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The temperature hovered around 60 degrees and the winds
were 18 mph or above with gusts to 29 mph.
Facing those conditions, most canceled. However, 20
veterans and one service dog did participate.
NYCP members were everywhere—setting up registration,
baking “sailing chips” (cookies), on boats providing
physical assistance to vets, and making sure everybody had
everything he or she needed. Their members also provided
the custom-designed flags depicting the six yacht clubs’
burgees and special W.A.V.E. logo given to all participants.
Organizers deemed the waves and wind too strong for
special guests on sailboats, so Fort Walton YC members volunteered
their powerboats, and extra hands were provided
on deck.
Seven Seas Cruising Association
Recognizes Jerry and Gaila Brandon
of St. Marys, Georgia as the 2012
Cruising Station of the Year
From SSCA
Gaila and Jerry Brandon. Photo courtesy SSCA.
Seven Seas Cruising Association (SSCA), the largest organization
of voyaging cruisers in the world, announced in
October that Jerry and Gaila Brandon of St. Marys, GA, are
the 2012 recipients of the Bateman Cruising Station of the
Year award.
The award is presented to a volunteer Cruising Station
host who has assisted visiting cruisers, and particularly
SSCA members, in a significant capacity, and who has made
an effort to promote SSCA and recruit new members.
The Brandons started assisting mariners over 30 years
ago when they hosted families for the Ocean Classroom’s
Semester at Sea program. Gaila’s son participated in the
Semester at Sea, and the couple began receiving mail and
arranging laundry and other services for those on board.
When this program ended, the Brandons continued to welcome
boaters to St. Marys from their Riverview Hotel on the
waterfront in downtown St. Marys.
In 2001, the now famous “St. Marys Thanksgiving” got
started when several cruising boats took refuge in St. Marys
from a nor’easter that hit the Georgia coast the day before
Thanksgiving. A local cruiser who had swallowed the hook,
Charlie Jacobs (formerly aboard the sailboat Thirsty Whale)
suggested to Mike Derivan on the sailboat Sweet Dreams—
who was one of the visiting cruisers—that a potluck
Thanksgiving might be just the thing to lift their spirits.
Since boat galleys are not usually up to roasting turkeys, the
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24 January 2013 SOUTHWINDS www.southwindsmagazine.com