Category: Commodore Corner Archives

Greetings PaNNTOA Members!

The time for our Rendezvous and General Meeting is rapidly approaching. This required annual meeting is where we install new officers and board members for PaNNTOA. The majority of our board members will be leaving this year and will need to be replaced. During Covid, it has been difficult to meet most of you in person, so I am writing with this request for your support and would ask you to volunteer for one of these positions.

I will be leaving as Commodore after serving three years. The Commodore position will be vacant and available effective June 3.

Doug Ford will be vacating the Vice Commodore position after serving 2 1/2 years. This position will also be available effective June 3.

Mike Russell will be vacating the Rear Commodore position after serving two years. Stu Clark, a new member who recently joined PaNNTOA after purchasing a Nordic Tug 39, has volunteered to assume the Rear Commodore position effective June 3. Thank you Stu!

Mark Malnes has offered to stay another year as Membership Director and Denise Nichols has offered to stay as Communications Director. Thank you Mark and Denise!

Sandra Piotrowski will be leaving the Web Director position after serving 2 years. That will need to be filled in June as well.

Jeff Brein, Rendezvous Director, will finish planning, organizing and executing our rendezvous and his time after three years on the Board will be ending at the conclusion of the rendezvous.

These are all key positions that are necessary for the successful continuation of the PaNNTOA organization. I sincerely thank those who have volunteered both current and past, and encourage you to consider one of these positions. The Job Descriptions are available for your review on the website under About Us/Job Descriptions.

To recap – Positions being vacated
Commodore
Vice Commodore
Web Director
Rendezvous Director

If you have questions regarding these positions or are ready to volunteer now, you can contact any one of these officers including myself, by email or phone to discuss details.  Contact information is available on the website under About Us/Current PaNNTOA Officers.

I look forward to your support and the continuation of a great organization!  To ensure a smooth transition, it would be ideal to have new volunteers identified well before the vote at the General Meeting.

Gary White<br>
PaNNTOA Commodore

The holidays are behind us and I for one am ready for good weather and a new boating season!  What do you all have planned for this year‘s season? Carole and I will sneak out in good weather windows as they allow but May really starts the beginning of our cruising. We’ll spend several weeks in the San Juan‘s fishing and shrimping and then head north later in the summer.  Share your thoughts and plans for your summer cruising in Trip Reports in the Forum section of our website. I look forward to hearing from you about your boating plans.

RENDEZVOUS NEWS – YES THERE WILL BE A 2022 RENDEZVOUS!
Your Board Members held a meeting on January 26th to discuss the 2022 budget and, more importantly, our plans for the 2022 Rendezvous. As you know, we have had to cancel the past two years rendezvous in Sidney due to Covid restrictions, and border closures, etc. The uncertainty of border closures and entry requirements into Canada (and returning to the US) are still difficult to assess, and not stable.  We worked through the logistics of US members having to test within 72 hours before entering Canada to comply with the current regulations. Given the distance, lack of testing sites reasonably close to the border and the potential for weather delays that many of us may experience, we unanimously agreed that Sidney is not a viable location for this year.  The good news in all this is that we will hold a rendezvous in 2022 at Cap Sante Marina in Anacortes June 2 – 4. I know that many of you were looking forward to going to Sidney as we were. The amount of planning necessary to put on a Vous like this requires that we start planning now and there are still too many variables and unknowns for us to feel that it would be successful in Sidney.
News and information regarding the events will be forthcoming as our planning moves forward. Stay tuned for news!

MINI-VOUS
Because of the success of last year’s Mini-Vous, we have decided to sponsor up to three events over the 2022 year. We still want to hold one in Canada and the other two to be determined somewhere in Puget Sound.  If you are interested in helping to organize and plan one of these, please contact me or one of the board members, and we can help get it started. To further encourage Mini-Vous, we have dedicated PANNTOA funds from this year‘s budget to support them.

FACTORY ZOOM MEETING
Member Angelo Muzzin has organized a ZOOM meeting with Dave Allen of the Nordic Tug factory on March 2 at 7:00 pm.  Dave will discuss the goings-on in the very busy factory, provide a virtual tour, and answer questions.  After several quiet years, the factory is buzzing with boat building activity, so this should be an interesting presentation.  Details on connecting to the ZOOM meeting to follow.

