June | 2026

June General Membership Meeting

Wednesday June 10th

MEETING TOPICS

Location - 

The Muse Whiskey and Coffee | Second Floor

- 6:00pm

Social Hour

- 7:00pm

Speaker and Food

Please Bring Your Potluck To Share

Membership Dues Are Due! 

If you need assistance in paying dues please reach out to information@milltownsailing.org to ask any questions. 

Want to pay with something other than PayPal? Email Paulette at treasurer@milltownsailing.org to coordinate payment.

Log Dodge Shenanigans Are Upon Us!!

All hands-on deck, but this time in the galley! We're looking for volunteers to feed our ever-so-hungry racers after Friday night's Log Dodge races, and you do not have to be a racer to sign up.

Cruisers, you know how to handle a boat AND a galley, so come show the racing fleet what you're made of on both fronts. This is what sailing community is all about, racers and cruisers coming together on and off the water.

We've made it as easy as possible. Head to the MSA homepage and click the link to find the volunteer sign-up sheet, which already includes pre-planned menus so you're not starting from scratch. Just pick your night, show up, and prepare to be the most popular person at the dock. 

Questions? Reach out to admin@milltownsailing.org and we'll get you squared away. Fair winds and full plates await!

By The Way - 

The post-race gathering for Log Dodge Races 1-1 and 1-2 will be held at the Everett Yacht Club building by Woodfire Grill. Why the change of scenery? Boxcar Park and The Muse will be hosting FIFA Watch Party events on those dates, so we are moving the party down the street. Same great company, different address.

Sidenote for Log Dodge Race 1-2 food volunteer

But here is the silver lining; being at the EYC facility gives us access to their grill, which means we can elevate our post-race dinner game. 

2nd Annual - Jetty Island Adventure

Hosted by Dave SV Samura

Giving Back

Sea Scouts Fundraiser

At this year's holiday party, our beer and wine raffle raised $1,000 for the Sea Scouts. That is no small number, and it did not happen without you. Every ticket purchased, every bottle donated, and every member who showed up and participated made that possible. This community never misses an opportunity to give back, and moments like this are a reminder of just how generous the MSA family truly is. Thank you.

UPCOMING EVENTS FOR MAY

COMMODORE LOG

I have no shame in admitting that I am (mostly) a fair weather sailor. As luck would have it, that season is currently upon us! The month of June contains the longest daylight hours of the summer before our sun returns to its short course through the southern horizon. I hope you have plans to use these hours well and perhaps use them with the club, too. It's a busy time of the year for cruises, social sails, races, boat projects, and lots of other shore-side activities. Wherever you find yourself this summer, I hope you have every opportunity for fun, relaxation, enjoyment, and every positive thing you could think of. And if you're anything like us, you'll discover along your way more destinations for your travel To-Do list than you know what to do with.

Fair winds,

Stacey Lauer, SV Sérénité

RACING REVIEW

CRUISING CORNER

Cruise Corner — Back Bay, Port Ludlow: Summer Solstice Cruise

This month we are heading to Back Bay at Port Ludlow to celebrate one of the best days of the year, the Summer Solstice, the longest day of the year. More daylight, more time on the water, and more time with your MSA family. There is no better way to mark the occasion.

And speaking of marking the occasion, did you know there is a global celebration built around this very day?

Summer Sailstice was founded in February 2001 by John Arndt, Publisher of Latitude 38 a magazine much like our own 48 North here in the Pacific Northwest. Sound familiar? What started as a modest gathering of 200 boats has grown into a worldwide event bringing together nearly 5,000 boats and approximately 19,000 sailors every year.

Summer Sailstice is held on the weekend nearest the summer solstice, and the event has grown to unite thousands of sailors worldwide with a schedule of events that encourages everyone to participate. The best part? Participation is open to everyone and completely free. 

Whether you are racing, cruising, or simply hoisting a sail for fun, Summer Sailstice is a chance to connect with a global community of sailors, celebrate the joy and freedom of sailing, and be part of something bigger because when we all sail together, we make waves. 

