing.
Some monthly meetings are local outings, often involving boats in some fashion. These may not always fall on the fourth Tuesday.

Our January Club meeting is this Tuesday, January 28.

at the Chester Bird American Legion Post

200 Lilac Dr N, Chester Bird Post 523 American Legion, Golden Valley, MN 55422-5121


As usual, doors open at 6:00 PM for socializing and dinner

(Dinner is on your own, off the menu.)

The program begins at 7:00 PM.

 

This month's presenter is Rod Slater.

I met Rod last fall in the anchorage at Sardinia, Italy, when I noticed a boat with the home port of Seattle, Washington. I knocked on the hull. We visited for a while, and I learned that Rod was sailing solo around the world. He was about to set sail back to New Zealand for the birth of his grand-child.

  Rod has agreed to Zoom in to our meeting and share some of his experiences. He's planning to talk about the boats he's had, preparations, what it's like on passage, repairs, countries, and favorite places.


Here is Rod's sailing bio:

My introduction to sailing was with Lazers on the cold mountain lakes of Montana. 

During a SCUBA diving holiday over spring break in Cozumel Mexico, I observed cruising yachts coming and going and set a goal to sail around the world. After university I moved to Seattle and purchased “Bontekoe”, a Baba 30. For the next 35 years we had many adventures from as far north as Alaska, to New Zealand.

My current boat is “Vela Dare” a Valiant 40 and another Robert Perry design. After significant restoration, she and I started off from New Zealand in 2019 to complete my circumnavigation. 

At present Vela Dare is in Chaguarmas, Trinidad in the Caribbean on the hard preparing for the next leg. 

Since 1991, I’ve lived aboard about 15 years and sailed over 50,000 Bluewater miles. About 40,000 of those miles have been solo. So far I’ve weathered engine failures, running aground, broken equipment, torn sails, dragging anchors, being lost, cyclones, gear failure, bad water, divorce, inexperienced crew, theft, pirates, killer whales, boat searches and bureaucracy. 

In other words, pretty average wholistic cruising experiences. 



I hope to see you there.

Fair Winds,

Tom


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