SOCIAL ACTIVITIES DIRECTOR
Marie Brennan
social@scow.org
Marie was first introduced to sailing on Martha’s Vineyard as a child and then had the opportunity to work on a 72’ schooner in Newport, RI while in college. She joined SCOW in 2013 and became a Scot Skipper in 2014 and is currently working on becoming a cruiser skipper. When she is not playing on the water, she works as a mental health therapist to low income families and veterans in DC. She recently moved onto a houseboat and gets to enjoy the water 24/7.

Candidate Statement:
Since 2020 was a wash for social events, I have all my fingers crossed to have a more social 2021! I have missed seeing everyone on Thursday evenings for social sails and I can't wait to get back to sailing as soon as possible. I hope to serve as your 2021 Social Director so that I have more chances to increase our social events and make them memorable!

TRAINING DIRECTOR
Trueman Sharp
training@scow.org
Trueman grew up sailing on Lake Pontchartrain in his hometown of New Orleans, LA, as crew on his father’s Dragon class racing boat, “Reluctant,” and 36 foot cruising sloop, “Hornpipe.” He participated in a number of Southern Yacht Club sailing camps in the summers. Unfortunately, sailing opportunities were few and far between after he went away to college, medical school, and (somewhat ironically) a thirty year itinerant career in the Navy and serving with the Marine Corps, including four years at sea. Two notable exceptions to this long sailing drought were a three week very challenging Outward Bound sailing course based out of Hurricane Island, Maine after college and two years as a live aboard on a 36 foot Islander, the “Bello Mar,” in San Diego as a young officer. However, after finally retiring from the Navy and a quick five year stint at the Food and Drug Administration here in Silver Spring, MD, he has been able to get back into sailing through a series of American Sailing Association courses. These courses ultimately lead to the certifications necessary to bareboat charter and Trueman has chartered cruising sailboats in the Pacific Northwest and in the Chesapeake Bay. Trueman learned about SCOW at the Annapolis Boat Show in 2019, quickly joined up, and has been a regular ever since at Wednesday Night Racing, mainly as crew on Mike Hooban’s “Green Hornet.” He is certified as a Flying Scot skipper and working on becoming a Cruiser skipper. His sailing goals are to continue racing Flying Scots, achieve skipper certification for SCOW’s cruiser fleet, and continue bareboat chartering whenever possible. Trueman is married to Dr. Kim Kenney and has three young adult sons. In addition to sailing, Trueman is very much enjoying retirement and is an avid cycler and hiker.

Candidate Statement:
I feel very fortunate to have learned of SCOW and be able to get involved quickly. Although I am still fairly new to SCOW, I would very much like the opportunity to continue to contribute to the organization. Having recently retired and living close-by in Arlington, VA, this is a good time for me to continue for another year as Training Director. As a senior medical officer in the Navy and with the FDA, I spent considerable time in senior management, including two tours as a Commanding Officer in the Navy and then as a Deputy Office director at the FDA, and thus am familiar with budgeting and other administration. My primary goals would be to promote and manage a vigorous, high quality training program that encourages those new to sailing (as well as those with experience who want to get better) to learn more about the sport, gain confidence and experience, and ultimately progress to skipper certification. Administering an effective training program will help keep the organization on firm financial footing, serve to develop current members, and attract new members. It will be essential to work closely with the board as well as SCOW membership to assure the training program meets club and member needs and that funds are used wisely and in accordance with SCOW policies. Some more specific goals would be to actively promote training opportunities, organize effective well-run training activities, assure training events are well staffed and attended, maintain records on a current basis, coordinate closely with the Board, provide regular updates and reports to the Board to support decision making, and assure funds are managed in accordance with budget guidelines and SCOW by-laws.

RIVER/BAY ACTIVITIES DIRECTOR
Carlie Smith
river@scow.org
Carlie joined SCOW in 2016 having barely ever been on a boat before, and through SCOW's Basic Sailing and Cruising courses, has become a Flying Scot and Cruiser Skipper and now helps plan raft-ups and destination sails as SCOW's River and Bay Director. You can usually fund her cruising on the Potomac with her SCOW friends to eat dinner on the river or to explore a new location. Through SCOW's partnership with the DC Sailing Community, Carlie has crewed on international sailing charter trips to the Bahamas, St. Martin and Grenada, with plans to broaden her horizons to the Seychelles in 2021. She hopes to continue to grow as a sailor and someday skipper international charters herself. Carlie loves a good Dark & Stormy on the rocks.