This year, Summer Sailstice falls on June 20, 2026 and our cruise to Port Ludlow puts us right in the middle of it. You can register your sail, share photos, and even be eligible for prizes at summersailstice.com. So, hoist your sails, point toward Port Ludlow, and let's celebrate the longest day of the year together.

KNOT YOUR AVERAGE QUIZ

Question:

Boats A, B and C, all on starboard tack, are approaching a leeward mark to be left to port. When two lengths from the zone, A is clear ahead of B, and C is overlapped with B. When A reaches the zone (position 1), B is overlapped with A and C is still overlapped with B. C rounds the mark inside boat A and B. A protests C.

You are on the protest committee; how would you decide this?

Answer to May Quiz question

Disallow P’s protest. Because the boats are on opposite tacks, P is required to keep clear of S under rule 10, On Opposite Tacks. Though the boats are in the zone of the windward mark, rule 18, Mark-Room, does not apply because the boats are on opposite tacks on a beat to windward (see rule 18.1(a)(1), When Rule 18 Applies) and because the proper course for S but not P is to tack (see rule 18.1(a)(2)). No rule requires S to sail her proper course in this situation. (See World Sailing Case 9.)

POINT OF SAIL GROUP DISCUSSION

We want to hear your Round Whidbey recap. Share below

Dave Pollon — SV Samurai

This month we are proud to hear from one of our own who stepped up to Round Whidbey for the very first time. Dave Pollon of SV Samurai is not a new face to sailing or racing. He has a history with Sloop Tavern Yacht Club and was on the scene when Race to the Straits was just getting started, doing it singlehanded, no less. Those who know Dave know he is humble, kind, and safety first in everything he does. Here at Milltown, his racing is beginning to make a real statement, and all his hard work is showing in his performance on the water.

What sets Dave apart is not just his skill behind the helm, but the intentional way he has built his program. He has worked diligently to grow his abilities as a racer while building a crew bound together by camaraderie, trust, and a shared commitment to safety. That kind of foundation does not happen overnight, and it is exactly the kind of culture that makes MSA racing stronger.

This year, all of that preparation paid off. Here is Dave's story about participating for the first time in the Round Whidbey Race.

Round Whidbey 2026 — SV Samurai

This year was the first Round Whidbey for SV Samurai and what an experience it was. The idea of doing this race involved a lot of preparation for both ship and crew. The prep for Samurai actually started over the summer and fall of 2025 with things like a new 150 headsail, a racing bottom, some new electronics and vessel wiring upgrades, a transition to lithium house battery chemistry plus solar, a folding prop, and an overall focus on making it possible for the first time in decades for Samurai to sail close to her PHRF rating.

For our crew, it meant trying to create a racing program with a consistent group of sailors where we could grow our overall knowledge, share it, and have fun.

The race itself created a number of firsts for Samurai: longest continuous sail at 89 nautical miles, first night passage, and first east-west transit of Deception Pass. On paper those are just numbers. Out on the water, they were moments that will stay with this crew for a long time.

The race travel wasn't just Round Whidbey; it also included delivery there and back. I'll be honest, the miles to the start line carried their own weight. There was a quiet anxiety sitting in the back of my mind the whole way, wondering if the systems would hold, if the preparation was enough, if we had thought of everything. We hadn't. We discovered charging problems with the old alternator. The head broke. The furling system gave us trouble. We realized we are over-propped. These are the kinds of things that don't show themselves during an afternoon of round-the-buoys racing in Port Gardner. It takes open water, miles, and hours to find them, and Round Whidbey found every one of them.

Then came the race itself, and Puget Sound made sure we earned every nautical mile. The length of the race and every possible kind of wind and sea state it could deliver stretched our crew. Fatigue was a serious issue, as was a bit of seasickness. We created a race plan and modelled different potential routes, but when we emerged from Deception Pass on the morning of May 30th, all the planning was left behind, and we sailed more seat of the pants than we'd like to admit.

We considered bailing out at Everett after hours of tacking between Possession Point and Mukilteo, but the wind filled in just in time and we continued on to a 3rd place finish in RW B Fleet. Ultimately, we had a crew of six; Richard, Roelof, George, Tony, Keith, and Dave; who had good chemistry, supported each other, shared knowledge, and were willing to learn. We stayed in a racing mindset the entire time.

