2011 RENDEZVOUS UPDATE FROM CHAIRMAN GREG RICHMOND

February 4, 2011

Hello PSGBOA members!  As I write this the sun is shining and I will be on the boat this weekend for a little R&R – not bad for February in the NW.

The PSGBOA held a board meeting last week during the boat show to go over plans for this year’s rendezvous, May 12-15, 2011. Preparations for the Rendezvous are coming along nicely thanks to lots of help from a number of volunteers and especially, from Grand Banks NW who facilitated the meeting on their brand new 53 Aleutian. We expect to have registration forms together shortly and will e-mail them to members as well as posting them on our website.  Please check the website for updates.  

We are fortunate enough have Peggy Hall, the acknowledged guru of marine sanitation and author of the book “Marine Sanitation” to joining us this year. Peggy will not only give a great presentation but will be available to go and visit your boat and discuss any needed upgrades or corrections. Bob Smith will be with us again and his widely admired talks covering marine power.  Bob is the founder of American Diesel and the expert on Lehman Engines.  We would also like a speaker from either Cummings or Cat. Tucker West of GB NW and Bill Davis will be working on this subject and they will report back to us all. Roche Harbor and Bill Shaw will have the cooking demonstration this year but with a twist. This year Bill is putting together a demo outdoors and the theme will be grilling on your boat. Remember that there are only 75 reservations to this event so be sure and sign up for it when you register.  Like last year there will be an additional charge for the event.  Mr. Shaw is also putting together our Saturday night dinner plans and menus and I will forward those to everyone once they are available.

While I am on the food subject, we have decided to bring back the wine tasting and appetizer pot luck on Friday night.  These were such a big last year that we just couldn’t pass on a second round. Bill Davis of Wells Fargo Insurance has sponsored this event in the past and has stepped up again so a big thank you to Bill.   For the kids, we will have a movie night again this year complete with root beer and popcorn.  It was a big hit last year.

As we move forward I want to thank everyone that contacted me to help out, a big thanks for that. We will be providing you with more information about how to help as we move closer to the event. Now I have a question for the group. This is your event so please give us some ideas for speakers you would like to have (or any other ideas as far as that goes).  For anyone who would like to do a presentation, please contact me (grich737@msn.com) or Bill Douglass (billdouglass@douglassclan.com) and we will get it on the agenda. It’s already February and we’re just a few months away from the largest gathering of GB owners in the world. Kim Nance is putting together the registration packet for this year and again we will do and all inclusive package deal. The cost is $170 per boat and that would include 2 persons at the Saturday night dinner and drinks. Each extra dinner will be an extra cost as it was last year and children will of course be at a reduced rate. For those not traveling by boat, Roche Harbor will have a special on room rates as they have had in past years.

So as you can see a lot has been done but there is still a lot yet to do. Your board is working hard to finalize the last few items but we still need to hear from you so please don’t hesitate to send either me or Bill Douglass an e-mail and let us know your thoughts. I will follow up with another letter by the end of this month or just the beginning of next as things start to come together. I am looking forward to seeing each and everyone have a safe and wonderful early spring and I will be talking with you soon.

Kind Regards,

Greg Richmond, PSGBOA Rendezvous Chair