I recently reviewed the definition of the word camaraderie. See the text below:

ca•ma•ra•de•rie/Noun: Mutual trust and friendship among people who spend a lot of time together.

I am very proud of our class as we have developed a sailing leadership image over the years. We have overcome our differences of opinions through various levels of diverse thinking.

When reading the J/29 class forum, it appears as if they fight all the time. This isn't what we are all about.

Across the nation, I have developed a lot of lifelong friends in our class. We continue to have the best people with a focus of family. I thank the J/30 Class for this.

When we disagree, let's refrain from using Sailing Anarchy and pick up the phone to talk to one another - like in the old days before social media.

With a goal to keep the costs of our sport low, let's work together to produce a class built on the basic foundations of sportsmanship and camaraderie. We are like a softball league on water.

As the economic times improve and the sailing season ends, give yourself a pat on the back for creating a world in which we compete, laugh, collaborate and succeed on and off of the water.

Happy 2011 Everyone!
Dave@j30.us
(aka Team Zephyr/Rafiki)