Incoming Alberg 30 One-Design Association commodore Renee Cooper and her husband David.
Have you ever wondered what it takes to make a boat club survive the test of time? Most of us don’t think much about it in the beginning, but with the passage of time we realize that there must be something special about a club if it can move into its 50th year. In our case the club is the Chesapeake Bay Alberg 30 One-Design Association. Barbara and I did not know about the club when we bought our Alberg 30, Halcyon in 1978. We did know that we wanted a boat that would be capable of taking us anywhere our growing skills and desire led us. The Alberg 30 is a classic beauty. Its rugged construction and sea kindly behavior gave us comfort as we sailed offshore on our trips to Maine. The accommodations were more than adequate for our family of four, and it was capable of carrying more stores (out of sight) than any other boat its size that I know of. Fortunately for us we saw a group of Albergs cruising the Sassafras River where we moored Halcyon. They encouraged us to join the club and it has truly been a 34 year love affair.
So, obviously the boat associated with the club is a prime contributor to the success of any club. But the A30 club has lasted 50 years. There has to be another reason or reasons that this club continues to thrive and meet the sailing needs of its members. A brief look at the schedule of events in the 2013 handbook shows that there were 17 racing events with many of the events having multiple races. The cruising side of the 2013 schedule had 3 rendezvous with attendance of approximately 80 members each and numerous cruises two of which were nine days each. There are special interest events such as the children’s cruise, the weekend rendezvous and Maintenance weekend, where members can get help with more involved projects. In fifty years there isn’t anything that hasn’t been fixed or replaced at one time or another on somebody’s boat. We all look forward to February as the beginning of the boating season. Four seminars are scheduled every year. They cover racing, cruising, maintenance and a variety of other topics. This is a great time for new members to get to know everybody and to benefit from their experience. Did I mention the after seminar parties? They’re fantastic! These activities keep us involved with racing and cruising and surely contribute to the longevity of our association.
There is one other factor that contributes to the success of the A30 association and that is the members themselves. I have never been in the company of so many people that want to lend a helping hand or encourage you to be a part of what is going on.
In January our commodore, Lanny Helms will turn over his responsibilities to the incoming commodore for 2014, Renee Cooper. Renee has an interesting background, having moved to the U.S. from Vienna, Austria and working as an au pair. She met her husband Dave and found that they had much in common, both having sailed since childhood. In 1995 they sailed their A30 COOKIN from Annapolis to Bermuda and back. In 1999 they sailed from Annapolis to Greece with many stops along the way, returning to the USA by plane, while COOKIN was shipped back as deck cargo in 2003. The needs of a growing family, Nikos 10 and Sophie 8, have kept the Coopers a little closer to home. Renee has used this time to serve the A30 Association as Fleet Captain, Rear Commodore Cruising and Vice Commodore in preparation for her responsibilities as Commodore in 2014. Her goals include many special activities for the A30 Association that will be taking place around the Annapolis waterfront and a spring trip to Bermuda on COOKIN. ~Jim and Barbara Palmer