Carole and I look forward to seeing you out on the water this year.   Safe and happy boating!

Gary White
Commodore Panntoa

Greetings from Sucia Island and the China caves overlooking Shallow Bay.  Carole and I just returned from our last long cruise for the season. I hope you all were able to get out and enjoy the beautiful weather and wonderful Pacific Northwest waters in your tugs!

The mini rendezvous at Swantown in Olympia was a great success!  We had 14 boats represented.  A big thanks and shout out to Denise and Russ Nichols for organizing the event. Also to all those others who volunteered to help during the three days!

We already have tentative plans to hold at least one additional mini rendezvous next year. If we can get volunteers to assist in others, we will certainly look forward to holding several in addition to the large rendezvous planned for Sydney in early June.

Jeff Gleckler from Seattle Yachts has been appointed the brand manager of Nordic Tug‘s for Seattle Yachts. Many of you know Jeff from dealing with him in previous Rendezvous and/or purchasing or selling your boats. He is a great resource and will be a helpful and friendly face to keep us connected with both the factory and Seattle Yachts, a major sponsor of Panntoa.

We have now completed a couple of Board Member transitions.
Mark Malnes has assumed responsibility for Membership.
Denise Nichols has taken Communications responsibilities from Mike Young.
A big welcome to both of them and thanks for volunteering! Also a great big thank you to Mike Young who has been an excellent Communications Director for the past two years! His insight and contributions were a great help.

Although fall is upon us, I know that most of us will still be looking for those weather windows to sneak out and use our tugs as often as we can. Fall is also a good time to review, repair and replenish what we have used over the past cruising season.

Stay safe and have an enjoyable Fall!

Gary White
PaNNTOA Commodore

Carole and I are sitting here on Last Splash in Reid Harbor after a couple of days of lingcod fishing. I hope you are able to get out and enjoy your tugs as well!

As the result of having to postpone yet another rendezvous we will be holding a General Meeting and election similar to last year. If we can put it together, we will have a Zoom meeting. We’ll send out an email as soon as the details are available.

We are working on developing three mini-Vous for later this summer.  It is our goal to have one in South Sound, one in North Sound, and one in Canada. These will be similar in nature to the Port Browning mini-Vous held several years ago. They are intended to be small groups with no major presentations or speakers but just rather an opportunity for Tuggers to get together, share stories and have fun.

We are looking for cruise captains to organize the North Sound/San Juan’s and the Canadian Vous. We have a cruise captain that has volunteered for the South Sound event. Each one of these events will be assisted by our rendezvous Director Jeff Brein to help coordinate and organize the location. Details on when, where, and how they will be conducted will follow.  There will be some Panntoa funds available to help in these events. If you would like to volunteer to be one of those cruise captains, please contact myself or Jeff Brein at Rendezvousdirector@panntoa.com

Speaking of volunteers, the primary message I want to share with you on this Commodores Corner is the need for volunteers. The Communication Director’s position on the PaNNTOA board will be vacated shortly.  The Membership Director’s position has been vacant for a while and the Web Director position will need to be filled in the not so distant future.

Your three elected officers, Commodore, Vice Commodore and Rear Commodore are also available for volunteers to fill. Several of the current officers have offered to stay for another term if replacements cannot be found.  However, it would be nice to have new blood moving into the organization to learn the ins and outs before taking over. An ideal scenario would be for you to volunteer for the Membership, Communications or Web Director appointed positions, and then move into one of the elected positions.

The benefit to the organization is continuity of institutional knowledge of policies and procedures.  

As I’m sure you’ve seen, the current board members have done an excellent job in improving the website and finding new and interesting articles to keep you engaged with fellow Tuggers. There are over 150 Tugs out there which means probably close to 300 individuals all of which I’m sure are capable of taking a position in one way or another.

Remember this is an all-volunteer organization and therefore we need volunteers to support it.

Please take a look at the job descriptions of each position under the ‘About Us’ tab and consider taking a position on the board. If you can’t find enough information with those descriptions feel free to call or email me at Commodore@PaNNTOA.COM and I will discuss them with you.  Any of the members on the board are willing to give you insight as to what their jobs have been.

Enjoy the start of boating season and we hope to see you out on the water!