Candidate Statement:
This has been a tough year for our River and Bay program, with COVID-19 safety guidelines prohibiting many of the gatherings that make cruising on the Potomac worthwhile. I am hoping to see the Club come back strong in 2021, with River and Bay programs at the forefront of reinvigorating members skills and love for exploring new places on the river. I'd like to focus our River and Bay events on rebuilding Skipper's confidence after a slower year on the water, and broadening our base of volunteers so that we can continue to fill boats with eager crew all summer long. River and Bay events are integral to inspiring brand new members to develop the skills and relationships needed to get them out on the water safely and with good company, and I look forward to being able to grow our program to make it one of SCOW's best features.

MAINTENANCE DIRECTOR FLYING SCOTS
Dana Howe
scotmaint@scow.org
Dana first started sailing Flying Scots while stationed at the Navy base in Pensacola. From there he began crewing and racing on a larger boat at the Navy Yacht Club. His next duty station had him ‘sailing’ around the Indian Ocean on the aircraft carrier USS Midway (CV-41) for three years. Later, while stationed in San Diego, he bought his first sailboat, a 25’ Cal. The previous owners hadn’t sailed the boat for many years, and it needed much work to restore it to sailing condition. Within a year he had restored the boat and began sailing around San Diego Bay.

For the past 15 years he has been crew aboard Too Many Cooks racing in the DISC PHRF spinnaker class fleet. In 2016 he became interested in sailing Flying Scots and became SCOW skipper qualified in 2017. He has been participating in the Flying Scot regattas the past three seasons and purchased his own Flying Scot late last year.

Candidate Statement:
From a Maintenance Director’s perspective this year has been easy to keep up with as the Scots have not seen much use. I am pleased that we got a chance to greatly improve the outhaul system on the boats and we plan to upgrade the jib sheeting system soon. The biggest project completed this year was the installation of new spinnaker halyard systems that make it much easier to hoist and douse the spinnakers. I have enjoyed the opportunity to serve as the Maintenance Director and would like the opportunity to continue.

MAINTENANCE DIRECTOR CRUISERS
Wayne Williams, Jr.
cruisermaint@scow.org
With friends in a 30-foot wooden gaff-rigged sloop launched upon the Long Island Sound, Wayne K. Williams, Jr. experienced sailing for the first time many years ago. He recounted, “There are few experiences in life that measure up to all we have imagined them to be. That was one of them.” Subsequently, Wayne became US Sailing Certified in basic keel boating from Premier Sailing School where he learned on a Cal 9.1 racing cruiser after which he began sailing flying scots, O’Days, and lasers.

Wayne joined SCOW several years ago, and with each year, his presence, volunteerism, and sailing skills have grown. Both a Certified Flying Scot and a Cruiser Skipper, he sails often and year-round especially when the temperature drops. In particular, he enjoys sailing with new sailors personally, as well as with SCOW members on club sails and raft ups.

To date, he has enjoyed skippering and/or crewing 25-foot and 34-foot Catalinas, 27-foot Seafarers, J22’s, and 40-foot Fountaine Pajot Lucia catamarans. As Wayne believes racing sharpens sailing skills, he races flying scots and has nearly completed SCOW’s Cruiser Racing Mentoring Program in order to sharpen his ability to command larger vessels. In addition to having joined the Tuesday night cruiser races on the Potomac River last year, he participated in races on the West River and on the Chesapeake Bay. He is proud to have earned a third-place finish in last year’s spring Race to Oxford on the Chesapeake Bay while crewing on a Beneteau 36 S7. Most of all, he’s enjoyed a flying scot race or two with his son and first mate, Tripp.

As much as he loves sailing, Wayne loves to help others in the club. He serves on River and Bay Clean-up Days, assists on flying scot and cruiser maintenance days, and skippers or otherwise volunteers at club events. Currently, Wayne is a flying scot tutor and an On-the-Water Basic Sailing Trainer, as well as the bosun for Lion’s Paw. In his second year on the board, he serves as the current Cruiser Maintenance Director.