— David Pollon, Skipper, SV Samurai

EDUCATION CORNER

SAFETY ON THE WATER

As we head into summer, now is the time to make sure we are prepared before we leave the dock. This spring alone, our own club has seen two to three vessels in distress with engine trouble underway, two water splashes, and one situation that required calling the Coast Guard for assistance. And that is just within our community. The waters around us have also seen a significant increase in activity from kayakers, paddle boarders, wind surfers, and other vessels experiencing their own emergencies.

One call in particular stuck with me. Listening over Channel 16, the Coast Guard repeatedly had to ask the person in distress to slow down and speak calmly so they could understand what was needed. You could hear the fear and panic in their voice. It was a good reminder that an emergency on the water can happen to anyone, and how we respond in that moment matters.

Do you know what to do if something goes wrong out there? Do you know how to make a proper distress call? Is your crew familiar with your vessel and its safety equipment?

Take the time now, before summer is in full swing, to review your safety procedures, brief your crew, and make sure you are ready. The best emergency is the one you are already prepared for.

FEATURED MEMBER

We are a family

Throughout the years, MSA has opened its doors and its heart to all who have walked through them. We have had the privilege of watching families grow up and grow into this community, children becoming leaders, strangers becoming lifelong friends, and new faces quickly becoming familiar ones.

To our members, MSA is more than an organization. It is a family. For some, it is an extension of the one they already cherish. For others, it is the family they found when they needed one most. And for some, it is a family they never knew they needed. A place where they are seen, valued, and loved unconditionally. No matter where you come from or where you are in your journey, there has always been, and always will be, a place for you here.

This month, our featured member is the family of SV Wonder; Mike, Luba, Dan, and Nik. They are the 2024 Family of the Year and avid members of the MSA cruising scene.

From Mike - 

Sailing became part of our family adventures as a way to get to Jetty Island when the kids were really little.  I (Mike) had sailed dinghies and keelboats in college.  Luba and I were sea kayakers before the kids were born.   A sailboat seemed a safer way to get the kids out on the water.

We decided on our Catalina 27 since I would have to single hand sail it while Luba held and watched the kids.  Nik was almost 2 years old when we got the boat.   Dan doesn’t know life before boats.  Our sailing style slow and fun.

Nik started helping with lines and winches when he was 4 to 5 years old.  Dan, age 6, takes care of the flags and burgies.  We have a rule of no screens (other than chart plotter) when underway.  The kids have always loved going out on the boat, looking up the names of passing ships on AIS, seeing whales, and measuring the crabs we catch.

For safety, life jackets are always on while underway and the kids’ safety tether is clipped in to the dodger when in the cockpit.  For longer passages, jacklines are run forward so the kids can clip in and move out of the cockpit.

The hardest part about cruising is the need for constant attention to boat and/or crew and not having down time.  We manage it by taking shifts, allowing the other one some time off.   One of the best moments on the boat was the first time we pulled up a pot full of crab just off of B mark.

Winning family of the year felt really good given the amount effort and time we spent onboard that year.

To other families with kids wanting to get into sailing, we would say start small, go slow, and learn to work within your limitations.  Your limits will also grow as the kids do but so will what you learn and the memories you make.

Three Special Shout outs

James Stein deserves recognition for once again coming to the rescue by assisting another vessel with fuel pump issues and responding to a distress call from a fellow MSA member who needed a tow back to the marina.

Leanna and Carl also acted heroically during a midnight rescue when a member fell into the water.

Colby Rutherford took quick action by grabbing a young child who fell into the water at the dock.

Shout Outs & Recognition

Do you know someone who deserves a little recognition? Someone who went the extra tack to help out, stepped up when it mattered, or simply made someone's day on the water a little better? We want to hear about it.

Email us at information@milltownsailing.org to nominate someone for Featured Member of the Month, or just to give a shout out to someone who deserves credit where credit is due. No gesture is too small, if it meant something to you, it means something to us.

Let's make sure the people who show up for this community know that we see them.

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