FRIDAYEXTRA !
The Daily Astorian
Friday, July 15, 2016
Weekend Edition
Photos by Danny Miller/The Daily Astorian
Yacht Club member Curt Yoder, right, sails his boat Shearwater as another boat sails in the distance during the club’s Downtown Rally in June on the
Columbia River. Yoder named his boat after the sea bird. “Sailboats seem like birds to me, the way they can fly,” he said.
DOWNTOWN RALLY
New date on the
sailing calendar
By DANNY MILLER
The Daily Astorian
T
he Astoria Yacht Club has added a new
event to the sailing calendar.
Every other Thursday the group meets
in their clubhouse at 5:30 p.m. for a Downtown
Rally. The rally activities include an informal sail-
ing session and a meal. “It’s a chance for us to get
out on the water without competition,” said Curt
Yoder, a Yacht Club board member.
The club organizes sailboat races throughout
the year, so this event is aimed at gathering both
new and current members interested in socializing
out on the water, Yoder said. After meeting in the
clubhouse and determining a route, the group sepa-
rates into a handful of boats before loading up and
setting sail on the Columbia River for a couple of
hours before the sun sets.
Sailing on the river offers a new look at Astoria.
“You get a different view and a bigger picture from
out here,” Yoder said.
In addition to a social experience, the Yacht
Club is also a learning environment. “If you don’t
know something, somebody in the club does,” said
Toby Dyal, who has been a club member for 18
years.
Yacht Club member Paul Winiarz, left, shares a laugh from aboard the Shearwater.
Curt Yoder prepares to sail.
Curt Yoder walks up the steps to the Astoria Yacht Club clubhouse at the
West End Mooring Basin.
Paul Winiarz prepares to tie the sailboat to the dock.
Sea Scout Josh McConnell, right, sails with other Sea Scouts participat-
ing in the Astoria Yacht Club Downtown Rally in June.