From the Commodore's Desk
Macgregor Owners Association of New England

The Commodore's Comments

Hal Streeter. Setsamood

2001 Season

Season of new beginnings

Thank you for your vote of confidence to be the new Commodore of MOANE. During my past four years with the club I have been actively involved throughout the seasons. My first season I was a novice sailor and a contributing new member followed by two years as a member-at-large. During the 2000 season I was the Secretary. I continue to work on the finer aspects of sailing -- a learning process that will continue for many more seasons.

I have seen some major changes with the club. One of the most noticeable, thanks to our web master Roger Garland, has been the introduction of our web site two years ago in lieu of our hardcopy newsletter known as "The JibSheet". The reason for this change was to provide a more efficient method of communication between members of this strictly volunteer organization. When we introduced our web page approximately 82% of the members had email addresses. That percentage has increased steadily and this season a full 94% of our members have email addresses and can access our web site. This month we are happy to report that our web site has received in excess of 10,000 hits from interested sailing enthusiasts. However, the number of new articles being submitted into our web site has been greatly reduced.

My initial attraction to the club was the willingness of everyone to exchange information. I was amazed at the collective body of knowledge represented within the MOANE organization. One of my first projects was to extend the shape of the rudder in my Mac25 which I read about in the JibSheet. This effectively solved the problem I was having with weather helm. Without reading about this solution I would not have known what to do. Exchanging information is a key benefit to membership. As a result, I would like to increase the number of articles submitted to our web site.

I am offering some themes on articles for our web site. I'd like everyone to try to submit at least one article this season. It does not have to be more than a paragraph or two in length. Photographs are not required but they are much appreciated. Our web master has a scanner so digitizing is not an issue. Even a sketch with an article can be included. If you would like to remain anonymous that is OK, too.

I have listed a few themes for articles however, any topic is fine.

March 2001

Theme 1
What improvements or changes have you made to your boat during the prior season? What would you like to change but haven't yet completed it? What problems would you like to solve?

Theme 2
Because trailerable sailboats are so portable, can you share with other members any launching areas, details or ideas to make the process easier, safer or faster?

April 2001

Theme 3
Where do you primarily keep your boat? What aspect of sailing does you like the most or least?

Theme 4
Can you offer advice to new enthusiasts on how to get started? What size boat is good for beginners? What are the differences in handling characteristics of larger sail boats?

May 2001

Theme 5
During the prior boating season, what was your most memorable sailing experience?

In closing, during the past four seasons I have met many new friends, discovered new destinations and look forward to new sailing adventures. I would like to share these experiences with as many members of the sailing community as possible.

Many thanks from "Setsamood"

Hal Streeter
Commodore MOANE