An intro to the HYC’s new Fleet Captain
Hello, Fellow HYC Members.
Allow me to (re)introduce myself: My name is Sean Matthews and I am your Fleet Captain for 2022-2023. I guess it is safe to say that most of you out there know me already, but for the benefit of newer members who maybe don’t, I will give you the “deets”, as they say. I grew up sailing at Ashbridge’s Bay Yacht Club where my parents had a C&C 25 called Sea Key (which, by the way, is now part of ABYC’s small fleet of Co-op boats). I went through sailing school there and then worked for about 10 summers teaching sailing at QCYC, as well as St. Jamestown S.C., Mooredale S.C., Executive Sailing, Harbourside and Queen’s Quay Yachting.
I left ABYC to join HYC about 15 years ago. It was not a light decision to leave a club that my family had been a part of for almost 50 years but I love it here at HYC and I am happy I came here.
My current boat is “Wee Beastie III”, a J33 which I co-own with my best friend and fellow ABYC alumnus, Jim MacIntyre. The J33 is a great racer/cruiser and she loves typical Lake Ontario winds. Jim and I do a fair bit of racing with her and have had some great successes over the past few years.
As for my position on the CoM, it is one I have already held, back around ten years ago. I also served on the CoM as Communications Director. Between both positions I was on the CoM for about 7 years.
Here’s a few highlights of what I would like to do this year:
Cruising: I have already started working with Judy Casey and Cathy Terry to begin plans for next summer’s cruises. As part of our plans, I’ve sent out a Google Form questionnaire to all HYC Members to obtain input on this upcoming season of cruising. Please complete this questionnaire asap as we are already booking destinations with reciprocal clubs.
“Mentorship nights” similar to “Fun” race nights: pair experienced sailors with less experienced to offer training in their own boats, customized to individual needs and without the heightened…anxiety?...of the racing element. Simply recreational, but with a mentor to help train.
Racing – planning to continue the great work Shawn Lise did with both the competitive racing and our “Fun” series.
Weekend event racing – I will also be actively promoting our participation in other race regattas on the lake, including Susan Hood, ABYC regattas (they’re right next door!), and others.
Off-season race/cruising-related evenings. Planning on hosting at least a few off-season events at the club including racing/cruising related movie nights and talks. I’ll be putting a request out for suggestions and potential speakers.
Sailing school? I want to look into options to bring formal sail training back to the Basin, either on our own at HYC or in partnership with another club – SBSC, maybe.
I am always open to new ideas, so if there’s something interesting you have in mind for an on-the-water or off-season event, please don’t hesitate to send me an email at fleetcaptain@highlandyachtclub.com.
Finally, I’d like to thank Shawn Lise for all the great work he did while serving as our Fleet Captain these past couple of years.