Every summer the Southport Yacht Club welcomes hundreds of members and sailing program families to our corner of Maine. We love our time on the water and we pride ourselves on building life-long friendships and a strong sense of community ashore. This year that warmly anticipated seasonal influx brings with it real risks related to the COVID-19 virus for both our members and the island community that hosts us.

Over the past two months, SYC leadership representatives have consulted medical experts, reviewed public health guidance, and spoken with local leaders and member families to help us chart a responsible course forward. In light of these conversations, we have determined it is in the best interest of our members and of our island community to suspend both the sailing program and the traditional events calendar for the 2020 season. While this is a deeply disappointing outcome, we simply do not see a path that will allow anything resembling our traditional instructional program or typical social event calendar while safely complying with state and federal guidance.

While our activities ashore are curtailed, we do intend to keep the waterfront open and are making plans to run our Turnabout Series and Open Races (membership not required). Outdoor facilities including docks, floats, and launching ramp are open to members and guests. Signage with rules will be posted, and we ask that you wear a mask on club grounds if you can not maintain six feet of separation. Both the Junior Building and the SYC clubhouse will remain closed and locked.

We continue to work on alternative ways to safely encourage connection and community, including providing virtual options for our annual membership meetings and for public events like the Rock The Boat 5K and the Arts & Crafts Fair. We will have additional details on these initiatives in the coming weeks and ask for your patience as we navigate through the planning process.

This is an incredibly challenging time for us all, and I would like to personally extend my thanks to all of the club leadership, board members, and volunteers for their care and thoughtfulness in helping to craft our response. These are painful and personal decisions, and I admire and am inspired by the resilience each one of you has shown as we navigate this slow-motion crisis. Here’s to seeing everyone on the water very soon, physically separated but together in spirit!