Gary White
Panntoa Commodore

Well, here we are in 2021 already. I hope your holidays were filled with joy and good health. It’s been a tough past 12 months, but I know that we’re working toward a brighter future this year!
A Board Meeting was held on February 3rd to discuss the Rendezvous, budgeting for the coming year, and to develop new ideas for interactive activities on the website.

Rendezvous News

After much discussion and research into what is occurring with the Covid pandemic and vaccinations, the Board made the tough decision to push the Rendezvous from June 2021 until possibly September of this year (if that becomes feasible). This allows us to take another look at the developments in the pandemic situation and re-assess timing as needed. If September becomes viable, the 2021 Vous will likely be held in US waters due to the continued closure of the US/Canadian border. That said, holding a Vous will still be dependent on our ability to gather, finding a location that can be scheduled with short notice, and everyone’s willingness to get together. It’s not looking promising that the border will be open to get to Sydney this year, so we have pushed the Sydney location forward to June of 2022. We know that you are looking forward to the Rendezvous as are we. It’s always a highlight of our year and we hope to be able to give you a successful and safe Rendezvous when the time is right.

Other News

As you know, we held a photo contest this last November which was very successful! There were a lot of great photos entered and we thank all those that did enter, and those who took the time to view the photos submitted. I would like to again thank Seattle Yachts for their support and prize contributions. We are working to develop additional ideas for online activities to keep you clicking on the website and getting the value from your association that you expect. We are always looking for content to add to the website so if you have an idea and/or a story that you think would be useful or entertaining for our members, please feel free to forward it to one of the Board members.

I had a brief conversation with Dave Allen at the factory recently and he told me they have an additional 44 and two more 40’s about to be built, so the factory is busy cranking away at boat building! There are lots of smiles and happy workers. Seattle Yachts Manager Cory Gracey also informed me that they’ve sold several used NT’s and have a couple of stock boats coming up in case you’re interested in moving up to a 40 or 44. He also told me they are providing one year’s PaNNTOA membership dues to anyone who buys a new or used Nordic Tug through the Seattle Yachts dealership. So, if you’re looking for a move up (or down!) it might be a good time to give them a call.

The Board reviewed the budget for 2021 and has agreed that we will increase the support for the website as we feel it is an especially important communication tool and an asset to our membership. We are doing a review of the website and related services to determine how it can better serve you. If you have comments, ideas, or suggestions, please forward those to one of the Board members. We would certainly appreciate the input!

The PaNNTOA family has now grown to 169 active memberships. That’s up from 125 a year and a half ago! Kudos and many thanks to Chris Sodeman for a job well done! Chris is resigning from the position of Membership Director due to selling his boat and other pressing family commitments. If you are interested in taking on the role, please contact me directly. It’s a fun position if you are a people-oriented person as it entails reaching out to new members with a Welcome and resolving any problems with membership renewals. The Job Description can be found on the website under About Us/Job Descriptions. We encourage your participation in your organization.

In closing, I know that even as we look out the window and see the monsoon-like rains day after day, better boating weather is approaching! I hope you can get out and enjoy your tug, share some camaraderie, and take advantage of the beautiful Northwest waters that most of us are fortunate to call our home!

Happy Tugging!

Gary White
PaNNTOA Commodore

Well, Fall snuck up on me and here we are already a month into it. This was an interesting summer for cruising to say the least. Although early restrictions kept most of us off the water initially, Carole and I found that many of us were able to go out and were comfortable enjoying the San Juans after restrictions were lifted. After all, what’s more socially distanced than a boat at anchor!
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We saw and/or heard many of you cruising throughout the summer. We personally took several shorter trips this year to break it up, chase the good weather, and also to try and avoid the crowds. Our favorite cruise was in late September where crowds were nearly nonexistent and favorite anchorages back to normal capacities, and the Coho fishing was amazing.
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I hope you all were able to find a spot to throw the hook and enjoy our beautiful San Juans, Puget Sound, and/or South Sound waters. And for our Canadian members, we hope you enjoyed what I presume to be the relative quiet of Canadian cruising waters, without the added pressure of U.S. boats!
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Rendezvous News

