Dawn Riley Kicks Off CYC Speaker Series

by Mark Leonard

Taking advantage of the spectacular array of sailing talent in the Bay Area, we have revived the CYC Speaker Series. Dawn Riley heads an all-star roster currently including Bruce Schwab, Richard Spindler, and Paul Cayard!

Dawn Riley

Dawn joins us on the evening of Thursday June 12. She has sailed in three America's Cups, and is the only woman to have completely managed a syndicate. She has sailed in two Whitbread Round the Worlds, and has recently announced her participation in the next America's Cup. She'll talk with us about the last Cup, and also a subject that she is equally passionate about: making sailing more accessible to those, especially youth, who might not otherwise have the opportunity to develop into sailors. Dawn has kindly waived her speaker's fee by requesting that all proceeds go to a youth sailing non-profit organization.

On Thursday, July 10, Bruce Schwab will speak. Many of you followed his journey in the grueling Around Alone race. This former rigger at Svendsen's, will talk about how he realized his without big corporate sponsorship like most of his competitors.

Richard Spindler (a.k.a. “The Grand Poobah,” and creator of Latitude 38 and the Baja Ha-Ha) will come on August 14. He'll make us laugh and dream as he reviews the Baja HaHa entering its 10th year. Richard will have you seriously thinking about heading out the Gate and turning left.

On October 9th, Paul Cayard will give us the view from the top. Paul has done it all: America's Cup, Round the World, and too many world championships to list. He'll be fresh from the Star World Championship, and ready to talk about what's next. Paul is a warm and engaging speaker, and this will be a special opportunity to learn from him.

And stand by for more: by next issue, we'll have speakers for September 18 and November 13.

These events are open to the public, they are on Thursday evenings (what a great way to kick off the weekend!), they will cost only $10 per person for admission. Another ten bucks gets you the buffet dinner, and the upstairs bar will be open for cocktails.

We can use more volunteers to make this series work. If you would like to help, please contact me! You can reach me via email at mleonard88@hotmail.com or by phone at 415-354-2388.