Commodore Eric Anderson presents the New England Championship trophy to T Thieler. Outgoing Commodore Steve Lamb looks on. photo Chad Lyons

2010 Swap, Annual meeting, and Banquet

T‌he NEIYA Swap meet was another fine event this year. It was held a bit earlier than usual at the trusty hotel parking lot in Westbrough, MA and we were lucky enough to have good weather. There was quite a crowd in the parking lot and it looked as though plenty of gear was changing hands, always a good sign of a busy season to come... Steve Duhamel from Northwind Iceboats was a blur behind his table and there was a ton of gear for sale by individuals. All kinds of cool stuff! Hopefully we'll see some new boats and faces on the ice this winter. Seems like everyone was just a little extra psyched this year, also a good sign.
    At around 11am the powers-that-be started shoo-ing everyone into the conference room for the annual NEIYA meeting. And not just any conference room... Oh no, certainly not. We have moved up in the world, gang. We have outgrown the room we used the last few years and now have the luxury of one of the larger conference rooms—very cool. As always, the buffet was excellent. I apologize to everyone for wolfing down all of the shrimp.
    T‌he meeting was well run, with Steve Lamb and Jeff Kent ending their reign as commodores and welcoming in Eric Anderson and Brian Langley to take their place. All sorts of topics were discussed, including scheduling for races and clinics, speed sailing, our slick new website, safety and of course, membership... Good news here as our membership is at an all-time high and the club is in the black financially.
    Officers were chosen, duties doled out... Yours truly was appointed to be the official RI ice-checker while out of the room; good thing it's a small state with only a few lakes or I would have raised hell. Awards were presented as well, some good looking trophies changed hands. On a more somber note we did take a break from the festive atmosphere for a moment of silence to reflect on ice-sailing colleagues that we've lost.
    All in all another fun and productive get-together. Great to see everyone, got a lot done, and it seems like the club is in good hands and on a good track. Looking forward to seeing everyone there out on the ice in a few months! —"T" T‌hieler

Bill Bucholtz and Jory Squibb at the NEIYA swapmeet with Dicky Saltonstall's Icywood.

photo by Chad Lyons