After Panntoa Board members returned from their cruising and summer travels, we held a board meeting on October 13th. We have begun discussions on next year’s rendezvous and are looking at the implications of Covid as it may apply to that. The tentative dates are June 10-12, 2021 in Sydney B.C. Of course, we will not have a clear vision about whether we can successfully hold a rendezvous until next year. But hopeful planning is underway. We will be following up with you regarding the rendezvous as plans develop.
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Factory News

I am pleased to let you know that the factory is going full guns! I am in regular contact with Dave Allen and he has informed me that they have 8 Nordic Tugs in the build queue, with a couple in production now. They also have 9 Ocean Sports in line for production. They continue to increase their workforce which has doubled since the first of the year. This is great news.
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In a recent conversation with Cory Gracey at Seattle Yachts (the new Nordic Tug dealer in Anacortes) he said they have sold one new, and 5 used Nordic Tugs since August. So it appears that Nordic Tugs are in high demand and valued as a quality purchase by those looking for socially distanced recreation.
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Upcoming Photo Contest

We will be co-sponsoring a photo contest with Seattle Yachts focusing on this year’s “Covid Cruzing.” We want to see your pictures! Prizes to be awarded! Seattle Yachts has provided 2 very nice prizes and Panntoa is donating 2 items from the Panntoa “store.” Watch for information to be coming soon to the Panntoa web site with instruction on how to enter.
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In closing, we are fortunate in the Northwest to have cruising weather most of the year, so as the weather windows present themselves over the next few months, I hope you will be able to get out and enjoy your Tug. Carole and I will be looking for those breaks as well and hope to see you on the water!
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Gary White
Panntoa Commodore

Welcome to Summer Tuggers!

Carole and I are sitting here on Last Splash (in the rain!) reflecting on the past few days that would’ve been our 2020 Rendezvous in Sydney B.C. Although we certainly missed seeing all of our fellow Tuggers, the weather in Sydney last weekend would have made for a very wet experience! We look forward to making a great rendezvous for next year and are counting on the weather gods to cooperate.

I would like to give a big shout out and thanks to our two outgoing board members, Carter Barnes and Robbin Young. Carter has done a good job keeping track of all your money and managing the financial requirements of the organization. Robbin has been influential in implementing change and development in the website, identifying problems and documenting processes that were difficult to track down. Her efforts show in the increased activity and functionality in the website. Thanks to both of you for volunteering your time and efforts to make PANNTOA a better organization.

I would like to thank all who participated in the Proxy Vote for 2020. This virtual voting is now closed and you can find a recap of the results in Doug Ford’s 2020 General Meeting Minutes.

Please give a hearty welcome aboard to our two new incoming board members. Mike Russell has been voted in as our new Rear Commodore/Treasurer. Although with his boat named MT Pockets, we may have to keep a close eye on the bank account (JUST KIDDING Mike). Sandra Piotrowski is assuming the Web Director position and has already been hard at work identifying additional processes and possibilities for continued improvement of the website. I look forward to working with them as well as our continuing board members; Doug Ford, Mike Young, Chris Sodeman and Jeff Brein. Mike’s and Sandra’s Bios can be found on the website under the About Us/Current PaNNTOA Officers menu.

As I sit here composing this, we are seeing boating opportunities opening again for us to get out and enjoy our boats. The one question still to be answered is whether the US/Canada border will open in time for summer cruising, although at this point in time, it looks unlikely. Carole and I are usually gone all of July/August cruising and fishing in the Broughtons. This year we had planned to cover some new territory, going as far north as Rivers Inlet, Shearwater and Ocean Falls. We have begun talking about how we can enjoy summer cruising closer to home. We are going to take a positive approach and use it as an opportunity to seek out those smaller places, out-of-the-way spots or anchorages we’ve never visited in the San Juans. There is also a lot of great cruising in the Sound Sound area as well that present many opportunities that we haven’t explored for years. I hope we will see you out on the water as well!
And finally, some great news from the Nordic Tug factory. I had a conversation with Dave Allen last Friday. They expect to reopen at full workforce this week and they have a bunch of new boat orders! He told me they have six IMC boats in the queue and one new 40 foot Nordic Tug as well. This is in addition to the four Nordic Tugs they were working on prior to COVID-19 shutdown. It seems that people may be trading their luxury vacation or international destinations for local boating opportunities. That, of course, is excellent news for the factory and for us as well as we continue to support the NT brand.

Safe Cruising!

Gary White
PaNNTOA Commodore