Wayne educated boys for 18 years primarily at St. Albans School (’83) for boys where he was a teacher, coach, admissions officer, dormitory master, and governing board member. Now he provides real estate broker and property manager services in Maryland and Washington, DC as an associate broker with Bennett Realty Solutions, a full-service brokerage which also specializes in real estate investing and as the principal broker and owner of Wayne Williams Real Estate Co, LLC, a full-service brokerage through which he provides property management services. He has also worked in such companies as Long & Foster Real Estate, Inc., Weichert Realtors, and Haverford Homes. Wayne graduated from Bucknell University where he earned his B.A. in English and Political Science and attended Dartmouth College for graduate school.

Candidate Statement:
I just love SCOW and its community. SCOW continues to make my dreams come true, to become a skilled sailor and a bare boat charter master. With no shortage of enthusiasm and love for sailing, I desire to traverse the Atlantic Ocean on a sailboat one day. From all that I have learned from SCOW, I believe “It ought to be the goal of every skipper to be prepared for every eventuality.” Doubtless, I am prepared for every one, yet, but with the trainers, tutors, and friends within SCOW, I certainly believe every day with SCOW, I become a little more capable of taking care of my crew, my boat, and myself on the water. SCOW has given me so much that I look forward to continue serving the club that others may experience all that I have for years to come.

RACING DIRECTOR
Bonnie Sylwester
racing@scow.org
I started sailing in 2009, when I moved to Honolulu Hawaii to do a PhD. Luckily the degree took longer than expected (8 years), which gave me plenty of time to build up my sailing experience. I raced as much as possible – Friday and Wednesday night races, and weekend buoy, off-shore, and inter-island races. Contrary to how many people learn, I started on big boats, a Beneteau First 40.7, J-44, Humboldt 30, and worked my way down to smaller boats like Solings and I-14s. For 5 years, I owned a Cal20 and skippered it in Wednesday night races. Since moving to Virginia three years ago, I’ve been active in Wednesday night racing with SCOW. For the past two summers, I’ve also participated in regional regattas together with Dave Calhoun on the Flying Scot Flight Risk. When not sailing, I work at George Mason University and live in Alexandria, Virginia.

Candidate Statement:
Having enjoyed and benefited so much from SCOW’s racing program for the past three years, it was with sadness that I heard about the upcoming departure of the Racing Director, Dave Beckett. Dave has built an amazing racing program, and as someone who loves racing, it is important to me that the program continue to thrive after his departure. I don’t think anyone can fill Dave’s shoes single handedly, so as racing director, my approach would be to build a team that can help with the numerous responsibilities and tasks involved in running the program. The racing program has a number of components – Wednesday night races, SCOW regattas, seminars, and coordination with other regional clubs and resources – all of which are important for the success of the program. My aim is to ensure all of these various components continue to develop to create a well-rounded and thriving program that provides great learning opportunities and fun for sailors of all skill levels.

MEMBERSHIP DIRECTOR
Esther Petrilli-Massey
membership@scow.org
Esther began her sailing life on a friend’s Laser, then purchased her own Snark. This one had been purchased using coupons from Kool cigarettes, not hers, the cigarettes that is, so it had a Kool logo on the sail. She also sailed Hobie Cats in Delaware, Belize, and Australia with her late husband. As a member of SCOW since 2015, she has participated in many a Social Sail and loads of races, sailing mostly on Firth Lady with Joe Warren, another SCOW member. Her love of water sports includes swimming, kayaking, and scuba diving. She is a champion swimmer with medals from the Senior Olympics and Open Water II NAUI diver with experience diving in some exotic locales. This year she hopes to achieve her skipper certification and is diligently working to do so.

Candidate Statement:
As Membership Director, I hope to increase the membership and work with media outlets to publicize the club’s activities. By working with Board members, I hope to help organize activities to keep members coming back.

SKIPPER DIRECTOR
Becky Cole
skipper@scow.org
Becky is a native Wyomingite, so water sports have always been kind of a novelty to her ever since moving to DC. She learned to sail in the SCOW basic class after seeing small boats on the river and deciding it “looks fun.” Now sailing is a regular part of her summer (and sometimes winter) weekends. She takes the cruisers out socially, occasionally races, and has chartered on larger vessels internationally. If you are interested in getting skipper certified, please reach out; SCOW wants our boats out on the water, where they can be enjoyed!

Candidate Statement:
As a member and active skipper in SCOW for the past 7 years, I am excited for the opportunity to serve as Skipper Director. I have previously volunteered as a tutor/trainer and as a cruiser bosun, as well as serving as a member of the Training and Skipper Certification Committee. This role is another way to encourage members to get skipper certified and get out on the water to enjoy our boats!